Beatrix strolled down the sidewalk between Janeen and Erica. Even though she was a good foot or more taller than either of them, she felt squished. A thin smile was etched across her played up innocent facial features.
"Well Arlene, now that we've got you all to ourselves we're gonna play twenty questions on our way to meet Joleen. Oh, you'll like her," Janeen looked up to Arlene with a wide smile.
Beatrix liked Janeen. She seemed like the overly bouncy but not quite peppy type. Erica on the other hand seemed less bouncy and more of a warm hearted person. She had never been around these types of people. She had killed these types of people.
"First question," Janeen declared. "Why'd you move out here?"
Beatrix pursed her lips and averted her gaze to watch the passing of the sidewalk under her feet as she walked. "I quit my job. My boss was being an ass."
Janeen's glossy lips formed an 'o'. "Ooohhh, I know how that goes. Either they aren't payin' you enough, the job became boring, or you're boss started making grabs at your ass." She let out a laugh.
Erica was smiling with amusement; dying of curiosity at what Arlene's 'real' reason for leaving her last job was. Erica could be a bit nosy.
"Yeah, it was one of those," Beatrix replied slow but smoothly.
"I hate when that happens. You poor thing! Well, don't you worry things will brighten up soon." She bumped the tall blonde playfully. "Okay Erica, your turn to question the foreigner."
"Ok...hrm," Erica stuffed her hands in her jean pockets as they continued to slowly walk down the sidewalk; searching quickly for the next question to throw at Arlene. "Ok...second question. Obviously you and Tommy got acquainted really quickly," she wasn't going to expand on that idea….that would be a little rude. And, honestly...she wasn't really sure just how 'acquainted' they were. "So...what was is it about Tommy that made you like him?" She was curious, and well...having liked him a little in the past, she wanted to know what Arlene's perspective was on their friendly, tall, blonde guy friend.
She smiled at Arlene in a very friendly way, "If ya haven't noticed we're a little protective of Tommy."
Beatrix's smile turned tentative. She could easily answer that question or she could elaborate. She was never one for receiving pity from others. She despised it, but this time seeing as she was more or less lying she'd make an exception. "Oh, I understand. He's a good guy…actually he's the first good guy I've had the pleasure of being 'acquainted' with."
This raised brows from both women. Beatrix continued, "I haven't…dated…the greatest of guys. I tended to go for the bad rather than the good and," she shrugged her broad shoulders. "Seeing as Tommy is your classic good guy I fell right on my ass for him."
Janeen giggled lightly but her features soon contorted into a look of concern. "Aw, sweetie, Tommy is a real good guy. You won't find 'em any better. But," she fixed the tall blonde with a mock seriousness to get off the 'sympathetic pity' she added, "If you hurt 'em, we may have to kill you."
The tall blonde laughed. She shook her pretty blonde head slowly and blue eyes fixed to stare at the ground. "You don't have to worry about that."
Erica laughed at Janeen's 'killing' comment. "Don't worry Arlene, we've all been there...all of us have ended up with real jerks at some point. Wait until you hear some of Joleen's stories. God, she totally has this thing for 'bad boys', her last boyfriend, who just dumped her...was such bad news. Janeen and I keep trying to tell her to stop going after those types." Erica shrugged, "But...ya know, some girls just can't help themselves no matter how hard they try." She smiled, "Ok….ok...next question...and we'll stop with the Tommy stuff," she smirked, "...for now."
At this point the trio of young women had rounded the block and were heading for what looked like a hopping lunch place down the street. "Alright," Erica spoke up again, "...easy question, what made you want to move to El Paso?"
Beatrix somehow doubted Joleen could top her 'bad' guy. She had gone out with the ultimate bad guy and she had killed a few rather nasty ones. But, she wasn't looking to compare or contrast, not that she could go and tell them about all of her 'bad' guys. The whole idea was out and before she went and got herself into an emotional relapse. She casually answered the next question, "I always loved Texas and I had heard good things about El Paso from a few associates."
"Yeah, El Paso's neat. It's got that whole 'home on the range' feeling down tight," Janeen added with a lop-sided grin. "Okay, we'll stop the onslaught of questions for now. I know it wasn't twenty but we'll save some for Joleen."
Still chatting amiably; the three women finally made their way into the packed lunch joint. It took Erica and Janeen about two seconds to spot Joleen amidst the mass of other young-ish people.
"Joleen!" Erica called out, winding through the crowd.
Joleen was lounging at a corner table, and turned to look over her shoulder at the sound of Erica's voice. Joleen was roughly the same age as her friends. She was quite pretty, with smooth brown African American skin and features. Her eyes were large and intensely brown. Her hair was long, jet black and a little on the unkempt side...in that cool kind of way. She was dressed in tight jeans, a baby doll shirt and sneakers. She had the demeanor of somebody who was very calm and confident. She did also seem to have a slightly more...jaded sided than the others and her liking 'bad boy' types could be easily deduced; she did have a slight 'bad girl' sort of vibe about her.
"Erica...Janeen," she waved them over, eyes flicking momentarily to the tall blonde. Perhaps she was a little more wary of new people as well...but not really in a hostile way.
When they all managed to squeeze around the small table, Erica made the introduction. "Joleen, this is Arlene...she's new to El Paso and has just recently come into acquaintance of our dear Tommy." Erica's warm smile broadened.
"Ohhhh..." Joleen's dark eyes flashed a little with understanding. She shook Arleen's hand in a firm handshake, "Very nice to meet you Arlene...and Tommy," she winked a little, "...he's a good guy." Like her friends, Joleen was very protective of Tommy...she was a protective kind of person. And once she got to really like you...she'd always stand by you.
"How was Houston?" Erica piped up; snatching a menu out of the metal holder in the middle of the table.
"Shitty," Joleen admitted with a scowl, "Hot...crowded...terrible bars and far too many rednecks for my taste."
Erica chuckled, turning to Arlene, "Joleen works as a retail buyer...she has to take trips pretty often."
"Yeah, much to my dismay..." Joleen grumbled, but with a friendly smile at Arlene.
Beatrix returned the smile. She could completely understand the lack of enthusiasm when it came to a job that involved flying to random places. So far she was receiving a friendly vibe from Joleen that she could grow to enjoy. If the tall blonde took the time to put some real hard thought into it she'd realize that she was living in a Twilight Zone. Joleen, Janeen, and Erica were the three alternate sides of Vernita, O-Ren, and Elle. Then you had Tommy who couldn't be more than the complete and utter opposite of Bill. Then there was sitting, as they were, in a restaurant, having a pleasant conversation and no one was ripping any one's head off, or supplying verbal abuse. It was strange and held a pinch of irony; but as noted before, Bea wasn't paying too much attention to that. She was all too thrilled it was working.
"Arlene's from Australia," Janeen piped up from behind her menu that she was looking over.
"Well," Beatrix corrected gently. "I'm originally from Australia but I've lived in Mexico for awhile." Long white fingers moved to take up the lunch menu, which offered your usual luncheon items.
Joleen looked at Arlene from over her menu with genuine interest, "Holy crap! That's really cool...you've gotta tell all of us what Australia was like. I really want to travel there someday. Mexico," she shrugged, "...I think some parts are nice. Allot of people move to El Paso from Mexico...I've heard mixed reviews."
Erica laughed, "I remember back in college, some friends and I would go to Tijuana….like every other weekend so we could drink under age. Ohhh yeah," she set down her menu, "...we got into some trouble back then." She leaned forward with a grin, eyes dancing, "I kinda miss it."
There was laughter that died down when the waitress come over to take their orders. Once left alone again, the young women went back into chatting. Arlene was being treated already as 'one of the group' and it was obvious all three women really liked her.
So, it was inevitable that the conversation eventually come around back to Tommy. Erica, as well as the other two, told what they knew about his last girlfriend, not in any way to feel Arlene was being compared; more out of vengeful gossip than anything.
"She was such a bitch," Joleen added darkly. "She completely took advantage of him."
"Yeah," Erica agreed, covering her fries in ketchup, "...and the thing that made me most angry was...he didn't even see it." She glanced at Arlene with a smile, "Poor guy can be too sweet for his own good at times."
"Mrm," Joleen raised her brows, sandwich in hand, "I dunno...better too sweet, then too much of an asshole."
"There's an unstable barrier between being sweet and being an asshole," Beatrix commented matter-of-factly. She was beginning to open up around the three girls as if they had been friends for years. Also the fact that they were treating her as one of the group only made it easier to fit in. "All men are assholes. It's their nature." There was nothing like bashing the male species to make the conversation more amiable.
Joleen laughed at Arlene's 'men' comments. OK, obviously the blonde had some baggage.
"Exactly," Janeen agreed, pointing a potato chip at Arlene. "Even Tommy can be an asshole. He wouldn't listen to us about that bitch he was going out with before you. He was being a complete asshole about it," she scowled and munched on her chip.
A small smirk curved at Beatrix's lips as she picked up her tuna sandwich and took a bite. She swallowed and added, "Tommy has yet to be an asshole around me."
Janeen wove a hand at the tall blonde. "You don't need to worry about that. I haven't seen Tommy look at anyone like he's looked at you in years. And it's defiantly not just your good looks."
The tall blonde responded by side-tilting her chin down to her chest and blue eyes came to stare at her plate of half eaten food. "Well, I'm flattered."
"You should be." Janeen gave her a knowing smile before returning to her meal.
Joleen smiled, liking Arlene's philosophies...they already quite a few things in common. She'd have to ask her about it sometime...
Erica was laughing as well, "Yeah...Janeen's right. Tommy can be an asshole every once in awhile...but….it's mostly because he's trying to be too nice...if that makes any sense. I mean, he wouldn't break up with that bitch, because he didn't want to have to mean to her, even though she was awful."
"Yeah," Joleen agreed, "But, I don't think you have anything to worry about Arlene. I've known Tommy quite a while and he isn't the kind of guy to go after women just because of their looks...," she frowned, "...like some men…."
Erica nodded, taking a sip of her soft drink, "Mmmhmm, you're the first blonde gal I've seen him interested in. Not that that really matters...but...Janeen's right…..again..." she snickered, "...I saw the way he looks at you."
Joleen raised a brow, "I want to see."
"He looks like this," Erica put on a rather ridiculous dreamy expression.
"That's terrible," Joleen quipped.
"Well...you'll just have to see for yourself than," Erica retorted grinning.
Janeen and Beatrix were both laughing at Erica's attempted dreamy-Tommy. It looked awful, and Beatrix couldn't help but feel turned off by it, which showed in the arch of her slender brows.
"I do believe you've scared Arlene, Erica," Janeen stated between giggles and placed a well-mannered hand on Arlene's arm.
"Oh, I'm fine," Beatrix reassured with a smile, blue eyes twinkling. "It takes a lot to scare me."
"Really?" Janeen turned curious eyes on Arlene. "You haven't seen anything until you've seen Joleen waking up at sunrise." She flashed her copper-toned friend a wide grin of playfulness. Janeen had known Joleen as long as she had known Tommy and that was a long time. They clicked right away as they both had a tendency to enjoy the more playful and bubbly aspects of life.
"Yeah," Joleen sneered, "I'm pretty goddamn scary in the morning...hair like this..." she gestured the universal 'big hair' hands over her head.
"You left out the cranky like a bitch out of hell part," Erica added under her breath.
Joleen glared at Erica, "Very funny...," she laughed suddenly, "Ok...but true..." She cast an eye at Janeen, who agreed whole heartedly. All three of them had certainly had their little fights in the past. But, like all true friends, they always made up and were back to the usual friendly teasing.
By this time all four of them had finished their lunch and the waitress had cleared away their plates, the popular diner had begun to become less crowded as the lunch crowd slowly filtered out. This resulted in a major drop in volume, which was definitely a relief.
"I wonder if Tommy really wants you back at the store any time soon?" Erica pondered, with a touch of sarcasm in Arlene's direction as they continued to chat. Of course he did...but that didn't mean the three of them couldn't keep her for a bit longer.
Beatrix enjoyed the company of Joleen, Janeen, and Erica as much as they enjoyed her company. She came to realize beneath her bad assed attitude and cold killer instinct, Beatrix really was a 'nice' person. That didn't suffice for the amount of people she had killed, or the people she had hurt by killing those people….but that was in the past. She wasn't bad assed or a killer; she was a nice little angel, as Erica had called her more than once during the day.
After lunch the three women dragged Beatrix off to do some sight seeing. This meant shopping. They stopped into numerous clothing stores were Beatrix bought clothes, surprisingly. She wasn't much of a shopper but realizing she had little to nothing in her closet she had to buy something. Throughout their shopping adventure she stayed away from purchasing her usual tight fitting clothes and went for things that were loose fitting and comfortable.
Janeen and Joleen insisted she buy a halter top that looked pretty damn sexy. Halter tops even for 'Arlene' was pushing it and she strongly declined it. In the end Beatrix came away with an amount of clothing she could be happy with.
The four women came back to the record store around closing time; which Tommy was not pleased about. But Janeen quickly made up for it by saying Arlene bought some lingerie Tommy would be very happy about. In turn Beatrix playfully hit Janeen in the side for that one.
Thus the five decided to go out to dinner at the local diner. The conversation was amiable and Janeen, Joleen, and Erica learned that Tommy and Arlene had indeed become very well acquainted. And then it came close to 11 o'clock; dinner was over, the conversation had died down enough for everyone to get up a leave. Now the group could be seen casually strolling down the streets of El Paso still chatting up a storm.
Tommy had been extremely happy to see Arlene return with the other three women. He had forgotten the sheer power of women in numbers. He wasn't sure how serious Janeen had been about the lingerie comment...but it did make him grin either way. Dinner had been great, and Tommy quickly felt relaxed after the day of working.
Now they were all walking down the sidewalk; well lit by streetlamps. Tommy had his arm around Arlene's shoulders in his typical warm and protective fashion. Joleen had gotten it in her mind that they should all go hang out The Desperado, one of the popular local bars. Tommy wasn't so hot on the idea, he kinda wanted to go home with Arlene; but there was no talking Joleen out of something when she had her mind set to it.
So, now the group of five were slowly making their way downtown to the bar. There were a fair number of other people out; all of them seemingly having a good time as well.
Bill wasn't sure how long he'd been out; since he'd been clueless as to the time of day when he'd finally collapsed into his bed in a state of stoned angst. But when he finally came to, he very slowly rolled over and picked his heavy head up to glance at the bedside clock under a curtain of unkempt hair. It was past 11pm. From what he could hear, his place was completely silent and still. Of course, he'd driven everybody away...he remembered it all too clearly now.
With that thought, he let his head fall back onto the pillow. He felt more rested and sober than before, but not all that much better. At least, this time around, he hadn't had any emotionally wrecking dreams...or none that he could remember.
After a few minutes of lying there, he willed himself to get up. He then showered and changed, but managed to avoid his reflection in the mirror the entire time. He didn't want to see the mess he'd made of himself. He then wandered around the still and dark house for awhile; a blanket wrapped around him like some listless child.
He managed to come back around full circle, and trudging back to his bedroom he changed his mind and went into his halfway packed up back room. Sitting down at his desk; he turned on the small green glass bankers' lamp and sat there in the small halo of warm light that it gave off. The wood walls and open boxes disappeared into the darkness...no matter; there wasn't much to see anymore anyways.
Sitting there, he glanced down to see a small stack of developed film envelopes. They were the pictures from Paris. He'd tossed them there a few days ago, still unopened.
He stared at the bright yellow and orange envelopes with wary eyes as if they were something to be feared. Eventually, he tentatively reached out a weathered hand and slowly…..still hesitant of their contents, began sorting through them.
He quickly skimmed over the random shots of himself; not caring for those. There were also a good amount of badly shot photographs of his own doing; he skipped over those as well. But, amidst these mediocre photos, there were a handful of ones that were priceless. Shoving the other photo's aside, Bill handled the small stack he'd picked out, going through them again and again, as he leaned in closer to the lamp light.
All of these were of Beatrix, naturally.
There were a couple of both of them as well, taken by various people they'd asked throughout the trip. As Bill went through these, despite the pain it caused in doing so, he couldn't help but start to smile. It was a smile of both happiness and sadness; and a sort of moment that he'd only allow himself when alone. Well, he would have shared it with Beatrix, but now...he shared it alone.
He went through these pictures quite a few times, pausing on each one. There was one in particular that he really liked. Beatrix was standing by the canals, that goddamn huge baguette in her arms...she was wearing that dark flower pattered shirt, hair a complete mess. Her smile there was so genuine...so happy...
The memory of that day was so clear...well, it hadn't even been all that long ago, but still...it felt so fresh. And looking at that picture, Bill could see that she had been truly happy. He could see through a fake smile like glass. And he knew...looking at her there, that she had been genuinely happy; that...in some weird way….he had made her happy. Bill was not a man who generally made people happy...but he had made her happy, at least, for a time...and that meant something...
He let out a little laugh that turned into more of a choke, and he quickly shoved away the stack of pictures. "Oh Kiddo..." he mumbled; a hand over his forehead, elbow on the desk. He was going to say something else; but realized there was no point in trying to talk to the dead...they tended not to talk back. And even if that were the case, he wouldn't have been able to hear her reply over the angry shouts of the hundreds of people he'd killed throughout his lifetime.
He preferred silence in return.
The Desperado was pretty much what it sounded like; a full out Southwestern style bar. But it tended to attract a younger crowd than the older grisly cowboy type; there were a number of bars in El Paso where they hung out. The décor was what would be expected; there were two floors, pool tables up on the top, cow skulls hanging from the walls, the clamor of TV's, glasses and happy voices. The bar was as much a 'meat market' as any younger crowded bar, and there were people obviously looking to hook up. Likewise, there were a number of groups of friends similar to Tommy and the four women.
The group sat down at one of the bar's many round wood paneled tables, surrounded by high stools. After a few minutes an attractive young waiter came over and took their drink orders. Joleen watched him with a raised brow as he turned away to take the order slip over to the bar.
Erica chuckled, "They do that on purpose...," she spoke to Arlene, "They see a group of mostly women come in...and they sic the hot stud on us...try to get us buy more drinks, and leave bigger tips."
"Hrm," Joleen smiled a thin sly smile, "...tends to work too."
Janeen laughed. "That it does," she mused; her arm bent on the table and her head cupped in an open palm as she wore a classic dreamy-eyed expression.
Beatrix tried to hide her smirk but she wasn't being successful. She didn't particularly like the whole atmosphere of the bar. It was too Southwestern for her taste, and seeing a good portion of men walking around with cowboy hats gave her an unsettling feeling that Budd was around. Thus, realizing why Budd had had his sights set on El Paso. Not that Bill would ever allow him to get up and move away; not unless there was a damn good reason…..but even then Budd would most likely go against Bill's word.
"Arlene…Hey, sweetie," Janeen was waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. Beatrix blinked hard and came back to reality.
"What?" The tall blonde spoke up with a mixed expression across her face.
"You okay? You were staring at those guys over there for the past twenty seconds." Janeen motioned to the bar were a group of what one would refer to as 'the regulars' were dosing down a good portion of Jack. "You don't wanna be staring at those guys," Janeen added with a touch of seriousness. She gave a gentle pat to her shoulder.
Beatrix honestly hadn't meant to stare at anyone. She had gone off in a daze that she hadn't intended to go on. Annoyed with herself, but regretting nothing she put on an overly fake smile; thin and convincing. She turned to Tommy and said, "You never told me how much fun your friends are. I do believe they are going to steal me from you quite often."
Tommy smiled at Arlene. He was a little tired, a little distracted, and he was used to being with his friends in bars; didn't think twice about the whole thing. This wasn't his favorite bar, but he'd been in far worse. He found it easy to kinda zone out in place like this. But, Arlene's words woke him up a little, "Yeah," he chuckled, leaning in a little closer to her, "….that's what I'm afraid of."
"Yup," Erica nodded, having eavesdropped a little, "...she's ours now Tommy.."
"We'll see about that," Tommy replied with a good humored threat.
Just then, their drinks were delivered; which consisted of mostly waters and soft drinks. Joleen had ordered a white Russian, and smiled charmingly at the waiter as he set it down in front of her. She made an 'oh yeah' expression in the direction of the other women as he once again left the table.
"You're so bad," Erica rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her soft drink. "Don't be corrupting poor Arlene here alright...it's only her first day around us. Besides, you've got Tommy to contend with..." she elbowed him playfully.
"That's right," Tommy said confidently, an affectionate look on Arlene. "No corrupting."
"Jeez," Joleen took a sip from her drink, "..ya'll act like I'm a terrible person or something," she stuck her tongue out at Janeen and Erica.
"Your not?" Erica responded with mock innocence,
"Shut up," Joleen laughed, glancing at Arlene, "Just ignore those two Arlene..."
Beatrix let out a light hearted giggle before taking a sip of her water. She was glad that no one, not counting Joleen, had ordered nonalcoholic drinks so she didn't have to come up with some lame assed excuse for not joining in. She sat up after setting her drink back down to the table top. "Ya'll don't need to worry about corrupting me. I've been far beyond corrupted," she rose knowing brows and her chin tilted to her chest in mock seriousness. She was being serious, but she couldn't lead on. A smirk curved over her lips.
"That's good to know, 'cause now we don't need to worry about Joleen doing any more damage," Janeen said with a wide grin as she fiddled with her glass of Sprite. "See, Tommy, you've got nothing to worry about." She playfully bumped his side. "Well, except for her coming back with a new set of shoes everyday…and…clothes…oh! And a new pocket book."
"Mmm..yes..a pocket book," Beatrix mused, although on the inside she was scoffing. She never wore a pocket book in her life. She wasn't going to start any time soon. Her smile came thin lined and she added quietly, "Maybe just a new wallet."
"Oh!" Janeen perked up from taking a long gulp from her straw. She obviously hadn't taken offense to the pocket book thing. "We can get you a wallet with kitty cats on it. I saw this real cute one in the corner store on Almend Street."
Beatrix raised slender brows in the brunette's direction and stated bluntly, "I don't like cats."
"Okay, they had dogs too." Again, Janeen bounced back quickly and took no offense but moved on to the next best thing. It was kinda cute in that annoyingly peppy kinda way, but it was tolerable and Beatrix just grinned.
Tommy wasn't too sure about Arlene's 'beyond corrupted' comment, but then again, he wasn't the kind of guy to nitpick over stuff. She seemed perfectly fine to him, and that's all that really mattered. He sensed that Arlene maybe wasn't quite as much into shopping as the others, and didn't spend too much time worrying about her shopping day in and day out. Tommy was like most men, he shopped for stuff when he needed it...and that was about it.
"No kitty cats, no dogs..." Joleen mused, with a mischievous look in her dark eyes, "...what sort of wallet would Arlene get then hrm?"
"Ohhh..." Erica joined in.
"Bunnies?" Joleen quarried, smiling. Sometimes Joleen liked to subtly poke fun at Janeen; in that friend type of way. "Fuzzy wuzzy little bunnies."
"Nooo...," Erica put a painted nail to her chin, "...unicorns...with rainbows..."
"Ack!" Joleen gagged, taking a sip of her drink.
Tommy was watching all of this with a horrified look on his face. "I just don't think that's Arlene's style..."
"No," both Erica and Joleen said at the same time.
Janeen was wearing a pouty face, as she knew when she was being picked on. She didn't take it to heart, but she could play it up. She began to suck on her straw not sure if she wanted to actually take a drink from it.
Beatrix found the debating over what wallet she should have very amusing. Of course, she'd be caught dead with a unicorn or rainbow on her wallet. She was perfectly content with a plain boring wallet, or perhaps a brown leather wallet with big pink bubbly letters that was stitched with the words; 'Bad Motherfucker'. Of course like hell she'd walk around with that in El Paso. That wallet idea holding a lot of amusement, she couldn't wipe the smirk off her face.
"A brown leather wallet suits me just fine," she stated gently.
"Aww, you are no fun," Janeen said with a brush away of her hand. Beatrix felt some 'friendly' sympathy soak in, and she gave a warm smile in Janeen's direction. "You can help me pick it out."
Janeen brightened up at this and nodded eagerly like a child agreeing to picking out a new toy. "Great! We can go tomorrow after I get off of work."
Beatrix's brows narrowed as she pushed her seat out. "You can try and convince Tommy to let me go while I take a trip to the little girl's room." She stood up. "Excuse me." And she turned on her heel to head to the restroom. Her spirits were mellow and she was enjoying herself immensely in the company of her new friends and possible boyfriend. Everything was going along smoothly, better than smooth, and the blonde was content.
Tommy smiled at Arlene, giving her a silent nod as the tall blonde got up to use the restroom.
"Brown leather wallet," Joleen spoke up, "I knew it," she smiled at Janeen and prodded the sullen brunette playfully, "I'm just messin' around with ya girl."
"Wait," Erica spoke up, "Does Arlene really work for you Tommy?"
Tommy looked a little quizzical. He hadn't really thought about that. He'd put her to work earlier because she looked like she wanted something to do...she'd done a good job...and she didn't have a job yet. "I don't know," he admitted after a moment, "I should talk to her about that."
"Well...yeah...," Joleen gave him a 'duh' expression, "You'd better let her work for you."
"Yes, ma'am," Tommy replied with a little sneer.
They continued to chat as Beatrix went into the restroom. As the tall blonde passed the bar, she didn't fail to catch the attention of a group of men who'd been sitting there. These were the guys she'd accidentally been staring at earlier. For the most part these guys were no good; they'd already had their share of liquor, and were your stereotypical blue collar misogynist types.
Two of the men in particular had zeroed in on Beatrix; the others were too sloshed to notice. One of these guys, a young-ish guy...tall, skinny, wearing a white t-shirt, a brown Stetson hat, worn jeans and a pair of cheap cowboy boots, elbowed the man sitting next to him.
"There she goes Ron," he mumbled, hazel eyes glued to Beatrix as she disappeared around the corner. "Goddamn...that's some kind of ass I haven't seen around here in ages." He took a swig of his Budweiser, "I'd love to hit that alright," he sat up; some drunken twisted idea sparking in his mind, "And..why the hell shouldn't I….eh Ron? Well...hell both of us man...we ain't gunna see a bitch like that come in here again anytime soon." He stood up, yanking his buddy up, "Come on Ron...she comes back out...you turn on the charm….you's the good lookin' one anyways..."
And thus when that tall blonde with the good looking ass came out of the restroom and turned the corner, her path back to her table was rudely cut off. Standing before her was a middle aged man, a few inches taller than her but not by much. He had a fairly handsome appearance; chiseled features that were brushed over with stubble, bright green eyes, mid-shoulder length brown hair with a dusting of white on his side burns. He wore a similar dressing of half the men there.
"Hey there good lookin'," Ron introduced with a wide smile to show off not as aesthetically pleasing teeth. "How about I buy ya's a drink with me and my buddy."
Beatrix stood there, her lips in a taut line and blue eyes flashed with revolution. What the fuck? She couldn't go anywhere without being approached by some jackasses? It was the same in every single state no matter where she went. She had been hoping El Paso was different and she could keep those foul memories closed up for good. Apparently she was opening doors that were better off closed. She tried to keep her sweet-assed attitude. "I'm sorry…sir…but I'm having drinks with someone else." She made a quick side turn but only bumped into Ron's 'buddy'.
"Nah, I think yer having a drink with us," the younger man, who was known as Matt, spoke up as the tall blonde bumped into him. He gave her a grin from under his hat brim, which was far less attractive as his buddy's, his teeth embedded with chew and bar peanuts. "Don't be actin' all hissy now," he noted Beatrix's expression. "No woman I've known can resist ol' Ron here; he's a stud...real gentlemanly like...now...why don't ya just be nice and join us at the bar." He was already standing far too close to the tall blonde for normal conversation, but then he took another step forward. "Don't wanna cause a scene now do we?" His voice dropped with a tone of threat.
Tommy glanced over Janeen's shoulder; spotting Arlene and the two men who were obstructing her path. "Oh shit..." he drawled, sitting up straight.
All three women at the table turned to follow Tommy's eye.
Matt placed a hand on Beatrix's forearm, "Come on now...just nice and easy...Ron n' I will take good care of ya..."
"See, Joleen, I told you it was a bad idea to come here," Janeen scolded in the friendliest manner she could muster. She rose from her seat and the rest followed.
Beatrix casually shook off the hand from her forearm as if she was being given the cooties.
"Come on, sweet cheeks, we don't wanna cause a scene, really we don't," Ron tried to insist as he took another close step to the other side of the tall blonde.
Those blue eyes flashed. "Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time," she spoke slowly through a firm set jaw. "But I'm here with someone else."
"And that means jack shit to us. This is a bar and you sit at the bar and 'ave drinks with fellas like us," Ron interjected with a low growl in the back of his throat. This woman was hot and not just in the 'sexually appealing' sense.
"Fellas like you, huh?" The tall blonde raised arched a brow and stuck her chin up in a regal manner. "You mean shit faced low life asses like yourself?"
Ron could be gentlemanly but he was quick to loose it especially with a few drinks in him. At the blonde's rude comment he raised a hand to strike her, but before he could lay a finger she had his wrist in a firm lock. The flash in those blue eyes hinted a sadistic pleasure in this. Long white fingers tightened on his wrist like a crab claw. "You…really…don't want to mess with me," she said softly and released his wrist.
"Ooooh," Matt reared back in laughter, "Look what we have here Ron!" He didn't seem to be taking the blonde's actions all that seriously, then again, he wasn't the one that had just has his wrist snatched. "She's a real fighter this one," he circled around her, "..I like that. Don't wanna mess with ya huh," he shook his head, "Oh...but we do honey...that's the thing, and Ron an' I don't give a shit if ya came here with somebody or not."
Meanwhile, Tommy and the three women had come on over. Of course, Tommy instantly felt he had to protect Arlene. It didn't matter if she was 'with him' or not, he would have done it for any woman...he was just that kind of guy.
"Hey guys," Tommy spoke up calmly, "Just leave her alone alright? It's not worth starting a fight over."
"Shut the fuck up boyfriend," Matt snapped, "This ass is worth the fight alright." Matt was more than a little drunk, and while he was normally a jerk, he was being even more of one now. He glanced at the tall blonde man standing a few feet behind him, "You're a big son of a bitch, but no matter...Ron an' I can take ya."
"Fucker," Joleen commented under her breath.
Matt had turned back to Beatrix, Ron was still standing close to her. "See...this could have been so easy," he hissed at her, "...but now you've gone and created a scene..."
Suddenly, he lunged out and grabbed Beatrix around the waist, lifting her off the ground. He let out a loud 'yeeehaww' as he did this.
Tommy took a few meaningful steps forward. That was it, he'd seen enough.
But Ron was quick to block Tommy's path. He raised his head to look up at Tommy and put on a big assed grin, entailing that Tommy wasn't getting by any time soon.
Beatrix meanwhile was far from enjoying herself. She wanted to play the damsel in distress, she knew she had too to play it but she couldn't switch. She snapped. It was not only a matter of protecting herself from these drunken assholes but her baby as well. Still being held up in the air, she bent her leg and sent a sharp knee into Matt's gut. The man was caught by surprise and in between a 'yee' went 'ah' and doubled over; releasing the tall blonde.
Now she was released and she could easily walk away, but that was the smart, rational thing to do and Beatrix had 'snapped'. Instead while Matt was in a weakened state of regaining himself, the tall deadly blonde clipped his nose. That was going to leave a mark or a few broken bones.
Ron had glanced over his shoulder to see the change of events. Like hell was he going to stand there and allow his buddy to be beat up by some good looking whore. He didn't much care about Tommy. He turned and jumped the blonde. Beatrix let out a yell of surprise and hit the floor hard. She was completely irate and blue eyes flashed dangerously. She should have seen that coming, but she wasn't a killer anymore, she wasn't supposed to be getting into bar fights. Dammit. As Ron tried to straddle her from behind, the blonde grabbed his wrists and effortlessly flipped him over and off her back. He hit the floor in front of her with a loud thud.
Tommy wasn't exactly sure how to react to all of this. At first, he just wanted to end this peacefully...but now...well, this just wasn't what he had expected.
He, along with three women, stood watching this with unhinged jaws. He had reflexively taken a few steps back when Arlene reacted so violently.
Matt yelled, loudly….and if there wasn't anybody in the bar already watching...they were now. He flailed as he clasped at his bleeding nose. His other hand was clamped over his stomach; his violent body motions sending little sprays of blood in a few directions. "Fucking shit!" He croaked. He wasn't so drunk that that didn't hurt like all hell. "I'm gunna fucking kill you bitch!"
Tommy set his chin; ok...death threats were too much. "Stop it!" He yelled, but was ignored.
Matt, a thick river of blood adorning his face and the front of his once white t-shirt, dove on top of Beatrix….now that Ron had been thrown to the floor. He didn't' care if she was a woman, and a good looking one at that...he was gunna fight her like she was a man.
Beatrix yelled out as the weight was added back on and her head was pulled back. Lids squinted over those blue eyes in a cringe of being uncomfortable. "Yeah, Matt, fuck that bitch up!" Ron was yelling now from the side lines. He had recovered and was now standing on the opposite side of where Tommy and the others were. He sure as hell wasn't jumping in there again. Not unless Matt needed him.
Before Beatrix could have her pretty face impaled into the floor, she thrust her head back…..and the back of her head connected with Matt's forehead. She always liked that trick, but forgot how much it fucking hurt. But that didn't daunt the once infamous Black Mamba. She had twisted out of Matt's grip like a true snake slithering from its pray and now positioned herself on Matt's back.
With a face lacking pure emotion she wrapped an arm around his throat, and using her other arm secularly locked him in a choke hold. And this one she wasn't letting up on.
"Fucking shit! Man," Ron exclaimed and looked at Tommy who was equally flabbergasted. "Get your bitch off of 'em!"
Tommy's stare briefly shifted from the fight to Ron, then back to the fight. He didn't say anything, but nodded in a distracted manner. He'd never, ever seen a woman do what Arlene was doing...well not in real life that is; chicks in movies did stuff like that...but not...in El Paso, Texas. To be honest, he wasn't really sure what to think. He had been all set on throwing a few punches for her….ya know that honorable guy stuff...and getting her out of here. But, she'd completely turned the tables on that idea and he wasn't sure if he wanted to get near her at the moment. The look on her face...it was indescribable. Tommy was somewhat unfamiliar with the true 'look of a killer', but that's what he was seeing if he recognized it or not.
He cleared his throat, taking a few long steps forward, "Arlene," he said softly and slowly, coming up behind her, and kneeling down, "Let go...Arlene...he can't breathe." Well, that was pretty damn obvious...Matt's face had turned bright red, his eyes large and unfocused. "You're going to kill him Arlene," Tommy continued, "...let go..." He wasn't sure where Arlene had gone, but she didn't seem to be fully grounded at the moment.
Beatrix held on a little longer. She had heard Tommy. Well, most of what he had said but it hadn't registered yet. Here she was in a bar and in a fight no less and if she didn't let go soon there would be a dead guy on the floor. She had been in countless bar fights in her life. Some were more prominent than others. She could even recall one where Bill was nearby egging her on, or the time she hit off that military fucker in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Miami.
This wasn't Arlene Machiavelli the sweet angel; this was Beatrix Kiddo the trained killer who was far from sweet. She was hard assed, a bitch, a bad person, and…a mother. She snapped back.
"Fuck," she muttered and let go of Matt as if he had turned into an inferno. She jumped to her feet, unaware Tommy was right behind her. She just stood there in shock, lips partially open. Matt was left gasping on the bar floor with Ron trying to aid him. What had she done? This wasn't what she wanted to be, this was what she had ran away from. She had left that life for a reason and here she was going back to it. Whether she wanted to register it or not, there came the bitter truth that she couldn't fully 'forget' what she was…what she was born to do.
She blinked hard and the full set of raw emotion came back to her. This wasn't right. She took a stumbling step back only to collide into something. That something was Tommy as she made a quick turn around. She stared up into his set of blue eyes with her own set of glossy coated ones. He looked…scared. Scared of her? In this situation she could have done one of two things; one, ask politely if Tommy would walk her home…or….two; wrap her arms around him and bury her face against his chest. She went with number two.
Arlene's next reaction was more of what Tommy had expected, and he wrapped his arms strongly around her frame. Of course, he completely misread why she'd reacted the way she had. In his mind, she was scared of what had just happened...but he couldn't have been further from the truth. Beatrix was about as scared as those two jerks as she was of a hangnail. He had no clue that what she was scared of...was herself.
"Hey...," Tommy whispered to her; holding onto her tightly, "...it's ok...it's over…."
It certainly was. Matt, gasping and bloody let Ron lead him out of the bar under the stares of the numerous customers. The poor asshole looked completely dazed. It was likely he wouldn't even remember what had happened the next morning; which was probably a good thing. Erica, Joleen, and Janeen had all stayed back at a safe distance. They were now exchanging worried glances.
Seeing that the fight was over, most people turned back to their drinks. An angry looking waiter began mopping up the small pools of blood on the rough wooden floor.
"C'mon," Tommy continued to whisper to Arlene, "...let's go outside ok? Get some fresh air..."
Erica went ahead and paid the tab and they all followed Tommy and Arlene outside.
"Maybe its best we call it a night," Joleen offered solemnly; a concerned look falling on Arlene.
These were all 'normal' people, and they were reacting like normal people should...they couldn't grasp what 'Arlene' was really so worked up about.
"Yeah," Janeen agreed. She was just as concerned as the rest of them and a little taken back. "Tommy….Arlene…we'll catch ya guys tomorrow." She then turned and walked away with Erica and Joleen at her side.
Once gone, Beatrix, who was already 'glued' to Tommy, pushed herself against him even more. For the first time in her life she wanted and needed protection. She wanted someone to tell her that this could all work out. That the life she longed for and the normal she needed could be a success. She wanted to know that her baby could be safe.
Her baby. Bill's baby. And that's what it came down too…Bill. She wanted him…she missed him. She felt the tears burning her eyes as she clung to Tommy like a needy child. This wasn't right; being in one man's arms while thinking of another. She was a bad person for doing this, but she could change it. She could still go back…..but she wouldn't. She had made her choice. She didn't regret it, she just missed certain things…or a certain someone she left behind.
She came to the conclusion that thinking about Bill was being selfish. She was never going to see him again and that was that. She had her unborn child to think about and her clean slate. Beatrix had to get herself back on track, or everything was going to go to hell. So, she didn't shed any tears but blinked them back and tilted her head up to Tommy. Her lips parted and she spoke in a soft slightly off center tone, "Did I forget to mention I used to take self defense classes?" A half hearted laugh at herself followed with an added etching of an innocently warm smile across her face.
Tommy smiled down at Arlene, with just a tad of uneasiness. "Remind me not to get you angry," he replied softy; but with his usual sort of harmless humor.
He held her tightly the entire walk back to her apartment. It took them longer this way, but Tommy was more concerned with Arlene than getting anywhere quickly. She seemed so frail under his strong arm, but...that was it, she wasn't frail at all. Yet, she was scared...even Tommy could pick up on that, maybe not so much scared as...emotional. Tommy could understand that, the whole bar thing had been pretty damn upsetting. But, god...she could have killed that guy...easily. Of course, Tommy was completely off base...but one couldn't really blame him for that. He had no idea who Arlene had been, or what Arlene had done, or what sort of man Arlene had been with before him...or that Arlene wasn't really Arlene at all.
When they reached Arlene's apartment, Tommy sweetly led her inside. "I should go," he said, once he'd made sure she was settled in and as comfortable as she could be. He squeezed her hand, "Rest…..take your time ok? Stop by the store whenever you feel ready. We'll talk." He bent and kissed her gently; a comforting kiss with no other intention but one of making her feel better.
With that, he left Arlene by herself. He wanted to stay with her, but...she seemed like she needed to be alone. And Tommy had had just about enough excitement for one day; which was rather funny when compared to the amount of excitement Beatrix was used to on a 'typical' day.