Chapter 20: A Brothel Breakfast

We dressed hurriedly in the same clothes we had worn to have dinner with the Waites the night before. With the exception of Laura's dress everything was strewn around the room where we had removed them to play restraint.

I had only heard Laura's part of the telephone conversation. She had told the caller, Rachel, to calm down and call 911. But apparently Mollie had said not to call the emergency service. Laura had to convince Rachel that she would not get into trouble. Laura had to demand that she make the call.

I had never seen Laura nervous. She asked me to hurry and to slow down in the same sentence. It was nearly 3 A.M. and there was no traffic on the roads but it took us twenty-five minutes to cover the fourteen miles because I refused to exceed the speed limits. Chief Slocum had warned me that if I got stopped in his town there would be no favors from him.

Laura used the time on the road to put on her stockings and brush her hair. As an afterthought she removed the ring and handed it to me. She had removed the ring from the chain while we were with Mr. Waite and had worn it while we played restraint. I put the ring in my inside jacket pocket.

"Let me out, I'll walk," Laura said, scooting across the car seat for a farewell kiss as we approached the corner where we usually parted.

"Bull shit!" I said as I rounded the corner. In addition to the fire department ambulance there was a police car and two other cars parked in front of the brothel. Laura did not argue with me when I parked in back of the police car and got out to go inside with her.

The house was in turmoil. Laura glanced in the direction of six men seated in the crowded waiting room and headed down the narrow hall. She looked back to see me following and took my hand.

I recognized Ralph and Kelley as we entered the first room on the left where Mollie was the center attraction. There were too many people packed in the small room. I had met Ralph a few weeks before when we were painting the brothel. Kelley was the girl Laura had sent to our house to do Mary Ann for me.

Two policemen were standing in one corner of the room. Kelley and three other girls in scanty dress were huddled around Mollie. Ralph and the two firemen were urging Mollie to let them take her to the hospital.

Laura surveyed the room and took charge. Looking at the policemen, she smiled and said, "Thank you for coming. I'm glad you're here."

They didn't acknowledge her but she was already tapping one of the girls on the shoulder. "Rachel, go out and see if you can do some business. If none of those gentlemen want you, tell all of them to leave."

"Can you boys help us with that? I don't want them there when we wheel her out." The cops nodded and followed Rachel.

"You're not going to wheel me anyplace," Mollie's voice was weak and halting but there was passion behind her statement.

"Ralph, please return to your station and be ready to turn those gentlemen over," Laura said to him before turning to me.

"Honey, there's a bottle and glasses in the hall closet. Will you go out and play bartender? Keep the gentlemen busy, please." Her look was serious, almost frightened but she paused a moment to purse her lips and pinch my chin.

I followed Ralph out of the room. Laura was giving instructions to the other three girls.

The two cops had taken their places near the door in the crowded front room where Rachel was offering her services, first to one and then another. The men were eyeing the police skeptically but the third man she spoke to stood up. She took his hand and led him down the hall to her room. I found the bottle of whiskey and offered drinks to the five guys. Three of them let me pour a drink for them. The forth said he would take a drink after he got some pussy.

When the next girl appeared, the guy who said he would take a drink later was the first to stand. I winked at the two policemen as the couple left the room together. They grinned back.

Another girl came into the room. "Hi, I'm Teresa. Who wants to fuck?"

One of the remaining men stood up and handed me his empty glass. "I do," he said.

"Hi Randy," Kelley said as she entered the room. She came close and I gave her a hug.

"See what you missed," she laughed, bending to show me her bottom. The transformation from the timid kid that Laura had sent to our house to do Mary Ann for me was incredible. She was now a mischievous little trollop with a pocket full of confidence.

"You're looking good, Mary Ann," I said. All three of the remaining men were standing.

It was a good thing the policemen were there. The three guys almost came to blows over who would get Kelley. We gave her the option of choosing which one she would take to her room. I poured the two losers another drink just as the cart with Mollie strapped to it was being wheeled through the room.

Laura came to me. "I'm going with her. That's the only way we could get her to go," she informed me.

"Tess, you're not leaving us," one of the waiting men said. He seemed to know her.

"I'm afraid I have to go with my friend," Laura said to the man, "we'll see you next time."

"Aw Tess, we drove a long way to see you. These other girls don't stack up next to you."

Laura laughed the bawdy harsh laugh I had heard her use in the hotel bar one night over two years before. She grinned shamelessly at the man. He rose as if he was going to approach her.

Laura took me by the arm and guided me to the two policemen. "Thank you boys, Chief Slocum is going to hear what a big help you've been to us tonight." The man had stopped and was watching us.

Turning to me, Laura touched my cheek with her small hand. "I hate to ask but will you stick around and see to it that everyone clears out?"

As I agreed to stay Laura kissed me, long and intense.

"Wow, he must be your old man," the man standing in the middle of the room said.

"That's right Sully, he's my old man," Laura said as she strolled to the door, lavishly swinging her hips.

The two policemen said that if there was nothing more they could do they would be on their way. We watched from the door as the ambulance pulled away. Walking on air because Laura had said that I was her old man, I told the two police officers that I could manage and thanked them once more for what they had done for us.

I watched the operation from the hallway entrance. Ralph would knock on a door and the couple would appear shortly after. When the room was occupied again he would watch from his hide-away station. When the door opened he would take long strides to collect the money from the outstretched arm.

Three of the four working girls took two guys each to their rooms and Rachel coaxed one more to her room before we closed for the night. The men all wanted Kelley. I couldn't blame them. She really looked hot and her saucy personality gave her an edge on the docile disposition of the other girls.

Ralph motioned for me during a lull in the action. He had made a pot of coffee. "We don't usually let them drink in here. We're not licensed for liquor and those cops saw you pouring drinks. Give all these guys a cup of hot black coffee and make sure the drivers are sober when they leave."

It was after 5 A.M. when the four girls lined up at the door to wish their customers a good night. Some of the men handed the girls folded bills as they left.

I went outside to see who was driving the cars. Sully, the man who had asked Laura if I was her old man, was driving one of the cars. "This is a first," he said to the other men in the car, "We've got a male madam and he's walking us to the car," causing his passengers to laugh.

After the second car pulled away we locked the front door. That's when the atmosphere in the brothel changed. The girls became argumentative and raunchy. The older girls accused Kelley of stealing their tips. An argument ensued about whose turn it was to take the first shower.

In Mollie's absence Ralph gave instructions, telling them to strip their beds and assigning the order for them to shower. Just as he had told me to make sure the drivers were sober he spoke to the girls with authority.

"It's been like this since Tess has been away. Mollie relies on her to keep order. They don't listen to me," he said. We were in the kitchen where he was making breakfast.

"They scattered when you told them what to do just now," I countered.

"It's because you're here. They know you'll tell Tess if they give me shit," he said. I felt sorry for the big man but noted that there was no malice in his voice. I wondered if he was satisfied with his station in life. He seemed to take it for granted that he was there to serve and protect the girls, the main commodity of the business.

"How did we do tonight?" I asked, wanting to know if Mollie's seizure or what ever it was had affected business.

"Oh, shit! Thanks for reminding me," Ralph said. He was transferring hot bacon to paper towels to absorb the excess grease. "Mollie and Tess are the only ones with the combination to the safe." He took a brown envelope out of his pocket to show me before replacing it. "We did good but what am I going to do with this cash?"

The girls came into the kitchen one by one. They were dressed in sleepwear, some with nightgowns, others dressed in pajamas. We sat at a large round table, drinking coffee or tea. When Kelley appeared it was apparent that she was wearing a teddy under a skimpy bathrobe. She took a seat on my lap.

"How did Tess get you?" She was running her fingers through my hair as if she was totally enthralled.

The others looked interested, all seeming to know about my relationship with Laura. Since they had not seen me before that night I wondered how they could know. Laura was not the talkative type.

"Yeah, tell us how she got you," the one called Teresa spoke up.

Breakfast was being served. I complimented Ralph on his cooking as I dug into the pancakes, bacon and eggs he placed in front of me.

"If Tess wanted you to know I'm sure she would have told you," I said to Teresa.

She waved me off. "Aw, we've heard it all from her. We want to hear your side. We know you say she's your second piece of ass and she calls you her R & R. We want to know how she did it. How did she get you?"

The others all chimed in. Kelley, who had gotten off of my lap and taken the seat next to me, patted me on the arm. "We want to know how she picked you out. How did she know you had... what's that?" She looked around the table, searching for help.

"Potential?" Ralph suggested.

"That's it, potential," Kelley agreed. "How did she know?"

I hadn't been introduced to the fourth girl. "It's potential for a fucking disaster if you pick the wrong one," she said sarcastically. "We want to know how Tess knew she could trust you. Potential doesn't count unless there's trust."