The Comanche Kid by James Robert Daniels

Author:James Robert Daniels [Daniels, James Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cutting Edge
Published: 2021-08-01T22:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

We went banging through a door and it was all still and dark and the air had a thick mixture of heavy, sweet scents. Somewhere down a hall I could hear a piano playing and someone singing what I’m sure was a song about missing your mother or dying alone or the girl you lost. My eyes got used to the dim light and there was flowers in a vase on a table and the table had white lace on it and there were chairs on either side of it.

I heard the rustle of a skirt, and out of the shadows there came this older lady, heavyset with gray hair piled up high on her head and she said, “Well, hello, gentlemen, how are you?” She seemed real kindly and she smiled at me and I couldn’t meet her eyes so I ducked away.

Tommy Deuce said, “Good afternoon, ma’am, we’re doing just fine.”

“I’m Miss Rose,” she said.

Tommy Deuce put his bottle down on the table and he took his hat off. “Good afternoon to you, Miss Rose.”

She eyed Tommy Deuce’s bottle. “Well, I can see you are indeed doing fine. Maybe you two would like to get out of the sun and come sit down in the parlor?”

Tommy Deuce was as meek as a kitten and said, “Yes, ma’am.”

She took me by my arm and leaned in closer. “And what is your name, young man?”

I could barely get the words out. “Jamie, ma’am,” and I felt like I was doing some disservice to Jamie’s memory, as if my taking his name into a place for soiled doves was staining his reputation, not mine.

Tommy Deuce gave his name and she wanted to know what outfit we were with and where we were up from. She had her arm around me as if we were best friends and Tommy Deuce followed behind giving her all the answers.

She said, “Oh my, we had some boys from that outfit in here yesterday, and just this morning too.”

Then I wondered if Shakespeare had been in here and I felt angry about that. I wanted to ask her if one of them was tall and lean and had sandy hair with a little bit of copper in it, if the light was right, and if he quoted Shakespeare all the time. I couldn’t get it out because Tommy Deuce was telling her I’m the Comanche Kid, a famous Comanche killer, and how I lost my family, and this is my first time.

She stopped and faced me and put both of her hands on my shoulders. “Oh, you poor thing.” I couldn’t look her in the eyes but she smiled sweetly and said, “Oh, honey, but life goes on, doesn’t it? And isn’t this a special time? But I’ll bet you’re as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, aren’t you?”

I whispered, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, you are so precious I could eat you up myself.” She ran her hand through my hair and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

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