Sasha
“I’m so happy that I can be a part of this, Sasha. I was a little hesitant when you told me that you were going to buy the club. I should have known that you would have something great in mind.”
Mariah was gushing, and though I was proud of the club now, it wasn’t called the Fetish Club anymore. That part of the place had vanished when the building burned to the ground. Now it was something fresh and new. Now this place was going to be a place to heal, not a place to suffer like it had been before.
“I’m glad you like it. I know that some of the other girls are still not sure what to think of it all, but I know that it’s for the best. I still have to see stories about Elie in the paper, and it still gets my heart rate going high.”
“Yeah, but did you see the latest news? I heard that Elie rolled on Travis to get a lesser sentence, but he’s still going to be sent away for the rest of his life. He’ll be almost sixty when he gets out of there.”
I just nodded. I didn’t think that twenty-five years was enough time for the man, not after everything that he’d put the girls that worked for him through. I could have gotten him more time, me and many of the other girls could have if we’d wanted to, but we hadn’t. I didn’t want to go on a stand and admit to all of the terrible things that he’d done to me. It felt like I’d let it happen, and I was always going to feel shame for not standing up for myself more than that. I should have known what I was getting into. I should have left so long before.
“I’m glad that he got life. I just wish that life was longer.”
“Well, he’s never going to mess with us again. That’s all I care about. I wouldn’t even have cared if I never got that money back, although I don’t know how you got it before that fire started.”
It occurred to me that I hadn’t told her the truth. I’d been too busy trying to save the money that he’d stolen from all of us that I hadn’t even thought about the consequences of the fire. When I saw all the tapes that he had of all of us, I thought of all of the blackmail material that was there. Having all that in his hands was the very last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment. So I did the only thing that came to mind. I had to get rid of the evidence, and fire seemed like the most fitting way to do it.
“Well, it was just good timing that no one was in there when the place went up. It burnt down fast.”
“I heard a rumor that it was one of the girls that did it. Do you think that’s true?”
I looked at my friend and wondered if she knew or if she was really trying to figure it out. “I don’t know. There’s no telling who did it, Mariah. That was months ago, and I try not to think about any of it anymore.”
“Me too, but it’s hard not to when we’re here.”
The opening of the Southern Battered Women’s Shelter was today, and I was so glad that Mariah and many of the other girls were there for the launch. It was because of all of them that I’d taken most of my money and set the place up. I’d wanted a shop to sell my clothes in for as long as I could remember, but everyone had to get a new dream. Now I just wanted to help people in the same position I’d found myself in.
It had taken a month in rehab and lord only knows how much therapy to get to this day. I had the resources because of Scott. I wanted other women to have the same chance of getting out of an abusive relationship like I’d done. No women should have to go through that. It was a fight that I was willing to take on for the good of everyone. I’d found a strength that I didn’t know I had. Now it wasn’t going anywhere.
“I know it’s hard to come back here, but I thought that this was the perfect place for it. I want this place to be a good one now. There will be new memories to make here. You’re still going to come in once and a while and help, right?”
She said she would, and I made the comment, “Even though you’re a kept woman?”
“I’m not kept.”
Mariah was kept, whatever she might say, but I was happy for her and Scott. It seemed that all of the girls had found someone. Even Kallie, who’d only been in town a couple of months, was living with her new boyfriend. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for all of that. I didn’t know when I would be ready for more than just a one-night stand. I had too much inside still to work through. One day I would be ready. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
“Is Kallie going to be here?”
“Yeah, her and Kimmie are doing some last minute work on the decorations for tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kimmie so happy in all of her life.”
“Me either. I hope that when I get married I’m as happy as her. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled the way that she does.”
“You do, Mariah, all of the time. Every time you start talking about Scott, all you can do is smile. It’s a little sickening.”
She acted like she took offense, but we both knew that I was just joking. While I never would have imagined it possible with a man from the club, I had a feeling that Scott had always been different. Maybe I’d been wrong. Either way, I was happy for my friend. I was happy for all of them.
“I’m just happy, is all. I didn’t think I was ever going to be happy again, but somehow it all worked out.”
It hadn’t worked out as smoothly for me, but I was okay with that. I was okay with whatever path had gotten me here, because I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. It was a hard road, but one that I knew was worth traveling.
“I wish things had worked out better for you, Sasha.”
“Things are good. I built this place, and with the grand opening, I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be too busy to worry about men for a while. I’ve had enough of them for a time. Kallie is going to come and help me out when she isn’t working, and I know I’ll see you and Kimmie around. Other girls from the club are going to help. It’s good. Sometimes happy endings don’t have to have a man in them.”
I believed my words more than she did, and I was okay with that as well. I’d found some weird sense of acceptance that was hard not to appreciate. I was done worrying and ready to just let things work out the way they were going to.
“You’re going to do good things here, Sasha. I just know you are. I hate that there’s a need for a place like this, but I think what we went through is far more common than it should be. There are a lot of women out there who need a place like this, a safe place. I wonder if Elie knows what happened to his club?”
I smiled and told her that I was sure he did.
“How do you know?”
“I went and saw him about a week ago. He didn’t look very good. I don’t think that prison life is agreeing with him.”
She smiled back at me. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help being happy about it. I liked to think that maybe he was being forced to do some things that he didn’t want to do. It only seemed fair.
“Well, if you ever go back there, make sure to tell him that I said hi.”
I wasn’t going back there, ever, and I told her that. The last thing I was going to do was look at that man again. That part of my life was over, and I was committed to bigger and better things now.