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Charlie Company arrived just in time. Within an hour of their arrival, the internal fixtures started coming from the wholesaler.
Deb: Looky here... Beth: Ohmigod... I dragged up a chair, rather dazed, follwing it with another for Beth. Bully and Thomas Boyette were moving past us with a pinball machine balanced on a dolley. Wasn't much to see, torso-wise, but the thighs were flexing enough to make up for everything. Deb: Wanna beer? Beth: Don't mind if I do. I retrieved two beers from the cooler behind the bar, opened them, and brought one to Beth. I resumed my seat slowly, nearly fell off the chair. Sam called out to Beth from where he sat in the office. Sam: Beth! Hon! Whatcha doin'? C'mon in here! Beth: No! Sam: No? Why not!? Beth: I'm busy! That was an understatement. Her eyes were glued to Quint, who was carrying two cases of glassware past her. Sam: Doing what? Beth: Taking care of business. Sam sounded a touch perturbed. Sam: Come on in here and take care of it, then. Beth: I can't. I have to do it out here. Deb: Yeah. Out here. You want some cheese with that whine, Gerard? Beth nudged me with a sharp elbow. Beth: He'll come out here. Shut the hell up! Deb: Oh, nuts! Bully and Boyette made a second trip through, with another yet another pinball machine. They were lightly oiled with sweat. Quint maneuvered past them. He was rolling his shoulders forward and back, to loosen them. Bully glanced over at us and grinned impishly. Beth: Somebody knows. Deb: That bugger knows everything. Sam: Beth, baby... Beth: I told you, I'm sitting! Sam: You just said you were busy! Beth: That's right, busy sitting! Deb: Shut up, Sam. Go...write a warrant or something. Bully and Boyette stopped in the middle of the room, slowly stripped off their shirts. Bully watched us from the corner of his eye as he tossed his shirt into the middle of a table near us. Deb: Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Beth: Shut up, Sam. Oh, NOW you've done it! Now he'll come out here if it kills him! Sam hopped out of the office, Long John Silver forgot to screw on his pegleg. Beth leaned over to me, stage whispered... Beth: Arrr, avast ye, mateys. Deb: Shiver me timbers, even. Sam: What the hell's going on out here?! Beth coughed violently. Sam: You aren't comin' down with somethin', are you? Elmore came through then, flipping his thin baseball shirt into the small pile on the table. His bruises had faded considerably, but I knew Beth could see them. She smiled sadly at him. Beth: Elmore! Don't you go picking up that heavy stuff! Give your head and the rest of you...uh...body...a chance to heal. Elmore sauntered over to her at the bar, grinning ear to ear and completely ignoring the glowering presence leaning against the edifice and standing directly behind her. He stood right in front of Beth, and she reached over to lightly touch a bruise or two still visible over his ribs. Elmore: Aww, I'll be fine, Darlin', but...if you say so...I'll let Bill do all the liftin'. Beth: Please, Elmore. Let Bill bust his ass for a change. Give yourself a break for a while. Sam noted this gentle exchange and grumbled inarticulately at Beth. I did a pretty good job covering for him, though, seeing as how I was whooping at the notion of Billy busting anything. Beth was still rubbing lightly and softly at a spot on Elmore's well-cut torso, and the best response she could manage was a distracted look tossed over her shoulder. Sam Can I have a word with you, Honey? Deb: Wonder what the word is? Sam dusted off the back of my head with a big paw. I flinched much more than necessary. Beth patted Elmore's shoulder softly as she hopped up off the barstool. Beth: Go put your shirt back on, boy. It's too damn cold in here, you'll catch pneumonia. Rlmore: But there's other stuff I can do, Darlin'. An' it's hot out there. Sam: Beth. Now. Beth: Uh, yeah, yeah...keep your shirt on, Sam. Coming. Deb...keep an eye on him and don't let him do too much. Deb: Aye-aye, Skipper. Beth followed the hopping Sam into the office and Sam banged the door shut behind her. Deb: She's gonna get it now, Pratt, an' it's all your fault. In the privacy of the office... Beth: Yes, dear? Beth's voice was falsely bright. She had committed a gaffe, but for the life of her wasn't sure just what it was. Sam: What was that? Beth: What was what? Sam: That...little display out there. What the hell? I thought you were friends! Beth: We are friends! What the hell are you talking about? Sam: I wasn't expecting that! Beth: What is this that that you keep whatting about?! I poked my head in the office, breathless to share... Deb: Beth, quick! They're moving pool tables! Beth had just about had enough of an interrogation that not only wasn't going anywhere, but that didn't seem to make any sense. She got up to leave. Sam wasn't throught with her and tried to gently push her back into her chair...but lost his balance in the process and subsequently almost threw her down instead. Beth: Ow! Damn! What is UP with you today, Gerard??!! Sam's arms were windmilling and it looked as though he might go over like a tree. Elmore was peeking around the doorjamb, thinking to try and explain everything about the situation except that he was hopelessly in love with Gerard's woman, in hopes of getting Beth off the hook. He stepped in and reached to balance Sam. Beth peeked around Sam's big body. She favored Elmore with a blinding smile. Beth: Thanks, Elmore. Sam was a bit more grudging... Sam: Yeah, Pratt...thanks. Elmore: Just wanted ya t'know, Sam...ain't nothin' between me an' Beth. Ya don't need t'worry about me. Except that if you ever hurt this woman you will have me to deal with, and if you're ever stupid enough to leave her...there won't be anything for you to change your mind and come back to because I will be there to pick up the pieces in a Chicago minute. Other than that... Sam: I wasn't... Beth was sitting in the chair with her arms folded, regarding Sam sternly, one eyebrow raised, tapping a foot sharply. Beth: Really? Sam: I didn't... Deb: BETH!!! Johnny Vohden is moving pooltables! Without a shirt! Have mercy! Beth leaped out of the chair, bolted from the room, skidded to a stop beside me. Sam: Beth, I... Beth: Oh. My. God. I was watching raptly, many shirts gathered against my chest, as the parade went by. Deb: Yowza, yowza...will ya lookit the floorshow. T'hell with the full monty... Beth: I'm...I'm...speechless. Write it down in your diary. You don't have a diary, start one. Deb: No more so than me, girl. I'm gonna go throw all these in the wash. Then they can't have 'em back for a while. I wandered away, carrying the shirts and bouncing indiscriminately off tables and the bar. Bully: See somethin' ya like, Darlin'? Beth: ...huh? Bully leaned in close, giving her a blast of the pecs and the beard and the mischievious, flashing eyes. Beth's breathing had become rather rapid and shallow. She looked basically like a deer caught in the headlights. Bully: I said...See. Somethin'. Ya like. Darlin'? Beth: I...I..I plead...the fifth. Bully: No pleas allowed here, Darlin'. Just the unvarnished...or should I say uncovered...truth. Bill strode in, caught Bully redhanded. He tapped Bully on the shoulder. Bully: Never mind that wussy, Darlin'. Billy: Take a long walk off a short plank, Ahab. Bully: Piss off. Bully straightened up, turned smirking to Bill. Bully: Somethin' crawl up your ass, there, Bill? Billy: Yeah, your 'tude, Ahab. Get back to work and quit pickin' on these women. I had got the shirts going in the washer and had wandered back to the bar to catch the rest of the display. Deb: Billy! Bully! Break it up you two! I noticed that Beth appeared to be on the verge of coma. Deb: Come in, Billy. Bully couldn't pick on a flea. Could he, Beth? Elmore came out of the office. He seemed to have a touching need to be where Beth was whenever she was around him. He leaned over her shoulder. Elmore: Darlin', you okay? Need somethin'? Beth: CPR, maybe. Elmore headed off into the back room to see what else there was to be done. Beth grabbed my hand, put my fingers against her wrist. Beth: Does my pulse appear to be dangerously elevated to you? I was the one who, in high-school, told my biology teacher that I must be dead because I couldn't find my own pulsepoint. But Beth's was far from difficult to locate. Deb: Rapid, thready. Dr. Mom's diagnosis, sensory overload. What the hell's wrong with you, Strannix? Billy: Every time I come in here, I gotta peel that damn Dawg off someone hittin' on the pipsqueak. I don't have time for this. Billy looked at Bully and cocked a thumb in the direction of the work, hopin to get him moving along. Bully laughed in Billy's face and left to join the others, making sure to brush Beth's body fully with his own as he went by. Deb: You see Sam out here, Beth? I didn't see Sam out here. Dial it back, Mr. CEO. Butler, Vohden, Quint and Mitch passed by with cases of dishes and flatware. Muscles were straining, shirtless torsos oiled with honest sweat. A compelling sight, and I was compelled. Beth: No and thank God. Thanks, Moe. Billy: Not a problem, Larry. Deb: Go on, Bully. Carry something. Anything. Won't matter, long as it's heavy! Glad you two are enjoying yourselves. Nobody hits on me, Dammit! Why's that? Explain that! It can't be because I'm older! I don't act older, do I? Do I? Terr: You weren't here. I was just an easy target. And Bully hit me like a double tractor trailer. I don't think I could take another one of those. Quint was trying to squeeze by her. Quint: 'Scuse me, Darlin'. He lifted Beth by the waist, set her gently aside and, in going between us, brushed against her body. Beth: I beg your pardon. I hear my mother calling me. Beth stepped around the bar and collapsed to the floor, hitting with an audible thud. Elmore came out of the backroom, took in who was standing and hurried around the bar to render aid and comfort. Quint was already outside or he would have done the same. We heard a series of hops from the office. Billy looked at me. Billy: I try, but what good does it do? Sam: What happened? Billy: What the hell good does it do? You take care of this one. Billy stalked off to the back again. Sam: So, what the hell happened? Deb: She tripped. Go sit down. Beth was being raised to her feet, helped by Elmore. She was dazed and confused. Sam: Why? She okay? Deb: Shut up already. Go sit down and...find somebody to arrest. Eddie returned, dragging...Angelo Perino. Eddie: Look who I found outside. Back here, you. TO BE CONTUNUED...
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