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Show 32 agitation in his loins. He stumbled fron the couch and into the bedroom where Bush slept, where he had made five xfcxiaxx-children with her, where he shared his dreams and night anxieties and slept with Bush like a spoon in a spoon. He lay down next to Bush and ran his fingers through her hair. "Bush," he whispered. "Bush." Bush's eyes opened and Stanley kissed her forehead. "I'd forgotten how beautiful you were," whispered Stanley. xSxxx "Beautiful hair. Beautiful hazel eyes, like the ocean." Bush took Stanley by the wrist and moved his hand from her hair. "If you'd have saved some of those twenty dollar bills you lit cigars with, then you could go downtown and buy some love." Stanley said X nothing. Bush's grip tightened on his wrist. His head got light. "You think I don't know x you used to go whoring when you could afford it." "Only sometimes," mumbled Stanley. "I don't care how often. Tell it to Christ on Judgement Day." Stanley pulled his wrist from Bush's grip. The lightness in his head cleared, but left an ache. His tongue was swollen. He drank Bush's water x on the bed table. "You are my wife," he said to Bush. "I married Stanley Pelkowski, a xaxxxxxx hardworking Pole, not Stanley Pell the drunk." "TVe drunk and gambled all my life. You didn't complain when things went well, don't complain now." "You're a man," said Bush. xXxxxxwaxkaXxx" "You worked, you drank, you gambled, sometimes you whored. Now you don't work." "There is no work." Bush pursed her lips with a hiss. "There is never no work. Hunt. Stop drinking. Repair the coops. You have friends who owe you thousands of dollars. You have apartments filled with people who don't pay rent. You're children work. I work day and night. You do nothing but drink." "I'm having a hard time," said Stanley. "Everyone is having a hard time." Stanley stared at Bush. £a The love had left his groin, the ache left his head, the strength left his arms. He tried to be |