Here it is, chapter three. Only one more to go after this. See, when I first wrote this, I was gonna put each chapter in a separate envelope and leave them at my friend's classes for her to find throughout the day, only that didn't work out. So I emailed it to her, and… anyway, I took out my goofy author's notes and replaced them with different ones for posting purposes. I've already finished the whole story, so it's just a matter of posting the last bit. Enjoy!
"Okay, now this time dress up real nice," Blink was saying, "and take her someplace for a real classy time." Again, Blink was pouring his heart and soul into getting Mush ready. Mush, as usual, was taking it with characteristic good humor.
"I know," he said, grinning. "You worry about Chrissy, I'll handle this girl. What'd Race say her name was?"
"That's another thing!" Blink exclaimed jumping on that fact. "Don't forget her name! It's Alex. Remember that- Alex."
"Alex," Mush repeated firmly, hearing a knock on the door. Race hurried downstairs, just as Mush grasped the knob.
"Mush!" he said. "Remember, her name's Alex…"
"I know!" Mush fumed, though he was laughing. "Geez, you'd think-"
"No," Race said, "I just mean, she's just some girl I know from the tracks, so don't expect her to be-" he stopped short and shook his head as Mush opened the door.
For the second time in two days, Mush nearly had a heart attack. The girl who stood before him this time was Alice's opposite. Where Alice had dressed in fussy gowns, Alex dressed in ratty pants and a loose shirt that was unbuttoned to the point of indecency. She had a thick cigar stuck between her teeth, and she punched Mush in the arm by way of greeting.
"Heya, Mac," she mumbled around the cigar. She nodded at Race and pulled Mush out the door.
For the second time in two nights, Mush sighed as he left the Lodging House. It was going to be a long night.
"What's on the schedule?" she asked, still puffing on the smelly cigar. The smell was starting to make Mush feel sick.
"Ah, I was thinking dinner, maybe a show…" he said.
"I know!" she blurted around the cigar. "There's a poker tournament over in Harlem. Let's go check it out."
Images of the big, tough Harlem boys came into Mush's mind.
"I really don't think…" he started to say, but Alex pulled him along.
Before he knew it, Mush was being pulled by the arm halfway across the city to the borough of Harlem. Once they reached the Harlem Lodging House, Alex pulled him inside and introduced him to the other boys. Mush smiled and waved weakly, not liking the way they were looking at him.
"Deal 'im in," a big, tough boy mumbled around a cigar that was identical to Alex's.
"Mush," Alex said, suddenly sounding positively ladylike against the harsh, deep voices of the Harlem boys. "This is my brother, Blade."
Blade nodded sharply at Mush. "You be good to my kid sister," he warned. The faint outline of a knife was visible in his pocket.
Mush gulped. Terrific. She had a brother.
He was never sure how exactly he survived the evening. It was tense, he knew that, and he had a feeling that it was Alex's presence that kept him out of trouble.
"Lighten up," one of the boys suggested, passing Mush a beer.
"Sure," Mush replied. It wasn't good to argue with dangerous drunk boys. Especially on their territory. Still, he had no wish to make himself sick, so he took a sip, just for appearances, and poured the rest out the window while no one was looking.
"Come on, Mush," Alex slurred, still puffing on the cigar. "Play a hand with us."
"No," he tried. "Really, I couldn't. My… ah… that is… I'm not selling like I should. I don't have the money." Whew. That was one way to handle it.
"Don't worry about it, we don't have to play for money this time around," Blade offered generously. They got through two hands before Alex suggested that she and Mush take a walk.
They only made it as far as the corner. Before Mush knew it, he was being kissed, and he didn't like it. Like most of the things that happened that evening, he wasn't sure how it came about. She just grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed their mouths together. That was how Blade found them.
He grabbed Mush by the shoulders, and swung him around.
The next thing Mush knew, he was sitting alone on the curb. In Harlem. At night. Though the world was spinning around him, he struggled up and hurried back to Manhattan and safety.
"I don't know where you people find these girls," he griped as he sat on his bunk, nursing broken ribs and a black eye. He lay back, pressing a wet towel to his face, utterly exhausted. "Race, do us all a favor. Don't ever introduce me to any of your gambling buddies," he added as Race entered. Seeing him lying in bed, holding a towel over his eyes and massaging his sore ribs, Race's jaw dropped.
"Geez, Mush-" he began, but stopped. "I mean, I-"
"Save it," Mush said flatly. "Just don't bring her back here. She kissed me and I got beat up for it." He grinned suddenly. "Would have been worth it, under different circumstances."
Blink just sighed, rolling his eyes skyward.
To Be Continued…