Chapter Eleven- I got old Jane Gallagher one the brain again.

On my way out of the lobby I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again. I got her on, and I couldn't get her off. All I could think about was Stradlater sitting in that goddam Ed banky's car, thought im pretty sure Stradlater hadn't given her the time, I knew Jane too well, I knew her like a book.I still couldn't get her off my brain. Every morning we used to play tennis and then golf nearly every afternoon. I got to know her quite intimatly. Not physical or anything. You don't have to get physical to know a girl.

I met her all because of this Doberman Pinscher she used to have. Well every morning, it used to come over and relieve itself on our lawn. This really irritated my mother, she would make a big deal out of everything and called up Jane's mother to argue about it. The what happened was I saw Jane laying on her stomach next to the swimming pool at the club so I said helloe to her. She lived next door but we had never spoken until now. She gave me a big freeze that day, and it took me a helluva time trying to convince her that I didn't care where her goddam dog relieved himself. Anyway, after that Jane and I got to be friends and all. I played golf with her that same afternoon. I'm a very good golfer, and it took me ages to try and show Jane how to hit the ball without loosing it. I was nearly in a movie but I changed my mind at the last minute. I figured if I let them stick me in a movie then I'd be a phoney if I let them stick me in a movie short.

She was a funny girl, old Jane. I wouldn't have described her as stritcly beautiful or anything, but she knocked me out. She was the only one outside my family that I had shown Allie's baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it, she really liked to read poetry.

My mother didn't like her too much. I mean my mother always thought Jane and her mother were sort of snubbing her or something when they didn't say hello. My mother didn't think Jane was pretty. I did, though. I just liked the way she looked, that's all.

I remember this one afternoon, I was over at her house playing checkers because it was raining outside and we were sat in her screened in porch. This was the only time me and Jane ever came close to necking. It was raining like hell outside, and all of a sudden this booze hound her mother was married too came out on the porch and asked Jane if there were any cigarettes in the house. I didn't know him too well, but he wasn't the sort of who would talk to you unless he wanted something off you. He had a lousy personality. Jane ignored him so he burst back inside and Jane just sat there still, as if she was concentrating on the game, and all of a sudden, a tear plopped down onto the checkerboard. On one of the red squares, boy I can still see it, so what I did was I moved over to her side of the table and practically sat in her lap. That's when she really started to cry. And the next thing I knew, I was practically kissing her allover, anywhere, her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her eyebrows and all, her ears, her whole face except her mouth. She wouldn't let me get to her mouth. Anyway, it was the closest we ever got to necking. After a while she went in and put on this red and white sweater, that killed me, and we went to a goddam movie. I asked her if the booze hound, Mr Cudahy, had ever tried to get wise with her but she said no, I still wouldn't have put it past that lousy bastard. I never did find out what was wrong. Some girls you never find out.