Free Women and Other Monsters by Bernard Schaffer Page A

rent.”
     
    I tried to keep the sulk out of my voice when I said, “What’s his name?”
     
    “Blake something.  Foreign, I think.” 
     
    “Does he know there’s no touching?”
     
    “Yes,” she sighed.  “He’s very nice.  Totally harmless.” 
     
    I grabbed a pencil and piece of paper.  “What’s the address?” 
     
    “Hotel Montreal.  Half-hour to an hour, tops.” 
     
     “Your coming over afterwards, right?” 
     
    “Maybe.  Let’s see how tired I am.  I will definitely call you though.”
     
    “Ok.  I love you.”  
     
    “I gotta go.  I’ll call you when I’m done.”  
     
    She didn’t.  
     
    By the next morning, I’d already filled up her voicemail.  Still, I tried once more.  No answer.     
     
    I borrowed Mom’s car and drove to Sunshine’s apartment.  Her parking space was empty.  I flew over to the Hotel Montreal and cruised the parking lot, checking for Sunshine’s car.  I even drove down the side streets, thinking maybe she’d tried to hide her car from me, but no luck.   
     
    That night I went to Dirty D’s and sat at the bar.  Glenn came around and I asked him if he’d seen Sunshine.  “Nope.  I thought she was your girl, man.  You lose her already?”   
     
     “Is she still on the schedule for tonight?”
     
    He poured me a beer and set it down, then leaned on the bar to look me directly in the eye.  “Listen.  You’re a nice kid, so I’m going to tell you this straight up.  Nobody comes into a place like this and finds love.  These bitches are vipers.  They will suck you dry and leave you for dead without a second thought.  You should be glad you got away before you suffered any serious damage.” 
     
    “Is she still on the schedule or not?”
     
    He sighed and stood up, wiping the spot on the bar where he’d leaned.  “Yeah.  She’s supposed to be here in another hour.”
     
    I spent the next hour biting my nails.  Waiting.  Ignoring the other dancers until they cursed at me and called me names when they walked past.  Every time the door opened, I expected her to come walking in, dragging her little suitcase.  At that point, I didn’t even care if she walked right past me and didn’t say a word.  I just wanted to know she was alright. 
     
    Her shift came and went.  I hung around until closing time.  Right before he turned off the lights, Glenn looked at me and said, “She’s doing you a favor.”
     
    ***
     
    I figured out why cops like donut shops.  There’s nothing else open at five in the morning.  When you’ve been sitting in a car staring at the same building for hours on end, you crave mass quantities of caffeine and sugar. 
     
    The Hotel Montreal was a graveyard filled with dark windows and quiet stairwells.  The only car in its parking lot was a rusted Pinto with busted out windows.  Stray cats prowled across the pavement, circling the hotel’s perimeter like they were defending it from rival gangs.  I ate the last glazed donut and took another sip of coffee, feeling my eyes begin to close on their own when someone came down the sidewalk.   
     
    I recognized the black trench-coat and ponytail as he entered the hotel’s gate, passing the empty pool.  Even under the parking lot’s pale fluorescent lights, he didn’t look pasty or tired anymore.  Blake looked delighted, as if he were full of energy he could barely keep from skipping.  He crouched low and sprung into the air toward the roof of the building. 
     
    I stuck my head out of the car window and watched him float down onto the third-floor balcony’s hand-rail.  He touched down softly and crouched for a moment, the wind flapping his coat.  Hot coffee soaked through my pants and seared the skin of my lap before I even realized I dropped the damned cup.  I couldn’t bring myself to look away as he stepped down and went into his hotel room. 
     
    ***
     
    I waited until the next morning, when the sun was