We stepped inside the first door and the doorman said, "Hi Kenny, who's your date?"
"Hi Jack. This is Sarah, an old friend." I replied.
"She doesn't look old to me." He responded as her looked her up and down. "Can I see some ID young lady?' He asked officiously.
"Sure." Sarah gushed. "I love to show ID. It makes me feel so young when someone asks for it." She continued as she fished in her purse for her wallet.
Gazing at the drivers license Jack intoned, "And your name and address and birth date are?"
Mom happily gave out all the details, even some that Jack never asked. As Jack handed the drivers license he said apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't think that the ID was real. I figured from your looks that you were just some high school kid that Kenny picked up."
"Oooh, thank you!" Mom gushed as she planted a big red kiss on Jacks startled cheek.
Turning a shade of red almost as bright as the lipstick smear on his cheek Jack mumbled self-consciously, "No problem young lady. Just doing my job." Then he turned to me and said, "You better watch this lady Kenny."
As we walked through the inner door I said over my shoulder, "Oh I intend to, I intend to."
The inside was wall-to-wall people. The smoke was so thick that you couldn't even see the far wall and the noise level made conversation almost impossible. I leaned in toward Mom and yelled in her ear, "I've never seen this many people in here before."
She turned to me and said uncomprehendingly, "Huh?"
I laughed and stepped in front of Mom as I pushed through the crowd toward the bar. When we got to the bar I waved at Fred and made a sign for two drinks. Fred gave me thumbs up, put a drink on the bar for a patron and began to build our drinks.
Still trying to shield Mom from the crunch of the crowd I turned to watch the show on the dance floor. 'Looks like we will be lucky to get out there.' I thought to myself. I watched the female dancers crowded together on the floor, gyrating to 'That's The way I Like it' Some were dressed like Mom, but none filled out their dress the way she did.
I'm told that it's a male thing to compare your date to other available females when you are out on the town or at a party. I don't know if that is a female thing too but I hoped that if Mom were doing the same thing I would be judged favorably.
A hand on my shoulder startled me and I turned around to see that Fred had put our drinks on the bar. Mom was already drinking eagerly from hers and I looked at mine to make sure that I got the right drink tonight. Satisfied that everything was correct I put up both hands and made a writing movement to indicate that these were to go on my tab. Fred mouthed, "OK!" and left to tend to other patrons.
The song ended about that time and Mom leaned in toward me and said playfully, "On your tab huh? You must be important. I'm impressed."
Momentarily embarrassed I quickly recovered and said, "Yeah, if you ever want anything here, just have them put it on my tab."
"I'll have to remember that." She said with a smile.
I turned back to surveying the joint. As me gaze swept the dance area and the milling throng I caught the sight of Peggy sitting by Disco Bob and she was waving. When she saw that I had noticed her she motioned for me to come over.
I got Mom's attention and together we pushed through the mass of bodies toward the DJ's area. When we got there Peggy motioned drunkenly to a pair of chairs and slurred almost incomprehensively, "Been saving those for you, you don't know how hard that is to do tonight, now sit."
I pulled Mom's chair out and she sat down, then I sat down next to her and directly across from Peggy. As we sat down the sound of the gyrating disco beat turned to silence. I heard the crowd begin to grumble and Bob growl, "Oh fuck!" I looked over at the equipment and noticed that an album was turning silently on the turntable and Bob was working frantically on a tangle of wires coming from the back of what I surmised to be an amp. As I watched he critically inspected a connector, reached into his toolbox and retrieve a small pair of needle nose pliers and then proceeded to twist at the connector. Deciding that there was nothing that I could do to help him I picked up my drink and brought it to my lips and took a drink.
From behind the bar Fred fired up the jukebox. We sat there in silence while the jukebox played the old favorites and waited for Bob to start the show. I stretched my arm across the back of Mom's chair as my eyes moved slowly across the room and then back to the table.
Bob was getting increasingly frustrated with his equipment, I could almost see smoke coming from his ears. Suddenly he tossed his pliers into his toolbox and said peevishly, "I need a break! I think it's time to go to the john. Ya want to come with me Ken?"
Startled I replied, "I don't swing that way Bob."
Bob chuckled and responded, "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for this afternoon. I figured we could talk in the bathroom." He made a sniffing noise and continued, "You know what I mean?"
Figuring it out quickly I replied, "Yeah I think I do. Let's go while we have the chance." We both rose from our seats and pushed our way toward the men's room.
Surprisingly the restroom was empty. Bob walked to the sink and reached inside his coat. When his hand reemerged it was holding what looked like a key fob shaped like a tube of lipstick. Bob turned the object upside down and turned it back up, placed it to his nostril and took a sniff. Then he pulled it away, shook it again and did his other nostril. He pulled it down again and sniffed several times before handing the object to me.
I took it from him and looked at it questioningly. The thing had a hole in the tip and it really resembled a Vicks inhaler more than anything else. "It's a bullet." Bob explained. "Tip it down and a dose of cocaine is measured into the tip, put it to your nose and snort it, that is if you do coke."
"Yeah I do it." I replied defensively. "I just never saw one of these before."
"Makes it easier to do in public." Bob explained. "People just think that I have a cold." He laughed at that and turned to wipe the excess powder from his nostril.
I did as Bob advised and got a good strong hit of coke in first one nostril and then the other. I could tell by the taste and feel that this was really primo stuff. My throat and tongue were numbed almost immediately.
"Good stuff huh?" Bob asked conversationally before adding, "It's straight off the boat. I get it uncut from one of my richer lovers. He likes how it makes me eager and hot."
I didn't hesitate in my agreement, "Yeah, I think this is the best that I've ever done."