The Friday that Belle and Connie departed for Santa Fe, August 31, 1877, Charles Howard was finishing his last full week as a district judge. He didn't know it at the time, but Howard's life was about to plummet into a downward spiral of his own doing that would culminate in his death at the hands of a firing squad a few weeks in the future. How did I know this? I knew it for a fact when I had lunch with Matt Faulkner. During our meal, he informed me that Howard had ordered him to arrest two Mexican men from San Elizario, who were trying to organize a wagon convoy to gather salt from the disputed flats.
"What did you tell him?" I asked.
"I told him that organizing a convoy wasn't a crime, and that the enforcement of his disputed claim was a matter for the civil courts. He told me to go to hell, and said he'd arrest them himself," Faulkner replied.
I nodded and told him I agreed, then I sat there and thought about whether I should try to stop the chain of events leading to Howard's death, or let events play themselves out as they were scheduled. In the end, I didn't say anything to the sheriff, because I had a feeling that nothing I could do would prevent Howard from dying. Oh, I could probably delay his death or even change how it happened, but I somehow knew that the judge's demise was written in stone. It might have been cold blooded, but in my mind, I felt Howard needed to be dead anyway, because he was one rotten SOB.
George Howard deserved the same, and I was fated to insure it happened. My strong feeling about the historical necessity for the Howards to die made me think about my own situation. I mean if it was fruitless for me to try to prevent the Howards from dying because it was necessary for the flow of time, was it necessary that Tyler Ringo McGuinn die also? As soon as I completed whatever tasks I needed to set the future right, would I suddenly drop dead? That thought more than any other convinced me that I needed to enjoy the hell out of everyday that I was given here, just in case.
I didn't have a chance to visit Feleena that Friday; I just had too much to do, what with Belle gallivanting around in Santa Fe. It amazed me how much that woman was doing everyday as I tried to work off the list she'd given me. Taking care of Belle's to-do list kept me from my afternoon siesta and the Toro was hopping that Friday, so by closing time, my ass was dragging.
I was off work and trudging home by one in the morning. You can bet your ass I was way more attentive during the trips between the saloon and home now. When I let myself into my room, a cute little redheaded Irish woman was already sleeping in my bed. I knew my sweetie Belle must have arranged for Molly to keep me company while she was gone. Was Belle a great woman, or what?
Belle must have left some pretty specific instructions for Molly, because at eight on Saturday morning, Molly woke me up my favorite way. I guess it was kind of appropriate when you think about it. I mean Molly came to my room and had her breakfast then I went to her kitchen and had mine. Tit for tat as they say.
That morning I stayed longer at Clem's, as I let one of the women Mister Huang hired for the gent's club give me a massage. Damn, she was majorly talented when it came to pounding a person's muscles into jelly. Mister Huang said that he had already sent for another girl to replace Ling's sister, Li Chen. Seems old Clem didn't want his prospective bride to be kneading on other men, even if the massages were only therapeutic. I was highly disappointed by that, once I caught a gander of Li, because she was a little doll.
All relaxed and spiffed up, I walked over to Rosa's to check on Feleena. This time Rosa immediately opened the front door of the cantina when I knocked. I stayed downstairs and visited with Rosa a few minutes; she fixed me up with a cup of coffee and told me Feleena had been hoping I'd visit her today.
That was pleasant news for me. I climbed the stairs with my coffee cup in my hand, rapped on Feleena's door, and identified myself. Feleena told me to come on in. She was again propped up in the bed, with her back against the headboard. However, this time her hair was brushed out and she was wearing a silk dressing gown. It was obvious that she had prepared herself for my visit, based on Rosa's earlier statement. Feleena, even with the purple and black bruises on her cheeks, was heartbreakingly beautiful. I think what did it for me was the way her eyes lit up when I walked into the room.
I bent over and kissed her forehead, then pulled my hand from behind my back and presented her with a nosegay of freshly cut daisies and daffodils. I'd stopped by the Saturday farmer's market on the way over, and picked up the flowers.
Feleena made a big fuss over the flowers and sent me right back downstairs for something to put them in. When I returned with a vase, she carefully arranged the flowers in it and I sat it on the table by her bed.
"That was such a sweet surprise, Tyler. No one has ever given me flowers before," she gushed.
"I don't know why it would be such a big surprise, Feleena, you certainly know how much I care about you by now," I replied.
She regarded me seriously for a moment, then gave me a sad little smile.
"You say that, yet you have all these other women," she said ruefully.
I shrugged off her tone of voice and gave her an honest answer.
"Yes, I do, but that doesn't affect the way I feel about you. It's possible to love more than one person at a time, Feleena, the women in my life and I are living proof of that. You have a place with us, and I think you'd fit right in."
Feleena had a bunch of questions about how our group relationship worked, and why there wasn't any jealousy or bickering. The idea of everyone in the relationship being equal partners in it was completely alien to her. I answered her questions candidly and told her we were still working out the limits of our group as we went along.
She was very curious about the other women being together with each other, but I didn't volunteer any information in that regard. All I told her was that no one was forced to do anything they didn't want to do.
It was enjoyable spending time with this Feleena, but I still had things to do and people to see, so I stood up and told her I'd see her tomorrow. She said she'd like that very much. I was all set to kiss her cheek and head out, when she grabbed my hand.
"You've told me a number of times that you are attracted to me, but you've never even tried to kiss me," she complained.
I fixed that oversight right then by pressing my lips gently to hers. Her lip was pretty much healed, but I still didn't want to chance hurting her. What I intended to be a sweet but short kiss, became anything but, as Feleena moaned into my mouth and thrust her dainty little tongue between my lips. After about a minute, I reluctantly broke the kiss and stood up. Feleena eyed the bulge in the front of my pants and smiled in satisfaction.
"I'll see you and your friend tomorrow, Señor Abogado," she teased.
I took care of a couple of things at the new club before heading back to my room for my afternoon siesta. One of the items I worked on was meeting with the liquor distributor. The man assured me that he'd be able to supply me with a better quality product than the saloons used, because he had a partner in Austin that dealt in higher end spirits. He took my initial order and said he'd have it filled by Wednesday afternoon. That worked for me, because it was two days before our grand opening on Friday, the seventh of September.
Another item on my list was meeting with the Happy Hombres. I was happy as hell when they dragged in five other musicians with them. Four of the new men were going to be the Toro's new house band. The final man was joining the hombres as a second horn player, to give them a fuller sound for the bigger venue. All I could think of was how good that second horn was going to sound on 'Ring of Fire'.
I accidentally gave the new group its name when I asked the Hombres to have the new cats play a few licks. The leader of the new group's eyes lit up at my innocent request.
"Sàseñor, the Nuevo Gatos will be happy to play for you," he said.
The new guys weren't half bad, and would do okay down at the Toro. I asked them to play a set with us at the Toro that evening to help them get acclimated.
I was home in my cool dark room by two that afternoon. By two oh five, a naked Molly Dean was snuggled up against me. It was a tough life I lived, eh?
Sunday was uneventful, save for the teasing that Maria and Miranda gave me anytime no one was looking. By now, even when their parents were around, the two of them flirted with me. I was leery of them doing that at first, especially around Hector, but he didn't seem to mind all that much. I asked Anna about that when we had a minute or two alone.
"Maria is grown now, Tyler, and capable of making her own decisions. Hector is a good and strong man, but he knows how it is with us Lopez women. He knows Maria is going to do pretty much as she wants, and he is glad that she seems to want those things with you. We all, Hector included, know what a good man you are."
Damned if that last little bit didn't almost choke me up. I grabbed Anna and gave her a big old hug for saying it. She felt just as good in my arms as she used to, and since she was a Lopez, she caused me to immediately become erect. I backed away from her quickly, embarrassed at my dick's lack of restraint. Anna didn't seem to mind my misbehaving Johnson at all, as she just laughed and gave me the look.
"So, this tired old woman still arouses you, even though you are surrounded by young beauties," she teased.
I gave her a lopsided grin and replied, "You are the equal to any of them in beauty, Anna, and more than their equal as a lover. How can I help being aroused by someone like that?"
My conversation with Anna Lopez gave me plenty to think about on my trip back to town. Mainly, I thought about the women in my life and which of them would still be around in a year or so. I know it sounds selfish, but I hoped they all would be. I mean, I was positive that my future lay with Belle Sikes, but I truly loved every one of the other women, too. In the end, the only one I saw with any certainty hanging in there with us was Connie Raphael. I thought that because Connie made it abundantly clear that she wanted the same things Belle and I did.
By contrast, Molly and Naomi had their businesses and I didn't see Naomi giving up her dress shop or Molly her rooming house. Maria might stay, but probably not. I figured Maria would want to start a family where she was the queen bee, just like Anna, Ramona and soon Juanita. Miranda, I figured, was just in it for the fun, she'd probably want the same things as I envisioned for Maria. Feleena, I didn't have a clue about, but it seemed to me that she wouldn't be happy sharing with anyone.
I met Belle and Connie at the train station at four on Monday afternoon. Belle had wired ahead and told me they'd be on the train. Belle had asked me to bring the carriage and Jose along for some reason, so the cabriolet was parted near the platform at the station.
Both women were happy to see me, although Belle was less demonstrative in showing it. Connie though, jumped into my arms and kissed me as if we'd been apart for months. I found out why Jose was there, when the conductor threw open the doors of the baggage car and he and the station master handed down two big steamer trunks and the two bags the women had left with. Belle claimed the trunks and suitcases, then put Jose and me to work toting them to the luggage shelf on the back of the carriage.
Once we had the baggage loaded, the women and I hopped into the carriage and Jose clucked us over to the hotel. We were on the road, Belle snuggled against my side, when I finally asked her about the trip.
"Honey, did you have time to get the warrant from Marshall Cahill?"
She giggled and reached for her purse.
"Of course I did, silly, that's why we went after all."
She pulled a sheaf of papers from her bag with a flourish and continued talking.
"Jeremy and Judge Gault were so nice to us; they took us to lunch and even joined us for supper at the hotel. I invited them to come visit us and see the club. They both said they'd love too. The Judge was quite smitten with our little Connie. His attention was humorous it was so obvious, but they both behaved like perfect gentlemen."
I glanced over at Connie, who blushed and looked down at the floor. Connie and Belle were both wearing new frocks that were identical, except for the color. Belle was wearing a light green number with a dark green print, while Connie was in light blue with dark blue print. Connie's beauty was more subtle than Belle's, but the more you were around her, the more you noticed it.
Jose and I dragged the bags and trunks into the apartment at the hotel and on to the bedroom. Belle told Connie to put her clothes in the left wardrobe as she started putting stuff in the right. Belle caught my look and gave me a dazzling smile.
"You don't mind if we use these, do you, Dear Heart? We'll get you a chest of drawers for the other room tomorrow. We are going to move into here tomorrow and Connie and I need these much more than you do."
I could see the writing on the wall as far as domestic arrangements were concerned, based just on that little exchange. Carmen, wife number two... no dammit, she was number three... in life number one, had eased all of my stuff out of the master bedroom the same way. The only difference was that Carmen eased it out one drawer at a time, while Belle just co-opted every drawer at once. I just shook my head and went into the hotel to see how Anna was doing. Tonight was going to be her first night as hostess for the restaurant, and I thought she might be nervous.
Anna looked stunning as she stacked menus at the lectern-like Hostess Station. Her hair was in this sophisticated arrangement held up by the combs I'd given Juanita. She was wearing a chocolate colored gown covered in lighter brown lace. She was even more elegant than I imagined, and was perfect as the public face of the restaurant. I kissed her on the cheek and told her that.
I yakked with Anna for a few minutes, until Belle and Connie came in and dragged me back to the apartment to show me the loot from their shopping trip.
That night, I told Belle and Connie about what was happening with Feleena. I didn't know exactly what kind of reaction to expect from the revelation, so I steeled myself for anything. Belle and Connie exchanged a look, and then Belle spoke for both of them
"Are you sure about this, Tyler? I am not going to disparage her, but Feleena has never struck me as a woman who'd fit in with all of us."
I told her that I had the same thought and Feleena had admitted that she had trouble swallowing the concept.
"But, what if she did, Belle? Would you all have any problems accepting her?"
Neither Belle nor Connie had a ready answer for that question. They did, however, say they would discuss it with the other women and let me know.
The next day, Tuesday the fourth of September, Belle and I moved out of Molly's rooming house and into our apartment at the hotel. It was sort of sad moving away from Molly, but Belle was emphatic that Molly was still going to be in our lives, no matter where we lived. Since Belle had moved most of her stuff over there last week, it only took one trip in the carriage. While I was putting away my stuff, Belle and Jose went to the Toro and picked up Connie and her gear.
Tuesday was also the day that Charles Howard rode over to San Elizario as if he owned the place, and tried to arrest the men organizing the expedition to the salt flats. Howard paid for his arrogance, when a mob surrounded him. Louis Cardis, the leader of the anti-salt faction, had the town's constable arrest Howard. The constable threw Howard into the San Elizario hoosegow just I remembered from my history class.
That night, we had a full dress rehearsal at the Gentlemen's Club, with about twenty-five specially invited guests. Everything and everyone worked even better than I had hoped during the hour long exercise.
Our guests that night were the partners in the club and twenty of our members. Clem told me about Judge Howard's plight while Belle was proudly showing off her bar. As you can imagine, Clem and the other members of the Republican Party were tickled to death by the news.
As soon as we glad-handed our guests out the door, I loped over to the restaurant to see what Anna knew about Howard's arrest. Anna was helping Maria clear a table, so I waited at the hostess station for her. It was almost nine in the evening, so it was closing time. Anna sat down at a table with me and told me what she knew about Howard's arrest.
According to Anna, Cardis probably saved Howard's life by throwing him into the clink, because about three hundred Mexican men from both sides of the river were all for hanging him. Anna was as incredulous as I was that Howard had been foolish enough to try to arrest the Mexican men, because back then, as it was in my future, the population of San Elizario was over ninety-five percent Hispanic. Hell, if the Rio Grande hadn't changed course after the floods of eighteen-thirty, San Elizario would still be part of Mexico. Before I left the restaurant, Anna promised to take me over there tomorrow to see Louis Cardis.
Later that night, Connie and I made love for the first time without Belle involved. Belle sat out that night, because she had just started her monthlies and was feeling none too chipper. Without Belle in the mix, our lovemaking was slow and gentle. Connie really, really liked that. Everyone within three blocks probably knew how much she enjoyed it, just from the noise she made. When we took a breather, Belle joined us for some post sex cuddling.
Belle felt good enough to tease Connie about how loud she was.
"Tyler, you should have heard her in Santa Fe. It was so bad, we couldn't pleasure each other at the same time, because I had to gag her with a scarf when I made love to her. I think we are going to have to get a ranch instead of a house in town, or else the sheriff will be at our door every time we make love to her..."
I was cracking up already and Connie was as red as a beet as Belle kept talking.
"... the sheriff will think someone is being murdered or, if she starts wailing in Comanche, he will think that wild Indians are attacking. Have you ever in your life heard anything like that whooping thing she does? My goodness, it is blood curdling."
When I finished laughing, tears were running down my cheeks and Connie was punching me in the arm.
"It wasn't that funny," Connie grumbled.
That set me off again. I think one of the best things in my
relationship with the women in my life, was our ability to make each
other laugh.