Friendly Fallout 1953

Candi

95 Candi “Cute,” giggles Ginger, holding a wrinkled page up so her five cohorts can see. “Some short-timer must have spent his last hours printing it out.” “Or just a few seconds,” Candi snickers. “Look at the sloppy printing. Red crayon, like grade school.” “The Atomic Angels expl ode with Music,” Jane reads aloud. “Explode, my ass,” Ginger responds. “We’re gonna deflate in this horrible wind.” Flicking her cigarette lighter, Candi grabs the homemade flyer and holds it to the flame. “I’ve never been so cold in my whole life. Never!” “Freeze my tits off,” Bobby Sue mutters. “No tits, honey, you’ll have to find a new line of work,” Ginger chirps, tugging a tight blue middy over her ample bosom. “Then you’ll really be out in the cold.” “Look out! You’ll set the tent on fire!” Jane, always practical, shoves a number 10 can filled with sand toward the pretend campfire. Candi drops the burning sheet of paper into the makeshift ashtray and looks around for more fuel. Watching the bottom line of the flyer turn to ashes, Bobby Sue points to more silly words. “‘Onstage at Times Square.’ What’s this New York nonsense ? Aren’t we still in the middle of nowhere Nevada?” “I think that’s what they call the Desert Rock parade ground. Times Square.” “Why?” “Makes things seem more civilized.” “Hardly possible in this godforsaken place.” Sylvia’s ever-present homesickness bubbles to the surface. “I hate it here.” “Sylvia!” Ginger’s playful voice turns solemn. “What’s not to like about a khaki compound filled with horny men and we’re the only girls in sight?” That observation brings a faint smile to the pouting corners of Sylvia’s mouth. “Well, I guess you might be right about the wildlife. But the scenery sure is ugly.” “Girls! Stop your chatter. There’s a show to perform in fifteen minutes.” Joey’s voice, sounding urgent, comes from just outside the tent flap. “Finish getting dressed, and stop fooling around!” 96 F R I E N D LY F A L L O U T 1953 “Better hop to,” Jane tries to persuade the others. Sylvia shakes her head and stares at the olive-drab canvas. “Whose bright idea was this, anyway?” “Joey’s. And the Maestro’s. Anything for the troops.” “Good press for the Desert Inn, too,” Jane sardonically observes. “Bet this was Mr. Clark’s idea in the first place.” “Yeah. He eats up publicity.” “But he doesn’t have to sing and dance from morning to night.” Sylvia is still unhappy. “And freeze to death in these skimpy costumes.” “We’ve gotta wear ’em again tonight, too. When we finish here, it’s back to Vegas in time for the evening show.” “Brutal!” “Couldn’t they have picked a warmer day?” Shivering, Candi begins struggling into her black net hose. “Damn, it’s cold.” “The . . . Boys . . . Will . . . Love . . . Us,” Linda emphasizes each separate word. “We’ll warm ’em up for sure.” “They’re hot already. Did you see that cute sergeant manning the gate? All those muscles? Yummy!” “I sure did. Said he was off duty at 11, just in time to catch our act.” “The corporal who waved us in here, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Ginger.” “Hot . . . To . . . Trot.” Ginger thrusts her chest forward and sounds as throaty and as sexy as possible in the nippy morning air. “While we’re turning into polar bears!” Candi’s hands, tugging her left stocking, are still shaking. “Aren’t deserts supposed to be hot?” Bobby Sue drawls. “I should’ve stayed in Georgia.” Ginger shrugs, and starts pinning her tiny pillbox hat to her thick auburn hair. “Anybody got an extra bobby pin?” Opening her night case, Jane pulls out a handful and tosses them on the cot. “Honey, wait ’til that sexy blue-eyed corporal finds a hairpin in his sheets tonight. The boys’ll razz him for sure!” “Let’s have some fun.” Candi reaches into her purse for an old tube of lipstick , checks to see that it’s almost empty, and then tucks it under the pillow. Bobby Sue joins in, spraying a squirt of perfume on the corporal’s wool blanket. “Magnolia Blossom. A bit of the Old South,” she smiles. Candi 97 Laughing together, the girls finish getting dressed, Linda and Bobby Sue in red...