I surreptitiously watch Augustus over the course of the afternoon. The continuous change in his mood is obvious through the changes in his body language and the expressions on his face as he works. Someone from security drops off the last of the garment bags from his car and he practically cringes. He becomes stiff and aloof, though he tries to remain polite and thanks the security guard. With Carol he’s cautious but tries harder to smile; you can tell he wants to be friendlier, but he can’t look her in the eye and has to turn away when she pats him on the shoulder. A few of the models stop by to pick out outfits for the show and they share a little camaraderie, having known each other in the past, but the second they leave, his features fall flat and he goes back to the Grumpy Gus state.
“That man can never play poker.” Jasmin says as she stands beside me.
“It’s not poker I want him to play.” Turning to face her, I give her a wink. Unless it’s strip poker. “I was listening to him while he talked to his sister on the phone, and he was so kind and patient with her. So, I know this isn’t his natural state.” I tip my head in his direction as he aggressively balls up a garment bag and shoves it in a tote box. “And April, I can’t wait to meet her. So brave and still such a sweet person, after everything Deke put her through. She's all in, on taking him down.”
“What about their parents? How were they after Rick and I talked to them?”
“Can people be tense and relieved at the same time? They're relieved that their family is getting help, worried for their children and upset with themselves that they ‘ran’ and let Deke push them into exile.” We turn back to our table so we can finish up with our display. Another garden of clitoral flower stimulators. It’s a classic.
“That’s rough. I don’t blame them for going away, though. April needed a chance to heal physically and, hopefully, emotionally. Besides, it’s a Crapshoot on whether you’re going to get help from the police, even for a person not encountering corruption. It shouldn’t be that way, but the sad fact is that it is. No one understands that better than us.”
“And we’re still running.” I give her a sidelong glance.
“We’re building an army. Maybe the Valentinos would like to be a part of it.” Jasmin shrugs.
“Maybe. Drawing Augustus out of his shell is a good place to start.” A wicked grin overtakes me as the heat in me flares up. We look over our shoulders at him to find him looking at us. We give him an overly gleeful wave, inciting a flush in his cheeks as he shakes his head and goes back to work.
“No poker for him. But I think you’re going to get lucky.” Jasmin chuckles and bumps shoulders with me.