"I love ya, baby"

PAUL CALLICO

A Coney Island incident in which a boy and a girl come to grips with life's realities in the gloom of the Red Mill

In the midst of the hray and clatter of carousel and calliope music, and the rumble of heavy machinery in Coney Island's Steeplechase Park, is a steep, broad slide of polished pine. You must walk up several flights of steps to get to the top. The slide empties into a howl with high, slippery sides, and girls and boys, men and women of all ages, climb the stairs, and launch themselves screaming and shouting down the glistening incline, to whirl around at the bottom, breathless and helpless, until gravity once more asserts itself.

At the bottom of this glistening wooden cup, her legs tangled under her, her brown, short hair tousled, her thin cotton dress in disorder and above her knees, sits a halfpretty girl. She is about sixteen. A hoy catapults down the slide on his back, bis thin legs stuck into the air, whirls around the outside of the bowl once, and still on his hack comes to rest alongside the girl. He says "0 boy!" and sits up and looks at her. He is of medium height, sallow-faced and dark-eyed. His hair is black, and sleekly plastered hack on his head. His suit is green in color, tight fitting, belted, pinched in at the waist. He has an incipient fuzz on his upper lip and dark sideburns. He eyes the girl's legs with their inches of white flesh showing above the rolled stockings and says—

"Hello, baby!"

"H'low!"

"Some slide, I ll say."

"Yeah, I was scared. I come down on my year."

"I come down on my back."

"Yeah, I seen you. Ooo, looka me, my dresses is all up."

"I'm lookin', baby. It looks pretty good."

"Fresh. Well, you needn't look any more."

"Don't get sore, baby. You alone?"

"I'm with my girl friend."

"Yeah? Where's your girl friend?"

"She's with her boy friend. They're over on the Razzle Dazzle. I can't go on the Razzle Dazzle. It makes me sick."

"How about you and me having a dance together. Nothing makes me sick."

"Ain't you the wise guy. I dowanna dance right now. I wanna go on a ride."

"0. K., baby. That's a break for my pet corn. Wanna go on the horses?"

"All rightie. My ticket's all used up."

"I'll buy you a ride, baby."

"Yeah? What are you, a big spender?"

"Who ya kiddin', sister? I know how to spend my dough. Gimme your hand, we'll get out of here. "

"Don't touch that railing. It's got a shock on it."

"Yeah, I'm wise. It's got an electric shock."

"I grabbed it the first time 1 come down here. Ooo, was I scared."

"You ain't bad lookin', baby."

"You're some sheik yourself. Whaddya put on your hair to make it stay down that way?"

"Spit."

"0 yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You know all the answers, don't you?"

"0, I ain't much of a wise-cracker. Here we are, sister. Say, buddy, gimme two tickets. Which horse you gonna get on, kid?"

"The black one."

"Oke, baby. I'll race you. Hang on tight on the corners."

"Eeeeeeeeeee! It's going. I'm scared. 0, yours is going faster. You're beating me. 0, I'm scared. . . . It's so fast. Eeeeeeeeee! My skirts are up. Eeeeeeeee! I wanna get off.''

"You can sure holler, baby. Hoi' on tight or you'll get hurt. I beatcha. I beatcha. Wanna go again?"

"No. I dowanna go again. I wanna go on somepin else."

"Come on, let's you and me go down Surf Avenye. I could buy some ice cream for a baby like you."

"All rightie. How do I get offa this horse? Gee, looka my dress. Ooo, wusn' that awful?"

"I shoulda rode behind you, baby. I coulda held you."

"0 yeah? I'll bet you're a strong guy."

"I gotta good muscle. Feel?"

"Oooh, yeah. Where do you work?"

"Shippin' Department, Gimbel's. I ain't workin' now. Where you?"

"Five'nten. Flatbush Avenye. My girl friend's boy friend's got a car. We come down every week."

"Ain't you got a boy friend? You're a pretty good number."

"I got a lot of boy friends. He couldn't come out tonight. His sister's sick."

''What kinda ice cream you want, baby?"

"Strawbry."

"Double strawbry, buddy, an' gimme a vnilla. Atsa way I like to eat ice cream. Lick it up."

"Gee that's good. I was thirsty. I had a bowl of clam chowder for supper. Clam chowder always makes me thirsty. I could eat somepin."

"That all you had?"

"Uhuh?"

"Betcha you must be hungry now. Lemme buy you a wienie, baby. I could stand a wienie myself."

"All rightie."

They wander down the brassy Bowery, arm in arm. The street bids to the eye, the ear and the nose. Burning, unshaded incandescents shine in the booths, and outside the red and yellow three-sheeted freak shows, the sing-song voices of concessionaires and barkers, and the crashing of hammers on sheets of tin grip their attention. Their nostrils dilate at the smell of boiling corn and roasting frankfurters. Packed tightly from one side to the other, the throngs push slowly along to the babel of merry-go-round music and the thundering crash of the roller coasters. The boy and the girl eat two wienies beclouded with mustard, ears of hot corn with butter that gets on their chins, a strawberry and a vanilla soda, and some frozen custard.

"Whaddya say we go on the roller coaster, baby?"

"Oooh, gee, I dowanna go on the Red Devil. The Red Devil's awful. I'm scared. . . ."

"You don't have to be scared with me, sister. I'll hoi' on to you. You can't fall out or nothing. They've all got safeties now. Give us a couple of tickets, buddy."

"Ooooh, I dowanna. That's the worst one on the Island."

"Lissen, ain't I along? Ain't I gonna hold you? Don't be such a baby. I never seen anyone so scared. I ll look after ya."

"Ooooh, where we goin', inna front seat? Ooooh, I dowanna go in the front seat. Oooh, it's awful in the front seat."

"Now, baby, that's where it's the fun. Ya wanta get a kick out of it, don'tcha? Lemme get this strap fixed. Now, now, I ain't gonna hurtcha. I'm just gettin' my arm around so you won't fall out."

"Well, you don't have to hold me so tight. Ooooh, we're moving. Oooh, my God I wish I hadn' come. 0 my God, looka how high we gotta go up."

"Sure. We gotta go up before we come down. Everything that goes up must come down."

"Ooooh, I'll be sick to my stummick. 0 my God, I'm scared. Hold me tight."

"I'll hold you tight, baby. You're all right with me. 0 boy, here we go! Looka that drop!"

"Yeeeeeeeeee! 0 my God! 0 my God!"

"Hey!"

"0 my God! Yeeeeeeeee! Oh!"

"Hey!"

"0 my God! You're squashing me. Oooh, this is terrible. . . ."

"I got a hold of you baby. Hey, here we go again."

"O my God, 0 my God, 0 my God!"

A little limp they stagger out of the Red Devil. The carousel—with the bobbing horses—spins them ten times around while the electric orchestra plays In Our Little Penthouse. . . . They ride in a little wicker car over the Witching Waves to the sinister rumble of the rollers under the sheet iron plates. A loud fellow in a striped silk shirt in front of a booth says—"Ring the cane and get the little lady a prize. Every cane a prize." She rings one and gets a box of stale candy. A dapper little man in knickers and an arsenic-green sweater bangs three black-taped halls on a counter and bawls "Knock the little dolls off the rack, and you get a Kewpie doll. Get the little lady a Kewpie doll. Three halls for a dime. Show you how easy it is. Try it. brother?" He sees the light in her eyes, and tries it. He wins her a [link painted bisque Kewpie doll with a stiff, red dress that sticks out from its body. It costs him ninety cents. She steers him into the Prison Exhibit and The World in Wax. Then they pass the Red Mill.

(Continued on page 60)

(Continued from page 24)

"Wanna take in the Red Mill, baby?"

"Ooooh, I'm. . . ."

"Yeah, I know, you're scared. Listen. this is only a boat ride. Nothing happens. You see pictures, like the Devil in Hell, and Venice by Moonlight."

"Yeah, but it's dark. You go along in dark places."

"Aw. Jesus, baby, it ain't all dark. Whaddya you got to be afraid of? Gimme two tickets, buddy. Come on, we get in here in the back."

"All rightie. . . ."

"Lemme get my arm around, baby."

"Ooooh, it's dark."

"Yeah."

"D'don't. . . ."

"What?"

"Kiss me like that!"

"Aw, baby."

"Oh!"

"Looka, there's Peary at the North Pole."

"It looks cold. It's pretty. 0, it's getting dark again."

"Uhuh!"

"Oh, don't do that. Please. . . ."

"Don't do what?"

"What . . . what you're doing."

"What am I doing?"

"O, no, no. Don't. . . ."

"Looka, there's the Inquisition. They're knockin' a coupla guys off. Those were the days. . .

"Ooooh, that's terrible."

"This isn't terrible, baby. You smell good. What kinda perfume you got on?"

"Deer Kiss. It's some of my girl friend's. Oh God, no . . . please . .

"Aw, baby, it's dark. W hat you got to be afraid of. Looka, there's Venice by Moonlight. I wish you and me was there right now, baby, don't you?"

"I dunno. . . ."

"Baby, what's your name?"

"Irma. What's yours?"

"Eddie. Irma, baby, I'm going for vou."

"Oh Eddie. . . Eddie. EDDIE'."

"Irma, baby, you got me going. I'm crazy about you, baby. Put your arms around me once."

"Oh Eddie, Eddie. Kiss me. Eddie, I love you. Oh. my God. I said it."

"Irma. I'm nuts over you. You're such a baby. Your hair is so soft. W here's your mouth, baby ? 1 want your mouth."

"Eddie, not here. It's getting light again. O no. It's all red everywhere."

"That's the Devil in Hell. baby. Don't get scared. It don't get verylight. Nobody's looking. Irma, you got me simply crazy. . . ."

"0, now it's dark. Eddie, kiss me. O Eddie. . . ."

"Do you love me, Irma?"

"Mmmmmra!"

"I love you, Irma!"

"Mmmmmmm."

"Irma! "

"Hold me close, Eddie. . . . Closer. Don't stop kissing me."

"Irma. . . . You ... I ... O baby!"

"Eddie! Your hair is so smooth. Put your check against mine a minute."

"Looka, baby, The Sultan's Harem. . . ."

"Eddie . . . don't take your mouth away. ... It's dark. . . . Eddie. . . ."

"The boat's coming out, Irma, baby. . . . Baby, we're coming out. . . ."

"Oooo yeah! Oooh, my God, looka me. 0 Eddie, you got me all mussed. O, honest, Eddie. . . ."

"Huh, looka me. I bet you got mouth all over my face. . . ."

"Eddie, you're grand. ... I never met a feller like you. . . ."

"Irma, you got me nuts over you."

They stand for a moment at the exit to the Red Mill, hot, damp, flushed and dishevelled. The girl's dark eyes are luminous beneath strands of her rumpled hair. The boy's patent leather stay-comb has been disturbed, and spikes of hair, heavily vaselined, are standing away from his head. His mouth is smeared with rouge. His tight-fitting coat has climbed up around his shoulders a little, and his tie has slipped around. They stand blinking into the blinding lights from the Freak Show opposite. A pudgy girl with stringy hlack hair down her back is weaving her hips from side to side on the platform, while a Zulu thumps a tom-tom.

"Eddie!"

"Yeah, baby."

"Let's go around again."

"Huh?"

"Let's go around again. . . . You and me, huh?"

"Yeah, sure, Irma, let's. Awright. Let's. I'll get tickets. We'll ... 0! 0! Irma, we don' wanna go around again, baby. Whadda we wanna go around again for? Do you wanna go around again?"

"Oh Eddie, yes. Come on."

"Aw, what for? We seen it once."

"Eddie ... I love you. Don't you love me?"

"Yeah, Irma, sure, I love you. We could go around again, only I haven't. 1 mean it's a lucky thing I looked. I musta lost a lot of dough outa my pocket. . . . I'm always losn' dough. 1 guess I musta lost a lot. . . ."

"O yeah. . . ."

"Yeah, sure, hut whadda I care? We had fun, didn' we, baby? Lissen. we don' wanna go around again. Whaddya say we have a ice cream cone and. . . ."

"0 yeah. ... I dowannany ice cream. 1 gotta go find my girl friend. . . ."

"Aw, Irma. . . . Lissen, I got enough. . . . You and me could go home and

"Ah, nuts!"

They start off in opposite directions, the girl clasping her box of sticky candy and the pink Kewpie, the color of which has begun to come off on her finger, the boy with his cane which he won somewhere along the line.