The Executioner's Song Read Online Free PDF Page B

in a chair across the room from her.
                    He had on a pair of old-fashioned slacks that were not only too short, but without wide bottoms. He wore a jacket that looked like it'd been borrowed from Vern, big in the chest, hiked up at the hips. All the same, he was overdressed for Lu Ann who, on this warm night, was in Levi's and a peasant blouse.
                    Since he stayed silent in his chair, Vern and Lu Ann kept talking until it got like work. "Gary, do you want to go out for that cup of coffee or stay here?" she asked at last.
                    "Let's go," he said. He went to his room, however, to emerge with a fisherman's hat that Vern used to wear as a joke. It was red, white and blue with stars all over it. Vern had given it to him after Gary said he liked it. Now he wore it everywhere. "How do you like the hat?" he would ask Vern.
                    "Well," Vern would reply, "it don't do anything for you."
                    Lu Ann thought it contrasted abominably with his other clothes.
                    When they walked out to her car, he neglected to open the door for her. Soon as she asked if he had a particular place in mind for coffee, he winced. "I'd rather have a beer," he said.
                    Lu Ann took him to Fred's Lounge. She knew the people who ran it and so was sure nobody would hassle him. The way he was dressed, it would not be hard to get into trouble in a strange place. One difficulty was that there were no nice cocktail lounges around. Mormons didn't see any reason for public drinking to take place in agreeable surroundings. If you wanted a beer, you had to get it in a dive. For every car parked outside a bar in Provo or Orem were three or four motorcycles.
                    At Fred's Lounge, Gary kept looking around the room. His eyes didn't seem able to take in enough.
                    When the bartender came up, Lu Ann said, "Gary, you have a choice." He looked bewildered. The bartender was a lady, a nice meaty well-set-up lady.
                    After a little thought, he said, "I want a beer."
                    Lu Ann said, "You have a choice of beers."
                    He picked Coors. Lu Ann told Gary what it would cost and he handed over the money. When the bartender brought the change, he looked pleased with himself, as if he'd accomplished a tricky transaction.
                    He turned around in his seat and started watching the pool table. One by one, he examined the pictures on the wall, and the mirrors, and the little sayings tacked up behind the bar. Although he wanted nothing to eat, he studied the white inserted letters in the dark gray menu-board on the wall. He was taking in the place with the same intensity you would use in a game if you had to memorize the objects in a picture.
                    Lu Ann said, "Haven't been in a bar lately, have you, Gary?"
                    "Not since I got out."
                    The place was practically empty. A couple of people were rolling dice with the lady bartender. Lu Ann explained that the loser paid for the music on the jukebox.
                    Gary said, "Can I play?" Lu Ann said, "Sure you can." He said, "Will you help me?" She said, "Yes, I will."
                    They called for the cup, and Gary asked, "Did I win?" Lu Ann said, "Well, I'm afraid you lost this time." He said, "How much do I put in?" She said, "Fifty cents." Gary said, "Will you help me pick out the selections?"
                    Making their way through the beers, Lu Ann began to talk about herself. She didn't always have red hair, she told him. Used to be a blond, and before that, had tried different shades, a little brown, ash blond, honey blond. Just yuck, she described it.