CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Lights Out
Nick’s guitar was slightly out of tune. He carefully tightened the D string. He knew exactly how far to go. There it was – perfection. The sounds coming from the strings made a soothing sound that made him forget his problems for a few seconds. He stopped and looked at the Jimi Hendrix signature. The guitar was a 1972 American standard Stratocaster. He bought it at a pawnshop in New Orleans in the fall of 1977, two weeks after he moved there. He had brought it to a handwriting expert (at least the woman on the Jackson Square sidewalk said she was) and it was determined that the signature was authentic. This always bothered Nick, considering the fact that Jimi died in 1970. Nick met a couple of street musicians that day and started playing with them. They were amazed how well this 18 year-old kid could play. He was introduced to slew of outstanding musicians and started playing everywhere he could. The minimum drinking age was 18 at that time, so he had no problem supporting his newfound habit. It made him forget about the disaster he just left in Lafayette. Two days after that dreadful graduation experience, Grandma Peltier suffered a massive stroke. She made Nick promise to take his Loyola scholarship and make the most of it. Her last words before she died made in indelible impression in Nick’s mind.
“Mais, Tee-Nick. I don’t think I’m going to make it too much longer,” she said. “I want you to take that college paper and make something of yourself. That college is in New Orleans, you know, and that city is full of evil. You stay away from those devil people and you’ll be okay. You lucky to get rid of that devil girl, Jamie. She was no good for you. Stay away from the devil. He makes you do horrible things. I did a horrible thing, Tee-Nick. I know the devil was behind it I hope you can forgive me. I love you, Tee-Nick.”
She went into a coma right after muttering those words and died four days later. Nick was devastated, but decided to live up to Maw-Maw’s request. He had no idea what the horrible thing was she mentioned. Nick moved into a dorm on Loyola’s campus. He took a streetcar downtown after getting all his stuff crammed into the tiny room. His fascination with the New Orleans music scene took him by surprise. He never went to a single class. He was dismissed from Loyola and had to move out the dorm. He was making enough money playing music to rent a house not far from the campus. He set up a little recording studio in the living room. He made dozens of somewhat friends. His carefree lifestyle was just the thing he needed to help him get over Jamie and Maw-Maw. Sex, booze, and rock & roll were the only things he thought about. He knew it was the complete opposite of what his Grandmother requested. He figured he would have to pay for it sooner or later – and later had finally arrived.
After playing a few songs, Nick went to his answering machine and played the last message Benny left. He had heard it while it was recording, but wanted to hear the part about Benny talking to Jamie. He hoped there was a chance he missed something. Unfortunately, he heard right the first time.
Meanwhile, Andie and Debbie were shopping for a new outfit.
“What do you think about this one?” asked Debbie, as she held a back-less, mini-dress with spaghetti straps.
“There’s no way. I can’t wear a bra with that.” Debbie smiled.
“That’s the point.” Andie was embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, Debbie. I don’t think I can wear something that daring.”
“What harm would it do to try it on? Give it a shot.”
Andie went into the dressing room. A few minutes later, she came out and even Debbie was impressed.
“Well, what do you think?” Andie asked, with a red face.
“My God, sweetie. You are absolutely gorgeous. You’ll have Harold eating you – I’m sorry, I mean eating out of your hand.”
“I can’t wear this in public. Look at this. It looks like I’m giving directions.” The temperature in the dress shop was cold and Andie’s nipples rose to the occasion.
“Andie, you’ll be giving erections in that outfit.”
“You are terrible. Since when do you talk like that?”
“Come on, live a little.”
“Okay – I’ll take it.” She went to the cashier and looked at her watch. “We still have time to grab a bite – my treat.”
“You’re on,” said Debbie. The Kensington Building had plenty of places to eat. They settled for the Sandy’s Soup & Salad Shop.
“I’m so nervous about tonight. I haven’t been on a date in months.”
“Well, it’s about time you get out there. You spend so much time with Nick, you never…”
“Oh God, I forgot to call Nick this morning,” Andie realized. “He was a total mess when I left last night.”
“Don’t worry about Nick. I talked to him this morning. He’s fine. You go out tonight and don’t worry about him,” said Debbie.
“But, I do worry. He was acting so strange after talking about that Jamie girl. He looked like he really needed help.”
“Andie, I don’t mean to pry, and let me know if I’m out of line. Do you have feelings for Nick?”
“Of course I do. He’s my best friend, next to you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Do you have feelings for him?”
“Oh – those feelings - of course not. Why do you ask?”
“Well, before I send you to the big dogs, I want to make sure you’re ready to leave the puppy.”
“Debbie, I love Nick. He’s a great friend, but he is definitely not my type.”
“I just wanted to make sure.”
“I really do need to call him. He’ll be excited to know that I actually have a date. He’s been giving me a hard time about that lately.”
“Don’t you think he might be a little jealous?”
“No way. Why would he be?”
“Didn’t you see how he reacted when I mentioned getting you and Harold together?”
“Now, you’re the one acting weird. He was just freaking out about the whole Carlos thing and that stupid paranoia about Tony.”
“What about Tony?”
“Nick thinks Tony is Satan.”
“What?” Debbie started laughing. “That is so ridiculous. Nick is insane. Look, don’t worry about calling him. Finish out your day at the office, get your sweet little self home, and get ready for an evening with the man of your dreams.”
There was no way Andie was going to tell Debbie who the man she had been dreaming about was.
The six-pack of beer and the four cups of coffee had taken its toll on Nick. Along with the woozy feeling, came the full bladder. He staggered into his bathroom and closed the door out of habit. As soon as the relieved feeling started flowing, the lights went out. Nick freaked out.
“Is that you, Satan? I know you’re in here, you old son-of-a-bitch. Turn on the lights so I can see you.” A few seconds later, the lights came back on. Of course, no one else was in the bathroom but Nick. He looked down and noticed he had urinated all over the bathroom. “Damn you, Satan. See what you made me do?”
The quick power outage had made Benny’s computer go haywire. He lost the reports he was checking. He was getting all the facts ready for his meeting with Jamie. He re-booted the computer, and it took another fifteen minutes to get back to the place where he was before. He started thinking that Jamie was going to cause him as much grief as she put Nick through.
“Maybe that was Tony giving us a sign,” joked Debbie, as the lights in the restaurant went off for a few seconds.
“You are so bad, Debbie,” said Andie, as she laughed so hard, she dribbled her split-pea soup.
“Ooh, he must be inside you. You’re doing just like that Exorcist chick.”
“Stop it,” laughed Andie.
“Be gone, you evil demon. Leave the body of my friend.”
“Okay, Debbie. Now you’re scaring me.”
Debbie stood up. “Do not be afraid. I had Tony inside me last night and it was great.”
“Please, sit down, Debbie. You’re embarrassing me.”
Debbie had trouble hearing her above the applause
from the surrounding tables.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. With your help, I have just exorcised the demon from my friend. Maybe tonight, she’ll get something else inside of her, if you know what I mean.”
“Shut the hell up, Debbie!” yelled Andie.
The restaurant manager approached their table. “Excuse me, ladies. If you can’t keep it down, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Debbie sat down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what just came over me.”
Andie scolded Debbie, “This is the most embarrassed I have ever been in my entire life. What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know,” said Debbie. “Something just grabbed me inside and made me say it.” She looked at Andie for a few seconds. “You don’t suppose…”
“No. Not you, too. Tony is not the Devil. If anybody should know this, it would be you.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She leaned in close to Andie and whispered, “But, just between you and me – he was inside me last night and it was awesome.”
Andie turned red. “Like I said, you are so bad.”
Benny gathered all the information he needed and left work to find Nick. The rented Mercedes he ordered was waiting in the parking lot. He went straight to Nick’s apartment. Mrs. Ratzenburger was outside, planting flowers along the driveway.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Ratzenburger. Would you know if Nick is home?”
She looked up and squinted. “Is that you, Billy?”
“Benny. Yes, ma’am. Do you know if Nick is home?” “I thought you might be that mean man that beat up poor Nicholas.”
“What man?”
“This horrible excuse for a human was standing in front of poor Bobby, shouting out all kind of vulgarities”
“Did he say if his name was Gerome Elderberry?”
“As a matter of fact, he did. Do you know him?”
“Yes, unfortunately. You said he beat Nick?”
“Oh, yes. Ricky looked terrible. I gave him an icepack to put over his eyes. He’s in his apartment right now.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ratzenburger. I’ll go check on him.”
She smiled. “It’s nice to know Bobby has so many friends looking after him.”
Benny climbed the stairs in the back of the house, which lead to an outside balcony. Nick’s door was right beside Tony’s. He knocked as hard as he could.
“Nick, I know you’re in there. Open the door.” He waited a few seconds and tried again. “Come on, Nick. Let me in.” He checked the doorknob and turned it – it was unlocked. Benny walked in and called for Nick again. He noticed a light shining from underneath the bathroom door. “Are you in there, Nick?” He knocked on the door but got no reply. He wiggled the knob and noticed it also was unlocked. He carefully opened the door to sight of Nick’s unconscious body, lying in pool of urine.
“Oh, my God.” He bent down to see if Nick was still breathing. “Please, don’t be dead.”
Nick opened his eyes. He surveyed at the situation.
“What are you doing here?” He sniffed and felt the stickiness of his accident. “Oh, shit. I must have passed out while I was trying to clean up this mess.”
Benny was relieved. “What happened here, Nick?”
“Satan started screwing with me while I was trying to take a piss.”
“I tell you what, buddy. Get yourself cleaned up and I’ll wait for you out there. We need to talk.”
“About Jamie, right?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“Well, this won’t be the first time I have to clean up bodily fluids while thinking about her. Give me a couple of minutes.”
He closed the bathroom door as Benny stepped out. Benny noticed the empty six-pack that wasn’t there the night before. Nick must really be having a hard time dealing with this Jamie, he thought. Benny started thinking about Kat. He picked up the nearest beer can, hoping to find at least a swallow of comforting alcohol. Nick had drunk every last drop. He opened up the top drawer of Nick’s desk and saw where he left the spare keys for his Lexus. I hope Kat is enjoying my car, he thought. He took the extra key off the ring for his rented Mercedes and left it in the drawer. He liked to keep an extra set of keys someplace other than his home and office. He knew this would be a safe place. No one ever went in Nick’s desk – including Nick.
Andie and Debbie finished lunch. Andie went to her office, while Debbie returned to the receptionist desk. The temp never showed up, so she was stuck there the rest of the day. She noticed a message left on the desk for her. It was from Donovan Delaney, the director of the play. She called him back right away.
“Hello, Mr. Delaney. This is Deborah Bailey.”
“Debbie, sweetheart. How are you?” said Mr. Delaney.
“I’m terrific. I’m returning your call.”
“Oh, yes, my dear. We have to start rehearsal tonight instead of tomorrow. Will that cause a problem?”
“Of course not. I’ll be there. What time?”
“We’ll start promptly at seven. I’ll see you there?”
“Yes, sir. You sure will.”
“Wonderful. Thank you, so much, sweetheart.”
“You’re quite welcome. Bye-bye.” Debbie started thinking about how great it will be to work with such a sweet director. Then it hit her – she was supposed to meet Nick that night. She called his apartment to let him know.
Benny answered the phone. “Nick Peltier’s residence.”
“Benny, is that you?”
“Yeah, hi Debbie.”
“How are you?” Debbie was just as concerned for Benny as she was for Nick.
“I’ve been better, but I’ll be okay – I guess.”
“I need to speak to Nick. Is he there?”
“Yeah, he’s in the bathroom.”
“He sure does spend a lot of time in there.”
“Trust me, it’s legitimate this time.”
“Okay. Hey, Benny, be a sweetheart and leave Nick a message.”
“Sure.”
“Tell him I have rehearsal tonight and won’t be able to make it to Balls & Burgers.”
“No problem. Break a leg.”
“Thanks, Benny. See you later. Call me if you need someone to talk to.”
“Thank you, Debbie, I will.”
Nick walked out of the bathroom wearing a towel. “Did somebody just call?”
“Yeah, Debbie called. She can’t meet you tonight at Balls & Burgers.”
“Oh, well. You wanna go?”
“Darn it, Nick. Get it through your thick skull. We have a meeting with Jamie O’Malley tomorrow. You know - the girl who is the sole reason for the way you are right now. We’re not going to Balls & Burgers. We’re going to sit here and go over this stack of papers. We will be ready for this meeting. Do you understand?”
Nick stared at Benny. “Hey, you want to do tequila shots?”
“No, I don’t want to do tequila shots. Now, sit down so we can…”
Strike one, thought Nick. “Jack Daniel’s?”
“No, Nick. We have work to do.”
Strike two. “Schnapps?” Fastball right down the middle.
“What kind?”
“Peppermint.” Home run, Nick thought. He knew Benny had a weakness for the sweet tasting and low alcohol content liqueur
“You’re on,” said Benny. He knew Nick wouldn’t give up. Nick returned with a bottle of peppermint Schnapps. Being the lightweight he was, Benny felt the effects immediately. After two more shots, he started feeling woozy.
“I’m going to lie down a few seconds right here,” he told Nick. Ten seconds later, he was out cold.
“And it’s out of here,” Nick announced like a baseball commentator. He smiled, got dressed, and left. He went straight to Balls & Burgers.
A couple of hours passed. Debbie noticed it was 3:15 and decided to call Tony.
“7-Eleven,” said Jamie, the clerk.
“Hi, is Tony there?”
“No, that bastard. He cal
led in, said he couldn’t make it. Now I gotta work a damn double shift.”
Debbie was shocked. She knew Tony had never missed a shift before. “Would you please tell him Debbie called if he comes in?”
“I’m not a message service. Tell him yourself,” said Jamie, as she slammed the phone down.
Debbie called Tony’s apartment. He wasn’t there. She called next door at Nick’s place. The phone startled Benny, who was sleeping on the sofa. He answered it out of habit.
“Ben Myers here,” said the groggy sounding voice.
“Benny, I’m sorry. I thought I was calling Nick.”
“That’s okay, Debbie.” He didn’t realize where he was.
Debbie checked the number again and dialed. The phone rang and this time Benny realized where he was.
“Nick Peltier’s residence.”
“Benny?” asked a confused Debbie.
“Weren’t you just at your office?”
He looked at his watch and noticed Nick wasn’t there. “No, but I’m supposed to be. I’ve got to go.” He hung up the phone and left.
Andie rushed in front of Debbie. “I’m going to the court house to look up a few things, then heading home to get ready.” She was excited. “I’ll fill you in on the details tomorrow.”
Debbie was puzzled. She could always talk with at least one of her close friends at any given moment. She didn’t give it much more thought and kept working. Still, she kept wondering where Tony was. All of a sudden, the lights went out again.
The Devil's in My Bathroom Page 16