Same Old Song

Although it would have been hard to admit it earlier, Lou couldn't deny the supreme feeling of elegance. With the beautiful gown that Jimmy and Kid and bought her, she almost believed she could take on any of the other women in town. Not because she thought herself to be gorgeous, but it was knowing that she was wearing the loveliest dress in town.

As she walked down the street, arms linked between her two escorts, Lou contemplated that perhaps going to a singing show wouldn't be so bad. After all, she'd gotten a luxurious article of clothing out of the deal. The least she could do would be to attend the show with the boys...although it still was not her first choice of evening activities.

Looking over at her two companions, she smiled...they had even gone so far as to bring some of their own proper attire. Both of them looked stunning in the black suits and white shirts. She shook her head and wondered how it was that they had arranged everything so perfectly. Lou knew that she was the luckiest woman alive...being lead arm in arm with two of the handsomest men in the world. It was just unfortunate that they kept pulling on their collars every ten second as if they were being choked to death.

Upon arriving at the front of one of the many restaurants in town, Jimmy stepped forward and opened the door. Louise curtsied briefly before picking up her skirts and turning partially sideways to get through the door with expert movement.

Kid and Jimmy looked at each other with eyebrows raised, "Where'd she learn to do that?" Kid asked, wondering if there was more to her younger life than she had shared.

Jimmy shrugged, just as bedazzled. "I don't know. Maybe it comes naturally, kinda like an instinct."

A male waiter came to them swiftly. He bowed at Lou's presence and she felt a smile form on her lips. "Welcome, madam...gentlemen. If you follow me, I will seat you." Extending his arm to Lou, she took it apprehensively.

Peering over her shoulder to make sure that the boys were still following behind, she turned back around to focus on the restaurant's patrons. She could sense eyes on her from all around the room, and suddenly felt very small. Men of all different shapes and sizes gazed at her; some old, some young. On the other hand, she noticed the women stare at her dress and she wondered if perhaps they were jealous, or if they felt as if she were "beneath" their aristocratic standards.

Glad to finally spot the empty table before her, Louise allowed the waiter to pull out her chair before she sat down. Jimmy and Kid took seats on either side of her, and took the menus as they were handed to them.

Not being able to recognize half of what was written, Lou began to wonder if anyone in Denver actually ate normal foods...like steak and potatoes. She leaned forward and whispered, "Is this in English?"

Kid studied it for a moment before answering. "I guess so, but not the English I was taught."

When the gentleman returned to take their order, the three of them suddenly felt very foolish at having to ask what certain items were. He was patient, however, and soon returned with a plate full of various "appetizers" as they were called. A whole barrage of various colors covered their plates. Jimmy looked a little more nervous than the other two, but disguised his apprehension with a sequence of smiles before sampling something new.

With the scariest items out of the way and off the plate, they all glanced at each other and suppressed a round of laughter. They realized that they hadn't spoken a word since the food had arrived. Instead the time had been spent poking and jabbing every little item to see if it were still alive.

As they left the restaurant, stuffed...although with what exactly, they weren't sure, they decided to continue their stroll down the street. At least it was an experience that they had shared together...and could be something to laugh about in the years to come. Although they all promised that their next meal would be a little more normal perhaps.

A crowd started to gather in front of one of the buildings that appeared to be a theater. Lou looked away, hoping that the boys had forgotten their agreement about the get-the-dress-go-see-singer-not-tell-Cody bargain. But, as with many things, she was gravely disappointed when Jimmy and Kid steered her in the direction of the crowd.

"Do we really have to do this?" Lou groaned, spotting the pictures of perfect-looking ladies once again...erasing her previous idea that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all.

Jimmy reached into his pocket and took out enough money for their tickets. "Remember, Lou, a deal is a deal."

In a moment, he returned, holding three tickets up triumphantly.

"Jimmy Hickok…if I go tonight, and either of you ever says anything to Cody about…" she broke off, not wanting to rehash the painful incident.

"About you making a fool of yourself you mean?" Jimmy asked helpfully, and when she would have lunged for his throat, help up his hands, "Don't worry. We'll hold our end of the bargain." Waving her ticket in her face he added, "As long as you hold yours."

In a few minutes, Kid held the door open for her as she followed Jimmy into the large theatre hall. It was quite extravagant, with thick red carpeting and tapestries that hung along the balcony decks and carved spiral staircases.

Not that she could actually see the carpeting, Lou thought. There were a million people, most dressed in their finest, and they hovered in the lobby area, making it impossible to breathe, much less move. Lou felt a thousand elbows in her ribs as Jimmy pushed through them, semi clearing a walkway for her. She was grateful for Kid's hand on her elbow, certain that if he let go she'd be pulled under the finely booted feet and trampled to death.

Finally, Jimmy broke free, and turned to pull Lou by her other elbow through the last throng of people and into the open space of the auditorium. He smiled at her flushed face and automatically reached out to tuck a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. When Kid's eyes fell on him sharply, he quickly dropped his hand, turning a fine shade of red.

Lou took a moment to breathe, and fanned herself with her hand. It had been like an oven amid the crowded lobby, and the fresh air was welcome. She turned and surveyed the stage.

The auditorium itself was huge, but the stage was not. Only a bit of shiny wood flooring poked out from the red velvet curtain. Lou looked up for what seemed like forever, and surveyed the box seats, very elegantly carved with marble railings, as well as the lovely dark red reclining seats of the upper levels. Sighing, she looked more closely at the level where Jimmy seemed to think their seats were. The closest level to the stage was also the crudest, and Lou looked doubtfully at the long wood benches where they would sit.

Already, the seats were filling up, and not with the crème of society either.

Loud male voices demanded the show get started, and more than one man seemed to weave side to side as he made his way down the aisle to his designated part of the bench.

Lou glanced doubtfully at Kid, who in turn shot a look at Jimmy, who shrugged.

"The tickets were expensive. If you two want to eat the rest of the week, it was these seats or nothing," he said defensively.

Lou opened her mouth to make the point that she would have preferred the latter option, but decided she'd made that clear enough already. With a sigh that let them know what a martyr she really was, she set her mouth in a straight line and followed them down the aisle.

Jimmy found the row they were assigned to, and gallantly waited for Lou to be seated before sitting beside her. Kid took her other side, and they waited, as the light's flickered, a signal for the rest of the crowd to find their seats.

Lou tried not to let her eyes drift up to the balcony, tried not to watch the fine women and men gracefully settling into the nicer seats and boxes. Kid, however, saw her wistful glances upwards, and sighed sadly.

He opened his mouth to tell her that one day it would be them up there, but thought the better of it. There were no guarantees, and wealth like that was beyond his comprehension.

Lou's neck twisted as she surveyed the upper decks, looking over Jimmy's shoulder, and abandoning all attempts to be discreet about it. She was completely unprepared when a heavy weight suddenly lurched onto her. She gasped in surprise and outrage as she struggled to keep her seating on the bench.

The man on top of her waved his arms and frantically grabbed at anything to right his balance, including her. Her cheeks flushed a fiery red in embarrassment and anger as she heard the material at the front of her gown give away in a sickening rip.

She was vaguely aware of Jimmy and Kid's presence as she kicked and flailed at the man on her. Jimmy had one hand at the small of her back to keep her from falling off the back of the bench, while the other had a good sized hold of the man's collar, trying to lift him off of her.

Kid, seeing that Jimmy had Lou supported, had divided his full time into bodily dragging the drunkard off Lou.

It seemed to take forever, but was really only thirty seconds or so before with a final heave, the sweaty, smelly body was not touching her any longer. Kid and Jimmy both stood up, shouting at the drunk over the chaos of the milling crowds, and shaking him hard by his collar.

Lou gathered he'd been making his way to his seat in the row in front of them before stumbling and crashing over the bench and onto her. She quickly remembered the ripping sound, and looked down to examine the front of her gown with a sick feeling.

A sigh of relief escaped her. It was just a tiny tear in the lining at the bodice. She shivered in distaste as she still felt the man's warm, stale breath on the bare skin of her neck.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy and Kid both asked at the same time, sitting down beside her, with the drunken man properly chastened. Both put hands on her shoulders as if to steady her.

"I'm fine," she assured them, tucking a few strands of hair loosened in the struggle behind her ear. She felt a blush rising in her ears for the millionth time that day, "Is everyone looking?"

Kid looked around and shook his head, "There's so many people here, no one even noticed. I knew we shouldn't have brought you here! Maybe we should go. Jimmy?"

"Aw, Kid! We already got the tickets, and we'll watch out now…" seeing the look in Kid's eyes he sighed and consented, "Louise," he said doggedly, "Do you want to leave?"

Lou could have sworn she saw a spark of challenge in his eyes. She seriously considered telling him that she wanted to leave, but knew then he'd have the perfect excuse to break their deal. And he'd do it too, damn his eyes, she thought.

A demure smile replaced her grimace, "No, I'm fine. Besides, the curtain is going up."

Kid and Jimmy forgot all about her traumatic experience to have been so concerned moments ago, Lou realized grimly, and settled herself with a sigh, stealing one last look at her dress to be sure no real damage had been done. She looked at them, both leaning forward eagerly as the bottom of a brilliant dress became visible under the curtain, and then turned her own attention to the stage.

As the bright red drapery slowly rose upward, muffled gasps (obviously from the male audience) flooded the room. Lou's eyes widened...and when she didn't feel that they could become any larger, they did. The singer's extravagance was all but hidden as she rested her hands on her hips and took two steps forward as if ready to take on the world.

Lou felt her stomach lurch at the movement and looked at the two men beside her who's eyes appeared to be dazzled with tiny stars which circled around and around. She wanted to elbow both of them, and whop their heads to knock some semblance of sense back into them. But, instead she sighed, crossed her arms, and knew that this could turn out to be the longest night of her life.

When the girl opened her mouth to speak, a silence filled the auditorium and even the slightest shift in one's seat seemed to echo through the room. Lou found herself holding her breath, waiting, like everyone else, for the woman to say something...or anything for that matter.

She smiled, her gorgeous features only defined even greater by the pink hues of make-up. Sharp and stunning emerald green eyes seemed to smile at every single person in the audience...yet were directed at no one in particular. Her long raven-black hair was delicately fastened back while long curly wisps of stray hair framed her fair skinned face. More than likely, she was one of the most angelic women Lou had ever seen.

Perfect, naturally, she'd be perfect. Lou groaned to herself, gazing at the sparkling dress which the young girl wore. It must have cost a fortune in material, and the glamour of it all was probably worth at least as much as her horse, Lou speculated.

A sudden shrill filled the air as the girl began to sing. Louise whipped her head around, afraid that something was seriously wrong inside of the auditorium. She froze, suddenly realizing that the noise had been directed from the stage. Feeling embarrassed, she turned back around in time to catch the first line to a song that she couldn't recognize had her life depended on it. Jimmy and Kid apparently had the same difficulty and leaned forward.

The horrible sound continued, very much resembling fingernails barring across the bottom of a metal frying pan. Once she was past the denial stage, it was all Louise could do to keep from bursting out with laughter. Even on her worst day of singing, she knew that she could have stood up on that stage and at least carried the tune! Ah, but it was indeed justice for the two stunned men beside her.

"Is she singing?" Jimmy said, suddenly very disappointed that he had spent precious dollars on tickets to her this monstrosity. Even as beautiful as the woman was, it wasn't worth the misery of hearing her.

Kid shook his head, still not detaching his stare from her radiance. "I don't know, but that isn't like any singing I've ever heard." He looked at Jimmy, "Maybe she's just getting warmed up."

Lou smirked, Yeah, you believe that. Go ahead! If she doesn't have it by now...she doesn't have it! She laughed inwardly. Even in her wildest dreams, Lou couldn't have come up with a better way to show them how idiotic they had been behaving about the whole thing.

"Great show," Lou whispered to Jimmy, "I especially like the singing part."

Jimmy shot her a supreme look of "oh come off your high horse"...but it did no good because Louise was much too satisfied with the situation as it were.

"Well, she's pretty at least," Kid commented, and then instantly regretted it when Lou shot him a deathly glare.

The show seemed to drag, on...and on....and on...and on, until finally the curtain came down and the audience rose to applaud. Stepping out from stage right, the girl curtsied and smiled at her "fans" as they stood and paid her the highest compliment a crowd could.

Louise followed the loud voices which shouted "encore...encore", and was not surprised when one of them turned out to be the same drunk that had fallen upon her before the show began. Through the evening she had wished that she were drunk...as that would be the only way that one might have been able to enjoy it.

It took nearly 30 minutes for everyone to file out of the building...and Lou felt as if her breath were being compressed once again. Had it not been for the firm hold upon Jimmy and Kid's arms, she knew that fainting from the claustrophobic sensation might have been more of a consideration. But then, she reminded herself that she was stronger than such actions anyway.

Finally, they stepped outside and felt relief from the ringing inside of their ears. "Boys, I want to thank you for this event. I always wanted to go to Denver and hear the worst singer in the world. It's been my dream," Lou said, teasing them...and loving every minute of it.

Jimmy and Kid instantly felt very tiny, meek, and stupid. They were never going to live this one down...at least not for the remainder of the trip.

Stammering for something intelligent to say about their earlier behavior, Jimmy and Kid found themselves at a loss. What could you say to spending money to go see a famous singing girl only to find out that she couldn't sing?

They strolled down the street, merely enjoying the silence. After an hour of sharp and shrill tones, all they wanted was stillness and serenity.

Lou turned her face up as a cool mountain breeze washed over it, refreshing and calming her tension after the oppressive heat of the auditorium. She glanced beside her and smiled warmly at Kid, then at Jimmy, marveling at the peaceful night.

Then, with no warning at all, the world around them exploded…

To be continued...Chapter Three