The Dark Journey
Chapter 26 - Night and Day
The afternoon sun slowly lowers its head
towards the ocean in the distance
and the lights begin to flicker on, great neon
lighting up our world with imitation light
because we are too afraid of what might lurk
out there in the darkness which surrounds us
like a deathshroud, wrapped tighly.
I stand on the corner waiting for you
to come along driving in your fancy Mercedes
or is it a BMW? Maybe a Lexus
no matter, what matters is the tryst
that until it happens we are unaware of its existence
so I wait leaning against the wall of
some sleazy bar or a closed up adult book shop
smiling as I see you round the corner
but you don't stop, just pass by
so it must not have been you and I wait some more
smoking and talking to passersby
sometimes taking one of them into an alley
it's only business, don't be concerned
I will be here waiting when you show up
driving your Lincoln Continental
or was it a Caddilac Coupe De Ville?
I never remember, but no matter
because here you are to pick me up
give me a ride, give you a ride
I feel so much richer when you drop me off
at the corner, in front of some sleazy bar
or closed up adult book shop
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After getting off the bus in Grand Junction, I wandered around a little looking for a likely place to shelter for the night. There was a light snow falling and the temperature was dropping steadily. I made my way from the bus station down to the river and crawled up under the bridge there. It wasn't great, but it would have to do for now. I stashed my bag and went back out onto the street to get my bearing and try to figure out where the best place to do some quick business might be. I hated the thought of letting a man touch me again, but I didn't really have much choice at this point.
I found a little bar off of Main Street. It looked pretty seedy and a bit run down on the outside. It was perfect for what I had in mind. I walked in and ordered a glass of ginger ale. The bartender looked at me kind of funny, but the look on my face, and the bruises and scars maybe, kept him from questioning my age I think. I went to a small table in the back of the room and sat watching the dozen or so patrons, catching snatches of conversation over the jukebox.
There were two bikers and their bitches playing pool, an old wino looking guy sitting alone at the bar, a couple of cowboys playing darts while their wives or girfriends talked at a table littered with beer bottles and overflowing ashtrays, and two men sitting against the wall by the other pool table eyeing the rednecks' wives and laughing amongst themselves.
I sat quietly watching from my dark corner seat, nerving myself up for what I was going to need to do. One of the girl watchers got up after a few minutes, went to the bar, and, with a few obscene names, called the bartender over to get more beers and change for the pool table. He staggered a little on the way back, and I thought this would be a likely John. He wasn't bad looking, and didn't look like a mean sort. He had short blonde hair and a moustache. His partner had longish brown hair, and a look to his eyes that I didn't much care for. I watched them play for a few minutes, then moved to a table closer to where they were, seemingly interested in their game. I caught their glances in my direction and the soft talk and roaring laughter could only mean they were discussing me crudely and lewdly. That was ok, though. It was almost perfect in fact.
About halfway through the second game, brownhair made for the men's room, and I took the opportunity to make conversation with blond-moustache. I dropped several hints before he finally caught on, and as his partner was walking back from the restroom, I whispered for him to make sure the men's was empty and I would meet him there. I told him to make sure to bring Andy Jackson with him, then walked down the dim hallway towards the ladies room.
I heard foosteps coming down the hall a minute or so later, then the men's room door banging shut. I waited about 30 seconds then flushed and walked out into the hall. The door to the men's opened and he spotted me and gave a nod. I slipped into the room and into a stall. He came in and closed the door behind him, sliding the latch. I asked if he brought Andy and he fished the bill out of his pocket and handed it to me. He said it seemed a bit much for oral, but he hadn't had a good blow in a long time. Afterwards I had him check the hall to make sure it was clear, washed up, told him to wait a minute before coming out, and went back to my table. He came out a little later and resumed his game of pool.
I ordered another ginger ale and gulped about a third of it to clear the taste from my mouth, and drank the rest slowly while watching blond-moustache and brownhair play pool and talk about me. I decided I didn't want anything to do with brownhair, who was eyeing me and grinning. I finished my drink and walked out.
Outside, I ducked into a space between two parked cars and started to count to 30. Brownhair came out before I got to 15. I thanked God that the snow hadn't begun to stick on the sidewalk or pavement yet. He walked back and forth along the street, looked down the side of the building, decided I must have gone that way and started off in that direction. I waited until he turned the corner at the back of the building and moved off quietly in the opposite direction. I circled around to the Main Street Mall and, keeping to the shadows, walked back towards the bridge.
Crawling back into my hidey-hole, I rummaged through my bag for anything that might offer some warmth. I double and triple layered my clothes, moved some rocks off of the hard packed earth, and laid my head down on my bag. Sleep was a long time coming. The next morning I woke up shivering voilently with the chill of dawn, stashed my bag again, and emerged once more from my hide out. It was going to be a long, cold day, and I was going to need to find a few places to slip in out of the cold whenever I could. I found a grocery store up on North Avenue and spent a couple of hours in there until some of the workers started eyeing me suspiciously. I bought a granola bar and a pint of milk and left. I wandered into Denny's, ordered coffee, and went into the bathroom to change the bandages on my foot and dose myself with aspirin. I stayed there for a little over an hour, and then moved on again. I did this for most of the day until it started getting dark, then I went in search of another bar to try to make a little more money. I would have liked to have had a shower, but there was no hope of that. Lucky for me most men don't care what a whore looks or smells like. I stopped in at the Osco Drug and bought a packet of rubbers, just in case I got lucky with a big score tonight. Then off down North Avenue towards the bars I had looked up in the phone book outside the 7-11 earlier. It was time to go to work.
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