Jean-Jacques Tibor - The loser_s wife

Laura listened as the blonde girl went into great detail about her adventures with Wilson.

"… and we were in the big bedroom, the one with the round bed… you probably haven't seen it yet… and…"

Laura almost stopped her to tell her she was wrong, that she had photos to prove it, but the girl was completely engrossed in her story.

"… and, then he wanted another girl, Lily – and she came in too." She went on to describe what had happened with the three of them, finally finishing as she pulled Laura over and whispered softly: "But he told me afterwards I was the best. Don't tell Lily, but he called her a whore!"

Laura laughed, and saw the puzzled look in the girl's eyes. She knew the girl wanted to ask her why she'd laughed but they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Come on, Black Jack, pour the girls some more champagne. We want to have a lively little party tonight, don't we girls?" Deke Vito's voice hushed the feminine chatter around the room and no one answered him.

At least, Laura thought, I'm not the only one that doesn't like him. While Vito walked around talking to each of the girls and patting or pinching them, it gave her a chance to take a closer look at the other women in the room.

It's strange, just like the other night. They all look alike; short or tall, blonde or brunette, they all look and sound the same. And I guess this must be the cream of the crop, she thought. All of them really are extraordinarily beautiful.

"Laura, baby. I'm so glad you could come."

That bastard!

"Girls, I want you to meet Laura. I thought it was time to give you a little competition. Remember when you used to look like that? You bags are all getting tired and worn out."

Laura saw the others stare at her, even felt the girl stiffen at her side, and knew that Vito had just made a lot of enemies for her. It was true, she thought, that I do look a little better than they do – or at least, not as hard and brassy – but I wish he hadn't said anything.

As the giant Negro poured champagne in everyone's glasses the talk picked up again, and the nattily dressed gambler walked over to the couch.

"Yeah, Laura, baby, I'm glad you made it. Buzz off, kid," he waved a hand at the girl sitting beside her.

"I figured when you saw those pictures you might decide to join us." He stopped, and then continued: "and I'm sorry about Johnny, but don't worry. You two stay in line and he won't get hurt anymore."

She turned her head away from him. She knew that if she had to look at his fat oily face she wouldn't be able to control her anger.

Finally, he grabbed her chin brutally and spun her head around.

"You bitch! You listen to me when I'm talking, understand?" He sneered contemptuously. "Maybe I'll be able to think of something special for you tonight to teach you your place!"

He checked his watch angrily and walked away from her. Laura watched him, wondering what he'd meant by his last remark, and held up her drink for Black Jack to refill it.

She was watching the door several minutes later, waiting for the 'guests' to arrive, when it opened and a tall grey-haired man walked in. She heard one man deferentially call him Mr. Mornay and watched him survey the room. His eyes touched hers momentarily before he walked over to join Deke Vito.

They talked for a while, apparently going over the plans for the party, and then the gambler brought him over to the couch.

"Mr. Mornay," Vito said servilely, "this is Laura, the new one you asked me about."

"Hello, Laura, it's a pleasure to meet you." She was surprised at the warmth in his voice. Strangely enough, he seems to mean it, she thought.

"Thank you." But he had already walked off with Vito to talk to someone else. Then she saw him leave a few minutes later.

During the next hour the door seemed to open continuously, and soon the room was quite crowded. There was a lot of liquor and laughter and it seemed like any other cocktail party Laura had been to, except for the gambling in the other room and the sprinkling of famous florid faces she recognized from newspapers and magazines.

Actually, it was quite pleasant. No one had made any unusual advances toward her and the men that had spoken to her seemed very polite. But, she could feel a strange tenseness or excitement in the smoke-filled air and she knew it wouldn't be very long before the atmosphere changed. I wonder how they do it, she thought, do they just come up and grab you by the arm and drag you into a bedroom?

She wandered from one room to the other, catching Black Jack each time and having her drink refilled. She was fascinated by the gambling in Mornay's private casino. Laura had never seen such large sums of money cross the tables and finally stopped trying to count the size of the bets.

Nobody seemed to worry about money at all. The men just laughed as the dealers or croupiers raked in the large stacks of chips and then the men replaced them with another just as large or larger. She realized that most of the girls had more or less attached themselves to one of the gamblers, and she watched them as they giggled at the hands that were beneath their skirts or brushing across their breasts.

There were several men there that were either too old or too intent on their gambling to pay any attention to all the feminine pulchritude around them, but Laura knew that unless she kept moving from one room to another she wouldn't be able to avoid being latched onto herself.

The girls all seemed to be drinking champagne and the men bourbon or scotch, but she finally decided that the champagne was too slow in bringing her the alcoholic numbness she was searching for. She switched to straight brandy, and soon, she began to feel a little more at ease.

Even when one of the more obnoxious men pinched her painfully on the rear she was able to laugh it off coyly and escape from him as he turned momentarily back to his betting.

The party was already several hours old before she began to notice the change coming over the crowd. The betting began to get more reckless and the laughing and shouting increased to a deafening roar. She recognized the glazed drunkenness that was settling over the gamblers and the girls, and the two cocktail waiters were hard put trying to keep up with all the shouted calls for drinks.

The brandy was working very well and she, too, was getting a little unsteady on her feet and could feel a slight numbness in her tongue.

She flinched at a sudden touch at her elbow, and turned to look into the grinning face of Deke Vito.

"Laura, baby, don't look so sad." He spoke to her in a soft voice that was strangely gentle. "Laura, it'll be easier for you… I mean, this being your first party like this… if you'll have several drinks."

She started to point at the brandy in her hand when he took the glass and replaced it with another.

"Here, this is imported. It's a little stronger and it'll make you feel a little better."

She took the glass without arguing, wondering at the change that had come over him. He left her after patting her on the shoulder, and she tasted the drink. It had a slightly reminiscent flavor, but she couldn't remember where she'd tasted it before.

She stood there sipping at her drink, and after a few minutes she felt a great lassitude slipping over her. The liquor made her feel so warm and alive. Swaying slightly to the rhythm of the music, she watched the enlivened crowd at the tables. Though she stood only a few feet from them she felt as if she were a spectator, in another room or watching through a great window. The noise and laughter seemed to be filtering through a softening haze and the people moving gracefully in slow motion.

She watched one of the girls removing her clothes in a bumping parody of burlesque striptease, and she felt the heat of her own clothing and she found herself wishing strangely that she, too, could rid herself of her constricting cocktail dress.