第26章
《THE CATCHER IN THE RYE(麦田里的守望者英文版)》章节:第26章,宠文网网友提供全文无弹窗免费在线阅读。!
I said.
You could tell she was running the name over in her mind and all.
"Birdsell, Birdsell. . . from Princeton.. . Princeton College?"
"That's right," I said.
"You from Princeton College?"
"Well, approximately."
"Oh. . . How is Eddie?" she said. "This is certainly a peculiar time to call a person
up, though. Jesus Christ."
"He's fine. He asked to be remembered to you."
"Well, thank you. Remember me to him," she said. "He's a grand person. What's
he doing now?" She was getting friendly as hell, all of a sudden.
"Oh, you know. Same old stuff," I said. How the hell did I know what he was
doing? I hardly knew the guy. I didn't even know if he was still at Princeton. "Look," I
said. "Would you be interested in meeting me for a cocktail somewhere?"
"By any chance do you have any idea what time it is?" she said. "What's your
name, anyhow, may I ask?" She was getting an English accent, all of a sudden. "You
sound a little on the young side."
I laughed. "Thank you for the compliment," I said-- suave as hell. "Holden
Caulfield's my name." I should've given her a phony name, but I didn't think of it.
"Well, look, Mr. Cawffle. I'm not in the habit of making engagements in the
middle of the night. I'm a working gal."
"Tomorrow's Sunday," I told her.
"Well, anyway. I gotta get my beauty sleep. You know how it is."
"I thought we might have just one cocktail together. It isn't too late."
"Well. You're very sweet," she said. "Where ya callin' from? Where ya at now,
anyways?"
"Me? I'm in a phone booth."
"Oh," she said. Then there was this very long pause. "Well, I'd like awfully to get
together with you sometime, Mr. Cawffle. You sound very attractive. You sound like a
very attractive person. But it is late."
"I could come up to your place."
"Well, ordinary, I'd say grand. I mean I'd love to have you drop up for a cocktail,
but my roommate happens to be ill. She's been laying here all night without a wink of
sleep. She just this minute closed her eyes and all. I mean."
"Oh. That's too bad."
"Where ya stopping at? Perhaps we could get together for cocktails tomorrow."
"I can't make it tomorrow," I said. "Tonight's the only time I can make it." What a
dope I was. I shouldn't've said that.
"Oh. Well, I'm awfully sorry."
"I'll say hello to Eddie for you."
"Willya do that? I hope you enjoy your stay in New York. It's a grand place."
"I know it is. Thanks. Good night," I said. Then I hung up.
Boy, I really fouled that up. I should've at least made it for cocktails or something.
10
It was still pretty early. I'm not sure what time it was, but it wasn't too late. The
one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I'm not even tired. So I opened my suitcases and
took out a clean shirt, and then I went in the bathroom and washed and changed my shirt.
What I thought I'd do, I thought I'd go downstairs and see what the hell was going on in
the Lavender Room. They had this night club, the Lavender Room, in the hotel.
While I was changing my shirt, I damn near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz,
though. I certainly felt like talking to her on the phone. Somebody with sense and all. But
I couldn't take a chance on giving her a buzz, because she was only a little kid and she
wouldn't have been up, let alone anywhere near the phone. I thought of maybe hanging
up if my parents answered, but that wouldn't've worked, either. They'd know it was me.
My mother always knows it's me. She's psychic. But I certainly wouldn't have minded
shooting the crap with old Phoebe for a while.
You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole
life. She's really smart. I mean she's had all A's ever since she started school. As a matter
of fact, I'm the only dumb one in the family. My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my
brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really
dumb one. But you ought to see old Phoebe. She has this sort of red hair, a little bit like
Allie's was, that's very short in the summertime. In the summertime, she sticks it behind
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her ears. She has nice, pretty little ears. In the wintertime, it's pretty long, though.
Sometimes my mother braids it and sometimes she doesn't. It's really nice, though. She's
only ten. She's quite skinny, like me, but nice skinny. Roller-skate skinny. I watched her
once from the window when she was crossing over Fifth Avenue to go to the park, and
that's what she is, roller-skate skinny. You'd like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe
something, she knows exactly what the hell you're talking about. I mean you can even
take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it's
a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it's a pretty good movie.
D.B. and I took her to see this French movie, The Baker's Wife, with Raimu in it. It killed
her. Her favorite is The 39 Steps, though, with Robert Donat. She knows the whole
goddam movie by heart, because I've taken her to see it about ten times. When old Donat
comes up to this Scotch farmhouse, for instance, when he's running away from the cops
and all, Phoebe'll say right out loud in the movie--right when the Scotch guy in the
picture says it--"Can you eat the herring?"