One Among Us

by Paige Dearth

  As they waited, Maggie fidgeted, and Rock sat on a barstool watching the stripper. He’d called the day before and talked to Jay, the bar manager. Apparently, he was the guy who made all the decisions when it came to hiring dancers. Rock knew little about Jay, but he did find out from him that Double Visions let the girls keep their tips without paying the house a percentage. The thought of keeping all of Maggie’s tips was appealing to Rock, and that had been the deciding factor on which strip club to choose.

  Only a few minutes later, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and glasses came up the steps in one corner of the room. He strode over to Rock and Maggie, reeking with authority.

  “Hey, Rock. Good to meet you,” Jay said, extending his hand.

  “Yeah, man. Same here. This is Maggie,” Rock said, gesturing behind him.

  As if Rock wasn’t there with them, Jay walked over to Maggie and shook her hand. “Hey, Maggie. Good to meet you. Before we get started, I need to make sure you’re eighteen,” Jay stated.

  Maggie nodded but remained silent.

  “Great. Then you have ID I can see?” Jay asked.

  Maggie reached into the pocket of the trench coat she was wearing and gave Jay the fake ID that Rock had given to her for the audition. It was a Pennsylvania driver’s license that had been expertly converted with Maggie’s picture and the name Maggie Brown. Jay looked it over, satisfied that it was a real license, and handed it back to her.

  “All right. Let’s go downstairs to my office,” he told her.

  Rock slid off the barstool to follow.

  “Nah, man. You need to stay here. We don’t allow boyfriends in there during the interview. In fact, no boyfriends are allowed in the bar during a dancer’s shift. You gonna be OK with that?” Jay asked.

  “Um, yeah, sure. I’ll wait up here, then,” he said. He gave Maggie a look of warning.

  Maggie followed Jay downstairs. To the right was a large dressing room where two girls were sitting in front of mirrors applying makeup, lots and lots of makeup. They looked up and watched her in the mirror as she walked by. She followed Jay down a short hallway and into his office. Inside, a beautiful blond-haired woman sat in a chair next to Jay’s desk. Jay sat behind the desk and said, “This is Shiver. That’s the name we use for her here because the men say when she dances, it makes them shiver from head to toe. Shiver helps me with all of the dancers. Keeps things in order and prevents the girls from trying to make money on the side doing the kind of shit I don’t allow in my bar.”

  Maggie gave her a broad smile, and Shiver was drawn to her. It wasn’t just Maggie’s youth and beauty, but a certain vibe the girl gave off that put Shiver at ease. She rose to her feet and gave Maggie an embrace.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Maggie. We want you to relax,” Shiver said, sensing Maggie’s tension.

  While Shiver talked to Maggie, asking questions about her dancing experience, Jay watched her closely. Her face was beautiful, and her blue eyes were phenomenal, almost unreal. It made him wonder if she was wearing colored contacts. But her hair was in a sloppy bun on the top of her head, and the trench coat was baggy, making him doubt that she was the whole package. But that was exactly Rock’s plan. He intentionally had her look the way she did, and Maggie had been told exactly what to do when the time came.

  “Part of our interview is to get to know you, and the other part is to be sure you have the right look. Shiver and I will need to see you in a thong and bra. Are you wearing those?” Jay asked.

  Maggie nodded, and then said, “Yes. I actually wore one of my favorite outfits.”

  “OK, great. Let’s get to it then,” Jay said nonchalantly.

  Maggie unbuttoned her trench coat and let it fall to the floor at her feet. She was wearing a deep-purple, satin, push-up bra, her breasts forming perfectly round mounds above the cups, and a matching thong with rhinestones. On her legs, she wore sheer, white, thigh-high stockings with satin tops. The purple and white contrasted wonderfully against her skin tone, making her appear as if she radiated light. Jay and Shiver looked her over, and when their eyes rested upon her face, she removed the hair tie that held her messy bun in place. Her long, silky black hair fell below her waist. She was exquisite. Perfect. Too perfect to look natural. When neither of them said a word, Maggie reached behind her and unfastened her bra. As it fell away, her firm, round breasts remained in place, standing boldly at attention.

  After several moments, Jay spoke. “OK, that’s great Maggie. Can you turn around?”

  As she turned, the muscles in her thighs rippled, and when he looked at her tight ass, without an ounce of fat, he instructed her to put her trench coat back on.

  “So, I heard you telling Shiver you stripped before? I didn’t catch what bar that was at,” Jay probed.

  “Oh, I was telling Shiver I used to strip at small private parties. I’ve never danced in an actual bar before,” Maggie offered.

  “Was there more involved than stripping?” Jay asked.

  Maggie smiled. “Do you mean was I getting paid to have sex?”

  Jay nodded.

  “No,” Maggie stated, feeling as though she was telling the truth, since she never got to keep any of the money the sex traffickers made from her.

  “All right, good. I don’t tolerate prostitution in my bar. If I decide to hire you, and you’re caught having sex with our customers, and by sex I mean regular sex, hand jobs, blow jobs, all of it, you’ll be fired. Do you have any questions?” Jay asked.

  “Nope. I’m good,” Maggie told him.

  “OK. Let’s go upstairs, and we’ll have you dance, so we can see what you can do,” Jay told her.

  When they reached the bar, Jay went over to Rock. “Hey, Rock. I’m gonna need you to step outside. We want Maggie to dance for us. It’ll just be one song, and then I’ll send her out.”

  Rock stood slowly, put his hand over his money on the bar, and jerked his arm back. He shot an angry look in Maggie’s direction and left the bar. He wasn’t used to rules and people telling him what to do. Once Rock was gone, Jay gave the DJ a signal to begin a new song.

  “You’re up,” Jay told Maggie.

  Shiver squeezed Maggie’s hand. “Just get lost in the music. You’ll be great. Go get ’em.”

  Maggie started out slow and kept rhythm with the beat. When she shimmied up the pole, her strong calves made it look effortless. She swayed and flowed to the music. The few people who were watching her were mesmerized.

  When the song was over, Maggie felt euphoric. Her movements had come so naturally. She barely realized that the men around the bar were staring at her. When she got off the stage and walked over to pick up her coat, Shiver pointed behind her. “They want to give you money,” she said, feeling happy for Maggie. She’d seen enough to know that Maggie had the basic pole moves mastered, and with a little coaching, would be a superb dancer.

  Maggie walked to the four men, one by one, who were holding out dollar bills for her. As she stopped in front of them and held out her hand, each of the men paused before placing the bill in her palm. Jay had to refrain from laughing. Then he made eye contact with Shiver and gave his nod of approval. When Maggie got back to Shiver, she was excited.

  “OK, our first order of business is to teach you how to collect tips,” Shiver teased.

  “Why? What did I do?” Maggie asked, nervous she’d done something terribly wrong.

  Shiver took Maggie’s hand and pulled her along into the lap dance room. Inside the large room, there were double-wide seats separated by privacy panels. Shiver whipped off her tank top and let her bra drop. Her breasts, much larger than any Maggie had ever seen, popped out like two melons.

  “OK, now I want you to be one of the guys sitting at the bar.”

  Maggie giggled. “All right.”

  “Well, hold out your dollar for me,” Shiver said, egging her on.

  Maggie put a dollar bill between her middle and index finger, just like the men had done with her minutes before. Then she
was gripped, as Shiver made eye contact with her, making Maggie feel as though she were the only human being left on earth. Shiver pressed her boobs together with her hands, snatching the dollar bill between her breasts.

  “See, the men want to put their dollar bill between your boobs.”

  “Oh! Wow, I feel like an idiot,” Maggie admitted.

  Shiver laughed and put her arm around Maggie’s shoulder. “I think you’re going to do just fine here. Welcome to Doubles.”

  Chapter Eighty-Nine

  Maggie rushed outside where Rock was waiting.

  “They hired me,” she gushed, feeling relieved.

  Rock smiled. “Good. It’s a good thing for you this worked out. I’m makin’ some other changes too. You’re moving in with Juju, for starters. The other thing is, instead of trolling the Avenue, I’m gonna set ya up with clients in the apartments we use for our hourly customers. I’ll tell them you’re a stripper, and that’ll bring them in. This way I can keep track of your tricks so ya can’t rip me off anymore.”

  Maggie thought about what Rock just said, and her excitement mounted at moving in with Juju and Seth. It didn’t matter that they would be living on top of each other in the small, rundown, studio apartment. The only thing that really mattered was they would be together.

  “Sure, Rock,” she said casually, trying to hide her excitement. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Damn fuckin’ straight you’ll do whatever I want,” Rock mumbled as he walked toward his car with Maggie following closely behind him.

  During the drive back to Kensington, Rock explained that he would be “loaning” her money for new costumes, and she would have to pay it back.

  “Armando will drop ya off and pick ya up for your shifts. Don’t even think of pulling any funny shit ’cause I’ll have people on the inside watching ya. No lying, no stealing, no bullshit, or you and your friends will pay the consequences. This is the last chance you’re gonna get,” he warned.

  Maggie watched out the window of the car as the road raced by them. She remembered when she was a little girl, staring out the window, watching the scenery whiz by when her parents took Keith and her to New York for a day. Back then, the road was leading her on a magical journey to a big city filled with excitement. Now, as the trees became a green blur, her heart ached for the life she’d lost, and she wondered if she’d ever have that exhilarating feeling again.

  When they got back to the house of whores, Maggie walked into the shared living area and began to gather her measly belongings, while Armando and Rock talked privately in the other room. Finally, the two men emerged. Armando told Maggie how everything was going to work.

  “You’re gonna work the latest shift ya can at Doubles and as many of them as ya can get. When ya ain’t dancin’, you’ll be entertainin’ some high-end clients,” Armando said.

  By high-end clients, Armando meant people who were willing to pay by the hour.

  Maggie nodded. “Right. Can I go now?” She was chomping at the bit to get back to Juju’s and tell them her news.

  Rocked pulled out his handgun and placed it against Maggie’s temple. “One more thing,” he added. “If ya try to run or contact anyone, remember that I’ll kill you, Seth, Juju, and your whole fuckin’ family. There ain’t nowhere ya can hide from me.”

  The seriousness with which Rock made his threat made Maggie’s insides quiver. She knew Rock’s long reach and was certain he’d kill all of them if she dared to try to escape his clutches.

  “Be back here at seven o’clock tonight. I got your first client lined up,” Armando chimed in.

  Once outside, Maggie tore down the street toward Juju’s. When she got to the apartment, she burst through the door, bending over to catch her breath. Juju and Seth sat on the mattress, the small television blaring cartoons into the tiny space.

  “What happened, Aggie?” Seth squealed, running to her.

  “I just got the best news ever,” Maggie managed between breaths.

  “What? What is it?” Seth asked, waiting in anticipation to hear the good news.

  “We are all going to live together,” she revealed, a single tear gliding down her cheek.

  Seth threw his arms around Maggie’s legs and hugged her tightly. Juju walked over, beaming, and put her arm over her friend’s shoulder.

  “How the hell did you pull that off?” Juju asked, hoping it was for real.

  Maggie winked at Juju. “Oh, it just worked itself out. We can talk about all that later.”

  It only took a second for Juju to catch on that Maggie didn’t want to discuss it in front of Seth. She hoped her friend hadn’t made a bad deal or taken on more than she had bargained for. Later, when she learned the truth, she was surprised by Rock’s actions—pleasantly surprised, of course—but she felt there must be more to it than he’d let on to Maggie.

  Later that day, before Maggie was to return to the house of whores to meet Armando, the three took a bus into South Philly for an early dinner. Maggie had wanted to try a particular place she’d overheard some of the other hookers talking about.

  Thirty minutes later, Maggie, Juju, and Seth were standing outside the Melrose Diner on Snyder Avenue. The building looked as if it were made of glass and aluminum foil. There was a clock shaped like a coffee mug set in the middle of the restaurant sign.

  Inside, there were red vinyl benches, Formica tables, and lots of chrome. The floor was black-and-white checkerboard tile. This wasn’t a restaurant made to recreate the past; it was a real part of old South Philly, and aside from a few upgrades, the place had remained the same for over fifty years.

  The waitress, a woman clearly in her late sixties, moseyed over to the table and greeted them with a welcoming smile. “Well, now. Welcome to the Melrose Diner. Have you dined with us before?”

  Maggie politely responded, “No ma’am. This is our first time. We heard wonderful things about this place.”

  The waitress nodded and gave them all a hearty smile. “You heard right. Everybody who knows goes to Melrose,” she recited loyally. “That’s our motto here. Take a look at the menu, and I’ll be back to see how you’re doing in a couple of minutes.”

  When she walked away, Seth leaned over to Maggie. “Can you read it to me, Aggie?”

  “What do you mean? You can read it yourself,” Maggie responded in a happy voice.

  Seth opened the menu and began looking through it. When the waitress came back to take their orders, Seth was last. “What can I get cha, hon?” she asked Seth.

  He opened the menu and pointed to a picture of a Belgian waffle with home fries and bacon.

  “Can I have everything in this picture?” Seth asked.

  “You sure can. Good choice, little man.” She rushed off to put in their order.

  Maggie and Juju exchanged concerned glances. Maggie leaned into Seth. “What’s going on? How come you pointed to the picture?”

  Seth’s eyes instantly turned red as his tears began to spill over. “’Cause I can’t read,” he stated sadly and pressed his chin into his chest.

  When Maggie put her arm around him and pulled him into her, Seth began to cry openly. “Thelma wouldn’t let me do any homework. She wouldn’t help me. Said I was a stupid idiot. I-I-I just don’t know how to do it,” he stuttered.

  “Don’t your teachers notice?” Juju asked.

  “They don’t care either. They say just as long as I’m being good and actin’ like a human bein’,” he said, repeating the words his teachers had impressed on him over the years, “then I can stay outta trouble.”

  Maggie gently lifted Seth’s chin with her hand. “No one knows you like I do. You’re a smart boy, and when you grow up, you can be anything you want to be. You don’t have to be upset. I’m going to teach you how to read. Trust me.”

  Seth put his arms around Maggie’s waist and held onto her while he sobbed, and his tension melted away. He hated being the stupid kid in class. He wanted to be like everyone else. He pulled away from Magg
ie and looked up at her. “When will you teach me?”

  “We’ll start today,” Maggie promised.

  Chapter Ninety

  Maggie and Juju took Seth straight from the Melrose Diner to the library in Kensington. As they walked up the steps, Maggie heard children laughing and yelling. She peered in the direction of the high-pitched voices, and her eyes fell upon a small group of young boys. They were pointing and laughing. She heard one of the voices above the crowd. “Seth, what cha goin’ in there for? You probably don’t even know what a library is. You’re too stupid to read.”

  The group of boys began chanting, “Seth, Seth, you have nasty breath; your mother was too stupid to put you to death. Seth, Seth, you have nasty breath; your mother was too stupid to put you to death.”

  Juju started to step toward the boys, but Maggie gripped her shoulder. “No, let me,” she said.

  Maggie bent down to whisper in Seth’s ear. “Do those boys go to your school?”

  Seth nodded, blood rushing to his face in blotchy circles as his embarrassment mounted. He looked as though he was going to cry again.

  “Do they tease you like this all the time?” Maggie asked, feeling the enormity of the burden Seth had been carrying.

  “Yeah. Sometimes it’s worse. When we’re at recess, they chase me around and throw the basketball at me. I told them it hurts when they hit me with the ball, but they won’t stop,” he confessed.

  “I see. I want you to wait here with Juju,” Maggie instructed.

  “No, Aggie! Please don’t say nothin’. They’ll be meaner to me,” he begged.

  “It’ll be OK. I just want to talk to them. I’ll be right back,” she responded.

  Maggie walked over to the boys with her head held high and her back perfectly erect.

  “Hi, guys. My name is Maggie. I’m Seth’s sister. I heard you teasing him. Why are you doing that?” she asked sweetly.

  “’Cause he’s a stupid idiot. He can’t even spell or read or nothin’,” one of them reported.

  “Yeah, and he always smells like poop, too!” a different boy chimed in, as they pushed each other and laughed. “We think he eats his own poop,” the boy continued, impressing his friends with his remarks.