Episode Two:

The view is dark and quiet until a faint whistling can be heard. It is the same grunge rock song that the twin brothers were listening to in their car. Keys jangle, and the lock turns. Light fills the room and David’s silhouette is seen. His arm reaches around the door frame for a light switch, but before he can turn on the lights, someone grabs him, drags him into the room, and slams the door. A struggle is heard between David and another person.

David: “What the hell…?”
Female voice: “Oh, baby, I’ve been missing you all day and all night. Why don’t we make a little mess of our own to clean up?”

David makes a grunting noise, then all of a sudden, the lights come on. It was David who flicked the switch. His shirt has been untucked and unbuttoned halfway. His hair is messier than usual, and he is covered in women’s lipstick. Across from him is a tall, voluptuous woman whose clothing and hair are in the same state as David’s.
This is Jessicka Walnutt, a prominent political figure in Dominica. She is an active NRA lobbyist in Washington and is currently running for mayor of Dominica. While she is a tough and ruthless politician, she is also a nymphomaniac, and David is her most recent plaything. She has toyed with many men— rich or poor, famous or average Joes—and has enjoyed every minute of it. Jessicka carries many secrets within her tall frame, some are those of the men she’s slept with, but many are her own.

David: “Hey baby, what are you doing here? I thought the NRA was having some convention in Baltimore you had to go to?”

Jessicka slowly saunters over to him, unbuttoning one button for every step she takes towards him. When she finally reaches his spot by the door, she lets her black silk blouse fall off her shoulders and begins to unbutton his shirt further.

Jessicka: “I missed you too, too much, so I decided to reschedule my appearance. They can get along fine without me for a day or two. Do you not want me here?”

David smiles coyly and helps Jessicka take his shirt off. His chest and stomach are flat, without a sign of either muscles or fat. He passionately kisses Jessicka before speaking.

David: “Does that answer your question? Come on, Jessicka baby, let’s make a mess.”

With that, David runs his hand down over the light switch, and the lights go out.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Jessicka’s competitor for the title of mayor, Jonathan King, is hard at work trying to raise money for his campaign. Jonathan is one of the most popular citizens of Dominica, despite his open affections for wearing women’s clothing. No one seems to mind the fact that he is a cross-dresser, and he even has elderly ladies making dresses, hats, and other clothes for him. The female population of Dominica adores Jonathan; sometimes, he has a date every night of the week with one of the town’s bachelorettes. Jonathan is honest, hardworking, and amiable to all who treat him kindly. He is a lumberjack by trade, chopping down trees and cutting up the logs for firewood. He makes a decent amount of money, but is still considered to be middle class. Only recently has he been able to mingle with the upper classes, due to his goal of becoming mayor of Dominica.

Jonathan is sitting in a swivel chair, twirling back and forth slowly. He is on the telephone with a resident of the city, Lizzie Apple, a close friend of his. Jonathan is trying desperately to get Lizzie to help him out with his campaign. He is dressed in his typical lumberjack attire: a white cotton tee shirt, a light, red flannel shirt, halfway unbuttoned, heavy duty black jeans, and black steel-toed work boots. As he speaks, he twirls his fingers around a long string of pale pink pearls hanging from his neck.

Jonathan: “Lizzie, baby, think of all I’ve done for you. I got you the clients that has made your brothel…” (pause) “… hair salon and massage parlour…anyway, whatever you call it, it’s the best establishment in town of its kind. I’ve been there for you during and after all three marriages. C’mon, babe, you owe me one!”

There is a pause while Lizzie speaks on the other end. Jon stops swiveling after a minute and excited jots something down on a notepad on his desk.

Jonathan: “Thanks, Lizzie. I swear, you’ll get a real swanky job ‘cause of this! Bye!”

Jonathan hangs up the phone and looks at the Felix the cat clock on his wall. It is ten o’clock in the morning. He rubs his hands over his closely-shaved head and exhales deeply. He picks up the phone again and dials another number. There is a pause as the phone rings. Jonathan sits up straight when someone answers on the other side.

Jonathan: “Hello, Mrs. Cardin? This is Jonathan King…(pause) Yes, I’m just fine, thank you. And how are you? (pause) Well, that’s just great. Listen, ma’am, the reason I’m calling is because, as you probably know, I’m running for mayor of Dominica…(pause) You will help my campaign? Why, thank you, Mrs. Cardin! Yes, I was wondering if perhaps you and the Soccer Moms League could help spread the word about me and the issues I stand for. (pause) Well, that’s just great. Three o’clock…at Down by the Bay. Of course. I’ll have a table in the back saved especially for you. (pause)(smile) Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye…(pause) What’s that? Your niece is coming into town and needs someone to show her around? Well, Mrs. Cardin, I would be delighted. We’ll talk about it over our late lunch. (pause) Okay. Bye.”

Jonathan hangs up the phone and looks out the window absent-mindedly. He sees Eliza Doyle walk past and smiles. The camera follows the view of Eliza out the window and goes with her as she walks down the street.

Eliza Doyle is a favourite of many of the customers who frequent Lizzie Apple’s Hair Salon and Massage Parlour. She is short, skinny, and pale with jet-black hair and breasts that perfectly compliment her figure. She is very proud of her “twins,” as she calls them, and wears clothes that showcase them. Her clothes are close-cut but not trashy. The dress that she is wearing right now is low-cut on top and tight-fitting, but comes down well past her knees. It is a pale blue cotton sun-dress, one of her favourites. Eliza only recently moved to Dominica from Baltimore, and Lizzie was the first friend that she made. Using the skills that she picked up in her hometown, Eliza quickly became one of Lizzie’s top masseuses. Eliza lives in a nice bay-side apartment that she can only afford due to her extremely high salary. While she has had several boyfriends, Eliza has never had anyone serious in her life…but that is all about to change.

Eliza finally reaches a pleasant-looking store front and goes in. The front of the store is a cozy waiting room with cushioned seats, potted plants, and a coffee table with recent magazines on it. Several men and a couple of women are seated in some of the seats. She waves at a receptionist behind a desk and walks through an archway into a hair salon. About five stylists are working diligently on cutting, styling, and blow drying their customers’ hair; all but two of the stylists are men. Walking under yet another archway, Eliza enters yet another waiting room that is almost identical to the first. This time, all of the people waiting are men. She waves to yet another receptionist, opens a glass door, and walks through it, closing it firmly behind her. She walks down a dimly-lit hallway, opens a door, and walks through it. She throws her purse and the jacket she was carrying onto a chair to the left of the door, and shuts the door behind her.

Eliza: “So, what’s your poison?”
Male voice: “Um…I don’t drink…well, not anymore.”
Eliza: “I don’t drink anymore either. Nasty habit…makes your breath stink. I meant, what kind of treatment do you want today?”
Male voice: “I just want a regular massage. My back is killing me. You do do regular massages, don’t you?”

Eliza laughs and walks over to a flat bed. There is a man sitting on it, wrapped only in a towel that covers his lower half. He looks slightly ill at ease. Eliza gently guides him to spread out on his stomach, and he does so obligingly.

Eliza: “Of course I do, silly. This is a massage parlour. Don’t worry, I’ll make your back feel better in no time.” She pours some oil into her hands, rubs them together, then begins to massage her hands onto his upper back and shoulders. “So what’s your name anyway?”
Man: “Dirk Cherokee. I’m new in town.”

And that he is. Dirk Cherokee is a nomad who has traveled up and down the East Coast looking for work and love. Part Native American (guess which tribe) and part Italian, Dirk is handsome, but in a very unique way. He tries his best to look nice, but usually is only able to pull off looking presentable. His constant moving leaves him with little cash and little time to take a decent shower. He does odd jobs for money wherever he goes and usually ends up having disastrous affairs with women of power. He just arrived in town yesterday, and has yet to learn of Dominica’s hierarchy of female power.

Dirk is obviously loosening up as Eliza continues his massage. They have a polite, casual conversation as she works her magic on him.

Dirk: “What’s your name?”
Eliza: “Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Eliza, so I guess you can too. So where are you from, Dirk?”
Dirk: “Well, I just left Annapolis. Before that, I stayed in Baltimore, and before that, I was living in New Jersey. I’m originally from New York City, but I left that crazy place when I was seventeen. There was this serial killer on the loose up there—killing men within a two block radius in any direction from Central Park. They say that she went berserk after some poor bastard killed her dad in the park. I heard…” (whispers) that she was a vampire who killed the guy who made her because he was the guy who killed her pop. The guy turned her into a vampire and then tried to rape her, so she took her aggressions out on the whole male population of the Big Apple. Vampire or not, she was one crazy bitch, and I decided that I did not want to be on her hit list, so I drove myself out to Jersey where all I had to deal with were pot heads and toxic waste. A lot safer, if you ask me.”
Eliza: “Vampires? Come on, I may not be as well-educated as some, but I’m not dumb enough to believe that vampires exist. You don’t look that dumb either.”
Dirk: “Okay, forget I said anything about it. So are you from Dominica?”
Eliza: “Naw, I’m from Baltimore myself. Born and raised there. I moved here awhile ago cause I was sick and tired of big city life. I wanna be a writer, believe it or not. This gig is just to get me some money until I make it big.”
Dirk: “What kind of stuff do you write?”
Eliza: “I write poetry mostly, but I’m writing a romance novel right now. It’s about this blind girl Elizabeth who believes that she’ll never find love because of her handicap, but she ends up finding it in her best friend Gregory. I’m about halfway through the book right now. When I’m done, I’m gonna take it to one of the professors who comes in here often and get him to proofread it. After that, I’ve gotta look for a publishing company, and then…oh you don’t wanna hear about all this.”

Dirk turns over and looks into Eliza’s eyes. Quietly and seriously, he responds to her question.

Dirk: “Yes, I do. Do you think that we could talk about this sometime tonight over dinner?”

Eliza is obviously taken aback. She nods her head slowly and answers slowly as well.

Eliza: “Yeah, I guess, if you want to. There’s this place in town that everyone goes to called Down by the Bay. They’ve got a great seafood buffet. How about you meet me there around seven thirty?”
Dirk: (smiling) “That sounds really nice, Eliza. Seven thirty it is then.”

Dirk looks at his wrist watch, smiles, then sits up.

Dirk: “Well, it looks like I gotta split. I gotta job interview in a half an hour, so I need to shower up and get this delicious-smelling oil off of my body.”

He stands up and walks over to a table in the corner. Picking up a pair of blue jeans and reaching into one of the pockets, Dirk pulls out a well-worn brown leather wallet. He opens it up and pulls out two tens. He closes the wallet and puts it back into the pocket. Turning around, Dirk walks back over to Eliza, who is staring intently at that secret spot on a man where his hip bones stick out. The crevice that it makes along with the man’s gut area leads straight down to where his…*cough* well, you know…*cough* is. When that part is exposed, even if his private parts are covered, a woman is easily able to imagine what the rest of him looks like. This is obviously Eliza’s favourite part of the male body. When he speaks, she is tossed back into consciousness.

Dirk: “For doing such a good job and making my back feel extra better.”

He hands her the money. She takes it and sticks it into her bra for safe-keeping.

Eliza: “Thanks. So I guess I’ll see you at seven thirty at Down by the Bay. I’ll let you get dressed now. See ya later, Dirk.”
Dirk: “Okay, see ya later, Eliza.”

He walks her to the door where she picks up her bag and jacket. She grins at him once more before leaving through the door. Dirk, still only dressed only in a towel, watches her walk down the hallway and through the glass door. After she is gone from view, he sighs happily and shuts the door.