Free Trailer Park Noir by Ray Garton

coughs, and then she began to gag, then heave.
    “No,” Regent said, “not on the carpet, not on the – “
    She vomited on the carpet.
    “Oh, shit,” he said. “You stupid bitch, you just puked on my carpet! I can’t believe you. You – you actually vomited  on my carpet !” He looked at her as he pointed at the mess on the floor. “What, is this, is this something you do , you just barf on people’s carpets when you’re in their houses? Huh?”
    She stood up straight and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she left the studio.
    Regent shouted, “You stupid cunt! Get the hell out of here before I make you lick it up!”
    She went to the door and opened it, went down the steps.
    Regent stood in the doorway and watched her as she got into her car and started the engine. Then he closed the screen door, then the door, locked it.
    “Where’d she go?” Garner said as he came up the hall with a towel around his waist. He used another to scrub his hair.
    “The stupid bitch vomited on my carpet.”
    “Oh, is that what that puddle is back there?”
    “Clean it up for me, will ya?” Regent said.
    “What? Whoa, that’s not in my job description. I’m strictly a camera man and a spare dick when needed. I’m not cleaning it up.”
    Regent sighed. “I’ll have to, then. How disgusting. What a disgusting woman she was.”
    “Yeah, but she’s gonna look amazing online,” Garner said.
    “I’m gonna clean that shit up in the studio, then let’s go out and grab a beer, huh? We can check out the girls at the Mt. Shasta Gentlemen’s Club, okay? Jeez, how long’s it been since we’ve been out there?”
    “A long time. Sounds good to me. Happy vomit-cleaning.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Kendra could not sleep. She lay on Aunt Rose’s couch with the television on, the volume low. She always slept on the couch when Mommy went out to dance. Well, she usually slept. Mommy had a key to Aunt Rose’s front door, and when she got off work, she came to Aunt Rose’s house and unlocked the door, came inside and woke Kendra and took her home, all without waking up anyone else in the house. But tonight, Kendra simply could not sleep.
    All she could think about was Mr. Reznick, their new neighbor. Mr. Reznick was the handsomest man Kendra had ever seen. Up close, anyway. There were some movie and TV stars she thought were handsome, but they weren’t ... real . Not like Mr. Reznick, who lived right next door.
    Lying on the couch with a funny old monster movie playing on TV, Kendra closed her eyes and saw him again. Thick and wavy brown hair, the kind of hair she would love to run her fingers through, and deep brown eyes she could dive into and swim around in like deep pools. Oh, he was like a dream. And his voice – deep and resonant and manly.
    Kendra smiled as she lay there in the dark with the grey light of the television flickering over her.
    She couldn’t wait to see him again.
     
    * * * *
     
    As the men applauded and whooped and hollered, Anna Dunfy collected the clothes she’d shed over three dance numbers, then picked up all the money left for her by admiring customers, and walked backstage.
    Dina Noos was getting ready to go on. There were a few other girls back there, too, either getting ready to dance or to waitress, or to go home.
    “What’s it like out there?” Dina said. Her stage name was Desiree.
    “Not bad,” Anna said. “I’ve seen better, but I’ve seen worse.” She put the money in her purse, locked her purse in her locker, then began to put her costume back on.
    Her stage name was Kitten, and she was very popular at the Mt. Shasta Gentlemen’s Club. She had a lot of regulars who came just to see her. The money was better than any job she could get in town. The job market in Redding was in pretty bad shape – she could get plenty of work if she wanted to flip burgers or wait tables part-time, with no benefits, nothing. The only office work she could get was through the temp agency,