by Brian Bakos
27. Girls’ Day Out
Befitting her status as de facto group leader, Sharese occupied the center chair at the casino slot machines, flanked by Candy and Nichole. All around them flashed the lights and chimed the sounds of the gambling Never Never Land. Tides of emotion swept through the place, rising and falling with the luck of the various gamers.
Several machines down the line from them to the right, Sally Nagy was also trying her luck. She wielded a drink in one hand and wore an intense, almost hypnotized, look on her face as the little pictures spun before her eyes. The Musketelles did their best to ignore her. She’d arrived after they did – if she’d been there first, they would have chosen a different row.
This was their first get together since the quarterly luncheon at Gemrock, and a certain strain attended them. Things needed to be said. Finally, Sharese spoke up.
“I’m worried about Laila,” she said.
“Yeah,” Candy said, “she didn’t look too good at the luncheon.”
“Maybe the ‘rich and famous’ lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Nichole said.
Candy punched the button on her machine. The three symbols spun around, came up zilch yet again.
“I’m certainly not getting rich today,” she said.
Down the row, Sally won a round. She raised a fist jubilantly.
“Woo Hoo!” she cried.
The Musketelles looked askance toward her, shaking their heads.
“I’m glad somebody is doing well,” Candy said.
“Get a load of those three,” Nichole said in a low voice.
Sharese followed Nichole’s gaze toward the opposite end of the row. More newcomers were there – three elderly women in somber clothes grouped around a single machine, studying its glass face with grim intensity, as if they could divine the future from it.
A chill ran through Sharese. Were they the same ones who’d been at Gemrock?
“They look they’re going to a funeral,” Candy said.
An awkward silence fell over the Musketelles. Sharese broke the impasse.
“Why don’t we just admit it?” she said. “We’re all green with envy.”
Candy and Nichole stared at the merciless trio of images on the screens before them, saying nothing.
“Laila could be in serious trouble,” Sharese said, “and we made a joke out of the whole thing.”
“Yes ... that’s true,” Nichole said.
“Hasn’t she been good to us over the years?” Sharese said. “You’d have never met your husbands without her.”
Candy and Nichole nodded.
“We’d all still be waiting tables if it wasn’t for Laila,” Sharese said. “Or else we’d be married to low class slobs.”
“It sounds so terrible the way you put it,” Candy said.
For a moment, Sharese glimpsed the dark hole of ennui at the center of all their lives. It was a frightening vision, and she quickly pushed it away.
“For Chissake, Candy,” she said, “Your husband has his own accounting firm! And your husband is the ‘King of Discount Dentistry,’ Nichole. How many branch offices does he have now, three?”
“Four,” Nichole said.
“Right,” Candy said. “I saw the ad on TV.”
“Laila’s been very helpful to me, too,” Sharese said. “Well ... maybe things didn’t work out, but the divorce settlements have been good.”
Nichole sighed and took a sip of her drink.
“You’re right, Sharese,” she said, “but I always felt she didn’t want to spend too much time with us. We’re kind of out of her league, aren’t we?”
“Maybe she needs us more now,” Sharese said. “Things might really be falling apart with her and Frank.”
Down the row, Sally lost a round. She smacked the machine angrily with her palm.
“Crap!”
The Musketelles glanced toward her again.
“Let’s not bring Laila here, for sure,” Nichole said. “Too many ‘low class slobs’ hanging around.”
“Well, I’m going to get a hold of Laila and see if I can help somehow,” Sharese said. “Are you with me?”
“Sure thing,” Candy said.
“All for one, and the rest of that stuff,” Nichole added.
“Okay, good,” Sharese said. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
They went back to their gaming, unaware that the three crones to their left had been listening intently to their conversation. Sally Nagy had been too much of a distraction. They hadn’t paid much attention to the creepy presence of the Eldorado Explorers Club.
Ilsa McIntyre turned to her two companions.
“Wait here, ladies,” she said. “I’ll have a quick word with the blond one over there.”
Margaret and Pauline felt keen disappointment at being left out of Ilsa’s foray, but it did not occur to them to object. Ilsa was not person one argued with.
Ilsa slipped off her chair and moved down the row toward the three sexy young women in their fashionable clothes. Ilsa had been a sexy young woman herself, once, and she hated them for it.
She was willing to overlook the affront, however. She wished to benefit their friend, the fairest one of all. Unobserved, she arrived behind the tall blond with the North Carolina accent. She tapped her on the shoulder.
Sharese jerked around, startled, to see a stooped, malevolent-looking woman lurking behind her. The woman’s flat gray eyes bored into hers, silencing any outcry.
“There’s a plot afoot against your pretty friend,” the woman said.
“W-what?” Sharese gasped. “Who are you?”
She looked desperately toward Candy, but Candy was too absorbed in the spinning images to notice the interloper.
“The rich man’s daughter is behind it,” the woman continued. “She lives at REX Apartments, in the ivory tower.”
Before Sharese could say anything, the woman was gone, joining the other two ladies and disappearing around the corner with them. Sharese sat for a long moment gathering her wits, then she stood up.
“I think we should leave now,” she said.
“I’m for that,” Nichole said.
“Yeah,” Candy agreed. “Let’s go, while I’ve still got a few dollars left to my name.”
She stood and began walking to the left, where the crones had been.
“No, this way,” Sharese said, leading her the opposite direction.
They walked past Sally, who had resumed playing in mesmerized style, eyes wide and blank. They picked up the pace, rather spooked.
“There but for the grace of God ...” Sharese murmured.
Sharese maneuvered her car through the midtown traffic. Candy occupied the passenger side, while Nichole leaned forward from the back seat in order to share the conversation.
“You should sit back, Nichole,” Sharese said, “put on your seat belt.”
“Why?” Nichole asked. “So you can talk about me without being overheard?”
Sharese laughed. It felt great to be alone with her friends again, away from the jarring atmosphere in the casino. And what about that creepy woman with her talk of the ‘rich man’s daughter in the ivory tower?’
She wanted to dismiss the whole thing as a mere annoyance, but she couldn’t. It had been maximum weird, like a scene out of some low budget horror movie. Well, she could think about that later, no sense ruining a good time over it.
“So, what’s next, girls?” she said. “Do we have time for a quick drink before the big event?”
“I’m for that,” Nichole said.
Sharese reached over and squeezed Candy’s arm.
“Maybe you ought to have a couple, Candy. Put you in the right mood.”
“Sure,” Candy said. “Hey, watch out!”
A young guy on a racing bicycle had veered into their lane. Sharese honked and swerved to avoid him, sending Nichole tumbling onto the floor.
“Ow!”
“You all right, Nichole?” Candy asked.
“Yeah ... I think so.”
“Don’t worry, girls,” Sharese said, “everything’s under control.”
She lowered the passenger side window and yelled out at the bicyclist.
“Hang onto that sweet ass, honey! You just might need it someday.”
The bicyclist tipped his helmet. The Musketelles all laughed.
