The Rock Child by Win Blevins Read Free Book Online Page B

arrivals.”
    She had no idea what he meant until they went through the flap into the tavern.
    Five women sat at plates of rice.
    Whores. How did you manage it? The freighters were having trouble getting through the winter weather. Sometimes the store was short of supplies. But Tarim had managed to get new whores for his tavern shipped in. Gold. He will do anything for enough gold. Like Americans .
    “Sun Moon,” said Tarim, “these are the Twin Treasures, Hansel and Gretel.” He touched the twins on the head.
    They were white blondes, another woman was fair with flame-red hair, one was black, one an Indian.
    Am I to fill out your color scheme?!
    “Bridget here is Irish.” Sun Moon hadn’t been able to figure why people talked like the Irish weren’t even white people. This woman was so white she looked powdered, but wasn’t.
    Tarim put his hand on the shoulder of the black. “This is Martha Washington.” He smiled nastily and moved on to the Indian. “And this is Count Your Coups.”
    Tarim started on, but Gretel stood up and glared until she got his attention. “Tarim, we need more’n rice and vegetables to eat. We needeggs, we need meat.” She flipped her plate of rice upside down on the table.
    Tarim slapped her. Gretel staggered and fell to her knees. “You will eat the rice off the table now,” he said softly.
    Gretel got back into her chair. Under his glare she started eating rice with her fingers. Sun Moon noticed that the fingers shook. She stared, caught herself, and averted her eyes.
    “You start work at dark,” Tarim told them flatly. “I will let the miners know. This afternoon you may rest. You serve whisky, dance with anyone who asks, and do whatever else they want. One dollar. I will watch and the bartender will watch. If you try to cheat me, I will beat you.”
    Now he turned to Sun Moon and beamed. She steeled herself. “I have a surprise. Sun Moon will join you.”
    I won’t!
    “The hell she will.”
    “She is Buddhist, a nun, and a virgin …”
    Tarim stopped himself, realizing what Bridget had said.
    She repeated it. “The hell she will. I won’t work with no China Polly.”
    Sun Moon stifled a gasp. She studied the woman, astonished, struggling for control of her face.
    “Me neither,” said Hansel. “That wasn’t in the deal.”
    “Me neither,” said Gretel, regaining her courage.
    Tarim started hissing, “You will do as I…”
    “No and hell no,” said Bridget. “I won’t.”
    Tarim cocked his arm to hit her, but the black woman jumped up and grabbed his wrist. Tarim and Martha Washington glared at each other. When she let go, he didn’t make a move.
    Bridget flushed with it now. “I see Martha Washington won’t.” She looked at Count Your Coups but got no response. “Count Your Coups won’t. Us white women sure won’t.” She flung her napkin onto the table. “You didn’t say nothin’ about no China Polly, and we won’t do it. Shaming, it would be. I won’t stoop so low.”
    Sun Moon reeled. Not stooping to whore, not stooping to work next to blacks and Indians, but stooping to work with a Chinese .
    Tarim began, “I advanced you …”
    “I’ll give your money back. We ain’t broke. That Jehu is somewhere making deliveries. We can ride back out with him.” Bridget looked at her sisters in sin triumphantly. “We can ride straight back out the way wecome in. And we will.” She even included Sun Moon in her look of triumph, like Sun Moon would sympathize.
    Sun Moon was quietly struggling for breath.
    “I will replace you,” said Tarim.
    Bridget shrugged. “You think there ain’t another bar in the West we can’t whore? Even in this town?” She cackled. “We’ll give you good competition!”
    “You will work here! Tonight!”
    “We will, but not her.”
    Tarim glared at them. “We will discuss this again later.”
    “Yeah,” said Bridget, “ way later.”
    Tarim grabbed Sun Moon’s forearm and turned to leave. Sun Moon was dizzied by