“Yes, I want to fuck,” Dick says and takes a bite of the fried chicken in his hand. He now can speak but only in broken English. The pace at which he has learned the language is almost miraculous.
Russell, the homeless man, sighs while hitting himself in the forehead. “Yeah, I know. But you don’t say that. Otherwise, you gotta pay, and you haven’t got enough cash. So, you gotta say love instead. Say I love you.”
“What is love?”
“It is a magic word you say when you wanna fuck for free. Don’t worry about what it means. Just say it. Love, Love, Love, Say it.”
“I want to love.”
“OK, close enough.” Russell feels more relaxed now, pulls Dick’s hand towards his mouth, and takes a bite of Dick’s fried chicken.
“So run it by me again, from the top, what do you do first?” Russell says with a full mouth.
“I go to hooker.”
“Right.”
“I say hi hooker.”
“Noooo, Noo. No. No. You don’t call her hooker.”
“But she is hooker.”
“I know she is a hooker, she knows she is a hooker too, but you don’t call her that. Otherwise, she would charge you for sex.”
“What I say?”
“Whatever, anything but hooker, or prostitute, or slut. Just say hi, or hi lady. Yeah, say hi lady. They love to be called lady.”
“Hi lady.”
“Great. And then you give her the flowers, and you say what?”
“You are hot.”
“Hot is good, but better say you are perfect. Chicks dig that shit.”
“You are perfect. Then I fuck.”
“Noooooo. Noooo. No. You forgot to say I love you. That is the magic word. You gotta say it, and you gotta say it right.”
“Yes, I want to love you.”
“Yeah, better, and then you kiss her.”
“And then I fuck.”
“Yes,” Russell says with an Aargh, “then you fuck, for free.”
“Good,” Dick says with a smile and takes a big bite of the fried chicken on his hand.
“Easy tiger,” Russell says. “Leave some for your teacher too.”
Russell leans forward and takes another bite of Dick’s fried chicken. He is exhausted, leans back to the brick wall behind them, and starts chewing while staring at the sky.
They are sitting on an unfolded cardboard box on the street, beside the multimedia shop with the TV on its showcase playing Rihanna.
“You have learned English fast, son,” Russell says while chewing the food, “but you’re still not good with words. But don’t worry. The pretty face with blue eyes will speak for itself. My son was good looking too, you know. But this city took him from me. Bastards! Fucking bastards! He would be your age if he was alive now.”
“Yes, I want to love you,” Dick says with a creepy smile.
Russell turns and takes a questioning look at Dick. “Save it for the hooker,” Russell says while turning his face back.
“Not hooker. Lady.”
“Yeah, that’s my boy. You learn fast.” Russell cheers up. “That’s my boy,” he says with a depressed tone.