"I'm kinda fascinated by the old west," Genise said as she served us. "I'm half Native American. My old man is full-blooded Shoshone."
"No shit?" Shannie said.
Does that make her a Native-African-American, I wondered.
"Yeah shit," Genise slid a bottle across the tabletop to me. She poured two glasses of wine. "I love hearing about the shit that happened to my people out west."
Oh boy, I thought.
That's how the evening went, Genise and Shannie pried into each others lives, I commented to myself. I may as well have been invisible. I buried myself in Genise's photography.
An hour later, Genise said she had to get to work. Thank God for small favors, I thought.
"You need a ride?" Shannie asked.
"I'll catch a Jitney," Genise said.
"Really, it's not a problem, I'd love to give you a ride."
"Excellent Eggs," Genise giggled.
I popped my head up and gave Genise the-mother-of-dirty-looks. Till then, I never heard another person use that phrase, after an hour's conversation - which Shannie used it once - Genise was aping her. Bitch, I thought.
A cool breeze greeted us as we stepped into the night. Like a beaten dog, I realized my spot and climbed into the backseat. Shannie drove across Ventnor Avenue into the heart of the Casino district.
"You got my number," Genise said stepping from the car. "Call me sometime." As I pushed the seat forward Genise slammed the door.
"Bitch," I yelled after her.
"That's right," she called back over her shoulder. "I'm a Babe In Total Control of Herself." She flipped me off as she wiggled past an ornate fountain.
"What crawled up your ass?" Shannie asked as I reclaimed the passenger seat.
"Whatever." I lowered the seat and closed my eyes. I thought of the previous night, it seemed another lifetime. Shannie found a new distraction, someone else to take her mind off Count. I wished we could be each others distraction - if I could be so lucky. I fell asleep to the hum of the road.