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women. I had no customers like them, so you never saw them in
action. I know you found women who like women distasteful, and the
same can be said of these men. I can tell you more about them, if you
like.
Lucretia shuddered. I think my imagination is enough, thank you
very much. They laughed again. A knock interrupted their
merriment. The bellman handed a letter to Ruby, who answered the
door. Although she could read little, her lessons from Lucretia were
improving that ability, but not enough to decipher the words scrawled
on the paper. The envelope was addressed to Mrs. Lucretia Sawyer
and Mrs. Ruby Clanton Sawyer. She looked askance at Lulu, who
nodded and told her to open it
She did so, but it might as well have been Greek to her. All these
fancy words. I cannot read it at all. She handed it to Lucretia, who
skimmed it and grinned from ear to ear.
It says, simply, that from this day forward, you are Ruby Clanton
Sawyer, my adopted mother. It is all legal and signed by Judge
Franklyn Carter Mountebank. See the signature.
Ruby said nothing. Lucretia suddenly realized that perhaps she
had overstepped herself. Perhaps Ruby did not want her for a
The Major s Wife 231
daughter. She should have never done this without asking. I am
sorry, Ruby. I love you so much that I wanted you in my life forever.
I think of you as the mother I never had. I did not think you might not
want to be my mother. Oh, dear God, I am sorry.
She turned toward her bedroom, but the arms that stopped her
wrapped themselves around her. Through her tears, Ruby said, I
cannot say what I feel, Lulu. No one has ever wanted me before,
except for what they could take from me. No one has ever loved me
before& really loved me. I love you, too, and if I had a daughter, she
would be you.
Lucretia turned and lifted the veil. She showered the scarred face
with kisses as she held the older woman tight. They stood and cried
together for a long time, until there were no tears left. Only
smiles& smiles of happiness. They moved to the balcony, where they
stood arm in arm and watched the sun sink over the bayous to the
west.
232 Beverly Sims
Chapter 69
Devereaux returned home with two bottles of rotgut rum that he
intended to consume entirely by himself while he formulated a plan
for the disappearance and demise of one Ruby the Bitch. Halfway
through the first bottle, his plan was clear enough in his besotted head
to take it to the worst barrooms in the city. He would walk so that no
one could identify his carriage, and the trek would help rinse some of
the rum from his head.
He passed several waterfront bars, but none would do. Too many
customers who might remember him, since his recent life had forced
him to seek companionship at places like these. Finally, at the furthest
point before the river turned away from the bayous, he found what he
was looking for. Inside the smoke-filled shanty were a dozen rickety
tables, a slanted bar, and hungry-looking men of many colors who
watched him stagger inside to the nearest chair by the door.
A slovenly barmaid waddled over and stood with one hand on her
incredibly large hip. She bent down to expose her ample bosom and
rubbed a pudgy hand against his cheek. Anythin I cane git you,
darlin ? Anythin at all?
In the time it took to grab her hand from his face, his plan
changed. He pulled the obese woman closer. There sure is, my
beauty. What would you do for a ten-dollar gold piece?
Hell, anathin . Wan me ta strip right here or up the stairs?
No, that is, no stripping. Something much more exciting than
sex, and I think you are the perfect one for the job. Get us a couple of
drinks and sit down here so I can tell you all about it.
The Major s Wife 233
She returned with two glasses of rum. Lemme see da ten dollars
first.
He motioned her to sit and moved his chair as close to hers as he
could, considering the odors that emanated from her body. A fleeting
thought ran through his mind, and he wondered when, or if, she had
bathed in her lifetime. He slid his hand inside his vest pocket and
removed a five-dollar gold coin. The other half of the money when
the job is done.
Ya got youself a partner. Whata we goina do?
What if I told you we are going to kill someone? Would that
bother you?
No, but I shoulda asted for more. But a deal is a deal. Ten dollars
is a fair price for a killin , as long as I dona git hirt.
Oh, you won t. I promise you won t. He smiled at her while he
thought, No, not hurt. Just dead!
She complained the entire walk back to his home. No one paid
any mind to a drunken man and the obese whore wandering the streets
in the wee hours of the morning. He led her up the back steps to a
storage shed where the yard equipment was stored. It had started
raining and Sam would not be using any of it in the rain. Things were
working perfectly for Devereaux. He found some rags and cleaning
solvent in the little building and handed them to her. He did not know
her name, and did not want to.
Now, shuck off your clothes all of them and stand out in the
rain until you are wet. Use this rag and scrub your body until it
sparkles in the rain. You stink and I cannot fuck a stinking woman.
That is, if you want to fuck.
Fuck? Hell, yes. She dropped her skirt and pulled the filthy
blouse over her head. She wore nothing else. He had expected to be
disgusted by how she looked, but he found her so different from other
women that he felt a first stirring of arousal.
Devereaux reached out to one saggy tit and lifted it. She was
grinning her toothless smile when she lifted the other one to lick its
234 Beverly Sims
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