The Catcher in the Rye Page 18

  Old Phoebe didn’t say anything for a long time. Then, when she said something, all she said was, “Daddy’s going to kill you.”

  “I don’t give a damn if he does,” I said. I got up from the bed then, because what I wanted to do, I wanted to phone up this guy that was my English teacher at Elkton Hills, Mr. Antolini. He lived in New York now. He quit Elkton Hills. He took this job teaching English at N.Y.U. “I have to make a phone call,” I told Phoebe. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go to sleep.” I didn’t want her to go to sleep while I was in the living room. I knew she wouldn’t, but I said it anyway, just to make sure.

  While I was walking toward the door, old Phoebe said, “Holden!” and I turned around.

  She was sitting way up in bed. She looked so pretty. “I’m taking belching lessons from this girl, Phyllis Margulies,” she said. “Listen.”

  I listened, and I heard something, but it wasn’t much. “Good,” I said. Then I went out in the living room and called up this teacher I had, Mr. Antolini.

  23

  I MADE IT VERY SNAPPY on the phone because I was afraid my parents would barge in on me right in the middle of it. They didn’t, though. Mr. Antolini was very nice. He said I could come right over if I wanted to. I think I probably woke he and his wife up, because it took them a helluva long time to answer the phone. The first thing he asked me was if anything was wrong, and I said no. I said I’d flunked out of Pencey, though. I thought I might as well tell him. He said “Good God,” when I said that. He had a good sense of humor and all. He told me to come right over if I felt like it.

  He was about the best teacher I ever had, Mr. Antolini. He was a pretty young guy, not much older than my brother D.B., and you could kid around with him without losing your respect for him. He was the one that finally picked up that boy that jumped out the window I told you about, James Castle. Old Mr. Antolini felt his pulse and all, and then he took off his coat and put it over James Castle and carried him all the way over to the infirmary. He didn’t even give a damn if his coat got all bloody.

  When I got back to D.B.’s room, old Phoebe’d turned the radio on. This dance music was coming out. She’d turned it on low, though, so the maid wouldn’t hear it. You should’ve seen her. She was sitting smack in the middle of the bed, outside the covers, with her legs folded like one of those Yogi guys. She was listening to the music. She kills me.

  “C’mon,” I said. “You feel like dancing?” I taught her how to dance and all when she was a tiny little kid. She’s a very good dancer. I mean I just taught her a few things. She learned it mostly by herself. You can’t teach somebody how to really dance.

  “You have shoes on,” she said.

  “I’ll take ’em off. C’mon.”

  She practically jumped off the bed, and then she waited while I took my shoes off, and then I danced with her for a while. She’s really damn good. I don’t like people that dance with little kids, because most of the time it looks terrible. I mean if you’re out at a restaurant somewhere and you see some old guy take his little kid out on the dance floor. Usually they keep yanking the kid’s dress up in the back by mistake, and the kid can’t dance worth a damn anyway, and it looks terrible, but I don’t do it out in public with Phoebe or anything. We just horse around in the house. It’s different with her anyway, because she can dance. She can follow anything you do. I mean if you hold her in close as hell so that it doesn’t matter that your legs are so much longer. She stays right with you. You can cross over, or do some corny dips, or even jitterbug a little, and she stays right with you. You can even tango, for God’s sake.

  We danced about four numbers. In between numbers she’s funny as hell. She stays right in position. She won’t even talk or anything. You both have to stay right in position and wait for the orchestra to start playing again. That kills me. You’re not supposed to laugh or anything, either.

  Anyway, we danced about four numbers, and then I turned off the radio. Old Phoebe jumped back in bed and got under the covers. “I’m improving, aren’t I?” she asked me.

  “And how,” I said. I sat down next to her on the bed again. I was sort of out of breath. I was smoking so damn much, I had hardly any wind. She wasn’t even out of breath.

  “Feel my forehead,” she said all of a sudden.

  “Why?”

  “Feel it. Just feel it once.”

  I felt it. I didn’t feel anything, though.

  “Does it feel very feverish?” she said.

  “No. Is it supposed to?”

  “Yes—I’m making it. Feel it again.”

  I felt it again, and I still didn’t feel anything, but I said, “I think it’s starting to, now.” I didn’t want her to get a goddam inferiority complex.

  She nodded. “I can make it go up to over the thermoneter.”

  “Thermometer. Who said so?”

  “Alice Holmborg showed me how. You cross your legs and hold your breath and think of something very, very hot. A radiator or something. Then your whole forehead gets so hot you can burn somebody’s hand.”

  That killed me. I pulled my hand away from her forehead, like I was in terrific danger. “Thanks for telling me,” I said.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t’ve burned your hand. I’d’ve stopped before it got too—Shhh!” Then, quick as hell, she sat way the hell up in bed.

  She scared hell out of me when she did that. “What’s the matter?” I said.

  “The front door!” she said in this loud whisper. “It’s them!”

  I quick jumped up and ran over and turned off the light over the desk. Then I jammed out my cigarette on my shoe and put it in my pocket. Then I fanned hell out of the air, to get the smoke out—I shouldn’t even have been smoking, for God’s sake. Then I grabbed my shoes and got in the closet and shut the door. Boy, my heart was beating like a bastard.

  I heard my mother come in the room.

  “Phoebe?” she said. “Now, stop that. I saw the light, young lady.”

  “Hello!” I heard old Phoebe say. “I couldn’t sleep. Did you have a good time?”

  “Marvelous,” my mother said, but you could tell she didn’t mean it. She doesn’t enjoy herself much when she goes out. “Why are you awake, may I ask? Were you warm enough?”

  “I was warm enough, I just couldn’t sleep.”

  “Phoebe, have you been smoking a cigarette in here? Tell me the truth, please, young lady.”

  “What?” old Phoebe said.

  “You heard me.”

  “I just lit one for one second. I just took one puff. Then I threw it out the window.”

  “Why, may I ask?”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “I don’t like that, Phoebe. I don’t like that at all,” my mother said. “Do you want another blanket?”

  “No, thanks. G’night!” old Phoebe said. She was trying to get rid of her, you could tell.

  “How was the movie?” my mother said.

  “Excellent. Except Alice’s mother. She kept leaning over and asking her if she felt grippy during the whole entire movie. We took a taxi home.”

  “Let me feel your forehead.”

  “I didn’t catch anything. She didn’t have anything. It was just her mother.”

  “Well. Go to sleep now. How was your dinner?”

  “Lousy,” Phoebe said.

  “You heard what your father said about using that word. What was lousy about it? You had a lovely lamb chop. I walked all over Lexington Avenue just to—”

  “The lamb chop was all right, but Charlene always breathes on me whenever she puts something down. She breathes all over the food and everything. She breathes on everything.”

  “Well. Go to sleep. Give Mother a kiss. Did you say your prayers?”

  “I said them in the bathroom. G’night!”

  “Good night. Go right to sleep now. I have a splitting headache,” my mother said. She gets headaches quite frequently. She really does.

  “Take a few aspirins,” old Phoebe said. “Hol
den’ll be home on Wednesday, won’t he?”

  “So far as I know. Get under there, now. Way down.”

  I heard my mother go out and close the door. I waited a couple of minutes. Then I came out of the closet. I bumped smack into old Phoebe when I did it, because it was so dark and she was out of bed and coming to tell me. “I hurt you?” I said. You had to whisper now, because they were both home. “I gotta get a move on,” I said. I found the edge of the bed in the dark and sat down on it and started putting on my shoes. I was pretty nervous. I admit it.

  “Don’t go now,” Phoebe whispered. “Wait’ll they’re asleep!”

  “No. Now. Now’s the best time,” I said. “She’ll be in the bathroom and Daddy’ll turn on the news or something. Now’s the best time.” I could hardly tie my shoelaces, I was so damn nervous. Not that they would’ve killed me or anything if they’d caught me home, but it would’ve been very unpleasant and all. “Where the hell are ya?” I said to old Phoebe. It was so dark I couldn’t see her.

  “Here.” She was standing right next to me. I didn’t even see her.

  “I got my damn bags at the station,” I said. “Listen. You got any dough, Phoeb? I’m practically broke.”

  “Just my Christmas dough. For presents and all. I haven’t done any shopping at all yet.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t want to take her Christmas dough.

  “You want some?” she said.

  “I don’t want to take your Christmas dough.”

  “I can lend you some,” she said. Then I heard her over at D.B.’s desk, opening a million drawers and feeling around with her hand. It was pitch-black, it was so dark in the room. “If you go away, you won’t see me in the play,” she said. Her voice sounded funny when she said it.

  “Yes, I will. I won’t go way before that. You think I wanna miss the play?” I said. “What I’ll do, I’ll probably stay at Mr. Antolini’s house till maybe Tuesday night. Then I’ll come home. If I get a chance, I’ll phone ya.”

  “Here,” old Phoebe said. She was trying to give me the dough, but she couldn’t find my hand.

  “Where?”

  She put the dough in my hand.

  “Hey, I don’t need all this,” I said. “Just give me two bucks, is all. No kidding—Here.” I tried to give it back to her, but she wouldn’t take it.

  “You can take it all. You can pay me back. Bring it to the play.”

  “How much is it, for God’s sake?”

  “Eight dollars and eighty-five cents. Sixty-five cents. I spent some.”

  Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. I did it so nobody could hear me, but I did it. It scared hell out of old Phoebe when I started doing it, and she came over and tried to make me stop, but once you get started, you can’t just stop on a goddam dime. I was still sitting on the edge of the bed when I did it, and she put her old arm around my neck, and I put my arm around her, too, but I still couldn’t stop for a long time. I thought I was going to choke to death or something. Boy, I scared hell out of poor old Phoebe. The damn window was open and everything, and I could feel her shivering and all, because all she had on was her pajamas. I tried to make her get back in bed, but she wouldn’t go. Finally I stopped. But it certainly took me a long, long time. Then I finished buttoning my coat and all. I told her I’d keep in touch with her. She told me I could sleep with her if I wanted to, but I said no, that I’d better beat it, that Mr. Antolini was waiting for me and all. Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat pocket and gave it to her. She likes those kind of crazy hats. She didn’t want to take it, but I made her. I’ll bet she slept with it on. She really likes those kind of hats. Then I told her again I’d give her a buzz if I got a chance, and then I left.

  It was a helluva lot easier getting out of the house than it was getting in, for some reason. For one thing, I didn’t give much of a damn any more if they caught me. I really didn’t. I figured if they caught me, they caught me. I almost wished they did, in a way.

  I walked all the way downstairs, instead of taking the elevator. I went down the back stairs. I nearly broke my neck on about ten million garbage pails, but I got out all right. The elevator boy didn’t even see me. He probably still thinks I’m up at the Dicksteins’.

  24

  MR. AND MRS. ANTOLINI had this very swanky apartment over on Sutton Place, with two steps that you go down to get in the living room, and a bar and all. I’d been there quite a few times, because after I left Elkton Hills Mr. Antolini came up to our house for dinner quite frequently to find out how I was getting along. He wasn’t married then. Then when he got married, I used to play tennis with he and Mrs. Antolini quite frequently, out at the West Side Tennis Club, in Forest Hills, Long Island. Mrs. Antolini belonged there. She was lousy with dough. She was about sixty years older than Mr. Antolini, but they seemed to get along quite well. For one thing, they were both very intellectual, especially Mr. Antolini, except that he was more witty than intellectual when you were with him, sort of like D.B. Mrs. Antolini was mostly serious. She had asthma pretty bad. They both read all D.B.’s stories—Mrs. Antolini, too—and when D.B. went to Hollywood, Mr. Antolini phoned him up and told him not to go. He went anyway, though. Mr. Antolini said that anybody that could write like D.B. had no business going out to Hollywood. That’s exactly what I said, practically.

  I would have walked down to their house, because I didn’t want to spend any of Phoebe’s Christmas dough that I didn’t have to, but I felt funny when I got outside. Sort of dizzy. So I took a cab. I didn’t want to, but I did. I had a helluva time even finding a cab.

  Old Mr. Antolini answered the door when I rang the bell—after the elevator boy finally let me up, the bastard. He had on his bathrobe and slippers, and he had a highball in one hand. He was a pretty sophisticated guy, and he was a pretty heavy drinker. “Holden, m’boy!” he said. “My God, he’s grown another twenty inches. Fine to see you.”

  “How are you, Mr. Antolini? How’s Mrs. Antolini?”

  “We’re both just dandy. Let’s have that coat.” He took my coat off me and hung it up. “I expected to see a day-old infant in your arms. Nowhere to turn. Snowflakes in your eyelashes.” He’s a very witty guy sometimes. He turned around and yelled out to the kitchen, “Lillian! How’s the coffee coming?” Lillian was Mrs. Antolini’s first name.

  “It’s all ready,” she yelled back. “Is that Holden? Hello, Holden!”

  “Hello, Mrs. Antolini!”

  You were always yelling when you were there. That’s because the both of them were never in the same room at the same time. It was sort of funny.

  “Sit down, Holden,” Mr. Antolini said. You could tell he was a little oiled up. The room looked like they’d just had a party. Glasses were all over the place, and dishes with peanuts in them. “Excuse the appearance of the place,” he said. “We’ve been entertaining some Buffalo friends of Mrs. Antolini’s… Some buffaloes, as a matter of fact.”

  I laughed, and Mrs. Antolini yelled something in to me from the kitchen, but I couldn’t hear her. “What’d she say?” I asked Mr. Antolini.

  “She said not to look at her when she comes in. She just arose from the sack. Have a cigarette. Are you smoking now?”

  “Thanks,” I said. I took a cigarette from this box he offered me. “Just once in a while. I’m a moderate smoker.”

  “I’ll bet you are,” he said. He gave me a light from this big lighter off the table. “So. You and Pencey are no longer one,” he said. He always said things that way. Sometimes it amused me a lot and sometimes it didn’t. He sort of did it a little bit too much. I don’t mean he wasn’t witty or anything—he was—but sometimes it gets on your nerves when somebody’s always saying things like “So you and Pencey are no longer one.” D.B. does it too much sometimes, too.

  “What was the trouble?” Mr. Antolini asked me. “How’d you do in English? I’ll show you the door in short order if you flunked English, you little ace composition writer.”

  “
Oh, I passed English all right. It was mostly literature, though. I only wrote about two compositions the whole term,” I said. “I flunked Oral Expression, though. They had this course you had to take, Oral Expression. That I flunked.”

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” I didn’t feel much like going into it. I was still feeling sort of dizzy or something, and I had a helluva headache all of a sudden. I really did. But you could tell he was interested, so I told him a little bit about it. “It’s this course where each boy in class has to get up in class and make a speech. You know. Spontaneous and all. And if the boy digresses at all, you’re supposed to yell ‘Digression!’ at him as fast as you can. It just about drove me crazy. I got an F in it.”

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. That digression business got on my nerves. I don’t know. The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It’s more interesting and all.”

  “You don’t care to have somebody stick to the point when he tells you something?”

  “Oh, sure! I like somebody to stick to the point and all. But I don’t like them to stick too much to the point. I don’t know. I guess I don’t like it when somebody sticks to the point all the time. The boys that got the best marks in Oral Expression were the ones that stuck to the point all the time—I admit it. But there was this one boy, Richard Kinsella. He didn’t stick to the point too much, and they were always yelling ‘Digression!’ at him. It was terrible, because in the first place, he was a very nervous guy—I mean he was a very nervous guy—and his lips were always shaking whenever it was his time to make a speech, and you could hardly hear him if you were sitting way in the back of the room. When his lips sort of quit shaking a little bit, though, I liked his speeches better than anybody else’s. He practically flunked the course, though, too. He got a D plus because they kept yelling ‘Digression!’ at him all the time. For instance, he made this speech about this farm his father bought in Vermont. They kept yelling ‘Digression!’ at him the whole time he was making it, and this teacher, Mr. Vinson, gave him an F on it because he hadn’t told what kind of animals and vegetables and stuff grew on the farm and all. What he did was, Richard Kinsella, he’d start telling you all about that stuff—then all of a sudden he’d start telling you about this letter his mother got from his uncle, and how his uncle got polio and all when he was forty-two years old, and how he wouldn’t let anybody come to see him in the hospital because he didn’t want anybody to see him with a brace on. It didn’t have much to do with the farm—I admit it—but it was nice. It’s nice when somebody tells you about their uncle. Especially when they start out telling you about their father’s farm and then all of a sudden get more interested in their uncle. I mean it’s dirty to keep yelling ‘Digression!’ at him when he’s all nice and excited.… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” I didn’t feel too much like trying, either. For one thing, I had this terrific headache all of a sudden. I wished to God old Mrs. Antolini would come in with the coffee. That’s something that annoys hell out of me—I mean if somebody says the coffee’s all ready and it isn’t.