Camptown Lady
by sloanranger
Part Vll
Tom had the washtubs ready with disinfectant and soapy water and he led one of the big females out of the pen for a bath. He would do three today. He rotated them so they each had a bath once a week.
Tom attached her chain to the stake and picked up the long handled professional broom that he used to scrub them.
The elephants loved it and he did a thorough job knowing if one of the animals picked up a parasite or some other skin ailment, Joe - the elephant manager - would have his job. Tom always exaggerated his position when he was after a girl, but Joe was the real manager.
He thought about the girl he was writing to in Boston and the other one in Chicago. They had both talked about coming to Kansas but he doubted that either one would show.
He had staggered the dates just in case. Yeah right, he thought.
If Tom had to put money on it though, he'd bet on Millie in Chicago. Closer - and they'd had one night together in the back seat of her old man's car.
Tom didn't get laid enough - not as much as he thought he would when he took this job. The job helped him to travel and to meet lots of girls; but he wasn't glib, or particularly good-looking and he didn't have enough time at each stop to talk them out of their skivvies.
He finished with Mirabelle and brought the big cow back to the pen, then brought out Mavis. He staked her and started scrubbing her back and legs with the long handled, broom-like professional brush the circus used. She sat on her rump bellowed with pleasure.
He scrubbed her stomach next, and he was finishing her feet and nails with a smaller scrub brush when he heard a strong, New Jersey accent behind him.
"How ya' doing, Tom?"
(To be continued).
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Camptown Lady - @Short Story
Short Story@SHORTSTORY: 18-year-old Kathy accepts an invitation from an elephant trainer to visit Kansas, where Ringling Bros Circus has a 2 week layover. The man has something much darker in mind than the young girl knows.
