It was a miserable night. Buck's fever rose and although Lou had suspected it would, she wasn't prepared. She spent most of the night by Buck's side, wiping his face with cold water, doing her best to ease his pain and get the fever down. But it was little she could do. It was almost dawn when she caught herself dozing and she tried to sit up on the chair she had brought over to the bed, but the harder she tried the harder it was to stay awake. Finally, when she was so tired that she couldn't keep her eyes open how mush she tried, she fell asleep with her head resting on the edge of the bed, cradled by her arms. Surprisingly enough, it was Buck who woke up first. For a moment he couldn't remember where he was or what had happened but then as the pain in his side returned with renewed force he knew. He tried to get himself into a sitting position when he saw Lou, sleeping next to him. "Lou," he whispered harshly as he felt his head swam from the effort of trying to get up. "Lou," he repeated when there was no reply. Lou slowly returned to life and looked dizzily at him. She blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She had a light headache due to lack of sleep, but soon she was wide-awake. "You're alright?" she asked and pulled herself up, as she happened to notice her own image on the mirror. Her hair was ruffled and her shirt was wrinkled. I sure am a pretty sight, she pondered and frowned at her image briefly before turning her attention back to Buck. Buck nodded only to close his eyes as he suddenly felt sick. Lou was by his side immediately, placing a soft hand on his forehead. "Stupid question, he?" she said softly and reached for the wet rag to wipe his face. Buck opened his eyes again. "I'm alright," he muttered, angry that he had made her worried and angry that he was sick. He was use to taking care of himself and the fact that he now was depending on Lou was irritating. He didn't want her to get dragged into something dangerous just because of him. "You're in a good mood," Lou replied, slightly irritated. Buck replied with another question. "How long are we gonna stay here?" he muttered as he reached for the glass of water she handed him. "Until you're well enough or this thing is over," Lou replied. Buck frowned. "What is it?" Lou demanded. She only had to take one look at him to see that he was in a foul mood. Buck was seldom in a bad mood and when he was he usual kept to himself. This open display of irritation caught her by surprise. "Nothing," he muttered. "Nothing? You sure could fool me," she replied, not helping that a hint of irritation showed in her voice. She was still tired and the headache did nothing to cheer her up. "What is it?" Buck shook his head, slowly this time as so not to feel dizzy again. "I told you it's nothing." "Is it because of me?" Buck sighed. "You shouldn't be involved - if they catch me, you'll get in trouble too." "So?" "Lou, it's too dangerous. You should be back at the station---" Lou counted slowly to ten. She felt as if she wanted to scream - why couldn't they let her take care of herself? It wasn't just Buck, it was all of'em - well, maybe with the exception of Jimmy. "So what's that suppose to mean?" she asked angrily. "That because I'm a girl I need protection? That it would have been better if it had been one of the boys that saved you?" She couldn't help stressing the word 'saved' to indicate that he should have been worse of if she and Jimmy hadn't showed up when they did - and that she had cared for him after he got wounded. Buck was tired and he felt as if his whole body was aching. But something told him that this wasn't right - he couldn't drag Lou into his trouble. She was his friend and he couldn't see anything happen to her. Cody had already got a black eye because of him and what Lou and Jimmy had done would only get them into more trouble. So even if he knew that he would only make Lou angrier, he continued to argue. Maybe she left if she got angry enough, he thought, as he knew that he also hoped she wouldn't. He was too sick to care for himself, how much he hated to admit it, even to himself. "I didn't ask for your help," he muttered irritated. Lou stared angrily at him. "What did you expect us to do? Let them kill you?" She was really angry now and she decided that she had had enough. She needed time to calm down. Without waiting for Buck's reply she rose and walked to the door. "Where are you going?" Buck asked with a hint of surprise in his voice, thinking that maybe he'd been too harsh. "To freshen up," Lou replied. "If you haven't noticed it, I need a bath." And with that she left the room after closing the door with a bang.
Lou walked briskly away from the room. She couldn't believe Buck's' attitude and she was foaming with anger. If Buck hadn't been sick, she would have spoken her mind, but as it was now, she was pleased with having a reason for leaving. And she was in need of a bath. When she first arrived she had seen a sign downstairs that said something about laundry and bath and now she headed in that direction, hoping that it wasn't as bad as the rest of the house. She hoped Millie wouldn't be there. She seemed like a nice girl and all, but Lou wasn't in the mood for her chatter. To her surprise it turned out to be a rather large room with boards covering the windows to create privacy and keep unwanted visitors from peeping in. A fire was already burning in a stove and a large bucket with water was being heated. The room was clean and smelled of soap. Three stalls were situated along one side of the wall and as she passed the first she found out the reason for the heating of the water. A blonde woman glared suspiciously at her from her bath, now and then taking a sip on the cigarette between her long fingers. Her blonde hair was pulled up on the top of her head and slings of it had dropped down into the water. Lou could almost feel the dislike as she quickly moved on. She was not used to bathing with others and felt a bit embarrassed. "We keep it clean ourselves, you know." The woman blow out a perfectly made smoke ring. "You're the new waitress, ain't you?" "Yes," Lou mumbled, still a bit uncomfortable having this discussion with a naked woman in a bath. I've lived too long with the boys, she thought. "Is that your water on the stove?" she asked politely. "Yes. But you can take it - I'm getting up any way. You can clean up in exchange." So that was it, Lou thought, the woman was gonna let her clean up after her. She pondered telling the woman what she thought about such a deal and the tone it had been said in but change her mind. She had enough of arguments for one day. She would have to clean up after herself anyway and right now she really wanted that bath. "Thanks," she said as she inspected the second stall and found a clean bath standing there with a soap placed easily within reach. She sighed with relief. She felt as if she'd been on the road for an eternity and a bath would surely make her feel better. Maybe she could even forget the stupid argument she had had with Buck, she pondered. She quickly walked over to the stove and placed a new bucket on it as she took the warm water to fill the tube. The blonde woman watched her with a somewhat condescending look but Lou didn't care. She was pretty sure this was one of the 'other girls' as Mrs. Eddins had put it and she would not let the woman get to her. All she was going to do was having a bath before she needed to be at the saloon, or she'll probably loose both the job and the room. She needed the money as well. Apparently the blond woman thought her no more interesting than Lou found her and gracefully stepped out of the bath. For a second Lou got a glimpse of a voluptuous body before the woman swept her robe around her and she couldn't help wondering if Kid would prefer that she had looked more like the blonde woman. Don't be stupid, she scorned herself, of course he wouldn't. After all he's been nagging you to take the relationship further hasn't he? He loves you. The thought comforted her but she was still glad that she was alone. She had a hard time feeling as a girl without comparing herself to other women, and she was angry at herself for doing it. I shouldn't listen so much to Cody's talking, she pondered, smiling at the memories of Jimmy and Cody's whispering in the night about different women, when they thought the others were asleep. She continued to fix water for the bath and a few minutes later she was able to sink herself down into hot water. She smiled contentedly as she reached for the soap. As she sat there, enjoying the feeling, her thoughts returned to her own situation. She had got her and Buck a roof over their heads and with that and a proper bed to rest in she hoped Buck would heal some. She was worried about the fever, but it wasn't anything she could do about that now. She wasn't too fond of the idea of working, but they had no money and they needed that. To buy food, if nothing else. But it bare against her to leave Buck unattended. True, he wasn't that sick, but if his fever got worse---. She sighed. I just have to take a day at a time, she pondered. Maybe she was worrying for nothing. If he just wasn't in such a bad mood. Anger returned to her as the words of their argument returned. He was safe, wasn't he? So why was he so upset? She continued to ponder the matter when she suddenly felt bad. Of course Buck had a good reason for being angry. How would you feel if you had been whipped and accused of a crime you hadn't done and then almost hanged? she thought. And all because you had a different colour. Maybe I wasn't fair, she thought, I wasn't thinking about how he must feel. The thought of the things that had lead them to the present situation brought her mind back to the others. Wonder what they are doing? she thought. Are they out looking for us? Or are they busy finding something to clear Buck? She cleaned herself of the last of the soap by simple sinking down enough for the water to completely cover her and then she quickly got up. She needed to get in touch with the others and the sooner she got to the saloon, the sooner she might get her chance. She quickly cleaned up and frowned at the mess the blonde woman had left before she quickly got back into her clothes. Her hair was still wet, but she didn't care. It would dry on her way to "The Golden Nugget". When she buttoned up her shirt her thoughts returned to Kid. She had just left the station without even saying a word to him and she wondered if he was thinking about her. If he missed her. 'Cause I miss him, she thought as headed back to the room.
Lou carefully opened the door to the room, uncertain of what she would meet. As she silently stepped in she thought Buck was asleep as he had his back turned to her. When she closed the door she realised that she had been mistaken as Buck turned towards her. "I'm sorry," they both said at the same time, causing them to smile. "I'm sorry I was angry," Buck continued. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you, it was just---" "No need to explain," Lou replied and placed herself on the edge of the bed. "I was wrong too. Let's just forget it, alright? How are you feeling - and the truth this time - not just 'I'm fine'?" Buck smiled tiredly. "Not so good, I suppose," he admitted. "The wound keeps throbbing and burning and I'm cold." As to if to prove his statement he shivered. Lou frowned and checked his temperature. "Your fever's worse," she muttered and fetched another blanket to cover him in. Then she sat down next to him again with a thoughtful look on her face. "You think you'll be alright on your own?" she asked. Buck nodded. "I just need to rest," he mumbled. Lou watched him carefully as the tiredness overtook him and he closed his eyes. There wasn't much she could do anyway, she pondered and walked over to the drawer where she picked up a bright red skirt and a black bodice, the same outfit Millie had worn the evening before. She threw a glance over to where Buck was resting but then decided to pull out the screen. Her movements caused Buck to open his eyes again. "What are you doing?" he asked weakly. "Trying to create some privacy," she replied as she struggled with the screen. Finally it was up. Lou stepped behind it to change into the working dress. It was after noon and she was already running late and she couldn't mess up now. When she departed from the screen she found Buck staring at her. "What?" she asked as she tried to form the wet tousle on her head into something that looked like a hairdo. "What's that you're wearing?" he asked as he looked at the bright red skirt that was shorter than most and the low cut black bodice. "Clothes," Lou replied as she fastened part of her hair in a tail on her head. That had to do, she thought after a look in the mirror. "But those clothes?" Buck insisted. "We need money, so I got a job at the saloon," she replied and turned around. Buck stared aghast at her. "Lou--" "Not that kind of job, stupid," she stated when she saw the abhorred look in Buck's eyes. "I'll be waiting tables, that's all." "Kid---" "Kid ain't here, and I'll be careful. When are you boys ever going to learn that I can take care of myself?" she complained, before continuing, "Besides, it might be the best way for us to get in contact with the others - if I find somebody that's heading to Sweetwater I might get them to take a message. That way we don't have to worry about the marshal here." "But Lou---" "I'm late," she interrupted and quickly disappeared out the door to avoid any more arguing but also to get away. She didn't like the idea of leaving Buck on his own when he wasn't well, but more than that she needed to get a word through to the others.
Lou listened somewhat distracted to the instructions given to her by the barkeep, Sam. She couldn't help wondering how Buck was doing and how hard could it be to be a waitress anyway. "Are you listening?" Sam asked harshly. He had no patience with these new girls although he had hoped that this one would get the hang of it quickly. It had taken him an eternity to teach Millie not to run away from every customer that gave her a comment. This girl looked as if she had more spunk and hopefully would be a big improvement compared to the shy Millie. When the girl nodded, Sam grunted and continued with his lesson. He'd been a barkeep for Mrs. Abell for more than ten years now and he had seen almost everything. Nowadays he merely shrugged at the young hotheads that came in, ordering a whisky and started to look for trouble. Mostly they just needed to talk and he had talked several youngster out of a fight. He was a man in his fifties and his calm composure had saved more mirrors than anything else. The locals knew and respected him and apart from a few ugly fights when cattle herders passed the town, The Golden Nugget was known as a 'nice saloon', if that ever existed. But now Sam was rapidly losing his famous patience with the young girl before him. "And the drinks are always served before the food, get it?" Again the girl nodded. "Good. Why?" Finally he managed to ruse the girl out of her daydreaming. "Why?" she asked startled. "Yes, why?" The girl shrugged. "I don't know." "A man that enters here are always thirsty - and a drink is easier served than food. They should have their drinks on their table within five minutes from giving you the order. If the food takes long, then you'll sell them another. Got it? It ain't the food we're making the money on, it's the drinks - and the more you sell the better." "I got it, "Lou replied tiredly. "Sell as many drinks as possible and always make sure they have drinks before them." Sam smiled contentedly. "I knew you would get the hang of things." He looked up and saw Millie appear from the kitchen. "Millie, show Louise around will you and see to it that she knows where everything is. We'll open in half an hour." Millie approached Lou with a smile on her pretty face. Lou couldn't help thinking that Millie would be a whole lot prettier without the make-up, but refrained from saying anything. "Hi," Millie said and grabbed her by the arm. "Come, I'll show you the kitchen." Half an hour later Lou was very tired of Millie's constant chatter and she almost looked forward to the opening. Millie was a nice girl and had showed her every corner of the saloon, but had almost as many questions about Lou as she had things to show her. Lou tried to answer as non-comittingly as possible when they were interrupted of laughter by the door and two glamorous looking women entered and walked passed them. Millie looked at them with something between awe and fascination on her face. "They are---" Millie begun whispering to Lou, searching for the right word, when Lou interrupted her. "Whores, Millie. They're whores." Millie looked at her with startled eyes. "They don't like when you call them that," she whispered. "But that what they are, right?" Lou wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "Yes, but---" "Millie, they are just like any other person - except they are working as whores. That doesn't make them into something special." "No, I suppose not," Millie said hesitantly. "They scare me sometimes," she confessed. "That's their way of protecting themselves," Lou answered suddenly feeling a lot of sympathy for Millie. She had been a lot younger than Millie when she first found out that she was working at a brothel and she had to admit that some of the women there had scared her too. "There ain't anything to be scared about," Lou assured Millie. "So they act a bit rude, but then we don't know why they are, do we?" "Noo," Millie replied but was interrupted as the door opened and the first customers for the day appeared.
Lou sighed as she slowly removed her boot. She was sitting in the kitchen and was glad that cook already had left. Mrs. Martha Grimes would never have allowed for her to sit down and take of her boots in her kitchen, but Lou had found the pain unbearable. How she ever would get her feet down into the boots again was beyond her. She had never had so sore feet as she did right now, and the feeling when she slowly wiggled her foot was one of pure bliss. She had never imagined waiting tables could be so hard. She had been running between the bar, kitchen and saloon for most of the evening and night. It was now almost three in the morning and Mrs. Abell had finally called it a day. The saloon was still open but the guest were few and Sam could handle the few orders that came in. Mrs. Abell had given her a break around midnight and told her that they wouldn't have to start until six the following day, since she seemed to have learned the routine rather fast. Lou was grateful. More than ten hours at the saloon, learning the routine and keeping tipsy customer's hands to themselves had been exhausting. She soon learned that if a customer became too frisky, all she had to do was to nod to Sam or his helper, Don, and Bob, the doorman, would immediately take care of the man. And Mrs. Abell kept a watching eye over it all. She even told Lou off when she had been too friendly to a man, who Lou had thought were going to Blue Creek. Not that Lou had stepped over any limits, she had merely smiled and asked the man a few question, maybe flirting a bit. It had turned out the man had no idea of where he was going but as he had got Lou's attention when talking about Blue Creek, he had stuck to that. Disappointed Lou had returned to the kitchen where Mrs. Abell had met her and told her that keeping the guests 'entertained' was not her business. All she had to do was keeping them happy and serving them drinks - if they wanted anything else, Lou was supposed to call Annie, who was in charge of the prostitutes. If Mrs. Abell ever found out that Lou was trying to earn a little on the side, well, Mrs. Abell never finished the sentence, but Lou had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about. But although Mrs. Abell might look and act sternly but Lou had found out that she did have a heart after seeing her comforting Millie after a rude customer. Lou couldn't help wondering what it was that kept Mrs. Abell in this line of business. Bob had told her that Mrs. Abell once was 'one of the girls' before she married the owner of the saloon. When he passed away she had continued to run it as she saw fit. Nice girls waiting on the tables, and others girls for 'entertainment'. Mrs. Abell had long ago decided that for men to visit her establishment, she needed two things; nice, good-looking girls that waited on them, maybe flirted with them and good-looking girls ready to take care of other more primitive needs. Men didn't want whores to wait on them, so Mrs. Abell had hired waitresses and so far it had worked out well. Her saloon was well-known in the area and business was good. All this had Lou found out on her break when she had slipped out of the smoky saloon to get some fresh air and had run into Bob. Bob was a rather big man in his thirties but with a friendly disposition and his only intent seemed to be to keep an eyes on and protect Mrs. Abell's girls - all of them. Lou had met the other waitresses as well. With her they were four of them, working different times after how many customers that were expected. There was Sally, a brunette with dimples that showed when she smiled, which she did more often than not. She seemed to know every man that walked in and always greeted them with a smile and a "Hello Henry, had a good day?". She was very popular and was often asked for. But she was fair - she shared her tip with the rest of the girls. Much to the dismay of the forth girl, who was one of the most beautiful girls Lou had seen with her blonde hair and brown eyes. But her looks were deceiving as she turned out to have a terrible temper and nothing seemed to please her. Lou had tried to talk to her but soon gave up. Millie later told her that, Amelia, as her name was, only was there to find her a husband, preferably a rich one that could take her away. "And she's so beautiful that she probably will one day," Millie had added with a sad smile. "She have had several proposals but she said that none of them were good enough for her," Millie had explained. They probably dumped her when they got to know her, Lou had thought to herself, wondering how any man could stand Amelia's whining. Lou would have preferred to work with Sally if she had had a choice, but Mrs. Abell paired her up with Millie, since they both were staying at the boarding house. The decision had made Lou cringed inwardly as she realised that she would have a hard time getting rid of Millie. Millie, on the other hand, had loved the idea and had been planning their every free time for weeks, until Lou had told her to stop. She had met some of the 'other girls' as well and she found them not so much different from the one she had worked for in another life. There were of course the blonde woman who had been so condescending towards her earlier, called Hallie, and who's haughty manners made Lou decide to keep out of her way as much as possible. Annie was somewhat in charge over them, a good-looking woman in her forties that still attracted men. Then there was Beatrice, a rather plump woman but whose mild manners attracted numerous men despite her lack of beauty. And Olivia, whose name and dark beauty clearly told of Spanish ancestry, Daisy who with her brown hair and brown eyes looked just like the girl next door, glamorous Eve and a few more whose names Lou never got. Not that she cared very much except for a slight interest in how many of them used the boarding house. It turned out that not all of them did. Sally and Amelia shared a room in another part of town, probably not to be subject to Mrs. Eddins strict rule about no men, since Millie had whispered to her that now and then one of the girls used a room at the boarding house. Lou could very easily figure out why. Most of the others actually stayed at the boarding room, having their share of men at the saloon. Only Annie stayed in town and Lou later had found out that she was married. Lou couldn't understand how any man could let his wife continue working as a whore but apparently Annie's husband had no problem with that. Men, Lou had thought when she had learned about the marriage. As Lou sat there in the kitchen massaging her feet and thinking back on the day as she tried to close her ears to Millie's gossip, Sam appeared in the door. "You did good today, girls," he said and handed them each a bunt of money. "What's this?" Lou asked surprised. "Your tip of course," Sam replied before returning to his duties. Lou couldn't help smiling. She had only a few dollars left and this would certainly help up hers and Buck's situation. She was about to place the money in her jacket when she saw Millie's pile. It was a great deal smaller than Lou's and she realised that Millie hadn't even earned half of what she had. And Millie had seen how much she had made. Lou's heart weakened and although she knew that she desperately needed money she quickly pulled out a few bills and handed them to Millie. "Here, take this," she said, hoping that Millie would accept it before she changed her mind. "I can't take it," Millie objected nearly in tears. "I wouldn't have earned it if you hadn't showed me around," Lou explained. "It's as much yours as it is mine. Now take it." Millie hesitantly accepted the money and smiled appreciating at Lou. "I'm not as good at this as you are," she said shyly. "Come on Millie, of course you are," Lou said encouragingly. "Let's get back," she suggested before Millie started on another long tirade on how worthless she was. The girls walked in silence back to the boarding house. It was dark outside and the stars were beginning to fade as they yielded to the morning light. "How come you ended up here, Millie?" Lou asked. "No offence, but you don't really seem cut up to be a saloon girl." Millie stared down at the ground. "I don't know what else to do," she mumbled. "What happened?" Lou asked silently. "I was living in a small town further east of here," Millie begun. "When my parents died in small pox I was sent to an aunt. I didn't like living with her and her husband." Lou could hear the slight tremble in her voice when she mentioned the aunt and her husband and Lou had a pretty good idea of what might have happened. "So I signed up as one of them mail-order brides." Millie smiled embarrassed. "I'm not very pretty and there was no one that had even asked me out," she tried to explain weakly. "So I was sent to Plum Creek to meet my husband. But when I saw him I got scared - he was nothing like I had expected, so I ran off. Mrs. Abell found me and told me I could work for her." Millie shrugged. "That's it, I suppose." "So this is what you want to do?" Lou asked. Millie shook her head, "Oh no, I would love to get married - to have a family." She blushed and looked down. "You'll probably think I'm silly, but I keep dreaming that someday someone walk into the saloon and take me away." "There's no such thing as Prince Charming," Lou sad sadly. Although Kid is as close as they come, she thought to herself. "I know that," Millie said, "but I can't help hoping - and I know it's only a dream. I mean if he would walk in he'll probably just see Amelia." "Millie, you're just as pretty as Amelia," Lou objected, "if you only stopped wearing that hideous make-up." "But all the girls wear it," Millie said and brought her hand up to her cheek as if to hide her face. "That's because they need it." Millie looked unbelievingly at Lou when they realised that they were back. Seeing the house suddenly remembered Lou about Buck and she hastily said good-night to Millie and walked over to the well to get some more water with her back. She cursed silently when Millie ran after her. "You mean that Lou? That I'm pretty?" she asked as she caught up with Lou. "Yes I did. Now get a good night sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." "You wouldn't like to have a cup of tea?" Millie asked, reluctant to let go of her new friend. "No, thank you," Lou replied as they reached the stairs. "I could make you a cup and bring it to your room," Millie suggested, causing Lou to take a deep breath. "Thank you, Millie, but don't you think we should get some sleep? It's been a long day." Millie looked disappointingly at her. "I suppose so, she replied uncertainly. "You're sure you don't want a cup?" "I'm pretty sure, Millie. It's been a long day. Another time, alright?" "Maybe tomorrow?" "Maybe. Good night." Lou watched after Millie as she returned to her room. When she was sure Millie wasn't going to follow her she quickly continued down the dark hall, filled with worry for Buck. |
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