Camptown Lady - @Short Story

Part XlV

Camptown Lady              

by sloanranger

 Part  14

That was four years ago and no one had touched her since.

Now, sitting here on a bench in Kansas she was conflicted.  The only time Tom seemed content was when they were like this and he was groping her in the dark.  Maybe she should let him touch her, just this once.

Tom Haney made second base that night.  Walking back to the circus camp he was singing an old Stephen Foster song:

"Camptown ladies sing dis song, Doodah, doohdah,

Camptown Racetrack five mile long, all de Doodah day.

Gwine to run all night, gwine to run all day, 

bet my money on a bob-tail nag, somebody bet on deh bay."

Kathy spent a long time getting ready the next morning; she wanted to look especially nice. She wore her prettiest blue sundress, sleeveless, with a full skirt.  After putting on stockings and her good sandals she touched 'My Sin' perfume behind her ears, on her wrists and her throat. 

Her hands shook a little and she spent an especially long time on her makeup. The radio was playing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," while she finished her hair.

Maybe today he would ask her to go with him when they left tomorrow. Kathy still hadn't told him about the nearly $3,700 she had left from her Aunt. If he was worried about her being an additional expense, maybe she could surprise him with it.

Despite everything her instincts were trying to tell her she was still eager - she was still hopeful. She was eighteen.

(To be continued).

A/N I hope no one is offended by the video of Al Jolson in blackface doing the song: Camptown Races. It was the only video I found that  was not just plain lyrics on the screen. I thought it might also give some historical context and insight into the times - not the 1960's, but the 1930's from which the film came.