Blues for Mister Charlie by James Baldwin Page A

see, I don’t never carry on me more cash than I can afford to
lose.
    JO : Lyle!
(Lyle enters, carrying the hammer)
You got any change?
    LYLE : Change for a twenty? No, you know I ain’t got it.
    RICHARD : You all got this big, fine store and all—and you ain’t got change for
twenty
dollars?
    LYLE : It’s early in the day, boy.
    RICHARD : It ain’t that early. I thought white folks was rich at
every
hour of the day.
    LYLE : Now, if you looking for trouble, you just might get it. That boy outside—ain’t he got twenty cents?
    RICHARD : That boy outside is about twenty-four years old, and he ain’t got twenty cents. Ain’t no need to ask him.
    LYLE
(At the door)
: Boy! You got twenty cents?
    LORENZO : Come on out of there, Richard! I’m tired of hanging around here!
    LYLE : Boy, didn’t you hear what I asked you?
    LORENZO : Mister Britten, I ain’t
in
the store, and I ain’t
bought
nothing in the store, and so I ain’t
got
to tell you whether or not I got twenty cents!
    RICHARD : Maybe your wife could run home and get some change. You
got
some change at home, I know. Don’t you?
    LYLE : I don’t stand for nobody to talk about my wife.
    RICHARD : I only said you was a lucky man to have so fine a
wife.
I said maybe she could run
home
and look and see if there was any change—in the
home.
    LYLE : I seen you before some place. You that crazy nigger. You ain’t from around here.
    RICHARD : You
know
you seen me. And you remember where. And when. I was born right here, in this town. I’m Reverend Meridian Henry’s son.
    LYLE : You say that like you thought your Daddy’s name was some kind of protection. He ain’t no protection against
me
—him, nor that boy outside, neither.
    RICHARD : I don’t need no protection, do I? Not in my own home town, in the good old USA. I just dropped by to sip on a Coke in a simple country store—and come to find out the joker ain’t got enough bread to change twenty dollars. Stud ain’t got
nothing
—you people been spoofing the public, man.
    LYLE : You put them Cokes down and get out of here.
    RICHARD : I ain’t finished yet. And I ain’t changed my bill yet.
    LYLE : Well, I ain’t going to change that bill, and you ain’t going to finish them Cokes. You get your black ass out of here—go on! If you got any sense, you’ll get your black ass out of this town.
    RICHARD : You don’t own this town, you white mother-fucker. You don’t
even
own twenty dollars. Don’t you raise that hammer. I’ll take it and beat your skull to jelly.
    JO : Lyle! Don’t you fight that boy! He’s crazy! I’m going to call the Sheriff!
(Starts toward the back, returns to counter)
The baby! Lyle! Watch out for the baby!
    RICHARD : A baby, huh? How many times did you have to try for it, you no-good, ball-less peckerwood? I’m surprised you could even get it up—look at the way you sweating now.
    (Lyle raises the hammer. Richard grabs his arm, forcing it back. They struggle.)
    JO : Lyle! The baby!
    LORENZO : Richard!
    (He comes into the store.)
    JO : Please get that boy out of here, get that boy out of here—he’s going to get himself killed.
    (Richard knocks the hammer from Lyle’s hand, and knocks Lyle down. The hammer spins across the room. Lorenzo picks it up.)
    LORENZO : I don’t think your husband’s going to kill no more black men. Not today, Mrs. Britten. Come on, Richard. Let’s go.
    (Lyle looks up at them.)
    LYLE : It took two of you. Remember that.
    LORENZO : I didn’t lay a hand on you, Mister Britten. You just ain’t no match for—a
boy.
Not without your gun you ain’t. Come on, Richard.
    JO : You’ll go to jail for this! You’ll go to jail! For years!
    LORENZO : We’ve been in jail for years. I’ll leave your hammer over at Papa D.’s joint—don’t look like you’re going to be doing no more work today.
    RICHARD
(Laughs)
: Look at the mighty peckerwood! On his
ass
, baby—and his woman watching! Now, who you think is the better man? Ha-ha! The master