Chapter 54

“Josey, the young cashier who waited on me, really knows her stuff. She’s very friendly too. The first thing she asked me - was I your brother. I almost told her no, then she added - you sure do favor him a lot, the way both of you are dressed with starched jeans, boots and white cowboy hats.

“That’s when I told her I was your half-brother. Man, she gave me a smile that made me want to know all about her.

“I saw you having a good conversation with her. Is she married?”

“She told me she’s not married now, but she has been - for a short time - she added real quick.”

“She must have been kind of flirty, I saw y’all laughing and talking.”

“She started off sort of business-like, then she loosened up and got real talkative, when I laid that hundred thousand on the counter. She asked me if I was married and I didn’t lie to her - I told her I wasn’t. Then she asked if we live around here.”

“I told her that my half-brother just bought a farm in Stewart County and we were getting ready to do a lot of business here.”

“You got her phone number, didn’t you?”

“Sure did. When she asked for mine, I told her that I almost asked for hers, and damn if she didn’t write it on a piece of paper and slide it across to me.”

“Does she live alone?”

“She told me that she and the young girl in the white sweater - that you kept looking at - were moving into an apartment together this weekend.”

“Damn, Rondo. You should have flirted a little more. I’ve got a date with the tall, big tittied woman who waited on me. She told me that was her daughter in the white sweater. I’d like to get under her daughter’s sweater and see if those titties are as big naked as they look with that sweater stretched over them.”

“You’ve got a date? How are you going to handle that?”

“I’m going to pick her up Friday before dark. We’re going to Ashton to eat at the new steakhouse over there, then she wants to go the drive-in movie.”

“Damn, I’ll never be as brave as you, but it was fun talking some crazy shit to Edie.”

“You need to call the bank now, and ask for her. Tell her that you couldn’t stop thinking about her. Tell her how nice she looks in that pink sweater with her long dark hair down on her shoulders. That gets them every time.”

He stopped in front of Dixie Furniture and when I started toward the door, he walked over to a phone booth. He looked back and waved as I went into the store.

“May I help you?”

“Yes Ma’am - I hope so anyway. I’m Josey Ruiz and I’m here to pay for some furniture I ordered - Plus some that my Aunt ordered too.”

She may be a pound or two overweight, but damn does she look good. Nice ass and a pretty smile. Small titties, but they sure look proud under that white blouse. She has a flat belly too. Damn, she looks good from the front, and the side. Fuck, just looking at the way her ass moves when she walks makes me want to take a ride.

“Yes, Mr. Ruiz. I have your order ready to finalize. Just step around this desk and sit here while I total your order. Was this all you needed? You told me on the phone that you may want more.”

“Uh – yes I want more. I mean, I was wondering if your delivery people can set up the television antenna?”

“They sure can, and they’ll even run the wire inside and connect it to your television, but there’s a small fee for that.”

“Add that to the bill. I’ve never put up an antenna, or connected one, and I’d rather have them do it, if they know all about that stuff.”

She was busy with her adding machine and never looked up - as she asked, “Are you new to Stewart, Mr. Ruiz?”

“Actually, I live in Collins County, but I’m buying some farm land here in Stewart County and I wanted to do some business here before planting season, since I’ll be back over here a lot.”

“I see. We sure are glad you came to us for this order. Are you and your wife moving into the Montague Home?”

“Well - I’m not married. I’m helping the Montague sisters get settled, after all they have been through.”

“I’m sorry, I just assumed you were married with a big family, ordering four bedroom suites.”

“That’s alright. Would you mind me asking if you’re married?”

“I don’t mind - and no - I’m not married.” She looked up from her adding machine and smiled. I know that smile. She didn’t offer me some pussy - yet - but that look told me she’s damn proud of her pussy. I would be damn proud to get some of her pussy too. Shit, I can’t get over her flat belly ... I mean - DAMN!

She never looked up this time as she asked, “So, you’ll still live in Collins County and farm over here?”

“For now I will. I may find a small place to rent over here later, just to keep from driving home late when we start planting.”

“Good luck with that. There aren’t that many places to rent here in Stewart.”

“My half-brother and I may just rent a couple of rooms, if there’s a boarding house, and eat our meals at the diner, since we won’t be staying here all the time.”

“I see ... Uh, I was ... let me finish this for you so we can take care of your bill. I was - well, never mind.”

“Whatever it was, you can tell me. I’m sort of bashful, but I appreciate people telling me what they think, even if I’m making a mistake.”

“Mr. Ruiz, what I was about to say...

“You can call me, Josey. Everyone does and I prefer that to Mr. Ruiz. I don’t feel like I’m old enough to be called Mister.”

“Josey, my name is Gloria Medlin, and I just wanted to tell you, I have two bedrooms I never use. I have never rented them out, but I’ll lease them to you and your brother. They are connected, but the connecting door has a lock. There’s a back entrance, and there’s a bathroom in the hallway you could share with your brother. Uh, I’m not a nosy person, so if you ever wanted to... have company, it would be alright with me. I’ll let you have both rooms for forty dollars a month. That does not include meals, as I hardly ever cook a complete meal. That does include clean sheets weekly - I’ll change and wash them for you.”

“Gloria, may I pay you a year in advance? I want those rooms for my brother, Rondo and me. I hope there’s a lock on the back entrance?”

“Yes, there is a lock ... But, Josey, you don’t have to pay me that far in advance.”

“I want to pay you now, and I want to thank you for letting me lease your rooms. This makes it so much easier for Rondo and me. Here’s five hundred, and you keep all of it. Oh, I wanted to tell you too. We haven’t met but a few people here in Stewart, but if we do meet someone and they want to come over, I’ll tell Rondo to keep the noise down.”

She bent over as she reached down, and her blouse came open enough for me to see her frilly, low-cut bra.

Very nice.

When she raised up, she saw me looking, and she smiled that smile again.

“Here’s the key to the back door. You’ll have to stop at the hardware store and have an extra key made. I, Uh, I wanted to tell you too. If you ever want to watch television at night when you stay over, you can come to the living room and watch with me. Well, I mean ... You know what I mean.”

“Thanks again, Gloria. We’ll be sure to let you know when we’re going to be back there, so you won’t think someone is breaking in.”

“Here’s your bill for the furniture. There’s a ten percent discount for cash, if you wish to pay all of it up front.”

“Yes, I like paying as I go.”

When she counted my change, I stood as she walked around her desk ... I really didn’t want to leave. I thought she was about to hug me, then she dropped her left hand. I reached out with both hands and she laughed as she reached out to me.

“I feel like I’ve made a friend, Gloria.”

“Josey, I feel the same way and I’ve wanted to hug you so bad, since you first came in, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted to hug me.”

“I like hugging you like this, you feel so good against me.”

“Josey, you feel too good against me. You’re so big and tall ... and I need to tell you - that smile of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble one of these days.”

“I’ve never been in that kind of trouble but once, and right now, with your arms around my waist - you make me want to get into trouble.”

“I hope to see you again soon. You need to turn me loose now, before we start something we can’t finish.”

“Later then?”

“YES - Later ... Call and let me know when you’ll be staying over.”

“Rondo, I just paid a year’s lease on two bedrooms here in Stewart. We need a place away from home so we can get some stray pussy now and then. How did your call go? Did you get to talk to Edie?”

“Yes, she told me she was on break and we talked the whole fifteen minutes. She seemed surprised, but happy that I called when she first answered. Then, we really cut loose and had fun. I told her about your date with Mira on Friday. She told me that Ellis - Mira’s daughter - is moving in with her Saturday and she told me she wanted me to come over Saturday night. You’re not going to believe this shit - she told me that Ellis was standing next to her and Ellis wants you to come over Saturday night too. I told her we’d be there. I hope that was alright.”

“Hell yes, that’s alright. I wonder if Mira will tell Ellis about our date? She’s supposed to call me at home about 5:30 today.”

“Damn Man, you get a date with the mother one night and the daughter the next night. I guess you’ll be telling me next, that you fucked both of them in the same bed at the same time.”

“I’d love to fuck both of them like that. What would you do, if Ellis and Edie wanted to mix it up with you and me Saturday night?”

“Hell Yeah - I hope they do. If I know my brother - Josey - we’ll swap pussies for as long as they can stand it...

...”Emmylou may not know it, but she’s getting a daylight fucking when we get back to the farm.”

“They’ll be there with the furniture in about two hours. How about us taking some sandwich makings back and tell the women we want to have a picnic before the delivery truck arrives. When we get the beds put together, I’m going to take Aunt Rita to one bedroom with all my girls. She wants to get naked with them and I know they will love my Aunt Rita.”

We stopped at Cummins’ Grocery Store near the edge of town, and Rondo went in with me to get stuff for our sandwiches. The man behind the meat counter made me think of Mr. Kendall.

The girl at the cash register made me think of Mirra, the way she cut her eyes at me, smiling. I’ve seen girls like her in a store, they flirt with all the boys and men, hoping to make them come back again.

Still, I wanted to check her out... “Is that your daddy back there?”

“Yeah, we own this store. Y’all from around here? I’ve never seen you in here before.”

“We just bought some farm land near here and we had business in town.”

“Then you’ll be coming back, I reckon?”

“Probably, during planting season anyway. Are y’all open seven days a week?”

“Yeah, I get off on Thursdays though.”

“What do you do on your days off?”

“Go fishing when the weather’s warm. Just hang around here and do nothing this time of year.”

“You’re not married?”

“Daddy won’t let me marry ‘til I’m eighteen.”

“I reckon you have a few fellers hanging around, waiting - right?”

“Daddy don’t allow them to hang around.”

“When it gets warmer, you need to bring your fishing poles out to the Montague Farm and fish in the lake out there. I’ve been told there’s some good fishing in that lake.”

“REALLY? You’d let me fish there? Daddy took me there a few years ago and we caught a mess of fish each time we went. Then the place sold and they didn’t allow anyone fishing there.”

“I own it now, and you have my permission to fish there anytime you want to. Just don’t invite a bunch more people to fish there. This invitation is for you and your daddy.”