MORNING GLORY
by HBK © 2002
"You are such a stupid girl!" Patsy yelled at Lou in anger. "You got dirt all over my yellow dress! And my bag, and my shoes! Good thing we only eat the internal part of the watermelons!"
Lou kept her eyes on the floor. She knew better than to raise her eyes, which would be recognized as a gesture of defiance and worthy of some form of punishment.
"What the hell did you do to these?"
"Like I said before, I tripped on my way. I'm very sorry," she said as sincerely as possible although deep inside she wanted to throw up every apology in Patsy's face.
"What am I gonna do with you?" she said irritatingly. "Did you know that you're the only thing that's keeping me from marrying your father? Your father's a real great guy, but the concept of seeing you for the rest of my life is something I can't stand! Maybe we'll have to send you somewhere else even if that will cost us some money! You are such a pain! Did you ever realize that?"
Lou nodded. And I can get worse, she thought boldly in her mind. I can turn your life into a living nightmare. I hope you marry my father so both of you can burn in hell!
Patsy sighed in frustration. "Why don't you get out of here, go scrub the floor downstairs while I talk to your father and decide what to do with you! Go on! Get out of here!"
Lou quickly left the room, glad to be away from Patsy's mean temper. She passed by Charlotte on the way to the saloon downstairs.
With a sympathetic look, Charlotte said, "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. She's just in one of those bad moods."
"Yeah, well, it seems to me that she's always in those moods, and I always end up the victim," Lou said tiredly as she grabbed a mop and a bucket of water. I need to get out of this place! The sooner, the better. Where she would go, she did not know, but in the back of her mind, she knew that anywhere was better than this.
Concentrating on mopping the floor, she got down on her knees and began scrubbing. Her muscles felt tired but the anger and frustration that coursed through her provided new energy to accomplish the menial task. She was glad that there were only a small number of people in the saloon that morning, which meant the sections of the floor could dry before a rude customer imprinted his dirty boots on her hard work.
Like he promised to himself the previous night, Kid rode to town early in the morning to speak to Lou. He silently prayed that she was not sleeping, and it was not a bad timing. He walked inside the large room, searching for Charlotte, or anyone who worked there. He found Lou on her knees, scrubbing the floor with such intensity that he was afraid she would break her hands. Carefully, he approached her, avoiding any wet spots on the floor. He was at a loss for words, he usually was when presented by a lovely sight.
Lou felt someone watching her and looked up. She was about to tell the person to get the hell out when she recognized his face. Wonderful! she thought sarcastically. This is just perfect! Can't this day get any better?
"Can I help you, sir?" she asked as she continued to scrub the floor. She was thankful to be doing something to distract her from examining his handsome features, or drowning in the deepness of his blue eyes.
"Miss," he said to see her reaction. She did not seem to care. "Miss Louise," he repeated with a good-natured grin. "Can I see you when you're free?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I don't serve customers in that manner," she said simply.
He chuckled, and Lou thought he looked real good. "I wasn't talking about seeing you naked. I meant to talk to you."
"Everything you can say later you can say to me now," she said defensively.
"Please," he pleaded, his blue eyes begging as well.
She lowered her head to hide a smile. "I'm sorry, but no."
He was about to utter a protest when Patsy walked in. The older woman looked at him up and down, and finding nothing wrong with him, she gave him a real sweet smile. She crossed the room to stand in front of him in her black dress. "Hello, Mister. I haven't seen you in this part of the town."
Kid smiled shyly, and Patsy just wanted to bury his face in her bosom. "People call me Kid."
Patsy smiled and offered her hand for him to kiss. She frowned when he shook it. "Well, pleased to meet you, Kid. I'm Patsy, the fiancee of the owner of the saloon."
"Oh," was all Kid could say as Patsy's hand rested on his shoulder.
Lou fumed over the repugnant sight that stirred her jealous nature. She hated how Patsy looked at Kid, and she didn't like how Patsy flirted with Kid who remained motionless under Patsy's gaze.
"So what brought you around here?" Patsy asked.
Certainly not you, Lou replied in her mind.
"Umm, I was just . . .," Kid looked at Lou, hoping she'd help him think of some excuse. Lou gave him that don't-bring-me-into-this look, and he knew exactly what to say. "I was just looking for Jesse."
"Jesse doesn't come here until noon," Patsy informed him. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No, thank you."
"If you're not doing anything, would you care for a drink?" Patsy invited him. "Don't mind that little witch scrubbing the floor. She works here, but can you believe that she's not a prostitute?"
Kid was upset with Patsy but tried to hide his feeling. He didn't want to create any more problems for Lou. "I'm afraid I can't accept the drink. I'm quite in a hurry. Thanks anyway."
"See you around," Patsy said as she watched the handsome rider leave. When he was out of her sight, she turned to Lou who continued to scrub the floor as if nothing happened. "I'm sending you away."
Lou looked up in shock. "I'm sorry?"
"I said I'm sending you away! Your father and I have decided that it's for the best. I cant' stand you, and he doesn't want you here. As soon as you're done scrubbing the floor, pack your things, and get ready to go. Understood?"
Lou nodded. "Where are you sending me?"
"It's up to you. That's the beauty of all these. You're free to go wherever you want. We're giving you money that should be enough for a temporary shelter and travel expenses. I'm sure you'll be okay," Patsy said with a wicked smile. "Please don't think of this as cruel and injustice. This is our way of helping you see the real world, how much we've done for you, how ungrateful you've been to us. I'm sure you'll realize soon enough that this is for the best."
Angry, upset, and amazed at the nerves of the woman, Lou rose to her feet. "I don't need your money. I don't need anything from you. You might have allowed me to stay here, but everything I've done, all the work I've done without complaints are more than enough to repay whatever you've given me! You're right. This is for the best, and I thank you for what little show of humanity you've given me!"
Patsy stood motionless in shock. "You ungrateful wench!"
"I'm done with this! I've had enough of your crap!" Lou yelled without a care. The music at the saloon had stopped, the saloon girls had turned to look, the customers sat frozen in surprise. "You and Boggs definitely deserve eachother! Thanks for your neverending kindness." With her head held high, she stormed out of the stunned crowd and left Patsy speechless.
She was not really shocked about what happened. For some reason, the whole affair gave her a peace of mind, a sense of relief. She felt like she died for a second and was reborn. She hurriedly stuffed her dresses, clothes, and a few cherished items in her luggage.
The door opened, and Charlotte walked in with that sad look on her face. "Lou, don't do this."
"Charlotte, I have no choice," she said simply.
"Lou, you can apologize. I'm sure your father will not allow this."
"Charlotte, are you deaf? My father agrees with this decision. He doesn't care where I go just as long as I get the hell out of here!"
Charlotte sighed, afraid for the young woman's future. "Lou, please. Don't do this."
"What am I supposed to do? I can't stay here! I don't wanna stay here! I won't stay here!" she cried a little too harshly than intended. "I'm so sick and tired of this. I can't take this anymore. I think I'll go crazy if I stay here another day."
"Where would you go?"
"I don't know," Lou said quickly.
"Lou, you just can't leave and live on the streets." Charlotte wished that Lou would realize the difficulties that were yet to come.
"I can camp every night. I don't mind sleeping under the stars. I can survive anywhere. I'll be okay."
"Lou, take this," Charlotte said, giving her an envelope.
Lou peeked in the envelope, and her eyes grew wide in shock. She immediately returned the envelope to Charlotte. "I can't take this."
"Please, Lou. Take it."
"Charlotte, you've worked for that money," Lou said. She did not know the exact amount of the money in the envelope, but she was certain that it was a large sum. "Thank you, but I can't take it."
"Lou, I will rest better knowing that you'll be all right. Please. This is the least I can do."
Lou gave her friend a hug. "Charlotte, you have always been wonderful to me. I don't know how I can ever pay you back. I promise I'll pay you back."
"Don't worry about it, Lou. Promise me you'll be okay."
Lou nodded. "Listen, I'm gonna stay at the hotel for a few days, and then I'm going to St. Joseph. Please don't tell anyone where I am."
Charlotte nodded. "I'll come see you when I get off work this afternoon."
Lou smiled and gave her a quick hug before leaving the room. The saloon resumed to its daily activities of gambling, drinking, and smoking. She walked quickly out of the saloon without looking back, and she knew that it would be the last day she would ever set foot on the lonesome place. Under the glare of the morning sun, she dashed to the hotel and was thankful that there was a vacancy.
Once she reached her room, she collapsed on the bed as the seriousness of the event hit her. She wept furiously, feeling alone and helpless. The future looked bleak, depressing, and shattered before it had begun. Despite the cruel life she suffered under the hands of Boggs and Patsy, the thought of never again seeing Kid made her the saddest. Even the dire predicament that surrounded her could not make her as lonely as she felt when thinking about what might have been between her and Kid. The world seemed to be spinning away as he stood there drifting farther and farther from her.
Get over him! she told herself once again. Why do you keep thinking about him when he doesn't even think about you? Hell, he's probably thinking about Samantha right now. He never thinks about you. He doesn't care about you. He never did.
But seeing him that morning made her want to believe that he still cared. He told her he wanted to speak with her, and she wondered what he wanted to say. Guess I'll never find out. I'll never see him again. The thought of never again laying her eyes on those gorgeous blue eyes made her wept even more. She was so deep in despair that the fact that she worried more about no longer seeing Kid than about what would happen to her seemed to make her smile. She felt as if she was losing her mind, losing herself after losing everything that mattered to her. Perhaps losing her room at the saloon, losing her place in her father's heart were not as bad as losing a chance with Kid.
She spent the morning and the afternoon in tears, slowly deteriorating and surrendering to the emotional breakdown. Hoping a good hour in the tub would make her feel better, she prepared herself a cool bath. While submerged in the cool refreshing water, she could only think about Kid. Kid, Kid, Kid, she repeated his name over and over again in her mind in the hope of getting over him faster. It was no use, for no matter how hard she tried, he remained imprisoned in her memory.
Kid entered the crowded saloon in the late afternoon. His eyes wandered from table to table, from one end of the room to another, from corner to corner, and he was saddened when Lou was nowhere in sight. His eyes remained glued on the flight of stairs, waiting for her to come down. He would have remained there forever when Charlotte pulled a seat beside his.
"What can I do for you, Cowboy?"
Kid had never been so glad to see Charlotte. He gave her one of his handsome grins.
"Kid, are you really this happy to see me? I hope you don't look at me like this all the time, or Lou would get jealous," she teased him as she gave him a playful pat on his arm.
"Charlotte, that's what I came here for. I'm looking for Lou. I saw her this mornin', but I didn't get the chance to talk to her. Is she in her room?"
Charlotte lowered her eyes. She wanted to help the young man, but she remembered her promise to Lou that she would not tell anyone where Lou was. "I'm sorry, Kid, but she got kicked out this morning."
"What? Are you serious? I was just talking to her."
"I know, hon. But after you left, she and Patsy got into an argument. Next thing I know Lou was packing her things."
Kid was angry as hell. He wanted to strangle anything that moved. He wanted to slam his fists in Boggs's face. "Charlotte, where is she?" Am I too late? he thought dreadfully. What if she's gone?
"I don't know, Kid."
"Charlotte, please. You're her only friend here. I know she trusts you and tells you everything. I know you know where she is. Please. I really need to know."
Charlotte neither wanted to hear his pleas nor look into his eyes that were pleading with her. "I'm sorry, Kid. I can't tell. She made me promise."
"Charlotte, I promise she won't know you told me. I promise she'll never know I got the information from you."
Presented with his handsome face and gentle voice, Charlotte understood why Lou loved him so. She could see the reason in his eyes. "Okay, fine, but she won't know I've told you, all right? She's staying at the hotel."
"She's planning on staying there for the rest of her life?"
"I don't know. She said something about going to St. Joseph. She also talked about camping every night. I guess she wants to live the life of a wanderer."
Kid frowned as he realized that Lou had not understood that someone like her should not be wandering around, especially not in the West, where any possible danger lurked around the corner. "Thanks, Charlotte. I'll come by to see her right now."
Before he could fully rise from his chair, Charlotte tugged at the sleeves of his shirt. "Remember I didn't tell you anything."
Kid nodded and walked out of the door to be greeted by plenty of sunshine. He hoped that Lou would not be too upset to see him. He understood if she was angry at him, and she would be right because it was all his fault anyway. He accused her without telling her, without letting her explain, and this was after he confessed his love for her. He must have looked like the biggest liar in the world, and worst of all, he had hurt her somehow. He would not stop her if she was set on leaving, but he needed her to hear what was on his mind.
He was a few yards from the saloon when Jimmy and Cody approached him. "So?" was all Jimmy said.
"She got kicked out of her place," Kid said with downcast spirits. "She's staying at the hotel."
"So what are you waiting for?" Cody told him with hands on his hips.
"Well I was about to see her when the two of you started talkin'," Kid said.
Slightly embarrassed, Jimmy apologized, "Well, sorry for getting in the way of your happiness."
"Well, I better get going."
"Kid, don't make her cry, or I'll kick your ass," Jimmy warned.
Kid was happy to see the protective side of Jimmy in matters that concerned
Lou. He knew that his friend held Lou in high regard to stand up for her, something
that Jimmy only did for those who earned his respect. Obviously Lou earned it,
and she definitely deserved more, something that Kid knew he could give her
if she would allow him.
[The Reading Room - News] [Other Stories by HBK] [The Reading Room]