{"id":7101,"date":"2010-12-10T22:02:53","date_gmt":"2010-12-11T06:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beltdrivebetty.com\/wyzwmnsworld\/?page_id=7101"},"modified":"2010-12-10T22:02:53","modified_gmt":"2010-12-11T06:02:53","slug":"chapter-38","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/?page_id=7101","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 38"},"content":{"rendered":"

the sound: <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 Rough Boy<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 Blue Jeans Blues<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top – Give it Up<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 I Thank You<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 Just Got Paid<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 I\u2019m Bad, I\u2019m Nationwide<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 Tush<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>TT Top \u2013 Legs<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 Sharpe Dressed Man<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>ZZ Top \u2013 La Grange<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I came back to myself to the sound of voices raised in anger and I realize that something is going on at our very table. There\u2019s a kind of tension that I\u2019ve previously not seen amoungst the men and the women are fretful and worried.<\/p>\n

I glance about me to see 10 to 12 men striding across the floor towards us. All of them are wearing vests of a color and they are all rather obviously clubbers. Two of them are carrying what looks to be whips and the fellow in the lead has the largest head of long thick straight white hair I have ever seen and an equally long grey beard a la ZZ Top. As they get closer I see the piercing blue eyes and I can\u2019t help but think that in another time I might have followed those eyes somewhere.<\/p>\n

The men at our table and the few that are sitting strategically placed around us are all getting tense\u2026.very very tense.<\/p>\n

I look at Little Man and he is removing his crucifix and handing it to Wonder Woman and I watch suspiciously as Robert pulls the Executioner\u2019s cap off and they all proceed to fill the cap with valuables\u2026watches, rings, wallets and even a couple of dental plates. It occurs to me that these guys are loaded for bear\u2026.they are preparing for a fight. Robert hands the hat over the back of the booth to Rosie.<\/p>\n

\u201cuhhhhhmmm\u2026what\u2019s going on?\u201d I ask
\n\u201cshut up and watch\u201d comes from Rosie standing behind me behind out booth.<\/p>\n

\u201cwhat the fuck is it with these people telling me to shut up alla time?\u201d I think just as the white haired fellow makes it to the end of our long oval table.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobert\u2026it\u2019s time\u201d he says without preamble.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreybeard\u2026.what brings you to our neck of the woods?\u201d Robert replies.<\/p>\n

Greybeard looks us up and down the table and then leans forward on his hand, his short gloves showing how large his hands are…I can see his knuckles and the huge silver rings he\u2019s wearing. \u201cRobert\u2026I\u2019m not here to play games\u2026there\u2019s no need for this thing to get any nastier than it already is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert smiles, and it isn\u2019t pretty\u2026\u201doh it\u2019s already nasty\u2026but it\u2019s gonna get lots worse if you don\u2019t walk away\u201d. An uneasy tremor runs through the men sitting at our table and the tension now feels physical. I start to say that I\u2019d like to get up, to leave and Rosie leans into the back of our table and places her hand on my shoulder as if to say \u201cnow is not the time\u201d<\/p>\n

I have visions of something starting between these men and me stuck in the middle\u2026so the trembling I\u2019m doing under Rosie\u2019s hand is highly reminiscent of a caged animal…yup that\u2019s how I feel\u2026.caged and invisible.<\/p>\n

The two fellows with whips step up on either side of Greybeard and one of them leans in to say \u201cwe can make this easy\u2026or we can make this hard\u201d. I hear the unmistakable sound of a pistol coming out of its holster beside me and now I\u2019m more frightened than I have been in a long long time\u2026yet again.<\/p>\n

Robert leans forward on the table and places his handgun in front of him pointing at Greybeard. \u201cWhere the hell did that come from?\u201d I think as I\u2019m trying to remember where Robert could have had that.<\/p>\n

Greybeard and both of his henchmen back up a step and Greybeard says \u201cRobert, it doesn\u2019t have to come to this\u2026all you have to do is full fill your side of the bargain…simply pay up\u2026it\u2019s not rocket science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert smiles again and says \u201cI have every intention\u201d and he places his empty hand on my shoulder closest to him.<\/p>\n

Greybeard looks at me as I cower in my seat and smiles at me kindly. \u201cShe\u2019s a child\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s Canadian\u201d Robert replies, as if that sets precedence for my looking young\u2026\u201dher name is Baby\u201d<\/p>\n

Greybeard\u2019s eyebrow rises\u2026\u201dwhen?\u201d he asks<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m ready\u201d comes Robert\u2019s reply<\/p>\n

One of Greybeard\u2019s men starts forward and Greybeard stops him with a raised hand\u2026\u201dthis is the last time I\u2019m asking Robert, next time I\u2019m taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see\u201d snorts Robert as Greybeard turns on his heel followed by his men \u201cyes\u2026we\u2019ll just see\u201d he finishes as if to himself.<\/p>\n

[note from Wyz…ya’ll realize that I’ve changed the names right?…
\n~I’m just saying~]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the sound: ZZ Top \u2013 Rough Boy, ZZ Top \u2013 Blue Jeans Blues, ZZ Top – Give it Up, ZZ Top \u2013 I Thank You, ZZ Top \u2013 Just Got Paid, ZZ Top \u2013 I\u2019m Bad, I\u2019m Nationwide, ZZ Top … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":6871,"menu_order":38,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7101","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7102,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7101\/revisions\/7102"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}