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@@@@@"It's good to have you back home again, neighbor Rhett was sitting on the Coopers' piazza drinking tea with Tommy's mother when the boy came homeCooper introduced her son to Rhett, then sent him inside to leave his schoolbooks and wash his hands and faceButler is going to take you to histailor, TommyHe has a nephew in Aiken who's growing as fast as you are and he needs you to try on things so he can pick out a Christmas present that will fit Out of sight of the adults Tommy grimaced horriblyThen he remembered bits and pieces he'd heard about Rhett's flamboyant youth and he decided he'd be happy to go along and help out MrMaybe he'd even find the nerve to ask MrButler a few questions about things that were bothering him Tommy didn't have to askAs soon as they were well away from the house, Rhett put an arm around the boy's shoulders"Tom," he said, "I have it in mind to teach you a few valuable lessonsThe first is how to lie convincingly to a motherWhile we're riding on the streetcar, you and I will talk in some detail about my tailor and his shop and his habitsYou'll practice with my assistance until you've got your story straightBecause I don't have a nephew in Aiken, and we're not on our way to the tailorWe're going to ride to the end of the Rutledge Avenue line, then go for a healthy walk to the house where I want you to meet some friends of mineTommy Cooper agreed without argument He was accustomed to having his elders tell him what to do, and he liked the way MrButler called him "Tom Before the afternoon was over and Tom was delivered back to his mother, the boy was looking at Rhett with such hero-worship in his young eyes that Rhett knew he'd be saddled with Tom Cooper for years to come He was also confident that Tom would never forget the friends they'd gone to seeAmong Charleston's many historic "firsts" was the first recorded whorehouse "for gentlemen only It had moved its location many times in the nearly two centuries of its existence, uppose the train's early, Rhett?" Eleanor Butler looked at the clock for the tenth time in two minutes"I hate to think of Rosemary being at the station with nobody there when it's getting