GLITTER GULCH

Chapter 3: The Bluebird of Happiness

"Another one of theeeezzz, pleeezzz, if you don’t mind."

Anubis shrugged and poured the Englishman another whiskey. He’d been sitting at the bar for only ten minutes and had managed to put back four shots. So long as he’s got the money, I don’t care if he drinks himself to death.

"Hey, barkeep. I take it you have roomz to let upschtairs?"

Anubis followed the Englishman’s gaze to the upstairs balcony. There were a couple of scantily clad women leaning over the rails — smiling and gesturing to everyone who happened to catch their eye. Anubis made a noncommittal grunt and went back to cleaning the bar. He had his long burgundy hair pulled back, wore a white linen shirt, a tan leather vest with black bands, black trousers and boots.

A figure emerged from the room on the end -- the tall, blue-haired Yankee. My next mark. Anubis had to admit he was elegantly dressed. He watched — fascinated — by the man’s grace as he smiled politely at the women lounging on the banisters, tipping his hat as if he were meeting a lady on the street. Anubis half smiled to himself -- those whores were definitely not refined. The Yank paid no heed to the women’s caresses, deftly maneuvering between their pawing arms. He seemed somewhat relieved when he finally made it to the stairs. Lady Kayura was right, as usual. She always managed to spot them. Anubis watched as the Yank made his way to the bar. He leaned across it and motioned Anubis over. He walked over to the man. "Yes?"

"I was wonderin’ if there was another room where I might be able ta get something ta eat. Somethin’ a little quieter?"

Anubis eyed the coin the gentleman’s gloved hand offered. He palmed it easily. "Sure. What do you want?"

"Whatever…" Anubis’ gray eyes met the midnight sky. This could actually be fun for a change. He drew in a deep breath -- lavender. I’ll give you whatever.

"Hey, my glassch is empty! How’d that happen?" Anubis turned his head to look at the annoying Englishman. He was searching for what had happened to his drink.

"Hey, barkeep! More?" The Englishman frowned at his glass and then looked pleadingly at Anubis. He sighed and picked up the nearest whiskey bottle.

"Cye?"

"Yezz? Who schaid that?" The Englishman looked at his drink and frowned. "You’d better not be talking to me." Anubis poured another shot. "Oh, thank you."

"Cye."

"Who the hell is that?!" The Englishman focused on the Yank. "Oh!" He drank the shot in one gulp. "It’s you! Ro…Ro…Roan. No, Ro-un. The chap from the schtagecoach! ‘Cor, am I glad to see you! Dreadfully sorry about planting my fasch in your lap…I mean…It’s not that it’s not a nice lap. In fact, it’s an extraordinarily pleazzzant lap. Barkeep?" Cye motioned to his glass. Anubis refilled it. "Much obliged. But I really only need one glass. You can take theeezzz otherzz away." Cye dismissed the imaginary glasses with a wave of his hand.

So these two know each other? Anubis looked at the Yank who was grinning.

"He’s trashed. How many has he had?" he asked, gesturing to the shot glass.

Anubis shrugged. "Don’t know." He looked at the Englishman who was singing some incoherent song into the bar.

"Did he eat anythin’ first?"

"I don’t think so."

The elegant Yankee gracefully and easily picked up the soused Englishman.

"Will you kindly show me where I can eat? And maybe we oughta make that for two."

Anubis felt a small pang of jealousy. "Sure. Follow me." This might be harder than I thought.

He led the Yankee to a small back room outfitted with a table and a couple of benches. The benches were covered with padded cloth and the walls were draped with silk tapestries.

"Wow! This is great! Who’s your decorator?" Anubis watched the Yankee place the Englishman down gently, almost tenderly. He turned to face Anubis who quickly glanced away.

"I’ll go get you some food."

"Hey." Anubis felt a hand grab his arm. It seemed as if it would burn him. "Thanks. The name’s Strata. Rowan Strata." He removed his hand and Anubis held back a disappointed groan.

"Anubis," he growled. He coughed. "I’m Anubis. Just let me know if you need anything else."

"Thanks!" Rowan winked at him. "I will."

Anubis felt a flush and quickly strode from the room.

He drew in a deep breath. The stale smoke of the saloon suddenly seemed refreshing. He found he had been holding his breath. He motioned to one of the tableboys. "Two steak dinners. Bring them to me. I will deliver them myself."

Anubis turned toward the bar and began to look for his special stock. He spied a red merlot from France. He smiled and picked up a glass, then frowned. "Better make that two." He grabbed another glass.

"So you found your new toy, have you, Anubis?" He cringed.

"Yes, Lady Kayura. I put him in the salon."

"Salon? Are you sure that isn’t a little much? You don’t want to overwhelm him on your first date." He felt Lady Kayura’s hand snake around him. He stiffened. She ran her hand down and grabbed him.

"Let me go," he hissed. "I have a customer to attend to." Lady Kayura laughed and began to gently stroke him. "Please?" She lightly bit his shoulder and moved back.

"I’ll watch the bar. Go and have some fun. You need it."

Anubis steeled his face, turned to face his boss. Lady Kayura — her beautiful Oriental features framed perfectly by her smooth, dark hair. She wore a dress of bluish gray — complimenting her eyes. "Hurry up now," she purred. "You don’t want to keep him waiting."

Anubis shoved past her — bottle in one hand, glasses in the other.

Rowan laughed out loud.

"Whazzo funnee?" Cye slurred.

"Do ya always sing bawdy songs when you’re drunk?"

"Huh? I am not drunk. Hey! Where’zzz my drink?"

"I think you’ve had plenty ta drink. You need something ta eat. Maybe I’ll have Anubis bring a little coffee with dinner."

Cye made a face. "Coffee? That schtuff is grossh. Maybe a lil’ tea with lemon. This table feels good, but…" Cye moved toward Rowan, dragging himself slowly across the bench and placing his face firmly in Rowan’s lap. "Your lap is musch nicer."

Rowan’s half-lidded eyes popped open just as the door did. Anubis stood there with two glasses and a bottle of wine. He coughed. "Sorry. I should have knocked." Pause. "I’ll bring these later." He began to back out of the room.

"No! No!" Rowan barked. "He passed out. That’s all." Why do I feel like I need to explain myself, especially to this stranger? Anubis paused. "I’d love a glass of wine — especially if it’s a merlot."

"As a matter of fact, it is."

"Could ya…?"

Anubis nodded, opened the bottle and poured a glass for Rowan. "There you are, Mr. Strata."

"Rowan…Call me Rowan."

"All right, Rowan." Rowan loved the way his name sounded when Anubis said it. Gray eyes… Cye’s head shifted. Okay, this is just a little bit distractin’. Rowan took the offered glass and smelled the wine. It had been a long time. He took a sip and let it sit in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.

"Mmm… Magnificent! Where’d ya get it?"

"It’s from my own personal stock I bought in France. I assumed from your clothing that you preferred the finer things in life." Anubis raised a neatly trimmed forked eyebrow.

Rowan shrugged. "I prefer ‘em but can’t always have ‘em."

Anubis set the other glass and the wine bottle on the table in front of Rowan. "I’ll leave you alone now."

Alone? Wasn’t he…? "Couldn’t ya stay? I mean, I really don’t like ta drink alone." Rowan followed Anubis’ questioning gaze to his lap. "Oh, he’s passed out. I might as well be by myself. You will stay, won’t ya?" Rowan chided himself a little for pleading.

"I really…"

"Please? You can’t leave me here at the mercy of this inebriated Englishman! Besides, I believe there are two dinners comin’, and I can’t eat all of that myself…" Anubis turned and made to leave. "But…"

"I’ll just go get the dinners." Rowan blinked twice and then smiled.

Anubis shut the door behind him. His heart was thundering in his chest. What is wrong with me? Normally this is so easy. Sekhmet was a snap. This Yankee isn’t any different. Anubis sighed. No. That’s not true. He’s beautiful. A job is a job. A few more of these rich fancies and I should be able to pay off my debt to Lady Kayura. I won’t be a whore anymore. He collected his thoughts. Back to work. That one bottle of wine won’t last long. Should I bring another? It will make it easier. I’ll have to pass by Lady Kayura again, but it would be worth it. He shrugged. Rowan. Rowan Strata. A strong name. A name of promise.

Anubis realized he was walking too quickly and forced himself to slow down. Kayura was busy chatting up some cowboy so Anubis scurried to grab a couple more bottles of wine. He picked a cabernet and a burgundy. Kayura still hadn’t seemed to notice him. He checked himself in the huge mirror behind the bar and noticed Lady Kayura watching him. She winked. He cursed himself for being caught primping.

As he turned around, he noticed the tableboy coming from the back room. Tucking the bottles of wine under each arm, he snatched the plates out of the boy’s hands. "I’ve got it now. Thank you." He turned on his heel and strode from the main room.

His heart was pounding, and he stopped to calm himself outside the door. What if the Yankee isn’t interested? What if Lady Kayura read him wrong? Shut up, you fool. He practically begged you to stay with him, didn’t he? What if he’s not interested in you, just in some company? Well, then I’ll just have to deal with that, won’t I?

Anubis panicked when he realized he didn’t have another arm to open the door with. He glanced at the plates in both hands and transferred one to his forearm carefully balancing it long enough to twist the doorknob. He walked in on a very flustered Yankee trying to remove a very inebriated Englishman’s head from his lap.

"Um…I seem ta have a mild problem here. I can’t move him by myself. Apparently he’s gained a few pounds as well as a fearsome grip." Rowan was panic-stricken.

Anubis smiled. He deftly placed the plates on the table, gently removing the bottles of wine as well. He walked to the other side of the Englishman and almost blushed when he realized why Rowan looked so flustered. The Englishman had managed to wrap his arms around Rowan’s waist and firmly embedded his face in Rowan’s crotch.

"Not a bad place to be," Anubis muttered.

"What?"

"If you can get his arms untangled, I can lift him up." Rowan nodded and twisted around to unhook Cye’s arms. At the same time, Anubis put his hands underneath the Englishman’s chest. His hands brushed Rowan’s legs and he kept his head down so his hair could cover his furious blushing. What’s wrong with me? I’m the supposed to be seducing him! Not the other way ‘round. He let his hands rest there a little longer than necessary before lifting the inebriated Englishman. Cye let out a small cry of protest and tried to rehook his arms. Luckily, Rowan had managed to hold onto them and Anubis managed to extricate Cye from Rowan’s lap, but now Anubis was trapped. He had fallen back on the seat and Cye was sitting on his lap, resting his head on Anubis’ shoulder. He tried to stand, but Cye wouldn’t get up. He snuggled closer, wriggling his ass into Anubis.

"Maybe we can just lay him on the floor. He’s passed out. He won’t know any better."

Anubis nodded, hoping Rowan wouldn’t notice his enormous erection.

Rowan came over and knelt in front of Anubis. He licked his lips.

"I’ll get his legs and we can set him on this bench over here. That’ll put us on the same side of the table though." Rowan smiled.

Anubis smiled. Like that would be a problem.

"Okay, one, two, three, lift!"

Between the two of them, the Englishman was as light as a feather. They set him down on the side bench. Cye mumbled. Anubis took off his apron and his vest. He wrapped the apron in his vest and placed it under Cye’s head. The Englishman sighed and buried his face in the leather.

"Can he breathe like that?"

Anubis shrugged. "It didn’t hurt him before."

Rowan laughed. "Yeah, I guess you’re right."

Anubis decided he liked the sound of Rowan’s accent. Rowan had removed his hat and ran his long, slender fingers through his hair, ruffling it a little. His hair looks like feathers — bluebird feathers.

"I appreciate ya stayin’ with me. I don’t like ta eat or drink by myself. I get too melancholy."

"I was about to go off duty anyway. It wasn’t a problem."

Rowan clapped his hands. "Well, let’s eat. I’m starved!" He picked up a plate and passed it to Anubis. "Wow! This smells great! I can’t remember the last time I had a steak dinner."