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It was early morning when Mirriam slipped into her room, still not dawn though so had not gotten up for another day of brick making. The saloon girl undressed quietly then put on a slip of thin material, approached the bed in her bare feet then threw back half the covers.

"Sorry, like it or not, honeybabe, you got company," she announced in soft tones as she then crawled into her side of the bed.

Her breath reeked of alcohol,in fact Bettina probably noticed the young woman's voice sounded..well a bit different, the words somewhat slurred.

"I think I'm jus...gonna curl up and die....like real peaceful."

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Licking his lips, and pulling the lower one between his teeth Virgil amended his idea when Bettina said she was pretty good at?tinkering. "Well then, we can split the cleaning chores, and if we got some kind of fixing problem you can tackle it". She looked a little caught in deep thought for a moment, almost sad about something.... Virgil didn't know that his deep bond with his ladies was showing or making Bettina all melancholy.

"Can you fix pipes and stuff?" he asked intent to help her find jobs that weren't his forte or to help with ones that were hers. "I want to advance things in Brea like the cities, make life easier, you know?"

He pushed his hair out of his face and fidgeted a little. "Yeah, Ella...she's mah girl... or mebbe' I'm her boy... or both...but she has a mess o'cats and uses them to help people when their kind'a all messed up in here" Virgil said gesturing to his head, and then his chest. "Or here".

His face reddened slightly at her question. "Um...I dunno' I guess like cleaning house... that's usually my chore but I hate it, so I'll trade yah". His shoulders came up in a shrug, "And I kind'a suck at it". Scratching the back of his neck Virgil gave her a curious expression, "What can you do? I mean I do whatever to make a trade but music is my thing, just doesn't always feed my belly... or the girls... Ella and Rosalind..."

When he said their names his hands came up to his heart without thinking, and he nervously pulled them back when Virgil realized what he was doing. "I gotta' okay it with them too, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind. There's space in Hanami and we could use the help... Jis'... well, you'd still have to work and stuff jis' not have to worry about a bed and food, you know.." He frowned a little and looked at his feet which were bare at the moment.

"No one should be...homeless" he mumbled softly although there were always someone's barn with space it wasn't the same as having your own bed.

(Merry Christmas!)

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"Do you wanna see heaven tonight?
Underneath those lights you will look so beautiful
Do you wanna see the stars before they fall?"

"Hey dirty girl..." he said leaning back to rest on his elbows and look up at the sky. "... I know this endearing asshole, who knows where all the good jobs are... But he can't really be in two places at once and cover them all". Virgil turned his head to look at her, "He might even know a spot where a gal could sleep in her own bed... Jis' saying..."

"If you can handle some music, a horde of cats and some roomies...but yah have yer own bed and what not".

As the girl suddenly went into an outlandish tale about a mud monster, Virgil realized this was the person making adobe for Stroud. Bettina was her name, and she laughed easily. His side went warm when she sat next to him and he flashed a dorky smile. "I knew Bettina translates to Dirty Girl. coz' Virgil means endearing asshole... But don't tell anyone it's a family secret" he said giving a whimsical grin.

"Sure you could play guitar, why not?" His brows arched upward when she admitted she played an instrument. "Bettina plays the concertina" he sing songed in a teasing manner at her. "Dun' have to teach me to make bricks, I usually do that for Stroud but I wouldn't want to take food outt'a yer mouth. Must be new to Brea, haven't seen you around before..."

Virgil picked up his guitar and slid it into Bettina's lap and hands. "Curl your fingers like this" he said showing her.

As the girl suddenly went into an outlandish tale about a mud monster, Virgil realized this was the person making adobe for Stroud. Bettina was her name, and she laughed easily. His side went warm when she sat next to him and he flashed a dorky smile. "I knew Bettina translates to Dirty Girl. coz' Virgil means endearing asshole... But don't tell anyone it's a family secret" he said giving a whimsical grin.

"Sure you could play guitar, why not?" His brows arched upward when she admitted she played an instrument. "Bettina plays the concertina" he sing songed in a teasing manner at her. "Dun' have to teach me to make bricks, I usually do that for Stroud but I wouldn't want to take food outt'a yer mouth. Must be new to Brea, haven't seen you around before..."

Virgil picked up his guitar and slid it into Bettina's lap and hands. "Curl your fingers like this" he said showing her.

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"No offense, darlin', but you agreed to Aury's job offer, it's a decent enough job...though a temporary one, true," Mirriam felt compelled to point out, though actually she sympathized with the other girl's situation. A dirty boring job is what that was.

"So you looking for other jobs then? What sort of jobs do you have in mind? I mean other than saloon singer and dancer of course - that job is filled," she smiled.

"Hon, I do most of my work at night so no it don't keep me awake. In fact I'm getting all gussied up here to go down and do my job. So you'll have the bed all to yourself until early in the morning when we close up. I'll just slip in the bed so pick whichever side you want. Now if you're snoring away and taking up the whole bed, I will just give you a big shove to make room" she declared with a sparkle in her eyes.

Virgil looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice and peered through his hair. His face reddened slightly but he sat back from his hunched over position on the guitar, fingers dragging back his hair to hook it behind an ear. "Uh huh, for the festival coming up..." he replied looking up at her.

His brow scrunched up for a moment as he took in her appearance. She had a nice smile. was pretty without trying to be... even covered in mud. He gave a boyish laugh, Virgil couldn't help it with having just been gnawing on a 'shroom. "You're dirty, what happened?" he asked setting the guitar aside and trying to decide if he should be concerned. She seemed too happy to have fallen down in a local sty or something.

He patted the spot next to him on the stoop in invitation, mouth curling into a mischievous smirk. "Want a guitar lesson dirty girl...?' he teased her. "...My name's Virgil".

"I came here to this town looking for work....a career. I certainly did not want to be a farmer or a farmer's wife. I was born on one and ....well....I rebelled early and a lot. I came into the saloon and at that time Aury was working for another man who was the owner of the joint. But he did most of the work. We talked, we hit it off. He listened to me sing a song for him and liked what he heard. He hired me. We became good friends..which is what we still are in case you're thinking there is more to it. There isn't that many years of age between us but if anything he treats me like I was his daughter, his precious daughter. Woe unto anyone who tries anything on me."

"That's my story....it's worked out pretty good for me I think," she smiled.

"Nice effort. Needs work...a lot of work. Still, I will admit something to you. While I have a good voice and can sing quite well, my dancing is ..........adequate at best. The trick is to show my legs and on occasion tease them into thinking they are going to catch glimpses of other parts of me. They love that," she explained.

"But please don't go thinking I strip naked or anything. Because I don't. It's the mystery which attracts them. I figure once they would see everything, well...how would you top that?" she added.