Half Share

I laughed softly.

“What?” Brill asked without looking down.

“Talk about your extended family,” I said.

Beverly chimed in with, “I was thinking dysfunctional, myself. I think every one of us is crazed.”

“Dysfunctional, no. Crazed, definitely. Every last one of us,” I told her.

We managed to get everybody on the big lift and went down in a single group. When the doors opened to the heat and moisture of the oh-two deck, we streamed off the lift in a herd. The corridors were not crowded. It was still relatively early, but the groups of people who were there parted in front of us and we sailed past.

When we got to Jump! the group broke up into table-sized bunches, some people choosing to pull tables together, others simply settling in threes and fours. The waitresses were kept hopping for a few ticks while everybody got drinks and the evening began to ramp up. Pip sat with Bev, Brill and me at a four-top and I looked around to see if I could see anybody familiar.

Brill leaned over to me and said, “The Hedley is getting underway in a couple of stans. Al’s not here.”

“Yeah, I know. I looked it up earlier. The Sigler left, too, so I’m safe from whats- his-name.” I winked at her. “I’m just getting a feel for the room.”

Pip laughed. “A feel for the room? You planning on moving in?”

“No, I just wanna see how the people are grouping up.”

Brill didn’t look comfortable and I asked, “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “I don’t do well on these last night outings. Everybody seems so desperate.” She laughed self-consciously.

I looked at Bev who gave me a little shrug.

I turned back to Brill and said, “Do something for me?”

She barked a short laugh. “You mean something else? I’m already out, wearing the clothes you asked for, and I’ve got your stone around my neck. What more do you want?”

“Close your eyes. I’m going to whisper a word in your ear. Hold it in your mind. Then finish your drink before you open your eyes.”

She looked at me like I was crazy, but she closed her eyes. I leaned into her ear, savoring the scent of her under the ship’s shampoo and soap and whispered. She giggled, but she finished her drink before opening her eyes.

“Now what’s that supposed to do?” she asked.

“Maybe nothing. But you gotta believe,” I told her and grinned.

Pip looked at me funny then but he didn’t say anything.

Beverly shot me with an expression that asked, “What the hell are you up to?” I just shrugged and waited.

The waitress came back then and put a drink in front of Brill.

“But I didn’t order—” she started to say.

The waitress pointed toward the bar. “It’s from the gentleman over there.”

We all looked and saw a nice-looking guy in a leather jacket and pullover. He raised his glass in silent toast.

Beverly ducked her head a little bit when she saw him and started to giggle. “The guy in the jacket?” she asked from behind a hand.

The waitress nodded. “Yup. That’s him.” She continued on to deliver an order to the next table.

Brill leaned into Beverly and asked, “You know him?”

“Oh, yeah,” Bev said with an emphatic nod of her head. “You should go over and thank him for the drink.”

“Really?” Brill said and looked again. He still smiled at her, waiting for her reaction.

“Oh, yeah,” Bev said again.

Brill looked puzzled and shrugged. “If you’re setting me up, Beverly Arith, I will make you suffer in ways you cannot possibly fathom,” she said darkly.

“You already do, hon,” Bev assured her with a smile so warm, two of the ice cubes in my drink melted.

“And I should go thank him for the drink?” she asked again.

Bev nodded very solemnly. “You’ll thank me tomorrow.”

The way she said it made even Pip blush.

Brill looked at me and I just said, “Remember the word.”

She made up her mind stood up. I was so proud of her because she did not just stand—she really stood. Not the usual Brill stoop so she did not bang her head, but straight, tall, and proud like that day we sailed into Chez Henri. She picked up her drink and sashayed over to where he waited. As she approached, he slid off the stool and dropped almost to the level of the bar, but held a stool for her before getting back on his own.

I looked at Beverly and asked, “You sent her off to thank a midget?”

“He’s not that short. The angle and standing next to Brill makes it look worse than it is. He’s about a meter and a quarter. A little more maybe.”

“But you know how sensitive she is about her height…”

“Oh, I don’t think height is going to be an issue tonight,” she said softly with a peculiar emphasis on the word height.

Pip was leaning in on the conversation, too. “Why not?” he asked.

Bev shrugged. “What he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in length and width,” she said with an evil grin. I thought Pip might swallow his tongue at that, but when she added, “And he can lick his own eyebrows.” I was very glad I did not have a mouthful of my drink.

I turned to her. “You are evil.”

“Thanks,” she said smugly.

“I think you guys are becoming a corrupting influence on Ish. He’s change a lot since leaving the galley.”

Bev and I looked at each other and shrugged. “We try,” she said. “As much as we can.”

“I suspect this is just the beginning. Things are likely to be pretty lively in Betrus, too, don’t you?” I asked Bev.

“Yes. Yes, I think you’re right,” she answered.

Pip just shook his head and laughed. “Someday I’m gonna be able to tell my grandkids I knew you.”

“Yeah, right. With your luck, you’ll be in the cell next to us,” I told him.

I ordered another round when the waitress came by and the room was already growing warm as more people arrived and overloaded the air conditioners.

About half a stan later, Brill came back to the table with an odd, dazed look on her face and the man in tow. “Hey, guys, this is Steve from the Calhoun. Steve, I think you know Beverly, that’s Pip, and this is Ishmael.”

“Hi, Steve,” Bev said. “I thought you were getting off the old Hound.”

He shook his head. “Naw, you know how it is, once you get a bunk broke in, it’s hard to change.”

Bev raised her glass to that.

Brill broke in with, “Um, I’m going to go see Steve’s—”

Bev interrupted with, “Etchings?”

“Yes, etchings. Exactly.”

“We’ll leave a light on for you,” Bev said.

Brill looked at Bev with the oddest expression I think I’ve ever seen on anybody’s face then turned to me. I smiled and winked. “Remember,” I told her.

When they had gone, Pip said, “Sweet python of Pythias, those were tight pants he had on.”

Bev nodded, slurped an ice cube out of her drink, and started crunching it. “Steve knows how to get a girl’s attention, no question about it.”

I turned to Pip and said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a little inadequate right now.”

“He’d make a horse feel inadequate,” Pip said with more than a little awe in his voice. “He won’t hurt her, will he?”

Bev laughed. “Only if she wants him to.”