I came over and leant my arms on the bottom of the bed-rail. “I’ve done some lousy jobs in my time, but this wrecks me.”
Ackie let go of Blondie and went over to have a drink. “You’re right, Bud,” he said after a long pull. “But you gotta look at it like this. It’s an act of decency.” Ackie was pretty high.
“Come on then. Let’s get her dressed.”
I got hold of Blondie and stood her up against the wall. I put one foot against the toes of her shoes to prevent her feet sliding and I held her under the arms. Her eyes kept meeting mine, and it gave me the heebies.
Ackie fastened the step-ins round her waist. He was sweating, but stuck to it. We sat her on the bed and put the slip over her head, then we stood her up to adjust it and she slipped out of my hands. She went down on the floor with a crash.
Ackie took off his hat and fanned himself with it. “You didn’t do that on purpose?” he asked, looking at me suspiciously.
“I bent down and got Blondie on the bed again. I was feeling bad. “Come on… come on…” I said, “Get her dress on, for Pete’s sake.”
We got her dress on. It was the worst job of the lot. Neither of us liked to handle the sticky front, and Blondie had a couple more falls before we were through.
Ackie said seriously: “Do you mind if I cat in your bathroom?”
I said: “Have a drink instead. You got too much liquor inside you to waste.”