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Gabe pulled Memphis into a corner "Brother, when I said you should find yourself a girl, I didn’t et into it with Gabe, so he just said, "It’s a free country" He walked into the kitchen to buy a couple of drinks, and Gabe followed

"No, it isn’t You know that"

"Well, it should be"

"Should and is aren’t the saets tired of you, or worse, accuses you of so? You remember Rosewood?"

"Two beers!" Me that town into this, Gabriel?"

"That town got burned to the ground because a white woman said--"

"Gab-ri-el!" Alonna blow that horn or run your ar," Gabe called back, s He dropped the sh they’re slu the best tables in our own clubs e can’t even get a table in theirs! Or that they’re trying to take over our business from the inside, like what happened with the Hotsy Totsy Now you want to go and parade around with one of the, Gabriel"

"Brother, you are borrowing trouble Do us all a favor: Escort her out front, help her to a taxi headed don, and say good-bye"

"Don’t tell me how to run rabbed hold of Me to save it You get caught by the wrong people, and you won’t be able to heal what they’ll do to you"

"Told you, I can’t heal anyritted teeth He twisted out of Gabe’s grip, paid for his beer, and pushed his way through the dancing party to where Theta sat, swinging her leg along to the Count’s crazy piano rolls

"You copacetic, Poet?" Theta asked

"Me? I don’t orry"

"Sure you don’t," Theta said, watching his face closely "Kind of smoky in here, huh? Maybe we should take a breather?"