Chapter 10

“You’ve made me acknowledge the devil in me

I hope to God I’m talkin’ metaphorically

I hope that I’m talkin’ allegorically

Know that I’m talkin’ about the way I feel,

And I’ve never met a girl like you before.” — Edwin Collins

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“You know Corey, I think you need to slow down.” Cindy pulled her sisters glass to her space.

The White house bar was lit up with big white string lights, and giant blue Papier-mâché stars covered in blue string lights. A DJ was playing. Lights swung around the room; red, purple, yellow, green. The music was so loud we could barely hear ourselves converse. Some horribly out-of-tune voice was trying to sing someone unknown, at least to me, country song. Except for the country music, the ancient White House bar looked like an inner-city night club; at least the lights did.

Corey pulled back her drink from her sister Cindy. “That’s mine thank you.” Corey said, looking, and acting already sloppy drunk.

“He’s got a girlfriend!”Cindy tried to explain with quietness, putting on hand the side of her face, like this action would mumble her words more.

“Yeah, and that’s going to be me. I’m going to fuck him tonight.”

Cindy looked composed but her eyes told everything. She was holding back tears. She was amazing composed considering how her sister was behaving. We had Allison who worked with us at the White House, Allison’s’ husband Jay, Dana, and one of the owners of Pony Espresso seated with us.

No wonder Dell and Kay don’t sit with their family often.

“Darin, sing something!. They have everything.” Dana, master of changing subjects interjected.

“Ok.” I agreed, still sort of grossed out by Corey’s behavior.

I walked up on the stage and spoke with the DJ; “Higher reverb, and much bass.” Then I grabbed a mic. And speaking to the audience, I said;”Here’s one you might know.” The guitars started. I sang Melt With You, by Modern English. When I got back to the table, I noticed a not-to-hard to look at, well built, dark haired guy had joined us.

“Darin, this is Steve.” Cindy said.

“Pleasure.” I shook his hand.

“Steve’s a boy-toy if I’ve ever seen one.” Corey flirted as if Steve wasn’t there. She looked ripped, and her words were sliding.

Cindy looked uncomfortable while Allison, and Jay just gave a knowing smirk to each other, while Patty pretended that something in the distance caught her eye.

“Drink Steve?” I offered.

“Got one.” He held up some sort of cocktail.

“I’ll take a bourbon seven.” Corey assumed; demanded.

“You’re done Correy. Forget that Darin.” Cindy was becoming indignant.

“Fuck you old lady!”

There was silence for a bit, except for some asshole singing “Who let the Dogs Out” on stage. I my best change-of-subject skills I’d learned from Dana, “Live around here Steve?”

Cindy answered; “He’s right around the corner and he’s our new chef.” She looked proud, and momentarily seemed to forget Corey’s behavior.

“Cool Steve, where have you worked before…”

He was in mid answer as I saw Corey’s bare foot pop up from under the table onto Steve’s crotch, as Corey sank ridiculously low in her seat.

“Ok, Corey, no more.” Grabbing Corey’s cocktail, Cindy took it to the bar where she told the bartender Corey was cut off. She returned. She was inscesded at Corey. “I’m going to get Dan to take you home. You’re not ruining this night too.”

Laughing, “Fuck you old lady. I’m not letting that fat old man of your drive me home, he might just try for something he can’t have. And if he does, I’ll scratch his eyes out.”

“Then I will get someone else to get you out of here.”

“I will walk home bitchey, bitch, bitch!” Then Correy puffed her cheeks out to mimic Cindy’s facial fatness.

“Allison, Jay, Steve, I’m thinking this is a good time for me to step out and have a smoke. Anyone’s welcome to join, even if you don’t smoke.” I smirked.

Nobody joined me. I guess a mass exodus would be rude.

“Darin….over here.” Josh said in a raised, but quiet tone. He and Velvet were sitting on the rock wall near the trail entrance smoking. Josh had been off work since quite a while ago, why was he still here?

“Dude, sit down and check this out. That Correy crawled through Steves windows in the back of his pick-up?” Velvet was laughing.

We watched corey in the dimness of the yellow street lamps wiggle her hips into the cab of his single door pick-up. She then tried to squeeze her body down between back of the bench seat and the wall. And she did.

“What the fuck?” I asked everyone.

“Inside, she said she was determined to fuck Steve, I think she means it.” I answered myself.

“What does she plan to do, jump out and say, “Oh take me Steve, only I would sneak home in the back of your truck for you. I’m not stalking you or anything.” Velvets’ sarcasm came through.

“Wanna swig?” Josh offered a bottle of Jack Daniels to me.

“No, and stay out of your Mom’s liquor cabinet. Poor lady.”

“I didn’t get this from my Mom, I bought it myself.”’

“Oh, you’re I.D. that looks like Matt Damon’s” I joked.

Dell and Kay closed the White House doors behind them. They walked to their motorhome where it wasn’t too long before most of their lights went out. We didn’t say goodnight to them as we didn’t think we could be seen, or want to be seen. Especially when we had alcohol outside of legal boundaries. But we did want to watch the drama that unfolded when Steve finally pulled out of the White House Parking lot.

I saw come outside under the porch light being orbited with moths, and lit a gig. I could tell she was unordered. “Josh.” I tried to get his intention using my “inside” voice. “Hide the bottle.” He did.

“Dana…..Dana….DANA!

“Darin, that you? You’re supposed to be inside, they just announced you were singing again.” She was looking around like a blind person trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

“Over here by the trail.” I tried to get her to come to us.

I waved my arms. “OVER HERE!”. I twirled my cigarette in around in the air to attract her vision.

“There you guys are.” She said, nearing us having a seat on the wall next to me. What are you guys doing out here?

“Well, little miss Corey, determined to fuck Steve, just climbed into the back windows of Steve’s pick-up, and then shimmed her skinny self behind the seat and the wall. We want to see what happens.”

“It’s going to be a while, Steve, Allison, and Jay are all about to sing “Love Shack, and you’re supposed to sing Root 66 my Depeche Mode. I came to find you. “

“Like I want to go in and deal with Cindy.”

“Darin, she’s actually acting like nothing happened.”

“Ok guys.” I addressed Velvet and Josh, “I will come out when Steve is about to. Stay here.”

I could hear out of time voices singing to the instrumental of “Love Shack” by the B52’s as I came through the door through the kitchen with Dana in tow. After a drunken applause, I got on stage. The opening few bars to “Enjoy the Silence” sounded like a karaoke version, a mere counterfeit of the real music. I got on stage again. I was complimented on my stage presence by Steve, probably because I knew most of these words and could look and audience in the eye.

“Words like violence

Break the silence

Come crashing in

Into my little world”, I moved to the opposite end of the stage to sing to that crowd, and something in the window caught my eye. It was Josh and Velvet peeking in.

I continued to make eye contact with people in the audience,

“Painful to me,

Pierce right through me

Can’t you understand

Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted

All I ever needed

Is here in my arms

Words are very unnecessary

They can only do harm…”

I finished and after a few more songs, someone got on the PA and said we’d be finished with Karaoke soon, but the bar would be open an hour later.

“Hey everyone, good job tonight. Take’s a lot of guts to get up there.”

“You seem at home.” Dan complimented me.

“Dan came from behind the bar, sweating, and panting, wiping his forehead with his sleeve as he joined our table.

“We did good tonight, babe.” He said to Cindy. Then, “Darin, can you cover the bar for a bit?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

I walked up to the bar where I was met by a bunch of drunken 20 somethings. “You in a band?” One of them asked? But before I could answer, I noticed a spittoon had spilt into the ice bin on the bar.

“UM, Dan. DAN! There’s no way I’m cleaning out this ice bin.”

Dan started laughing and said, “Guess we’ll have to close soon, I don’t feel like doing either.”

“Mam, would you like your long Island with a little human tobacco spit in it?” I asked the patron who just ordered a drink. “Tell you what, I’m going to get some Ice from the kitchen, and this will be the last round and then we’re closing. I did that, got a huge container of Ice called a “Cambro” and brought it to the bar.

“Anyone ever tell you that you look just like Charlie Sheen?” Some drunken weaved haired girl asked.

“No never.” I sarcastically replied.

They kept ordering drinks, and It was getting close to closing time; I knew how to get them out.

I Cindy had some Barbara Streisand CD hidden somewhere around the bar library. I put it it on and had the place cleared out in less than ten minutes.

Worrying that Steve would leave before I cleaned up, I asked if he wanted to see how easy it was to do. He said sure.

“Well, when your boss leaves the spittoon in a stupid place where it can fall into the ice bucket, you let him clean up, and just ignore it so he can deal with it in the morning. Then it’s basically, you run everything through, the dishwasher and leave it. Print this out on the register, and put it under the till. Count your tips, divide and leave. More tomorrow. Super nice to meet you Steve, I got to go.” Then I walked outside to meet Josh and Velvet.

“Sexy voice dude!” said Velvet.

“We’ve still got a few minutes, any more Jack left? I asked?

“Yes, here.” Josh handed me the bottle.

“Has Correy moved from the truck?” I asked

“No, not at all; probably passed out.”

I started laughing. This is going to be fun.

I heard lots of loud good nights after the music was killed. Cindy and Dan walked out following Steve arm in arm. “We look forward to working with you!” Shouted Dan. Then he added, “Drive safely.”

He pulled down the White House driveway, then suddenly fishtailed. Dan and Cindy turned around. There was a woman’s cackle coming from the truck. The truck’s tires slid across bare gravel and came to a stop. Velvet, Josh, and myself all were laughing so hard it hurt. Cindy and Dan could here us, but not see us and refocused their attention on the truck drama.

“How the fuck did you get behind there?” Shouted Steve to the inside of the truck, to Corey.

She just kept laughing.

“Corey! What the hell are you doing?” Cindy shouted loudly enough for Dell and Kay to turn their motorhome lights to go back on.

“You guys stay here.” I told Josh and Velvet.

I walked up to Steve, and the truck just as Dan did.

“Corey, you need help getting out of there?” Dan asked kindly. More kindly than I would. Definitely more kindly than Cindy would.

She just kept laughing. I could hear Josh and Velvet laughing too.

“Come on, you have to get out of there, Steve needs to work in the morning.”

More laughing. She sounded like a cackling woman that had smoked for 40 years.

“Come on Corey, Dan needs to get going? She popped her torso up from behind the seat with her hands.

“What, is he some sort of perv like Darin there?” She pointed at me. I hear you’re a bi, ya city freak.”

“Corey, just get out of there.” Dan pleaded.

“Only if Steve and Darin help me out. You bi too Steven? Maybe we can have a little get together at your place.” Corey was drunker than even I thought.

Nobody answered her, we just wanted to get her out without calling the Jaws of life, or some accident extraction device emergency personal are equipped with.

“Correy, lift up with your hands again, I’m going to try to pull your hips out.” I instructed.

She was laughing the whole time. “Ok faggot, grab my hips, I don’t care, you’re just a faggot anyways.”

I reached behind the seat and wasn’t gentle about grabbing her hips. “NOW push with your hands.”

Steve jumped in and grabbed her legs, breaking off one of her high heels as he forced one of her legs out from behind the seat.

“Those were expensive faggot.” She said to Steve, saying her favorite word of the night, yet again.

Cindy walked back into the swirl of moths, waving through them with her extended arm and closed the kitchen door behind her, clearly pissed off.

“This is all faltering and all, but I have a girlfriend. Besides, getting called a fag is a compliment, got anything else?”

“I’ll bet your girlfriends isn’t half the hot one I am.”

“You guys, I got this.” Dan helped Corey with her broken shoe out of the driver side door. She fell onto him immediately then onto the gravel.

More laughs from my friends came out of the darkness.

“You ok sweetie?” asked Steve as he helped her up.

“I’m fine. Thought you wouldn’t care anyways faggot.” She said.

Dan, “Think you can get her home?”

“Fuck you all, I’m staying right here, part of my money is in this place.”

A coupe of shadows swept over the back end of Steve’s truck.

“JOSHEY, and Polyester! What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for Darin to get off work?” They were good at answering in unison, I noticed for the first time.

Corey hugged Josh way too long.

“Ok, we all need to work in the morning. Get in everyone. Velvet, you get in first, then Josh, then you sweetheart.” Steve was getting agitated.

Velvet slid in, then Josh. “Velvet, you are going to have to sit on Josh’s lap.” I slid in then pulled Corey in, who stumbled because of her broken high heel.

“You broke my shoe you fags.” Corey.

Then she demanded a drink from Joshe’s bottle. “No way”.He said.

She got demanding, and stupid, hit Josh.

“Feel like a punching bag this week Josh?” I joked.

Suddenly Steve slid off the sidereal and came to a stop. He reached over my legs looking for something. Then he pulled out a festival cup, a martini glass, probably from some Cinco De Mayo event he went to.

“Poor her a big one.” Steve demanded.

Josh did without protest.

“Follow me outside the truck sexy little one, I got something for you.” Said Steve. Corey opened the door with some effort and almost fell out of the truck. Corey looked like she had a broken ankle because her shoe was broken but she managed to hold her drink and meet Steve at the rear of the truck, where he turned to run back into the truck and slam the door shut.

He then, punched the gas, and the rest of us looked back to see her bewildered, holding a big plastic martini glass, limping around with her broken shoe. She spat at us in vain as she disappeared in the dust, and visibility from our retreating rear break lights.

“You can’t just leave her there?” Velvet looked upset.

Steve answered her, “I’m just scaring her a bit”

We drove a few minutes then Steve turned the truck around.

We found Corey practically walking down the middle of highway 49 with her shoe in one hand, and her drink in the other. At least she can still walk.

Steve turned around retrieve her. “Get in. And behave. I’ll take you home.”

“FUCK YOU ALL!”

“Ok, I’ll have Dan and Cindy come pick you up.” Steve.

“Well, fucking phone them then, because Im not riding with you all!”

“Ok, you got it.” I said.

There was a moment of silence then Corey Stayner said, “Fuck if you are, you’re giving me a ride home.”

Corey got back into the truck. Her hair looking like a prehistoric woman might. She was mercifully silent.

“Darin, you got a voice man! I hear you are even a better songwriter and musician, and you’re in the entertainment industry. Very cool. I hope you wouldn’t mind jamming with an amateur.”

“Anytime. And what you have heard about me is local lore.”

Velvet interrupted, “She’s as dead as a door nail. She’s passed out good.”

“Corey! COREY!” Steve tried to wake her, reaching over me to do shake her.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“Does anyone know where she lives?” Steve asked for the fourth time as we pulled into his property. It was a double wide mobile home surrounded by pines and manzanita.

“NO, nobody does here.” Josh was getting testy.

Since nobody knew where she lived, we decided she should crash at Steve’s. We carried her inside.

I offered, “Steve, she’s crazier than fuck. She might of even thought you kidnapped her or taken advantage of her. If we stay here, you are protected from all that. Your place is hot, let's let her sleep it off and all sleep on you deck.” He agreed, and had a long, long, wonderful conversation, the four of us, with a full moon shining through the pines.