Ask No Tomorrows (20 page)

“
Yes ‘um.” The girl nodded and ran to the other
room.

It
was late and there were no customers except a few upstairs, so the
girls were very relaxed and happy to help her. They lounged in the
red and gold tufted chairs, draping their peek-a-boo gowns about
them.
Everything in
this place must have cost a fortune
, Riley thought. She’d never seen such beautiful
furniture, and so many flowers.

“
You just relax, we’ll get you fixed up.” Miss Tilda
smiled.

While Miss
Tilda waited for the scissors, Riley looked about. There was a man
cuddled up to a young whore, sucking on her breast like a baby. The
whore was smiling and pulling his shaft from his pants.

“
Why are you with a black man?” the little Asian girl
asked.

Miss Tilda
slanted the girl called Nannette a thunderous frown. “That’s none
of our business.”

Riley
shrugged. “We both needed help and we were there for each
other.”

“
He’s a stud,” the girl cooed. “If you don’t want him, I
do…”

“
Girls!” Miss Tilda scolded. “We must do everything we can to
help Riley, as she owns a sizeable ranch and her foreman is trying
to steal it out from under her. We must remember not to speak of
this to anyone.”

The whore in
the chair with the man pulled on his shaft. “You hear that, Henry?
You don’t repeat anything you hear tonight.”

“
Yes honey, I hear.”

“
You’re a rancher?” one of them quipped.

“
Yes ma’am, I am.” Riley nodded. “And I’ve got to look like my
cousin from the east in order to get my money and ranch back. Sam
agreed to help me, and that’s why he’s involved.”

“
It’s a sorry time when a man will take advantage of a poor
helpless woman,” Miss Tilda affirmed.

Riley began to
relax and look about the place. There were lounging chairs all
about, a big piano, and the girls draped themselves over the
furniture as she looked about. Surprised by their lack of modesty,
she suddenly realized these girls meant no harm and were not
judging her, so she quickly determined not to judge them. But it
was hard not to stare at the couple making love in plain sight. The
girl wrapped herself around the man and what her mouth was doing to
him made him squirm and moan like a baby.

Miss Tilda saw
her staring and chuckled. “Don’t mind them. Maria has no shame.
She’d do it in the street if someone paid her for it.”

Miss Tilda took her hand and guided her into a big chair. “You
just sit here and I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” She chuckled.
“We’ll fix you up good. By the time you walk out of here, you’ll
think you
are
a
man.”

“
Thank you, ma’am.”

“
Now, tell me about your cousin. What does he do for a
living?”

“
He’s a doctor…”

The other
girls giggled. “Always wanted to bed me a doctor. They are so
physical.”

Everyone
laughed, including Riley.

“
I
like your young man, he’s quite the gentleman and very handsome
too.” Miss Tilda smiled at her. “Don’t blame you none for latchin’
onto him. He’s a good one, I’ll bet.”

“
Good one?” Riley questioned.

“
In
bed.” She laughed.

“
Oh
well…” Riley started to refute it, but decided not to. Let them
think Sam was taken.

“
You give your man half of what Maria gives Henry once a week
and he’ll never leave ya.” She chuckled again.

“
Oh…he’s not really my young man. We’re just friends, that’s
all. He’d never get mixed up with a white girl like me,” Riley
explained.

Nanette handed
Miss Tilda the scissors from a drawer and nodded as Riley tried to
explain.

“
Well dearie, if you want to keep him, you should certainly
claim him as yours, or he might get taken up by another lady. And I
would venture to guess that he’s well worth taking up. Don’t kid
yourself, he didn’t have any trouble kissing me.” Miss Tilda winked
at her. “And I had a feelin’ he was probably good at a lot more
than just kissin’, if you know what I mean.”

Riley tried to
smile. “I’ll remember that.”

Sam had kissed
Miss Tilda? Of all the nerve.

Miss Tilda
laughed out loud and began to cut her hair once more. When she was
finished, Riley gazed into the mirror and saw herself. She hated
looking like a man. Tears rolled down her cheek.

“
What’s wrong, isn’t this what you wanted?” Miss Tilda
asked.

“
Yeah…it’s perfect,” Riley cried. “It’s just…I look like a man.
I look just like a man, don’t I?” Riley turned to face her. “My
daddy always said I was plain. This just proves it.”

“
Well…isn’t that what you wanted?”

“
I
guess…”

Miss Tilda
sensed her discomfort. “Don’t fret, it will grow out and you’ll be
your old self soon, but desperate times calls fer desperate
measures. You don’t want these thieves to win, do ya?”

“
No, I guess not. Oh…sometimes I don’t know.” Riley broke down
and cried.

Miss Tilda sat
beside her and removed Riley’s hands from her face. “What are you
really fretting about?”

The girls all
gathered around her, instantly interested in her story.

Riley glanced
at all of them, seeing they all had concern written on their faces.
“It’s just hard. I never knew anything but my ranch until my father
died. I never realized how much I depended on my dad for my little
world. When he died…I was alone. I had no one to comfort me, no one
to care. Then Sam came into my life. And I knew right off he was a
decent man. When I met him, he was burying a man that was hung.
Oh…he didn’t hang him. But he buried him, and said words over him.
Then he did the nicest thing: he gave me his horse and gun and told
me to go get my money and stand up for what was mine. I never had
anyone give me so much, other than my father. I was grateful. But
now…when I think on it, I wonder. What will I do when I go back? A
woman living in a man’s world don’t make many friends. Everyone in
the territory would take it away from me if they could. Anyone
would try to marry me to get it. My life seems to hinge on the
ranch. Sam was the only one who ever cared about me, other than my
father. But he’s black and we could never marry. So there is no
future in loving him. But…I do.”

Then she cried
openly. Through her tears, she admitted, “I don’t know why I’m
telling you all this.”

The girls
gathered around her.

Miss
Tilda
firmed her lips and stood watching them for a long moment, then she
went to Riley’s side and she jerked her by the hair so she would
look at her.

“
Now lookie here, girl. Since you got nobody to tell you what
to do, I’m gonna tell you,” she began. “No, better yet, I’m gonna
show ya.”

Riley dried
her eyes and stared at the older woman.

“
Come on,” Miss Tilda directed, pulling her by the
hand.

They went
upstairs and gently opened a door.

There was a
couple inside the room, making love. They were groping each other
so hard, they didn’t hear anyone come into the room.

“
Watch and learn, honey,” Miss Tilda whispered in her
ear.

Riley didn’t
want this kind of education, but the curiosity of it all had her
staring with her mouth open. The man had his head at the woman’s
legs and was laping her with his tongue, as his hands stretched to
lightly pinch her nipples. Riley felt herself flush. Despite the
embarrassment, she noticed how the girl enjoyed it, so much so she
begged for more. Then he slid up her young body and shoved his
shaft inside her with a hard thrust. Instead of screaming like
Riley figured she might, she sighed as though that was what she
wanted all along. The woman’s hips came up to thrust against the
man as she scratched and clawed his back. Their breathing was loud
and sweat dripped from them, but in a moment they both stopped,
hanging in mid-air. Riley couldn’t take her eyes away now. The
looks on their faces made her crimson.

“
What’s happening?” she whispered to Miss Tilda.

“
It’s an orgasm honey, the payoff for a woman, if she gets
one.” Miss Tilda chuckled, pulling her out of the room.

“
That’s how you make love to a man. Mary Beth is my best whore.
She gets off as much as they do.” Miss Tilda smiled. “It don’t
matter if they are dirty, mean, or butt-ugly, she knows how to turn
a rutting man into a lover, and that is the key to making love. If
you learn this now, you will always keep your man.

“
If
you love this man, then you stick by him. You do what it takes to
be with him. If you have to give up the ranch and move, then do it.
A good man is hard to find. And he’s worth a hundred men, if he’s
the right man. Don’t matter what others say, oh, yeah, it hurts,
but it don’t matter. It’s what you feel inside you. Look at him,
girl. If he didn’t care about you he sure wouldn’t be hanging
around willing to get himself killed over you. And it could happen,
easy like. If you love him, stand beside him. Be proud of what you
have. I can say this, he’s worth more than that ranch if you ask
me. You love him right, he won’t be comin’ here, that’s for
sure.”

“
How do I know I am lovin’ him right, though? I’ve
never…”

Miss Tilda
smiled. “Let your heart and soul teach you. When you marry a man,
the Bible says you become one with them.”

“
The Bible? You read the Bible?” Riley found that
interesting.

“
Of
course I do. God forgives everyone, you know.” Miss Tilda smiled
gently at her.

“
Oh, I didn’t mean…no disrespect. But what does that mean, you
become one?” Riley persisted.

“
It
means when you have sexual relations with your husband, in God’s
eyes the two of you are joined and are of one mind.”

Riley’s mouth
hung open. “That’s amazing; I always thought sex was
dirty.”

Miss Tilda
patted her arm. “Honey, it’s the sweetest thing here on earth if
you are with the right person.”

Riley stared
at her in awe. Then she looked in the beautiful looking glass. “Oh
but look at me, I’m a man now. My own father told me I’m plain and
ugly. How can I hold any man?”

“
True love looks past all that, honey. If he loves you, you’ll
know soon enough.” Miss Tilda smiled. “Besides, you’re not ugly.
You have an angelic look about you. I think it’s your eyes, they
look so innocent. Too bad you never took up the profession. You’d
probably be one of my best girls. Now, let’s get these clothes on
you.”

Everyone
gathered around, giggling at each thing Riley had to wear. Miss
Tilda knew exactly where everything went, and showed her how to
relieve herself.

“
Hope I don’t get in a hurry…” She giggled.

“
That won’t be half as hard as tryin’ to relieve yourself in
front of a man.” Miss Tilda laughed.

Riley
blushed.

When she was
fully dressed, the girls walked out on the porch with
her.

“
Now, hold your head up high. Don’t let these scoundrels get
away with this. You beat them at their own game. You get that ranch
back, and you love that man of yours, or I will…” Miss Tilda
laughed.

Riley smiled.
“I don’t know how to thank you all…”

“
Oh
wait…one more thing.” Nanette squealed with laughter. She left and
brought back a hairy thing on her hand.

“
What’s that?” Riley asked.

“
That is a mustache…you are simply too clean shaven, besides,
it will age you a little,” she assured her.

After applying
it, they all giggled and laughed together. Riley wasn’t sure when
she’d had so much fun. But the look in the mirror scared her. She
did look like a man.

“
Here, can you smoke a cigar?” Miss Tilda asked, handing her a
cigar and staring at her.

“
Never tried.” Riley took the cigar and rolled it between her
fingers like she had seen her father do. They all
laughed.

“
Well, you don’t have to smoke it really, unless you want
to.”

Everyone
laughed.

“
Good luck, honey.” She winked at Riley.

Riley nodded
to them all, and smiled as she walked away.

Miss Tilda
smiled coyly. “Now, you come back sweet man, there’s plenty of that
for you next time…”

Riley held her
shoulders up and smiled as she walked out of the whorehouse and
into the street.

Sam stood at
the end of the street with the reins to a buggy. “Mr. Morgan, are
we ready to leave, sir?”

A few
gentlemen passed by, gave her a glance and nodded, then went on
their way.

Riley smiled,
twitching the fake mustache with a finger. “I believe
so.”

Sam smiled and
waited until Riley got in the buggy before he trotted out of town
toward the west.