“Looking for some company?”

Barnes smiled and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I’m meeting someone here.”

“Some other time?” she suggested.

“Life is long.”

The blond woman didn’t exactly know how to interpret that. She walked away with an exaggerated sway in her hips and for a moment, Barnes wondered if he’d done the right thing by shutting her down.

His ruminations were interrupted when he spotted Jane at the door. He stood and waved her over. She’d dressed way over the Mama’s level: tailored black pantsuit, sapphire-blue silk scarf worn like a choker around her neck, filmy edges shimmering in the turbulence created by dancing bodies.

She walked gingerly across the sawdust in pointy, high-heeled black boots, carrying an oversized black bag that could have been crocodile. She had a long face and long teeth but elegant carriage and demeanor and a lush body saved her from horsy. Her jet-black hair was poker straight and thick, and flowed over her shoulders like an oil spill. She came over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Her eyes were soft blue, red around the edges.

“Thanks for meeting me on such short notice,” Barnes said.

She looked at the chair, brushed off the seat with a paper napkin and sat down. “You couldn’t do better than this dive?”

“It’s on the way to Sacramento.”

“Thank you and I appreciate that, but so are a few fine restaurants, Will.”

“I like the music. How about some wings and a beer?”

“How about no wings and a Scotch?”

“That can be done.” Barnes signaled the waitress and ordered a Dewar’s on the rocks. Jane reached in her bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “You always were kind of a cowboy.” She lit up and blew out a plume of smoke. “So, what was so urgent that it couldn’t wait?”

“I’m talking to just about everyone who knew Davida, and you knew her very well.”

Jane shrugged. “And?”

“What can you tell me about her?”

Her eyes got wet. “She was a remarkable person. Committed to what she believed in, very comfortable in her own skin. I admired her so much, I still can’t believe…”

She started to cry. Barnes was right there with a napkin, but she elected to pull out a tissue from her exotic skin bag. She blew her nose and dabbed her eyes just as the waitress plunked down the glass. Barnes paid the bill and the tip and edged the glass closer to Jane. She sipped, took a second swallow. Half the whiskey was gone before she decided to resume the conversation.

“I talked to Lucille this afternoon. She and my mom are good friends.”

“Like you and Davida.”

Jane smiled. “Second generation…anyway, the poor old woman is having a rough time. I’m spending the night with her…I don’t want her alone.”

“That’s really nice of you, Jane.”

“Actually, I was thinking of moving in with her for a while…just until…”

Barnes waited for more.

“I don’t know what just until means,” Jane said. “She’s not even my mother and I feel the need to look after her. Make sure she doesn’t sink into a bad depression, although who could blame her if she did?”

Barnes nodded.

Jane said, “My mother never needs anyone. So strong. She comes across DAR but back when we had the ranch, she’d be sinking posts with the guys.”

“I know,” said Will.

“You were one of them?”

She didn’t even remember.

He said, “Summer job, I worked at a whole bunch of ranches. Your mom was tough.” Speeding up in that big, pink Lincoln, not a glance at the hired help as the car kicked up dust.

“Do you think it’s weird that I want to stay with Lucille? I haven’t asked her yet. I suspect she’ll say no.”

“She probably will refuse your hospitality, at first. Later on…” Barnes shrugged.

She frowned.

He said, “You feel close to her, it’s no sin.”

“I’ve known her forever. We’ve all known each other so long.” She finished her Scotch and Barnes called for a refill.

He said, “It’s nice to stay in contact with old friends. And Davida and you were very old friends.”

Jane nodded. “We hadn’t been in much contact for about fifteen years. But when I moved back to Berkeley, we picked up where we left off.”

Whatever that meant. “Did that cause any problems with Minette…your being so close to Davida?”

Jane stared at him.

He said, “Being such an old friend. Minette impresses me as the emotional type, with or without a good reason.”

“You’ve got that right, Will. Minette has a lot of problems and jealousy was one of them. She resented Davida nursing me through my divorce. Once Parker lost his money, his entire personality deteriorated. He’d waver between being a vicious bear and a passive lamb, you can’t even imagine. One moment, I was afraid he’d assault me, the next he’d be sobbing on the phone, begging me to come back to him. I’m sure you remember.”

Their big stab at dating had come just as Jane had split from Parker. One of those accidents, Barnes running into Jane on Shattuck, he coming off shift, exhausted, in a down mood. She leaving Chez Panisse. Alone. Needing to talk to someone.

They went for drinks. One thing led to another. She had a gorgeous body but her enthusiasm waned midway through.

He said, “I remember you being nervous about him. I don’t remember you saying he wanted you back.”

“I didn’t want to burden you with sordid details, Will. It was totally my fault that Parker and I got married. When I met him, I admired his machismo and his take-charge attitude. It took about four months to realize how controlling he was. That’s always been my mistake. I hook up with the ultramacho men and get surprised when they turn brutal. Call it growing up with a dominant mother and a father who wasn’t. I suppose I got used to people pushing me around and long for the daddy I never had…that’s what I really liked about Davida. She always let me be me.”

“You two travel together at all?”

Jane lifted her head from her Scotch, looked him square in the eye and didn’t answer him.

Barnes said, “Alice Kurtag said you two went away together for a few days to unwind.”

“Yes, we did.” Jane was still trying to stare him down. “What better way to get your mind off of your troubles? I was involved in a horrible divorce and Davida was stressed about the stem-cell bill. We went hiking and white-water rafting.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It was the best weekend I’d had in a long time.”

“Jane, I’m sorry to have to ask you this, but were you involved with Davida? I’m bringing it up because Davida was infected with gonorrhea and if you were- ”

“Are you serious?”

Barnes nodded.

“Hah.” Jane shrugged. “She never said a word to me about that. Then again, why would she? I would imagine she’d be embarrassed about it.” She glanced at her watch, finished off her Scotch and started to open her wallet.

Barnes stopped her. “My treat. So you’re okay healthwise.”

“I’m fine. Perfect. And in answer to your question, Davida and I were just friends. Period. I’m sure Minette gave it to her.” She stood up. “It’s getting late.”

“What’s the rush? It’s not that late and you’ve only got about thirty miles to go.”

“All true, Will, but still I’m done here.”