Chapter 9 – Sunday
Lolly was usually off on Sunday, so Bart rode into Little Bend and went to Miss Ada's Boarding House. Miss Ada herself answered the door and was polite, but informed Bart that Lolly had left early that morning and had yet to return. Next he stopped at the Little Bend Bar and talked to Ray, who hadn't seen Lolly since Saturday night when the bar closed down.
Bart begged off going back into town to play poker and stayed home Sunday night. He tried to sleep but couldn't, and was still awake when Beauregard and Bret got home Monday morning. He had coffee waiting for them and set about fixing breakfast as soon as he learned they hadn't stopped to eat before returning home. The meal was almost over before he asked the question he'd been waiting to ask. "Was Lolly at the saloon?"
Bret shook his head 'no, ' but Pappy gave him a longer answer. "Ray said she was off last night but he expected her to be at work tonight. You goin' with us?"
"Yep," was the extent of Bart's reply.
Bart had cooked so Bret cleaned up, then followed his brother back into their bedroom. "You didn't find Lolly yesterday?"
"Nope. Checked her boarding house and she hadn't been home all day. Ray hadn't seen her, either."
"What are you gonna do?" After what happened almost four years ago with Cora Stampers and the havoc her pursuit of the youngest Maverick created, Bret was protective of his brother; especially when it came to girls. And without intending to, Lolly McGee was making life difficult for both of the Maverick brothers.
"I don't know, Bret. I can't give her what she wants; I ain't leavin' with her for California."
"Do you love the girl?"
"No."
"Awful quick answer. Not even a little?"
"No."
"But you didn't set out to hurt her."
"I didn't set out to do anything with her. She's the one that pursued me, remember? She swore she just wanted to be friends. And then she wanted more, and I ain't ready to give it."
"Then you gotta cut her loose."
Bart sat down on his bed, with his brother right next to him. He was quiet for more than a minute before he spoke. "I do, don't I?"
"Yes, you do. For her sake, if not yours. She wants you to love her, and you don't. And she ain't gonna let go of you, as long as there's a chance you might. So as long as you can't, it's time to end the whole thing."
"I ain't sure I can play poker in the LB Bar with her workin' there."
"There's other saloons in town. We can all go someplace else."
Bart shook his head. "No, that ain't fair to you or Pappy. If somebody's gotta find a new place to play poker, it should be me."
"Just try it one night, if she's there tomorrow. If it don't work we'll talk about it on the way home and figure out what to do. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
Monday
Monday night was no different than most of the previous Monday nights had been. Around eight o'clock three men walked in the batwing doors; three men that looked like they were there on serious business – in this case, poker. The men were a father and his two sons – Beauregard, Bret, and Bart. Beau and his first born, Bret, found poker games to sit in on and were quickly engaged in that particular pastime. Bart walked straight to saloon girl Lolly McGee and asked her to share a table and talk to him. She obliged.
"I looked for you yesterday. Where were you all day?"
The girl answered him honestly. "I rented a buggy and drove to Claytonville."
"You did? Why?"
She turned her head away from him before she answered. "I went to the Providence Club to apply for a job there."
"You're gonna leave Little Bend?" Bart asked her.
"Yes, I am." There was no hesitation in her voice at all.
"Because of me?" The question sounded – desperate.
She shook her head and turned back to face him. "No, because of me."
"I . . . I don't understand." Now the tone of voice was pleading.
"I never intended to stay here in Little Bend for the rest of my life. After what happened between you and me, it's time for me to go."
"But . . . Lolly . . . I don't want you to go."
He meant it, and she knew that he meant it. But he didn't want her to stay for the reasons that were important to her. "You may not want me to go, Bart, but this isn't about you; it's about me and what I need. And I need to leave. I got hired and start work next week. That's just enough time for me to get moved and settled into a new place."
"Please stay here . . . with me." Bart had taken her hands in his, and he held onto them tightly.
"I can't, honey, I just can't. That ain't good for either one of us. You'll wanna leave someday soon, too, but it'll be with your brother. And I need to go now, while I still can."
"Lolly, I . . . I wish you wouldn't."
She withdrew her hands from his. "It's for the best."
"I . . . I just . . . is there anything I can say to change your mind?"
'Yes,' she wanted to scream. 'You can tell me we'll go to California . . . together.' But that's not what she said. "No, honey, there isn't. Not a thing. You stay here and do what's best for you, and I'll go on to Claytonville and do what's best for me. No hard feelin's, alright?"
Bart leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "If that's what you really want."
'No, it's not what I want at all,' she thought. What she said was, "It's what I want."
TBC
