Chapter 12

Three figures took up the bed- Mary, John and Billie. They'd already spent almost an hour playing cards, Mary's dinner only half eaten and put to the side. To be more comfortable the man had loosened his tie to the point where it was barely knotted in the middle of his chest, the top buttons of his shirt undone. From the short distance away, this had given Billie a clear sight of an undershirt just peeking below and she couldn't fight her eyes going back precariously to that spot. The color of his skin looked so rich, close enough to touch and so inviting. It was hard to stand.

He had placed himself there, in the girls' presence, and included himself in their activities to the point that Billie felt him to be a tease. Of course, John wouldn't know how she felt in the first place to come to that assumption...unless it was as painfully obvious as she felt it was. He'd been friendly, humorous, relaxed. Charming, engaging and witty. He treated her as if they were already friends. The cool demeanor in such close range caused him to be nothing but a harassing epitome of charisma. Irresistible. Beckoning.

They had changed the game several times upon John's request. In actuality it was more a demand; Billie and Mary had beat him one too many times in poker for him to feel comfortable continuing. Aside from changing the game he would usually play the game to death, for how ever long was necessary until he won. If the game ended on a losing note in his corner it was not finished. His antics caused the girls much laughter and amusement. Billie had never known a person to become so involved in a game. She laughed often, fascinated by him, but felt a little frightened, or maybe it was guilt, deep down within. His eyes would darken and his nostrils flare, his jaw and face set in hard seams to the point where he was genuinely upset, and no one could argue this truth.

On more than one occasion he felt himself loosing the game and therefore called out heatedly to Billie to throw her cards down, assessing her hand in its honest form. She wasn't cheating, or rather he couldn't prove it, and his agitation grew strong. "Alright!" he anxiously grabbed all the cards on the bed and bustled them into an even pile. "Enough of this, you two don't know how to play. We'll play Oh Hell."

He heard them snickering. Oh Hell was a game with less cards. There was even more chance and luck involved, but it also required calculation and skill to win. That, he was positive, he would excel in far beyond the young girls. A certain amount of cards were dealt out, than a "trump" card placed up for all to see. Cards were face value, other than the trump which beat anything. You were required to bet before the hand was played, assuming how many "tricks" one would take. If you took more or less than you bet, you were done, and the objective was then to make sure the others in the game failed as well. It could become rather cutthroat, he in the mood to do just that.

Billie sighed after two hands were played. "Your score isn't any better than the poker game," she mused casually, meaning it to irk him, she and Mary exchanging playful glances.

"Don't you worry about me, doll. I'll get you two this time," he assured, leaning back with a face still perturbed and stubbornly arranging his cards. Billie considered, or desperately wanted to, believe his word to be an endearment. It was enough to cause her to blush again though Mary did not notice. Her uncle had made himself chummy with them and the atmosphere was playful; she thought nothing of it, except being glad he seemed to genuinely like her choice of friend.

"I'm taking them all," he claimed confidently with an edge of seriousness. He bet all his cards. Mary and Billie had to bet regardless and thus they would throw the stats off-balance. If he didn't win he was damming the rest of them.

At his proud proclamation Billie couldn't hold back her gentle snicker. She was aware of something called a "poker face" and didn't wish to give away her hand, but the giggle came instantly. He was so sure of whatever he held in his hand. It wouldn't be good enough and she knew it. She held the ace of trump- a card nothing could beat. She would get that trick by default, no matter what he had. It was easy to assume he held a king and maybe a queen but he didn't hold the ace and so nothing was guaranteed for him.

"Why are you laughin'?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized insincerely. The rest of the bets were made, the game beginning, and with outrage John lost his first trick, losing right then and there with the first card. He looked up at Billie furiously, asking why she had played the hand in such a way to cause him to loose. Mary was laughing in the background. A second round was played, he finally seeing and loosing again to Billie's ace. He made as if to swear but stopped himself; he wouldn't in their presence.

"Calm down, Uncle Jimmy," Mary spoke to her uncle when the round was finished and he was pouting. "Billie will be scared of you. You're giving yourself a bad reputation," she teased. If only she knew Billie was now more entranced; she was seeing his faults, his fall from the pedestal to being revealed human.

"For goodness sake!" Billie exclaimed lightly after cards and bets had gone around the circle again. As if exasperated she reached out and touched the top of John's hands that held his cards, pushing the hand and then the entire arm inwardly to his chest. "If I wanted to I could have seen your cards for the entire game!"

Momentarily bamboozled by the notion of her touching him, John needed just a second to register what she said. It was just what he needed to properly accuse her and he jumped on it. "See my cards! You have been cheating...that's it...I knew it..." Of course a part of him did believe that she didn't look when she had the chance, and he was smiling now. The smile was brought on by things he could never mention right then, and the girls took his lighter spirit gratefully.

- - -

The game was continued but in a way that seemed noticeably uncharacteristic by John, whom Mary watched beginning to act...peacefully. As if the game no longer mattered. She was left to presume that Billie admitting she could see his cards, but not that she cheated, was enough of a confession for him to then feel dominant again. Mary even fleetingly wondered if he'd had a drink at dinner, but that too seemed unlikely.

John had become distracted by her touch. What was more than the feeling itself, it was the notion that she had done it herself, by her own accord, by her own urge and yearning. This proved to him that she was not afraid of him. She could be shy, but she was curious, and in the comfortable atmosphere had let him see this. So far the little touch was the biggest opening to anything either one of them wished to continue.

Mary had started telling a story about a girl at school, one who'd tried to tell a funny joke and her little brother ruined it by revealing the punch-line. This then led Billie to add her own recollection of a time a boy had raised his hand in class and began telling a story to the teacher, the whole class listening on, that ended up being a rather adult joke.

Even John had a good chuckle as he listened to them, and with the topic of jokes in his mind he ran across some with the intention to tell. "Say, did you ever hear..." he began, and then thinking ahead of himself realized that one was highly inappropriate. "No, never mind. I can't say that," he admitted to them which drew a few giggles on their own. There was a pause until he thought of another. Into the silence he said, "What do you call..." and then stopped. "No, can't do that one either."

The two girls laughed and seemed to ignore him, both assuming all the jokes he knew he wouldn't dare say in front of them. The game was continued until the man piped up again, seeming excited he had something to say. "Oh, okay...how 'bout this? This cowboy is traveling across the prairie..."

Mary looked up skeptically at her uncle, bored and uninterested in his attempts at humor. She was sure Billie felt the same way but he continued despite her stare.

"...and he stops in a small town and goes into a bar where an Indian is sitting at the other end..."

Now, nervously, Mary eyed her friend. "Um, Uncle Jimmy-" she tired to interrupt, wondering if his next words would offend her and then a nasty situation erupt.

"Shh, I'm not done," he waved her off. "So the Indian is at the bar too. Well, the cowboy gets a drink and lights up a cigar and starts smoking. And he's gettin' very serious, resting back and he starts blowing smoke rings. Well, after he blew nine or ten rings into the air this Indian is very angry and goes up to him..." At this point John looked very proud for the approaching punch-line and acted his next words out, taking on a whole new persona. He puffed up his chest like he imagined the Indian would do and spoke deep and choppy. "...and the Indian says 'One more remark like that and I'll smash your face in!' "

There was silence. He dropped the act and looked at both of them expectantly. Waiting. Mary was looking at him as if she smelled rotten eggs and when his eyes drifted to Billie she remained quiet but held a wide smile on her face. She wanted to grin, and maybe even laugh, but resisted. The two girls exchanged looks, this almost making Billie crack up, until he could stand it no longer.

"Don't you get it! Smoke rings, smoke signal..."

It was Billie who spoke, being as polite as possible in the place of whatever harsh comment Mary would make. "We get it. It's just not very funny."

John could not comprehend this and it showed in his face, another onset of fury. He wondered if his joke really wasn't funny to the girls, or if Billie were just holding back in order to taunt him. He hoped it was the latter, and almost as soon as he thought of it assumed it must be so. Through those claustrophobic moments they had been once again trying to make it their own; flirting. She was keeping up and for this he was almost aching with desire.

Mary was laughing heartily having listened to Billie give a rough and honest truth to her uncle, something that was rarely done. He always had the last word and was about to give it when there was a knock on the door. Attentions drifted away and it was Audrey standing in the doorway. She looked upon the crowd with a gentle smile. The woman always looked a little tired but who was anyone to blame her?

"Feeling better?" she questioned her daughter who gave a small nod. "Rest some more. Billie? It's getting late, I wouldn't want your mother worried..."

She had stayed quite late especially with a friend feeling ill. Billie knew it was time to go but only felt reluctant for her moment with Jimmy ending. She had been in his company longer than any other time and it was quickly becoming addictive. Slowly she reached out to her friend, touching her lightly on the arm. "Get well in time for the dance!" she reminded her with a hint of urgency. Mary agreed with a smile, then asking her to be careful going home.

At his nieces words John felt a quickening occur inside him. He had forgotten Billie walked home. Now, in the pitch darkness of the outside, this idea seemed out of the question. Before he even realized it he was speaking. "I'll take you home."

Billie glanced at him, a wave of emotions crashing over her while Mary thanked him. It was a favor, a nice gesture. No one, aside the two passengers, thought otherwise. Billie said her goodbyes, thanked and hugged Audrey, gathered her things and in moments was walking out of the house with John several paces close by.