The sun had set but the heat hadn't let up. It was so late into August that the streets and walls that baked all day didn't have time to properly cool off at night. The calendar said that tonight was to be a full moon, so the street-lamps had not been lit, however, just after the sun had set a storm rolled in. Norm could feel the sweat in his collar as he shot nervous glances into the dark corners of dark streets.
He stepped onto the porch and lifted a brass ring. The humidity was such that the usual rasp of a knock was only a thud. He heard someone on the other side of the door but it didn't seem like they were moving towards him. He shifted his weight nervously. On the other side, a woman laughed.
Norm reconsidered. He wanted to dash off the porch and run right back from where he had come. He swayed on his heels, and just before they carried him off he remembered the nights he had sat up in his bed dreaming about this moment (But in his dreams there wasn't any heat and the street lamps were lit and there sure as hell wasn't anyone laughing).
He held his breath and knocked again. Feet shuffled. He stepped back from the porch and out of the light, shooting glances up the street towards his house. The door opened, but only a crack.
"Evening, darling." The voice was low.
"I-Hello. G'd Evening M'am."
An eye appeared in the crack of the doorway.
"You're young, honey. And it's late."
Her words seemed like a confirmation that he did not belong here. "I am. And it is." He began to sidestep away. "Sorry..."
A smile unfolded under the eye. And then a hand that beckoned.
"Come in. And turn the light off on your way." She receded into the house, leaving Norm alone again. His hand trembled as he opened the case and smothered the flame. Inhaling deeply, he pushed open the door, letting the breath out as he stepped through the threshold.
The room was hardly brighter than the streets. It was small and smelled like burnt sage. Nearly everything was a dark shade of blue or brown, except for the Madam's dress, which was a deep purple. She stood with her back to him. Two gas lamps huddled in one corner of the room cast long shadows onto everything. He heard the clinking of glass.
She crossed the room to him.
"A drink?"
"Oh, thank you but I don't."
Her smile curdled as she pressed the drink into his hand and he felt the wet and the cold. She had ice.
"You sure, honey?"
"I- no. I don't suppose I am."
The smile returned to her face, flashing a silver tooth.
Her laugh drawled and she said, "Well that's alright then. Sit down sugar. Get comfortable."
Norm sat in the chair closest to him. She crossed the room slowly, her dress fluttering around her ankles with each step. Norm wondered if she had any stockings on under the dress and if they were wet between her legs from the August heat. She took a seat on a lounge chair.
"Closer to me." She beckoned to the open spot next to her and he obliged. She leaned into him as he lowered himself onto the lounge.
Her perfume was strong but he could still smell tobacco and sweat and spit underneath it. She clinked the cubes in her glass and glared. Somewhere upstairs, he heard a familiar laugh.
"What's your name, sweetie?" Norm was prepared for the question.
"Edmund. I'm from Kingston, just passing through Hudson for the evening."
"Edmund from Kingston," She cooed, "How long you in town for, Ed?"
"Just until tomorrow morning. We leave docks in...well, probably a few hours by now. You don't happen to have the time, do you?"
"All I know is it's late."
"Right. And I'm sorry about that, M'am. I don't mean to be a bother. It's just...I just got off work as a deckhand on a freight ship crossing the Atlantic. It was a long trip and we weren't allowed to talk to no-one, especially no women. The hour we touched land here was the hour I hopped on the next boat heading North. I'm on my way back to my Family in Troy." Norm was happy with how well he had prepared for this moment. Undoubtedly, the two shots of gin he swallowed just before he had left home had helped with his confidence.
"Didn't know a ship came in tonight. We've been slower than usual." "Maybe it's the heat." "The heat don't slow business down. Not much does." Norm took a sip off his glass. The liquid was cool until it turned to fire in his the back of his mouth. He took a gulp.
