“That’s how we keep time around here. That’s one of the things you learn when you stick around,” Ernesto says.
“It’s kind of disappointing isn’t it?” I say.
Luke and Greg both nod slowly as the revelation sinks in. I try to make eye contact with Luke, but it doesn’t work.
“Naomi, do you know why she’s doing this to us?” Luke asks.
“She’s doing it to preserve her own memories. It’s like she’s stealing from you to buy things for herself. It’s kind of confusing. She promised me that neither one of you would get to 300.”
“But why us?” Greg asks.
I shrug and say, “I don’t know. I asked her the same thing. She didn’t give me a clear answer. I think maybe she’s trying to teach me a lesson.”
Now I’m in a seedy club standing in a back corner with Luke at my side. There are exotic dancers in the middle of the room rubbing themselves up and down poles to a Motley Crue song. Just as Vince Neil intended.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this many naked women at once in my life,” Luke says without taking his eyes off the stage.
“I have,” I say.
Nolan sits at a table about two feet from us. I point him out to Luke, and we join him.
“Hey, you two. Surprised to see you both.” Nolan only takes his eyes off the women for a second.
“Surprised to be here, Nolan,” Luke says.
“It’s a good thing I dated strippers, huh?” Nolan asks without taking his eyes off the stage.
“I would say so,” Luke says.
I manifested this. I can manifest things.
The blue of his shirt makes his eyes look like a darker blue than they did before. It makes him look a little older than he did in the T-shirt.
“Janet who, am I right?” Nolan grins, and I’m pretty sure he would drool if he could.
“Who’s the mark?” I ask.
“Her name is Carlotta.” Nolan points to the woman on the far left of the stage. She’s tall and thin with a visible C-section scar. The old-fashioned kind. Her boob job isn’t too fresh, either. She has on a red wig and a shiny red bikini. I can tell from where we sit that her eyes are blue.
“Carlotta? She’s not Hispanic, is she?” I ask.
“Nah. Her real name is Cindy. She thought Carlotta sounded exotic. She heard it on a soap opera or something.” Nolan smiles wistfully.
“One Life to Live,” I say. Nolan gazes at me with a blank expression, apathetic to my knowledge of soap operas.
“Carlotta Vega,” Luke says. “I can’t believe I remember that.”
I want to hang out with Luke and talk about soap operas. Why are we battling time even when we’re dead?
“Nolan, you were quite the player,” I say to get myself back on track.
“Yes, I was. Before the ED got me.”
“How many songs have you heard while staring at her?” I ask.
“That’s an excellent question, my dear.” Nolan looks down to his fingers and starts to count.
“Why didn’t you just try Viagra?” I ask. “There’s a drug for everything. And multiple drugs for dicks.”
“It wasn’t just the ED that pushed me over the edge. It was also the shaking.” Nolan’s eyes stray from Carlotta’s breasts to my face. “To enjoy the beauty of a woman, the passions of a woman on a regular basis and then to have that taken away caused a deep pit in my belly. So many pills to treat all the things that were falling apart. I guess I felt sorry for myself.” He looks back to Carlotta.
“You’ve probably been here too long,” I say.
He looks down to his fingers and says, “I only remember hearing ten songs since I’ve been here. There may have been more. I think there’ve been a lot of costume changes, too. I may have seen the janitor cleaning the place. And maybe the lights were out for a little while.”
“You need to zoom in on Carlotta and get the job done,” Luke says.
Nolan nods and says, “Okay. I’ll do it. After this dance, I promise.”
I put my hand on Luke’s arm. The familiar warmth goes from my hand to my toes. “Luke, you can stay with me if you want.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you want to become a mentor, I can make that happen. I’m not sure exactly how. But I’ll figure it out if you want me to.”
Luke stares at my face and starts to nod slowly. And then we are back in the office with the others.
“Your alarm has been going off,” Greg says. He looks at my face and Luke’s. He wants to ask what’s going on, but he doesn’t.
“The meeting.” I grab the binder. “Let’s go to the board room.”
“We can’t all transport together, right?” Luke asks. “We came here on a conveyor belt.”
“A conveyor belt?” I have so much to learn.
“It’s a way to move to and from the Vapid Body Waiting Area,” Ernesto says.
“If we all think of the board room, we’ll all end up there, right? It’s not like we have to think in a group,” I say.
Ernesto scrunches his eyebrows and says, “Yeah. Things are more streamlined over here. The permanent resident souls prefer technology like escalators and conveyor belts, and those are the souls who keep the Waiting Area running.”
I respond with a shrug. Maybe I don’t know enough about this place because there’s so freaking much to learn.
Chapter 27
The board room is what I imagine all corporate board rooms must look like. I’ve never been in one before, but the ones on TV look just like this.
It seems that a place with unlimited resources would be a little more original and take some artistic chances.
“And here she is, along with three other people,” Doris says. She does that thing where she seems taller and more imposing, reminding us that she is still in charge.
“Doris, long time no see,” Ernesto says. He smiles, turning on the charm that I wish I could emulate but would just look stupid.
“Hello, Ernesto. Still taking on charity cases I see.” Doris crosses her arms and leers at Ernesto. She is the first woman I’ve seen who is immune to his smile.
“I’m here to ask you to stop this. These boys have not wronged you and you have no right to do this to them.” Ernesto’s smile is gone and in its place is a stern frown. But he’s still just as handsome.
“This boy,” she says pointing to me, “has yet to prove that he wants to live.” There are several people seated around the conference table. None of them have said a word since we appeared.
“Yes, I have, Doris. I made it through my grief watch, and I helped Nolan. I know I didn’t start off great, but I get it now.” I sound like a whining child. If the situation weren’t so dire, I would be embarrassed.
“You did what Naomi told you to do and what I told you to do. You would not have survived on your own and I want you to prove that you really want to survive. That is my last action in this role.”
“What about me?” Greg asks. “What did I do to deserve this? I got through my grief watch just like I was supposed to.”
“I do owe you an apology,” she says. “You are merely a pawn in this. But I’m afraid that’s just the way it is. I needed more spots than what Luke could give me, and I knew that Naomi cared for you. You are collateral in case she changed her mind.”
“That’s bullshit!” Naomi says. “Neither of them should have anything to do with this. My decisions are my own.”
“Yes, dear. They are. But what would I have done if you changed your mind and left me stuck here for another goddamn decade?” The look on Doris’ face reveals something I can’t quite place. She has tricked us, or at least tricked Naomi.
A man stands from his chair and clears his throat. “Excuse me, please allow me to explain what’s happening here.”