Their’s was the typical whirlwind romance. Standing Kathleen up was something Gene never had to worry about again. In the next few days, she met his brothers, Edward and Parnell. She was disappointed to find out the Chevy Coupe belonged to Edward, not Bill . Oh well, a fellow with a car would have been nice. Kathleen knew both brothers had wives back in Louisiana so was surprised to see Parnell with a woman clinging to his arm at a carnival one night. “Isn’t that Parnell? Who….?” she asked, as Bill steered her away. She’d really liked Parnell. Why would he do such a thing? He spoke lovingly of his wife and girls, so why? It didn’t make sense.
Bill had had a few beers as they walked around, but was nowhere drunk. In fact, he was more charming than usual, making Kathleen feel like the luckiest girl in Texas to be on his arm. They strolled up to a gambling booth where a red-head barker called out for them to come try their luck at knocking down stacks of bottles with a baseball. A cute little pekingese lay curled up on a cushion on the counter. “Knock down three stacks of bottles and win this puppy for your girl,” the barker called out, reeling Bill in.
“I’m gonna get you that puppy,” said Bill, scooping up three balls. He hurled them, only knocking the top bottle off each stack. He went for another round, managing to knock to bottles off the stack a couple of times.
Kathleen quickly grew disturbed with this game. The bottom bottles were clearly weighted and weren’t going over. “Come on. This game is rigged. Those bottles aren’t going over. I don’t want that puppy, anyway.” Bill was determined to win. He kept digging bills out of his pocket and hurling balls at the bottles, a total waste in this crooked game. Kathleen was appalled at the waste and his stubborn refusal to give it up. Incredibly, he’d lost forty-five dollars and was in a heated argument with the barker by the time Edward strolled up, ready to egg the trouble on. Kathleen quickly surmised, Having grown up tough, Edward was an aggressive bully who liked nothing better than a fight.
“Get on out of here,” the barker demanded. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“This is a rigged game. I ain’t leaving till I get my money back.” Bill shouted. By now, Edward was standing shoulder to shoulder with him, anxious to start punching. The barker rang a buzzer and two bruisers with nightsticks showed up. Bill understood the situation and left out of “consideration for Kathleen,” promising to be back after he took her home.
“You do that!” one of them replied.
He had a couple more beers on the way home, never making it back for his money.
This was a totally new experience for Kathleen, a sheltered young woman of nineteen. She’d never been around drinking,gambling, cheating, or violence.She didn’t know if she’d wanted to see Bill again.
Nutsrok 