At Last

by Aliyat Lecky

  Mom stood behind the bar in her usual huff, irritated beyond measure by nothing in particular. As she often stated, she was over seventy years old, and she had earned the right to behave as she did without provocation. However, tonight, she had a reason to be ill-tempered. Her younger daughter, Lisa, had brought her girlfriend, Ro, for everyone to meet. Of course, she had nothing against the girl, but Mom had long been holding out for Lisa to come to her senses and date Jack. Mom liked Jack from the first time she met her when Lisa brought her home to visit from college. Now, Mom would have to wait for Lisa to get over this one before she saw Jack for the catch that she was. Mom stood behind the bar, shooting daggers at Ro, who made every attempt to get on Mom’s good side. Ro even offered to help out at the bar in a thinly veiled attempt to earn points with Mom. In the end, she was shooed away by Magda for consistently delivering the wrong drinks to impatient customers.

  Magda maneuvered the crowded room like an old pro, delivering drinks to patrons who preferred to not venture too close to Mom. She was really the only person in the room who was not afraid to get into Mom’s personal space. She was perhaps the only person, including her own children, who could stand up to Mom when she was in such a bad mood. Magda stepped to the beat of the music, carrying a heavy tray of colorful concoctions high above the heads of the clientele, which she delivered to a table of newbies who had just arrived with Wire.

  Wire sat at the back table with a group of women who had come to Bath’s for the first time. As soon as she walked in, she sensed that the club was electric. She noticed that a great many of her friends had braved the cold for karaoke night, including Noami. Wire watched Noami for a while from across the room. Before venturing over to where she was standing, she pointed Noami out to the ladies at her table as the one that got away. She also noticed Angie on the dance floor, and assumed that Helen must be present as well. Wire thought it best to say hello now before Noami was joined by Helen or her friend. After all, she had learned to give Angie a wide berth.

  Angie was on the dance floor with a group of ladies, as usual. Their group was small, but was spread out on the dance floor. Angie was feeling good to be out. She and Orlando had been arguing lately, and things were tense at home, so it felt good to release her tension on the dance floor. Angie was on the floor, showing members of her group the special Chi-town version of the electric slide when she accidentally bumped into Lisa, nearly knocking her on her ass.

  Having finished her set, Lisa had located her girlfriend, Ro, and was just making it out on the dance floor when out of nowhere, Angie bumped her so hard from the side, that she stumbled a few feet before she crashed into Noami, who was standing among her friends on the dance floor, doing her best to hear what Wire was trying to communicate over the two women singing loudly and off-key to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodger’s song, Island in the Stream.

  Helen turned up late, so when she arrived, the party was in full swing. As she stepped through the door out of the cold, she was in desperate need of hard liquor—and Noami. She scanned the room for friendly faces. Droves of women looking for action, clustered around the space, impeded her clear view of the dance floor, so she wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t immediately locate Noami or Angie. She was certain they were both on the dance floor. Instead of lingering on the edge of the polished wooden floor where she positioned herself to look for her friends, she stood just clear of the pulse of bodies. Before she could find a decent table from which to watch the action, a warm, distressing wave stirred through her body. Wire was coming straight toward her. Helen wasn’t so much distressed by Wire’s presence as she was by the fact Wire had made eye contact, and was actually making a beeline in her direction.

  “Helen, do you want to dance?” Wire asked the question as if there was nothing remotely bizarre about the invitation.

  “No, thanks.” Helen tried to sound as gracious as possible. “I don’t think so.”

  “Please, let’s dance. I’d like to apologize about barging in on you and Noami. I didn’t realize you were there.”

  “Thanks. I heard your apology. Now, if you will excuse me.” Helen wanted to wipe that impish smirk right off of Wire’s face.

  “Right, you probably have to scoot off and find your own party, am I right?”

  “I’m looking for friends, yes. I’ll tell you what. If you want to dance, why don’t you wait a while? I’ll make sure you get on my dance card.”

  Wire laughed. “If you are looking for Noami, she’s over there with her girlfriends.” She motioned toward the other side of the dance floor. “She’s watching them karaoke. But, now, if you are looking for your girl, Angie, she’s the party in the middle of the dance floor.” She nodded behind her.

  “Thanks.” Helen was trying her best to be gracious, but she wasn’t certain of Wire’s motives. She knew Wire wasn’t trying to be helpful.

  “Helen, what are you doing over here?” Helen turned around to face Magda, who had come behind her quite suddenly, carrying a tray of drinks. “You don’t want to stand here. Let’s get a drink and find everyone.” Magda balanced the tray on one shoulder, and pulled Helen by the waist over to the bar. After they put a little distance between them and Wire, she loosened her hold around Helen, but didn’t let her free altogether. “You should stay away from her. She is a troublemaker.”

  “Thanks. I know. I don’t understand what her problem is with me. I try to be pleasant, but every time I see her, she wants to play games.”

  “That’s what you get when you play in the playground with the little kiddies.” With that, she was gone.

  Helen was so grateful for the rescue, that she didn’t mind the playful dig. Magda certainly didn’t appreciate the fact that Helen was dating someone younger.

  About a half an hour after she had arrived, Helen found an acceptable table near the karaoke stage. While she had caught a glimpse of Angie on the dance floor, she had yet to spot Noami. Helen settled into her seat. Every once in a while, an acquaintance would drop over to exchange a comment regarding any triviality that occurred to them. They shared the hottest gossip of the evening, or a personal snippet from their winter thus far, often complaining about the amount of snow that had fallen that winter, or groused about the heat of the club. Once, Magda returned in an attempt to tempt her out to the dance floor. Helen had no interest in dancing.

  She was content to sit on the sidelines and watch the action from a safe distance. She didn’t mind being in the thick of it like Noami and Angie but she preferred sitting back as an observer. When she first began to spend time at Bath’s Wife, Helen wouldn’t have dreamt of sitting alone in the jam-packed room. Feeling conspicuous, she was too self-conscious about sitting alone in a room of people who all seemed to be linked somehow. Now, as she spent more time developing her sense of self, she found that she rather liked sitting back and watching the dynamics of the crowd. It was almost like doing field research. In fact, if Helen had thought about it, she had ended her search for either Noami or Angie, and was perfectly happy to be sitting alone, amused by the energy around her.

  “I’d like to dedicate this song to my best friend in the whole wide world…Helen.” Angie’s electronically enhanced voice echoed from the small stage. Helen’s face warmed ear-to-ear, and she was sure that despite the bright blue lighting, her blush was visible from where Angie was standing across the room. “I love you, Helen.”

  In response, Helen lifted her drink to her slightly inebriated companion.

  Angie began to sing off-key.

  “Hey, when did you get here?”

  “Not too long ago.” Helen raised her chin. As usual, Noami tasted of Violets. “I looked for you when I first arrived, but really, there was no finding you in this madhouse. Have you been enjoying yourself?”

  “Yes, but I know it’s going to get better now. You want another drink?” She sat in the chair next to Helen. “I haven’t started yet. I was waiting for you.” She claimed Helen’s mouth for herself again. “You smell so goo
d.” With a devilish glint in her eye, she added, “You know, we don’t have to stay here. We can go elsewhere.”

  “I bet we can. Maybe later.” Helen winced at a note Angie didn’t hit well. “Ask me again in a few hours.” Helen removed Noami’s fingers from their exploration down the front of her low-cut dress.

  Angie continued to sing loudly from the stage.

  “A few hours, huh? I guess you plan to be here for a while.”

  “That was the plan.” Helen teased. She loved how she felt with Noami. With Noami, she felt empowered to be strong and free. Helen had always understood her sexual power—her authority. She was conscious and confident of her ability to wield her sexual prowess, however, she had never had a body react to hers as Noami’s had. Helen felt as though she wanted to possess Noami. Nor had anyone ever inspired the involuntary response Noami’s physical presence elicited from her. It was as though at times Helen couldn’t control her corporeal response to Noami. Noami held the keys to all of her sensual triggers.

  Angie ended her song with a grand flourish. “Yes, you can always count on me, Helen.” Helen laughed, enjoying her friend’s rendition. She was feeling pretty good that evening. The only obstacle that threatened to bring her down from her high spirits was the fact that Wire had been glowering at her ever since Noami joined her at their table. Prior to Noami’s arrival, Helen had no idea where Wire had gone after she declined her invitation to dance, but almost as soon as Noami discovered Helen sitting there on her own, Helen looked up, and Wire was seated a few feet away, glaring in their direction.

  Angie joined them shortly after she finished her song. “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, how could we not? You had a mic,” Helen said playfully.

  “Noami, that’s our song,” Angie said. “We claimed that a long time ago, didn’t we, Helen?”

  “We did.” Helen nodded, her attention momentarily on the stage. “Oh, good. Jack and Lisa are going to sing. They both have lovely voices.” Jack and Lisa took the stage and began to sing, Seduces Me by Celine Dion.

  “Let’s dance.” Noami pulled Helen gently from her seat and onto the dance floor. “Excuse us, please, Angie.”

  Angie nodded.

  Helen was feeling good. Noami was looking good. They kept time to the music, except their movement was almost nonexistent. What began as side-to-side sway quickly changed into a slow grind. Helen was happy to let Noami lead. She had trouble keeping time with the beat. Slow dancing with Noami and keeping time was simple impossible. Noami’s body so close to hers was too much of a distraction. When Noami held her closely as she did, her body craved consideration.

  Lisa’s melodious voice cut sweetly across the dance floor, creating a mood for the many couples moving slowly together. Noami held Helen as close as she could as she swayed sensually to the music. By the song’s end, they were not really dancing, as much as they were making out on the dance floor. Helen was ready to take Noami up on her offer to vacate the premises in order to find the quiet and privacy of Noami’s nearby loft.

  “Damn, I thought I was going to have to hose you two down out there.” This was Angie’s way of welcoming them back to the table. “You need to get a room.”

  “Excuse me, Angie, but you didn’t actually say we should get a room? Did you?” Helen thought that was the funniest thing she had heard all evening.

  “Yes, I did.” Angie laughed out loud at her own humor. Noami didn’t comment. She was used to their banter, and had learned early on to remain out of the crossfire.

  “I’m going to the bar. Anyone want a drink?”

  “Vodka Sour.”

  “Sex on the Beach. I’m buying this round.” Angie held up a wad of cash, which Noami promptly ignored. “She’s so proud. Has she ever let you buy your own drink?”

  Helen shrugged.

  “So proud. Does she have any idea what you’re worth? If she did, she’d let you buy the drinks.”

  Helen shrugged again. “She’s not doing so bad herself. You have any idea what she charges for one of those portraits?”

  “Yes, I know precisely what she charges. Richard just about had a stroke when she quoted him a price.” Angie seemed really to be enjoying her own wit. “I bet he wishes he turned her down now.”

  “Angie. Don’t be so mean.” Helen didn’t want to laugh at Richard’s expense.

  Angie nodded. “You’re right. I need to be focusing on my own troubles instead of laughing at other people’s problems.”

  “Why, what’s going on?” Helen asked.

  “Orlando. He’s upset with me right now. He thinks I betrayed Richard.”

  “Oh, Angie, I’m sorry.” Helen lowered her face close to Angie’s.

  “Don’t be. He doesn’t really believe that. It’s just that he’s still in shock. He doesn’t know how else to support Richard. He’ll come around.”

  “What has he said to you?”

  “It’s not so much was he’s said. He won’t even discuss you and Richard with me. Not really. He is turning into quite the passive aggressive little bugger.”

  Helen listened intently. “What do you mean?” She couldn’t imagine Orlando, who was always pretty straightforward, behaving in that manner.

  “He won’t discuss what’s going on with you two, but he makes little comments that make his displeasure of my support of you and his defense of Richard quite clear.”

  “Oh, Angie.” Helen hadn’t imagined Angie’s relationship would be affected by the choices she was making.

  “Don’t worry, Helen. He will come around. If he doesn’t, I’ll find me a chick to date. I assure you, he’ll come around. I can hold out much longer than he can.”

  “Angie.” Helen covered Angie’s hand with her own. “What can I do?”

  “Nothing. I suggest you worry about her.” She pointed at Wire, who had just joined Noami at the bar. “Anyway, I told you I can hold out much longer than he can. If it gets too bad, I’ll just call his mom. Joyce’ll set him straight. Later. My fans are waiting for me.” Angie left the table to join her friends under the flashing lights.

  Helen looked in the direction that Angie had indicated. Sure enough, eight women were standing on the edge of the dance floor, waving Angie over. She was immediately lost in a bevy of young lovelies.

  “Where did Angie go?” Noami was back with the drinks. “I brought her drink.”

  “She’ll be back.” Helen took a sip of her drink before changing the subject. “What’s with Wire?”

  “Wire?”

  “Yes, she was with you at the bar. I just wondered if she had anything interesting to say.”

  “She wasn’t ‘with’ me at the bar. I was there, and she was there. We were not together.”

  “I see.” Helen sensed that Noami was immediately irritated by her question. “What did she want?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t give her the chance to say much. Besides, she wasn’t so much interested in getting something from me, as she was with giving me information.”

  Helen was intrigued. “So are you going to tell me what that means?”

  “Yes, Helen, in fact, I am.” Noami’s tone had hardened. “She mentioned that you two had quite an encounter when you arrived.”

  “What?” Helen was incredulous. “She didn’t say that, did she?”

  “She did, but what did she mean?” Noami adjusted her seat so that she and Helen faced each other. “Why didn’t you tell me you spoke to her when you first arrived?”

  “I didn’t think it was a big deal.” Helen answered honestly.

  “It is. She’s always trying to undermine our relationship. I happen to believe that anything she has to say to either of us is relevant, and at least warrants some mention.”

  “You are overreacting.” Helen was growing irritated. Her buzz from the slow dance was beginning to dissipate quickly.

  “Here’s what I think, Helen.”

  “Yes, please enlighten me.”

  “I feel that we need to be open and h
onest with each other. We need to be able to discuss anything, especially given the fact that we are both coming out of relationships with people who would like to sabotage what we are building.”

  “When you say people, you mean Wire and Richard, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, then, if you really mean that, then why haven’t you shared with me that Richard has, in fact, called you on at least one occasion?” Helen could tell by Noami’s reaction that she had not expected Helen to bring up the call Richard had made to her to ask her to end her pursuit of Helen. “And then, let’s discuss why Wire would feel it would be appropriate to drop by your house at all hours of the night without, as you claim, an invitation from you.” Helen hadn’t meant to go that far, but she had. Noami hadn’t once mentioned Richard’s call. She was relieved at first when Noami neglected to mention it, because in the beginning, she preferred not having that particular conversation, but as their relationship evolved, the fact that Noami had not broached the subject bothered her. She hadn’t realized how much until that very moment. Nor did she appreciate how much her comment would cost her. Noami became defensive. Instead of remaining at the table and talking out their issues, she disappeared to the hot, crowded dance floor in order to cool off, leaving Helen alone to nurse three drinks.

  “That’s the trouble with youth. They prefer to walk away, rather than fight it out and move on.” Magda sat without an invitation.

  “Go away. I’m in no mood.” Helen pushed back from the table.

  “I could go away, and you could leave. Or we could sit and talk.”

  “About what?” Helen searched the mass for signs of Noami. “I’m tired. I think I’ll call it a night.”

  “No, you aren’t tired. Besides, she’ll be back.” Magda smiled. “How about a drink while you wait?” She held her hand aloft, as if she were in school. A server was at their table immediately.