Love in L.A. by Dagberto Gilb
Jake slouched in a clot of near motionless traffic, in the peculiar gray of concrete, smog, and early morning beneath the overpass of the Hollywood Freeway on Alvarado Street. He didnt really mind because he knew how much worse it could be trying to make a left onto the onramp. He certainly didnt do that every day of his life, and hed assure anyone whod ask that he never would either. A steady occupation had its advantages and he couldnt deny thinking about that too. He needed an FM radio in something better than this 58 Buick he drove. It would have crushed velvet interior with electric controls for the L.A. summer, a nice warm heater and defroster for the winter drives at the beach, a cruise control for those longer trips, mellow speakers front and rear of course, windows that hum closed, snuffing out that nasty exterior noise of freeways. The fact was that hed probably have to change his whole style. Exotic colognes, plush, dark nightclubs, maitais and daiquiris, necklaced ladies in satin gowns, misty and sexy like in a tequila ad. Jake could imagaine lots of possibilities when he let himself, but none that ended up with him pressed onto a stalled freeway.
Jake was thinking about this freedom of his so much that when he glimpsed its green light he just went ahead and stared bye bye to the steadily employed. When he turned his head the same direction his windshield faced, it was maybe one second too late. He pounced the break pedal and steered the front wheels away from the tiny brakelights but the snack was unavoidable. Just one second sooner and it would only have been close. Once second more and hed be crawling up on the Toyotas trunk. As it was, it seemed like only a harmless smack, much less solid than the one against his back bumper.
Jake considered driving past the Toyota but was afraid the traffic ahead would make it too difficult. As he pulled up against the curb a few carlengths ahead, it occurred to him that the traffic might have helped him get away too. He slammed the car door twice to make sure it was closed fully and to give himself another second more, then toured front and rear of his Buick for damage on or near the bumpers. Not an impressionable scratch even in the chrome. He perked up. Though the cars beauty was secondary to its ability to start and mvoe, the body and paint were clean except for a few minor dings. This stood out as one of his few clearcut accomplishments over the years.
Before he spoke to the drive of the Toyota, whose looks he could see might present him with an added complication, he signaled to the driver of the car that hit him, still in his car and stopped behind the Toyota, and waved his hands and shook his head to let the man know there was no problem as far as he was concerned. The driver waved back and started his engine.
It didnt even scratch my paint, Jake told her in that way of his. So how you doin? Any damage to the car? Im kinda hoping so, just so it takes a little more time and we can talk some. Or else you can give me your phone number now and I wont have to lay my regular b.s. on you to get it later.
He took her smile as a good sign and relaxed. HE inhaled her scent like it was clean air and straightened out his less than new but not unhip clothes.
Youve got Florida plates. You look like you must be Cuban.
My parents are from Venezuela.
My names Jake. He held out his hand.
Mariana.
The shook hands like shed never done it before in her lfie.
I really am sorry about hitting you like that. He soiunded genuine. He fondled the wide dimple near the cracked taillight. Its amazing how easy it is to put a dent in these new cars. Theyre so soft they might replace waterbeds soon. Jake was confused about how to proceed with this. So much seemed so unlikely, but there was always possibility. So maybe we should go out to breakfast somewhere and talk it over.
I dont eat breakfast.
Some coffee then.
Thanks, but I really cant.
Youre not married, are you? Not that that would matter much to me. Im an openminded kinda guy
She was smiling. I have to get to work.
That sounds boring.
I better get your drivers license, she said.
Jake nodded, disappointed. One little problem, he said. I didnt bing it. I just forgot it this morning. Im a musician, he exaggerated greatly, and, well, I dunno, I left my wallet in the pants I was wearing last night. If you have some paper and a pen Ill give you my address and all that.
He followed her to the glove compartment side of her car.
What if we dont report it to the insurance companies? Ill just get it fixed for you.
I dont think my dad would let me do that.
Your dad? Its not your car?
He bought it for me. And I live at home.
Right. She was slipping away from him. He went back around to the back of her new Toyota and looked over the damage again. There was the trunk lid, the bumper, a rear panel, a taillight.
You do have insurance? she asked, suspicious, as she came around the back of the car.
Oh yeah, he lied.
I guess you better write the name of that down too.
He made up a last name and address and wrote down the name of an insurance company and old girlfriend once belonged to. He considered giving a real phone number but went against the idea and made one up.
I act too, he lied to enhance the effect more. Been in a couple of movies.
She smiled like a fan.
So how about your phone number? He was rebounding maturely.
She gave it to him.
Mariana, you are beautiful, he said in his most sincere voice.
Call me, she said timidly.
Jake beamed. Well see you, Mariana, he said holding out his hand. Her hand felt so warm and soft he felt like hed been kissed.
Back in his car he took a moment or two to feel both proud and sad about his performance. Then he watched the rear view mirror as Mariana pulled up behind him. She was writing down the license plate numbers on his Buick, ones that hed taken off a junk because the ones that belonged to his had expired so long ago. He turned the ignition key and revved the big engine and clicked into drive. His sense of freedom swelled as he drove into the now moving street traffic, though he couldnt stop the thought about that FM stereo radio and crushed velvet interior and the new car smeel that would even make it better.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
by Henry Slesar
They left Stukey’s pad around eight in the morning; that was the kind of weekend it had been. Early to bed, early to rise. Stukey laughed, squinting through the dirt-stained wind- shield of the battered Ford, pushing the pedal until the needle swung 20, 30 miles over the speed limit. It was all Mitch’s fault, but Mitch, curled up on the seat beside him like an embryo in a black leather womb, didn’t seem to care. He was hurting too much, needing the quick jab of the sharp sweet point and the hot How of the stuff in his veins. Man, what a weekend, Stukey thought, and it wasn’t over yet. The fix was out there, someplace in the wilds of New Jersey, and, Stukey, who never touched the filthy stuff himself, was playing good Samaritan. He hunched over the wheel like Indianapolis, pounding the horn with the heel of his right hand, shouting at the passing cars to move over, move over you.” . . . watch where you’re going, stupid, pull over, pull over, you lousy. . . ,,
“You tell’ em, man,” Mitch said softly, “you tell’ em what to do” Stukey didn’t tell them; he showed them. He skinned the paint off a Buick as he snaked in and out of the line, and crowded so close to the tail of an M G that he could have run right over the little red wagon. Mitch began to giggle, urging him on, forgetting for the moment his destination and his need, delighting in the way Stukey used the car like a buzz saw, slicing a path through the squares in their Sunday driving stupor. “Look out, man,”
Mitch cackled, “here comes old Stukey, here comes nothin’.”
The traffic artery was starting to clot at the entrance to the tunnel, and Stukey poured it on, jockeying the car first left and then right, grinning at the competitive game. Nobody had a chance to win with Stukey at the controls; Stukey could just shut his eyes and gun her; nobody else could do that. They made the tunnel entrance after sideswiping a big yellow Caddy, an episode that made Mitch laugh aloud with glee. They both felt better after that, and the tunnel was cool after the hot morning sun. Stukey relaxed a little, and Mitch stopped his low-pitched giggling, content to stare hypnotically at the blur of white tiles.
“I hope we find that fix, man,” Mitch said dreamily. “My cousin, he says that’s the place to go. How long you think, Stukey? How long?”
Whish! A Chevy blasted by’ him on the other lane, and Stukey swore. Whish! went an Oldsmobile, and Stukey bore down on the accelerator, wanting his revenge on the open road outside the tunnel. But the tunnel wound on, endlessly, longer than it ever had before. It was getting hot and hard to breathe; little pimples of sweat covered his face and
trickled down into his leather collar; under the brass-studded coat, the sport shirt clung damply to his back and under- arms. Mitch started to whine, and got that wide-eyed fish- mouth look of his, and he gasped: “Man, I’m suffocating. I’m passing out. . .”
“What do you want me to do?” Stukey yelled. Still the tunnel wound on. Whish! went the cars in the parallel lane, and Stukey cursed his bad choice, cursed the heat, cursed Mitch, cursed all the Sundays that ever were. He shot a look at the balcony where the: cops patrolled the traffic, and decided to take a chance. He slowed the car down to 35, and yanked the wheel sharply to the right to slip the car into a faster lane, right in front of a big, children-filled station wagon. Even in the tunnel roar they could hear its driver’s angry shout, and Stukey told him what he could do with his station wagon and his children. Still the tunnel wound on.
They saw the hot glare of daylight at the exit. Mitch moaned in relief, but nothing could soften Stukey’s ire. They came out of the tunnel and turned onto the highway, only to jerk to a halt behind a station wagon with a smelly exhaust. “Come on, come on!” Stukey muttered, and blew his horn. But the horn didn’t start the cars moving, and Stukey, swearing, opened the door and had himself a look.
“Oh, man, man, they’re stacked up for miles!” he groaned. “You wouldn’t believe it, you wouldn’t think it’s possible. . .”
“What is it?” Mitch said, stirring in his seat. “What is it? An accident?”
“I dunno, I can’t see a thing. But they just ain’t movin’, not a foot-”
“I’m sick,” Mitch groaned; “I’m sick, Stukey.” “Shut up! Shut up!” Stukey said, hopping out of the car to stare at the sight again, at- the ribbon of automobiles vanishing into a horizon 10, 15 miles away. Like one enormous reptile it curled over the highway, a snake with multicolored skin, lying asleep under the hot sun. He climbed back in again, and the station wagon moved an inch, a foot, and greedily, he stomped the gas pedal to gobble up the gap. A trooper on a motorcycle bounced between the lanes, and Stukey leaned out of the window to shout at him, inquiring; he rumbled on implacably. The heat got worse, furnace- like and scorching, making him yelp when his hands touched metal. Savagely, Stukey hit the horn again, and heard a dim chorus ahead. Every few minutes, the station wagon jumped, and every few minutes, Stukey closed the gap. But an hour accumulated, and more, and they could still see the tunnel exit behind them. Mitch was whimpering now, and Stukey climbed in and out of the car like a madman, his clothes sopping with sweat, his eyes wild, cursing whenever he hit the gas pedal and crawled another inch, another foot forward.
“A cop! A cop!” he heard Mitch scream as a trooper, on foot, marched past the window. Stukey opened the car door and caught the uniformed arm. “Help us, will ya?” he pleaded. “What the hell’s going on here? How do we get outa this?”
“You don’t,” the trooper said curtly. “You can’t get off anyplace. Just stick it out, Mac.”
“We’ll even leave the. . . car. We’ll walk, . . . I don’t care about the damn car. . .”
“Sorry, mister. Nobody’s allowed off the highway, even on foot. You can’t leave this heap here, don’t you know that?” He studied Stukey’s sweaty face, and grinned suddenly. “Oh, I get it. You’re new here, ain’t you?”
“What do you mean, new?” “I thought I never saw you in the Jam before, pal. Well, take it easy, fella.”
“How long?” Stukey said hoarsely. “How long you think?” “That’s a stupid question,” the trooper sneered. “Forever, of course. Eternity. Where the hell do you think you are?” He jabbed a finger into Stukey’s chest. “But don’t give me a hard time, buster. That was your own wreck back there.”
“Wreck?” Mitch rasped from inside the car. “What wreck? What’s he talkin’ about, man?”
“The wreck you had in the tunnel.” He waved his gloved hand toward the horizon. “That’s where all these jokers come from, the tunnel wrecks. If you think this is bad, you ought to see the Jam on the turnpike.”
“Wreck? Wreck?” Mitch screamed, as Stukey climbed behind the wheel. “What’s he talking about wrecks for, Stukey?”
“Shut up, shut up!” Stukey, sobbed, pounding his foot on the gas pedal to gain yet another inch of road. “We gotta get outa here, we gotta get out!” But even when the station wagon jerked forward once more, he knew he was asking for too much, too late.