7/25/2019 Bukowski, Charles.

the Most Beautiful Woman in Town

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CI-IARLES UKOWSKI
The Most BeautifulWoman n Town
& other stories

Thesc rad nrrnortal tories. ow surfaccdl-orr he itcraryunderground.

haveaddictedegions l'American eaders. ven hough he high itcrary
cstablishnrento ntinucso ignore hern. n Eunrpc, owever particularly
in Gernrany,t aly, ndFrancc hcre e spublished y hegrcat ublishing
houses), e is critically ecognized s onc ol'Arncricar's reatestiving
realistwriters.

Charles lukowski. born ttll6l2t). Andernach.Gernran_v.rouglrt to

Americaat he agcol'two. E,ightecnr twc'nty ooks l'prose nd poctry,
tsukowski. fterpublislring rosc n S/olv and 'rtrtfolirt. ttlppcd riting
lc arrivcd n thc charitywardof thc -<ls ngclcsCounty
tbr lerr_years.
General lospital.henrorrhagingsa clinrax o a len-ycar rirrking out.
Some ayhe didn't die.Alicr leaving he hospital er ot a typcwritcr nd
beganwriting again-=this inrc,poetry.He later eturncd o prosearrd
gained omc ame with his colurnrr,N otcs 'u Dirtv Old Man. Al'tcr 4
years n the PostOtTicehe rcsigned t agc 50, he says. o kcep rom g<ling
insane. c now claims o he uncrnployitblcrrd ats ype ,riter ibbons.

Other Bukowski books 'rom City Lights

'l'alesof OrdinaryMadncss

Notcsof'a Dirtl' Old Ma n

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ISBN U-B?eBt-I5t-e

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7/25/2019 Bukowski, Charles. the Most Beautiful Woman in Town

THE MOSTBEAUTIFULWOMAN N TOWN

Cass vas he youngest nd mostbeautiful f 5 sisters. ass as

the most beautifulgirl in town. % lndianwith a suppleandstrange
body, a snakelikeand fiery body with eyes o go with it. Cass as
fluid moving fire. She was ike a spirit stuck nto a form that would
not hold her. Her hair wasblackand ong and silken nd moved nd
whirledabout asdid her body. ler spirit waseithervery hrghor very
low. Therewasno in between or Cass. omesaidshewascrazy.Th e
dull onessaid hat. The dull oneswould neverunderstand ass. o
the men she simply seemed sex machineand they didn't care
whethershe was crazy or not. And Cass ancel and flirted, kissed
the men, but except or an instance r two, when t came ime to

make t with Cass, ass ad somehow lipped way,eluded he men.

Her sisters ccused er of misusing er beauty, f not using er
mind enough, ut Cass ad mind andspirit:shepainted, hedanced,
shesang, hc nade hingsof clay,andwhen peoplewerehr-rrt ither
in the spirit or the flesh,Casselt a deepgrieving or them. ler mind
was simply different; her mind was simply not practical.Her sisters
were ealousof her because heattracted heir men, and they were
angrybecausehey felt shedidn't make he bestuseof them. Sh e
had a habit of beingkind to the uglierones; he so-calledandsome
men revolted er - "No guts," she aid, no zap.They are idingon
their perfect little earlobesand their well-shaped ostrils . . . Al l
surface and no insides . ." Shc had a temper that came close o
insanity;shehad a temper hat somecalled nsanity.
Her father had died of alcohol and her mother had run oll
leaving he girls alone.The girls went to a relativewho placed hem
in a convent. he convent ad beenan unhappy lace,m ore or Cass
than he sisters. he girls were ealousof Cass nd Cassoughtmost
of them. She had razor marksall along her left arm rom det'ending
herself n two fights. There was also a permanenl caralong he eft

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7/25/2019 Bukowski, Charles. the Most Beautiful Woman in Town
checkbut the scar athcr han esseninger beautyonly seemcd o
highlight t.
I rrrcther at the WestEnd Bar several ightsafter irer release
fiorn lhc convent.Bcing or-rngest,hewas he lastof the sisterso
be relcased. he sirirply arne n and satnext to mc. wasprobably
the ugliesl rnan ir; town and this might havehad something o dcr
with t.
"Drink'I"' asked.
"Sure,why not'?"
I don't supposeherc was anythingunusual n our convcrsa-
tion that night, it was sinrply in the feeling Cassgave.She had
chosenme and t wasas sirnple s hat. N<-r ressure. he iked he r
drinks and had a greatnumberof them. Shedidn't seem uite of age
but they servedher anyhow. Perhaps hehad a forged .d., I don't
know. Anyhow, cach ime she ame ack rom the rcstroom ndsa t
down next to me, I did feel somepride. She was not only the most
beautifulwoman n town but als<l ne of the most beautifui had
ever een. placedmy arm abouther waistand kissed er once.
"Do you think 'm pretty?" sheasked.
"'Yes,
thanyour ooks of course,
. ." ut tl'rere's omething lse . . there'smore
"Peoplearealways cc:usingneo1'being retty.Do you really
think I'm pretty?"
"Pretty sn't he word, t hardlydoes ou fair."
Cass eached nto hc r handbag. thought shewas cachi ng or
her handkerchief.Sl-re ameout with a iong hatpin. Belbre I couid
stop her she had run this long hat pin through her nose,sideways,
just above he nostrils. felt disgust ndhorror.
She ooked at me and aug hed, Now do you think rne pretty?
l\'irat do you ttrink now, man'i
I pulled the hatpin out asd held my handkerchiefover the
bleeding.Several eople, ncluding he bartender,had seen he act.
Thc bartender amedown;
"Lrok," he said o Cass, you act up againand you're out. We
don't needyour dramatics ere."
"Oh, fuck you, manl" she aid.
"Better keepher straigtrt," he bartender aid o me.
"She'll be ail right," I said.
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bukowski-charles-the-most-beautiful-woman-in-town
"lt's nty nose," said Cass, I can do what I want with my
nose."
"No.'" I said. it hurtsme."
"You urean t hurts you when stick a pin in my nose?"
"Yes, t does. mean t. "
"All right, I won't do it again.C heerup."
Shekissedme, ratherginning through he kissandholding he
handkerchief o her nose.We e 't for my placeat closing ime. I had
somebeerand we sat here alking. It was hen that I got the percep-
tion of her as a person ull of kindness nd caring.She gave erself
awaywithout knowing t. At the same ime shewould leapback nto
areas f wildnessand incohercnce. chitzi.A beautifuland spirituai
schitzi. Perhaps' ome man, sornething,would ruin her forever.
hoped hat t wouldn'tbe me .
We rvent to bed and after I turned out the lights Cassasked
me, "When do you want it? Now or in the morning?"
"In the morning," I saidand urned my back.
In the morning got up and madea coupleof coffees, rought
her one n bed.
She aughed. You're the first man 've met who has urned t
down at night."
"It's o.k.," I said, we needn't o t at all."
"No, wait, want o now. Let me reshen p a bit."
Casswent to the bathroom. She came out shortly, looking
quite wonderful, her long black hair glistening,h er eyes and lips
glistening,her glisLening. . She displayed her body calmly, as a
good hing.Shegot under he sheet.
"Come on, over man."
I got on in .
Shekissedwith abandon ut without haste. let my hands un
over her body, through her hair. I rnounted. t washot, and ight. I
began to stroke slowly, wanting to make it last. I'Ier eyes ooked
directly nto rnine.
"What's our name?" asked.
"What the hell differencedoes t make?"sheasked.
I laughed nd went on ahead.Afterwards he dressed nd I
drove her back to the bar but shewas difficult to forget. I wasn't
working and I slept until 2 p.m. then got up and read he paper. I
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was n the bathtub when she amc n with a argeeaf an elephant
ear.
"l knew you'd be n the bathtub,"shesaid, so I brought ou
somethingo covcr hat hingwith, rtature oy."
She hrew he elephanteafdown on me n the bathtub.
"Llow did you know I'd be n the tub?"
"l knew."
Almost everyday ass rrivcdwhen was n the ub. The imes
were diffcrcnt but she seldornmissed, nd there was he elephant
lcaf.And thenwe'd make ove.
One or two nights he phonedand t had o bail her out of jail
for drunkenness nd fighting.
"Thesesonsof bitches,"shesaid. Just becauseheybuy yo u
a few drinks hey think they can get nto your pants."
"Onceyou accept drink you create our own trouble."
"I thought hey wcre nterestedn me, notjust my'body."
"I'm interestedn you and your body. doubt. though, ha t
mostmencansee eyond our body."
I left town lbr 6 months,bummedaround, ameback. ha d
never brgotten Cass, ut we' d had sorlc type of argumentand felt
like moving n anyhow, nd when got back figured he'd e gone,
but I had beensitting n the WestEnd Bar about 30 minuteswhen
shewalked n and sat down next to me.
"Well,bastard, see ou'vecon]eback."
I orderedher a drink. Then I looked at her. Shc had on a
high-necked ress. had neversecnher in one of those.And under
eacheye,driven n, were2 pins with glass eads.A ll you couidsc e
were he glass eads f the pins,but the pinsweredrivendown nt o
her face,
"God darnn ou, still trying o dcstroy '<-rure auty. h?"'
"No, it's the ad, you fbol."
"You're crazy."
"l've missed ou," she aid.
"Is thereanybodyelse?"
"No, there sn't anybody else. ustyou. But I'm hustling. t
costs en bucks.But you get t free."
"Pull those insout."
"No. it's the ad."
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"lt's rnakingme very unhappy."
"Are you sure?"
"I{ell yes, 'm sure."
Cass lowly pulled the pins out and placed hern n her purse.
"Why do you haggle our beauty?" I asked. Why don't you
just live with it?"
"Becausc eople hink it's all I have.B eauty s nothing, eaut,v
won't stay.You don't know how lucky you are o be ugly,because
if people ike you thenyou know it's or something lse."
"O.k.," I said, I'm 1ucky."
"I don't meanyou're ugly. Peclpleust think you'reugly.Yo u
havea fascinating ace."
"Thanks."
We had anotherdrink.
"What areyou doing'l" sheasked.
"Nothing. can't get orr o anything.No interesl."
"Me neither. f you werea womanyou couldhustle."
"I don't think I'd want to make that closea contact with so
many strangers.t's wearing."
"You're right, t's wearing, verythings wearing."
We eft together. eople till stared t Cass n the streets. he
wasstill a beautifulwontan,perhapsmorebeautiful han ever.
We rnade t to my placcand I opened bottle of wine and we
talked.With Cassand I, the talk alwayscameeasy.She talked a
while and I would listen and then I would talk. Our conversation
sirnply went along without strain. We seemed o discoversecrets
together. When we discovereda good one Casswould laugh that
laugh - only the way she could. It was ike oy out of fire. Through
the talking we kissedand movedcloser ogether.W e became uite
heatedand decided o go to bed. t was then Cass ook off her
high-neckeddress and I saw it - the ugly jagged scar acrossher
throat. trtwas argeand hick.
"God damn you, woman," I said from thc bed, "god damn
you, what haveyou donc?"
"I tried t with a brokenbottle one night.Don't you like me
anymore? m I still beautilul?"
I pulledher down on the bed and kisscd er. Shepushed rvay
and laughed, Some men pay me that ten and then I undrcss nd
they don't want o do t. I keep he ten. t 's very unny."
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"Ye s ," I s a id , [ c a n ' ts to p a u g h in g . . Ca s s , itc h ,l lo v e cu "Her sisters uriedher."

. . . stop destroying tturscll': ou're the nrostalivewoman 've ever "A suicide? ind ellingme how?"
rnet." "Shecut her hroat."
We kissed gain.Casswascryingwitlrout sound. could ee l "l see.G iveme anotherdrink."
the tcars.That longblackhair ay behind ne ike a 1ag f dcath.We I drankuntil closing ime. Casshc mostbeautif i of 5 sisters,
enjoined nd made lowandsotnbre nd wonderful ove. the rnostbeautilul n town. I managedo drive o my placeand r
In the morning Casswas up rnakingbrcakfast.S he seemed kcpt thinking, I should havc nsistedshe stay with rne instcadof
quite calmand happy.Shewassinging. stayed n bcd and enjoyed acceptinghat "no." Everything bout her had indicated hat sh e
hcr happiness. inally she carncovcr and shook ne, "Up, bastard had cared. had simply been oo offhandabout t, lazy, oo uncon-
'fhrclw sornc old waterolr vour faceand pecker ndcomeenjoy hc cerned. deserved y deathand hers. wasa dog. No, why blame
feasl" the dogs? got up and found a bottle of wine and drank from it
I droveher to the beach hat day. t was a weekday nd not heavily.C ass hc most beautifulgirl in town was deadat 20.
yet sumlncr o thingsweresplendidly escrted. each urns n rags Oulsidesomebody onked heir automobile orn. They were
siept on the lawns above he sand.Othcrs sat on stonebenches very oud and persistent. set the bottle down and screamed ut :
..GOD
sharing lone bottle. Thc gullswhirledabout,mindlcss et distrac- DAMN YOU, YOU SONOF A I]ITCI_I. IIUT TIP "
ted. Old ladics n ttreir 70's and 80's sat on the benches nd dis- The nightkept coming n n and herewasnothing coulcl o.
cussed elling cai estate eli behindby husbandsong agokilled by
the paceand stupidityof survival. or it all, therewaspeacen th e
air and we walkedaboutand stretcl'rcdn the lawnsand didn't say
much. lt simply felt good being together. bought a coupleof
sandwiches,omechipsand drinks and rve saton the sandeating.
Thcn I held Cass nd we slcpt ogether boui an hour. t wassome-
how bcttcr than ove-making. here vas tlowing ogether ithout
tension. When rve awakcnedwe drove back to rry place and I
cooked a clinner.After dinncr I suggcstedo Cass hat we shack
togethcr.She waited a long time, looking at me, thcn she slowly
said, "No." I droveher back to the bar, bought her a drink an d
walkedout. I found a ob as a packer n a factory he next day and
the restof tl.reweck weut to working. rvas oo tired o get about
rnuchbLrt1.hat riday night I did gct to the WestEnd Bar. satan d
wailed frrr Cass. lours wenl by. Aftcr I rvas airly drunk the bar-
tender aid o me, l'm sorryaboutyour girl friend."
"W ra t is t? " I a s k e d .
"l'rr sorry.Didn't you know?"
"No ."
"Suicide.She vas uriedyesterday."
"Buried?" asked. t secnreds f she vorrld alk hrough he
doorwayat any moment.How couldshebe gone?

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