OCR Text |
Show page 10 Johnny Mack l e f t at night he xvould say, "Don't forget, Nick, to polish the candy machine." Either, when making a sale, would say, "Our lady-friends present us this beautiful candy machine." And i t did not matter to anyone that i t wasn't actually a candy machine but only a candy display stand. The Ruflins -ere drunk the night they destroyed i t . It was October, f a l l , and they wore heavy boots and felt hats. They stamped into the cafe muttering, "Goddam Greek foreigner!" "Hallo, Fred, Luke," said Nick. He set coffee before them when they ordered. The Ruflins hunched over their cups and Nick turned to Big Orb's tapping down the counter. "Two-bits here, Mr. Pan -- a burger, coffee, and I ' l l have a n i c k e l ' s worth of pink candy." "You batcher l i f e , Big Orb!" Nick moved to the candy machine, flipping a small brown sack. The sack opened with a pop and Fred Ruflin fell off his stool like he had been shot a t . He knocked his coffee onto his lap. "You clumsy j a c k a l , " his brother said, and no one knew for sure just whom he meant. Fred stood and slapped at his trousers. "Don't mind, Fred, Nick'11 fix everthing," Nick said. He sacked the candy, handed i t to Big Orb, and hurried behind the counter. Big Orb pocketed his candy, tucked his brakesman's gloves under his arm and left. "That's the new candy machine our lady-friends present us," Nick said, and served Fred another cup of coffee. |