“excuse me, miss, but that’s my seat. you are sitting in my seat.”
maria looked up. a little round man in a cheap brown suit, wearing the thickest glasses she had ever seen, was hovering over her.
“that is my seat,” the little man repeated, in a louder voice.
“no problem, sir, “ maria smiled at him, and began to pick up her purse.
“i am afraid it is a problem,” the man replied, even more loudly. “i came in on the bus from st louis. that was my seat, mine. and i mean to have it back.”
“i meant. sir, that i had no problem getting up and giving you your seat back.” maria picked the purse off the seat and held it up for the man to see. “now, if you would just get out of my way…”
but before the little man with the thick glasses could answer, another voice was heard behind him.
“what’s all this noise? is this fellow bothering you, miss?” the speaker, a tall young man wearing a white cowboy hat that fell almost over his eyes, appeared behind the little round man. the newcomer had to crouch to keep from bumping his hat on the roof of the bus.
“no, nobody is bothering anybody,” maria answered. “if you would both just let me get up, i will find another seat and give this gentleman his. everybody will be happy.”
“if you say so, miss,” the tall young man drawled in a movie cowboy voice, “i just hate to see a lady bothered, that’s all. it makes my blood boil, by god.”
as maria started to stand up and got a closer look at the cowpoke she saw that he was just a boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old.
“you ought not to take the lord’s name in vain, young man,” maria said, and she edged out of the seat past the two men.
“sorry, ma’am, i guess i forgot myself there.” the cowboy glanced back for a second at the little man, and maria knew what she had suspected - that the two of them were con men, trying to put god knew what over on unwary travelers.
maria moved past them and into a pair of empty seats a little closer to the front of the bus. settling in beside the window, she looked back at the cowboy, and said in a low voice, “you fellows need a little practice. “
“excuse me, ma’am?” the cowboy asked.
“first off,” maria continued in the same low voice. “you should never look at each other, unless it is part of the script. that’s bad acting.”
“why, ma’am, i have no idea what you mean.”
“what i mean is, i didn’t just fall off a hay wagon. or even a banana boat.”
the little man laughed softly. “give it up, billy. she’s made us.”
i wonder if i can make some use of these characters, maria thought. if they are going to new york, or even if that is not in their plans.
maria leaned over and looked at the little man. she nodded toward the front of the bus, which was filling up a bit. “maybe we can get together, for coffee, at the next rest stop,” she said in an even lower voice than she had used before. “maybe we can do some business together.”
“why, that sounds right interesting,” the little man replied. “we will do just that. my name is rainey, by the way, ray rainey, and this here is billy wynn.”
“the wind and the rain,” said maria. “my name is my miss hale.”
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