Bad Business

40

The steady summer rain was coming hard and pleasant into my windshield as I drove Hawk and Cecile home from Balmoral Castle. Cecile sat up front with me. Hawk was in the backseat.

"There were no men, except Darrin," Cecile said, "and some thin guy with long hair. Darrin made a little speech."

"About?"

"Same crap," Cecile said. "True love cannot be compelled, but must be freely granted, and thus can only be available outside the obligations of marriage."

"Then what?" I said. "Enough with the love talk off with the clothes?"

"No. Each of us stood and introduced herself and walked the length of the room and back, and the man with long hair filmed us with a video camera."

"Did Mr. Long Hair have on big glasses, like Buddy Holly?"

"He had on big glasses," Cecile said. "Who's Buddy Holly."

"Friend of the Big Bopper," I said. "What happens to the video."

"It will go to some men, who will choose one of the lucky girls, or maybe more than one," Cecile said. "This was a casting call."

"So O'Mara will field the requests," I said, "and arrange for the women to go see the men who requested them?"

"Nobody exactly said that, but all of us assumed it."

"See," Hawk said. "The course of true love can run smooth."

"Just requires a little organization," I said.

"Neither of you has thought of the real horror of this situation."

"Which is?"

"What if no one requests me."

"Blame racism," Hawk said.

"Yes," Cecile said. "Thank God I've got that to fall back on."

"What about the poor rejected white women?" I said. "You black people get all the breaks."

"Being white is tough," Cecile said.

"How is this for you?" I said.

"So far it's kind of exciting."

"There seem to be overtones of a slave auction," I said.

"I know," Cecile said. "And I keep thinking it ought to freak me out. But it doesn't. I guess because it's not really about race. It's much more about gender. The women are items. That's the part that would bother me if something was going to."

"Are you willing to stick with this a little longer?"

"How much longer?"

"Just until you hear from O'Mara," I said. "I'd like to hear what he proposes."

"I can do that," Cecile said. "As long as I don't actually have to show up at some motel room someplace."

"You won't. If there's a motel to be showed up at, me and Licorice Stick can do the showing up."

"Won't that be a disappointment," Cecile said.

"Not for Licorice Stick," Hawk said.