Mabel Maney - The Case Of The Good-For-Nothing Girlfriend

“I agree,” Midge said in a stage whisper. She made a big show of furtively looking around. “See that man over there in the gray suit? The one smoking a pipe?”

Cherry nodded. She stared at the man perched at a counter stool, reading the newspaper while eating a baked potato.

“I’ll bet he’s an undercover cop,” Midge whispered. “Notice his rubber-soled shoes? They wear them so they can follow people around and not make a squeak.”

“Pretending to be engrossed in the evening paper is a good ruse,” Cherry whispered back earnestly.

“Keep an eye out for him,” Midge warned.

“I will,” Cherry answered solemnly.

“You’re a good detective, Cherry,” Midge winked.

Cherry beamed. She tarried so as to get a good look at the man on the stool. “He’s clever to act so casual; as if he’s really here for supper,” she thought. Cherry was so intent on watching the strange man’s every move, she bumped smack into Lauren on the way out of the restaurant.

“Careful!” Lauren cried, clutching a gold and white candy box tied with a pink bow. “These are for Velma. Where did she go?”

“The others have run ahead to the motel,” Cherry explained helpfully. “I stayed behind to—” But Lauren took off, cradling the box of sweets to her chest.

Cherry took one last look at the man shadowing them; then, confident that she could identify him later, headed for the motel and a good night’s sleep.

“What a horrible mix-up!” Cherry cried as she kicked off her flats and flopped onto the double bed she would share with Nancy that night. “I can’t believe the motel manager thinks Midge is a man and won’t let her in the room with us!”

The girls had thought their luck was finally changing when they spied the Pocatello Komfort Kourt, a neat row of rustic cabins with a panoramic view of the surrounding Peaks. They were inexpensively priced and, by all appearances, clean and comfortable.

Under normal circumstances, right now Cherry would be exclaiming over the knotty-pine paneled interior of their cozy cabin, the thick moss green chenille bedspreads, and the modernized bathroom with its hot and cold running water. “You’ve got all the amenities of a big-city motel,” the manager had said, pointing out that each cabin had many modern conveniences, “including a radio.”

It was when he opened the door to cabin number thirteen and Midge marched inside that the manager had exclaimed, “Men are not allowed to stay with young ladies in my cabins!”

Cherry almost chuckled, but stopped short when she realized he was talking about Midge!

The manager had taken one look at Midge’s short hairstyle, men’s trousers, and bulging biceps and had jumped to the mistaken conclusion that he and Midge were of the same ilk. And, to Cherry’s surprise, the usually quick-tongued Midge did nothing to correct the man’s mistake!

“Unless you can prove these girls are your sisters, you’re not staying in that room, young man. There’ll be no hanky-panky going on in my Komfort Kourt,” the manager had reiterated.

Cherry was just about to blurt out, “That’s no man—that’s Midge!” when Midge had shot her a sharp, warning glance that said, “Keep quiet, Cherry.” For some reason, Midge had apparently thought it best to go along with the man’s mistaken impression.

Poor, tired Midge, who had practically pushed the car to town all by herself, was being forced to make her bed on a little cot behind the front desk, for there were no more rooms available at the Komfort Kourt, or, for that matter, anywhere in Pocatello!

“There’s a philatelist convention in town, and everyone’s full up,” the manager had explained. “You’re lucky there was just a last-minute cancellation; everything else has been booked for months.”

The girls had already handed over six precious dollars for the cute, cozy cabin, and it seemed the only thing they could do was stay there for the night, even if it meant splitting up the little group.

“I’m surprised Midge didn’t argue with the manager,” Cherry remarked to Velma as she dropped a quarter into the metal box at the head of the bed, lay back, and let the vibrating motion soothe her tired muscles. “All she had to do was tell him she’s a girl, and she’d be in here with us this very minute. I’m going out and tell Midge to do just that,” she declared. “Just as soon as I’m done relaxing.”

“That’s not a good idea,” Velma cautioned as she kicked off her leather-bottomed flats and lay down on the bed next to Cherry.

Cherry was frankly puzzled. Why, it seemed like a sound idea to her!

“In some towns, girls dressed as boys aren’t exactly welcome with open arms,” Velma explained.

Surely Velma was teasing, Cherry thought. But when she looked at Velma, she could see by the frown on her face that the older girl was serious!

“Midge could get into big trouble if she’s found out,” Velma said, “The manager would probably call the police in to run us out of town.”

“You mean, there are places where it’s against the law for a girl to wear slacks?” Cherry exclaimed.

Velma nodded.

“But you’re wearing slacks,” Cherry pointed out.

“They’re girl’s slacks,” Velma explained. “Don’t you see?”

Cherry didn’t see, but she nodded anyway. She didn’t want Velma to think she wasn’t sophisticated. Besides, the long day was catching up with her, and she was beginning to feel dizzy with fatigue. “Maybe I’m too tired and wrinkled to understand anything right now,” she thought. Cherry felt lucky, and a little guilty for it, knowing her sweetheart was close by. Nancy was just in the next room, taking a warm bath.

“Midge and Velma belong together always!” Cherry thought, her head aching from thinking of the silly thing that was keeping them apart. Cherry let the relaxing vibrating motion of the motorized bed calm her throbbing head.

“Poor Midge,” Cherry sighed. “She’s going to miss out on a swell evening. I thought later we could all wash and set each other’s hair. Then we can play some games.” She had noticed a deck of playing cards in the top drawer of the bedside table, along with some postcards and a complimentary pen with the name of the motel on it. “It will be just like a Friday night at the nurses’ dorm,” she told Velma, smiling as she recalled the many swell times she had had while lying in her narrow single bed, just inches away from an identical one occupied by her roommate, Nurse Cassie Case, a perky brunette with a warm smile and an infectious laugh. The two nurses had spent many pleasant hours laughing and chatting well into the night, giving each other relaxing back rubs and engaging in fun pillow fights.

Cherry suddenly had a grand thought. What if they put vibrating motors on the nurses’ beds? “It would be soothing after a long day at work.” She made a mental note to suggest just that, once she got back to the hospital.

“I guess Midge is lucky the manager offered her that little cot behind the desk,” Cherry remarked. “Although, I’m sure she would prefer a hot bath and a nice comfy bed. Plus, she’s going to miss out on all the fun.”

“We won’t tell her the beds vibrate,” Velma whispered conspiratorially.

“Okay,” Cherry agreed. There was no use rubbing salt into Midge’s wounds!