The light in the hall provided little illumination in Crystal's room but the night light plugged into the wall did give enough for Laura to see that her roommate was indeed sound asleep, a light snore coming from her lips. Good. Satisfied that everything was all right, Laura made her way downstairs to spend the rest of the night cleaning.
Chapter Ninth
With the radio playing low, Laura quietly moved about the first floor, giving it a good cleaning right down to moving the table and chairs out of the way to mop and dusting all the woodwork. By the time the morning sun broke over the horizon, the kitchen and living room were spotless and once again up to Laura's standards. Hearing Crystal's alarm going off upstairs, Laura put the frying pan on the stove and retrieved a coffee mug from the cupboard. Reasoning that the previous day had been hard on her roommate, Laura was determined to at least get Crystal's day off to a good start. When the blonde came downstairs several minutes later, her hair still damp from the shower, she was greeted with a plate of scrambled eggs, toast and a steaming cup of coffee. "I thought you could use a good breakfast before your busy day," Laura said as she set the mug down on the table.
"Good morning to you too," Crystal said as she took her seat. "What time did you get up?"
"Actually I never went to bed. I think the night owl in me is trying to get out." Laura picked up her empty mug and walked over to the coffee maker. "I had a period once when I was writing my last book where I couldn't sleep at night for almost a month. What time do you think you'll be home tonight? I have some fresh sea bass I can defrost. Some lemon pepper and rice and it's a meal fit for a king."
"My lip looks better," Crystal said quietly. "I have to go to the club after work and see what's going on."
"I thought all you had to do was pick up your paycheck?" Laura asked as she took her seat at the table.
"I never said I was quitting, just that I would think about it. You know I make more an hour working at the club than I do working for Michael." Crystal pushed her fork through the scrambled eggs. "Maybe I can work at the club part time and keep both jobs."
"Nothing like burning your candle at both ends. Couldn't you find another job at the club besides taking your clothes off? Don't they have waitresses?"
"They didn't hire me to wait tables, Laura. My job there is to go out on stage and take my clothes off to music."
Laura tried not to let the disappointment show in her face. "I don't think working there is a good idea. Look what happened to you. Who knows what could happen if you go back."
"Well, I'm not going to know what's going on until I get there. For all I know, they replaced me and I don't have a job to go back to." I can only wish, Laura thought to herself. "I'm sure Michael will give you extra hours if you need the money. He's good about things like that."
"I can make in one night of dancing with tips what Michael pays me for three days work. That kind of money is hard to pass up." Crystal drained her coffee mug. "We'll see what happens."
"What if I lowered your rent?" Laura knew she could never afford to lose the extra money that Crystal's rent gave but thei.e.of the blonde taking her clothes off for a bunch of horny men was even harder to swallow.
"No, the rent is more than reasonable. Speaking of which, you need to tell me what my half of the utilities are so I can pay you. I'm sure you've gotten some bills in." Crystal shoved the last forkful ofeg.into her mouth. "The best time to hit me up for money is tonight after I pick up my check. Wait until tomorrow and I might have it spent already."
"Don't worry about it. I don't think your share is more than fifty dollars or so."
"Oh please. There's the lights and cable not to mention the phone. I'm sure I've made the water bill go up too."
"The complex takes care of the water bills and you never use the phone."
"I'm still responsible for half of the phone bill whether I use it or not," Crystal said, putting her fork down and pushing the plate away. "That was very good, thanks."
"You're welcome." Laura took a sip of her coffee, trying hard not to bring up the subject of the Tom Cat Club again. Finally it was Crystal that could stand the silence no longer.
"Look, I know you don't like the i.e.of me stripping"
"No I don't," Laura agreed.
"But it's what I did before you met me and most likely it's something that I will continue to do. I may not be proud of it, I may not even like it most of the time but I can't walk away from the good money it gives."
"There has to be a point where the money isn't enough to keep degrading yourself like that."
"Well if there is, I haven't found it yet," Crystal said firmly. "It's legal and certainly a damn lot better than working the alley behind the place, that's for sure."
"I'll agree with you there," Laura admitted. "Can you at least promise that you won't do that, no matter how hard things might seem to be?" This time Laura earned at least the hint of smile from Crystal.
"I haven't done that in years and I have no intention of doing it again. Those days are behind me."
"And maybe someday stripping will be behind you too."
"Maybe. Right now I have to finish getting ready for work and write in my journal before Doc has my head." To Laura's surprise, Crystal reached out and clasped her hand. "Listen, about last night" The hand retreated and the blonde looked at her empty plate. "Thanks for listening. I
I've never told anyone all of that before."
"Anytime you need to talk, I'll be here."
"I would have thought you'd be shocked and disgusted by all of that."
Laura reached out and cupped Crystal's chin, forcing the blue eyes to meet her own. "Yes, most of what you told me was shocking but as for disgust, any that I have is toward your father, none of it toward you." She let go of Crystal's chin, pleased that the young woman didn't turn away but continued to meet her gaze. "It takes a great deal of courage to survive something like that and even more to share with someone about what happened."
"I didn't tell you everything, you know. I figured if I told you everything at once that you'd go screaming out of the room."
"That'll never happen," Laura assured. "Anything you want to tell me, I'll listen."
"You know, sometimes you remind me of Patty. She was really patient with me."
"I'm sure if I met Patty that I'd like her too." Laura looked at her watch. "But you're right, you need to get ready if you're going to get to work on time. You'd better not have left that bathroom a mess."
"Your definition of a mess and mine are totally different but I made sure the towels were picked up and the sink was wiped down." "Close enough. I'll clean it later." Laura watched Crystal rise to her feet. "Can you at least call me and let me know what time you're coming home tonight?"
"Sure." She reached for her plate only to have Laura stop her.
"I'll get them. You go get ready."
The parking lot of the Tom Cat Club was blissfully empty when Crystal pulled in. After a quick check in the rear view mirror to make sure everything was in place, she walked over to the side door and pressed the doorbell. With three hours before the first show, Crystal was certain she would be able to find Rick in his office.
"Crystal!" the burly bouncer said in surprise when he opened the door.
"Hi Randy. Is Rick in?"
"Yeah, he's up by the bar talking to someone. Come on in." The muscle bound man stepped aside and waved his hand. "So when are you coming back?"
"I'm not sure. I have to talk to Rick first."
"Well talk nice. He's been a really fucked up mood the last couple of weeks. Sara and Monica both quit on him and he just found out today that someone's been helping themselves to the liquor. We're about ten cases short."