Bill’s overall impression of Columbus winters was barrenness. His lingering recollections were of frigid, cold winds, desolate spaces, open areas with bitter cold. He didn’t remember there being that much snow, or at least any unusual snow amounts more than what he had been used to in New York winters.
The snow this day didn’t amount to much. It was over by the time Henry Lee was settled in at work. When he came in, he, Mary, Bea, and Bill huddled by Bea’s pantry station and shot the breeze. Mary stood close by Bill and he managed to sneak his hand under her dress to cop some feels. Bea, the queen bee, sat on her stool and ran down the horses running. This was trotter season.
Mary tried to get away from Bill but she didn’t want to make anything apparent, so when it was obvious no one was paying any mind, she relaxed into it. Bill was able to start her up, and when she moved just a sway with his touch, he looked at her and winked.
“Boy, you need to help me get some stuff from downstairs,” she said.
Bill said, “Okay,” and they headed out of the kitchen. On their way out, Bill heard Bea and Henry Lee pass a comment, but he paid it no mind. Downstairs, he led Mary into the meat room where they donned the arctic parkas and went into the deep freeze to smoke a joint. That done and them sufficiently high, they each took good sip of bourbon before heading into the party room.
Bill wasn’t angry or even upset. He could remember the picture he’d seen in his apartment, his fiancé in the middle, Jack on one side in just his skivvies, Tim on the other in men’s pajamas. He remembered sitting on the couch drinking bourbon and beer after smoking a joint. He could remember Marie and him not too long before that right here in this same meat room locked in an embrace that neither of them had expected or understood. As he thought about it, he still didn’t understand it, yet it wasn’t unpleasant and it wasn’t uncomfortable. Dealing with Henry Lee, on the other hand, might be.
They went into the party room. He locked one door while Mary locked the other so no one could come in. Of course Tommy or Bea, who both had keys, could have come in if they chose to. Bea might have if she’d come downstairs, but she was busy with Henry Lee going through the racing pages. They were also busy catching up on the latest gossip, Henry Lee happy to tell Bea it now included stuff about Marie and Bill. He didn’t know about last night yet, which in reality was just a few hours ago.
“Goddamn you boy,” said Mary. “Why you gotta do this to me?”
“I’m not doing anything,” said Bill.
“You better start doing something,” said Mary.
“What would you like me to do?”
Mary sat herself on one of the bar stools and swung the stool so she was facing away from the bar. She leaned back, put her elbows on the bar, set her feet on one of the stool’s rungs so Bill could easily slip his hand up her dress. He knew Mary was really turned on, but he, with all the drugs that he put into himself and not having had any sleep, was spaced out and feeling devilish.
“Wasn’t what we did before enough?” he teased.
“Don’t mess with me,” said Mary. “If it was enough we wouldn’t be down here.”
“You know you’re the one who’s always worried about what we do here.”
“Boy,” said Mary, “you better step up.”
