"Come on, mama! We'll be late!" Mr. Diortti fretted.
"Papa! We always leave at the same time, go the same way, stop at the same lights, and get there at the same time!" Mrs. Diortti remonstrated, puffing from the brisk walk, "Twenty minutes early! Ah! To just retire!"
"Pah! To retire is to die! Look at Manuel, and Frisco! Rotting in their rocking chairs!" He looked both ways after the pedestrian light changed, then led his wife across the street.
"At least let's have a vacation!" she sighed, "To the beach or to the mountains! It would do us good!"
"Perhaps good for the body. Of course good for the soul. But not good for the bank account! AHHH!" He cried out upon arriving at his small diner, "Get AWAY from my store front, trash!"
The girl leaning against the lamppost stood up straight and looked at Mr. Diortti, eyes wide.
"Now, now papa! Be nice and don't make a scene!" Mrs. Diortti tried to calm him down, looking apologetically at the girl while putting her hand on his arm.
"This used to be a good neighborhood, but whores, pimps, and druggies like YOU are ruining it!" he shook her hand off and wagged a finger in the girl's face.
She pursed her lips and glanced up and down the street. She then shook her head at him, and leaned back against the post.
"Heh heh!" Yvette chuckled, nudging Maureen, "Looks as if the newbie's run into Papa Don Diortti!" she pointed across the street at the scene unfolding in front of Don's Snack Shoppe.
"Newbie is right!" Maureen yawned, "Look at that plain getup she's got on! Half the tricks are gonna pass her by thinking she's waiting for a boyfriend or parent!"
"Ummm. Doesn't look half bad, though." Estella walked up, "After all, it's what's under the hood and how sweet it runs is all that a trick's interested in, right?"
"I suppose. How much ya think she's chargin?"
"Better let her know."
"Nah, let Ricco let her know."
There were chuckles all around at that.
Mr. Diortti entered his diner and began mopping the floor.
"Papa! You mopped it last night!" Mrs. Diortti sighed as she opened the safe and pulled out the cash register drawer.
"I know what I'm doing!"
"PAPA!"
But Mr. Diortti had already grabbed the dirty pail of water and had flung the contents out the door toward the lamppost. He stuck his head out to let out a short laugh and a retort before noticing that his intended victim was stepping back to her lamppost, quite dry. He ignored the look she threw at him and bustled back indoors.
Business was very good that morning. Customers streamed in and out of the diner, picking up pre-made breakfast and lunch boxes, or sitting in for the blue plate special. "At least nobody is saying anything about that tramp outside!" he whispered to his wife as he closed the cash register after another sale.
"That's because the poor girl is not there most of the time." She whispered back.
He stopped a moment to reflect, and realized that it was true.
The mood was not so pleasant outside, "Damn!" Estella muttered to Maureen, "What the HELL is she doing? Giving away freebies? Half the tricks are going with HER!"
"Beats me! Two of them are my regulars. Damn bitch! That's another of my regulars she's angling for!"
The girl and Maureen's regular were talking. She shook her head and pointed up the street toward them. He looked reluctant and began to walk toward them.
"Hiya Reefer!" Maureen greeted him, "Need some relaxin' before the big deal?"
"Hi Maureen. I dunno." He glanced back at the girl.
"Hey, it’s a free country, but you get what you pay for." She pointed out, "Now THAT hussy is new around the block, and I can tell you can tell too, right?"
"Yes…" Reefer was still bemused.
"So what's she asking for?"
"Hmm, about two thirds of what you ask. Says she's new and needs to learn how to work the equipment."
"Oh really?" Maureen and Estella exchanged glances.
"And made a unique deal."
"Like what?" Estella asked, trying to make a play herself for Reefer.
"Fifty percent back if I showed her a new technique."
Estella swore under her breath.
"Well," Maureen said hastily, "Unless you can wait, she's unavailable now."
Reefer glanced back and saw the girl opening the door to her upstairs apartment for her latest customer. "Hmmm, maybe later. I'm in a hurry!" He turned to walk away.
"Hey Reefer, do me a favor?" Maureen asked.
"Whatcha want, other than a weddin' ring?"
Maureen laughed nervously, "Just tell me. What did she say about us?"
"That I should see either of you two if I really wanted a good time. 'Course I already knew that, right?"
"Right!" Maureen was stunned.
"Bye!" He walked briskly up the street.
"Do you believe THAT?" Estella gasped.
"Yeah."
"What do you make of it?"
"That she's a stupid bitch being in this business!" Maureen turned away.
"I dunno, Mau-Mau." Estella thought, looking at the vacated lamppost thoughtfully, "Playing up to the egos of her customers makes her a pretty smart bitch."
------
"It's been a good day!" Mr. Diortti announced to his wife as he eyed the cash drawer contents before closing it. The afternoon lull had set in.
"Yes, for everyone." She replied, looking through the window. The girl was talking briefly with a customer. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek before departing. She waved at him, then glanced into the store. Mrs. Diortti quickly made herself look busy.
The bell tinkled on the door. Mr. Diortti looked up and scowled, "WHAT do YOU want?"
Mrs. Diortti glanced up. It was the girl, standing hesitantly at the entrance.
"I'm hungry. I hear you have nice hamburgers here."
"You heard right. Nice hamburgers for nice people! You're not nice, though!"
"PAPA!" Mrs. Diortti rebuked him.
"I don't run a charity!"
"I can pay." She pulled out a few bills from her pocket.
"Her money is good, Papa! Sit down dear!"
"In the back!"
"Papa! She doesn't wear any less than our granddaughters do!" She turned to her, "Sit where ever you want, dear. A hamburger you say?"
"Yes, please." She said, walking to the back and sitting in a booth with her back to the door.
"Get her money first!"
"Papa!" Mrs. Diortti sighed as she prepared the hamburger.
Another customer walked in, "I need a fast delivery!" he announced, walking up to the cash register.
"Yes sir!" Mr. Diortti beamed, "What would you like?"
He pulled out a gun and shoved it into Mr. Diortti's chest, "Let's say everything you've got in the register!"
"Aaahhh!" Mrs. Diortti cried out, backing away.
"Shut up, old bag! Gimmie the money or I'll blow you away!"
"Hmph! I would rather-" Mr. Diortti puffed.
"Give it to him, papa!" Mrs. Diortti shook with fear.
"Listen to yer lady, old man!"
Scowling, Mr. Diortti opened the register and scooped out the large bills, slamming them on the counter. Chuckling, the robber grabbed the stack and backed away.
He turned to run, only to trip and sprawl headlong on the floor.
The girl, who had tripped him, dropped onto his back with her knees, pinned his face to the ground, reached over, and grabbed his wrist. He howled and bucked, but she hopped up into the air and came down heavily on his back. He loosened his grip on the gun, and she had it.
She shoved cold steel into the nape of his neck, "Now lie still, or I'll let some air into your thick skull!" she hissed, "Spread 'em!"
Obediently, he spread out onto the floor. She got up, gun still in his sight, stepped around, and planted a foot onto the hand still holding the money, "LET GO." She said in a tone of voice that would not brook disobedience, tapping the foot that was on his hand.
His fingers opened. Mr. Diortti lost no time retrieving his money. Mrs. Diortti was already on the phone to the police.
--------
"You'll have to come by and make a statement." Henrique pulled his prisoner to a halt by the door to talk with the Diorttis
"We will be glad to!" Mr. Diortti declared. Mrs. Diortti nodded.
"You'll regret it, old man!" the burglar muttered under his breath, "OW!" he howled as Henrique pulled up on his hands that were handcuffed behind him.
"Enough of that! We'll just add threatening a witness to grand larceny and using a weapon during a holdup!" Henrique said roughly, patting the weapon stuck in his back pocket, "If you haven't heard, our dear chief of police, just back from his vacation with Cornazon, has a nice fast track program for animals like you! Not that it ever was suspended during his absence, mind you." Henrique nodded to the couple, "You can come by anytime in the next several days. Have a nice afternoon!"
"Thank you Henrique!" Mrs. Diortti said.
"Well, we had to wait longer for this robbery than the last one!" Mr. Diortti remarked, "Maybe things ARE getting better!"
"I suppose!" Mrs. Diortti sighed. She walked to the back booth and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Are you enjoying that?" she asked, bending down.
"Umm hmmm!" she nodded, chewing on a bite she'd just taken on the hamburger.
"Now that's a good hamburger, isn't it?" Mr. Diortti asked her.
She swallowed, "Oh yes! Delicious!" she agreed, just before taking another bite.
"She's starving, papa! Let's let her eat."
"Of course! Of course!" he went back to recount the bills and compare them to the receipts. One large bill was missing, but he wanted to make sure he hadn't miscounted. Despite his bluster, he was still shaking from the experience.
She soon finished her hamburger and came up to the cash register, "How much do I owe you?" she asked, digging out some bills from her pocket.
"Well, let's see." Mr. Diortti ignored the look his wife shot at him, "One deluxe hamburger, fries, and two teas. Plus tax, that'll be 35.50."
She flipped through the bills and found a hundred.
"Oh!" he replied, slapping his forehead, "I forgot the afternoon lunch discount!" He made a big deal of hitting some keys. NO SALE came up on the display, "We owe you a deluxe meal, it seems!"
"But-" She held the bill out.
"You saved me over 900 catching that thief, plus giving us the pleasure of putting him away for a long time! I'm missing a single bill, I think, but last time I lost 580." He slammed the register shut, "Sorry, no refunds!"
"Weeell, okay. But I'll be back for that deluxe, you know!" She warned him, turning away to leave.
Mrs. Diortti shook her head, smiling, "Don, sometimes you set me spinning!"
"You always do!" he said, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her on the cheek. She chuckled softly.
"Oh! Pardon me!"
It was the girl. She was holding a fifty bill by her fingertips, "I found this under the booth seat over there." She bobbed her head in the general direction of the booth, "It must have spilled out of his hand when I tripped him."
It HAD been a fifty he was missing. Mr. Diortti sighed and took the bill, "I am sorry for my harsh words to you this morning." He apologized, "And for the dirty water too."
"That's okay." She said, "I didn't get wet."
"You are a nice girl in a bad business. I hope you go bust and find a better one soon." He said sincerely, "Until then, you won't find a better lamppost to stay under than the one in front of my shop."
She smiled, "Thank you."
She stepped outside, went to the lamppost, and leaned against it.
"Ahh! Where are my manners?" Mrs. Diortti sighed, "I'm getting old!"
"What, mama?"
"We never asked her for her name!"
"We'll ask tomorrow when she comes in for her lunch."
Mrs. Diortti wasn't sure, but she thought the girl
held her head a little higher and prouder than before.