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anything after working at Miss Jessie’s.  
    “Where should I take you, Miss Smith?”
    “Miss Jessie’s house. It’s right next to the bridge.” I was surprised at his ignorance. We drove in silence for the few minutes it took to cross the bridge and park in front of Miss Jessie’s.  
    That rundown collection of buildings had never looked more wretched than with that lovely car in front. The shabbiest building was the main house, with the rabbit’s warren of boarders’ rooms trailing behind it. A row of trees shaded the yard and shielded any cars parked there from notice. The trees also sheltered the household’s chickens, as was common back then.
    Scamp, a big yellow mutt and the leader of Miss Jessie’s watchdogs, came rushing over to greet the car. I petted him and gave him the last scraps of my chicken sandwich.  
    Jimmy spoke quietly to Scamp and the other dogs when they investigated him. He squatted down on his heels and held out his hand, which Scamp sniffed warily before wagging his tail. Scamp’s enthusiasm built when Jimmy gave him an expert ear rub.  
    “Thank you for the ride, Jimmy. You don’t have to see me in. ”
    “Are you sure you’ll be all right? Mr. Jones and his man aren’t the best men for a lady to spend time with.”
    I nearly laughed at that. If the mayor and Bixby came by later in the evening, I’d spend time doing anything they wanted. Just like any other girl there would. They were the only exceptions to Miss Jessie’s rules and I know she hated them for that.
    “I’ll be fine.”
    Jimmy studied me then and I think he saw everything I wasn’t saying about those two. He gave me my suitcase only after he looked back down the road to town.  
    “I’ll be by later to see how you’re doing.” He touched his hat to me and waited to see me go in.  
    I spent the rest of the evening wondering if Jimmy would come by. All types of men came to Miss Jessie’s but I’d never seen him there. I didn’t think he’d need to pay a woman for the act but you could say that about many of Miss Jessie’s regulars. Still, Jimmy was a handsome man and he’d treated me very well. I kept imagining what he’d be like to spend fifteen minutes with.
    The evening was a strange one. It saw very few clients, some spectacular lightning but no rain. We boarders spent our time waiting in the small sitting room, staring at the bell on the wall, which announced a client’s arrival, and jumping whenever a particularly loud thunderbolt hit.  
    By one o’clock, I was counting the minutes until three when Miss Jessie would close the door to new clients. Linda and Clare, two of the other boarders, were giggling and laughing in a corner. They were quieter about their love games in the sitting room than they were in their shared bedroom. I envied them their fun, while I wished I didn’t have the room next to them.  
    Jimmy came at two o’clock when I’d given up on seeing him. We filed into the main room and seated ourselves demurely on the straight back chairs lined up in a row. Another row of chairs faced ours for the clients to sit on, which made it easy for Miss Jessie to manage matters from her post at one end.  
    But Jimmy stood by the door next to Miss Jessie, calm and proud. He looked like a gentleman waiting for his guests to be seated, rather than the typical nervous client. Miss Jessie wasn’t quite frowning, which meant that she didn’t like his behavior but she couldn’t manage to change it.  
    A rustle ran through the boarders as they saw him. I was prepared for his good looks and fine clothes but they’d never seen the like before. Linda and Clare sat up straighter, openly preening, while some of the others twitched their clothes and struck poses. They only used attitudes permitted under Miss Jessie’s rules but they still tried to catch his attention.  
    Jimmy ignored them until Miss Jessie nodded at him. Then he strolled directly to me and held out his hand. I put mine into