His co-worker Ned, a guy in his early forties who had been with the brewery almost since its beginning, had brought his own car and headed out by himself. Chris stayed behind at the exhibit while the other guys used the restroom. He and his co-workers Tom, Eric, and Scott had ridden together, and they had decided to grab dinner at a restaurant a couple of miles from the hotel. The crowd had thinned to a few stragglers, and the people from most of the other exhibits had already left.
He probably had a few minutes to call Rebecca. He knew he would miss her on this trip, but not to the extent he did. Thoughts of her preoccupied him, making him fidgety and anxious as he continually recalculated how long it would be until he could see her. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, how’s it going?” The sound of her voice brought him the first peace he’d felt all day.
“I miss you.” Geez. He hadn’t meant to blurt that out right off the bat, but there it was.
“That’s sweet. I miss you, too. A whole lot.”
Chris sagged against a cinder block pillar. At least it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Maybe a little distance would be good for them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. “Any plans for tonight?”
Her laugh tinkled like a spoon against a full champagne glass. “Oh, yeah. First a gourmet meal consisting of a frozen burrito with jarred salsa. Then maybe a walk around the neighborhood before I kick back with whatever I’ve got on the DVR. And, if I can stand the excitement, one of those little containers of ice cream. Portion control, you know. What are you doing tonight?”
“We wrapped up here at the convention center, so as soon as a few of the guys get back from the men’s room we’re going to have dinner at an Italian place near the hotel.”
“That’s it? No happy hour or a movie or anything?”
“Nah. No one’s mentioned anything. My feet are kind of tired from standing on concrete all day. I’m good with going back to the hotel and crashing.” Looking up, he noticed the other guys making their way back to the display. “Looks like everyone’s back. I’d better go. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay. Enjoy your dinner.”
Scott and Eric laughed hard about something. Tom wore an uncomfortable smile, like he didn’t find it funny but didn’t want to say so.
“Talking to your girlfriend?” Scott asked.
“Just checking in,” Chris said and slid the phone back into its holster.
“Don’t you have to check in, Tom? You’re the newlywed,” Scott said.
“Nah,” Tom said as he rubbed his palms up and down the sides of his jeans. “Ashley’s cool about things. I’ll call her tonight.”
“Let’s go then,” Eric said and pulled his keys from his pocket.
The restaurant served authentic Italian, and Chris couldn’t help thinking Rebecca would like the place. He tuned in and out of the table conversation. A lot of it centered on some mutual friends he didn’t know, and the rest revolved around a videogame he’d never played. He hadn’t used his Xbox in months. There didn’t seem to be time for that stuff anymore, and he didn’t miss it. The sound of his name brought him back to attention.
“How about it, Chris? You up for some fun tonight?” Scott asked.
“Maybe. What do you have in mind?”
“There’s a gentleman’s club about twenty minutes from here,” Eric said. “Thought we’d stop by and pay a visit to Miss Savannah Sexton.”
“Gentleman’s club? As in strip joint?” Chris’s muscles tensed. Not this. Not yet. He’d only been working with these guys a few weeks.
“No, gentleman’s club. It’s classy,” Eric said.
“But there are still strippers, right?”
“You got a problem with that?” Scott said in that Mafia don voice everyone imitated.
A dry laugh came from Chris’s throat. “Uh…let’s just say you can drop me off at the hotel. It’s been a long day.”
“C’mon. The girlfriend’s got you on a short leash, doesn’t she?” Eric asked.
“No, I just don’t go for that stuff.”
“Or…do you play for the other team?” Scott asked.
Chris wouldn’t even dignify that with a response. Tom had been quiet. “Are you going, Tom?”
Sounding less confident than he looked, Tom said, “Sure, why not?”
Maybe because you’ve been married all of about three months, and your wife wouldn’t be happy to know that the first time you’re apart, you run out to ogle other women.
Scott jumped back in. Scott, the guy he reported to. The same one that had a hand in hiring him. “Come on, man. Everyone else is going. It’s like a work bonding thing.”
Three weeks into the new job, and he had to choose between violating his conscience and making nice with his co-workers. There had to be a way out of this.
“Everyone? I don’t see Ned here.”
“Ned doesn’t count,” Eric said. “He’s been married like, forever, and has half a dozen kids. There’s a lesson there. If you don’t do this stuff now, your old lady’s never going to let you do it later.”
Scott’s head bobbed up and down in agreement. Tom had a weak smile pasted on. He wondered if these guys, two of whom were divorced, had ever thought that maybe the fact that Ned didn’t participate in these extracurricular activities had something to do with the stable marriage and houseful of kids.
He knew he was going to have to give them some kind of firm answer or explanation or they were going to badger him and drag him along. His parents may have not raised him to have faith, but they did teach him to respect women. His mother told him never to forget that the girls in those clubs were someone’s daughter or sister or mother. For that reason, he’d stayed out of those places in the past, and he didn’t intend to patronize one now.
“Do what you want to do, but I’m out.” He hoped his tone would put an end to the coercion.
“You’ll change your mind when you get a glimpse of the girls,” Eric said, elbowing Scott.
“Whatever,” Scott said, “but we’re not taking you back to the hotel. It’s in the opposite direction. You can come in and live a little with us or you can stick your head in the sand and wait in the car. It’s up to you.” He pulled a credit card from his wallet and laid it on the table alongside the check as he motioned for the waitress.
Chris couldn’t believe this. They were going to hold him hostage in a strange town. He could call a cab, but maybe if he went along he could at least talk Tom out of going in. Tom looked pasty, and Chris knew he didn’t want to go.
They rumbled into the gravel lot and parked. It looked as if someone had assembled several adjoining shacks, slapped some paint on and gone into business. Garish colors covered the windowless walls, some hot pink, and some sea foam green. The sign above the tallest roof flashed “Live girls.” As opposed to dead ones? A poster next to the front door advertised the presence of the voluptuous Savannah Sexton, whose seductive eyes beckoned passersby to come see what she could do with that red cherry that dangled from her tongue. It was so cheesy it bordered on laughable. Chris thought it appeared more like a strip joint than a so-called gentleman’s club.
Eric shifted the car into park.
“Last chance, Reynolds,” Scott said and turned toward Chris in the back seat.
“Thanks. I’ll pass. I’ve got my iPhone to occupy me.”
“You just became the designated driver, too,” Eric said as he opened the car door. Scott exited as well. As Tom moved to get out of the back seat, Chris put a hand on his arm.
“I wouldn’t mind the company.” He gave Tom one last opportunity to go home to his new wife without a bunch of uncomfortable secrets.
“Sorry, man. I wouldn’t have picked this place, but I’m not going to screw with them. I want to keep my job. Besides, what Ashley doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Chris looked away. What could he say that wouldn’t make him look like an obnoxious moralizer? Tom obviously cared more about being one of the g
uys than being a proper husband. “Your decision,” was all he got out before Tom slammed the car door behind him, leaving Chris in a dark parking lot where he’d get to watch the seedy comings and goings all night long.
He slid down into the seat, pulled out his phone, and called Rebecca. She picked up right away this time. He pictured her on her couch watching TV, her phone nearby waiting for his call. Maybe that’s not how it was, but he liked the idea anyway.
“Hello, Chris.”
“Hey, how was that burrito?”
“To die for. And your Italian food?”
“Very good. You’ll never guess where I am.” He watched as an older man, who looked to be in his seventies, exited his Oldsmobile and headed for the door. Chris shook his head in disbelief.
“Where?”
“The parking lot of…” He looked up at the sign. “Rocky’s Roadside Lounge.”
“What’s that?”
“Strip club, or as the other guys prefer to call it, a gentleman’s club.” He didn’t know how that line was going to go over.
“What are you doing there?” At least she sounded confused, not angry.
“Sitting in the car talking to you while my co-workers get drunk and stuff dollar bills into scantily-clad women’s cleavage.” Let her chew on that a minute.
“Did they give you a hard time about not going in?’
“Not too bad.” He guessed that was true. It could have been worse. The real test would come when they went back to work. “Would you mind keeping me company for a while?”
“Not at all. You’re a good man, Chris Reynolds, you know that?”
Chris rubbed the back of his neck. Hearing her say that almost made up for this lousy situation. “You make it easy for me to be that way.”
“Don’t try to give me credit. Doing the right thing is seldom easy. I wish you had at least one ally there with you.”
“Well, the one guy who I think would agree with me was smart enough to bring his own wheels. I had no idea they were going to pull a stunt like this.”
A comfortable silence hung between them for a few seconds. A group of six thirty-something guys entered Rocky’s. Bachelor party maybe?
“Chris, would you still feel the same way about me if I had, you know, done stuff in the past?”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Worked in a place like you’re at or slept with other guys.”
Why was she asking? Was there something she wanted to confess or was she just insecure about his feelings for her?
“That’s a tough question. I love who you are right now. I don’t think anything in the past would change that. It all made you who you are today.”
“You wouldn’t see me differently?” She tried to pin him down, but he didn’t know why or if he had walked into a trap.
“I don’t know. This is all hypothetical. Care to tell me why you’re asking?”
She sighed. “It’s nothing bad. I just…I’ve been reading the books you loaned me, and it’s got me thinking.”
“About what?”
“Well, our church was big on abstinence pledges and purity and all that, and I’m grateful for that, really. I mean, my dad wasn’t exactly a fount of information on that kind of stuff. He laid down the rules, and if you broke them you were in big trouble, but he never explained what the rules were for or made any allowance for mistakes.”
“Uh-huh.” Chris didn’t want to say much; he wanted her to continue.
“The message I got was that if you sinned, if you had sex before you married, you were worthless. They even gave examples like used tissues, chewed up food, and all kinds of stuff to show us how our lives would be ruined. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it kept me on the straight and narrow, but talk about harsh. Didn’t they tell us we had to forgive one another and that God forgave us? So, why was that like, the unforgivable sin that would ruin your entire life and make you unlovable?”
“That’s what you were taught?”
“More or less. I think that’s why my dad dressed us like extras from ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ For the longest time, if I wore anything more revealing than a burlap sack, I felt dirty.”
Well, that would explain that hideous whatever-it-was she wore that morning for church with her dad.
“To be honest, Chris, I never heard anything good about Catholics. John, I mean Father John—I’m never going to get used to that—he totally confounded me, I guess because he didn’t have seven heads and horns or something. And I kind of had mixed feelings about going to Mass with you. But what I’m reading in your books makes so much sense, and it’s really . . . some of it’s beautiful about sex and the meaning of our bodies.”
Chris couldn’t get his mind and his mouth to work in tandem to formulate words. He’d prayed for this, but he didn’t realize until that moment its importance to him. He repositioned himself in the seat and cleared his throat. He wanted her to come to her own conclusions, not scare her off. “Well, when you’re done, there’s plenty more on my bookshelf if you’re interested.”
“Thanks.” He heard a bag rustle on her end and then the sound of running water before she spoke again.
The odor of cheap cigarettes drifted into the car as a balding, middle-aged man made his way to his truck. Chris wrinkled his nose. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
Without anything in particular they wanted to discuss, they filled the better part of three hours talking about everything and nothing before Rebecca yawned.
“I’m going to let you go. Thanks for keeping me from getting bored out here.”
“How long are they going to be?”
Chris started to say he didn’t know when Scott pushed open the door followed by Eric and then Tom. Tom immediately took off for the side of the building where he vomited behind an outdoor ashtray. Great. Should be a fun ride.
“They’re here now, and I’m the designated driver, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Tom was standing upright now and caught up to Eric and Scott where they waited for him at the corner of the building. “Rebecca?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.” A pause followed, and he dared to hope.
“Good night, Chris.” His name on her lips felt like a tender caress. He tried not to let it bother him that she still hadn’t said it. He slipped the phone back in its holster, got out of the car, and walked around to the driver’s seat.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“You missed a good time,” Scott said, “Aside from lightweight here tossing his cookies a couple times.”
A couple times? Yeesh. Why didn’t they bring some kind of bucket for him or something? Oh well. Not his car.
“Yeah,” Eric said, slurring his words. “Savannah got her—”
“I don’t need a play-by-play. Let’s get Tom back before he pukes again.”
No one could argue with that, and the ride back to the hotel was quiet.
***
Chris wanted to bring a souvenir back for Rebecca, but new clothes for a new job and coming up with a down payment for a car had left him strapped for cash. He had his eye on one small thing at another vendor’s booth, but it needed something else to go with it. Today would be his last chance.
He had borrowed Eric’s car to go to church. Since he had already been pegged as a square for not going along with the previous night’s activity, why not go all the way and be tagged a holy roller as well?
As he walked through the hotel lobby, a noxious floral scent assaulted him. The desk clerk smiled, and he silently commended her bravery for opening her mouth to those fumes. He spotted the culprit: a jar candle that burned on the desk. Thank God the wick burnt low, which gave him an idea.
“Could I have that jar when the candle burns out?”
“Sure. In fact, you can take it now if you want.” She blew out the flame and handed it to Chris. “Lid, too?”
“Yes, please.”
“Careful, it’s still hot.” She handed the empty jar to him fro
m across the desk.
“Thanks.” He took the candle back to the room, wiped it out with some paper towels, and then used hot water to get out the remaining wax. The clerk had kept the wick short, and few black marks lined the rim.
Figuring Eric and the others were still sleeping off last night, he hurried to the car for a quick trip to the beach and back before breakfast.
***
Chris called about nine o’clock at night from somewhere east of Lancaster and asked if he could stop by. He had to get his motorcycle at work, and he’d be passing through Harrisburg on his way home. Did he think she’d say no? She considered leaving her pajamas on, but then decided she ought to get dressed. She wouldn’t bother with makeup though; he’d seen her look worse when they were camping.
The mere knock on the door filled her heart near to exploding. She opened it, and before she could even get out a “hello,” his palms squeezed her cheeks and his mouth crushed hers.
“See how much I missed you?” he breathed against her lips.
“Wow, that much?” She took a step back to let him through the door.
“More. I was holding back.”
Her heart thudded. That was restrained? What would it be like if he weren’t holding back? “Is it safe to let you in?”
“I’ll behave, I promise. I just missed you like crazy, and I’ve got a caffeine buzz. The other guys weren’t up to driving, so I got to man the wheel while they slept. I needed some high test java to keep me going.” He picked up a small gift bag from the floor and walked in.
“Can I get you something? A mild sedative maybe?” She took a seat on the couch next to him, smiled, and took hold of his hand.
“I’m good. Thanks.” His left knee bounced up and down, and he took the brown paper shopping bag from the coffee table where he had set it and handed it to her. “This is for you.”
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