“Where’d you ever find that?” said Dottie. “Gee, those pants, did I look a fright. But it brings back memories.”
“Your memories are what I need.”
“I hardly know where to begin, though …”
“Why not when it began?”
The consomme had a steadying, sustaining effect. It did not make her any less drunk, but it: did enable her to talk coherently and to the point. It seemingly had the further effect of lowering her inhibitions so she could talk frankly on the details that sober, inhibited people like to blur over.
“I was out of a job. Trying to make a living off the ponies at Del Mar. Well, tell you, I had a big losing streak. I got sick and blue, and the next thing I woke up in the hospital. The truth is, I’d let out a lot of blood that needed replacing and I couldn’t pay for it.
“And,” said
