As we coasted around the platform, I asked her, “Have you forgiven me yet?”
“For what?” she wondered.
“You know. Pick and his bucking bronco adventure.”
“Oh, that. I was just upset. I was never really mad at you.”
“Good. How’s Pick?”
“Good enough to come to the dance,” she said. “You see? He’s right over there.”
He was right over there, beneath a string of Japanese lanterns, and pretty much cozied up to Miss Walleye who was looking at him like he was the second coming. I guess she’d never seen a golden-haired California dino-dude before.
“I think he might get lucky tonight,” Laura said.
“How about me?” It was the gin talking, of course.
“You never know. Which is it to be, me or Tanya?”
I gave that some thought for about as long as Pick stayed aboard Tornado. “You. Of course.”
“Well, Tanya likes you, too, and I reckon we’re both ready to bounce the bedsprings with somebody.”
I was thrilled beyond belief. It sounded like a twofer, not that I’m into that, but that’s what it sounded like. Of course, I thought there was a possibility she was kidding. I also didn’t much like the way she put it, “bounce the bedsprings with somebody,” like I was just convenient or something. “You and Tanya want to flip a coin?” I asked.
She laughed. “Did you think I was serious?”
Crushed, I said, “Well, I hoped you were.”
“Maybe I was,” she said. “Let me think about it. Buy me a drink.”
“I’ll buy you three drinks.”
“Ah, the old get-her-drunk strategy.”
“Candy’s dandy but liquor’s quicker,” I said. “Shakespeare.”
“Yeah, Shakespeare Ogden Nash,” Laura said, endearing herself to me. I mean she knew who Ogden Nash was! I was impressed.
The band played on, Laura and I two-stepped until Tanya tapped her on the shoulder. “Me, please,” she said, fluttering her long Russian eyelashes.
Laura gave away graciously and I took Tanya in my arms, pleasantly astonished at how small her waist was. It felt like I could put my hand around it if I tried. She was also a good dancer. In fact, I said, “You’re a good dancer.”
“I studied ballet,” she said, “before I came to the United States.”
“It shows,” I said. “Can you do the two-step on your toes?”
Tanya laughed and spun out of my arms. She moved into the center of the platform and did a pirouette and a couple of other fancy ballet moves. When she was done, everybody applauded. I happened to look over toward a dark corner and caught Cade and Toby standing there. Cade was applauding but Toby wasn’t. He looked pissed but what else was new? I waved at them and Cade waved back. Toby sent me air kisses. Yeah, right.
Tanya gave a little bow with her legs crossed and came back to me and we started the two-step again. Her eyes were bright. “I love Montana,” she said. “It is so nice here and the people, they are nice, too.”
“I agree,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.”
This was all lovely but then here came old Ted again. He stomped up to Mayor Brescoe who was sitting alone on one of the benches that ringed the dance floor. “Stand up!” he yelled.
“Ted, please,” she said, but she stood up whereupon to the astonishment of just about everybody, he slapped her hard in the face. She abruptly sat down, her hand to her cheek, while he called her a whore and a couple other ugly names.
Naturally, Ted was jumped by about a dozen cowboys who dragged him off. I was one of them. We carried him into a little copse of woods behind the marina and slapped him around a little. Not too hard, just enough to make him cry. The Haxbys were with me, so was Brian and Philip. So was Cade and Toby, for that matter, although they were just gawking. We left Ted slumped against a tree although he cried after us, “I know who you are, every one of you! I’ll get you for this, don’t think I won’t!” Ted was such a sweet fellow.
I returned to the dance floor but Tanya was nowhere in sight. Laura was dancing with some Texas cowboy and she looked pretty happy. I’d missed out there. I looked around until I spied Jeanette. I still had enough gin in me to ask her to dance but before I could, Pick, leaving Miss Walleye for the moment, asked her. They danced, then he deposited her back on her bench and took up again with the game fish beauty. I guess I was feeling pretty sorry for myself because I hit the bar again and this time I did the drunk thing absolutely proper. I had bought a bottle of gin, screw the tonic. Screw Jeanette. Screw them all. Well, I wanted to screw somebody but it wasn’t going to happen so I screwed myself with my gin.