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“Nice to meet you, Dallas.” We laughed together, and I knew Katelyn and I were going to get along just fine.
“I have another question,” I said, still holding her hand in mine. “Why didn’t you introduce yourself as property?”
“Because I’m not property. I’m Chris’ wife. He is a not a patch-holder, so therefore he can’t have any property in the club. I won’t get a patch, or any kind of recognition as part of the club, until my husband becomes an official member. Then he will have the option to make me his property.”
“Which he will,” I clarified, although she didn’t seem to need confirmation.
“First, we have to get him patched in,” she said, in a rush of breath. Her husband’s prospecting period was taking its toll on her, too.
“He will be fine. You playing poker?” I asked, finally releasing her hand, so I could put my hair up.
“No. I’m just gonna watch,” she said, watching me as I piled my hair on my head.
“You should play. It will be fun.” I wanted to encourage her to participate and be a part of the group. What I would have given to have that year to bond with the club, instead of just being thrown in and given a title.
“I can’t. But I don’t mind. I’ll be y’all’s errand girl.” She smiled at me, reassuring me with her eyes, and I heard her silent plea to just let it go. I wondered why she didn’t want to play. She never said she didn’t know how, just that she couldn’t.
“Hey, ya coming?” Maddie asked, barging into my room and going straight to the bathroom.
“Yeah, I just need a mirror.” I followed Maddie into the bathroom, leaving Katelyn, who busied herself with making my bed. I started to tell her to stop, but she seemed to need to do something to make her feel worthwhile. “Reckon something is wrong with Katelyn?” I whispered to Maddie, as I fixed my hair in the mirror.
“What do you mean?” she asked, unconcerned.
“Well, I asked her if she was going to play poker and she said “I can’t.” Not like she didn’t know how, but like maybe someone didn’t want her to.”
“It’s probably the money, Dallas. Hell, prospecting is expensive. You’re always on the go, and most of your free time is spent with the club. Between work, a mortgage, a car note and all that other shit you have to pay for to live in this world, I’m sure money is tight.” Maddie joined me in the mirror, as she attempted to fix her own hair, which looked just as messy as mine.
“Yeah, but it’s only twenty dollars,” I said, finding Maddie’s excuse for Katelyn’s behavior a very poor one.
“To you, Dallas. To most people that’s groceries or a half tank of gas. Not everyone was born a millionaire.”
“But the club has money,” I argued, letting Maddie’s comment about my financial upbringing go in one ear and out the other.
“The club. He isn’t a member of the club. He is prospecting. If a brother falls on hard times, the club helps him out. If a PROSPECT falls on hard times, he’s shit out of luck. If he didn’t have his finances in order then he shouldn’t have joined. I’m not saying they are poor or broke, I’m just saying that times are hard right now. I overheard Brooklyn say that they just bought a two hundred dollar tire. Again, that ain’t a lot to you, but when you makin’ three fifty a week, that can put a hurtin’ on ya.” I’d never had money issues, so they were something very foreign to me. I’d dealt with people who worked for me and had asked for advances, and I’d never really had any compassion for them. Now that I saw the sacrifices Chris and Katelyn were making on the club’s behalf, it made me more aware of how serious the issue could be. I knew that in the end, they would get much more in return and it would be worth the struggle, but it never occurred to me how much prospecting affected the lives of the people involved. Sacrifice was one of the things PROSPECTs needed to help prove their loyalty. It would be much easier if there wasn’t so much at stake, such as your family, your finances, and your life, therefore proving that this is something they must really want if they were willing to risk the things that held such high importance in the everyday life of everyday people. I wanted to help Katelyn, but I didn’t want to offend her, and I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing. I was sure Maddie would keep her mouth shut about our conversation. I would not make Katelyn feel like a kept friend, but I didn’t want her to miss out on this bonding opportunity either. Sure, she could visit from the sidelines, but if she participated, she would gain so much more. I found Katelyn still tidying my room when I emerged from the bathroom.
