Location: The Broiler (Interior) (Night)
Characters: Gerald, Heroine
I dropped by The Broiler a few more times over the next week, using the tips I picked up at the Ice Box every night.
Every time we saw each other, the sparks flew and the heat built up just that little bit more.
Tonight, Gerald had made a special point of asking me to come by a bit before opening.
(Might be the night to see if all his talk about a ‘philosophy of flirtation’ holds water!)
(If we get a few minutes alone, that oughta be enough to move things along…)
(Huh. Door’s unlocked…no doorman…)
The lights in the main bar were on low.
(There he is…lounging in the shadows at the end of the bar. This just officially got interesting.)
Heroine “Where is everyone?”
Gerald “We’re opening at eight tonight.”
Heroine “Why?”
Gerald “Gave the staff some time off.”
Heroine “Two hours? How generous of you. Kind of looks like someone’s set the place for tonight’s business…and I doubt that someone was you.”
Gerald “You caught me out. I had them set up, then sent them home ‘til eight…”
Heroine “You clear the joint of fire extinguishers, turn down the lights, bring out the booze…girl could get the wrong idea.”
Gerald “I won’t deny that she could. But then again, it might be the right idea.”
(We just blew right past ‘interesting.’)
As he spoke, he walked past me to the door, stuck an “Open at 8” sign on the outside…
Gerald “I was going to lock this so no one wandered in, but it occurred to me that might be…menacing.”
Select one
A. “It might.”
B. “Don’t lock it.”
C. “Am I safe with you?”
Selection A
Heroine “It might. Why don’t you explain what’s going on before I make that call.”
He left the door unlocked and moved back toward me.
Gerald “I thought we’d put tonight’s class on hold, have a nice dinner together.”
Heroine “Oh.”
(And how do I feel about that? Why, just fine is how!)
Gerald “Of course, if you’d rather not…”
Heroine “I didn’t say that. Give a girl a minute to ponder.”
(Doesn’t really need much pondering. Glad he’s finally making a chance for this to happen…)
He stood at the door, all confidence, no swagger.
Heroine “You gonna lock us in and chase me around a table? ”
Gerald “Would I really have to chase you? Sounds exhausting.”
(Man, that smile of his really gets me firing on all cylinders!)
I smiled back, but let the silence stand between us for a dozen heartbeats.
Heroine “Why don’t you pour me that drink?”
Selection B
Heroine “Yeah…don’t lock it.”
He held the door open.
Gerald “If you’d prefer to go…”
(Momma would tell me to run out of here screaming like a banshee, but…)
I didn’t move.
Heroine “I probably should since I generally don’t love walking around blind corners…”
Heroine “…but I’m kind of curious to know what you think’s going to happen here.”
Gerald “Dinner. Drinks. No business and no funny business, just…getting acquainted.”
(Hm. That doesn’t sound half bad…in fact, maybe not bad enough.)
Heroine “You think I’m not the funny business type?”
Gerald “Oh, I highly suspect you are, but a gentleman doesn’t presume he…investigates first.”
I gave him my best flirtatious smile.
Heroine “I hear any good investigation starts with a drink.”
Selection C
Heroine “I don’t know… Am I safe with you?”
Gerald “How would you define ‘safe’?”
He moved toward me, leaving the door unlocked.
Heroine “Somewhere between cozy-in-front-of-the-fire and being hauled out of a burning building by a burly fireman.”
Gerald “Where does a private dinner and drinks, no business talk, and staff arriving in two hours fall on that scale?”
Heroine “Oh, Mr. Fireman, are there cinders in my hair?”
Gerald “Fair dues. Wouldn’t want you to think of me as the cozy-by-the-fire type on such short acquaintance…”
Heroine “Wouldn’t speak well for the power of your rakish charm?”
Gerald “It would not.”
Heroine “Now…about that drink?”
Location: The Broiler (Alternate interior? Dining room?) (Night)
Characters: Heroine, Gerald
One Tom Collins later, we were finishing the beautifully cooked steaks Gerald said he prepared himself and sipping wine.
Heroine “…so that’s when Poppa decided I’d be better off in Chi for awhile. ‘Course, if he’d known what Uncle Charlie was up to…much less me, now…”
Gerald “What our parents don’t know about us won’t hurt them.”
Heroine “I suppose there’s some truth to that…but it’s not like I can grouse about a rotten childhood.”
Heroine “Momma and Poppa are pretty strict, but I guess they’re just scared of the world I’m growing up into…”
Gerald “They can’t protect you forever.”
Heroine “Yeah. An’ now I’m protecting them from knowing what’s really going on with me. Gnaws at me a little.”
Gerald “You talk to them?”
Heroine “Momma, just the once on the telephone, right after I got here. I dropped her a letter just yesterday, telling her about Charlie being sick.”
Heroine “Played it like it was no big deal, tellin’ her how Charlie’s already convalescing at home…”
Gerald “Any of that true?”
Heroine “Mostly lies of omission. Nothing I can’t pass off.”
Gerald “Didn’t want them to worry?”
Heroine “Don’t want Poppa hopping on the next train to fetch me home!”
Gerald “So you’re enjoying your freedom.”
Heroine “What’s not to like?”
I gestured around the room with my wine glass.
Heroine “Geez…just a ten days ago, I was drinking bathtub hooch in the back of a struggle buggy with Teddy Denby…a real three-minute egg, by the way…”
Heroine “…an’ now I’m sitting, alone, in a dimly-lit speakeasy drinking the good stuff with…well, a hardboiled purveyor of illegal hooch…”
Gerald “I’m not bad for your reputation then?”
Heroine “Ish kabibble! We’re in the same racket!”
Heroine “Look, way I figure it, couple weeks ago I was well on my way to becoming the Scarlet Woman of Columbus, Ohio…”
Heroine “…and now I’m just another flapper in the big city.”
Gerald “You’re hardly ‘just another flapper’!”
Heroine “Ahhh, the Ice Box Flapper stuff is fun, but it won’t last forever. I figure on ridin’ this carousel ‘til vertigo sets in and the horsies give me splinters.”
He just about choked on his drink with that one. Once he recovered, he looked me dead in the eyes…
(Okey-doke. This smells like bacon on the griddle!)
Gerald “You’ll pardon me saying most women of my acquaintance couldn’t pull it off.”
Heroine “Pull what off?”
Gerald “You make all the right noises so I’d be forgiven for mistaking you for a flighty little flapper, but then you’re clever, competent…”
(Nice to know he thinks so…but I’m not in the market for odes to my business acumen tonight!)
Gerald “…charming, without a doubt. And my instincts tell me there’s some real grit under the smooth exterior…though I’m not sure you know it yet.”
Gerald “I won’t insult you with a bunch of poetic malarkey, but I will tell you this…”
He leaned across the table toward me. The scent of him filled my nose right to the brim.
Gerald “…all the time I’ve been working you up to snuff in the hooch-house business, I’ve been thinking about you in ways other than the purely professional.”
(Yep, we’re getting on the trolley tonight…)
Heroine “For a fella not wantin’ to dish too much poetic malarkey, you do go on.”
Gerald “I’m only saying I was of a mind–”
Heroine “To move past the ‘purely professional’ and get down to brass tacks?”
Gerald “This is my thought on the button.”
I put my chin on my hands and cocked my head to one side, just so…
(Saw Louise Brooks do it in a picture once. Let’s see what he makes of it.)
He made plenty. Next thing I knew, he was leaning in further and there was a kiss…
…that started like ‘wham!’ and moved straight on through to ‘bam.’
He pulled back and looked me right in the eyes…
(Hot socks! Now THAT was a kiss!)
Heroine “Happy to make your acquaintance, Mr. O’Fallon.”
Gerald “To be sure, the feeling is mutual Miss [USER_LAST_NAME].”
Heroine “Maybe you oughta go lock that door now.”
I watched him walk to the door and back again, with a sharp ‘click’ in the middle as the bolt shot home, followed by a rush of…
(Excitement? Anticipation? Fear?)
…that blew through me and set me back in my chair.
(Bit of all three. You’re in it now, [USER_FIRST_NAME]. This is a real man and you’re living a real life. A WOMAN’s life…)
(No more fumbley-bumble in rumble seats with boys, nor sneaking out of the house, nor worrying if Poppa’ll smell gin on my breath.)
(That’s all done. This is the here-and-now…)
Heroine “Sipping the whisky tonight, or downing the whole bottle?”
(My voice sounds steadier than I thought it might.)
Gerald “You remember my philosophy lecture?”
Heroine “One of the most interesting points you’ve made in our classes so far, professor.”
Gerald “Well, then, to answer your question, a fine whisky, like a fine flirtation, demands a measured approach…”
He reached out to me and I let him pull me up to stand inches away.
Gerald “…as you pour the first drink, you want to be noticing the color and the texture of it…how it falls into the glass…”
His arms went around me, hands gliding to rest on my waist then, sliding higher…
His fingers trickled through my hair in a way that made my lips part slightly to emit a tiny gasp which I turned into words. Somehow.
Heroine “About that first sip…”
Gerald “Don’t be moving things along too fast, now! You’ve got to inhale the aroma…let it fill your senses even before you taste it.”
I slipped my arms inside his jacket, feeling the hard muscle beneath the rich fabric of his shirt then, slipped one hand up to graze his cheek…
(That’s a very nice jawline. How’d I never notice that before? Maybe because I’m always getting lost in his eyes…)
Gerald “And then, once you’ve taken account of all its many wonders, you bring it to your lips…”
His mouth descended on mine. It started out as a gentle thing…a sip…then became more urgent as he pulled our bodies together.
(All those sparks we’ve been shooting off are generating a steady current now!)
My hand went around his neck, my fingers tangling in the short hairs they found there.
(Whew! Welcome to the here-and-now!)
Heroine “Gerry…”
Gerald “I know. I’d like to drink the whole bottle too…but it’ll be all the better if we savor just the glass, tonight.”
Heroine “It’s got a few more sips in it though?”
Gerald “Oh, yes…”
He kissed me again, twisting my body hard into his. I held him to my lips for a moment, biting his playfully as he finally pulled away.
Gerald “…many, many more sips.”
I started the next kiss myself. After that, I lost track of the score.
Location: The Ice Box bar (Interior) (Night)
Characters: Heroine, Cliff, Gerald, Elliot, Neil
Back at the Ice Box the next night, business was booming like a Texas oil field.
Every table was full. The band had the dance floor hopping…
…and I was actually being helpful behind the bar, having finally learned most of the common drink recipes.
(By all rights, I shouldn’t have a spare minute to think about anything but what’s right in front of me…)
(…but I can’t get my mind off Gerald!)
Neil “Hey, Little Miss Woolgatherer! Would you fill me up from the special reserve next time you’re standing right in front of me staring at nothing?”
Neil “Oh…you ARE standing right in front of me, staring at nothing!”
Heroine “Sorry, Neil. Lot’s going on around here…”
Neil “Like that’s a reason for me to go thirsty.”
???? “The temperature in here is pretty high for a place called the Ice Box.”
(Gerald?!)
Heroine “Wh…what are you doing here?”
Gerald “Thought I’d come by, see how my tutelage is being applied.”
He looked around the room, seeming impressed by what he saw.
(He oughta be! We’ve been working hard.)
Gerald “Is this a typical weeknight?”
Select one
A. A little slower.
B. It’s like this since I’ve been here.
C. Since forever.
Selection A
Heroine “A little slower than most, lately. I don’t how it was before I took over.”
Gerald “Any thoughts on the subject, doctor?”
Neil “I hear I’m Switzerland, so I’ll stay out of it.”
Gerald raised an eyebrow at him then, looked at me. I fought down the blush.
Heroine “So…some of what you say might make it into a conversation around here.”
(Now I’m the town gossip. This is uncomfortable!)
Heroine “You two know each other?”
Gerald “By reputation, for the most part. I keep my ear to the ground.”
Neil “Could get infected. You should have a doctor look at that.”
Selection B
Heroine “Pretty typical since I’ve been here.”
Gerald “Hmm.”
(Is he doing a rough count of the crowd?)
His brow furrowed every so slightly.
(Even serious looks good on him.)
Heroine “What? If the walls are bulging, you can take some of the credit.”
Neil “Only if he insists.”
Gerald shot the doc a look, then turned to me, smiling. He was about to say something but then…
Selection C
Heroine “Since forever, from what I hear.”
(Hope that sounded as nonchalant as I wanted it to.)
Gerald “Really…I never thought Charlie was doing this well…but…who am I to argue with the lady?”
Heroine “Guys argue with gals all th’ time around here, even when the gal’s their boss.”
I was looking at Neil when I said it, mostly ‘cause Vince was still out of town.
Neil just raised his glass to me, looking like he was about to make another smart remark when…
Cliff was standing at my elbow, eyes narrowed.
Cliff “O’Fallon. What’re you doing here?”
Gerald “Enjoying the company. About to order a drink…”
Cliff “What’s your business?”
Heroine “Cliff! Be nice!”
I was a little distracted by a bustle from the front door.
(Elliot! Oh, thank the Lord! Someone who actually LIKES Gerald!)
Gerald “No business tonight, Cliff, for a wonder. Life’s so full of responsibilities, sometimes it’s good to remember the lighter things…”
Gerald “…like all your grand patrons here seem to be doing. Thanks in large part to the Ice Box Flapper here.”
Heroine “Stop buttering my toast.”
Gerald “Never! It occurs to me we should be looking for how to extend your fame…maybe add a touch of danger to the reputation.”
Cliff “She hangs around with you enough, that’ll happen.”
Gerald didn’t get visibly angry, but an edge of something sharp and wicked came into his voice as he turned toward Cliff.
Gerald “I’m a paying customer tonight, Mr. Conway, though if you’d care to continue your discourtesy…”
Heroine “Boys! Settle down…Hey! Look who’s here!”
Elliot “Gerald! Left The Broiler to fend for itself tonight, eh?”
Elliot “How about some cards? I have several lady friends dying to be shown the finer points of five card stud.”
He gestured to a table in the back where a gaggle of his usual confections had gathered, checking their make-up.
Gerald “Happy to take your money, Elliot.”
(Whew!)
Location: Ice Box main floor (Interior) (Night)
Characters: Heroine, Sofia
For the next hour I worked the floor, laughing and flirting and teasing and gossiping…
…and glancing over at Gerald now and then to see if he was watching. I swear I felt his eyes on me sometimes, but if he was looking back, I never saw it.
He was, however, always surrounded by women.
(Howizit I even CARE? I mean, it was just necking! It wasn’t anything serious…)
And then he was looking at me. I was all the way across a smoky, noisy room and I still knew he was looking at me…
(Did he just…wink? He did! He winked at me…)
(Oh sweet Auntie Mabel! I cannot BELIEVE I’m having the vapors over a wink!)
???? “Tryin’ to convince yourself he’s not your type, or worried you’re not his?”
Heroine “Sofia? What…?”
Sofia “All night, you been starin’ over at that table. Enough so I finally figured you ain’t lookin’ at Elliot…”
Sofia “…an’ knowin’ your unfortunate proclivity for men, that means…”
Select one
A) You’ve got it wrong.
B) All right, you caught me.
C) Don’t you have work to do?
Selection A
Heroine “You’ve got it all wrong!”
Sofia “No, no niñita. One thing I got for sure is a sense for when a girl is lookin’ in a romantical way.”
Heroine “I…what are you talking about?”
Sofia “Give me ten minutes in a dark ‘n private place an’ I’ll make sure you understand me, clear as a bell.”
(Sofia gives me a little shiver when she looks at me like…like I’m a rich meal she’s dying to…)
Sofia “What I said is, you got it for Gerry O’Fallon in a bad way.”
Heroine “’I don’t…I’m not…”
Sofia “Don’t toss me that line.”
The look in her eye shut me right up.
Sofia “You want him, you let him know. Otherwise, drop him like a hot rock. Either way, I say you be careful. Gerry’s not a nice man…”
Sofia “…maybe not even a good one, but a man like him will take you places. You need to think, are they places you want to go?”
Selection B
Heroine “All right, you caught me.”
Sofia “So, do I toss you back? Or take you home and cook you up right?”
Heroine “Soph, you’re…my Momma would say you’re a caution.”
Sofia “Sounds like a smart woman, your Mami. What would she think about Gerry O’Fallon?”
I looked across the room again at the back of his very attractive head.
Heroine “She’d probably say he looks like a melodrama villain who’ll tie me to the tracks like Pauline…”
Sofia “Would she be right?”
Heroine “Y’know…I’m not sure. Which I guess is part of the attraction.”
Selection C
Heroine “Don’t you have a set to play?”
Sofia “You got it bad, sweetie. Didn’t you even notice there’s no music playin’? We’re on break.”
Heroine “Oh…well…”
Sofia “You let me, I could take your mind off Gerry in particular. Maybe even men in general.”
I had to smile.
Heroine “You know what you’re proposing would get us arrested in all 48 states and the District of Columbia?”
Sofia “You’re already doing stuff that could get you jail in all those places…what’s smoochin’ me gonna add to your sentence?”
She pointed back toward the table where Gerald, Elliot and the harem were playing cards.
Sofia “…an’ that man over there, he’s waaaay more trouble than me on a good day.”
Heroine “Is he, though?”
I gave her a flirtatious little smile.
Sofia “You keep lookin’ at me like that, we’re gonna find out.”
Heroine “You accusing me of toying with your affections?”
Sofia “I don’t have to accuse you of something you know you’re doing…”
She glanced over my shoulder.
Sofia “…an’ while you’re foolin’ with me, your fella’s vanished. Best get after it, chica.”
I glanced back toward the poker table…and Gerry was gone! Everyone else was still there, but…
(Where’d he go?)
I excused myself with Sofia and ducked back behind the bar.
(He probably just went to the toilet, but still…)
I was about to ask Cliff if he’d seen Gerald when a hand snaked out from the storage room. I found myself off balance and tumbling through the door…
Location: Ice Box storage room (Interior) (Night)
Characters: Heroine, Gerald
…into Gerald’s arms!
(About time! We’ve been playin’ cat-and-mouse all night!)
Before I could catch my breath, his lips were on mine…and then they were burning a path down my neck…
(Picking up right where we left off, I see!)
Gerald “Think anyone saw you?”
Heroine “It’s not like I had a chance to pick my moment!”
Gerald “We’ll cross the stream after the flood, I suppose.”
Heroine “Those lips should be doing less flappin’ an’ more smoochin’!”
He obliged.
After a few more minutes of rising heat, we both seemed to realize we had to stop or go further than the landscape of the storage room would allow.
I was the one to pull back, adjusting my dress and wiping a smudge of lipstick off Gerry’s cheek.
Heroine “You go first. If Cliff sees you, tell him….I don’t know! You think of somethin’. You’re the one got us in here.”
Gerald cracked the door, took a scouting glance then, ducked through, though not without blowing me a quick kiss.
(Sweet. Makes me feel less like a wanton hussy…although there are things to be said for the wanton hussy racket!)
I checked my reflection in a shiny serving tray, grabbed a couple of bottles of gin, and barged out to the bar like I owned the place…
(Which I guess I do!)
Location: Ice Box bar (Interior (Night)
Characters: Heroine, Cliff, “Moe,” “Lummox,” Neil, Gerald
The scene had changed. I could hear the snap of angry voices and there was a brewing tussle by the bandstand. I caught Cliff’s eye.
Cliff “I was about to go check on that.”
Heroine “Andrew’s at the door…No Donovan tonight? Well, follow me then.”
(I’m talking a big game, but those are big, angry looking men over there…)
Cliff looked at me with newfound respect and some concern.
(Can’t back down now.)
Heroine “Gotta do it, Cliff. You know I do.”
We set off into the press of customers around the bar, most still unaware of anything untoward.
Once we got close, a quick glance told the tale.
A sharp-faced brunette was wearing a drink that didn’t come with her dress and looking mighty upset about it.
Her beau, a lummox with more inches across his shoulders than points in his IQ, was facing off with the apparent offending parties…
…two average working mugs in pinch-brim caps, dirty nails, and the gleam of two-gins-too-many in their eyes.
Heroine “Gentlemen and lady, what on God’s green is going on over here?”
Lummox started talking, was overrun by the brunette as Moe and Joe jumped in with their version…
(Everyone’s pretty hot. Glad Cliff’s backing me up…and I see Andrew edging in from the door….)
(Still…I need to settle this without it turning into a free-for-all.)
I let them gas it out to me, which kept them off each other…and everyone who’d gathered around to watch started losing interest.
Heroine “Sounds to me like these gents bumped your table and made a mess?”
Lummox “Ruined Maisie’s outfit! Cost her two bucks to get it cleaned!”
Heroine “An’ you fellas claim some dancers knocked one of you into the table…”
Moe “Yeah. An’ then this guy…”
Lummox “Yeah, THIS guy…the one who’s gonna bounce yer head offa th’…”
Moe puffed up his chest and pushed in.
Maisie threw in her two-cents about the fate of her poor dress, not helpin’ matters at all.
I shoved myself between the two men.
(Little Ol’ Me versus the Neanderthals! Hope I picked the right perfume tonight!)
Heroine “Boys, boys! Now, look at me…”
Heroine “You know what I consider a good night in the Box? A night that doesn’t end with me mopping up blood off the floor. Now…look around…”
They did…and noticed Andrew, an ex-boxer with a crooked smile on his face, and Cliff, arms crossed over a chest the size of a whisky barrel…
…an’ Julius and the fellas from the band looming on the edge of the stage, and Gerald…
(Gerald? When did he come over?)
…looking ever-so-deadly without really doing anything beyond standing there…
(A crouched tiger in a fine wool suit.)
Heroine “…and consider whose blood you think that’ll be?”
Neil emerged from the crowd at Cliff’s shoulder, bourbon still in hand.
Neil “Fellas, I’m the house doctor…My rates are reasonable…”
Neil “Lots of practice straightening broken noses, sewing on loose ears so as you’ll hardly notice they’d been torn off.”
I flashed Moe, Joe, Lummox and Dear, Sweet Maisie my best hostess smile…
Heroine “You know what? I think I have the answer here that will satisfy all parties…”
I pointed at Moe and Joe.
Heroine “You fellas will pony up four bits each for the lady’s cleaning bill…”
They winced…
(But they’re counting the odds of damaged body parts against the loss of a few shekels.)
Heroine “…and I will stand you to one drink apiece at the bar before you head home for the night…”
I turned to the couple.
Heroine “…while you folks get my marker for a pair of drinks on the house next time you come in, which can be any night that’s not tonight.”
Lummox “We wuz celebratin’ a’ anniversary tonight!”
Heroine “But Maisie’s going to want to go home and change…and it’ll be too late to come back tonight anyway, right?”
He looked at her. She nodded, a little embarrassed by the whole thing now.
Cliff escorted Moe and Joe to the bar. Andrew and I walked Maisie and her fella out and all was again right with my little world.
I was just sighing a private sigh of relief when I felt Gerry at my shoulder.
Gerald “Impressive.”
Heroine “Why thank you, kind sir.”
Gerald “Not how I would’ve handled it, of course.”
Heroine “No?”
Gerald “It almost got out of hand. My people would’ve hustled them all out as soon as the first harsh words were spoken.”
Gerald “You can never let people see you as weak, [USER_FIRST_NAME]. Not in this racket. You’ll be down for the count before the first bell if you do.”
(Well that’s pretty bleak!)
Heroine “With your approach, not a one of them would’ve ever come back to darken your door again…or sip your fine whisky…”
I tossed in a quick wink there, to which he returned a smile.
Heroine “…whereas I now have four loyal customers.”
Gerald “Not every situation can be smoothed over with sweet words and a few free drinks.”
Heroine “Should I send Maisie and her beau to The Broiler for their make-up anniversary?”
He snorted.
Heroine “Not your preferred customers, huh? You’re a snob, Gerry.”
Gerald “You’ve got to watch your own back, [USER_FIRST_NAME]. No one else will do it for you.”
(Guess that tells me something about what I can count on from you, Gerald O’Fallon.)
Thomas Joyner, Ph.D. 