$100 glass of wine. He half-smiled, not even flinching—and not even when the waiter came over and made the discovery.
“Oh,” he said. “I don’t think that’s on the menu,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I’m afraid I can’t let you…”
Brody passed him another c-note, encouraging him to forget what he saw.
“Right. Okay, that’ll work then. Let me know if you two kids need anything else.”
Brody smiled as the waiter nervously wandered away from the scene.
“The night is still young, Regina. I want you to come with me to a party.”
“I’m kind of exhausted.”
He stared me down. “I said I want you to come with me to a party. It’s not a tavern. It’s a very elite club. And one that I think can help you with your spiritual mission.”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked him, raising my eyebrow.
“Do you want these back?” he asked, putting my underwear in his black coat pocket.
**
Oh my dear friend. Here is where the narrative gets strange. I know you have a weak stomach sometimes. And I know that you remember me as someone different, someone not like the woman I am talking about. But I simply must confess my unmentionable affairs to someone. Living with the secret has been taking its toll on me.
The whole thing started very innocently, with Brody introducing me to various men and women at this very elite, very ritzy club. To my surprise, there was no music or entertainment. A few people were wearing masks, but no one seemed to know where the party was.
But the joke was on me, I’m afraid. Everyone knew what the place was except for me. I trusted Brody to let me in on the secret. I sat patiently. I said hello to many people who were very pleasant and seemed very intrigued to know me.
“Hello, beautiful miss,” said one man with a foreign accent.
“Greetings, my lady,” one man said, with his wife, who was just as jazzed to meet me.
“My best, Cherie,” said a talk dark and handsome man, whose close lipped smile was both scary and promising.
I had never met so many friendly people who seemed so precocious and coy about getting to know me. If I didn’t know better, I could swear they were all flirting with me. All of them…
“What is this place, Brody? I still don’t understand. Is there music or…?”
“You’ll learn in good time, Regina.”
“And now the bidding will start.”
“Come, Regina. Let’s go get a drink.”
Brody took me by the hand and led me away from the event. I was curious about the bidding game. But he promptly took me aside, guiding me by the hand, to a corridor that connected to the stage. To my surprise, he then guided me from the darkened hallway, through the curtains, and out to the main stage. There, I stared out into the auditorium and saw…
A roomful of smiling, leering and greedy-minded strangers. The same ones I met from earlier, this time, staring at me in wide eyed enthrallment.
“Our first slave up for bid is ____ ______.” My real name. Oh God, they used my real name! I was horrified at that moment. My stomach fluttered and began crawling its way up into my throat.
The whole room started a bidding war, even as the host of the ceremony began twirling me around for the room’s viewing pleasure.
“Come on, she’s a once in a lifetime buy. A beginner. She has to be shown the ropes, if you understand what I mean.”
The room laughed and the crowd of unusually friendly people began whispering—never once taking their eyes off me and pondering the possibilities.
“Do I hear 400?” the host said.
I stood in awkward silence. Taking nervous swallows and feeling a strange tingle in my spine I had to ask, for my own dreading curiosity.
“Umm sorry. What does slave mean? I mean…what do I have to do?”
The room erupted into laughter. Many of the friendly faces cackled and winked at me.
“Do I
Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman