Chapter Six—Christmas and New Year’s

     As Robin had hoped, December proved to be a very fruitful month at the store, not quite as good as October, but she still grossed over $1,000, and netted almost $500. So she had almost $2,000 in her “cushion fund” at the moment. I need $600 a month coming in…that’s going to be tough. But at least she had the $2,000 to fall back on, and maybe I can stay close enough to break even each month, and go over a few times, so that I won’t deplete that fund entirely. If I do, I’m finished. For the 1,000th time she cursed John Jones and whoever was behind him. There’s got to be a way to stop him, there just has to be…But she didn’t know what it was.
     So on December 29, the last work day of the month, she handed over the $150 again.

     Christmas for the most part was nice, but there was some sadness, too, especially for Aunt Martha. It was her first one without Uncle Ben, so it was harder for her.
     “He was such a good man, Robin, so kind and thoughtful. I miss him so,” she said as she brushed away a tear.
     Robin had trouble holding back tears herself, being especially sad for her aunt. “He’s waiting for you, Aunt Martha. I’m sure he misses you, too.”
     Fortunately, one of Aunt Martha’s best friends, Gertrude Long, invited her and Robin over for Christmas dinner that afternoon, so they spent several hours there and that seemed to cheer the older lady up some. Gertrude actually had invited several people and one of them, an older gent, a very distinguished man named R. J. Reed, sat and talked with Aunt Martha for quite a while. He was a widower now and no doubt lonely and they seemed to take to each other. Before he left, he asked if he could call on her sometime, and Aunt Martha, flustered a little, said, “Well, yes, I suppose so. Though I can’t understand why you would want to.”
     R. J. smiled. “Why would a man not want to call on a charming, attractive lady such as yourself?” And Aunt Martha really got flustered that time.
     Robin was amused. She told her aunt later, “Now, if you start going out with that nice gentlemen, we’re going to have to talk about how late you can stay out. If I’ve got a curfew, then you have to have one, too.”
     “Oh, pooh, dear, he’s not going to ask me out.” But she blushed and Robin could tell that the idea wasn’t exactly unappealing to Aunt Martha. Robin hoped that maybe her aunt could find somebody that would help ease the pain somewhat from the loss of Uncle Ben. Yeah. Like I’ve been looking for with Rob…
     She and Aunt Martha had received almost 100 Christmas cards on the days leading up to the holiday. Ben and Martha Morrow had been in Whitewater since the town began so they had a lot of friends. In fact, they probably knew everybody before the Kilmer Mining came in and brought the miners and a lot of new businesses.
     When Robin and Aunt Martha arrived back home a little after 6 from Gertrude Long’s dinner on Christmas Day, there was a package sitting on the front porch by the door. Robin picked it up and saw it was for her from Jason.
     “Oh, isn’t that nice that he left you something. He must have come by while we were gone. I’m sorry you missed him.” That from Aunt Martha, of course. Robin opened the package after she went inside the house, and pulled out a lovely blue and white winter neck scarf. “Oh, how pretty!” she said, and wrapped it around her neck three or four times. “So warm.” I’ll be sure to thank him properly…and she smiled at that thought.
     She had also received Christmas presents from Cameron Collins and Adam Stouffer. Cameron had dropped by a couple of days before Christmas and given her a lovely, hand-made bridle for Roberta, much better than the one she had.
     “Oh, thank you, Cameron! This is beautiful! Look at this, Aunt Martha, have you ever seen a better one?” She got up on her tiptoes and, right in front of her aunt, gave Cameron a kiss, on the lips, and she held it for a good five seconds. Cameron turned a little red, and Aunt Martha smiled happily. I think she really likes Cameron. He’s a fine man, reminds me of Uncle Ben in a lot of ways. Rugged, outdoors type…Apparently, Aunt Martha had given up hope for Robin and Len Kramer (Len had sent a Christmas card, addressed to both of them).
     “Come on, Cameron,” Robin said, taking him by the hand, and heading towards the back door, dragging him along. “Let’s go put it on Roberta right now and go riding.”
     “Whoa, young lady!” Aunt Martha said. “It is cold and raining outside and you aren’t going anywhere.”
     “Oh, Aunt Martha!” Robin said, more than a little peeved. Her aunt could still get on her nerves at times like this.
     But Cameron was on Aunt Martha’s side. “Miss Robin”—he always called her that in front of her aunt—“We can go fit it on her, but I’m with your aunt. It’s much too cold and wet to be going ridin’ right now. At least wait until the rain stops.” Aunt Martha gave a triumphant nod of the head.
     Robin had to admit, it was nasty outside and not the sort of day she’d normally go riding. “Ok. You two are fuddy-duddies. But we can go try it on her.”
     So she and Cameron at least did that much and Robin loved it. Roberta seemed to take to it as well, after they got it adjusted just right.
     “It’s perfect, Cameron, thank you.” But then Robin felt a touch of angst. “I didn’t get you anything.”
     “Well, I don’t need anything, Robin.”
     She smiled. “Well, I know what I can give you.”
     “Oh? What’s that?”
     “This…” And for the next ten minutes, Robin gave Cameron a very nice Christmas present.
     It would have gone on longer if Aunt Martha hadn’t broken it up. She came walking in their direction. “Robin Morrow! You get in this house right this minute or I’m going to paddle your…oh! Mr. Collins, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still here. I thought Robin…I mean…” Aunt Martha was flustered.
     Robin and Cameron had been inside the stable so they weren’t getting wet, but it was still very cold and Robin had only put on a light jacket. She still had her arms around Cameron’s neck, and he had his arms around her lower back, when Aunt Martha appeared around the corner and saw them.
     “Aunt Martha,” Robin said with a coy smile. “I was just giving Cameron his Christmas present.”
     Cameron blushed, and let Robin go. But he did say, “Yeah, and it’s the best Christmas present I’ve ever had.” Now it was Robin’s turn to blush.
     Aunt Martha tried to gain her composure. “Oh, well, I’m sorry, I didn’t… didn’t mean to interrupt. I thought Robin was out here by herself. I don’t want her to catch a cold.”
     “It’s ok, Mrs. Morrow,” Cameron said, putting his hat on. “I need to be going anyway.” He winked at her. “Give her a few good licks for me, too, will you? She’s a feisty filly and she needs a little more taming.”
     “Ohw!” Robin said. “How dare you…” And she drew her foot back to kick him, but he hopped away, chuckling softly.
     “See what I mean?” Cameron replied.
     Aunt Martha was smiling now, happy to see the bantering going on between her niece and this nice looking man. “Well, Mr. Collins, she has a birthday coming up in about three weeks. You can come over then and I’ll give you the paddle and let you have the honor.”
     Robin stared at her, horrified. “Aunt Martha!” Cameron and Martha both laughed. Well, I’d rather have Cameron do it than Aunt Martha…
     “I might just do that, Mrs. Morrow.” Robin gave him a dirty look, and Cameron chuckled again. “I reckon I’ve worn out my welcome, so I’ll be off.”
     “What a nice man,” Aunt Martha said. Then, turning to Robin, “Now, you get into that house, young lady, or I’ll warm you up real quick.”
     Robin rolled her eyes. “Yes, Aunt Martha…”
     Adam had sent his gift through the mail. It arrived on Christmas Day, special delivery, and just a few minutes after Robin and her aunt had gotten home. Robin hadn’t seen Adam since their night together near the end of November, but he had written her a letter telling her that he was going to be out-of-town until just after Christmas. And then he sent her a Christmas present—a bottle of very expensive perfume. Robin knew how much it cost because she had seen that brand in one of the wholesale catalogues; she had refused to order any of it for her shop because she thought it was so expensive nobody would buy it. There was something else in the box that Adam sent, and Robin smiled when she saw what it was. A playing card. The Ace of Diamonds with “10½” scrawled on it. She didn’t have to think long to remember what that meant.
     Slowly, but surely, Rob Conners was fading from her mind…

     Robin had closed her shop on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but she was open again on Wednesday the 26th to start an “After Christmas Sale.” Sales were down, but she expected that, but, as noted a few pages earlier, she still topped $1,000 for the month. She was going to close again for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s, but she was going to have an extremely busy weekend because she had to close out her books for the year. So once she closed on Saturday, the 29th, she spent the rest of that day and nearly all of Sunday afternoon and night getting everything totaled up. And geez, I’ve only been open three months. I’m going to have to do this different next year…keep a running total of the whole year after every month so I won’t have to add up all twelve months at the end of the year…that will be a little extra work at the end of each month, but it will be worth it at year’s end…I wish I could afford to hire somebody to do the books…
     Robin had gone to a party at Susan Markum’s house that Friday night, and had been out pretty late. The next morning, she wanted to make sure her aunt was all right. “Are you feeling ok, Aunt Martha? You weren’t waiting up for me last night.”
     “Yes, I’m fine, dear. I was just a little tired so I went to bed early. The holidays are always a little tiring. Did you have a nice time?”
     “Yes, I think Susan invited half the female population of Whitewater over. I’ve never seen so much food. She even had some in the bedroom.” Aunt Martha laughed and Robin pulled a face. “I barely made it home before midnight. I’m glad you didn’t stay up if you were so tired.”
     “Oh, I trust you, dear. I know you’ll get home on time. I only stay up sometimes to read. That helps me get to sleep.”
     Robin smiled. She knew that “staying up to read” business was a bunch of baloney. She went over to her aunt and gave her a hug and said to her, “Aunt Martha, you always did trust me. You didn’t strap me because you didn’t trust me. You strapped me because I broke the rules or disobeyed you. And that’s just what you should have done. And if I don’t mind you now, you should still do it, just like you used to.”
     Aunt Martha looked at her niece, and blinked at her a couple of times, as if what Robin said hadn’t quite registered.
     But Robin added, still smiling, “Just no lectures, please.” And with that, Aunt Martha laughed, though she felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. She’s such a beautiful, beautiful young lady…just…perfect…oh, Ben, I wish you could see her, oh, how I wish you could see her…”All right, dear, no lectures. But I’ll keep the strap oiled, just in case.” And they both laughed, and hugged one another again. I guess I’d let Aunt Martha do just about anything she wanted to now…wow, what a change in the way I felt about her from a few months ago…They were both so happy that such a closeness had developed in their relationship.
     They started eating breakfast and Robin asked, “Are you going to the big fireworks display at the park tonight?” Today was New Year’s Eve and the town was planning a big bash at Whitewater Park with fireworks at midnight, provided the weather wasn’t too bad.
     Aunt Martha blushed. “Well, I don’t know, dear. Mr. Reed…has asked me to go to the get-together, but I’m not sure we’ll stay up till midnight. You know us old folks need our sleep.”
     Robin smiled. Something seemed to be brewing between Aunt Martha and R. J. Reed, but Robin wasn’t going to pry any more than her aunt did into her love life. “Well, I’m glad you two are going together. He seems like a really nice man. It may be too cold for fireworks anyway.”
     “Maybe so. We might stay, it just depends on how we’re both feeling. Are you going with Ryan or Jason, or that nice Mr. Collins?”
     “No. Ryan and Jason both have parties they are going to, though Ryan said they’ll probably turn their people loose early enough to go see the fireworks. I haven’t heard from Cameron. I don’t know what he’s doing.”
     “What about…what was his name?…Mr. Stouffer? He seemed like a nice man, too.”
     Robin smiled. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Aunt Martha was trying to get me married off… “He’s been out-of-town this month, but he said he’d be home after Christmas. I haven’t seen him yet, though. I’ll just go by myself. I know some of my friends are going to be there, so I’ll see them there.” She pulled a face. “You know how husbands and wives are. The men will go off and do their thing and the women will, too. I know that Julia and Betty and Susan and a few others are going, so I’m sure I’ll see them.”
     “Well, good, I just don’t want you to be alone.”
     “Oh, I won’t be. And I’ll probably stay for the fireworks, so if I’m not home till late, try not to worry about me too much.”
     “Ok, dear. Just as long as I know then I won’t worry.”
     Aunt Martha had planned on taking some cookies to the party that night—there would be a ton of food there—and Robin helped her.
     “Are you going to the store today, dear?” Aunt Martha asked her.
     “No. I finished all the bookwork yesterday afternoon so I’m staying away from that place today.” Ever since Eric Wilcox had let her have the money for her business, there probably hadn’t been but three days that Robin hadn’t been at the store doing something. As noted, it had occupied, by far, the biggest compartment in her well-structured life. The few days she had taken off had always been on Sunday because the shop was open six days a week. But usually she was down there Sunday afternoon, too, doing something, usually catching up on invoices or stocking or rearranging the items on the shelves. It had been fun, but the novelty was starting to wear off a little and she was going to try to take more days off this year, every Sunday if possible.
     “Well, good,” her aunt said. “You’re down there too much. You’ll wear yourself out if you don’t pace yourself. Can’t you take a Saturday off? Surely Marge and Rhonda can handle the store for you?”
     “Well, only one of them works on Saturday, they alternate remember?”
     “Oh, yes, I remember.”
     “And there needs to be two people down there, especially on Saturday because we do a lot of business that morning.” In fact, the store did more business in the three hours it was open on Saturday than it did any other day of the week. It got Robin to thinking that she might stay open all day on Saturday, and maybe close up early some other day when business wasn’t as brisk.
     “Why don’t you hire someone to work those three hours on Saturday morning? At least once or twice a month so you could have the day off. Surely one of your girlfriends would like to have some extra money.”
     “Well, I don’t make that much to where I want to pay an extra salary. Why should I pay somebody when I could do it myself? Besides, I get Saturday afternoon off. And I’ll try to start taking Sunday afternoons off as well.”
     “Yes, I never have liked you working on the Sabbath. I don’t think that’s right.” A common, indeed, almost universal feeling among the church-going hoi polloi in the Victorian Age. Then Aunt Martha smiled coyly. “I may have to make a rule. ‘No working on the Sabbath.’ And you know what happens when you break the rules.”
     Robin couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, Aunt Martha. But sometimes I just have bookwork that simply has to get done. Would you mind if I brought it home and did it here?”
     “Work is work, dear, regardless of where you do it. No, you take Sunday off from now on and get that bookwork done during the week.”
     Robin could get the accounting work done on Monday or Tuesday during work hours, but she always like to be on the floor helping customers. That was the most enjoyable part of the job, so she generally put the bookwork off till after hours—mostly Sunday because she didn’t want to give up her Saturday afternoons and evenings with her friends. She started to say something, but before she could, her aunt spoke up, “If you can’t pace and discipline yourself, then I’ll just have to do it for you.” And with that, Aunt Martha gave one of her superior nods that said, “I’m right and that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
     Her niece made a face. She knew it would be futile to argue. “Yes, Aunt Martha.” There’s the old Aunt Martha. Rules, rules, and more rules. Well, she isn’t as bad any more…And unlike days of yore, Robin had to admit that her aunt was right, she needed more time off. She’d burn herself out otherwise, and she didn’t want to do that. She loved her business too much. And once again, and not surprisingly, her mind drifted towards work. Of course, if I don’t get some more money coming in, I won’t have a business for long. How can I increase my sales? I’ve got to figure a way…She began to burn at the thought of John Jones. Oh, I can’t stand the thought of that man and what he’s doing. There MUST be a way to stop him. But in the two and a half months since he first came to see her, she hadn’t come up with anything, not even the semblance of an idea, short of shooting him. Well, he won’t be back till the end of January. Maybe I can think of something before then. Or hope I make enough money to cover his cost as well…
     The thought of him almost ruined her day.

     But not her evening. It was cold outside, but clear, and there was no snow on the ground, though the near and far peaks were covered. There was no set time for people to arrive at the park—or leave either, for that matter—so people were there all day long. But the main crowd began arriving about 6 PM. R. J. Reed came by the house in his wagon for Aunt Martha about 6:30, and Robin went with them, although she rode Roberta so she could come home when she wanted to. She had been tired and taken a nap that afternoon, which felt wonderful. She ought to have no trouble staying for the midnight fireworks, though she hadn’t expected any problem doing that even if she hadn’t taken a nap.
     Aunt Martha fussed over what she was going to wear and how she looked, as if she were a teenager going out on her first date. “Robin, do you think this looks nice? Should I wear the brown or the black? Do you think it will be too cold for this? Oh, my hair is such a mess…” Robin was tickled and so happy for her aunt because it was obvious Aunt Martha was delighted by the attention given to her by a man. Robin pulled a face. I’ll give her a couple of mine if she wants them…
     Robin arrived at the park a few minutes after 6:30. She helped Mr. Reed find a good place for the wagon and then picketed Roberta where the horse could nibble on some grass. There were already a lot of people there and it looked to be a gala affair. It was dark by then, but lights had been set up all around. She could see the picnic tables stacked with food, and a number of card tables had been set up to hold more. There were kids running around and squealing, some old timers bundled up in hats, coats, and gloves shoving dominoes around, and she even heard a band. The temperature was in the mid-40s and would probably drop to the high 30s before midnight, so it might send a lot of the oldest and youngest home before the fireworks. But maybe not. After all, it was New Year’s Eve so everybody wanted to party. Alcohol, however, was forbidden at all times in Whitewater Park, so if a person wanted that kind of party, he or she would have to head to the other end of town where the saloons (and brothels) would no doubt be doing a brisk business until the wee hours of the morning.
     Robin had dressed warmly—woolen shirt, jeans with long bloomers underneath, boots, and a jacket, with the blue and white scarf Jason had given her wrapped loosely around her neck. She also had on a pair of gloves, but no hat. She wasn’t much of a hat wearer, except when she was riding. Everybody should wear a hat when riding a horse…On a whim, she had touched the side of each neck with a spot of the perfume Adam had given to her for Christmas. It smelled heavenly, but it was just right. It wasn’t going to bowl anybody over, but if a man got close enough, he’d smell it. She smiled. I wonder if a man WILL get close enough tonight…She shrugged. They come when they come. She certainly hadn’t been lacking in male companionship in the recent past.
     The first thing she did was head towards the picnic table for something to eat. It was mostly salads and cold meats—why bring anything hot since it wouldn’t stay that way in that weather for more than three or four minutes?—but that was all right with her. She knew that Dulcie Arnold made an absolutely scrumptious potato salad so she found her and asked her if she had made one and where she put it.
     “Right at the edge of that table right there,” Dulcie said, pointing. “I’m so glad you like it.”
     There were a lot of desserts, too, and gallons of hot coffee and tea. The tables that held those latter commodities were the most crowded and most frequently visited.
     Allie Kirk grabbed Robin almost as soon as she got there and they went to the food table together. She hadn’t seen Allie for awhile so they visited and moseyed on over to where a stage had been set up and a band was playing. It was the same band that had been playing the first time Robin had been to the park—the ice cream social where she got into the argument with Burt Draeger over Rob Conners. She remembered that as she listened to the band. Geez, that was over six months ago…Rob was over seven months ago…She felt a tinge of sorrow when she thought about him. Over seven months ago…he’s been dead that long…only one night, and one day, and I still have vivid memories of him…the stagecoach ride, his sense of humor as he was robbing it, the way he looked at her when he was asking her—telling her—to go with him, his naivety over the whole kidnapping thing—I could have tried to get away three or four times that night, he was such a klutzy kidnapper…she giggled at that thought…but he wasn’t an outlaw anyway…but then the sadness got deeper the more she thought about him…he was so wonderful, so tender, so…complete…yet it was so amazing to her…all we did was lie there and stare at each other…his eyes…was it his eyes?…she didn’t know…and then she smiled when she thought about Roberta…I’ll have her for a long time, and she’ll always remind me of him…and I’ll have his memory…why did he lie to me and get killed?…I’ll always believe he just snapped, I have to believe that, I have to…She frowned…I haven’t thought this much about Rob in a long time…then Allie cut in on her reminiscences and her attention got diverted.
     A little while later, she saw Mayor Randolph Grey and his disgusting wife, Gloria. Grey, as always, had his hand out—in more ways than one. Gloria caught her eye and immediately, and to Robin, deliberately, turned her head and stuck her nose in the air. Robin wanted to puke, and she turned and went in the other direction.
     Chris Draeger introduced her to his fiancée, Theresa O’Neal. She was a cute thing, though short and a tad bit on the plump side. She and Chris made a nice couple. She hadn’t known Theresa before. One of the newcomers. Robin then danced a few times, mostly with older, married men, or younger—too young—single men. A couple of them asked her if she’d like to go walking, but she declined. She wouldn’t mind going for a walk, but only with the right man.
     About 15 minutes later, a little after 9, she saw Adam Stouffer.
     He was talking to a couple of women, which didn’t surprise Robin because he was so nice-looking. She didn’t go over to him, but he saw her, gave her a quick nod of his head which Robin interpreted as “hang on, I’ll be there in a minute,” and so she stayed put. Sure enough, within a short time, he came over to her.
     “Hi,” he said with a smile. “Nice party.”
     “Yes,” she replied. “How long have you been here?”
     “Got here about half an hour ago actually. I only just arrived back in town early this evening. I was gone a little longer than I intended.”
     “Where did you go? You didn’t say in your letter.”
     “I didn’t? Oh, I’m sorry. Well, actually I intended to go more than one place, but I spent the whole time in Agua Caliente, where I grew up. I’m thinking about getting a small ranch, nothing big, maybe a quarter section or so. I want to do something, I can’t just sit around and do nothing. There’s quite a bit of land being sold over there right now so I took a look at a lot of it.”
     “Find anything?”
     He nodded. “A couple of interesting places, but I didn’t buy anything. No hurry, I want to look around some more, especially in this area.” He smiled. “It’s prettier here and I like the company better.” He took a sip of his coffee, and his eyes met hers over the rim of the cup. It was obvious what “company” he was talking about.
     She smiled. “Not too cold for you here?”
     “Not so far.”
     They stopped talking for a moment, and Robin said, “Oh, thank you for the Christmas gift. You really shouldn’t have.”
     “Well, I wanted to.”
     “I don’t know if you can smell it or not, but I put some on tonight.”
     “I can smell it,” he said. “It’s my favorite fragrance.”
     Adam broke eye contact; he had to because another woman came over and started talking to him. Robin was very annoyed, if for no other reason that what the woman did was rude. But she was annoyed for more reasons than that. That lady had broken a nice bit of electricity between Adam and Robin, and that irked her.
     Adam glanced at her and the two women were introduced, though neither seemed to approve of the other as they examined one another up and down. Wow, she’s a looker, Robin thought. Full, rich, black hair, long legs, sensuous lips and eyes, curves in all the right places, probably a year or two younger than Robin, though she seemed older. She wore a dress that spoke of money, as did the pearl necklace, and diamonds on her fingers—diamonds but no wedding band. She looked big city, thus a little out of place in a small town like Whitewater. Geez, she’s got me beat all to pieces…I’ll bet he attracts women like this all the time…
     Her name was Maureen. “Is this your wife?” she asked Adam, still scrutinizing Robin with distaste written all over her snooty face. At least that was Robin’s interpretation of her look.
     Adam smiled, and said, “No, she’s just a friend.” An arrogant smile came over Maureen’s face, but when she turned to Adam, she was all graciousness and extremely sensual. And it didn’t appear that she was even trying to be.
     “And what do you do for a living?” she asked him, ignoring Robin.
     He explained that he was independently wealthy, what he was doing in Whitewater, etc., etc., etc. Robin was beginning to feel like a third wheel.
     Adam asked Maureen, “Do you live in Whitewater? I haven’t seen you around.”
     “Oh, no,” she replied. “I live in Chicago. My friend, Arthur Flanders, just loves to hunt elk in the winter, so he’s up in the mountains somewhere doing that right now. He owns a fashion design company there.” Ah, that’s where the money comes from…She continued. “We travel to London, Paris, New York. He hosts shows everywhere. But once a year, he likes to get away and go hunting.”
     “But you don’t go into the mountains with him?”
     “No, I’m a city girl,” she said with a laugh that sounded to Robin like tinkling ice. “I don’t like to camp out, so I stay in the nearest town.” She looked down the road at Whitewater. “Such as it is. But the mountains are pretty.”
     "Are you from Chicago originally? Nice city, been there many times,” Adam said. “Incidentally, I’ve met Arthur Flanders. He did some shipping on one of the railroads that I was Board of Directors of…” Now they were talking way over Robin’s head, and she thought about finding an excuse and skipping out.
     “Oh, you’ve met him? Next time he comes through, I’ll tell him you’re here. I’m sure he’d love to see you again. I don’t think he’s going to be back for a couple of weeks, so I’m going to be here all by myself. I’m not sure what I’m going to do while I’m here, though I understand there are some nice hiking trails. Do you like to go hiking, Adam?”
     Adam. She’s already calling him Adam…How disgusting…Give the guy an engraved invitation to your bed, why don’t you…
     “I do it occasionally. How did you meet Arthur Flanders?”
     “Oh, I was a call girl in Chicago for a number of years.” Now, why am I not surprised? “We met that way.”
     Adam nodded as if being a whore was no big deal. Well, it probably wasn’t for people of his social status. Maureen looked at Robin, a sickly sweet smile on her face. “And what do you do for a living, honey?”
     Don’t call me “honey,” you…. “I own a local women’s shop,” Robin replied, and realized when she said it how mundane it sounded compared to what Adam and Maureen had done.
     “Oh, how nice. Maybe I’ll come by some time, though I doubt you’d have anything I’d want.”
     “Probably not. We have a good clientele.” In other words, we don’t outfit whores…But she got a dirty look from Maureen.
     “Well, Maureen,” Adam said, intervening diplomatically, “It’s nice to meet you, but I promised Robin a dance, and I don’t want to go back on my word.” Robin looked at him, puzzled. We didn’t talk about dancing…
     “Oh, of course not. It’s getting colder anyway, and I think I’ll go back to my hotel room. Are you staying at the hotel?”
     “No, I’ve got a room at a boarding house in town.”
     “Well, come see me sometime. I know I’ll get bored here and it would be nice to talk to someone who’s been around a little.” Yeah, I’m sure you want to do a lot of talking…Maureen left with a smile and a wave and an arrogant, superior glance at Robin.
     Adam looked at Robin. “I’m sorry about that. Rude of her to interrupt us.”
     “Yes, I thought so, too.” Then, “We hadn’t talked about dancing.”
     He smiled. “I had to think of some way to get rid of her.”
     Robin blinked. “You wanted to get rid of her?”
     “Come on, let’s go dance,” he said, taking her by the hand.
     The band was playing a mixture of slow and fast tunes—slow for the older folks who couldn’t boogie, and fast for the younger ones who wanted to. Adam and Robin caught a slow one. He put an arm around her and she put an arm on his shoulder. They danced at a propitious distance. He looked down into her eyes.
     “In case you are wondering, women like Maureen make me nauseous.”
     Robin laughed. “Well, yes, to be honest, I was wondering. You both seem to come from the same social status.”
     “Maybe so, but she flaunts it and I can’t stand that. Although I can understand it, I guess. I imagine she’s your age or younger, came from a poor family in Chicago, got into prostitution because she had to, and got a break when Arthur Flanders found her. I’m happy for her in a way. Too many girls get stuck in that life for a long time. I feel for them, but it’s the best they can do. My sister actually worked at a brothel for awhile.”
     “Really?”
     “Yeah. It was before I had any money to help her.” He chuckled. “Actually, it was the other way around. She was a lady that men would pay a lot to be with, so she made good money and gave me a stake that I could invest. The rest, as they say, is history.”
     “What happened to her?” Robin asked.
     He smiled. “Happily married with three children now.”
     “Oh, that’s wonderful.”
     “Yeah. Very few of those women end up like that.” He gave her a playful grin. “Have you ever worked at a brothel?”
     Robin returned a pixy smile. “And what would you think of me if I had?”
     “Not a bit less of you than I do now. Unless, I suppose, you just did it for the fun of it. Like I said, sometimes it’s necessary, and I think most people understand that. It’s the ones who make money off of them that are the real scum, if you ask me.”
     Robin wasn’t quite sure she agreed with all of that philosophy, but she wasn’t of a mind to argue the point. “Well, just so you’ll know, no, I’ve never worked at a brothel, but I’ve been asked to.”
     “Really? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be nosey, but why did you say no? Scruples?”
     “Yeah. I guess I just wasn’t raised that way.”
     Adam smiled and leaned forward and kissed Robin on the forehead. “What was that for?” she asked him.
     “You’re ten times more beautiful than Maureen ever thought about being.”
     Robin’s eyes met his. “Now tell me the truth, Mr. Railroad Man. Would you say that to me if I had lived the life Maureen had? I mean, worked at the same job?”
     He kept his eyes on hers. “If you were the same kind of person as you are now, yes, I would. In fact, maybe even more so because you would have fought your way up from a desperate situation to make something of yourself. Maureen may not think much of you owning your own small business, but I do because I know what it takes to do so.”
     Robin dropped her eyes, touched by what he said. She looked back up at him. “Thank you, Adam.”
     The song was over and they quit dancing. “Would you like to go walking?” he asked her.
     She smiled. “Yes, that would be nice.”
     They walked a little ways towards the river, out of the crowds. They talked. They sat on a rock by the river. They went silent. For a long time…
     Fireworks before the fireworks…

     Robin didn’t wake up until 11:30 the next day, but even then she lay in bed for another half hour just relaxing. It was cold so she snuggled up under the covers, thinking…and her mind drifted back to her business. I’ve got to find a way to increase sales…attend a bigger church and meet more people? No, I can’t do that, it isn’t right to go to church for that reason…I could join another lady’s club or two…they’re kinda boring actually, all they do is sit around and gossip or knit or drink tea and talk about their babies or grandchildren…but, it might be the thing to do…I never have joined that theatrical group. I may check into that. How can I meet more people?…Maybe I should have more sales…just on certain items each time…just to get customers into the store…I’ll go down there this afternoon and see what items I might can put on sale…She made a face…I want to take today off…well, I took yesterday off…
     To her credit, Aunt Martha didn’t ask Robin what time she got home or what she did. She just simply asked, “Did you have a nice time last night?”
     “Yes, it was a nice party. I saw a lot of people I knew. Did you and Mr. Reed have a good time?”
     “Yes, he’s a nice man, but I don’t know if I’m ready to get too involved with a man again or not. It hasn’t been that long since your Uncle Ben passed away.”
     It had been nearly a year, which Robin thought was plenty of time, but that was up to Aunt Martha. “Well, you’ll do the right thing, I’m sure…” Robin was talking to her aunt with only a part of her brain. How can I sell more goods? I don’t want to dip into my cushion fund…
     As it turned out, that wouldn't be necessary.  But what might become necessary could be a whole lot worse.