restaurants May Anna took us to later on, and said, “You folks doing all right here?”
“You sure are classy, all right,” Chick said, “sending us the aged stuff.”
“Nothing’s too good for my friends,” he said, all puffed up, not knowing Chick was joking.
Pink had a little Marmon back then, yellow I think it was, though Whippy Bird says they didn’t make them in yellow. We usually danced for a while then went out in the Marmon and drank. Whippy Bird says that’s not all you’d do, Effa Commander, but that’s none of her business—or yours either.
A girl got all kinds of offers in those days. Sometimes me and Whippy Bird went out by ourselves, and there was always somebody ready to buy us a drink or to ask would you like to go outside to where there was some real good sipping whiskey. You had to be careful. Maybe they wanted to share the whiskey and snuggle up a little, or maybe they wanted something else. Every now and then you’d see a girl slink back into the Brown Jug with her hair messed up or nursing a black eye. You had to watch out for yourself, and that’s why me and Whippy Bird always stuck together.
May Anna was different. She went with us sometimes, but right off, she looked the men over. Every now and then she took off with one of them, and we wouldn’t see her again that night. She said she had a talent for sniffing out money, which was surely true, but she never did have much of a head for taking care of herself. Sometimes, we saw her looking like she’d been beat up, but she didn’t volunteer any information, and we never asked.
Now I hear you saying to yourself, where was Buster McKnight when this was going on, and that surely is a good question.
Buster was busy making a name for himself as Buster Midnight. Toney got him fights up in Great Falls and Missoula and Helena and even down in Ogden. Then Toney took Buster on a tour to Denver and Pueblo. Buster wasn’t in Butte much, and when he was, May Anna didn’t like him hanging around her all the time. She got mad and told him to give her some room, which he had to do.
“As soon as me and Toney get some big fights, I’ll have plenty of dough, and we’ll get married,” Buster promised her.
But May Anna wasn’t interested. “So who wants to get married, Buster Midnight? I want to have a little fun. I’ll make my own money, thank you just the same,” May Anna replied.
“I should have put my foot down,” Buster told us once.
“Yeah, and get May Anna’s high-heeled slipper right in the middle of your instep,” Whippy Bird said. There was nothing Buster could do.
Of course, Buster never liked May Anna being a hooker. You could see him watch her sometimes and know it was eating his heart out. Especially if May Anna was out on a date with a customer. If Buster ran into her then, he sat and watched out of the corner of his eye, hoping for the john to get fresh so he could step in and save May Anna. Even with May Anna giving him the shove sometimes, he felt responsible for her. May Anna, on her side, knew if she needed him, Buster would be there.
Buster McKnight was no shining white virgin himself. There were lots of girls who followed boxing, and Buster could have his pick, and he did. He always was a handsome man. Back then, there was nobody better to look at. He was big, of course, and he had black curls and his nose hadn’t been broken yet. He had the best eyes, too, deep blue like the sky gets before sunset. Buster McKnight’s eyes were the prettiest color I ever saw in my life.
Toney was glad May Anna turned out because he didn’t want her to get her claws into Buster. As if May Anna would! He was afraid she would interfere with Buster’s fighting. So he encouraged Buster to see other girls, and some of them were hookers, too. Sometimes you saw Buster’s picture in the paper with a pretty blonde hanging on his arm, and May Anna would always know which cathouse she worked in.
May Anna knew them all because she
“You sure are classy, all right,” Chick said, “sending us the aged stuff.”
“Nothing’s too good for my friends,” he said, all puffed up, not knowing Chick was joking.
Pink had a little Marmon back then, yellow I think it was, though Whippy Bird says they didn’t make them in yellow. We usually danced for a while then went out in the Marmon and drank. Whippy Bird says that’s not all you’d do, Effa Commander, but that’s none of her business—or yours either.
A girl got all kinds of offers in those days. Sometimes me and Whippy Bird went out by ourselves, and there was always somebody ready to buy us a drink or to ask would you like to go outside to where there was some real good sipping whiskey. You had to be careful. Maybe they wanted to share the whiskey and snuggle up a little, or maybe they wanted something else. Every now and then you’d see a girl slink back into the Brown Jug with her hair messed up or nursing a black eye. You had to watch out for yourself, and that’s why me and Whippy Bird always stuck together.
May Anna was different. She went with us sometimes, but right off, she looked the men over. Every now and then she took off with one of them, and we wouldn’t see her again that night. She said she had a talent for sniffing out money, which was surely true, but she never did have much of a head for taking care of herself. Sometimes, we saw her looking like she’d been beat up, but she didn’t volunteer any information, and we never asked.
Now I hear you saying to yourself, where was Buster McKnight when this was going on, and that surely is a good question.
Buster was busy making a name for himself as Buster Midnight. Toney got him fights up in Great Falls and Missoula and Helena and even down in Ogden. Then Toney took Buster on a tour to Denver and Pueblo. Buster wasn’t in Butte much, and when he was, May Anna didn’t like him hanging around her all the time. She got mad and told him to give her some room, which he had to do.
“As soon as me and Toney get some big fights, I’ll have plenty of dough, and we’ll get married,” Buster promised her.
But May Anna wasn’t interested. “So who wants to get married, Buster Midnight? I want to have a little fun. I’ll make my own money, thank you just the same,” May Anna replied.
“I should have put my foot down,” Buster told us once.
“Yeah, and get May Anna’s high-heeled slipper right in the middle of your instep,” Whippy Bird said. There was nothing Buster could do.
Of course, Buster never liked May Anna being a hooker. You could see him watch her sometimes and know it was eating his heart out. Especially if May Anna was out on a date with a customer. If Buster ran into her then, he sat and watched out of the corner of his eye, hoping for the john to get fresh so he could step in and save May Anna. Even with May Anna giving him the shove sometimes, he felt responsible for her. May Anna, on her side, knew if she needed him, Buster would be there.
Buster McKnight was no shining white virgin himself. There were lots of girls who followed boxing, and Buster could have his pick, and he did. He always was a handsome man. Back then, there was nobody better to look at. He was big, of course, and he had black curls and his nose hadn’t been broken yet. He had the best eyes, too, deep blue like the sky gets before sunset. Buster McKnight’s eyes were the prettiest color I ever saw in my life.
Toney was glad May Anna turned out because he didn’t want her to get her claws into Buster. As if May Anna would! He was afraid she would interfere with Buster’s fighting. So he encouraged Buster to see other girls, and some of them were hookers, too. Sometimes you saw Buster’s picture in the paper with a pretty blonde hanging on his arm, and May Anna would always know which cathouse she worked in.
May Anna knew them all because she
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