Joe laid the bills down on the edge of his desk. After a while she picked them up in tremulous hands. The old face began to work in an extraordinary manner. “Oh Joe . . .” she stammered. “Oh, Joe . . . !”
Joe ran a hand through his sleek hair. “For God’s sake, don’t turn on the waterworks here!” he said. “You never did that!”
“I’m broke, Joe!” she wailed. “I got no resistance no more!”
“Oh, for God’s sake!” cried Joe, striding up and down. “. . . For God’s sake when you get in your new place keep yourself clean! I suppose you’re too old to change your ways much, but you can keep clean! . . . Your face is dirty! . . .”
“Yes, Joe. . . . I gotta thank you, Joe.”
“Don’t make me laugh!” said Joe. “I’m no philanthropist! I want things fixed in a certain way between you and me, and I’m willing to pay for it. If you ever come around me again, the deal is off, see? Beat it now.”
But she lingered. She plucked up a little courage. “If you was to see the youngest, Joe. . . . He’s a smart kid. Something could be made of him. . . .”
“Then make it,” said Joe. “You’re his mutter. You’ve got money, now.”
“I t’ink he’s like you, Joe.”
“Useless!” said Joe, grinning. “You can’t touch my heart. . . . I couldn’t do nothing with a boy off the streets.”