Part One: Water spilled out of either side of the ornate fountain adorned with bells and accents of British architecture; fifty yards parallel, the salon windows didn’t creak or splinter in the noon sun. In fact, they reflected light that hit Boyish’s deep brown eyes and turned them a shade lighter. The heat from the sun crowned her forehead while a damp cotton blouse lay against her skin, leaving Boyish to appear as if she were bare. “This isn’t a poor town, I can tell ya’ that,” she said real low to herself, while reaching into a leather case. She unbuttoned it to reveal everything she needed for her last heist.
A dusty wig that would hide her short haircut lay in the corner of the case, and the wig hid just under a hat. Boyish paused and thought back on how she cleverly and meticulously cut her hair. She could impersonate a slicked-mouth boy if the role suited her needs. And if her cover was blown, she could tussle with anyone who crossed her. The cut left no handicaps of hair-pulling if adversaries pulled such a punk move. If there was one thing she hated, it was getting her hair pulled while she tussled.
Her preparations were off to a rough start, and Boyish wanted to leave the hot and hazy room in a hurry.
She shuffled through the case’s contents, stopping on the cured buffalo jerky. She held the aluminum foil-wrapped jerky in her hand, and began dreaming about the time her and Pablo had cured the meat and seasoned it. She continued to reminisce and stalled, getting hungry for the jerky. She bit off a piece and continued to look through her supplies.
A big dusty white colonial dress sat in the middle of the case. Bullets lay just under it on either side. As she struggled to move the dress, with a huff of frustration, Boyish thought back to how she got the garment, traveling with her mother and hustling any naive folk they could find.
“Those were easier times then,” Boyish whispered as she struggled with the case.
A numbness ran over her. She began to stare at the bed lining with her fist clenched on either side of the dress, wondering whether or not this last heist would be all worth it.
To be continued.
