We scream for Ice Cream!

Chapter 5:

Lucy strode into the crowded nightclub. She gazed at all the fake palm trees and headed over to the all-ages bar. She watched Ice Cream set up their equipment, waiting in anticipation for the concert to begin. When the singer grabbed the microphone and wailed in his boyish voice, she rushed to the stage. As she stared up at the singer, she wondered about her friend's whereabouts.

Natalie hurried into the club and over to the stage. She tapped Lucy on the shoulder and shouted, "Sorry, my car wouldn't start!"

Lucy smirked, "Oh, don't sweat it," she lied, "I just got here myself."

Natalie looked up at the boyish figure who failed to carry a tune. Only in rock music would someone get away with a lack of real talent.

"Roddy seemed at his all-time best tonight. But I don't know why he flirts with all those schoolgirls clambering around the stage."

Lucy giggled, "Don't tell me you're jealous of a bunch of high school girls."

"No, I'm just confused as to why he would waste his time flirting with them, when hello, there's a full-grown woman standing here."

The two women took a seat at a table. Lucy stared at the floor beneath the table.

"Girls are easier to please than women."

"What are you talking about?"

En-tranced by the music, Lucy watched the band performing while she talked absently to Natalie. " Carlos taught me how to kiss him the right way."

Natalie waved her hand in front of Lucy's eyes and got her friend's attention.

"He did what? Is he abusive towards you?"

She shrugged, "He's not abusive, but he's a huge macho jerk. He prefers being on top and I don't like being on the bottom."

Natalie guffawed, "I hear you. Hasn't he heard of Tantric sex? You need to teach him that there's more to having sex than the missionary position."

The music swelled. Natalie looked away from her friend and watched the overgrown musician pogo around the stage. Lucy spied Mark sitting at a table with a twenty-something frumpy woman. She had met the woman before at a gallery party and found her pushy. She wondered why Mark would hook up with that woman when he had a crush on her.

Lucy headed over to Mark's table. She flirted with him while Julia glared at her.

"I've been looking for you."

Mark snickered, "That's funny because I thought that you were too enraptured with your Carlos to notice me or for that fact, the rest of the world."

"Come on, that's not fair. You're the one who pulled a disappearing act."

Mark placed his arm around Julia's back. "Have you met Julia?" He turned to his new love interest. "This is Lucy."

Julia Oliver studied Lucy's retro-fifties dress.

"Yeah, you look familiar. Didn't we meet at a gallery last month?"

Lucy giggled. "Yes, I think so. You were the one in the bathroom whining about how you could not meet a non-creep in Olympia."

Mark grimaced, "Pardon me."

Julia caressed Mark's arm. "Well, but then I met you and my problem was solved."

Lucy spied Natalie flirting with Roddy. She studied the singer's pathetic clothing and although she was fond of his music, she thought he resembled a large five year old. She hardly found him sexually appealing and she wondered when her grad student friend would stop chasing after boy toys. Lucy returned to her table and interrupted Natalie's conversation with the singer.

"Have you met Mark's new flame?"

Natalie laughed, "She's a bit too woman for him. He must be thinking of settling down and having little Marks."

Lucy stared at the table top. "At least he's found someone that…"

Natalie grinned, slyly hoping. Great she thought, her friend would grow tired of Carlos and then he would become available. Certainly, Natalie thought, those two were no match. It was too soon to go in for the kill so she feigned sympathy.

"We all feel disillusioned at times. Go home and sleep on it. Perhaps, the two of you can work things out."

Lucy perked up, "Yes, maybe."

The next day, Lucy found herself swamped by discreet Japanese businessmen and non-discreet politicians. She had been working at the sushi bar for over three years and nothing ever changed. She played the good Japanese waitress, bowing so often her back felt like it would break and she wondered who invented the traditional dress for women. Certainly it was hard to do anything in the straitjacket, much less serve customers.

She led two businessmen to a partitioned area. They quickly removed their shoes, like tired robots overly familiar with the routine and they squeezed themselves around the table. Fluttering her eyelashes, she took their order. They always ordered the same thing, so why even bother with formalities? Why not just act like those loud diner customers who tell the waitress, "Honey, why don't you bring me the usual."

When Lucy arrived in the kitchen, she took a little break. When the boss was away, the waitress played. She pulled out a tape of Ice Cream and she shoved it in her Walkman. She cranked up the volume. She sang along as she counted the tips she has earned, discreetly of course. She frowned and recounted the tips. She thought about those cheap politicians. Not only did they stiff tax-payers, but they stiffed waitresses too. At least she found her salvation in rock music. America was a great country.