Distractions (14 page)

horizon; thankfully, the car rental was a

twenty-four hour place, so I did not have

to wait for them to open. The roads were

free of any snow, so after acquiring a

large cup of coffee, I chose to indulge in

one of my favorite past-times.

I had enough time to cross the city

and watch the sunrise from Garden of the

Gods Park. Although it was freezing,

there was something transcendental

about sitting on the crest of the hill,

discovering the first slivers of gold

breaking through. The sky blossomed in

shades of purple, magenta, blues and

oranges. Bright rays danced against the

large stone outcroppings of rocks that

towered all around me.

Vivienne would be arriving in a

few hours. Not wanting to get caught in

the morning traffic, I plotted my route

around the city to check out some old

haunts. First, I took a leisurely stroll

through Manitou to taste from the natural

springs that were scattered throughout

the city. Then I went in search of some

funky Native American jewelry and

before I knew it, the time had flown by

rather quickly.

Rushing to get to the airport, I

crossed the street to get back to my car

without paying attention. The loud sound

of a car horn just a few feet from my

body fully woke me up. All I could make

out against the glare of the sun was the

grill of a Jeep that just narrowly avoided

hitting me. I probably scared the poor

person to death. Unfortunately, mornings

are not my friend and my middle finger

went up before I could stop it. The

driver raced off as soon as I was safely

on the sidewalk. If my nerves were not

already shot, it may have bothered me

more. I decided not to tell Vivienne

since I was okay and vowed to pay

better attention. Not even three hours

back and I was already courting harm.

I made it back to the airport in one

piece to pick my sister up. She looked

just as bad as I did and was in dire need

of sleep, too. We called the hotel and

gave them our sob story. They graciously

allowed us to do an early check-in since

it was the off-season and they had plenty

of rooms. Although we agreed to no

more than five hours of sleep, twelve

had passed before I heard knocking on

my door. Vivienne crawled into my bed

and shut out the light once again.

A few hours later, we both awoke.

She had contacted some of her friends to

notify them she would be back in town

and wanted to see them. I told no one, as

there was no one I wanted to see. I

wanted to get this done and get out as

soon as possible. She headed for dinner,

leaving me alone in the elegant room. It

may have been beautiful, but it was

claustrophobic. I had nowhere to go until

the next afternoon, so I decided to take a

drive past my old school, my old home,

and old friend’s homes.

I was a ghost revisiting history.

Everything looked different, but the

same. Earlier in the morning, I had seen

how progress spread across the Front

Range like a disease. Subdivisions and

shopping centers sprawled as far as the

eye could see. Magazines consistently

ranked it as one of the best places in the

country to live, but I disagreed. I saw

him everywhere I went. Every memory

tainted by the asshole I spent years trying

to forget. I needed a drink, or two or

three. Before I knew it, neon lights

reflected off the frost surrounding the

edges of the windshield. Pulling up the

club’s website on my phone, I confirmed

what I had suspected. Some things never

change.

Chapter 13 – A

Seed is Planted

The engine of the small rental

started to idle a little higher while sitting

in the parking lot. The heat cranked up

full blast as steam coated the inside of

the windows, creating a visible barrier

to the freezing world outside. The

thermostat

read

fifteen

degrees

Fahrenheit; with the wind, it felt much

worse – the kind of cold that sinks into

your bones and only a hot bath can

remedy.

“Some night for a bikini contest,” I

thought to myself.

It was a night not unlike this one

when I first took to that stage. However,

it was humidity causing a fog on the

windshield as the cold blasted from the

air conditioner back then. It all started

with my co-worker, Taylor, from the

diner I worked at, telling me in a

whisper while stacking heavy ceramic

plates full of food on a tray that she

made seven hundred dollars the previous

Saturday. Waiting tables was good

money for an eighteen year old; granted

it was hard work and I smelled horrible

at the end of each shift, but it was better

than a drive thru.

“How did you make that much

money?” I was highly curious, and

jealous.

She remained quiet the rest of the

night until we were starting on our side

work. Heading towards a booth in the

back of the restaurant, we hauled racks

of silverware and packets of napkins to

roll for the next morning. Looking

around to make sure no one was within

earshot, she leaned forward to me and

motioned with her eyes for me to pay

attention.

“I went to the bikini contest at the

Front Street Cabaret and I won, so they

offered me a job. I got to keep all the

bills that were given to me during the

dance and my winnings were five

hundred bucks.”

My eyes turned into saucers with

my mouth gaping open at the same time.

“You’re a stripper now?” I could not

believe what came out of my mouth.

A slightly sour look came over her

face. “It’s not what you think, Vy, and

it’s a really nice place. No poles, there

are security guards, and a killer sound

system.”

I don’t know who she was trying to

convince more about it, me or her. She

went back to placing the forks and

knives horizontally in the napkin before

swiftly rolling it with her palm in one

fell swoop.

“It’s so easy. You just dance, which

we do every weekend at the clubs

anyways. You just get paid a lot for it.”

My nose twisted up as my eyes

squinted in thought. “Yeah, but what

about the greasy dudes? I don’t think I

could do it.”

Shaking my head, I reached over

for another pack of napkins. I wasn’t in a

hurry to finish like most nights, but I

couldn’t believe Taylor and I were

having this conversation. I knew a little

bit about the place, Connor liked to go

there occasionally with his buddies. His

friends dated a few of the girls, who all

happened to be idiots, in my opinion.

“You should do it, Vy. You are

gorgeous, you can move, and I know you

would be good at it. Besides, I really

like working with you.”

A tinge of sadness crossed her eyes

as she looked down at the pile of rolled

silver.

“You’re quitting, aren’t you?” I

said flatly.

Sucking in a deep breath and giving

a pause, she finally brought her eyes

back to mine. This time they were full of

determination. “I told Gary this was my

last shift. I start at the club Wednesday. I

only have to work two nights now and I

will be able to focus on school.”

Summer had just started and here she

was already thinking about the fall.

“Think about it, Vy.” And just like that,

the subject was changed to where we

were going out that weekend. It didn’t

matter, though. The seed had been

planted.

The week had passed without much

fanfare; it was actually a lot harder at

work without Taylor there. We were

swamped as impatient customers waited

longer and longer for service. Gary tried

his best to help keep everyone calm

during the rush, but understanding staff

shortages was not their concern. All I

could do was keep a smile plastered on

my face and haul ass as best as I could.

My arms were starting to develop welts

from the hot plates I stacked four deep.

Several hours later, I was by

myself

in

the

booth

wrapping

silverware. I had to pick up where

Taylor had left us hanging, and it was

too much. After counting my tips, I had

made two hundred and thirty dollars.

Under most circumstances, I would be

thrilled, but I busted my ass for over

twelve hours for that. It was only ten-

thirty pm. My legs ached and I was

covered in splattered food. Taylor had

sent me a text that read.

“12:30, shower and shave. See you,

hot stuff.”

I closed the cover on my phone and

let out a deep breath. I reached for the

edge of the table, sliding myself out of

the booth. After a quick walk through

and shutting off the lights, I knocked on

the office door. Gary was inside,

counting down the till while listening to

talk radio. He was obviously frazzled.

He waited until he was finished with the

stack of bills in his hands before

acknowledging me.

“Here’s my bank – it’s all there. I

will see you tomorrow.”

Without even looking up, he

reached his hand out and motioned for

me to hand it to him. Setting it down next

to him, he picked up another stack and

started sliding the money from one hand

quickly to the other. No “thanks”, or

“good job”, not even “okay”. Pausing for

a moment, I waited. Finally speaking, all

I got from him was, “Need something?”

Pursing my lips tightly together, I

shook my head slightly. “No, I’m good.”

I turned and walked towards the

back door. The jerk didn’t even make

sure I was safe walking to my car. After

scoping the parking lot to ensure no one

was around, I ran quickly to my spot.

Locking the doors, I opened up my phone

to the last text. “See ya, doll face,” I

replied.

Chapter 14 -

Skeletons

I reckoned myself to what could

possibly take place tonight if I walked in

those doors after all these years. No one

would recognize me, and if Frankie

Pazaletto still ran the place, I could

drink in relative peace. Last time I was

here, women were generally prohibited

from entering alone, but considering it

was Friday night and the website said it

was still the monthly bikini contest, I

was not too worried.

The large security guard at the

entrance gave me a smile as I walked

past the door he opened for me. I could

hear the bass pounding loudly as soon as

my car door opened; now it was rattling

my bones. The no smoking policy had a

group of men sitting in a special lounge

designed for them. Smart – give them

what they want, but make it so they don’t

wander off too far. As I approached the

reception booth, the young girl with

teased hair and an orange tan was

playing on her smart phone and chewing

gum.

She looked up at me briefly. “ID

and twenty-five for cover.”

I smiled while reaching into my

clutch. “I’m actually here to see Frankie.

Is he around?”

Looking annoyed, she grabbed the

walkie talkie off to her left. My eyes

followed the hot pink acrylic nails that

curled around the sides, pressing in the

button which made a sharp pitched noise

as she yelled, “Frankie, some one’s up

front here to see you.”

Static sounded for a few moments

before we heard his curt reply. “Who is

it? I’m busy, Sam.”

Looking back at me, she waited for

my answer. “Tell him it’s Starla.”

The name rolled off my tongue like

honey. I hadn’t said it in so long. I