The Pull of Gravity

by Brett Battles

  Larry shook his head, an amused laugh escaping his lips.

  It was pretty quiet in The Lounge, the girls outnumbering the customers by almost three to one. The rain wasn’t helping but it was still early. I wasn’t too worried. Saturday nights always had a way of turning out fine.

  “Aren’t you headed home soon?” I asked Larry.

  “I fly out on Monday.”

  I took another sip of my beer. “Lose your cherry yet?”

  He smiled. “Not yet.”

  “You gotta be shitting me.”

  “Nope.”

  Just then a group of five guys came through the door, and the noise level instantly increased. They all looked to be in their twenties, were in good shape and sported close-cropped hair. Marines, I guessed, probably on leave from one of the U.S. bases in Korea. And, from the looks of things, The Lounge wasn’t their first stop of the night. They’d all definitely been drinking, and one of them was having a hard time walking a straight line. Which, to the more business-minded papasan, meant they were probably primed to ring the bell.

  “Excuse me for a minute,” I said to Larry, then got up and crossed the room to greet our new guests.

  “Welcome to The Lounge, fellas,” I said once I reached them.

  Several of the girls were already moving toward them, sensing potential bar fines, or at least a few drinks.

  “We’ve got room right up next to the stage or booths along the wall. Your choice,” I told them.

  “What do you guys think?” one of them asked. “The booths or the stage?”

  “The booths,” another one said.

  The others voiced their agreement so I led them over to an empty section. They weren’t really booths, more like a long padded bench that ran along the wall facing the stage. Small, circular tables to put drinks on were placed every seven feet. I got the Marines set up right in the center with the best view of the dancers.

  Before they even sat down, two of the guys had already been claimed by a couple of the girls. Since the U.S. military had pulled out of the Philippines years earlier, there was a definite shortage of young, well-built male customers on Fields. So it was like a special treat for the girls. I didn’t have to read their minds to know that, if given the choice, most of them would have gone home with their catch that night for free, just for the change.

  Drinks were ordered, and it looked like everyone was settled in. “You guys have a good night,” I said, intending to go back to my place at the bar.

  “You American?” one of the more drunk guys asked. He was a big one, at least six foot three and two hundred thirty or two hundred forty pounds, all of it muscle.

  “You betcha,” I said.

  “You serve?” he asked.

  “Navy,” I told him. “Twenty years.”

  He thought about it for a second, then nodded. “That’s okay. At least you weren’t a grunt.”

  “I’d join the Coast Guard first,” I said.

  They all laughed at that.

  “Yeah,” one of them said. “Army’s where you go if you can’t get in anywhere else.”

  More laughter. It was an act I’d learned how to turn on whenever I needed to. The Good Sailor. Mr. Military. I knew the language. I’d heard it for twenty years. I guess it was another way for me to be the perfect host.

  When I finally got back to the bar, I found that Larry was no longer alone. Nelly had shown up and was squeezed between the barstools, rubbing up against his leg.

  “I see you found a little company,” I said.

  “I thought you sent her over.” He sounded slightly annoyed, but there was a smile on his face.

  I shook my head. “Not me.”

  I had completely forgotten that Nelly had caught his attention that first night. Now I realized that maybe she was the reason he had come back. I had told him, after all, that if he didn’t find anyone else, I’d try to hook him up with her before he left town.

  Cathy approached us from the other side of the bar. “You want to buy her a drink?” she asked Larry.

  Nelly looked at Larry, smiling expectantly.

  “Okay,” he said, looking back at Nelly. “One drink. But this doesn’t mean anything.”

  Nelly shrieked a little louder than necessary, then threw her arms around Larry’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  Some girls had a natural way of making a guy feel like she liked them, while others couldn’t hide the fact they were acting. Nelly, unfortunately, fell in the latter category. And while some guys either didn’t care or didn’t notice if a girl was faking it, Larry wasn’t one of them.

  Nelly had flipped his off switch without even knowing it. I could see it in his eyes. He had seemed to be enjoying her company, and even though he’d said he’d buy only one drink, I could tell that one drink could have led to two, and then to who knows what? But when Nelly’s act became obvious, it was like he could barely stomach the fact she was standing next to him.

  I wanted to ask him why he had even come to Angeles. I wanted to know what could have triggered the desire in him. Had he expected something different? He said he had been having a great time, but was that true? Maybe Aunt Marla would have been able to figure him out, but to me, he didn’t fit into any of the stereotypes of the guys who came to Fields.

  Usually I wouldn’t have even cared. The mystery would have remained a mystery, and I would have forgotten everything by the time I woke up the next afternoon. But the truth was, I liked the guy. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable. He didn’t want anything from me, and I didn’t want anything from him. I guess that’s how friendships are born. Real ones, anyway.

  So I did something I had never done since working at The Lounge. When Nelly finished her drink, and before she could start angling for a new one, I said, “Why don’t you go dance for a while?”

  My suggestion—command, actually—surprised her so much, she didn’t even react at first. Cathy was a few feet away trying not to laugh. She was a smart one and had picked up the same vibe I had. Nelly, on the other hand, was having a hard time processing it.

  “Go on,” I said. “Larry and I need to talk.”

  If I had been anyone but the papasan, she wouldn’t have left.

  “Okay,” she said. She looked at Larry. “I’ll be back.”

  He smiled but said nothing.

  Her own smile faltered. That was the moment she realized she’d lost him. As she turned to leave, I could see her scanning the room looking for someone else to nuzzle up to.

  “Thanks,” Larry said once she was gone.

  “No problem.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “I’m not a papasan for nothing.”

  He shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”

  I heard the sound of a bottle being set on the bar behind me. I turned. Cathy was standing there, another bottle of Märzan sitting in front of her.

  “How many more you got back there?” I asked, surprised.

  She looked at me for what seemed like an entire minute, the right corner of her mouth creeping upward into a crooked smile. I thought for a moment that she might actually tell me, but instead she said nothing.

  Larry raised his San Miguel. “Cheers.”

  “Cheers,” I echoed, picking up my own bottle.

  As I took a drink, I could feel Cathy still looking at me. She turned away as I glanced over, but not before I saw her look of mischief become one of resignation. This wasn’t the first time I’d noticed something similar.

  I’d been single for a while by then, but the pain of Maureen was still with me. I guess I just didn’t want to believe anyone would actually be interested in me. Experience had taught me all my relationships ended, and usually with pain. I wasn’t ready to experience the pain again.

  Around midnight, just after the dancers did their thing to “Love Shack,” one of the girls screamed. It wasn’t one of those mock s
creams you heard all the time in a place like The Lounge, the ones that came with guys and girls and sexual teasing. This was one of those that signaled anger and infuriation.

  I was off my stool and heading around the bar, faster than my weight should have allowed. The scream had come from the direction of where the Marines were sitting, but my view was blocked by the stage. Most of the girls had stopped dancing, startled by the unusual noise.

  As I raced around the end of the stage, I saw that the Marines’ party had grown to over a dozen. It took me a moment to realize the problem wasn’t actually with them.

  Another guy was sitting a couple tables away. He was a bit older, maybe in his forties. He was sporting a comb-over and a small moustache, and had the smug look of a man who’d drunk enough to think he knew the answer to everything. Several feet away, her knees drawn up into her chest, sat Isabel. She was staring at the man, eyes blazing angrily. With one hand she seemed to be holding up the top of her bikini.

  Two of the Marines had jumped up, and looked like they were ready to pummel the guy through the back of the cushion. As I arrived, I said, “Thanks, guys. I got this.”

  They relaxed a little but didn’t immediately return to their table.

  “What’s going on?” I asked the guy with the bad hair.

  He snorted. “Nothing. Which, I’m sure you understand, is the problem.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “What kind of bullshit place is this?” the man asked. His accent ID’d him as a Brit. “Look, I come in, buy a couple drinks and expect to be entertained.” He glanced over at Isabel. “Your girl there doesn’t seem to understand her job.”

  “And what exactly is her job?” I asked.

  Comb-over rolled his eyes. “Don’t fuck with me, all right? I’ve been coming to the Philippines for years. I could get you into a lot of trouble.”

  I took a deep breath, then reached down and grabbed the man under his arms, yanking him to his feet. It wasn’t hard to do. He was actually a pretty small guy. I started pushing him toward the front door.

  “Hey,” he said. “Let me go. You don’t want trouble with me.”

  I stopped him, then moved my face in as close as I could without actually touching his. “You’re right,” I said. “I don’t. But when assholes like you come in here, you don’t give me much of a choice. If I were you, I’d get out of town.”

  One member of my Marine backup team moved past me and opened the front door. I guided the asshole the rest of the way there, then pushed him outside. The moment he was gone, a loud cheer went up in the bar.

  “Thanks,” I said to the helpful Marine.

  “Nothing to thank me for. That was all you.”

  One of his friends said, “I think that calls for a bell ring.”

  Together they walked over and gave the bell a whack. Another cheer went up, and what started out as a potentially nasty situation turned into another Lounge party.

  I looked over to make sure Cathy and the other bartenders were on top of the bell ring. Cathy gave me the “everything’s fine” wave, freeing me up to go check on Isabel.

  Her position hadn’t changed, but she was no longer alone. Rina, one of our waitresses, was sitting next to her, her arm around Isabel’s shoulder. I walked over and sat on the other side.

  “Did he hurt you?” I said.

  “She’s okay, boss,” Rina said. “No problems.”

  Rina, who seldom worked on my shifts and didn’t know me that well, was trying to protect Isabel in case I thought she was the problem.

  “It’s okay,” I said to Rina. I looked at Isabel again. Some of the anger had begun to leave her eyes, but it wasn’t completely gone. What surprised me was, there were no tears. “The guy was an asshole. I just want to make sure he didn’t hurt you.”

  “Only a scratch,” she said.

  Hesitantly, she moved the hand I thought had been holding up her bikini, revealing a small scratch just above her left collarbone. I looked around. Lamie, one of the other dancers, was standing nearby.

  “Go get a wet napkin from Cathy,” I told her.

  I turned back to Isabel. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “He keep trying to touch me,” she said. “In places I don’t want him to, di ba? He said he bought me a drink, so it’s his right.”

  “Did you tell him no?” I asked.

  “Of course. Many times.” She paused. “When he try to pull off my top, that’s when I yell. I’m sorry, Papa. I know it’s my job, but I just didn’t like him.” A single tear escaped down her cheek, but, as far as I could remember, it was the only one all night.

  Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to find Lamie with the napkin I’d asked for. Instead I found Larry standing there holding out a cup.

  “Tea,” he said. “Maybe it will help.”

  My thought was that tea was probably not strong enough, but Isabel reached forward and took the cup. “Thank you,” she told him.

  “I’m sorry,” Larry said tentatively. “For what happened, I mean.”

  Isabel shook her head. “It’s okay.” She took a sip of the tea.

  “Do you want to go home?” I asked.

  “No,” she said quickly. “I’ll be okay.”

  “He was just a bad man,” Rina said. “He won’t come back.”

  She patted Isabel on the shoulder, smiling reassuringly. Isabel’s own smile wasn’t as confident.

  Lamie finally showed up with the napkin, and I let her clean Isabel’s scratch. Within ten minutes, the whole place seemed back to normal, Isabel included. Larry left not long after that, but he made a point to check on Isabel before saying goodbye.

  He had told me earlier he was going to Manila on Sunday to avoid driving down on the same day he flew out. So when we shook hands, I was sure that would be the last time I saw Larry Adams.

  I was wrong.

  CHAPTER NINE

  When I came into work that Sunday night, the second to last thing I expected was Isabel showing up. I had told her just before she went home the previous night that she should take Sunday off. She’d only been working at The Lounge for around five months at that point, and though she was good at getting guys to buy her lady drinks—drinks for the girls that they got a cut of—she had yet to go out on an EWR. I figured with the incident the night before, she could use a day off to think about things. I would have laid better than even odds she was going to quit altogether.

  But Isabel showed up right on time, as if nothing had happened. I stopped her as she walked to the back to change, and asked if she was okay.

  “Fine, Papa,” she said, smiling.

  Thirty minutes later, Larry arrived. That was the last thing I expected. At that time on a Sunday night, he was the only customer in the place.

  “I thought you left already,” I said as soon as I saw him.

  “Decided to wait until tomorrow,” he said with no further explanation.

  I had a few managerial items to take care of, so I left Larry at the bar and went to the small office in back. When I came back out twenty minutes later, Larry had moved. I looked around and spotted him sitting at the table in the back corner, talking with Isabel.

  I got a beer from the bar, and started to head over to them.

  “Wait,” Cathy said.

  I stopped. “What?”

  “Give them a little time alone.”

  “Who? Larry and Isabel?”

  She shook her head, an expression of disbelief on her face. “Sometimes, Doc, you stupid.”

  I wasn’t so stupid that I didn’t understand what she meant. When I looked back at Larry and Isabel, instead of seeing two people sharing a friendly conversation, I saw a couple sitting a little closer together than mere friends would. I saw Isabel put her hand on Larry’s arm as she laughed, letting it linger there a moment, but always removing it. I saw Larry glance at her when she wasn’t looking at him, an unconscious smile on his face. More than anything, I sa
w two people who had stopped noticing there were other people around.

  So instead of going over, I sat down on my stool.

  “I didn’t see that coming,” I told Cathy.

  “I already tell you. That’s because you stupid,” she said, then added, “sometimes.”

  “Don’t you have work to do?”

  “Bar is stocked. Everything ready. Larry is only customer.” She looked me in the eyes. “So no, I don’t have work to do.”

  “Cathy, if you weren’t so damn cute, I’d fire you right now just because I could.”

  “Good thing I’m cute then.”

  “Yeah. Good thing.” I picked up my beer and swallowed what was left, then set the bottle back down. “I’ve got something for you to do. Get me another beer.”

  She gave me an exaggerated smile before turning to the cooler to pull out a new bottle. A moment later, she set an open San Miguel in front of me.

  “No Märzen left?” I asked.

  “Plenty,” she answered, then walked to the far end of the bar.

  • • •

  That night was another example of something surprising happening after weeks of boring, interchangeable days. In truth, this new round of excitement started the night before with Mr. Comb-over attempting to force the issue with Isabel. But the next night, that Sunday, things escalated rapidly, so much faster than any of us ever realized. The biggest surprise of the evening happened around ten thirty.

  The place was still fairly empty, probably no more than seven customers. Because of that, the energy level was pretty mellow. That was actually okay by me. We’d had a run of fairly intense nights, so a little ratcheting down would allow everyone to recharge a bit.

  Cathy had decided at some point earlier to rejoin me, and we were sharing a couple of apple martinis she’d just recently learned how to make.

  “Not bad,” I said, as I finished off the last of my drink.

  “Not bad?” she asked. “That’s it?”

  “Given the choice, I’d rather have a beer.”

  “You have no taste.” She replaced my empty martini glass with a bottle of San Miguel. “I think that—”

  She stopped, her eyes moving from my face to a point behind me. I turned to see what she was looking at.