DEAD/ALIVE Chapter Twenty Five
Joanie instinctively reached a hand for Kid as she rolled over in bed. Her hand was met with emptiness. She saw him sitting in the chair, looking out into the darkened night. He had a blanket wrapped around his naked body to help fight off the December chill. His head tilted back as he looked up at the sky. He leaned forward as if struggling to get a better view. His shoulders slumped in frustration. It was hard to see the stars when they were competing with the lights of San Francisco. It had always been one of his favorite things, to stretch out under a Wyoming or Colorado sky and the seemingly endless miles of plains. It seemed as if Heyes and him were the only two people alive. Kid loved those nights.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
The crackle of night fire and the fresh smell of burning wood and faint traces of the night's coffee and meal. He could lay back and lock his hands behind his head staring all night at the stars. He would look at Heyes laying beside him and without saying a word his partner would give him a wink and that Heyes' smile telling him he was thinking the same thing…and weren't they both content.
Kid sighed. He wasn't second guessing himself, he just knew there were things he was going to miss.
Kid looked back towards the bed and saw Joanie quietly watching him. He smiled as he pushed out of the chair and crossed to the bed. They stared at each other for a brief moment before Kid dropped the blanket to the floor, as Joanie lifted the covers.
She tried to study his face in the moonlit room.
"You know I'd understand…"
Kid quickly kissed her on the lips.
"There's nothing to understand. I told you I made my decision. No regrets. My only…well San Francisco is more city than I'm used to. Damn near got run over by…What'd you call that thing that ain't pulled by horses but some kind of rope that's buried in the road.
Joanie laughed, "A cable car."
"You know Heyes…he was all excited by it. Just something else to scare horses if you ask me."
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Heyes had his hands locked behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He needed to come up with a plan. Was he going to stay? Or was he going to go? If he stayed, was it for more for himself or Kid.
Heyes decided not having a plan was a plan. He laughed. It was something that he had told Kid on more than one occasion with the same response from his partner, "Good plan" He would go with that for now. Jane's big day was tomorrow. He unlocked his arms and rolled over, bunching up his pillow and wrapping his arms around it before he rolled over onto his side.
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Kyle propped himself on one elbow and looked at Jane who was still wide awake.
"Are ya nervous?"
"Nervous? Nah…ain't nervous…just kind of fucking confused. Don't know why anyone would want to hear about my fucking pitiful excuse for a life."
"You're famous Jane." Kyle smiled proudly. "And I'm right proud to call you…" He briefly struggled to find the right word, "...my friend."
"Friend huh…" she cocked an eyebrow and smiled.
"Well…yeah Jane. Ain't we friends?" Kyle started to look worried.
"Of course we are fucking friends…but Joshua and Thaddeus are my fucking friends too. Don't see us fucking cohabitating."
Kyle looked confused before he carefully asked, "You saying we are more than friends?" He quickly added "Just trying to get some kind of…you know…clarification and all."
Jane startled Kyle by leaning across him and planting a quick kiss on his lips. Kyle's shocked expression made Jane burst out laughing.
"Is that enough fucking clarification for ya?"
"Sort of…" Kyle still looked confused. "Does that mean…"
"No!" Jane paused to rethink her answer, "Maybe…Yeah maybe." She had discreetly watched Joanie and Thaddeus when they were together. She had to admit she felt a tinge of jealousy. They looked so happy. Jane knew she wasn't looking for happiness, just contentment. She would have to be a damn fool not to see how much Kyle cared for her, dare say love her. Maybe one day she would let her guard down and tell him how much she cared too, but not tonight.
"I got a big day tomorrow and I need to get some fucking sleep. You know I'll have to get up fucking early and start drinking, if I expect my mind to be clear."
Kyle smiled.
There was hope.
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"You ain't putting that war paint on me!" Jane said, swinging a hand at Joanie. "Them fucking folks are going to have to take me as I am. Ain't that what they fucking wanted? The real Calamity Jane?"
Some folks did a double take at the masculine woman who took a seat on the edge of the impromptu stage, as she ignored the chair. She carefully set one bottle after another beside her.
"I take no offense to your reaction. I guess one fella had me pegged right. Said I looked like a fucking busted bale of hay. Pretty much sums it up," Jane said with a laugh.
The room was small with approximately 20 selected people handpicked by Soapy. It was a very casual setting to help put Jane at ease. Miss Dumont, the grand Madame of San Francisco, was sitting at a front table with Kid, Heyes, Joanie, Kyle and Soapy who took a seat after making an informal introduction.
There were other prominent residents of San Francisco, although successful, Soapy knew their road to wealth hadn't always come without venturing to the unlawful side of the law.
"Name's Jane…Martha Jane Canary. Born in the show me state of Missour'a to one of the laziest fucking men that ever drew a breath and that be my pa Robert. Now I favor my ma, Charlotte…she was what one might call a "colorful" person". She liked her men and not always the fucking one she was married to, drink…the more the better and never met a cuss word she couldn't find use for in a fucking sentence." Jane said looking directly at Heyes and Kid who laughed with her.
"Not much to tell other than my folks appeared to like their fucking enough that they whelped them five more children with me as the oldest. My fucking folks were labeled unsavory, and I'm not about to disagree because they were. Just the plain simple truth. We was always on the move without a fucking pot to piss in. Hungry…begging. Pa decided to head for Montana, trying to make his fortune finding gold. Not fucking sure how he intended to do that being that it actually takes some work. I guess he figured it was just laying on top of the fucking ground and folks just plucked it up. But Ma took ill and died before we made it, leaving us youngins at the misery of that worthless piece of shit of a father. He might have provided seed but he weren't no father. He tried to take us to Utah to dump us with some fucking Mormons but he up and died too before we made it. I was 11 or maybe 12 with a passel full of youngins to provide for. Ain't no work for a young girl but flat on your back with some dirty cowboy riding ya. Did that for a while but we was still starving and at the mercy of strangers. So I ended up taking them to Utah. Couldn't take care of myself how in God's name was I going to fucking take care of my siblings."
Joanie hadn't missed the guilt in her voice. Jane quickly shook it off before continuing.
"Learned to ride, rope, shoot, and drink with the best of them boys on our travels to Montana. And I put it to good fucking use. Well, as best as I could as a woman. Us women don't have much opportunity, so I quickly figured out if I didn't want to make a living being on my fucking back, or tending to other folks' whelps…I best dress and act like a fucking man…That ain't entirely true…just didn't want to dress like a woman more. Weren't too hard considering I could out do a man on most occasions."
Jane took a long drink from her bottle, "Just loosing up my fucking pipes." She said with a smile and a wink. She looked around the room, pleased that people were listening intently.
"Headed for Wyoming worked as a dance hall gal out of pure fucking necessity when folks figured out I weren't who or what they thought I was. Did some whoring in Fort Laramie at the Three Mile Hog Ranch, before I found work as ox team driver and scout and made my way to Cheyenne. As fucking fate would have it I ended up taking a wagon to Deadwood with one of the finest men I've ever met. Wild Bill Hickok."
Sadness crossed Jane's face, as she paused to take another hearty drink from her bottle. "To you Bill" Jane said as she held up her bottle, looking skyward. Joanie brushed a tear away remembering the pain and heartbreak her friend endured after Bill's murder…killed by the coward Jack McCall.
"These buckskins that I wear were a gift from Bill...Well I guess he took pity on me laying damn near nekked in my usual intoxicated condition. He was a fucking gentlemen…a true gentlemen."
Joanie could see the sadness start to return. She leaned close to Soapy and whispered in his ear.
"Excuse me for interrupting…but I'm sure folks would like to know how you got the name Calamity." Soapy said.
A slow smile came to Jane's face, "Now that's one hell of a fucking story. I was in Goose Creek, Wyoming...Old Captain Egan ran the post there…well he stirred up a whole nest of Indians. Weren't too hard…being them Indians were getting pretty tired of hearing all the fucking lies coming from white men every time they opened their yaps. Anyway…not sure where the fuck he thought he was going being there is only about 13 tribes that would like nothing better but put him in the ground minus his scalp. No counting coup. Weren't sure what tribe they were with Arapaho, Crow, Cheyenne, or Kiowa…Hell judging by the number of 'em…could have been all them tribes. Sure weren't time to figure it out when his horse went down. There was no thinking on my part. Don't mean to brag but I was considered the most reckless and daring rider and one of the best in the western country. I had my pony running like he never ran before. Arrows were flying around…I was zig zagging and dodging…" Jane said as she was replaying the drama. "Slowed enough to grab Commander Egan's hand and off we rode like a bat out of hell. A miracle neither one of us got kilt that day. Egan was so thankful for saving his life he said, 'I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains' and from that day on that's how folks referred to me. Although there is another version, saying every where I went I caused fucking calamity…but I'll be accepting the first version."
"Heard you rode with Custer!" Someone called out from the audience.
"I surely did. Did some scouting for him. If he had me scout for him before he took off to Little Big Horn…I might not be able to read or write but I surely know how to count and them figures of 800 Indians was a might off…it were more like 3,500. He weren't the fucking brightest fella I've crossed paths with. And if I be that fucking dumb I can't say I'd be as damn cocky as he was. It's what got him kilt and all the others, including two of his brothers, a brother-in-law and a nephew. I was slated to go to Little Big Horn with him, but with the luck of the bottle I got me a little deep in the cups the night before. He didn't have much fucking use for me, and I for him. But if he would have asked, I would have fucking gone and lay dead next to over two hundred white men and fifty Indians. He fucking wouldn't listen and once he divided his men into three groups, the dumb fuck lost all advantage. He weakened them men so they couldn't cover each other's backs. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse killed every man…the only thing that survived Custer's battalion was a badly wounded horse named Comanche. Last I heard that pony was still alive. When he was heading down to Sitting Bull's village, all fucking cocky, heard tell he said: 'Hurrah boys, we've got them! Well finish them up and then go home to our station.' Well someone got finished and it weren't the Indians. I'd have to admit, I fucking thanked the Lord that day for giving me this thrist," Jane said raising the bottle to her lips and looking heavenward.
"Ain't got much more to tell. Saved six passengers and a wounded driver from Indians getting them safely back to Cheyenne…and more than a few folks that took ill from smallpox," She said, looking at Heyes and giving him a wink. "But I think I'm done talking…makes me seem like a braggart…and that's all I've got to say."
To Jane's surprise, people stood up and applauded. She looked at Soapy with a surprised expression on her face. Soapy only smiled and stood to applaud with Joanie, Kid, Heyes, Madame Dumont and Kyle who was beaming ear to ear.
Joanie took Jane by the hand and led her to the table.
"Jane, I'd like you to meet my employer Miss Dumont."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Jane. You are definitely my kind of woman," she said with a smile. "Care to have a drink with me?"
Jane snorted, "That's one offer I never refuse."
"Perhaps we could step outside? I could use some fresh air."
"Lead the way. I got the liquor." Jane said, holding a fresh bottle in one hand . "You be needing a glass?"
Miss Dumont laughed, "No need to dirty one."
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The cold air felt good on their faces as they stepped outside. Jane offered the bottle to Madame Dumont. Without hesitation, she uncorked the bottle and threw back a hearty drink. Jane peered at her.
"You ain't always had a fucking silver spoon have ya?"
"No…looks can be deceiving. Started like you flat on my back…but I stayed with it biding my time. I own most of the whore houses in this city and others. That's one profession that isn't going anywhere. When I got here, men outnumbered women at least 500 to 1 and probably higher. I filled the niche which made me a very very wealthy woman."
"Didn't know companionship paid so well."
"Companionship?"
Jane laughed, "That's what Thaddeus called it when we first met." Her eyes took on a distant look as she remembered their first meeting. "I couldn't have found a fucking better alley to pass out in. Hell, I'm the one that introduced Joanie to Thaddeus. A really fucking matchmaker I am."
"She does love him."
"And him her. I've never seen so much fucking smiling, kissing, hand holding and everything else that goes with it." Jane said with a wink. Madame Dumont passed the bottle back to Jane. She shook it. "Looks like there's only one fucking drink left"
Madame Dumont nodded her head. Jane finished the bottle and instinctively started to toss it aside. She stopped. "Don't think Soapy would like that."
"Guess we should go inside. Jane just remember, it's our kind that creates the beauty in this world by being different. We make this world more interesting. It's a pleasure to have met you."
"You too. If I were to stay….Which I'm not…I know we'd be friends."
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Soapy came up to Jane as she returned from outside, "You caused quite a stir Jane."
"I tend to have that effect on folks."
"If you are agreeable to do this…"
Jane was shaking her head, "Appreciate it but it's time me and Monkey head home. He ain't said nothing but I know he's worried about those damn cats. I've done what I came out to do…see with my own fucking eyes that Joanie was safe. And I'm much obliged to you. I had my fucking doubts being you were so much older and…well you know."
Soapy patted Jane on the arm, "She is a blessing. I consider her family."
"Think we'll be leaving day after tomorrow. I'm sure I won't get no protest from Monkey."
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Dan Dority watched at a safe distance as they gathered at the train station. He paused to briefly look down the hill and wondered if they had ever found the whore's body. Couldn't remember seeing anything in the paper. Guess when spring came or a warm spell, the stench would lead them straight to it. It looked like the he/she and the fake mute we're heading back east. Good. There would be less folks to get in his way. He needed to start putting his plan in motion.
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At the train station, Joanie hugged Jane so long she started squirming.
"I'll miss you Jane."
Jane opened her mouth to respond, thought for a moment, then said softly, "I miss you too Joanie."
Joanie surprised Kyle by giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for taking care of her." She whispered in his ear.
"My pleasure Ma'am." Kyle stammered out.
Heyes and Kid shook Kyle's hand and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Thanks Kyle."
"It was good seeing you boys again." Kyle's brow furrowed. "Guess…I don't know when I'll see you boys again."
"Don't worry Kyle," Kid reassured him, "I'm betting our paths will cross again."
"Ya think?" Kyle said.
"Of course Kyle!" Heyes reassured him with enthusiasm.
"Okay if you say so Heyes."
Soapy shook Kyle's hand and debated whether to give Jane a hug. Jane stuck her hand out and he gave her a firm handshake.
"You will always be welcome here. Both of you."
"Appreciate that," Jane said before turning her attention to Kyle who had reached for her bag. Everyone heard the distinctive sound of glass on glass. "You be careful with my medicine."
Kyle snorted, "You ain't telling me something I don't know."
"And you behave yourself Jane. You don't want to have to walk in this weather." Heyes said with a smile. "Remember it's awful far to Deadwood by foot"
"You know me boys…I'm always on my best fucking behavior."
The whistle sounded and Jane stepped onto the train. Kyle trailed after her, but paused to turn and wave goodbye to everyone.
They all watched the train slowly pull out of the station.
Kid smiled and shook his head, "Kyle must be a saint."
"Saint Kyle," Heyes said with a laugh, "Kinda has a ring to it."
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Author's Notes:
I've always been fascinated by Calamity Jane, especially after watching the series "Deadwood". Unfortunately her history is not well documented, even to the simple spelling of her last name Cannary or Canary. Since Jane was illiterate there are varying accounts of what she actually did and what she bragged to have done. I've taken liberties with the timeline as Custer's Last Stand happened in 1876 and in my story Jane was in Deadwood doctoring our boys back to health. This isn't a history book…just a simple story written for (hopefully) the reader's enjoyment.
