Toward the back of Rose’s, the room widened and there were tables in the center of the floor as well as the booths lining the walls. I could see a tall, dark figure stand and pull out a chair. A smaller figure, a woman, got up from it and moved toward the counter; it was Moira Clancy. With her legs shaved. She wore a severe white silk blouse with long sleeves, a thick leather belt, and a flared skirt. She carried a bag of pink plastic that matched her high heels. Her hair was styled, fluffy and neat. Even her glasses looked clean. She walked into a door next to the counter marked LADIES. After a minute I removed my nose from the glass and entered the restaurant. Marched boldly past the counter to the restroom, and slid through the door. There was a carpet in front of the mirror, and Clancy stood on it, admiring herself. Tucked the tail of her silk shirt smoothly under her belt. She saw me in the mirror and smiled, grabbed my hand.

“Oh, Sally! How wonderful to see you! Please tell me how you all are. Sam and that girl and Rennel, too. I never get to see them anymore!”

I could feel myself frowning. Her face looked soft and vague beneath the powder she’d applied. She smelled good. I looked quickly at her hands, but her knuckles were clean and the yellow stains were gone.

“What the hell are you all got up for? What are you doing in this place?” I asked.

“Don’t you know? I’m a secretary now. I come here with my employer. He’s a wonderful man. A lawyer. So intelligent. He’s like a father to me. I have to take notes when he has a business lunch. Isn’t it a lovely place?”

“How did you get to be a secretary? I thought you were a piss ladler.”

“But I made enough money on that job to take a course in typing and shorthand. I have a beautiful apartment with another patient of my psychiatrist. She’s very nice. We became friends in the waiting room. My psychiatrist is proud of both of us. Let me give you my address!”

She pulled out a steno pad and wrote it out quickly.

“You must come to see me. How is Sam?”

“He and Carlotta had a baby.”

She stopped and lifted her head, the paper clasped between her two clean fingers. Her eyes were wide, and then she flashed her teeth. “How wonderful! How wonderful. Is it a boy? Sam always wanted a boy. Are they all right? Do you think I could take them something?”

“They’re okay, I guess. It’s a boy. They haven’t named him yet. How come you don’t know this yet? Don’t you see Rennel anymore?”