Mary was a clerk in an ice cream shop before she came here. She wore a white paper cap and a white apron. She was a gym teacher. She handed out clean towels to all the girls after every shower. A man's voice behind me rumbles that Mary was a candystripe girl at a Shriner's hospital, where she wore a fez and a cheerleader's skirt.
Faces fall to cards.
I'm fidgeting in my seat. Mary Southbert stands near the door with her arms crossed. I can see the long muscles in her legs. She was a sex therapist with a very small office. Mary is watching me.