A Couple of Quiet Young Guys

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A Couple of Quiet Young Guys

There was a young fellow and a . girl

talking in one ofthe booths near the rear

of the lunch room. As they whispered

together their voices sounded hesitating

and cracked. When it was late, or the

place was ready to close, Slim had noticed

that all the couples talked like that. All

except the young punks who laughed too

loud and said the silly things he never

could remember saying himself when he

was a punk.

On a job like this you get to meet all

kinds, he thought, but the worst kind of all .

are the loud-mouths. This part of the city

was overrun by a gang of young hoodlums

who made the lunch counter their

hangout. They would come in - from

where, he never found out - about three

in the morning. And until five o'clock he

would be kept busy frying hamburgers and

brewing coffee, while the juke-box

jumped With one raucous tune after

another. He hated and despised them,

although they brought him more business

than all the other after-midnight customers

combined.

After the 1:30 street car rattled past the

. window the couple. got up from the

booth, and the man paid the check. He

was a neat-looking young fellow with a

crew cut, wearing a quiet grey worsted

suit. He smiled at Slim when he picked up

his change, and dropped a quarter back

. on the counter.

The girl was a pretty little thing who

came into the lunch room nearly every

evening for supper. She said, "Goodnight,

Slim, II and smiled as she opened the door

to the street. He had never seen her smile

like that before. She looked as if she was

11

Hugh Garner

really happy for the first time in her life.

When they left, the door slammed behind

them, and he was alone once more.

He dried a few cups and placed them

on the shelf beneath. the Silex'chumming...