In the Club

Richard is slightly hung over. The night before, he couldn’t sleep and had stayed up drinking too many beers and watching X-Files reruns on old tapes. He’d wanted Fanguella to stay over, but she had insisted on having her own space in a motel. The girl on stage was not really to his liking. Being a tall and broad shouldered man, he preferred a taller more ripe body, although he did enjoy some variety now and then. No, it was the woman’s face that bothered him. It reminded him of this woman that he had known when he was growing up. She was a friend of his mother’s, and she had had no patience for children. She was always saying, “come on Claire, we need to get you away from your kid so that you can have some real fun!” And, “Oh Richard, you are sooo cute, but you really need to” and here she would say something like stop bothering your mother, or learn to get your own snack, or wipe your nose, or some other criticism. She had been petite with a wide flatish face, large eyes and a wide mouth. She had a bland sort of prettiness, although all that Richard saw at the time was an annoying old woman who was friends with his mother. His mother would mostly indulge him, and call him her Petit Prince, but when Marguerite was over, she would talk mostly boring adult talk, and sometimes, she would agree with Marguerite. “Yes Richard, please go get yourself an apple, and then go find a puzzle in your room” she might say. The woman on stage brought back that same feeling of boredom and annoyance, so without giving her another thought, he turned to peruse the rest of the room. Also, he took a healthy drink of beer, trying to ignore the dull ache in his head. Fanguella broke the silence and said, “I want a lap dance, Richard.” His boredom and annoyance instantly disappeared. “Really.” He said, his eyes smiling at her. “I just need to pick the perfect girl for this experience, I want to see how these things are done.” Her fingers tapped the table in rhythm with the music. He shrugged, as she started perusing the room herself.