From the end of Chapter 10, written from Tina’s POV:
Regina worked at a casino downtown, one of several that had opened since the mine closure. All of them had video game gambling, not the real kind you’d find in Vegas like poker and blackjack with card dealers and cameras everywhere. No, this was Butte style. Small-time stuff that required no skill whatsoever. A few featured restaurants where the tourists could eat steak and potatoes and drink a beer. All the tourists tipped like miser grannies, according to Regina, because they were saving their coins and dirty dollar bills for the machines, but every now and then someone made her time waitressing worthwhile. Even though it was the slow season Regina carefully applied her make-up in the car on the way to work. She pulled her lashes upward with a mascara wand, keeping one eye on where they were so she would be ready for the turns and wouldn’t mess up her artistry. When she was finished, which Tina knew by the red lipstick she always smeared across her mouth last, she said: “So. Have you heard from Sherri?”
“You know I haven’t so why are you asking?” Tina said. She glanced at Jude who was sprawled across the back seat with his feet in the air.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you since you came home that she called me today,” Sherri said. She smiled at Tina in a way that Tina knew meant trouble. “And she ain’t coming back for a good long time.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that she’s run off just like your no-good mama did,” Sherri said. “That’s what it means.”
“But what did she say?” Tina said. “I mean, what exactly did she say?” She could hear the plea in her own voice and hated herself for it.
“That don’t matter none,” Regina said. “What matters is what we’re going to do now.”
The road blurred before her. Tina checked the rearview mirror again; Jude’s feet were still sticking straight into the air. They passed brick building after brick building. Each slid by her periphery, made watery by tears balanced at the corners of her eyes. This moment was important, she thought. This moment is when something big happens. She kept driving until they reached the casino. Without a word she parallel parked the car on the street and turned to face Regina. What she wanted to say was trapped in her head along with the cool attitude to go with it; now all she could do was try to swallow. Her mouth had gone dry. She wished for a bottle of water.
“This is what we’re going to do,” Regina said. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your eighteenth birthday go by. I did. But it didn’t mean much until he arrived.” She jerked her thumb at Jude. “I figure with you being of legal age it’s high time you paid rent for yourself and for him. It’s only fair.”
Tina slouched into the seat and put her forehead on the steering wheel. “How much?” she asked.
“Five hundred a month on top of your half of utilities,” Regina said. She pulled at the door handle to leave. “Due at the first of every month. But since it’s almost Thanksgiving I figure you can start with January. That’s only fair too.”
Tina heard herself exhale deeply but it was like hearing someone else make a noise.
“You got that?” Regina said.
“Yeah, I got it,” Tina said. Then she whispered to herself: “Bitch.”
Regina climbed out, dragging onto her shoulder. Before she closed the door, Tina asked: “Did Sherri leave a phone number? So I can call her?”
“Huh,” Regina said. “You know, she did, but I didn’t have a writing utensil so I couldn’t write it down. You’ll have to get it next time she calls I guess.” Tina heard the door close. She lifted her head and watched Regina walk into the casino, her purse and coat draped over her arm as if she was preparing to hand it to a valet, like a movie star entering a trendy restaurant.
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