I didn't want to be there.
Despite my objections, the group of crazies that I worked with had abducted me. The week before, I had a knock down drag out argument, losing my girlfriend of seven years after I walked in on her fucking with a couple of studs that she worked with. It was messy. Throwing the interlopers down the stairs and their clothes after them, I told Marcie to pack her shit and get out.
Still a bit raw even now, I was in no mood to have a good time. After a hard evening working the three to eleven shift as a hospital security officer, all I wanted to do was to go home and have a quiet beer or two before turning in. My co-workers would have none of my brooding mood. They seemed to think that a bunch of drunken redneck cowboys and a few long neck beers would cheer me up.
The Carrousel Lounge was one of those Bubba type beer bars that closed at 1:30 am or the third fight, whichever comes first. It was the closest place to the hospital that had live music. Our group had been there about a half-hour when the band finished it's second set of three. It was time for the musicians to come out from behind the chicken wire to take a break, stretching their legs, draining the kidneys, and wetting their whistles.
There was an ocean of people all of a sudden creating an ebb and flow effect between the bar, the johns, and tables. I was just about to leave when I saw the movement from the corner of my eye, but it was too late to react. The beer and the girl dropped in my lap at the same time. Some drunken cowboy had stumbled into her, knocking the girl in my direction. She and I were both soaked with the gallon pitcher of suds she had been carrying. Shaken but unhurt, the girl was looking around for something to crawl under as we both got to our feet.
Her short pixie type haircut had a natural red highlight to it. Petite, about 5' 2" and well proportioned, I was immediately taken by the fair features of this unidentified flying female shivering before me. The girl was wearing cutoff jeans and a white halter top that didn't leave much to the imagination. With her top soaked with the beer she had been carrying made the material of the halter top opaque so I could watch her pink nipples pucker and harden. The wet skin on her bare thighs glistened in the stage lights.
"I told them I didn't want to come, but they dragged me here anyway!" she cried to no one in particular as her companions started to make fun of her and the soaking we both got. I suggested we get some air outside. On the way out, I grabbed John Lombardi's suit jacket, draping it over the girl's shoulders while she retrieved her purse.
As we smoked a cigarette the girl told me that her name was Peggy. We both had lost out on love recently and were smarting over it. When Peggy said that she was getting hungry and needed to go, I offered to take her to Cap'n Billy's, a twenty-four hour restaurant, for an early breakfast. With a nod we were on our way. We got there early; just shy of midnight. Over a couple of omelets we filled in the blanks. She had been dumped and left flat broke with two kids to raise, by a husband that found it more important to catch a buzz than to provide for his family. She was living with her parents to make ends meet. At best it had been a three - ring circus. Peggy worked as a float nurse at another hospital so her hours kept her pretty stressed out. My schedule as a relief security officer was just as crazy. My apartment had seemed empty since my ex--girlfriend left. I was just this side of nuts.