Read Soul of a Whore and Purvis Online
Authors: Denis Johnson
CLERK
: I'm really not the one to tell. Greyhound
Doesn't hire clerks to sit in judgment.
JOHN
: You think they care who killed that girl?
She was in for worse stuff than my mom.
They needed to close the book on it, they needed
A simple picture for the media,
And so they put my mother in a frame.
CLERK
: Hey, I don't sit here judging. All I know
Is what the TV wants for me to know,
Like all Americans everywhere. That girl
Was sort of innocent, tooâI mean, the years
Of booze and dope had bleached her brain to white,
To where she couldn't even tell her name.
She'd woken up in bed with some deceased
Farmer with the handle of a dagger
Jutting from his neckâor, I don't know,
A belly full of buckshotâanyhow,
The whole bed squishy with his murdered gore
And this amnesiac harlot rolling in it
Like a log in a flood. So, you say the crimes
You can't remember? Well, she did her time
Without a memory of
any
thing, until
Another prisoner kills her with a broomstick.
These are the details of a blameless life.
And if your mother's blameless, too, another
Innocent heading for the axeâall right:
Now you know what universe you're in.
But I will listen to the radio.
BILL JENKS
: For I've been purged with tears! Baptized by water!
Washed in saving blood! And turned out blank
And white as platinum on a sunny morningâ
[
As
FIRST BUS DRIVER
enters
]
Which bus is this?
CLERK
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Magic Bus, I guess,
Materializing most miraculously.
Have I got everybody's vouchers here?
Has everybody got their tickets? [
To
MASHA
] Ma'am?
He's gonna want a ticket. Ma'am?
DRIVER 1
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â OK,
I'm hardly pausing to relieve myself.
Line 'em up and march 'em on, let's roll.
Folks, come on, I haven't got till Xmas.
You wanna get your big old cross aboard?
JOHN
: I didn't think you'd haul it.
DRIVER 1
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Crosses, stars,
Hearts-and-arrows, circles, figure eightsâ
It pays, it rides. This ain't no limousine.
BILL JENKS
: This ain't no paradise.
MASHA
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â This ain't no blowjob!
DRIVER 1
: Hey, Patoot. You better curb the lingo.
'Board for Houston, Texas! Rock and roll!
JOHN
: But I don't go to Houston, Mr. Driver.
DRIVER 1
: Today you do. The northbound lanes have had it.
You want the Dallas bus, then be prepared
To languish. This day, everybody's Houston.
Yeahâsooner or later, everybody's Houston.
Git it while you can! Last call for Houston!
DRIVER 1
exits.
BILL JENKS
: Sooner or later Houston gets us all.
CLERK
: Well, sorryâI can't rewrite all y'all:
Your vouchers say to Dallas. And, now, ma'am:
I'd like to write you up for Dallas, since
The fact is otherwise you're loitering.
MASHA
: Fact is I know a blowjob when I see one.
Fact is I'm here to use the phone.
Sound of bus leaving.
CLERK
: There she goesâ¦She didn't waste no time.
Folks, we're on the bus schedule from Hell.
BJ
extends his hand to
JOHN
.
BILL JENKS
: William Jennings Bryan Jenks. The first.
JOHN
: That's funny. 'Cause my dad is named like that:
Oliver Wendell Homes Cassandraâ¦Yeah.
BILL JENKS
: Cassandra. There's a name I've always hated.
JOHN
: Also the first. His folks misspelled it, though.
BILL JENKS
: Misspelled “the first”?
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â No. “Holmes.”
BILL JENKS
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Don't call me Holmes.
This ain't the 'hood.
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â NoâThey forgot the
L
.
H-O-L-M-E-S. Get it? “Holmes.”
BILL JENKS
: Don't call me Holmes. I ain't your homey, John.
JOHN
: Don't call me John. Aahâ
BILL JENKS
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Well, then, what's your name?
JOHN
:âShit. It's John. But not like
that
, I mean.
Just call me John like
John
. Like it's my
name
.
BILL JENKS
: I see. Andâmissing any letters, John?
JOHN
: My dad is missing the
L
in his, is all.
BILL JENKS
: “Oliver Wendell Homes Cassandra.” Wow.
I think your family may be known to me.
You wouldn't have a brother?
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I'd have two.
BILL JENKS
: Would one be Mark?
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â We call him Cass.
BILL JENKS
: I had some dealings with a Mark Cassandra
From California. Actually, I shot him.
Actually, more than once. I shot him twice.
Not twice on one occasionâonce
On each of two quite separate occasions.
Once by mistakeâthe second time, on purpose.
Popped him like a Coney Island clown.
JOHN
: I know all about it. He's my brother.
BILL JENKS
: Mark Cassandra.
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Yes, sir. Mark Cassandra.
BILL JENKS
: I don't think we're going to be friends.
A
SECOND BUS DRIVER
enters.
DRIVER 2
: Folks, I got as many seats as you got butts
To fill 'em up, but what I lack is time
To mess around and all, so git along,
And all aboard, and off we go, and so on.
JOHN
: Ma'am, can you point me where to put this cross?
DRIVER 2
: I don't believe I will. That's not allowed.
The glory train don't carry no religious
Signifying statues of any type,
No banners, emblems, images, or icons,
No crosses, crescents, Hebrew hexagrams,
No Guadalupey Ladies, no Buddhistic
Eight-armed elephants from Hindustan;
None but the uncreated, changeless, true,
Eternal, kind of gray and kind of blue
Dog in flight. I guess you could say pewter.
Pewter is the color of the greyhound.
Houston! Austin! San Antonio!
JOHN
: You're going to
Houston
, is it, ma'am?
BILL JENKS
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Farâout.
JOHN
: Butâwhat about the bus to Dallas?
DRIVER 2
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Houston,
Houston, Texas! San Antonio!
JOHN
: But we just had a gal in here announced
That
she
was the Houston bus.
DRIVER 2
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Nope. She was Dallas.
A Dallas driver will generally lie.
That's why I stay the heck away from Dallas.
Heck, they killed the president in Dallas.
Houston's the place you need to be.
BILL JENKS
: But then, of course,
you
could be lying, too.
DRIVER 2
: That's absolutely the case. You're catching on.
Yes. I could be a lying Dallas driverâ¦
Aboard for Houston! If thou dost believe!
[
Exits; fading O.S.
]
â¦Ten nine eight seven six five four three twoâ¦
Sound of bus leaving.
JOHN
: This is total bullshit. Nothing less.
BILL JENKS
: If they can mess with you, they mess with
you.
That's a fact of nature here in Texasâ
I'm speaking as a Mississippianâ
But, also: Don't you ask for disrespect
By traveling your way in prison whites?
I speak now as a Mississippian
With nothing but the highest, deepest, fullest
Regard for your West Coast Cassandra clan,
Excluding, naturally, that full-on, rank,
Hellborn, Hellbound slut-soul, your brother Mark,
Who spawned his own self fucking his own mother.
JOHN
: That's some rowdy talk! You better hope
The prison preaching holds, and I stay Christian!
BILL JENKS
: I'd never've done my time without that kid
Making himself such goshdarn fun to shoot.
JOHN
: He dropped the charges.
BILL JENKS
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â That was good of himâ
JOHN
: He'd never send a guy to jail. He's just
A crook himself. But, now, revengeâ
Revenge is something I'd be counting on.
It's truly amazing he passed up on that;
It's basically miraculous he failed
To hunt you down and gut you like a frog.
BILL JENKS
: He did run me to groundâthe second time.
That's partly why I let him have another.
The first time was by accident, and then
Instead of letting bygones just be bygones,
Here he comes
again
â
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â To make
amends.
â¦That's right. My brother's sober now
About a year and seven months: I'm
proud
.
BILL JENKS
: Amends? Amends?
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Like in the twelve-step program.
Number nine, you go and make amends.
BILL JENKS
: Alcoholics Anonymous, you mean?
He never said.
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â You didn't let him say.
BILL JENKS
: Then let
me
say the little lunatic
Stole near a pound of my cocaine, then
flushed
it.
How was he going to make amends for that?
They're squaring offâ
CLERK
intervenesâ
CLERK
: John Cassandra!âwell, they cut your hair
And shaved your beard, but I think you're the man
Stood on the roof of a parking ramp in Dallas
Shooting folks and threatening suicide.
JOHN
: I didn't shoot nobody.
CLERK
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shooting
at.
JOHN
: In the
direction
where they
were
, let's sayâ
BILL JENKS
: I guess it's fortunate no Kennedys
Happened to be strolling by that day.
CLERK
: Just settle down. Just settle down. RIGHT NOW.
JOHN
: I'm willing to. I didn't come for this.
CLERK
: I can get you back in prison quick!
JOHN:
He's
the one who's escalating from
A simple conversation to a riot!
âWhy? Because you want to stop your ears.
BILL JENKS
: I what? I what?
JOHN
: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â You want to stop your ears
And hide your heart from the Holy Spirit's prompting.
BILL JENKS
: Come again? Sorryâmy ears are stoppedâ
JOHN
: Peruse the facts: You shoot my brother twice,
He lets you skate, but you get busted later,
Exactly at the proper time and place
To land you in the Walls the same as me,
And get you
out
the same as me, and put you
here
â
The same as me. Is this coincidence?
You and I are strangled up together.
We've got our fates in a knot. And here we stand.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, here we stand.
BILL JENKS
: I ain't the quickest rabbit in the pack,
I guess the record proves that much, but, God,
I hope to Christ by now I've learned enough
To leave that Holy Spirit shit alone.