Short Story

SHELTER IN A STORM

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Today in The Unicorn Challenge we are asked
to share how this photo inspired us.
This is my response.

© Ayr/Gray

Local businesses had taken a great hit during the recession and now the once lively and robust shopping district was nothing more than a ghost town. The barber shop, which was there for years, struggled to stay afloat as did the bakery across the street and the café around the corner.

Among the hardest hit was the exclusive coterie located in the elegant apartments above O’Chester’s Barber Shop – The Arlington, known as one of man’s last bastions, a gentlemen’s club, a cigar lounge, a house of prostitution.

Included in the clientele were politicians, celebrities, business executives and police officials; there was never a fear for the girls who worked at The Arlington or for the proprietress, Madam Josie Arlington.

All the men who frequented O’Chester’s were also clients of Madam Josie. There was a door in the back of the barber shop which opened onto a staircase leading to the rooms upstairs. The Arlington was an expensive ‘$5.00 house’ known for its opulence and beautiful foreign girls who offered exciting and unique talents.

Madam Josie was held in the highest regard for her discretion. Her customers felt safe knowing their reputations would never be tarnished. Josie had the presence of mind to install a private rear door which provided an inconspicuous exit.

Josie was a wise businesswoman; she knew one day she might be forced to call on her clients for help. Keeping an immaculate account of each man’s name and sexual proclivities was her shelter in a storm.

NAR © 2023
250 Words

The Unicorn Challenge-17/11/23

This is “Gimme Shelter” by the Stones.

36 thoughts on “SHELTER IN A STORM”

  3. She was indeed a wise woman. Such gullible clients, believing they weren’t risking anything indulging their ‘proclivities’ at Madame Josie’s ‘$5 house’. There will always be a reckoning.
    I’m going to read about the real Josie very soon. She was obviously no fool, but I’ve got a gnawing concern about the ‘beautiful foreign girls’ working there. Fascinating story.
    I like how your story builds up, paragraph by paragraph. The introductory paragraphs lead the reader unsuspectingly through the history and landscape of the town and into The Arlington before we know what’s happening. Well done.

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    1. Thank you very much, Margaret!
      I don’t know why Storyville, New Orleans holds such an allure for me; I’ve always been a history buff and the stories of these women doing whatever needed to be done to survive is something I find fascinating.
      Your in-depth comments are greatly appreciated; it’s gratifying to know my stories are really being read! Here’s a link to another tale about Storyville, if you’re so inclined. Thanks again!
      https://theelephantstrunk.org/2023/03/28/mahogany-hall/

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      1. You’re welcome. Your stories are worth ‘really being read’! You always achieve an appealing, authentic voice that invites readers in and takes us into the world of your characters. Thanks for the link. I’ve left a comment there. I find history fascinating too, and I admire fiction writers who can use historical settings effectively and subtly. I can understand your interest in Storyville – what an intriguing time and place it must have been.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kieth. Madam Josie Arlington was a real person from Storyville, the infamous ‘red light district’ of New Orleans in the early 1900s. This is the 2nd story I’ve written about Storyville; I’m fascinated by the history.

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  10. JIngs, Nancy, who knew a seemingly innocent shop front was the facade for such goings-on!
    A whole lot happening in your entertaining tale.

    PS Can you please explain later what you mean by ‘ exciting and unique talents’?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Sometimes these golden opportunities are
      staring us in the face and we don’t even see them.
      And to think, I named my story the same name as this song!
      It must have been dormant in my subconscious until just now.
      Thanks, Ivor, for Dylan’s virtual inspiration!

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