The Funhouse

not?”
        “I need every dollar for California.”
        “I don't understand.”
        “Two weeks from now, after graduation, I'm going to blow this stupid town. There ain't any future here for me. Royal City. What a laugh. There's nothing royal about this dump. And it sure ain't a city. It's just fifteen thousand people living in a dump in the middle of Ohio, which is just another, bigger dump.”
        “I like it.”
        “I don't.”
        “But what do you expect to find in California?”
        “Are you kidding? There's a million opportunities out there for a guy with a lot on the ball.”
        “But what do you expect to find there for you?” she asked.
        He didn't understand what she meant, he didn't feel her slip the needle in. “I just told you, baby. In California, there's more opportunities than anywhere else in the world. Los Angeles. That's the place for me. Hell, yes. A guy like me can go real far in a city like L.A. ”
        “Doing what?”
        “Anything.”
        “Such as?”
        “Absolutely anything.”
        “How long have you been planning to go to L.A.?”
        Sheepishly, he said, “For about a year now.”
        “You never told me.”
        “I didn't want to upset you.”
        “You were just going to quietly disappear.”
        “Hey, no. No, I was going to keep in touch, baby. I even figured maybe you'd come along with me.”
        “Like hell you did. Jerry, you have to pay for the abortion.”
        “Why can't you pay for it?” He was whining. “You had a job last summer. You've been working weekends just like me.”
        “My mother controls my savings account. There's no way I can withdraw that much cash without telling her why I need it. No way.”
        “So tell her.”
        “God, I can't. She'd kill me.”
        “She'd scream a lot, and you'd probably be grounded for a while. But she'll get over it.”
        “She won't. She'll kill me.”
        “Don't be stupid. She won't kill you.”
        “You don't know my mother. She's very strict. And she's… mean sometimes. Besides, we're a Catholic family. My mother is very devout. Very, very devout. And to a devout Catholic, abortion is a terrible sin. It's murder. My father even does some free legal work for the Right-to-Life League. He's not so fanatical about religion as my mother is. He's a pretty straight guy, but I don't think he'd ever approve an abortion. And I know my mother wouldn't. Not in a million years. She'd make me have the baby. I know she would. And I can't. I just can't. Oh, God, I can't.”
        She started to cry.
        “Hey, baby, it's not the end of the world.” He put an arm around her. “You'll come through this okay. It's not as bad as you think. Life goes on, you know.”
        She didn't want to lean on him for either emotional or physical support. Not on him , of all people. But she couldn't help it. She put her head on his shoulder, despising herself for this weakness.
        “Easy,” he said. “Take it easy. Everything's going to be just fine.”
        When the tears finally stopped flowing, she said, “Jerry, you've got to help me. You've got to, that's all.”
        “Well…”
        Jerry, please.
        “You know I would if I could.”
        She sat up straight, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. “Jerry, part of the responsibility is yours. Part of-”
        “I can't,” he said firmly, taking his arm away from her.
        “Just lend me the money. I'll pay you back.”
        “You can't pay me back in just two weeks. And I'll need every dollar I've got when I go to California the first of June.”
        “Just a loan,” she said, not wanting to beg but having no choice.
        “I can't, can't, can't!” He shouted like a child throwing a tantrum. His voice was high, screechy. “Forget it! Just forget it, Amy! I need every penny I've got for when I get out of this stinking town.”
         Oh God, I hate him!
        And she hated herself, too, for what she'd let him do.
        “If you don't at least lend me the money, I'll call your parents. I'll tell them I'm carrying your child. I'll put the heat on you, Jerry.” She didn't think she really had the nerve to do something like that, but she hoped the threat of it would make him be reasonable. “God help me, I'll even make you marry me if that's the last resort, but I won't go down alone.”
        “What do you want from