Cedar Rapids, Iowa
November 26, 1931
"This is a really terrible idea," my best friend David hissed at me for about the thousandth time that night. I glanced over my shoulder and gave him a warning look, determined to go through with my brilliant plan.
"Ma is gonna kill you," my younger brother James added, earning his own glare. He'd recently taken up a habit of thinking that, because he was the eldest male in the family, he had some sort authority over me. Laughable, really.
"If both of you don't shut your lousy mouths, I am going to give you something to complain about," I told them through gritted teeth. "I am a nineteen-year-old woman. I don't take orders from my baby brother or from a guy who regularly picks his nose and eats it." I whirled around abruptly, nearly tripping them in their tracks. "Now shut up." We approached the old church and I tugged on the cap I was wearing, making sure that my mass of red hair was tucked up into it. "How do I look?" I asked, looking directly at David for feedback.
"Like a fourteen-year-old girl pretending to be a boy," he retorted dryly, folding his arms over his flannel jacket "You're an idiot."
"Or I'm brilliant," I countered. "If I win…"
"If," David reminded me.
"I've never lost a game of poker," I pointed out.
"It's true," James sighed. "She made Mr. McDonough cry last year, remember?"
"We need the money, David. My mother is having a hard-enough time making ends meet on her own with three kids to take care of. With Dad gone—"
"I know," he admitted grudgingly. "And you know my family is more than happy to—"
"Stop," I cut him off. "My mother is too proud to accept help and so am I. These are rich men. If I win, we'll be set until spring. We can buy Annie some new dresses instead of my outdated hand-me-downs. We can buy new shoes for the boys. My mother can stop killing herself working twenty hours a day."
"I'm not leaving, Jo," David told me, "I am waiting outside this door and if I hear even the slightest bit of trouble—"
"You'll come charging into the room like the buffoon you are," I finished for him. "Because, pig-headed idiot that you are, you think I need rescuing. Need I remind you I have whipped you several times?"
"When we were kids, Jo." His amber eyes darkened. "Just be careful okay? Let's not piss off some rich old men and open a whole other can of worms."
"Fine." I glanced at my brother, who was clearly trying to mask his worry with anger. I felt myself soften. "Hey," I reached out and pulled him into a quick hug, which he – unsurprisingly – resisted. It was clearly embarrassing for fourteen-year-old men to hug their sisters. "Jerk," I muttered with a grin, giving his shoulder a light punch. "Get out of the light you two." I nodded to the corner of the building and waited as they both slowly retreated. I took a breath, trying to gather my courage, feeling suddenly cautious as I lifted my arm to rap on the door. It was immediately thrown open, letting light spill into the alley. I found myself looking up at a beefy bodyguard type.
"What d'you want, boy?" He growled.
"I'm here to play," I stated, withdrawing a wad of cash from the inner pocket of my coat. His eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to send me away, but the money I had produced was clearly giving him reason for second thought.
"Wait here," he ordered, leaving me inside the door while he disappeared down the old staircase to the dimly lit church basement. A few moments later, he appeared again at the bottom of the stairs and crooked a finger at me. I descended the stairs on shaking legs and followed him into a room where three men were crowded around a small table. All of them were finely dressed, though in their shirt sleeves. They were all smoking cigarettes, giving the room a dank, stale odor. They looked in my direction with mild interest. I struggled to keep my face expressionless. The youngest looking one, a blondish man nodded at a seat. I nodded back, swallowing, and slipped into the chair, hoping James's jacket was baggy enough to hide the fact that I had breasts.
Careful not to show my nervousness, I cracked my knuckles, glancing at my three opponents. To my left was a paunchy, balding man whose face glistened slightly with sweat. To my right was a thin older man with wispy gray hair and a hawk-like face. The man directly across from me was handsome, surprisingly so for somebody who was engaging in a seedy poker game in a church basement. He dealt the cards with effortless grace and I picked up my hand after placing my initial bet. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from squealing with glee. With very little effort I could win this, but I knew better than to get cocky. I had learned from my late father that patience was always the best strategy with any game, and that things could change in a moment. It almost made me grin, trying to think of what he would say over my shoulder.
"Make them believe they've won, Jo…let them underestimate you."
I feigned a cringe and bit my lip, shaking my head, noticing the two men on either side of me give each other a look of satisfaction. They were clearly looking forward to earning an extra four hundred dollars tonight. The man across from me however, leaned forward, his light blue eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"He knows you're playing them, darlin'. Give him hell."
I raised a brow at him, daring him to say anything and noticed a smirk play at the corners of his lips.
"What's your name, buddy?" He asked in a pleasant voice.
"Jo," I replied shortly, thankful that my name sounded masculine.
"How old are you?" He inquired.
"Can't be more than fourteen," the sweaty man grunted.
"Seventeen," I lied, suppressing the urge to roll my eyes.
"Bullshit," the man argued, eyeing me.
"Why?" I couldn't resist saying, "Because you're afraid of losing to an adolescent?"
"Careful, Tiny Tim. You're sounding mighty haughty," the thinner old man inserted.
"Less talk, Jo."
"Leave him alone, Bill," the younger man said. He gave me a sympathetic look. "One hand. Ya got one shot, kid. What are you gonna do?" Wordlessly, I placed more money on the table, keeping eye contact. To my surprise, he grinned, raising his eyebrows. "Looks like you got yourself a game, Georgie-Boy," he told the sweaty man, who scowled at me.
"I'll gladly take this child's money if he's giving it up willingly."
The game began, and, not to my surprise, both of the older men folded fairly quickly leaving myself and the younger man to play the rest of the game ourselves.
"End it, John," George told the younger man. "We have a train to catch at six A.M."
"Okay," the man named John told me. "It's about that time." He met my eyes and laid down his hand; an impressive four of a kind. I swallowed, looking at it for a moment until his voice interrupted the silence. "Whatcha got, buddy?" Slowly, I looked up at him and laid down my hand. I watched as his eyes fell and then widened immediately, his mouth dropping open a bit. "Well, shit," he said quietly, continuing to stare at the cards as if he was seeing them wrong.
"I believe that's a royal flush," I finally said in a quiet voice, feeling a rush of satisfaction, trying to mask the pounding of my pulse in my neck. This money would get us through the winter. My mother would be furious with me, but she would not refuse the help; not when Leo and Annie were growing so fast and wearing shoes that were practically rotting off of their feet in one of the harshest winters we'd had in a while. Silently, I pulled the money into the satchel I had around my shoulder.
I had won.
"Cheater!" The older man named George cried, glaring furiously at John. "This boy is a damned cheat! I want that money back you little scoundrel!"
"Calm down, George," John inserted as Bill joined in.
"I will not be taken by a schoolboy from this little nothing town! I want that money back!" He added. I felt a jolt of panic as they both took a step toward me and stumbled backward, nearly tripping over my chair.
"Not happening, fellas," I told them, standing my ground on shaking knees. "I won this fair and square."
"Let it go," John added. "What's four hundred bucks, right?"
Everything to me, I thought privately.
"Maybe we should haul him in to the police. Can't be legal for teenaged boys to be playing poker this late at night," George snapped.
"Maybe you should calm down," John told him firmly, standing and looking ready to take action if necessary. "You've had a lot to drink tonight—"
"Oh don't you patronize me, you little shit!" The older man growled. Bill seemed to retreat, either too drunk to care or too meek to start trouble. George started toward me again, but stopped when he heard a commotion outside the door to the dusty little room. I stopped dead, my eyes closing as I realized David and my brother had burst into the church like a couple of big, dumb oafs.
"Damn it," I whispered.
I could hear David's deep voice. "If one hair on her head has been touched, I swear to God—"
"Her?" I heard John say.
"Jo!" James's voice chimed in. I gritted my teeth, vowing to kill both of them if we got out of this alive. "Please! That's my sister!" I opened my eyes at the sound of a scuffle and saw a large figure tumble into the room, clad in a heavy flannel jacket, his shaggy golden hair sticking out of his hat in all directions. I glared at him.
"I'm sorry," he told me. "I tried to wait, but I told you if I heard any sign of trouble."
"Her?" John asked again, louder this time.
"You will be sorry, David Bennett," I told him. I turned back toward the three men, noticing George had sat back down and was drowning his sorrows in the bottle of whiskey that had been sitting on the table. Bill had retreated to the corner of the room wide-eyed like an owl. I met John's eyes and felt a bit like I was facing Dad for a punishment.
"Sister?" He asked. I exhaled, realizing I was caught, loosening my grip on the satchel strap and sagged in defeat. I reached up with one hand and pulled off my cap, letting my fiery red hair tumble down, falling over my shoulders in messy waves. Stubbornly, I glared at him, daring him to recall my win now that he'd learned I was a woman. A hush fell over the room, as I realized all six men were staring at me in horror. John's face had gone pale, and he backed away from me as if I disgusted him. A low, gravelly chuckle broke the silence a moment later and I realized George was laughing.
"You got your ass handed to you by a little girl, Johnny!" He guffawed. I looked at David, noticing that the attention had shifted off of us momentarily and nodded toward the door. Sensing my meaning, he took James by the shoulders and we all turned and ran, bounding up the stairs and out of the church. The bodyguard started after us, but I heard Bill tell him not to bother. We didn't slow down until we had gotten all the way down the street and around the corner, skidding to a halt against the back of a building and trying to catch our breath.
"You're…both…idiots!" I chided them between gasps. "I had won!"
"They were coming after you!" James told me indignantly. "I was watching through the crack in the window."
"They were pissed!" I fired back at him. "I had just won twelve hundred dollars!" James's face went even whiter. "That's right! Twelve hundred dollars!" I stopped for a moment and felt a smile begin to curve my lips as I grabbed his arms. "Twelve hundred dollars!"
"Your mother is going to murder you, Jo," David pointed out. "You know how proud she is."
"Yeah," I agreed, sobering. "But I also know she cares too much about the kids to turn away money we need."
We walked back to my family's home in tired silence. Luckily, the house wasn't too far from the church, which was a good thing since it was bitterly cold, especially for November. My mother and the children should have been exhausted after we'd devoured a Thanksgiving feast and David's family had been there to distract her. The house was dark, save for a dim light in the kitchen.
"I'd better get home," David told me, patting the small of my back. "I'd hate to face Rose's wrath when she gets her hands on you."
"Oh please," I rolled my eyes, "She's been asleep for hours." The look on his face told me he was not convinced. James looked slightly worried too. "Come on," I told him, making my way to the back door and turning the knob slowly in an effort to be as quiet as possible. The door swung open without so much as a creak and I silently thanked the heavens for good luck, pulling James into the warm house and feeling the goosebumps slowly ease away from my body.
"I can't believe we got away with it," James whispered triumphantly, grinning. "I could have sworn Mama would be up—"
"Waiting to wring your necks?" Our mother's voice came from the shadows. Both of us jumped about a foot backward, and I nearly tripped over James's lanky body.
"Jesus, Mother!" I cried, clutching my hand to my heart as the gas lamp illuminated the room revealing my mother's tired face. Her hair was wild from the effort of the day, curling around her face. Her eyes were shadowed with dark circles and she looked murderous.
"Got away with what?" She ignored my outburst, turning to my brother, who was going to squeal like a stuck pig.
"Nothing?" James answered, causing me to pinch the bridge of my nose.
"You've never been a great liar," she said to him dryly, giving me a pointed look, "thankfully." I opened my mouth to speak, but she spoke before I could. "Josephine. Talk."
Clenching my jaw, I realized I had been defeated. "I used my savings and paid four hundred dollars to enter an exclusive poker game some rich old men were having in the church basement."
My mother stared at me tiredly for a few moments, looking unsure of whether she wanted to laugh at me or murder me. I was leaning toward the latter when her eyes narrowed at me. "You…what?"
"But it's okay because—"
"It most certainly is not okay, missy!" She hissed, careful to keep her voice down so as not to wake the younger children. My traitorous coward of a brother leapt away the first chance he got. Mother was not distracted by his flight. I backed into a corner, suddenly feeling less a woman of nineteen and more like a child of nine. "Do you understand how utterly irresponsible that was Josephine?"
"I do," I agreed solemnly. I had known the entire time it was irresponsible, but my conceit had outweighed my conscience and I had decided to go through with the entire thing. This seemed to irritate her even more.
"Then why would you do it?"
"Because I knew I would win," I explained calmly, meeting her eyes squarely and straightening my shoulders.
"Well, I hope you have learned your lesson, Josephine, because—" She stopped abruptly, her eyes falling to my open knapsack and staring at the mound of money within. Her green eyes grew wide as saucers, before she looked up at me. "Jo," she managed, but could not find more words.
"Twelve hundred," I told her, thrusting the bag into her hands. "Dollars," I added, for clarification. "Winter coats and boots for the kids. Bills." Her mouth fell open slightly, staring at the money.
"Jo…"
"I don't lose at poker, Mother," I told her.
"If you had…" She began quietly.
"I didn't," I finished. "Now go to bed. Take tomorrow off. Sleep easy." I started toward the stairs and noticed her staring at me with a strange expression on her face. Resigned she crossed to me and kissed me on the forehead, taking me by surprise.
"Josephine," she said quietly, drawing me into a warm embrace. "If you ever pull a stunt like that, I will take a strap to you."
I couldn't help but snicker. "I'm going to be twenty in less than two months," I reminded her.
"Let's see if you make it to twenty," she responded dryly, shaking her head and moving toward her room. I grinned to myself, anxious to get to bed.