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Show page 2 of the cafe without too much trouble. But i t was well known around our town that Fred and Luke Ruflin didn't like the l i t t le Greek. Nick had heard t h i s but ignored i t. That's the way things were in our town u n t i l a day in late August of a good crop year. The g i r l s came over from the hotel, perched themselves on Nick's high stools and ordered Royal Crown colas. Johnny Mack, Nick's day man, set out the bottles with glasses, took the dime the brunette put dox«m for the jukebox and punched West Wind. After the opening bars Johnny Mack stepped back behind the long counter and continued polishing the coffee urn while sizing up the g i r l s. "We got to do something for Nick, honey," one of the g i r ls said. The other, name of Irene, agreed. Their words reached Johnny Mack over the wail of the music. All the g i r l s eventually gave Nick a present, which Johnny Mack thought of as belonging to him too. Once Nick had received a gumdrop dispenser with a x^hirling red and white ball on the top. He had put it up near the entrance and whenever anyone had put a penny in i t , Nick had always said, "The g i r l s know how to make money." Nick liked pennies as x17ell as he liked n i c k e l s . He was p a r t i c u l a r l y fond of dimes and quarters, and dollar b i l l s started him talking of Democracy faster than anyone could keep up with him. "I wouldn't trade Nick ^or the whole State of Georgia," Johnny Mack was always saying. It xras a feeling he lived. "I |
