I nodded, smiling at Gus.“You sure don’t need to tell me that.Probably neither of us would be here if she weren’t.”
There were a couple of girls upstairs with clients, and when the men came down, they were let outside.Then the girls showed up, surprised at the state of the parlor, with all the whores, and me, Oscar, Gus and Miss June, drinking and laughing and talking.
Trick was happy to stay in the clothes she’d worn out, which were a pair of brown trousers, suspenders and a gray-and-white striped shirt.She’d hung up her cloth jacket and she had her shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow.I’d say the look suited her pretty well.She caught me staring and raised her eyebrows, lifting her glass of whiskey to her lips and taking a sip and a swallow before speaking.
“Yes, Jimmy?”
I grinned.“Nothing.Only”—I gestured at her—“you look very comfortableandfetching in them things, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“Well, Jimmy, turns out I ain’t workin’ this evenin’, else I’d take you upstairs and show you what’s inside these trousers and under this shirt.”
Oscar, who’d gone to sit in one of the armchairs and was nursing a glass of wine with a drunk girl at his feet with her head on his knee, blinked and opened his mouth in shock.
“Trick!What did I tell you while we was ridin’ and you told me you ‘liked the look of my man?’Hmm?”
Trick snorted and rolled her eyes, before dragging them from my feet to my face in a deliberate way.“You said I’d better not try anythin’ or you’d talk to Miss June about having my hourly rate reduced.”
“Now stop it,” I told them.“You look comfortable and cool, is all.Must be nice to not wear corsets for a spell.”
“Yes, that is refreshing.”
“Jimmy, you should have seen her.She handled Dixie as good as you.”
I raised my eyebrows and folded my arms o’er my chest.
“Is that so?”
“Well, Dixie’s a mighty fine horse, and I reckon she knew I wouldn’t put up with any nonsense,” Trick said.
Oscar laughed.“Is that how you deal with clients, Trick?Let ’em know who’s boss?”
“As a matter of fact, sometimes I do.Other times I let them think they’re in charge, but really, ’tis still me guidin’ things.”
Oscar grinned and raised his glass to Trick, who did the same.
“I do not doubt that one bit,” I said.
We drank, joked and made merry that whole entire evening, and ’twas a welcome respite and a good way to mark a return to this special place.The girls were glad to relax and not have to worry about turning tricks for one night, and Miss June seemed content to let them.Oscar enjoyed being among people again, and so did I.
We even took turns smoking paper rolls of quality hashish that Miss June had brought out in her little bag, and it gave me a cozy, floaty feeling that I did enjoy.Some of the girls started singing bawdy ditties that had me blushing and Oscar about dying with laughter.Miss June had Cook bring out platters of meat and cheese and bread and fruit for everyone, and you’d have thought we’d never eaten anything so tasty before.
But along about ten-thirty I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and I pushed myself up to standing, wincing at the pain in my side that seemed a bit worse for all the sitting and standing I’d done.
“What’s wrong?You need to use the privy?”Oscar asked.
“Yep.Then I should go to bed.I’m beat,” I said, and shrugged.“Even though I didn’t do anythin’ today.”
’Twas embarrassing, but I knew ’twas because my body was using its resources to heal the sewn-up gash in my side—and because of the lingering fatigue of our journey and the shock of being injured.
“It’s okay.I’ll help you,” Oscar said, getting up out of his chair and weaving a little.
I narrowed my eyes.“You can barely stand.I’ll manage fine on my own.”
“I go wit’ you,” Gus said, standing up from his chair and not looking like he’d had too much to drink.“I need to piss.”
Gus made sure I was all right.He waited for me to finish before using the facilities himself.We walked back inside, and I found Oscar waiting for me by the stairs.
“I’ll take you up.”
