Get a Load of This

     The door opened and the doctor came in. The two men looked at him. His face was expressionless. He said: “I'm afraid things have gone wrong. She didn't try.” The nerve in his face continued to twitch. “She was very disappointed, you see.”

     Alfy got slowly to his feet. “Won't she—?”

     The doctor shrugged a little. “Not long now. She's asking—”

     Alfy made for the door, but the doctor stopped him. “Not you,” he said, almost kindly, “she's asking for George.” He looked at George with faint curiosity. “You had better hurry.”

     The two of them went out of the room quickly, leaving Alfy alone.

NIGHT OUT

     Jason arrived at the Gaucho Club a few minutes before midnight. He stood hesitating on the sidewalk looking up at the brilliant array of neon lights that flashed and flickered on the outside of the building.

     The taxi-driver who brought him leant out of his cab and stared too. “Quite a joint, ain't it?” he said. “Plenty of class. I bet you have to pay to breathe in a dump like that.” Jason groped in his pocket and found some small change. He paid the taxi-driver. Then, because he was in two minds about going into the club, he said, “I don't know why I came here, do you?”

     The driver shook his head. “Now you're talking sense,” he said. “Most folk just go in there. They don't ask themselves why. Personally, I wouldn't be seen dead in a joint like that.”

     Jason put his foot on the running-board. “Maybe you've got somewhere else to go,” he said. “Maybe you're married or something.”

     The driver nodded. “Yeah, I'm married all right. I don't see what that's got to do with it.”

     “Oh, it has. It makes all the difference. You see, I've got no one at the moment. I only got into New York a few hours ago. I've got a room about ten floors up, which seems to me completely isolated from any earthly contacts. I was told that the Gaucho Club was the place to find company, but I'm not at all sure that it looks quite what I want.”

     The driver regarded him thoughtfully. “It depends on what you want, boss,” he said. “If you're looking for someone to sleep with, I should say that you've come to the right spot.”

     Jason shook his head. “I hadn't that in mind at all,” he said, “although the suggestion is worth considering. I'll go in, anyway. If I don't like it, I can always come out again, can't I?”

     The driver engaged his gears. “It's your evening,” he said, and set his cab in motion.

     Inside the club, Jason found the lights were soft, coloured and concealed, and the carpets very thick and springy to the feet. A number of impressively dressed flunkeys stood about doing nothing in particular, obviously too magnificent to be approached. They merely directed him towards a very crowded lounge simply by indicating the direction with their eyes. Feeling extraordinarily unimportant, and wishing that he had someone to share this initial ordeal with him, he went into the lounge and looked around for the cloakroom.

     The lounge, however, was much more human than the entrance. A girl, wearing an extremely short white frock, a pale blue frilly little apron affair, and a large blue bow in her hair, suddenly appeared from nowhere and took his hat. She gave him a check and then, seeing he was unusually good-looking, added quite a nice smile.

     Jason said hurriedly: “Wait a moment. Don't run away. Whatever you do, don't put that hat where I can't get it quickly. I may not stay. My nerves are fluttering right now. I suppose you're used to this—this magnificence? You would be. Yeah, no doubt I could get use to it. But right now I'm shaken. Those guys down front certainly made me nervous. I don't think it is a smart idea having those guys. I guess they turn away a lot of business.”

     The girl looked at him closely, rejected the idea that he was drunk, and decided that he was just a little soft. “You don't have to worry about them,” she said. “Most of our clients come here tight and they never notice them.”

     Jason considered that. “To hell with that for an idea,” he said finally. “However, now I'm here, what do you advise?”

     “If I were you,” she said seriously, “I would go to the bar and buy myself a lot of drink. Then I should go into the restaurant, get a table close to the band, buy myself a small but carefully selected supper and enjoy myself.”

     Jason fingered his white tie. “You think it is necessary to break down my repressions with drink, do you?”

     She giggled. “I think it will help an awful lot.”

     “Very well, I'll do exactly as you suggest. I'll let you know how I get on. Thank you very much.” Jason smiled at her and walked into the bar.

     Here again everything was remarkably tasteful and luxurious. The bar was very long and somewhat crowded. Jason climbed on to a high stool, carefully spread his dress tails, and sat down.