"Not here," Carl objected. "The food's rotten."
"Well, where will we go, Carl? I'm game for anything." Two drinks always had made Hubert game for anything.
Everybody fell silent. That was a problem. Where would they go for something to eat?
"How about Arras Inn?" said Lillian.
"Why Arras Inn?" May had to be sold the idea.
"Because nobody else seems to have thought of a place and Arras Inn is in my neighborhood and I can duck right home after I'm fed."
"All right," said May. "That's fair enough."
Carl called for the check and he and Hubert fell to wrangling pleasantly over it.
"This is my party."
"The hell you say."
"You can pay next time."
"You pay next time."
"His money's no good, waiter."
"Hey, look, I got the right amount here. You'll have to break a twenty."
"All right. I'll pay down at Arras Inn." Hubert retired only after the waiter had marched away with Carl's money. He felt cheated. What's the use of having fifteen thousand dollars if some other guy is going to pay for your drinks?
They filed out of the roadhouse. Mal Gobel's Joy Boys looked very cross at their departure. The Joy Boys' lives were lonely ones.
The ride back to Inwood was the same as the one to the roadhouse. Except that May didn't say "Don't."
