The Cigarette Girl

“If another drunk man puts his hands on me tonight I am going to lose my mind!”

“It’s part-a da job baby.” Giovanni laughed as he pinched my thighs.

“Well it wasn’t in the job description Giovanni, and I can’t take it no more. These men are like slobbering pigs who never had a drink in their pathetic lives.”

“Finish restockin ya tray and get back out there Charlotte. I ain’t got no time to listen to some whiny broad. Least you got a job.” Giovanni was no longer entertained by her complaints and pushed her toward the door.

Her tray was fully loaded, stacked high with the best of the best in tobacco products. Cigars, rolled cigarettes, pipe tobacco- she had it and they wanted it.  As she pushed open the door from the backroom the stench of smoke and alcohol filled her nostrils.  Lucy was up on stage doing her jazz bit in some gold sequence number and every eye in the house was on her. She didn’t blame them; Lucy was the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen. Every one of her features was effortlessly flawless and both men and women couldn’t help but be drawn to her.

“Hey toots snap out of it!” a man in a tacky green suit yanked her arm. “You’d think you was just in love with that broad as we were!” he laughed and began picking through her tray.

Charlotte smiled and made the transaction. She continued on around the room brushing off sloppy advances and smiling her widest toothiest smile in the face of every single drunk loser looking for a smoke. By the end of the night she was disgusted, exhausted and in desperate need of a slice of apple pie. She counted out her tray and her cash to Giovanni and hurried back to Lucy’s dressing room.

“Knock knock,” Charlotte said as she peeked through the crack in the door.

“Come in,” replied Lucy.

The room smelled like lavender perfume and was lit just well enough to make out the elaborate furnishings. Purple velvet sofa, hand carved wooden dresser and vanity, all with beautiful dresses strewn over them carelessly.

“You were amazing tonight Lucy….not that you aren’t always amazing, but tonight…the way everyone stops to watch you…it’s amazing.” Charlotte managed to stutter.

Lucy took out her black diamond earrings and looked at Charlotte.

“They’re only looking at me because I’m beautiful; not because I can sing, or dance.  Not because I spent my whole life just scraping by to get where I am or because I am smart or funny. They just want an eyeful,” Lucy replied never turning to look at Charlotte as she spoke.

“Yeah but, I mean, who cares why they’re lookin atcha, long as they are right?” Charlotte said smiling.

Lucy chuckled. “I suppose you’re in here to ask me if I want to come to Millies with you for pie?”

“Yeah…I had a long night…figured maybe you did too and…..so, yeah. You wanna go?”

“Sure, I’ll go; gimme a few minutes to change.”

Charlotte had only convinced Lucy to come for pie with her one other time and it didn’t go at all the way she had hoped it would. Right in the middle of their date Giovanni showed up and dragged Lucy right out of the place claiming she shorted him some money she owed him. They hadn’t even had a chance to talk. In her mind Charlotte saw the two of them, sitting at Millies drinking coffee and sharing a slice. They would share their dreams, fears and secrets, maybe even take off together and go somewhere better; somewhere away from the city scum, away from Giovanni. Lucy would be so grateful for the friendship that those twinkling eyes of hers would be Charlotte's forever.

The two of them walked in silence to Millies as Lucy took long, deep drags from a smoke. When they got there they were the only customers and found a booth in the back corner. Charlotte immediately ordered a slice of pie and Lucy asked for coffee, black.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight Charlotte. Not that I would know if that’s normal or not bein as how I only really spent time with you once and…well you remember how that ended.”

Charlotte looked up.

“Well uh, I don’t know…you think Giovanni’s place is gonna get shut down?” Charlotte struggled to make conversation.

“I don’t know. Who cares. If it does I’m takin it as a sign and getting the hell outta here.”

“Where would you go? You got family or something?

“Nah. I wanna go to California where the sun is always shinin. I wanna bury my feet in the sand meet some young, tanned thing….maybe have a little girl.”

“You don’t wanna sing no more?”

“I don’t know; maybe somewhere real professional where everyone who watched me isn’t drunk and drooling.”

Charlotte looked down and took a bite of her pie only looking up because she noticed Lucy getting up from the table. The bells on the door jingled and a tall man in a pinstriped suit and hat walked through the door.

“There’s my girl!” the man said as Lucy ran into his arms.

“Where you been Stewart? You never left a note or sent a letter or nothing!” Lucy looked happier than Charlotte had ever seen her.

“I had business doll. You know how it goes. I wanted to make it to your show tonight and surprise yous but I was late. Giovanni said he thought yous might be here. What are you doin in this dump anyways?”

“Just having coffee…with one of the cigarette girls from the club,” Lucy responded nodding her head towards Charlotte.

“Well let’s get outta here, we gots business to take care off.” The man winked over her shoulder at Charlotte and playfully carried her out before she could even say goodbye.

Charlotte paid be the bill and walked home. Her apartment was cold and empty, dirty and unkempt. She wriggled out of her work dress and crawled under her sheets without ever turning on a light. She imagined Lucy in bed with that man. She imagined Lucy in California with a little girl. She imagined Lucy on stage in the red satin gown she loved so much. She imagined Lucy in her apartment. She imagined Lucy in her bed. She imagined Lucy until she drifted to sleep.