{"id":959,"date":"2020-09-14T00:17:47","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T07:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/?p=959"},"modified":"2020-09-14T00:22:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T07:22:16","slug":"sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/2020\/09\/14\/sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-xx\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheltering in Place at the Magdalena Arms: Episode XX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previously<\/strong>: Angelo roused Landlady Dolly and her girlfriend Kay with news of Nurse Beverly’s illness. Joined by Lon, they argued about who was best fitted to nurse the nurse. Jackie fretted over her quarrel with Ramona and other pandemic problems, while Millie continued her attempts to wrestle her oversized pork loin into submission in the basement kitchen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missed the earlier episodes? You can find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0Or start from the beginning with\u00a0<\/em>Episode I<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>and use the \u201cnext\u201d button at the top the screen to move between episodes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Bed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lon stepped aside and they saw Jackie, her face anxious, teetering a scant six feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Jackie demanded. \u201cWhy are you all up? Where\u2019s Ramona?\u201d She craned her neck up, down, sideways, as if she suspected Ramona was hiding in Apartment 502.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Jackie had finished Dolly was on her feet making shooing motions. \u201cThat\u2019s it! It\u2019s getting too crowded here\u2014everyone, back to bed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have no idea where Ramona is, I\u2019m just glad it\u2019s not here on the fifth floor!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Dolly advanced to the apartment doorway, Angelo jumped up from the plaid club chair and scurried out of the apartment. Lon and Jackie retreated down the hall, then Jackie stopped, like an orrnery cow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat were you talking about? Why break up just when I<\/em> get here? What\u2019s the big secret?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll discuss it tomorrow,\u201d Dolly tried to glare sternly at Jackie. With Beverly laid low, it behooved the landlady to hold the fort when it came to social distancing standards! \u201cIt\u2019s\u2014it\u2019s quiet hours!\u201d she reminded her tenants. \u201cYou\u2019ll wake up Phyllis!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhyllis wears earplugs at night,\u201d said Kaye behind her. Dolly hoped that the other three hadn\u2019t heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScoot now!\u201d She flapped her hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the three tenants stood arrayed along the hall like points on a socially distanced triangle. \u201cI can\u2019t \u2018scoot\u2019 with Jackie blocking the stairs,\u201d Angelo was aggrieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to go up the fire escape to the roof,\u201d Lon gestured at the window behind Dolly. \u201cI don\u2019t want to wake up Maxie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust tell me what the hush-hush is all about and I\u2019ll be on my way,\u201d said Jackie stubbornly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolly opened her mouth when a series of hacking coughs broke out from Apartment 503. Then Beverly\u2019s ragged voice asked hoarsely, \u201cWould you please all go to bed so a body can get some sleep<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackie looked at 503 and gave a start when she saw the quarantine sign. Her jaw dropped. She turned to Angelo and whispered, \u201cBeverly\u2019s\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSick, yes!\u201d hissed Angelo. \u201cSo move!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

******************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramona was in the lounge, looking at real estate; the Magdalena Arms\u2019s wifi signal was stronger there. She\u2019d told herself sternly that she\u2019d just do a quick scan, purely for the purpose of calculating rental range; but she couldn\u2019t stop herself from lingering over each storefront photo, imagining signage, calculating the foot traffic\u2014so much more complicated now that locations devoted to leisure activities were closed. What use was it to be on the edge of the now deserted downtown, for example? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I want is a spot between a big grocery store and a pharmacy<\/em>, she decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d just clicked on street view for a likely prospect when there was a muffled crash from the entry way, like breaking glass. Ramona lifted her chin, listening intently. A series of rustly, chinking, clinking sounds followed. She tucked the laptop under her arm and went to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the dim glow of the chandelier, a girl was kneeling on the mosaic floor, using a piece of cardboard to clumsily sweep what looked like a smashed jar of pink pickles into a pile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was her neighbor, Ramona realized. The new girl who\u2019d moved into 203, right before the confinement started. Ramona barely knew what she looked like, she\u2019d only gotten a fuzzy impression of youth and brown hair, behind a homemade mask. Her name was Missy or Mamie, or something like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girl was maskless tonight, but Ramona still couldn\u2019t make out her features as she bent her head over her the mess and made futile dabs at the odd pink pickles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDropped your groceries?\u201d Inquired Ramona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girl\u2019s head shot up. She froze for a moment, and then recognized Ramona. \u201cIt was my salt pork,\u201d she said. From the tone of her voice you might have thought she was talking about her dead mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo bad,\u201d Ramona said perfunctorily. She wrinkled her nose under the polka-dotted mask. Who ate salt pork?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was trying to carry everything,\u201d her neighbor murmured. Belatedly she pulled up the mask that dangled around her neck, but not before Ramona had inventoried her features: square jaw, snub nose, heavy brows arched over brown eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cute<\/em>, Ramona summed up, her interest sharpening. \u201cI can give you a hand up the stairs,\u201d she offered, stepping forward to peer into the canvas bag on the floor. A knife, papers, tupperware containers, and resting on top\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy, that\u2019s Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s Meissen figurine!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramona plucked it from the bag as Missy or Mamie stuttered, \u201cThat was\u2014I saw it in one of those boxes\u2014\u201d she gestured at the clutter outside Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s former apartment. \u201cI was just keeping it safe\u2014I mean, I didn\u2019t want it to get put out with the trash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course not.\u201d Ramona winked. She liked this girl. Her neighbor had an eye for good quality and the initiative to\u2014reorganize it, you might say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was going to give it to the landlady in the morning!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure you were, Missy,\u201d Ramona soothed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy name\u2019s not Missy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, I meant Mamie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Millie!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, a word to the wise, Millie. Everyone<\/em> at the Arms knows about Mrs. DeWitt\u2019s Meissen figurine. It was a gift from a Prussian officer back in her bad old days as a Berlin chanteuse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millie took a deep breath, as if to blow more excuses at Ramona. But instead she stayed silent, letting the air out in a long hiss, like a slowly deflating balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore\u2019s the pity,\u201d said Ramona, examining the figurine. She\u2019d calculated the figurine\u2019s value more than once, and it was enough to set up her new dispensary in style. With an unconscious sigh, she told the younger girl, \u201cI\u2019ll make sure it gets back to Dolly. She\u2019s executrix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you so<\/em> much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramona arched an eyebrow at the sarcasm, and Millie added, \u201cI\u2019ll be sure to let Dolly know you have it\u2014just in case you forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This made Ramona smile broadly under her mask. \u201cI like your style,\u201d she told the new girl. \u201cThere\u2019s a broom and dustpan in the lounge closet. Let me get it, and I’ll help sweep up your pickled pork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next:<\/em><\/strong> Shock spreads through the Arms and beyond with the news of Beverly’s illness, causing unexpected repercussions! <\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previously: Angelo roused Landlady Dolly and her girlfriend Kay with news of Nurse Beverly’s illness. Joined by Lon, they argued about who was best fitted to nurse the nurse. Jackie fretted over her quarrel with Ramona and other pandemic problems, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[224,222,255,218,246,215,261,260,223,211,234,245,231],"class_list":["post-959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial-siping-at-the-magdalena-arms","tag-angelo","tag-beverly","tag-covid-19","tag-dolly","tag-jackie","tag-lesbian-career-girls","tag-lesbian-landlady","tag-lesbian-nurse","tag-lon","tag-magdalena-arms","tag-millie","tag-ramona","tag-sheltering-in-place"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}