don’t think you can live without it. I think I should recruit some guys to help me.”
“What’s this about?”
“I’ll bet you’d do it with anybody. Dress up in your whore clothes and do it with anybody.”
“Well, since you bring it up, that’s exactly what I plan to do. I’m going into business. I could get every teacher in the school to pay me for it, and they’d thank me for the chance. As soon as I graduate, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“That’s funny,” he said. “That’s real funny.”
“Nothing funny about it. That’s what I’m going to do. I like it, and I’m good at it. Why shouldn’t I make something out of that? I was wondering how to tell you about it. I was wondering whether you’d stay around, but I can stop wondering now, can’t I?”
“A whore,” he said. “A fucking whore. Just like my mother. I sure can pick ’em. Is it just me, or is it all of you?”
Diana pulled her panties over her shoes and stockings. She was careful not to tear the fabric on her stiletto heels. She hooked her bra back on, stepped into her skirt, and buttoned her blouse.
She walked to the bedroom door, looked back, and said, “If you want it after this, come up with the cash.”
She left the room, and the house.
Diana’s apartment over the only barbershop left in Driscoll came with a parking space in the small lot. It was early in the winter. She had recently placed her grandmother in a nursing home and sold the house she had lived since the age of five, which left a dull ache in her chest.
Snow had fallen, followed by a thaw and then a hard freeze. The ice covering the blacktop made Diana totter toward her car like a very old woman. As she bent over to work her car key into the frozen lock, she heard the thin shell of ice over a puddle crack under someone’s foot. Instinct told her to turn, duck, and raise her left arm.
The other person brought a wooden club down in an overhand strike. The edge of Diana’s forearm blocked the blow. Her arm caught the club down low, just above the assailant’s grip, but the pain still made her scream. Diana brought her right fist around to punch the attacker’s midsection. The attacker slipped on the ice and fell hard.
Now Diana could see that she had knocked Kurt’s mother off her feet. Mrs. Krol held her left arm and squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that came anyway.
“Bitch,” said the woman. “You broke my elbow.”
“Yeah, well, I think you broke mine.”
“Good.”
“Not the smartest thing to say right now,” said Diana. “What’s this about?”
“Whore. My son’s going to prison because of you.”
“Because of me? What are you talking about?”
Instead of answering, the other woman moaned with pain.
Diana thought. She didn’t need cops or neighbors taking an interest in her and her attacker. She also doubted that Mrs. Krol was much of a threat to her now. Just to be sure, Diana kicked the club under her car. She moved behind the other woman and tried to lift her with her good right arm. It was hopeless without the woman’s cooperation.
“Try to stand up. I’ll lift.”
“Whore.”
“That doesn’t help.”
With uncertain footing and only two good arms between them, they had a hard time getting Mrs. Krol on her feet, but they managed it. Diana led the woman to the side entrance to her apartment and helped her up the stairs.
In the kitchen they struggled to take their coats off. Diana tossed them over one chair. She took two dishtowels and improvised icepacks for herself and her guest.
Diana rolled up her own sleeve first. She seemed to have only a bruise, which improved her mood a little. She helped Mrs. Krol with her sleeve and looked at the woman’s elbow. She was tempted to handle the arm roughly, but she dismissed the childish urge.
“I’m no doctor,” said Diana. “It could be broken. I just don’t know. Is it definite about Kurt?”
“Not yet,” said Mrs. Krol. “But his lawyer is
“What’s this about?”
“I’ll bet you’d do it with anybody. Dress up in your whore clothes and do it with anybody.”
“Well, since you bring it up, that’s exactly what I plan to do. I’m going into business. I could get every teacher in the school to pay me for it, and they’d thank me for the chance. As soon as I graduate, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“That’s funny,” he said. “That’s real funny.”
“Nothing funny about it. That’s what I’m going to do. I like it, and I’m good at it. Why shouldn’t I make something out of that? I was wondering how to tell you about it. I was wondering whether you’d stay around, but I can stop wondering now, can’t I?”
“A whore,” he said. “A fucking whore. Just like my mother. I sure can pick ’em. Is it just me, or is it all of you?”
Diana pulled her panties over her shoes and stockings. She was careful not to tear the fabric on her stiletto heels. She hooked her bra back on, stepped into her skirt, and buttoned her blouse.
She walked to the bedroom door, looked back, and said, “If you want it after this, come up with the cash.”
She left the room, and the house.
Diana’s apartment over the only barbershop left in Driscoll came with a parking space in the small lot. It was early in the winter. She had recently placed her grandmother in a nursing home and sold the house she had lived since the age of five, which left a dull ache in her chest.
Snow had fallen, followed by a thaw and then a hard freeze. The ice covering the blacktop made Diana totter toward her car like a very old woman. As she bent over to work her car key into the frozen lock, she heard the thin shell of ice over a puddle crack under someone’s foot. Instinct told her to turn, duck, and raise her left arm.
The other person brought a wooden club down in an overhand strike. The edge of Diana’s forearm blocked the blow. Her arm caught the club down low, just above the assailant’s grip, but the pain still made her scream. Diana brought her right fist around to punch the attacker’s midsection. The attacker slipped on the ice and fell hard.
Now Diana could see that she had knocked Kurt’s mother off her feet. Mrs. Krol held her left arm and squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that came anyway.
“Bitch,” said the woman. “You broke my elbow.”
“Yeah, well, I think you broke mine.”
“Good.”
“Not the smartest thing to say right now,” said Diana. “What’s this about?”
“Whore. My son’s going to prison because of you.”
“Because of me? What are you talking about?”
Instead of answering, the other woman moaned with pain.
Diana thought. She didn’t need cops or neighbors taking an interest in her and her attacker. She also doubted that Mrs. Krol was much of a threat to her now. Just to be sure, Diana kicked the club under her car. She moved behind the other woman and tried to lift her with her good right arm. It was hopeless without the woman’s cooperation.
“Try to stand up. I’ll lift.”
“Whore.”
“That doesn’t help.”
With uncertain footing and only two good arms between them, they had a hard time getting Mrs. Krol on her feet, but they managed it. Diana led the woman to the side entrance to her apartment and helped her up the stairs.
In the kitchen they struggled to take their coats off. Diana tossed them over one chair. She took two dishtowels and improvised icepacks for herself and her guest.
Diana rolled up her own sleeve first. She seemed to have only a bruise, which improved her mood a little. She helped Mrs. Krol with her sleeve and looked at the woman’s elbow. She was tempted to handle the arm roughly, but she dismissed the childish urge.
“I’m no doctor,” said Diana. “It could be broken. I just don’t know. Is it definite about Kurt?”
“Not yet,” said Mrs. Krol. “But his lawyer is
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