Oscar grinned as I took a swig, the soft burn of the whiskey going down my throat.
“Here, give me some of that tasty, strong lemonade, Jimmy.I need to wet my whistle,” Oscar said.
I wanted to say something saucy back to him, and Trick seemed to be expecting it, but I remembered in time that we were surrounded by innocent ears.
“Here, then.Don’t drink it all.”
Peter laughed, and Oscar rolled his eyes.
“See what I gotta put up with?”he said to Peter.“This man thinks he’s my pa or somethin’.”
I laughed but stopped when I saw Peter’s reaction to that word.The boy cringed, and Cal put a hand to his arm for comfort.
“Jimmy would make a fine pa,” Cal said, gazing at me out of soulful eyes with more affection than I’d felt from her since we’d got reacquainted.
“Oh, I can vouch for that,” Oscar said, with a wink at her.
And Cal almost smiled, but she caught herself and looked down at her lap.’Twas good to see a flash of the old Cal there.
The Caliope we’d known had been sweet and saucy, and used to delight in the ribald comments Oscar would make.She’d even dressed Oscar up in bloomers and a corset one time, like Trick had done this time, to surprise me.’Twas hard to believe that the Cal we’d known and the Cal who sat near me on the picnic blanket were the same person.Whatever had happened here, it hadn’t been good, and it hadn’t been what Cal had expected when she’d left The Angel.I could guarantee it.
But she’d become attached to these children, that much was obvious, and they to her, and Cal couldn’t come back to work at Miss June’s with them three to look after, and God only knew where their pa was.So I didn’t know what to do, except for what we were doing now, which was to feed and help them, so maybe Cal would trust us enough to be truthful.
Chapter Twenty-One
A Fresh Start
We ate the picnic and drank the lemonade and whiskey and had a pleasant time out there on the grass, in the sunshine.A fragrant breeze kept the sun from being too hot, and, anyway, we were in the shade of the tall pines.The humming of insects and the twittering of birds provided a peaceful backdrop to our picnic.
The only downside was the mosquitoes.Cal and the children barely seemed to notice, and they never bothered me too much, but Oscar seemed irresistible to them.First he twitched and cursed, then swatted at them, until he stood and performed his silly dance again.I couldn’t help but laugh at the image of him twisting and swatting and cursing.
Peter was watching, too, and he laughed when I did.Then Lizzie, her face a mess of blueberry jam, started, then Trick noticed.
“Good grief, Oscar.’Tis only a few mosquitoes,” she said, blowing one away from her face with a casual puff of air.
“They won’t let me be,” Oscar whined.“Goddamn fuckers!”he said, as he twirled around and tried to slap himself on the back.
I glanced at Cal, but she didn’t seem to mind the cursing.Oscar turned back, his cheeks flushed with the heat and now embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Cal.I didn’t mean to curse in front of the children,” he said.
“Never mind.They’ve heard worse,” Cal said, then shifted her gaze away from mine.
“You’re so funny!”Lizzie said, seeming more carefree and alert now that she’d had some good nourishment.“Is that the mosquito dance?”
Oscar narrowed his eyes at her, but he was smirking, too.“Why, I suppose it is, Miss Lizzie.You’re lucky you don’t have to do it.They seem to be in love with me.”
“Why, who wouldn’t be in love with you?”I said, with sincerity.
“I don’t care who’d be in love with me, long as they don’t buzz around my head and bite me on the ass.”
The children laughed, and Cal smiled.
“You’rein love with Oscar,” Lizzie said, peering at me in a way that made me feel transparent and stating it as a fact and not a question.
I sighed and popped a cracker into my mouth.“Yes, miss, I am.I can’t deny it, and why would I?”
It felt good to be honest and plain with these young ’uns who, God willing, would grow up and remember me and Oscar, how in love we were and realize that whether ’twas two men loving each other or two women, it didn’t make a hell of a difference.
