Kept Woman/Chapter 2
"Hello, hello, oh, for God's sake, Central, I have my party. Get off the line. May, this is Carl. Listen, honey, we can't go to Florence's house tonight. Can you call her up and get out of it?"
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, but listen, baby, Hubert Scott—you know the fellow I introduced you to that day in the drug store?—well, he's attached himself to us for the evening."
"Oh, for Pete's sake, why didn't you tell him we had a date?"
"It wouldn't have done a bit of good. His mind was made up. Do you think maybe we could bring him down to Florence's with us?"
"Gee, I'd sooner call the date off than do that, Carl. You know Florence don't like strangers."
"Yeh, that's right. Well, you can call it off for tonight, huh?"
"We'll have to, I suppose. Gee, this is going to be a great evening!"
"Oh, Hubert's all right, May. He don't know much, but he's a good sport. He'd give you anything you asked for. He's big-hearted like that."
"But what will we do with him?"
"Well, I was gonna ask you. Can you get another girl, do you think?"
"Now who could I get?"
"How about your sister?"
"No, I don't know this guy well enough. He might try to make her; then she'd go home yelling to Mama and I'd get killed."
"How about Hazel Schultz?"
"Gee, Carl, your suggestions are great. Hazel Schultz would just be the one to dance with some fat fool, wouldn't she? Can you imagine Hazel with Scott? That's funny, that is."
"Well, maybe she is too high-hat, but then why not ask Muriel Kahn?"
"Carl, she wouldn't come. Muriel isn't the sort to go out with a strange fellow just 'cause I ask her to."
"Jesus, May, you can think of more arguments. You'll have to dance with Scott yourself then once or twice if you won't ask any of your girl friends. I don't like the poor goop to be insulted."
"Oh, wait, Carl, there's a girl who works in the handkerchiefs that I know kind of well. I got her address yet from my Christmas card list. She ain't bad and, see, I don't care enough about her to worry whether he's fresh or dumb or anything. I'll call her up. Her name is Lillian Cory."