The Grapes of Wrath Page #55

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He stops. Pa is peering in the screen door. Beside him Ruthie

and Winfield have their noses flattened against the screen.

Mae looks at Pa.

MAE:

Yeah?

PA:

Could you see your way clear to sell

us a loaf of bread, ma'am.

MAE:

This ain't a groc'ry store. We got

bread to make san'widges with.

PA:

I know, ma'am... on'y it's for a ole

lady, no teeth, gotta sof'n it with

water so she can chew it, an' she's

hongry.

MAE:

Whyn't you buy a san'wich? We got

nice san'widges.

PA:

(embarrassed)

I shore would like to do that, ma'am,

but the fack is, we ain't got but a

dime for it. It's all figgered out,

I mean--for the trip.

MAE:

You can't get no loaf a bread for a

dime. We only got fifteen-cent loafs.

BERT:

(an angry whisper)

Give 'em the bread.

MAE:

We'll run out 'fore the bread truck

comes.

BERT:

Awright then, run out!

Mae shrugs at the truck drivers, to indicate what she's up

against, while Bert mashes his hamburgers savagely with the

spatula.

MAE:

Come in.

Pa and the two children come in as Mae opens a drawer and

pulls out a long waxpaper-covered loaf of bread. The children

have been drawn to the candy showcase and are staring in at

the goodies.

MAE:

This here's a fifteen-cent loaf.

PA:

Would you--could you see your way to

cuttin' off ten cents worth?

BERT:

(a clinched teeth

order)

Give 'im the loaf!

PA:

No, sir, we wanta buy ten cents worth,

thas all.

MAE:

(sighing)

You can have this for ten cents.

PA:

I don't wanta rob you, ma'am.

MAE:

(with resignation)

Go ahead--Bert says take it.

Taking out his pouch, Pa digs into it, feels around with his

fingers for a dime, as he apologizes.

PA:

May soun' funny to be so tight, but

we got a thousan' miles to go, an'

we don't know if we'll make it.

But when he puts the dime down on the counter he has a penny

with it. He is about to drop this back in the pouch when his

eyes fall on the children staring at the candy. Slowly he

moves down to see what they are looking at. Then:

PA:

Is them penny candy, ma'am?

The children look up with a gasp, their big eyes on Mae as

she moves down behind the counter.

MAE:

Which ones?

PA:

There, them stripy ones.

Mae looks from the candy to the children. They have stopped

breathing, their eyes on the candy.

MAE:

Oh, them? Well, no--them's *two* for

a penny.

PA:

Well, give me two then, ma'am.

He places the penny carefully on the counter and Mae holds

the sticks of candy out to the children. They look up at Pa.

PA:

(beaming)

Sure, take 'em, take 'em!

Rigid with embarrassment, they accept the candy, looking

neither at it nor at each other. Pa picks up the loaf of

bread and they scramble for the door. At the door Pa turns

back.

PA:

Thank you, ma'am.

The door slams. Bill turns back from staring after them.

BILL:

Them wasn't two-for-a-cent candy.

MAE:

(belligerently)

What's it to you?

BILL:

Them was nickel apiece candy.

FRED:

We got to get goin'. We're droppin'

time.

Both reach in their pockets, but when Fred sees what Bill

has put down he reaches again and duplicates it. As they go

out of the door...

BILL:

So long.

MAE:

Hey, wait a minute. You got change

comin'.

BILL'S VOICE

(from outside)

What's it to you?

As Mae watches them through the window, her eyes warm, Bert

walks around the counter to the three slot machines, a paper

with figures on it in his hand. The truck roars outside and

moves off. Mae looks down again at the coins.

MAE:

(softly)

Bert.

BERT:

(playing a machine)

What ya want?

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