The double doors to the lobby from the bar were usually kept open. Danny was standing behind the bar, seemingly intent on polishing glasses but actually watching carefully late that afternoon when his sister-in-law stood her first real lineup and got picked to go out back to party for the first time at the Redlite Ranch.

To say that he had mixed emotions as he watched would be almost superfluous. On the one hand, she knew what she was doing, she’d more or less been there before, and this only made it official. On the other hand . . . well, shit, there it was. Like he’d told Candy and Mallory, like he told Shirley and Patty later, he’d known "Amelia" most of his life, and it was damn hard to not step in and say something. But, it was her decision, after all; she was of age and didn’t have to answer to Danny. If that was what she wanted to do with her life, more power to her. Considering what he’d been watching for the last several weeks, he couldn’t really say that it was wrong . . . but his gut told him it was damn hard to say it was right, too.

The one saving grace in the whole thing was that while she may have been his sister-in-law, she wouldn’t be much longer, and he wasn’t going to mind being shed of his relations with that family, especially not after this. Danny knew Bob and Linda Austenfelter, "Amelia" and Marsha’s parents well, of course, and figured that they’d be damn disappointed in the way their daughters had turned out: a lesbian and a prostitute. At least "Amelia" had a reason in that she’s trying to do the right thing by her children, he thought, and I’ll give her that, but good grief. It was one thing to approach this place intellectually, but when it was someone you knew from outside, especially someone he knew as well as he did her, it was different.

As far as that went, he probably wasn’t going to be seeing Bob and Linda very much in the future, and maybe, if he was lucky, not at all. That might make it just a touch inconvenient with his parents, but given Marsha, he had a good excuse to avoid them. His almost ex-in-laws were still involved with the West Turtle Lake Club, and like his parents, still spent a lot of time there. Danny had pretty well already made up his mind he wasn’t going to have any more to do with the club than he had to in the future. The nudism had long since gotten old to him, after having been brought up with it – the same thing was pretty much true, for various and sometimes differing reasons, with all his brothers and sisters – and he’d mostly stayed with it himself because of the volleyball. That had been about the only thing he and Marsha had in common the last few years that they both enjoyed – they had played in a number of sand court volleyball leagues over the years, both in and out of nudist camps. He and Marsha had made a pretty good mixed pair. Among the things that he’d left behind him in Florida had been a bunch of trophies. But volleyball was something else to leave behind him – and not seeing Bob and Linda would make it that much easier.

But as he thought of "Amelia" back partying in her work room for the first time, Danny did come to one rather surprising conclusion – when he got home, he was not going to try to cover up what he’d done here. Oh, he wasn’t going to do an interview for the Record-Herald about what it was like to be a bartender in a Nevada bordello, but at least in the family, he wasn’t going to keep it a secret, if for no more reason than that would mean "Amelia" wouldn’t have a secret to hold over him, to make him fear the truth being revealed. He figured he’d have to fuzz over some parts, skip some, like "Amelia" herself, but a lot of things could be covered by the statement that part of the deal about him working there was that he had to keep his hands off the merchandise. They didn’t have to know it was technically only during his working hours. Besides, there were a few stories that were just too good to not be able to tell when the timing was right – several about Jennlynn, for example, but Tonia and her "first party" and some of the background would be good, too. He wasn’t going to make a big deal out of them, but there was no point in keeping what he’d done totally a secret, either.

"You still all right with it?" he heard Shirley say.

"Yeah," he sighed. "About as all right as I’m going to get, anyway."

"Then how come you’ve got that glass polished like a mirror?" the shift manager smiled.

"Well, all right," he shrugged. "My mind is out back, and a few states away, OK? Yeah, I’m pretty much OK with it. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I guess I needed the reality check. And, it’s not like she’s going to be part of my life much longer, anyway."

"Danny, consider yourself lucky," Shirley smiled. "You’re a decent enough guy that it bothers you, and you’re not so hypocritical that you won’t admit it."

"I suppose," he sighed. "I was just standing here thinking that I don’t have the guts to tell her parents that they went oh-for-two on their daughters, so I guess it’s just as well that I probably won’t be able to." He shook his head and laughed. "Actually, I suppose it could have been worse."

"How?" Shirley smiled, seeing him in a good mood, rather than morose, for the first time in a couple hours.

"It just struck me what it would have been like if it had been her sister," he said. "My God, there would have been blood, guts, and feathers all over the lobby."

"Oh, you mean Marsha," Shirley laughed. "Yeah, that might have pissed you off some."

"It would have pissed me off lots," he smiled. "I mean, we went a couple years she wouldn’t let me into her, not that I wanted to be anyway. But I can just imagine finding her here, after that. Pissed? Yeah, you better believe it. And she’d be even more pissed that I caught her. What I caught her at was bad enough as it was."

"Danny, we’ve talked about this before," Shirley said quietly. "She had to do what rang her bell."

"That’s something I’ve learned here," he said. "What rings her bell is one thing. Lying about it and stringing me along is another. It was the second that pissed me off, not the first. Still does."

"Well, yeah," Shirley said, "you do have a point."

"You know what’s tough?" Danny shook his head. "I have to say that I have an awful lot of respect for people like Frenchy, like Jennlynn, just to name names of women who aren’t in the building right now, and I could name several who are. In most respects, I have to say that I admire them for what they are, their sensitivity, their brilliance, their courage." He shook his head and went on. "I just have trouble putting Amelia in the same category."

"You can’t put people into categories, Danny," Shirley said. "You know that. There’s as broad a range of people in this business as there is in any other."

"Yeah, I know," he nodded. "You know that, and I know that when I stop to think about it. But, we’re a damn small minority."

"At least there are a few of us," Shirley said. "And it is getting better. I mean, you don’t need to say anything more than ‘Jennlynn’ and let it go with that. She doesn’t fit into any category very easily." She glanced both ways, then dropped her voice. "You want to do a session tonight, get your mind off it?"

The sessions that Danny was having with Shirley were supposed to be a secret that only the now long-gone Frenchy knew about, since some people might consider it to be against the spirit of the rules, even though Shirley wasn’t a working girl any longer, not even carded, and the sessions took place over in the Sagebrush. "I don’t know that I’m up for it, considering today," he said.

"That’s the point," she said. "How to perform when you’re not up for it. That’s a little hard to learn sometimes, Danny, and harder for a man than it is a woman."

"Yeah, you’re right," he agreed. "Can’t do it till after Mike comes on at eight, though."

"That’s fine, I’m here anyway," she said. "I’ll wait till you leave, give you a few minutes, then head over."

"Works for me," she smiled.

Several minutes later, Shirley was telling Danny and a couple other people a story about a particularly crazy client at another place years before, whose idea of fun was to bring in huge piles of gooey soft food like Twinkies, and get several naked girls into a food fight. "It sounds like fun, and it is," she laughed. "Especially when you party afterward all covered up and sticky in smushed Ho-Hos and stuff. The maids who cleaned up afterward, they got pissed. But he paid real well and always tipped the maids."

"Yeah," Mallory agreed. "I had a regular once that used to come in with half a dozen cans of whipped cream. He really liked turning me into a chocolate sundae, but boy, that was a mess."

"That sounds like something different," the client having a drink with Mallory said. "Maybe I ought to try that some time."

"Any time you’re ready, big boy," she smiled. "The only thing is, I charge extra if it’s refrigerated. That shit is cold."

"Can I bring some cherries?" the guy asked.

"Hey check it out," Mallory laughed. "The guy is kinky, too. Wants to bring his own virgins along to add to the party."

Mallory and the guy teased each other back and forth for a minute – his foot was well and truly in his mouth and he knew it, but laughing hard, they finished their drinks and headed out back to party, just as Danny looked up and saw "Amelia," wearing a frilly and revealing teddy, bring her client up front all snuggly and huggy. They were friendly for a moment out near the front door, and she asked him to come back and see her some time before he left. In a minute, he was out the door, and she headed into the bar, where Danny and Shirley and Patty were waiting.

"Well, Amelia," he asked. "How’d it go?"

"Pretty good," she said. "It was a little awkward there for a couple minutes, but we got into it just fine."

"Well, good," he said with a sincerity he didn’t know if he actually felt, and feelings that he would have to deal with later. "I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate your first party at the Redlite Ranch."

*   *   *

Danny and "Amelia" saw each other several times a day over the next few days, and talked a little each time, but never with any real depth. But, she seemed to be taking to the life here like a duck to water, and really, when he stopped to think about it, he wasn’t surprised much.

But, they never had time for a serious one-on-one talk since Shirley had yet to put her on an early shift, which was when Danny really got the opportunity to know the girls as people. And, it was probably just as well – he realized that it would be a reality check that would be a drag on both of them. He knew he was only going to be a bartender for another couple weeks, but she wasn’t likely to change much; she’d already defined what she was, before she came to the Redlite Ranch in the first place, and the place had only firmed up a decision already made.

A little to Danny’s surprise, the place slowed down a lot as Christmas approached. He had figured it would be full of lonely men looking for a little feminine companionship to take the edge off the loneliness of the season, but it wasn’t the case, and both George and Shirley said that was the way the business usually was. Several of the girls on long shifts, especially those who had children, were given a few days off to make a quick trip home to do the holiday thing, so the number of girls on the premises was as small as Danny had ever seen it.

But that didn’t mean that they didn’t celebrate a Christmas of the exiles. For once, there was a sign on the door Christmas afternoon: "No lineups between 2 and 4 for Christmas dinner, but feel free to come join us." For that matter, George made a point of inviting a few of the regular locals he knew would be otherwise by themselves, too.

And they did have a Christmas dinner. Danny and George rearranged many of the tables in the lounge into one huge family table, and they served turkey and all the trimmings family style. They sang a few carols, then George and Ruth and Shirley handed out small gifts to those assembled, mostly of the gag variety, and, as they say, a good time was had by all. Considering.

Danny really would have liked to have been home that Christmas, back in the arms of his family, getting started on the project of putting his family ties back together again. But his lawyer in Piute Wells had said it wasn’t a good idea, so he didn’t go. In a way, these people made a perfectly adequate temporary family, under the circumstances, and in some ways it was one of the best Christmases he’d had in years.

What made it terribly poignant for Danny was the presence of Amelia – at least in the building now, he was learning to use her work name, although when he thought of her outside it was still Amy. Just for the moment, having her there was as close as he could have to really having family with him for Christmas. After all, he and Amy and Marsha and sometimes her parents and grandparents had celebrated holidays together before, several times. Now, there was one last time that the two of them would be together at Christmas, in a place that neither of them would have dreamed – and perhaps it was just as well that this was the last time, because it would be a tough one to put out of mind, at least for Danny, if they ever met at holiday festivities again.

She was feeling it, too. "It’s not like it used to be, is it, Danny?" she asked as they sat around in the lounge after helping pick up the tables and put everything back where it belonged.

"No, it isn’t," he said. "The funny thing is that I can’t tell if it’s good or bad by comparison."

"Yeah, I guess," she nodded. "We had some good times back then, but it got pretty sour there in recent years, so like if you compare this to last year, I don’t know if this isn’t better."

"Yeah, it sort of slid downhill," he said. "I wonder if Marsha and Sheena are with your folks today."

"Not that I know of," she said. "The parents were going to stay up north, as far as I knew. There was some discussion about them coming down, but since they knew that I wasn’t going to be there, I guess it wasn’t going to come off."

"What did you tell your folks about coming out here?" he asked.

"I told them I was going to be visiting a friend out west," she giggled. "I didn’t expect it to work out that I actually would be."

"I know we haven’t had much chance to talk," Danny said. "But you’re still OK with this?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said. "It’s taking a little getting used to, but I knew it would, and it’s coming along all right. This was supposed to be sort of a test run, anyway. If it works out, I’m probably going to work two, maybe three shifts in the summer. That’s still the plan, at this point. You’re heading back to Spearfish Lake as soon as the divorce is settled, right?"

"That’s the plan," he said. "I might hang on a couple days if there’s going to be a storm out on the plains or something, but I’m basically out of here when it happens. I don’t know if that’s where I’ll wind up in the end, but it’s a good place to take the next step of getting my head back on straight. A little to my surprise, this has been a good place for the first step."

She let out a sigh. "Danny, I wish it had worked out with you and Marsha. She treated you like shit the last few years, I knew it, and you didn’t deserve it. I never knew what the problem was until you told me about Sheena."

"I don’t know that she was all of the problem," he said. "The truth of the matter is that I was pretty blind and dumb, too. I should have seen long before I did that it wasn’t going to work out, but shit, I wanted to hold up my end of the deal. I tried, Amy. I really did."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "You took a lot more shit than I would have. I wouldn’t take that kind of shit from Bill," – her first husband, Danny knew – "and that was that. Sean, well, he’s a decent guy; it’s just that we don’t get along very well. We are managing to work it out with the kids pretty well, though. Still, he’d go apeshit if he knew I was here."

"No doubt," Danny agreed. "Like I told you back a few days ago, if anybody finds out, it won’t be through me."

"Thanks, Danny," she nodded. "You really are one of the good guys, no matter what Marsha may say about you. I guess I knew she was full of shit, even back when I was still dating Josh."

"That’s a long time ago," he said.

"Yeah, it is. And it probably was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life, listen to her and blow him off," she said thoughtfully. "And then listen to her screech about it for years, trying to justify her pushing me into it. He really turned out pretty decent, didn’t he?"

In all fairness to Marsha, Danny thought, that wasn’t quite how he remembered it happening – not even close; as far as he knew, and he knew pretty well, it had been much more her idea than Marsha’s. But, that didn’t matter anymore, so he let it slide. "I haven’t seen him much in the last few years," Danny told her. "But yeah, he turned out pretty good, a heck of a hard worker, and from talking with him and my dad and my sisters, he’s about to the point where he and Tiffany can quit struggling and start making some real money. The funny thing of it is that I don’t think it would have worked out as well if you’d wound up with him. Not taking anything away from you, but Tiffany really was the girl for him. They’ve pushed each other a lot to make themselves what they are, going back even to the time that you were still going out with him."

"I guess I realized that, eventually," she said. "At eighteen it doesn’t do your ego much good to get your boyfriend taken away by an eleven year old."

"That’s not exactly what happened, from what I hear," Danny smiled. "They were training and racing partners for years before they finally became boyfriend and girlfriend. But yeah, that’s sort of how it wound up in the end, but with a lot of dogs in the middle."

"I dropped him because Marsha said he was going nowhere," she shrugged. "Well, look where she wound up and I wound up and you wound up. It’s nice when you’re young and stupid and don’t know any better, isn’t it?"

"I never figured it would go through here," he told her. "We’d never have believed it, would we?"

"No, I guess not," she shook her head. "Hey, look Danny. No matter what Marsha says, I’m not pissed with you. In fact, I’m probably more pissed with her. If it weren’t for Sean and the kids, I’d probably move back to Camden or out here or something, just so I don’t have her on my ass all the time, too. Now, if she’s going to be living with Sheena as a pair of lesbians, it might just get worse. Christ knows what the folks are going to think about that. They probably don’t know, if I didn’t."

"That’s good to know, Amy," he nodded. "You’ve heard me say before that I’m not pissed at Marsha for being a lesbian, but for lying and stringing me along about it, using me and our marriage to hide behind. That doesn’t mean that you and I still can’t be friends."

"Who knows?" she smiled. "I may even head up to Spearfish Lake for a few days next summer while I’m on break."

"If you do, I’ll make sure and try not to call you Amelia," he laughed. "Not that I’m very good about it here."