1/3, 1/3, 1/3 Richard Brautigan It was all to be done in thirds.

I was to get 1/3 for doing the typing, and she was to get 1/3 for doing the editing, and he was to get 1/3 for typing the novel. e were going to divide the royalties three ways. e all shoo! hands on the deal, each !nowing what we were supposed to do, the path before us, the gate at the end. I was "ade 1/3 partner because I had a typewriter. I lived in a cardboard#lined shac! of "y own building across the street fro" the rundown old house the elfare rented for her and her nine#year#old son, $reddy. %he novelist lived in a trailer a "ile away beside the saw"ill pond where he was the watch"an for the "ill. I was about seventeen and "ade lonely and strange by that &acific 'orthwest of so "any years age, that dar!, rainy land of 1()*. I+" thirty#one now and I still can+t figure out what I "eant living the way I did in those days. ,he was one of those eternally fragile wo"en in their late thirties and once very pretty and the ob-ect of "uch attention in the roadhouses and beer parlors, who are now on elfare and their entire lives rotate around that one day a "onth when they get their elfare chec!s. %he word chec! is the one religious word in their lives, so they always "anage to use it at least three or four ti"es in every conversation. It doesn+t "atter what you are tal!ing about. %he novelist was in his late forties, tall, reddish, and loo!ed as if life had given hi" an endless strea" of two#ti"ing girlfriends, five#day drun!s and cars with bad trans"issions. .e was writing the novel because he wanted to tell a story that happened to hi" years before when he was wor!ing in the woods. .e also wanted to "a!e so"e "oney/ 1/3 0y entrance into the thing ca"e about this way/ 1ne day, I was standing in front of "y shac!, eating an apple and staring at a blac! ragged toothache s!y that was about to rain. hat I was doing was li!e an occupation for "e. I was that involved in loo!ing at the s!y and eating the apple. 2ou would have thought that I had been hired to do it with a good salary and a pension if I stared at the s!y long enough. .32 2145 I heard so"eone yell.

I loo!ed across the "ud puddle and it was the wo"an. ,he was wearing a !ind of green "ac!inaw that she wore all the ti"e, e6cept when she had to visit the elfare people downtown. %hen she put on a shapeless duc!#gray coat. e lived in a poor part of town where the streets weren+t paved. %he street was nothing "ore than a big "ud puddle that you had to wal! around. %he street was of no use to cars any"ore. %hey traveled on a different fre7uency where asphalt and gravel were "ore sy"pathetic. ,he was searing a pair of white rubber boots that she always had on in winter, a pair of boots that gave her a !ind of childli!e appearance. ,he was so fragile and fir"ly indebted to the elfare 8epart"ent that she often loo!ed li!e a child twelve years old. hat do you want9 I said. 2ou have a typewriter, don+t you9 she said. I+ve wal!ed by your shac! and heard you typing. 2ou type a lot at night. 2eah, I have a typewriter, I said. 2ou a good typist9 she said. I+" alright. e don+t have a typewriter. .ow would you li!e to go in with us9 she yelled across the "ud puddle. ,he loo!ed a perfect twelve years old, standing there in her white boots, the sweetheart and darling of all "ud puddles. hat+s :go in "ean9 ell, he+s writing a novel, she said. .e+s good. I+" editing it. I+ve read a lot of poc!etboo!s and the Readers Digest. e need so"ebody who has a typewriter to type it up. 2ou+ll get 1/3. .ow+s that sound9 I+d li!e to see the novel, I said. I didn+t !now what was happening. I !new she had three or four boyfriends that were always visiting her. ,ure5 she yelled. 2ou have to see it to type it. ;o"e on around. <et+s go to his place right now and you can "eet hi" and have a loo! at the novel. .e+s a good guy. It+s a wonderful boo!. 1=, I said, and wal!ed around the "ud puddle to where she was standing in front of her evil dentist house, twelve years old, and appro6i"ately two "iles fro" the elfare 1ffice. <et+s go, she said.

e wal!ed over to the highway and down the highway past "ud puddles and saw"ill ponds and fields flooded with rain until we ca"e to a road that went across the railroad trac!s and turned down past half a do>en s"all saw"ill ponds that were filled with blac! winter logs. e tal!ed very little and that was only about her chec! that was two days late and she had called the elfare and that they had said they "ailed the chec! and it should be there to"orrow, but call again to"orrow if it+s not there and we+ll prepare an e"ergency "oney order for you. ell, I hope it+s there to"orrow, I said. ,o do I or I+ll have to go downtown, she said. 'est to the old saw"ill was a yellow old trailer up on bloc!s of wood. 1ne loo! at the trailer showed that it was never going to go anywhere again., that the highway was in distant heaven, only to be prayed to. It was really sad, with a ce"etery# li!e chi"ney swirling -agged dead s"o!e in the air above it. ? !ind of half dog, half cat creature was sitting on a rough plan! porch that was on front of the door. %he creature half#bar!ed and half#"eowed at us, ?rfeow5 and darted under the trailer, loo!ing out at us fro" behind a bloc!. %his is it, the wo"an said. %he door to the trailer opened and a "an stepped out onto the porch. %here was a pile of firewood stac!ed don the porch and it was covered with a blac! tarp. %he "an held his hand above his eyes, shielding his eyes fro" a bright i"aginary sun, though everything had turned dar! in anticipation of the rain. .ello there, he said. .i, I said. .ello, honey, she said. .e shoo! "y hand and welco"ed "e to his trailer, then he gave her a little !iss on the "outh before we all went inside. %he place was s"all and "uddy and s"elled li!e stale rain and had a large un"ade bed that loo!ed as if it had been a partner to so"e of the saddest love"a!ing this side of %he ;ross. %here was a green bushy half#table with a couple of insect#li!e chairs and a little sin! and a s"all stove that was used for coo!ing and heating. %here were so"e dirty dishes in the little sin!. %he dishes loo!ed as if they had always been dirty/ born dirty to last forever.

I could hear a radio playing western "usic so"eplace in the trailer, but I could not find it. I loo!ed all over but it was nowhere i sight. It was probably under a shirt or so"ething. .e+s the !id with the typewriter, she said. .e+ll get 1/3 for typing it. %hat sound fair, he said. e need so"ebody to type it. I+ve never done anything li!e this before. hy don+t you show it to hi"9 she said. .e+d li!e to ta!e a loo! at it. 1=, but it+s not too carefully written, he said to "e. I only went to fourth grade, so she+s editing it, straighten out the gra""ar and co""as and stuff. %here was a noteboo! lying on the table, ne6t to an ash tray that probably had @AA cigarette butts in it. %he noteboo! had a photograph of .opalong ;assidy on the cover. .opalong loo!ed tired, as if he had spent the whole night chasing starlets all over .ollywood and barely had enough strength to get bac! in the saddle. %here were about twenty#five or thirty pages of writing in the noteboo!. It was written in a large gra""ar school sprawl/ an unhappy "arriage between printing and longhand. It+s not finished yet, he said. 2ou+ll type it. I+ll edit it. .e+ll write it, she said. It was the story of a young logger falling in love with a waitress. %he novel began in 1(3) in a cafB in 'orth Bend, 1regon. %he young logger was sitting at a table and the waitress was ta!ing his order. ,he was very pretty with blond hair and rosy chee!s. %he young logger was ordering veal cutlets with "ashed potatoes and country gravy. 2eah, I+ll do the editing. 2ou can type it, can+t you9 It+s not too bad, is it9 she said in a twelve# year#old voice with the elfare pee!ing over her shoulder. 'o, I said. It will be easy. ,uddenly the rain started to co"e down hard outside, without any warning, -ust suddenly great drops of rain that al"ost shoo! the trailer. 2ou sur li! veel cutlets don+t you 0aybell said she was holding holding her pensil up her "owth that was preti and red li!e an apl5

1nli when you ta! "y order ;arl said he was !ind of bassful loger but big and strong li! his dead who ownd the star"ill5 Ill "a! sur you get plenty of gravi5 Cust ten the caf door opend and in ca"e Rins ?da"s he was hanso" and "een, everi bodi in thos parts was afrad of hi" but not c;arl and his dead dad they wasn+t afrad of hi" no sur5 0aybell shifard wen she was hi" standing ther in his blac "ac!inaw he s"ild at her and ;arl felt his blod run hot li! scalding coffee and fiting "ad5 .owdy ther Rins said 0aybell blushed li!e a flower flouar while we were all sitting there in that rainy trailer, pounding at the gates of ?"erican literature.