Contents
Chapter 37
Overview
Fraternity boys flood the Merry Widows via back roads, turning the dance front into a lucrative brothel night. A suspicious car watches, confirming looming law enforcement risk. After counting strong profits, Birdie recruits Picador and Polly for laundry; they recognize the truth but keep working. Exhausted, Charlie refocuses on earning enough to reclaim Meg.
Summary
As dusk falls, Mr. Binny’s band sets up and a truckload of Ole Miss boys arrives from the south, avoiding town. Ruby forces livelier music, and the dance floor erupts. Birdie collects dimes and sells drinks and cigarettes while football-sized boys aggressively claim partners; Dixie pushes back, and Ruby performs to whip up demand.
Taxi after taxi delivers more boys, many chanting to “get the pledges laid.” Mr. Binny shortens songs to speed turnover, and upstairs activity escalates. Birdie notes the boys’ post-act contempt and witnesses a pledging boy cry and vomit after Flossy takes him, deepening her misgivings about the business.
Toward 1 a.m., Birdie spots a lone watcher by a boxy car across the road. After a drunk harasses Birdie, the car’s headlights snap on and it departs, confirming surveillance risk. Inside, the partners count a thick take from dances, drinks, and tricks. The victory is tempered by a mountain of filthy sheets that must be laundered before the next opening.
At dawn, Birdie recruits Picador and Polly under the pretense of boarders and a “dance club,” hoping to shield them. They set to work but, seeing the volume and traffic, deduce the house is a cathouse. Charlie withholds confirmation; both women keep working, and Birdie accepts they may need their continued help despite the moral weight.
After a second grueling night, the women eat late, swap gallows humor, and tally profits: each partner clears over a hundred dollars in two nights. Birdie fends off rough customers with Meemaw’s cattle prod. On the porch, Charlie admits she’s running a whorehouse to become Meg’s mother again, fearing she might still lose her. Birdie urges her to focus on earning enough to leave for the West with Meg.
Who Appears
- BirdieNarrator; manages front table, sales, money, recruits Picador and Polly, fends off drunks, weighs profits against morals.
- CharlieRuns operations, enforces rules, counts profits, arranges laundry help, fixates on earning to reclaim Meg.
- Ruby SlipperStar attraction; demands swing music, performs provocatively, turns many customers, drives dance-floor energy.
- FlossyWorks heavy traffic, comforts a crying pledge, jokes darkly about the workload and sheets.
- DixieThreatens an aggressive football boy, selects customers deliberately, part of heavy upstairs turnover.
- TrixiePairs with Dixie for introductions; works the rush amid strict one-dance rules.
- Mr. BinnyBandleader; switches to swing to suit crowd, shortens songs to speed turnover, earns a bonus.
- Ole Miss boysFraternity crowd arriving by back roads; boisterous, often aggressive; drive profits and risk.
- Delicate pledge with glassesBullied into a trick; emerges shaken and sick, highlighting the night’s human cost.
- PicadorLongtime Tartt maid; comes to launder sheets, quickly infers brothel, remains discreet and efficient.
- PollyHousemaid; partners with Picador on washing, ironing, and lines, recognizes the brothel but helps.
- VirginiaAssists with drinks and sheets between clients to earn extra; present during laundry day.
- EsmeraldaMoves through the kitchen and cellar inconspicuously; helps the operation appear ordinary.
- JackSends a tender letter from Chicago; his affection buoys Birdie amid chaos.