Vy took her eyes away. He was ugly and close to middle years, and the other two didn’t look much better. But that didn’t count, she told herself as always. If you’re a professional, you’re a professional. Weed out the wild ones and the disgusting ones, but take anything else. You can’t afford to pick and choose the way amateurs do.

“We’re not allowed to unless you know somebody,” Sally said, giggling. “I’m sorry.”

It was almost like prohibition. Since the lid had been put on, you had to be careful. The cops were real bastards now.

“Well,” the man said, “maybe I do know somebody at that. Let me just check a little, and I’ll be back. You wait, now.”

He went over to the booth, and Vy saw one of the men, a heavy, red-faced fellow, grin and shake his head. He looked like a pleasant sort, and it was obvious that he was new at this sort of thing.

The first man pointed to Vy and the red-faced man looked over at her. He stared for a long while. Then he turned away.

“I think it’s gonna be okay,” Irene said.

Sally said, “I hope so. I’m tired.”

The first man went to the bar and got Ewald aside. From the corner of her eye, Vy could see the bill pass hands. Then Ewald walked over and said, “Girls, this is an old buddy of mine, Howard De Vries. He and his friends would like to buy you some drinks. Do you mind?”

Sally giggled again. “Not a little bit of it,” she said.

The man called De Vries winked at Ewald and went to collect his friends. Soon they were all seated in the large, semicircular booth.

“This is Billy Diamond,” De Vries said, gesturing at a thin, scared man with sandy hair; then, looking at the fellow with the red face, “and this is Pete Jones.”

Vy smiled at Jones and knew, instantly, that he would choose her.

“How about it?” De Vries asked, much more at ease now. “What you want to drink, girls?”

Jewel said, “Scotch.”

Ewald nodded and went away.

“I thought we was going to be out of luck,” De Vries said to Sally. “Things have changed.”

“Not too much,” Sally said, fluttering her eyes.

“No, guess not too much!”

Ewald returned with the drinks. The man called Diamond dropped a ten-dollar bill onto the plastic tray and said, “Keep the rest.”

Vy could feel Jones’s eyes on her. They were kind eyes, she could feel that, too. He would be all right.

After the introductions, it was clear that Jewel would be left out. She threw down her drink and said to De Vries, “You aim to go out afterwards?”

“Sure.”

“I know a way you can have twice as much fun.”

“Well,” De Vries said, “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

“You ain’t heard about Jewel?”

“Well, we’re sort of low on money tonight. And—”