“Name.”
“Gimea Gordons.”
“Age.”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Occupation.”
“I worked at a local speakeasy.”
“And why are you here today, Mr. Gordons?”
“Cause someone ratted me out! Little clothesline.”
“Elaborate please, Mr. Gordons.”
“Well, it started a few months ago…”
***
I was working at one of the local speakeasies in New York City as the bartender when a man came in looking for the Big Cheese. I wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t any of my business, see? So, I told him where to go. Couple of weeks later, the guy showed up again. He begged me to go talk to the Big Cheese for him, ask for more time. Now, I knew the drill. See, the Big Cheese, he’s more than just a speakeasy owner. Nah, he’s a loan shark. Works for the Mafia and all that jazz. People came to me all the time, not wanting to face the Big Cheese himself. I understand where they’re coming from. The Big Cheese, he’s a scary guy. I wouldn’t want to face him either if I couldn’t repay him. But, seeing as I worked for the Big Cheese, I wasn’t about to cheat him either. So, I told the guy that I couldn’t do that. He gave me that look that all those pitiful customers give me when I told them the same thing, then he walked to the back. I’m not sure how long he was in there, but it was longer than most. I had started to think I was going to have to clean up another body when that guy comes waltzing out of the Big Cheese’s office. Unlike everyone else that came out of there alive after facing the Big Cheese, he looked happy, like, really happy. My guess was, this guy was like a scoundrel or something, used his daughter to pay off his loan.
Next evening, in came this Flap. I was very confused, cause she didn’t look like a baby or nothing. This Flap, she looked like one of them girls that avoid illegal dealings as much as she can. I figured she must be lost or something, so I called her over and asked her what’s she doing here. She explained to me that her father had sent her here, something about making a payment. That’s when it clicked. This was the daughter of that guy from yesterday. Now that I knew who she was, I sent her to the Big Cheese, and she didn’t come back out the rest of the night. As I’m locking up that morning, I heard some crying coming from the back room. I’ll admit, I was a bit startled by the sound. You didn’t hear much crying in this speakeasy, unless Big Cheese hires a new girl, but this was in the wrong location. Against my better judgment, I went to see what was going on. I get to the back of the speakeasy and see there’s a door cracked open. I look in and see where all the hooch is brewed. Lo and behold, that Flap from earlier is in there too, sobbing like a baby.
“Hey, baby girl, what’s wrong?” I asked her. She looked at with these big, innocent blue eyes. Her face was stained from all the tears she had been shedding. I could tell she was scared witless, and the sight of me wasn’t comforting her much.
“M-My father…” she stuttered out.
“Yeah? What about him?”
“H-He told the loan shark I could make the best gin in New York. B-But I don’t know how to make gin.” That’s when I realized how bad this situation was. Here was this pretty girl, been sold out by her father, stuck in a situation just so her father have a chance to skip town while she gets killed. That was just low. I wasn’t about to let that happen either.
“I can make it for ya,” I offered. You shoulda seen the look on her face. She looked so happy; I thought she might hug me or something, for a second. So, I get in there and make a batch of good ole gin. It took the whole morning, but I got it done. I was about to go away, not expecting any reward like the Good Samaritan I was, when the girl insisted she give me some payment. I didn’t take anything much that first go round, I swear. I just took her necklace. It looked pretty nice, a shiny silver color, and I thought it could fetch a fair price.
I came back later that evening and go through another night of working the speakeasy. I can’t tell ya how proud I was to see people enjoying the gin I brewed. People seemed to like it more than the gin the Big Cheese brewed. On top of that, the necklace had fetched quite the nice price, so I had some extra sugar in my back pocket. Well, as I was closing up that morning, I heard that same crying again. I went to the back and saw the Flap again.
“What are ya still doing here, Flap?” I asked her when I saw her crying in the back again. She seemed surprised to see me again, like she had thought no one would hear her again.
“The man said the patrons liked my gin so much, that if I make more, he’ll clear more of my daddy’s debt. But if they don’t like it as much tomorrow, he’ll kill me and my daddy.” Guilt shot through me like a bullet. It was my fault she was stuck there, and now she couldn’t leave.
“That’s all right. I just make more, little Flap.” She wrinkled her nose at my calling her Flap, but she also seemed appreciative of my gesture. So I brewed another big batch of gin. Afternoon came, and I tried to leave again without payment, but the girl, she insisted on paying me. This time, I took her ring. It wasn’t better than the necklace, but it fetched a fair price too. So, I left, sold the ring, and then came back to my job that evening.
The third night, I didn’t even hear the crying, but I knew that chances of the girl having left yet were slim. The patrons were enjoying the hooch too much for the Big Cheese to let her go just yet. Sure enough, the Flap was still there. She didn’t seem surprised to see me that night, just as I wasn’t surprised to see her back there. I made the gin again without her even having to ask me. This time though, I thought about what I wanted from the Flap, and I had come to my decision when the time had come to receive the payment for my services.
“You see, little Flap, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been generous these past few nights, asking for only a little in return for the lot I’ve been giving you. I think it’s only fair that tonight I get a little compensation.” The Flap nodded her head.
“Yes sir, anything you want, sir.”
“I want you to marry me.” The Flap seemed a little taken aback by the proposal. I couldn’t blame her. It was an abrupt proposition. I gave her a few minutes to think it over before I pushed for an answer. “Well?” Now, I know what you're thinking, a bit much wasn't it? Well, let me pitch it to you this way. I am what many, in the world of justice and fairness, would refer to as a sleaze. The chances of my marrying well are pretty much none. So, the way I see it, this was a pretty decent woman. She was better than anyone else I had a chance of getting with, and since she was so insistent on paying me, I saw it as merely taking an advantage of an opportunity.
"Anything you wish," she answered me, seeming still a bit unsure about this, but letting it go through anyway. I smiled, satisfied with her answer. I made the gin again that day and returned that night to work my job. Now, me and the Flap both knew the Big Cheese wasn’t going to let her go so easily, so we knew if we was going to get married and get out of there, we’d have to pick the right time to do it. So, we kept up the usual charade of my making the gin, and we plotted how to get out of there. But, after a while, I noticed something odd. She seemed to be paying closer attention to me than before. I figured she was just becoming more attracted to my inner manliness, but I’m not sure anymore.
We would plot on ways to escape the Big Cheese. However, whenever I suggested a day I knew to be good, the Flap would just put it off. She’d convince me not to escape on that date, and we would push back the date even further. I was beginning to get really irritated with the Flap when it all came crashing down.
Today, I walked into the back to make some more gin, expecting to see my girl there like any other day. To my surprise, inside the brewery was not my girl, but a baby! I was starting to search the place when the door to the speakeasy got busted in. It seemed like all of the New York Police Department had come to take the Big Cheese and me down. I was thrown to the ground by some of those officers, handcuffed, and dragged to a patty wagon with the Big Cheese.
***
“You guys know the rest since it was you guys that brought me here.” I sighed a little and looked up towards the ceiling. “I can only hope that my little Flap is doing okay.”
“What did you say the name of your girl was again?” one of the officers asked me.
“Jennifer Cristal, but she liked to be called Jen,” I answered. “Why do you ask?” One of the officers shifted forward a bit, leaning closer to me, a serious look in his eye.
“Well, you see Mr. Gordons, Miss Jen was the one who ratted you out. When we invaded the speakeasy, we found there wasn’t any money at all in the place. It appears that she robbed you and your Big Cheese blind. Now we’ve got reports coming in from Chicago about a new snake charmer set up that they can’t take down, and something tells us that your Flap is the one behind it all. What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Gordons?” I shifted uncomfortably, the information hitting me like a cement block. My Flap had gone behind my back and ratted me out after all I had done for her.
“Why, I do have one thing to say,” I lifted my hands out of my lap and showed the child to the officers, “what the heck am I supposed to do with this baby?”
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