Chapter 15

I struggled over the next weeks, but I was able to work enough to be able to eat. And, as noted, I’d got me a not too vermin infested place to shack up: apartment 305 at the Hilltop Motel. The good news there was the truth that nobody bothered me: not the bad guys, not other inmates—well, apart from the vermin—nobody. Jesus, I loved my situation low class and low rent that it was!

Phoenix had a couple of drawbacks: it was a big city, it was expensive, and it was kinda spread out. I started to think about what the bad guys had said about having moved their residence to Nevada. I knew where Laughlin was. I’d checked it out with some of the Mexicans that I worked with on the day labor force that hung out around the west side of town. It, Laughlin, was just across the river from Bullhead City, which city was in Arizona geographically, not Nevada.

I decided to check the place out, Bullhead: the big city was too damn expensive. But I was for sure gonna stay the hell away from the bad guys across the Colorado in Nevada. I got me a bus ticket. I’d saved a few bucks working; I was pretty sure I could get me a room cheap enough once I was up there. It turned out that I was right, and, a job! Was I a lucky sonovabitch or what!

The Sand Bar was the very definition of a dive bar: friendly, smallish, with an outdoor patio, and a pool room with two more or less well-balanced tables. The owner, Angel Suarez, was friendly and knowledgeable about the area and in my first week in the village I learned a lot. And more importantly, I learned I liked it, Bullhead.

“So, you’ve decided to hang your hat here in Bullhead,” said Angel.

“Yeah, I wanted out of the big city. This place is perfect for me,” I said.

“You got a job?” she said.

“Not yet. Gotta get one pretty quick, but I ain’t proud, I’ll do about anything,” I said. “Should be able to get me somethin’ soon enough.”

“Well, maybe you’re in luck. Henry and I are the only ones workin’ here these days since Janice quit. You wanna work here?” she said. I gave her a ‘thank my lucky stars’ look and nodded.

“Heck yes,” I said.

“Okay, show up tomorrow at 9:00,” she said. “I’ll let Henry know your comin’ and he’ll square you away. You got a place to stay?”

“Been motelin’ it, but kinda runnin’ low on funds. So, gettin’ this gig is gonna work for me,” I said.

“Okay, this is the deal. The pay is minimum and tips, you keep your own. But, there is a room in the back you can have with its own bathroom; it’ll be yours. It ain’t much but it’s free and you can eat free if you like living on Pizza and frozen sandwiches. How’s all that sound?” she said.

“It sounds freakin’ wonderful,” I said, meaning it. “When can I move in?”

“Any time,” she said. And just like that I was saved. Who needed billionaire brothers and their whores!

It turned out that Angel and Henry were the co-owners of the place. Angel had needed a partner at one point and Henry, a high-end chef—not just a cook—wanted to retire from the artistic side of food and beverage and have a little fun and relaxation. He put up the cash, and she put up the partnership and they were in business, and the place did pretty good business overall. But now they had found themselves short-handed with the disappearance of their last tender.

And then there was me. A week into their search for a new tender, I filled the dual need: theirs and mine. Oh, and no they did not at that point know shit about me. I guess I looked honest and hard working.

“And so, you have zero experience,” said Henry.

“That would be accurate,” I said.

“Well, that can be both good and bad. Good because you will learn to do it our way and you won’t have any old habits that need to be discarded. Bad because you don’t know anything. Anyway, the hope is that you will be a fast learner and not afraid to get your hands dirty,” said Henry.

“Sir, you will find me absolutely fearless,” I said, and the man grinned.

“Well, good,” he said.

Over the next weeks, I got to know about beer taps, ordering, cleaning—and that included toilets—and making drinks and pouring beer. Beer pouring was kind of an art as I discovered. The good news was that I was for sure a fast learner.

The even better news was that Angel and I got along very well indeed. She was overweight, but seriously cute regardless, and apart from the fact that I was certain that she was never going to be interested in half a man, we got to be pretty good friends; in fact, very good friends.

And then, a few weeks into my new job and overall situation I made my move.

“So, Wanna have dinner tonight?’ I said, expecting a polite turn down. Angel gave me a strange look.

“Yeah, sure,” she said. “But I mean if can you afford it. I know that boss of yours doesn’t pay you much.”

“No, but I’ve been saving up and so long as you order the special, I figure I can do it,” I said.

“Well, okay then,” said my boss. “Say, sevenish?”

“That’s a big okayish,” I said. And Angel Suarez and I were launched on our platonic romance. Well, that’s the way I figured it to go.

“Yes, yes, helping him find a woman is a good idea if we can get him to even talk to us at all,” said Blake.

“We could sandbag him at his work, now that we know where he works,” said Ava.