SERENA

––––––––

FOR WAITRESSING, I wore a tight white blouse and black shorts. It was the uniform for hostessing which was uncomfortably racy. It turned out to be a gold sequined halter top and an itty-bitty black skirt. It was similar to the outfit Sheri wore when she bartended, but, if possible, it seemed even shorter. There was so much side-boobage with the drastically cut halter that I used my rather limited sewing skills to make it a little less revealing, and I'd found a way to make a sort of invisible bra with tape so I wouldn't bounce too provocatively.

I used the same makeup routine no matter which outfit I wore. Some heavy coats of mascara and red lipstick. With my hair pulled back in a high ponytail, and a pair of large hoop earrings, I was ready to face the mostly male crowd that frequented the place.

The joint catered to a limited array of character types. Older bearded bikers, good ol' boys in baseball caps, and drunk businessmen who made their first stop the bar on the corner where they served cheap well drinks.

It sure wasn't hard to remember the bar orders. Beer, rum and Coke, Jack and Coke, and straight whiskey were the libations of choice.

The evenings could be pretty chilly and neither Sheri nor I had wheels. I usually walked at a very fast clip when I had to get there alone. But on nights when we worked together, we would put on our coats and pull up our hoods and take our time getting to the club.

Tonight it was so cold that there was smoke coming from the chimney of one of the small houses that had managed to survive amid the strip malls.

"Did you see the new bouncer?" Sheri asked.

"Not yet. What happened to John?"

"Just up and quit for some reason."

"Owen is the new guy. That name doesn't suit him at all. I could imagine a librarian with that name. He's big enough to climb. But he's too damned shy." She made a guffawing sound. "Hell, maybe he is librarian material after all. I flirted my ass off and he never even gave me a smile."

"The new bartender ain’t bad either,” Sheri continued. “Like the tats but not a fan of the beard. Too lumberjacky.”

I had noticed the new bartender. He stood out with his hipster look. He had an edgy haircut, long on top and shaved on the sides, paired with a well-kept beard.

We jaywalked across the road. Stopping in the two-way left turn lane that divided the road.

“Not sure why the sudden high turnover but then Lou is a major dickwad,” Sheri said loudly, trying to talk over the string of cars that whooshed past us. There was a small break in traffic and we hurried to the other side.

"Speak of the devil," she said under her breath as we stepped up onto the curb.

Lou was vaping outside the building. He blew out a big cloud before speaking. "Hey, Ginny, reconsidering taking to the stage?"

I gave my head a quick shake before following Sheri inside. There wasn't a night that I worked that Lou didn't ask that question. I was the only girl not doing double-duty during their shift, waitressing first then stripping or vice versa. Lou even pulled Sheri from bartending duties on slow nights to have her perform. There was definitely some resentment brewing among the women I worked with. I knew I would end up quitting if the pressure got too much. I just couldn't get naked in front of strange men. Insane as it was, I felt more married now then I did when I was living with him. I longed to be back with him. Wanted him to assure me he had nothing to do with my father's death. Most days I wished I'd never gone poking around. I would prefer the bliss of ignorance to this constant yearning.

I clutched the ring I'd strung on a thin silk ribbon.

Sheri glanced over at me. "You sure got it bad for your enemy," she said.

"So bad," I agreed. I fought back the tears as I dropped the ring inside my halter top to hide it.

We hung our jackets on the hooks in the room used to store paper towels and boxes of liquor.

I brushed aside the beaded curtain to take a survey of the club. It was just after five and the businessmen were already starting to fill up the place. It seemed they came straight from work to get drunk. Many sported rings on their fingers. I could only imagine how pleased their wives were when they came home smashed every night.

Before taking my spot as a greeter at the front of the establishment, I decided to get rid of some empties. I picked up a tray and started to clear one of the tables.

A hand on my ass made me jerk, the empty bottles toppled off my tray and crashed to the ground.

"Sir, get your hands off her."

The man quickly yanked his hand back then held both hands up to show how cooperative he could be before backing away.

I turned to thank my rescuer. "You must be Owen," I said. Sheri was right the man was a mountain. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he said and gave me a nod of his head before returning to his station at the end of the bar.

Owen’s gentlemanly manners quickly won over Sheri. By the end of the evening she was sneaking him sodas.

“Who would have thunk it,” she said as we trudged home that night. “A knight in shining armor in that hellhole.”

The next day I woke at noon, walked into the kitchen, poured cereal into a bowl, splashed a little milk over it, then promptly vomited into the sink. I'd been experiencing mild nausea for the last couple of days. Today I felt as if I had the stomach flu. I'd been telling myself that it was the stress of my new life, but I had a sinking feeling it was something else entirely. My period was days late and I was never late.

I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, intent on walking to the corner store. And what if I was pregnant? The squalid apartment was no place to raise a baby. Maybe I would risk calling Jen from a pay phone to see if she could find out anything.

I was getting ahead of myself. There was no rush. I had time to think about this.

I nearly fell over Owen who was sitting on the top step of the stairwell, talking on a cell phone. I caught myself by grabbing briefly onto his shoulder. He got to his feet and pocketed the phone.

"I didn’t know you lived here," I said.

"You all right?" he asked. "You look pale."

"Just a little under the weather." I squeezed past him and headed down the stairs.

"Hey, you're not walking in this heat. I’m driving you."

The moment I stepped out into the parking lot I realized he was right. It was hellishly hot out. It was hard to get used to the extreme temperature changes. Searing hot days would often end in freezing nights.

Owen already had his keys out of his pocket.

"Thanks. That would be great," I said and followed him to his car, a vintage Mustang in excellent condition.

He opened the car door for me. I settled on the hot seat and nearly burned my fingers on the seatbelt buckle.

He'd positioned the driver's seat all the way back and still he looked cramped. He put on the sunglasses he'd had propped on his head and started the engine.

We'd been driving in silence for a few blocks when he glanced over at me, his eyes unreadable behind the mirrored lenses. "Has Lou been giving you a hard time?"

"I can handle him."

I didn’t want Owen interfering on my behalf. Lou would be too likely to fire me if I made any sort of fuss.

Fortunately, Owen was the strong silent type who knew enough to stop asking questions. He parked the car under the only shade tree in the parking lot and came with me into the store. I hadn’t expected that. He grabbed a liter of soda and some chips off the shelf as he followed me into the small pharmacy section.

I snatched the first pregnancy test off the shelf and said, “Okay, got what I needed.”

He actually blushed beneath his tanned skin.

I blushed in return. He plucked a different box off the shelf. “My wife uses this kind.”

I took the box from Owen and put mine back on the shelf. “You have a wife...and kids?”

“Separated,” he said. “Just a temporary situation.” Sheri was right, everybody in the town seemed to have love life issues. They were either on the path away from their significant other or trying to find a way back.

Thinking about Sheri seemed to summon her. I heard her high-pitched voice shouting a hello from the other end of the store.

This had to be the smallest town in the history of towns. Everybody seemed to live in the same motel slash apartment block and shop at the same store. To be fair, the only other grocery store in the area had high prices and a butcher section that gave off a rancid smell.

I could tell by the pronounced swish to Sheri's hips she was going to use this opportunity to flirt with Owen.

"Hey, guys," she said as she approached. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on what I was holding. "This is no place to be pregnant. You’ll have to run that shitty window unit all day to survive in this heat in the summer."

"Fingers crossed that I’m not then," I said and walked up to the pharmacist counter to pay.

Owen set the keys down on the counter. "I'll be a second. Need to get a few more things. Wait for me in the car."

“And turn on the AC," he threw over his shoulder as he walked away.

I paid and went out and waited in the shade beneath the roof overhang rather than running the air-conditioning in his old car. It may be in pristine condition, but it was still old. He came out with his bag of groceries and I followed him to the car.

He pulled out a box of soda crackers. "These help with morning sickness." He was convinced I was pregnant. I was convinced I was pregnant. The test would merely confirm what I already knew.

As it turned out, Owen didn't know when to quit after all. He made a point of bringing up the wedding band I had dangling around my neck and then lectured me the entire drive home about owing it to my husband to let him know.

Annoyed, I'd finally lied and said that if I was pregnant it was the result of a one-night stand.

That had shut him up.