“But of course, Jacques.  My girls are always ready for anything, and I am the very soul of hospitality.”

“Save it for the paying customers, French.”

“You asked, Jack.  I could actually use a Saturday night off.  Not that there’s anything else to do in this town.”

“Is that why you did that thing with your hair?  To try and get a night off?”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

“That’s just a whole lotta red.”

“It matches my personality.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“Well, you better go easy on the drink, there.  You’ll be gone before the big boys even arrive at this rate.”

“You know this is my Saturday ritual, Mary Lou.  One drink before the evening rush.  Come on, now.  I didn’t mean to criticize.  You just coulda told me before changing your hair like that.”

“I didn’t realize you cared…”

“Aww, now!  Don’t you bat those eyelashes at me!  I told you to save it.”

“It’s so easy to get you worked up, Francis.  Fun, too.”

“Hopefully no one gets too worked up tonight.  Sam’s out of town, and the last thing I need is trouble while he’s gone.”

“Sam’s gone?”

“Yeah.  Just for the day or something.”

“You coulda said.”

“Didn’t see the need to.”

“Well, don’t look now, but you might not get your wish.  Lester just walked in.”

“Good evening, Mr. Lamarche.  What can I get you?”

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Author guidance for This story

An exercise in dialog. Each new character is introduced with the last line in each chapter. that character is the title for the next chapter. The characters must be introduced and then interact primarily through dialog. Stay true to the western saloon setting and all the action takes place in the time span of one Saturday night.

updated Nov 23 '08 by TheRiverTalker