jig, promptly toppling over the Drunken Dancer.
I mumbled a “No, thank you,” and together we helped the poor woman up. While she staggered back into swaying position, I escaped to the pool table.
Chapter 12
Evidently it was the night to stroke my middle-aged, menopausal ego. First the attention from Mr. Leather and Chains, and now this—Spencer Erring actually looking up from his game against Avis Sage to flash half a dimple in my direction.
“That man is way too handsome,” I said to the old ladies as I sidled on over.
Doreen fanned herself with two fifties. “Spencer is the spitting image of Harmon when he was that age.”
“Harmon was Ethel’s husband, correct?”
“Her gorgeous-to-a-fault dead husband,” Doreen elaborated.
“Doreen knows all about Harmon’s faults,” Ethel said, and the two old ladies laughed with their usual gusto.
“Spencer’s especially fetching when he’s bending over the pool table,” Doreen said. “His backside is even better than Harmon’s.”
Despite the fact that I had never seen Harmon’s derriere for accurate comparison, I chose to agree with Doreen.
“Spence is too young for you,” Melissa informed me. She turned to Doreen and Ethel. “And he’s way too young for you guys.”
“But let me guess,” Ethel said. “He’s just right for you?”
Melissa shrugged. “We’re both forty. It’s perfect.”
“Perfect,” Kevin grumbled. He took off his glasses and began the cleaning routine. Kevin was no match for Spencer, however, and all of us women turned to watch the game.
Spencer lost to Avis and commenced flirting with Candy. Bless her heart, she shooed away all the men she had gathered earlier and gave him her undivided attention.
“He’s too old for your friend.” Melissa was still on topic. “He should know better by now.”
“Oh?” I said. “Does Spencer have a thing for younger women?”
“Don’t they all?”
We watched as Candy pulled a twenty from her cleavage and brushed the tip of Spencer’s finely chiseled nose with it. They both giggled, and I marveled at the drastic improvement in my friend’s acting skills since the previous evening.
I sighed dramatically. “The man in my life is smitten with a younger woman,” I said. “She’s even younger than Candy.”
“Smitten?” Melissa patted my shoulder and waved to Avis. “Tessie’s back. She wants to play me a match.”
The crowd groaned, and it was decided I should play Avis instead. I stepped up to the table, and we agreed on a match to five for fifty.
“You’ve been playing here a long time?” I asked him while we waited for the railbirds to conduct their own wagering.
“I’ve called this table home since way back when, Miss Tessie.”
I knew the answer, but asked anyway, “Did you ever go out on the road, sir?”
“A long time ago. But the old man’s not up to travelling anymore.” He patted his chest. “The ticker’s no good.”
Old sharks with faulty tickers. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the stinging in my eyes.
“Now, don’t you be worrying about the old man.” Avis was studying me. “Doctor gave me some medicine.”
He patted his chest again, and we stepped forward for the lag, which he won. Melissa volunteered to rack, and while she did the honors, I brought the conversation around to Fritz Lupo.
“Did the guy who just died ever go out on the road?” I asked. “I understand he was a good player?”
“The Fox was talking about travelling again.” Avis smiled fondly at the pool table. “Fritz was lucky.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t mean no disrespect, Miss Tessie, but if he had to die, he picked the best way. Have a good night at the table and die right afterwards.”
“So, he played well that night?”
Avis nodded and broke. He sunk the one ball and ran the whole table, a repeat of our first game the previous night. This time though, I made use of my leisure to ask around about Fritz. Apparently, he had won over a thousand
I mumbled a “No, thank you,” and together we helped the poor woman up. While she staggered back into swaying position, I escaped to the pool table.
Chapter 12
Evidently it was the night to stroke my middle-aged, menopausal ego. First the attention from Mr. Leather and Chains, and now this—Spencer Erring actually looking up from his game against Avis Sage to flash half a dimple in my direction.
“That man is way too handsome,” I said to the old ladies as I sidled on over.
Doreen fanned herself with two fifties. “Spencer is the spitting image of Harmon when he was that age.”
“Harmon was Ethel’s husband, correct?”
“Her gorgeous-to-a-fault dead husband,” Doreen elaborated.
“Doreen knows all about Harmon’s faults,” Ethel said, and the two old ladies laughed with their usual gusto.
“Spencer’s especially fetching when he’s bending over the pool table,” Doreen said. “His backside is even better than Harmon’s.”
Despite the fact that I had never seen Harmon’s derriere for accurate comparison, I chose to agree with Doreen.
“Spence is too young for you,” Melissa informed me. She turned to Doreen and Ethel. “And he’s way too young for you guys.”
“But let me guess,” Ethel said. “He’s just right for you?”
Melissa shrugged. “We’re both forty. It’s perfect.”
“Perfect,” Kevin grumbled. He took off his glasses and began the cleaning routine. Kevin was no match for Spencer, however, and all of us women turned to watch the game.
Spencer lost to Avis and commenced flirting with Candy. Bless her heart, she shooed away all the men she had gathered earlier and gave him her undivided attention.
“He’s too old for your friend.” Melissa was still on topic. “He should know better by now.”
“Oh?” I said. “Does Spencer have a thing for younger women?”
“Don’t they all?”
We watched as Candy pulled a twenty from her cleavage and brushed the tip of Spencer’s finely chiseled nose with it. They both giggled, and I marveled at the drastic improvement in my friend’s acting skills since the previous evening.
I sighed dramatically. “The man in my life is smitten with a younger woman,” I said. “She’s even younger than Candy.”
“Smitten?” Melissa patted my shoulder and waved to Avis. “Tessie’s back. She wants to play me a match.”
The crowd groaned, and it was decided I should play Avis instead. I stepped up to the table, and we agreed on a match to five for fifty.
“You’ve been playing here a long time?” I asked him while we waited for the railbirds to conduct their own wagering.
“I’ve called this table home since way back when, Miss Tessie.”
I knew the answer, but asked anyway, “Did you ever go out on the road, sir?”
“A long time ago. But the old man’s not up to travelling anymore.” He patted his chest. “The ticker’s no good.”
Old sharks with faulty tickers. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the stinging in my eyes.
“Now, don’t you be worrying about the old man.” Avis was studying me. “Doctor gave me some medicine.”
He patted his chest again, and we stepped forward for the lag, which he won. Melissa volunteered to rack, and while she did the honors, I brought the conversation around to Fritz Lupo.
“Did the guy who just died ever go out on the road?” I asked. “I understand he was a good player?”
“The Fox was talking about travelling again.” Avis smiled fondly at the pool table. “Fritz was lucky.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t mean no disrespect, Miss Tessie, but if he had to die, he picked the best way. Have a good night at the table and die right afterwards.”
“So, he played well that night?”
Avis nodded and broke. He sunk the one ball and ran the whole table, a repeat of our first game the previous night. This time though, I made use of my leisure to ask around about Fritz. Apparently, he had won over a thousand
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