Cannery Row Page #5

He liked the Snow White theme,

but a future President of the United

States could not go as a dwarf.

It wasn't dignified.

The boys didn't agree on who should

be who, so they all went as trees.

I wish Hazel was here. He's such

a mug you forget he's sensitive.

I could have figured out a costume

for him if I'd have thought about it.

That's nice.

Joseph and Mary went as Dracula.

He hadn't seen Snow White,

but to him a movie was a movie.

- Somebody's coming.

- Thanks, kid.

All right, he's coming!

Surprise!

Which dwarf is that?

It's George Washington, you idiot.

- How do I look?

- Sweet, Hazel.

I couldn't have done better myself.

Okay, everybody. False alarm.

Jones, you don't look good as an oak,

I should wear that.

Fine, I wanted

to be a palm tree anyway.

Surprise!

Good to see you, Doc!

We got you all kinds of frogs,

so we decided to celebrate.

Fine. It's just the way

you guys are dressed...

Don't worry. It'll all come clear.

Let's get her going.

One... Two...

This Snow White thing is ridiculous.

I feel like a fool dressed this way.

Just trust me, will you?

I know what goes over in this town.

- Hey, Mack. They're here.

- Okay, everybody. Quiet!

Ladies and gentlemen...

I bring you the belle of the ball

for whom this party was named for.

I bring you Snow White!

This being such a happy occasion

with Doc getting his frogs,

we might as well shoot the works

and make it a real blow-out.

In case some of you don't know it,

Doc and Snow White here

are almost sweethearts.

There just don't seem to be

no stopping them.

Doc's going to San Francisco in

a couple of days for this convention.

I forget what you call it.

Anyway, we were thinking,

wouldn't it be nice if he took

the kid here to keep him company,

and show them jerks up there

what kind of material he runs with.

So, me and the boys have rented

these two the Ambassador Suite

at the Fairmont Hotel

for the whole weekend.

Ain't that a pistol?

How about it, Doc?

Go and get your girl.

Well, I don't know if Suzy would

like these people much up there.

I mean... it's...

They're very stuffy.

A lot of technical jargon.

Marine biologists...

Cephalopoda...

What do I do?

Go over and take her hand, you jerk!

Don't leave her standing there.

Fauna, forget it.

He won't go through with it.

I've been thinking it over and...

I... I accept.

The hell you do!

Suzy! Wait a second.

I'm sorry.

What can I do to make it up?

You can drop dead!

I've got to get out of here.

Come on, strike up the band.

Don't worry, everybody.

Doc will bring her back soon.

By 1am, Doc was still not back.

Everyone wondered where he was.

Then some fraternity boys dropped by

and the rest is history.

- Party!

- Come on, let's go.

Look at him. They'll let anyone

in here. What do you charge in here?

- It's a whorehouse, isn't it?

- It's a party at my friend's house.

All right, we'll settle for a party.

This place could use a little class.

Sure, we love guys with class.

Get that guy!

Take that, you little pansy!

Come on. Come on!

I've got you now. Take that!

Come on. Come back and fight!

Come and fight like a man, bookworm!

Around two o'clock the invaders were

finally driven from Doc's place.

At 2:
30, only Hazel and Monterey

College's right tackle were left.

Even they were wearing down.

You can only have so much fun.

Oh, no. Doc's gonna kill us.

By 2:
45, the party was over.

Nobody wondered

where Doc was any more.

- Did you do this?

- Doc, I and the boys...

- Did you do this, Mack?

- We didn't mean...

Get up!

Go ahead. I've got it coming.

You son of a b*tch, Mack.

You stupid son of a b*tch!

Mack...

..go wipe off your face.

What happened?

We kept going with the party.

We thought you'd be back.

It got out of hand. It don't do

no good to say I'm sorry.

It just got all screwed up.

We'll fix up in here.

We'll pay for all the damages.

No. I'll clean it up, Mack.

I know where everything goes.

We'll pay.

No, you'll worry about it,

but you won't pay for it.

There's over $300

of broken museum glass here alone.

Don't say you'll pay for it.

That'll just make you feel uneasy.

It would be 2 or 3 years before you

forgot about it and felt good again.

Then you wouldn't pay for it anyway.

We've got to do something!

Let's just forget about it.

I'm over it now.

Mack,

you know that fellow I was fighting?

- Yeah.

- He's a hell of a nice guy.

- We should have him over one night.

- I'll get right on it.

So long, Doc.

Mack, you still think

they'll want me for President?

I don't think Presidents

go to parties like this.

Despite Doc's professed forgiveness,

a black gloom settled over the Row.

Doc just holed up in his house,

biding time till the spring tide

started so he could get more octopi.

It didn't even cross his mind

to call Ellen Sedgewick.

And then there was Suzy.

Using money

she borrowed from Fauna,

she bought $27 worth of household

furnishings and building materials.

When she moved this stuff into

the Hediondo Cannery's old boiler,

everyone assumed she was

just going to store it there.

Little did they know it was going

to become her home.

At first,

no one expected her to stick it out.

But when she started working at

the Golden Poppy for tips and meals,

it was obvious she wasn't

going back to the Bear Flag.

Fauna pleaded with her to board

at the Flag, but Suzy was adamant.

You guys are looking at a fool.

I'm a reasonable man. IQ of 152.

University of Chicago.

A Masters and PhD. What do you say?

I know.

Now regard this man.

He's about to pay a call

on a girl living in a boiler.

He's got half a pound

of chocolates for her -

a damn cornball

approach if there ever was one.

And he's scared stiff.

Why? I'll tell you why.

He's afraid she won't

approve of him.

This girl who is ignorant

of everything he prides himself on.

How can she not know

how smart I am?

She thinks that table she made

is good. It's mediocre, isn't it?

Even if I manage to win her over,

there's going to be

many times I regret it.

The only thing we have in common

is that we're wrong for each other.

But if I let her go...

..I'll miss her badly.

More than I'll ever regret it.

I can't listen to you guys any more.

You don't know your ass about

romance. You don't even have an ass.

Wish me luck.

Thank you.

- Who is it?

- It's I.

Me... Something like that.

Hey, Doc.

I've got something for you.

- That's nice. Hansen Toffees.

- How did you know?

Because I'm allergic to them.

Suzy, this is a formal call.

I was hoping you might ask me in.

There ain't a lot of room in here.

What the hell. Come on in.

You got to...

Watch your tie. Yeah.

It's a little hard to see at first.

I'll put the lamp on.

This welder's gonna come and

cut me some windows in the side.

- You've done a hell of a job.

- I'm still working on it.

But I don't know how I'm gonna

get curtains up on these windows.

What would stick cloth to metal?

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