Stoner had his eye on Louise. I could see that much. Sheila Owens was trying to keep his attention. The woman could talk to herself all night but now she thought she had company. The only trouble I could see was that Louise was stealing Sheila’s thunder. It was clear that Stoner was more interested in Louise than in anything Sheila had to say. I decided to take a wait-and-see approach but the sight of Louise made me heartsick.

Louise was drunk. Her head sagged to her chest and the glass she held tipped over, spilling a foam of beer. She tried to pull herself up by placing her elbows on the back of the bar but she was slipping. I wanted to help her. I wasn’t going to let her drop to the floor and offer Stoner the chance to come to her rescue. I’d seen enough.

Baptiste Yellow Knife came out of the bathroom just as I was about to enter. He was so dark Louise looked pale beside him. I stepped into the darkness and watched them. I wanted to see what she saw in him, what the attraction was. He sat down next to Louise and grabbed the back of her dress to steady her. I didn’t like how he claimed her. She smiled at him for a moment and then closed her eyes. Baptiste lit a cigarette and lifted two fingers to Sheila. “I’ve served you,” Sheila said, “now it’s time for you to be going. I don’t want no trouble.”

“And I ain’t giving you any,” Baptiste said. “Just one more round,” he said, “and we’ll be out of here.”

“I want you to know I’ve called the cops,” Sheila said. “They’ll be here anytime. You’d be doing yourself a favor to leave.”

“One more round,” Baptiste said a little louder.

I knew I’d gotten my cue to step in, but I wanted to see what would happen. Everything was still under control. I decided to wait. Sheila Owens took a swig of her own drink. “Can you read?” she asked Baptiste. When he lifted his head to her he was weak eyed with booze. “The sign,” she spoke again, “you read it?”

“Lady,” he said, and then as if to get another start at it, “lady, I not only read the sign, I memorized it.” She seemed almost pleased with the answer. “OK,” she said, “but I want you to know, I’m not responsible.”

“Sounds familiar,” Yellow Knife said.

Louise drooped toward Yellow Knife. She couldn’t drink another thing. She was ready to go under. Sheila slapped down two shots in front of him then went back to her talk with Stoner.

“I’m lining it up,” Baptiste said to Louise. Louise said something that made no sense.