“He doesn’t use a sock and he’s so not disappointing it’s kind of scary.”
“How scary?” Al y asked.
“Mind-bogglingly scary,” I answered.
“I’ve always wanted to know if Eddie was even close to the promise of Eddie ‘cause the promise of Eddie is seriously shit-hot.” Al y said.
I thought about Eddie. I thought about Mom leaning against Eddie. I thought about Eddie getting so angry on my behalf he’d punch out Bachelor Number One and throw my behalf he’d punch out Bachelor Number One and throw a phone into a margarita pitcher. I thought about Eddie’s hands and mouth on me. I thought about Eddie moving inside me. I thought about Eddie in the shower. I thought about being tucked up against Eddie on the couch.
I sighed, deep and huge.
Indy turned back in her seat, “I think that’s enough said.”
“You got that right, sister,” Al y agreed.
* * * * *
We arrived at the table, which was somewhere I didn’t know and somewhere I never wanted to go again. I just knew it was in the back of a seriously not-trendy bar and up some barely-lit stairs that didn’t smel good. Daisy knocked on a closed door and when the big guy opened it, he didn’t look happy to see her. Then he hid it and was al smiles. “Daisy!” he said.
“Got a game goin’, Butch?” she asked.
“Sure Daisy,” Butch said.
“Room for me?” she asked.
“Always room for you, Daisy.” Then his eyes came to Indy, Al y and I and I wondered why he ended everything he said with “Daisy”.
“Those are just my girls, they’re not gonna play, just watch.”
He shuffled his feet. “I’m not sure about that Daisy,” he said.
“Where I go, my girls go.” She pushed in and I had to admire her even though she scared the shit out of me.
He was twice her size, which put him much tal er than al of us. I didn’t know about pushing into a room where I wasn’t wanted but Daisy was in and we had no choice but to fol ow.
We al traipsed in (at this point the Daisy-ettes) and sweet, Tinkly-Bel Laugh Daisy was al gone. This was Serious Kick-Butt Daisy.
“Boys,” she said, scanning the table.
The men at the table stared at her.
Then they stared at us.
They weren’t happy.
It wasn’t exactly Brad Pitt teaching wannabe megastars how to play poker in Ocean’s Eleven. It was dirty, smoky, smel ed of sweat and I didn’t like the idea of my Dad hanging out in such places, night after night. The thought of it was just plain sad.
They finished their game, found a chair and Daisy sat; Butch giving her chips when she gave him a rol of cash. My eyes bugged out when I saw the rol of cash but she turned to me and I saw her hair move in a “no” and I just stopped myself from giving out a little scream.
Indy, Al y and I stood quiet several feet away from the table. No one talked, it was al about the cards. Daisy folded for her first hand. She got beat on a bluff her second.
She won huge on her third.
While they were dealing the fourth, she spoke to the man at her side.
“Where’s Ray tonight?” she asked, calm as you please, like Dad was a frequent guest at dinner parties.
“Don’t know,” he mumbled, not looking at her.