by Loy Holder
Dancing Up the Ladder
Loy Holder
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or they are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.
Title: Dancing Up the Ladder
Copyright: LCCN 2016916033
Cover: Designer’s Choice
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment.
No part of this Book is to be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the author.
ISBN 10: 1539021149
ISBN 13: 9781539021148
September 2016
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016916033
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform North Charleston, South Carolina
In Appreciation
Many thanks to the SCEG Writer’s Group. You listened to and commented on this book. My heartfelt thanks go to P. L. Clark who beta read and made suggestions. Every one of you made this book better.
I dedicate this book to my husband, James David Holder. His encouraging words were music to my ears, his faith in me unfailing. So I kept writing.
He made life easier for me. He built me a desk, ran errands, did the laundry, brought me lunch, snacks, and so much more. He gave me the time to write.
He set aside his dreams of travel so I could write. He loved me enough to let me follow my dream and cheered me on to the finish line.
I love you, Jim.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
* * *
Chapter One
It was June, 1967, when Liz parked her old Chevy in front of the house. Anxiety and the stifling Sacramento heat caused sweat to trickle between her full breasts. Tousled blond curls clung to a flushed cheek as she turned to her children on the back seat. “Wait in the car, babies. I won’t be long.”
The garage door was open, and her pulse quickened as she entered through the laundry room. She walked down the hall toward the bedroom, tense and afraid. Ron staggered into the hallway. His huge frame blocked her path. “What’re you doing?” His bloodshot eyes glared at her.
“I’ve had enough.” Liz stood up to him, her feet firmly planted. “I’m leaving for good. I just came for my things.” She kept her gaze steady. Hatred of him grew, and it bolstered her nerve.
“No, you’re not.” He steadied himself with his hand against the wall and glanced down the hall. “Where’re the kids?”
“In the car. They’re going with me.” She took a step forward.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Ron shoved her out of the way and went into the garage. He snatched a sledgehammer from the shelf and headed for the Chevy.
Her adrenaline spiked, and she grabbed his arm to keep him from swinging the sledgehammer at the windshield. “You son of a bitch. No! The kids are in there.” He wheeled around and punched her in the mouth with his free fist. She fell backward onto the pavement, and her world went black.
When the fog lifted, she felt a tooth drop onto her tongue, and she spit it out. Blood spurted from her gum and split lip and ran down her chin. She struggled to her feet; glass crunched under her sandals. Hysterical, she screamed, “Somebody help me!” But no one came. Afraid to tackle Ron again, she watched in horror as he smashed the front and back windows while the children shrieked and sobbed on the back seat.
“You’re not going anywhere now, bitch.” Ron gave her a maniacal grin as he stumbled toward the house.
The instant he went into the house, Liz yanked the back door of the car open, and her heart nearly stopped. Christ, there’s glass everywhere. “Stay still, babies. There’s glass in your hair and eyelashes.”
Four-year-old Ronnie Jr. and three-year-old Regina were cowering on the floorboard. In between sobs, Ronnie Jr. yelled, “Why’d he try to hurt us, Mom?” Regina just shook and cried.
Liz’s heart pounded like a bass drum. “Keep your eyes shut no matter what.” She lifted each child onto a hip and ran from the house. She glanced over her shoulder a few times to make sure Ron wasn’t coming after them. As she ran, her feet burned in her Birkenstocks. Her hips ached, and her lungs felt as if they would explode. Tears stung her cheeks, and the blood began to coagulate on her chin.
Somehow she made it to her friend’s house two miles away. She set the children down on the front porch, banged on the door, and frantically began brushing more glass particles from their hair, skin, and clothes. Kay opened the door. She took one look and yelled, “What the hell happened?”
Breathless, Liz managed to say, “Ron smashed the windows in the car, and the kids were in the back seat. “
“Oh my God, get in here.” Kay pointed toward the bathroom. “Go clean up. Your face is a mess. I’ll work on the kids.” Liz froze, watching Kay remove the children’s clothes. “Liz, I’ve got this. Go take care of yourself.”
“OK, I’m going.” Liz walked into Kay’s small bathroom and looked into the round wicker-framed mirror. She hated what she saw. Her face was smudged with dirt, and a thick trail of congealed blood ran from her swollen split lip, down her chin and neck, to her favorite shirt, creating a large red corsage. Her head and jaw vibrated with pain and, when she examined her throbbing gum, she saw a huge gap and remembered spitting out the tooth. Damn, I should have picked that up. She heard her children’s voices and water running in the other bathroom. Good. It sounds like Kay’s bathing the kids.
She longed for a shower, but there was only a pedestal sink and toilet. She saw a thin bar of soap balanced on the edge of the basin. She let the water run until it got hot and with a gentle touch, removed the grime and blood from her face and neck with a washcloth. The bleeding had stopped, and she made a mental note to ask Kay for an ice pack. If only her head and jaw would stop pounding. After rinsing the bloody washcloth with cold water, she pressed it to her lip to slow the swelling.
A wave of dizziness and nausea forced her to back up and sit down on the toilet lid. She leaned forward, planted her elbows on her knees, and pressed the cool rag to her lip again. God, please make the world quit spinning. What am I gonna do? I can’t go back home. Kay’s hou
se is too small even for a short stay, and I don’t have a car. The dizziness subsided a bit, and she stood and walked out of the bathroom.
Liz found Kay and the children in the kitchen, eating fresh-baked cookies. Ronnie and Regina were talking a mile a minute, telling Kay what had happened. Kay glanced up with a tentative smile as Liz entered the room. “Well, your face looks clean.” Then she stared at Liz’s mouth. “Your lip is swelling. Let me see inside your mouth.” Liz opened her mouth. “Oh my God, your front tooth is missing. You need to call the dentist and maybe even the doctor. Come sit down, and I’ll get you an ice pack.”
“You read my mind, but I need to call my boss. I can’t work like this.”
Kay untangled the long cord and brought the phone from the kitchen counter to the table. She put some ice in an empty plastic bread wrapper and set the homemade ice pack by the phone.
While Liz dialed her boss, Kay sent Ronnie and Regina out in the backyard to play with her three kids. Lucille answered after two rings. “Hello.”
“Hi Lucille; it’s me, Liz.”
“Hi, there. How are you?”
“I’m not doing so well. I’ve left Ron. He went crazy and smashed all the windows in my car. He did a number on my face, too.”
“How bad is it? You’re talking funny.”
“It’s bad! I can’t come to work like this. I’d scare all the customers away.”
“What’re you going to do? Where are you now?”
“I don’t know what to do. This all just happened, and I have to figure things out.” Liz stared at the ice pack. “I’m at a friend’s house, but I can’t stay here.”
“Then bring the kids and stay with me until you get everything straightened out. I have room.”
“Thanks, but I don’t have any way to get there.”
“Hey,” Kay interrupted. “You can have the old clunker on the side of the house. It even has gas. Go ahead and take it.”
“Uh, my friend here says I can borrow her car. If we stay with you, you can take rent out of my check.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just come over. We’ll sort everything out later.”
“OK. It’s around four. I’ll be there by seven.”
“Good. See ya then.”
Liz hung up the phone and rubbed her pounding forehead. “Geez, that was unexpected.”
“Looks like you have one problem solved.” Kay paused while Liz put the ice on her lip. “Have you known your boss long?”
Liz succeeded in talking in spite of the ice pack. “Ron’s been drinking up his paycheck, so there’s no money. I found this job about three months ago, dancing two or three nights a week. That’s where I met Lucille. She hired me, and we just hit it off.”
“Oh Jesus, Liz, tell me you’re not dancing naked.” Kay looked startled. “Does Ron know what you’re doing?”
“I’m not naked. I wear a two-piece costume with fringe and black fishnet stockings, and Ron knows I’m working in a bar but not about the dancing.” Liz tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
“Wow. I’m jealous. With those blond curls, big blue eyes, and long legs, I’ll bet you’re a hit. Who watches the kids?”
“I don’t know about being a ‘hit,’ but the customers are nice. Ron’s sister, Charlie, watches the kids. He’s always out drinking. I usually beat him home, and he doesn’t mind the money I earn.”
“What’s the place like?”
“It’s right across the street from Aerojet on Folsom Boulevard. The customers are mostly engineers and scientists who work at Aerojet. They come in for pizza and beer on their lunch break. A few regulars come back after swing shift. I haven’t had any trouble, and the best thing is my paycheck every week.” Her lip was numb, so she moved the melting ice pack to her jaw. “I dance my butt off. Sometimes I serve, too, if we’re slammed. I think this ice is turning to mush.” She glanced at the clock on Kay’s kitchen wall. “Uh, I should probably round up the kids. Can I buy that car from you?”
“Oh, you haven’t seen it yet.” Kay chuckled. “You might change your mind after you drive it. Just drop the ice bag in the sink, and come take a look. I’ll get the keys.”
Liz followed Kay to the side yard. There it was, roosting in the tall weeds near the fence, a midsized army-green Ford monster with a broken side mirror, but the tires looked good. The driver’s side was unlocked. Kay handed her the key, and Liz got in and put it in the ignition. The engine roared to life, but Liz noticed the car was a stick shift. “Yikes. I’ve never driven a manual shift.”
“Ah, you’ll be fine. I need to open the gate; then you can drive it into the street and take it for a spin. I’ll watch the kids.” Kay dragged the wooden six-foot gate back over the thick vegetation. Liz paused for a second, listening to the assuring purr of the engine. She remembered what she’d heard about driving with a clutch. First, she glanced at the picture on the gearshift. Next, she pushed down firmly on the clutch and shifted into what she hoped was first gear, let the clutch out slowly, and pressed down on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward but didn’t stall. Kay was laughing and clapping her hands. “See, you can do it.”
Liz practiced driving around the block until she was sure she could make it safely to Lucille’s, and then she parked in front of Kay’s house. When she walked in the front door, Kay asked, “Well, what do you think?”
“It’s great, but I thought of something else. I still need to go to my house. I need clothes and stuff for the kids. Should I call the police? I’ll need help if Ron’s there.”
“They’re going to take one look at you and know you’ve been clobbered. That’s domestic abuse. They’ll ask if you want to press charges. You need to think about that before you call.”
The phone was still on the kitchen table. Before Liz dialed the number, she glanced at Kay and shook her head. “I’m not going to press charges and piss Ron off even more.” She called the sheriff’s department and spoke to the dispatcher. She told him what had happened and asked if an officer could meet her at the house.
Liz hung up and said, “A deputy’s gonna meet me at the house in a half hour. I’d better get going. How much do you want for the car?”
Kay wrinkled her nose. “How’s three hundred dollars sound?”
“Deal. I’ll mail you a check as soon as I can.” Liz gave her friend a hug. “Thanks for everything. I’ll call you.” Liz and Kay walked outside, and Liz waved at her children. “Hey, you two, it’s time to go. We’re going to our house, and then we’re gonna stay with my friend Lucille for a few days.”
Ronnie’s face turned ashen, and his lips quivered. “No, Mom, Dad’s mean. I wanna stay here and play.”
“Don’t worry, honey. A policeman will be there to help us get our things, and Lucille is a very nice lady.”
Regina started to cry. “Mommy, I don’t wanna go. I’m scared.”
Liz knelt and put her arms around them. “Listen, the policeman will be there, and he won’t let anyone hurt us, OK? We have to get your clothes, and you can each get your favorite pillow and blanket. We’ll have a nice long talk about everything once we get to Lucille’s house. Can you both be brave for Mommy?”
Ronnie said, “Yeah, but can we get some toys?”
“Of course you can.”
The children dragged their feet walking to the car. When they arrived at the house, Liz parked behind a squad car. A deputy was examining the inside of the Chevy. He looked up and saw them. Liz tried to smile, but her swollen jaw refused to cooperate. “I’m Deputy Hansen. You must be Liz Harmon.”
“Yes, and I’m glad you’re here.”
“I see what you meant about the headlights and windows in that car.” He gestured toward the Chevy as Liz was getting out of the Ford.
The deputy gave the children a welcoming smile and looked Liz over with a concerned expression. “Boy, you really got whacked. Have you seen a doctor? And do you want to press charges?”
“I gave that some thought on the way over here, but no, I don�
��t.”
“Why not? We could charge him with child endangerment and spousal abuse for starters.”
“I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder. If he gets arrested, he’ll make bail and be out with two more reasons to kill me; I left him, I had him arrested, and it cost him money. I just want to get my things and go.”
“All right. It’s your choice. You have the key?”
“Yes.” Liz held it up.
The deputy opened the door to the back seat of her Ford. “You guys come on in with your mom. OK?”
Ronnie looked toward the house and hesitated. “Is Daddy here?”
Liz motioned to her children. “No, honey. His truck is gone. You and Regina come in so you can get your clothes, and you’ll need your combs and toothbrushes. I’ll find your suitcases once we get inside. Oh, and you can each pick out some toys as well as your favorite pillows and blankets.”
The children looked toward the house and then up and down the street before they ventured out of the car. As they passed by Deputy Hansen, he said, “Don’t worry, kids. I’ll wait out here on the porch and keep you and your mom safe if your dad comes home.”
It took the children forever to collect their belongings. They were having trouble deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Regina was staring at both of her dolls, choosing which one to take. In between sobs, she whimpered, “Daddy will hurt her if I leave her here.” She picked up “Judy” and pounded the doll in the face to demonstrate.
Christ, she saw Ron hit me. I’ll have to deal with that later. Liz hugged Regina. “OK, sweetie, how about if you bring both Susie and Judy. Would that be better?”
Regina looked up and smiled through her tears. “Yes.” She picked up both dolls and hugged them to her chest. Liz hugged her, “Good, sweetie. Now let’s put some clothes in your suitcase.” She helped Regina finish packing, and went into Ronnie’s room.
He seemed to be struggling over which of his favorite shirts to take. Liz gave him a hug. “Why don’t you bring them all?”
“Can I?”