The woman stepped into the small kitchen and Johnny followed
her. The kitchen was so small that with two people inside it the space felt
cramped. A small table was pushed
against one wall with two small diner red metal chairs on one side and a
counter and sink on the other with the small refrigerator standing alone on the
wall next to the table. There was nothing at all that was a personal item in
the kitchen not even on the walls and thus Johnny had no sense of how long the
woman had been living in the house.
Johnny sat on one of the little red chairs and the woman went to the
small white refrigerator that was plumped and rounded in its style and looked
like it was from the 1950s. When she opened the door Johnny could see that
there was nothing but liquor and a few limes inside a plastic grocery bag. His
stomach ached for food but there did not appear to be any. The woman grabbed a
bottle of Vodka and one glass and came back to the table and sat down.
Before she could speak Johnny told her he was hungry and she
quickly chastised him for raising this issue reminding him that she is not
going to take care of him and this was his own problem to figure out. She then poured the Vodka into her glass
and took a drink. Johnny suddenly
heard the sounds of a television and though he could not see further into the
house from the place where he sat in the kitchen he knew from that sound that
Rooskie was not far away. Johnny’s
stomach panged of hunger but as she had refused him food he asked if he could
have some Vodka too or if she had any cocaine. The woman rebuked him again
telling him that her generosity on the beach with liquor was the only time he
would ever experience that. She then asked him if he had any money at all. He
told her he had a few dollars but nothing more and as he reached into his
pocket to check what his money reality actually was Rooskie appeared in the
kitchen doorway. The woman told
Rooskie to take Johnny and teach him how to make some quick money for now since
it was not nighttime and thus he could not make the money prostituting in the
street at the moment. Rooskie
nodded his head as if his agreement was part of servitude.
The woman brushed by Johnny as she exited the kitchen
passing Rooskie at the door and he felt exhilaration again. As Johnny watched
her disappear down the long hallway Rooskie tapped him and motioned for Johnny
to get moving. Rooskie walked out towards the back door and Johnny followed him
his hunger driving his willingness.
Rooskie jumped into the van and Johnny entered the driver’s seat and
before he could center himself Rooskie was off driving hastily out of the
driveway and headed towards Hollywood Blvd. It was midday now and tourists
mingled with Hollywood crack heads and merchants on the boulevard. The prostitutes were still sleeping
Johnny thought but he didn’t speak this to Rooskie. He just waited for Rooskie
to talk since he had no idea of the plan he had to make money but he knew
whatever it was it wasn’t going to be real work and Johnny was pleased. Rooskie turned the corner just after
they passed the Chinese Theater where movie stars of olden glory days placed
their personal stamp and tourists huddled to experience the wonderment like a
Greek acropolis. Rooskie then spoke “You go over there to the theatre and lift
the money from the tourists. If you get cards its OK Rooskie can make money
from those too.” Johnny had never
pick pocketed anyone before but was excited to be trying something new. He had
contemplated doing this before and even pondered how to do it thinking of various
methods previously and often when he was in a crowded area. He became excited
at trying it out and was happy he was not alone. “What happens if I get caught?” Johnny asked to which
Rooskie replied, “If you get caught it’s your problem but no worry jails here
too crowded. For this crime you get out quick no big deal.” Johnny stepped out
of the van and walked onto Hollywood Blvd with a happy step. As he reached the
front of the theatre he stopped to survey the crowd. His experience thus far
taught him to look for the people he thought were the stupid good people who
lived life working and obeying laws making money the hard way. They were the
victims to pick because they gave in easy and gave up easy and were unlikely to
take revenge.
Suddenly a bus pulled up in front of where Johnny was
standing and a large number of the perfect type of people Johnny was seeking
poured out in front of him and all around him as they tried to stay together in
their group. After just moments of
the bus door opening and right in front of him, a man was standing with his
back to Johnny and he noticed the bulging of his back pocket in the form of a
hefty wallet. Someone began pushing and it pushed the man sideways and at that
moment Johnny put his small hand into the man’s pocket and lifted his
wallet. The crowded area did not
allow Johnny to move from his spot but he was filled with excitement, as the
man didn’t even seem to notice what had occurred. Johnny dropped the man’s
wallet into his back pocket and began acting like he was part of the bus group.
His clothing didn’t match theirs but Johnny thought that these stupid people
wouldn’t make the connection before he was done lifting their wallets.
Johnny went through the rest of the crowd and was amazed and
pleased with himself on how easily he picked the right marks and successfully
got their wallets. But his success created issues since he had no place left to
place the wallets he had stolen; his pockets and waist band were bulging
already but it was hard for Johnny to stop since he got so much pleasure from
taking the wallets so easily. Just then Johnny noticed a policeman looking at
him and Johnny looked away like it didn’t matter; he was a tourist too!
He walked along with the group for a little while and until
the policeman left and then went back to the spot where Rooskie had originally
let him out. The van was not there
but when Johnny looked up the street he saw the van parked further up the
block. He walked towards the van anxious to examine all the wallets and his
take. When he got there Johnny
opened the door of the van and was surprised when he realized Rooskie wasn’t
inside as he climbed to the back of the van. He dumped out the wallets one at a
time sifting through the cash first and then collecting the credit and bankcards
that Rooskie knew what to do with. Once he was done assessing his take on each wallet he put all
the money and cards back into each. He liked looking at them in the exact state
he had grabbed them from those idiot people; fat and plentiful.
More time passed and Rooskie still didn’t show up and just
as Johnny began to feel anxious he suddenly saw Rooskie walking quickly towards
the van from further up the street. He didn’t see where he came from but as he
got closer Johnny could see that his clothes were drenched in sweat and his
face was beaded. Clearly he was up to something Johnny thought but when Rooskie
jumped into the van and sped away silently Johnny didn’t want to ask.
Eventually as they turned back onto Hollywood Blvd. Rooskie
asked Johnny what his take was. Johnny told him and Rooskie began laughing
hysterically and never said a word where Johnny could know what was so
funny. Eventually as they neared
the house he spoke “Tatiana is always right about people!” he proclaimed
hitting Johnny on the back hard as he thought how easily he could break that
back if he wanted to. Once again
he sped to the back of the house and once again he jumped out and ran towards
the back door running into the house as if he was late. Johnny gathered his wallets in his arms
and entered the house. The woman was in the kitchen again and sitting at the
same small table. “Show me how you did” she said gleefully and at that Johnny
dropped all the wallets onto the small table filling the small space. “My boy!
My boy! You are a NATURAL!” she kept repeating these words as she went through
each wallet counting the money and collecting the cards into a small pile. Johnny gazed at the woman again
admiring her light skin thinking he saw it glow. He had forgotten all about his
hunger.
