You must know that in Jack T., who lived at the very end of the cemetery,
one of the Cayuga Street gang members, before he went to the War in Vietnam,
was a pleasant young man of an honorable family, and he himself of that account,
he and Evens often times went girl hunting with his 1958 Olds 88; drank much
together.
Jack drunk one night at the Mt. Airy
Bar, had told the story of running over several Vietnamese citizens, while in
the Asian country of Vietnam during the war, purposely, because they’d not
vacate the road, and he was fearful of stopping his five ton truck, fearful
that is, of the VC whom often used this as a tactic to lure GI’s into their
trip and take them prisoners, becoming POW’s, and thereafter—after having run
them over, killing several women and children and whomever—he had to scrap skin and guts off the front
fender of his five ton truck. After hearing this story, Evens got thinking, he
had changed that much, and perhaps not for the better: being colder, distant,
less caring—but who’s to say what war does to a man?
One night Jack went to Evens’ part-time
girlfriend’s apartment, on Sycamore Street, Sharon O’s. He was hoping to speak to her, and obtain
what he desired from her, while Evens was off getting drunk with a few members
of the Donkeyland, somewhere. While visiting, Jack thought it a good idea to
become a little friendlier. His request
to wait for Chick Evens in the best he could, was accepted, so now he had a
better pretext to speak to her and woo her. But this was little help to him,
she took no interest (or so she would claim later). Soon after, with the language of his eyes, and harshness of his voice,
she knew something was up. But this would be of little help to her. And she
heard his declaration, “Strip or bear the consequences!” (Although the consequences was never explained, only imagined…)
Now naked as a jaybird, not long
afterwards, for some reason or other, Sharon and Jack became award of Evens’
voice along with Bill K’s outside. And whatever may have been the satisfaction
he found in that moment, he preserved it, he put aside his thought, and Sharon
came running down and out from the second floor apartment, naked out onto the
street she ran up to Evens. And Jack T., came down right behind her,
afterwards, perhaps ten-seconds later, ‘Ah! What shameful thing happen to make
her naked?’ thought Evens, awaiting for Sharon to speak.
“He tried to rape me!” quickly explained
Sharon, and now Jack appeared at the door entrance.
“No,” yelled Jack having overheard her, and
then approached Evens and Sharon O., “I told her to take off her clothes, and
she did, that’s all I said, I swear nothing more!”
“But he threatened me with his eyes and
actions, and harsh voice!” exclaimed Sharon.
They strutted along to the apartment
archway, “I’m calling the police,” alleged Sharon.
Evens said nothing, thinking let them
settle the issue. She wasn’t so wholesome herself.
“What is worse,” cried Jack, to Evens,
as Sharon stepped ahead of them: “that I should go to jail for years for an
attempt, with no physical force to have this woman, that I already bear the
shame, let me apologize and let us forget it all.”
It was gouty, scanty, unfair, thought
Sharon, listening to his proposal as a third person, from a distance, now being
covered by Evens’ coat.
He saw she wanted revenge, not an
apology. And thus, as they went back up into her apartment, her boldness grew,
with Evens being present, as Jack’s cry’s for mercy got louder; then he urge
more insistently upon Evens to base his decision of speaking up for him—so
Sharon would not call the police—on their long-term friendship, and being one
of the boys of Donkeyland, that she was just no more than an intruder.
Sharon pretended to laugh, and said:
“Ah! Now you’re not so onerous!”
‘Foolish Jack was,’ thought Evens, and to Evens it was a great immorality
to force a woman, any woman to do what she did not want to do willingly, feeling
how could a man, any man even get an erection, should he venture to try by force, it was to him
despicable. But God pardons the greatest of sins, and sinners, to those who
repent, “Did he lie with you?” asked Evens.
“Why,” and she hesitated, “nearly!” she
responded, with a hesitant voice.
Sharon was not sure how to rely to his
argument.
There was no suspicion that Jack did any
more than what he said. And it was agreeable, he would apologize and never see
her again. Jack fell in to a swoon of relief.
But that broke the tie between Mr. Evens and Jack T.
Sharon paced to and fro saying “What?
What?” as if she was making a mistake, and fell into a swoon of regret; yet
luckily for Jack, she didn’t insist.
Confused, Evens was going to leave, but before
he did, Sharon O., commented, “Don’t go yet, or you will spoil what has been
done. Wait.”
He had heard everything, knew there
would be little gossip, but there wasn’t much.
And if one is to look at this closer,
the irony might be, Jack T., married one of Chick’s old girlfriends, a Mexican
of good quality, and breeding. However, when he had heard this, he thought:
‘How great and varied are this man’s powers of persuasion! What resources of
shrewdness he must have! Even the worse of men, can find a good woman.’
No: 1099/7-16-2015
