“I hate you,” Mary said. She was talking to Bill’s back as he turned to put the bottle back in the drawer.
“I hate you too,” Bill said. He turned to face her again.
Mary was leaning against the counter that she usually sat on. Bill got on his knees before her and began buttoning up her dress. As he did so, he reached underneath and slid his fingers up there.
“Sure,” said Mary, “take advantage of me while I’m messed up.” But she smiled as she said it and Bill could feel her spread her legs more so it was easier for him to do what he was doing.
Then craziness got the better of him. With both hands along the outsides of her thighs, he lifted her dress all the way to her waist and kissed her right there on her panties. He began doing things with his tongue he knew he should never be doing in the meat room, especially with his back mostly to the door so Tommy could walk in on him before he would know it.
“Boy,” said Mary.
“Boy nothing.” He slid her panties to the side and continued what he was doing.
Instead of Tommy, it was Bea who walked in on them. Bill would discover later on she did it purposefully because she would tell him so in no uncertain terms. She would call him crazy and ask him what the hell he was thinking. Then, without giving him a chance to respond, she would answer for him saying that she knew he wasn’t thinking at all but that he surely should have been.
Mary was too messed up to be embarrassed. Mary was too messed up to be anything other than messed up. The black beauty had not kicked in yet although the bourbon had kind of helped with her headache.
“Go finish changing,” Bea told her.
“Give me another black beauty,” Mary said.
Bill reached in his pocket, did what Mary asked. She swallowed this one with nothing to drink and walked out of the room. Bill and Bea were left there alone.
“You gonna do that to me?” Bea asked.
“Ain’t nothing new.”
“Well, you gonna do it here?”
“You crazy?”
“Sometimes.” Bea stepped over to the counter where Mary had been. Without hesitation, she lifted her dress to her waist.
Bill gave her a taste of what he had been doing to Mary and then said, “Later. In the storeroom.”
Bea held him where he was at. “Just a little more,” she said. She closed her eyes and leaned heavily against the counter.
After awhile, Bea said, “Let’s get Mary taken care of and upstairs.” Only then did Bill stop.
Both meats still out on the cutting block, Bea and Bill left the meat room. They found Mary in the ladies bathroom. She was fussing with her breasts, straightening and settling her bra from over the dress. Her shoelaces were not tied and her dress was not buttoned all the way on top.
Bea turned Mary to face her and fixed the buttons. Bill got on his knees again, this time to tie her shoelaces, but while he was down there he reached up Bea’s dress and took some liberties. Bea, never one to be shy about things like this, helped him by spreading her legs wide.
Then they were on the stairs. Bill had gone back to the meat room and was carrying the round on the tray on his shoulder. He was being careful not to drip any blood on him, not because he cared about spilling the blood, but because he didn’t want to have to ask Bea for another uniform.
Mary and Bea followed behind him up the stairs. Bea helped Mary so she didn’t lose her balance, but the amphetamine was starting to kick in and her attitude was starting to change. Since she followed behind Bill, Mary helped herself to some feels of him. As she did so, Bea laughed her throaty, cigarette-laugh.
