Devil May Care by Wade Miller

Author:Wade Miller [Miller, Wade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fawcett
Published: 2015-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Friday, September 15, 6:00 p.m.

He whistled into his room. Jinny's face looked puffier than ever from crying. But Biggo was in good humor; even the contrast between her and the girl he was thinking about didn't depress him.

"Well, you sure feel good," Jinny commented sullenly. She sat at the dressing table, putting her stuff away. She wore a pink-checked bathrobe.

"It's not such a bad day, honey."

"You get a chance to kick a cripple or something?"

"Come on, cheer up."

"Have you noticed what my face looks like?"

"You should complain. I'm the one who has to look at it."

She pitched her hairbrush at him and missed a mile. Then she laughed. Biggo had to admit she had a pleasant laugh. "I keep forgetting we're not really married, thank God," she said. "I'm all right. I'm through bawling.

"That's the baby doll. How about getting dressed? I feel like getting around some food."

They changed their clothes. Biggo got out a clean shirt. They were both worldly people and there was no excessive modesty about dressing. Biggo missed seeing her in girdle and brassiere, anyway, because he was engrossed with himself in the mirror. He swelled his massive chest, thinking, Good a man as ever. He felt young.

Jinny laughed again. She had caught him at it. Then she said, "For crying out loud, you blushed!"

"You're out of your head." He didn't like being laughed at when he was thinking about himself and Pabla, together.

Jinny eyed the mirror critically. "I guess you really are a soldier." His upper body was a hash of scars, most of them well-worn to pale markings against the hairy tan of his body. He had no left nipple, only a white slick of tissue. She asked, "Where?"

"Anybody that's got the hire."

"No, I meant where'd you get all those souvenirs."

"Not souvenirs. Every one means I made a mistake of one kind or another. Didn't dodge a spear here. Bullet-bullet-knife-bullet, came out the back. This mess here came from a broken bottle in Johannesburg."

She wrinkled her nose. "You look kind of gross." He said nothing and put on his shirt.

Jinny said, "Not everyone gets to carry their mistakes around with them like that, I guess." She threw down the lipstick in disgust. "Biggo, I can't go downstairs with this face. You go by yourself."

"On our wedding night?" He kidded her because he was sorry for her. "What'll people think?"

"Well, I'm just not going. I've still got some feelings." So he had dinner sent up to the room. It was nicely served by two waiters in Mexican costume and they ate by candlelight. Jinny wore the black one of her three dresses. Biggo, with Pabla in mind, practised being charming. He told stories. He answered most of Jinny's questions about Lew Hardesty but she thought Lew was a nice fellow anyway. So he told her about the first time he had mixed with Hardesty, some time ago in Port Safaga. It involved a fight and a bet and a brothel. It ended with an

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