Lost in Flight (11 page)

The disco was small, but it seemed lively enough.  It proudly claimed to play music from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.  They entered to Madonna’s “Lucky Star” blaring and hit the dance floor.  When the song ended, Christina headed to the bar ordering three bourbon and cokes.  Beckoning her friends over, they grabbed their drinks and did bottoms up. 

Bonnie then ordered some cocktails from the menu.  Picking up the drinks one at a time, Bonnie handed them to her friends.  “This is dedicated to you, Dina.  It’s a screaming orgasm.  It might be the first one you’ve had in company for a while.”  Raising her glass, Bonnie made a toast.  “Here’s to us ladies; the best ex-grunge bitches in the world.”  The drink was a bit sweet for Christina, but she appreciated the sentiment. 

They were standing at the bar when Mandy giggled, “Don’t turn around, the Anys have just walked in.”  Of course, they all spun around and stared.  The Anys were the Gilmore twins, Stephany and Bethany, and their best friend, Tiffany Ellis.  Their names all ended in “any” and they’d tried to make it some kind of cool club, but the Emo/Grunge crew had relentlessly mocked them. 

The Anys had been the polar opposites of Christina, Mandy and Bonnie at school.  They had been cheerleaders, hung out with the popular group, were desperate for approval and would have done
any
thing to get it.  The two groups hated each other in school and by the looks of things, nothing much had changed.

Stephany Gilmore reserved a particular loathing for Christina.  She blamed Christina for breaking up her and Riley (un-true), and usurping the happy ever after fairy-tale marriage she had planned with Riley since she was a little girl (un-true times two, borderline delusional). 

Both the Gilmore twins had been married and divorced, but Christina wasn’t being judgmental about that.  So had she.  It was an observation and not a criticism.  Granted, a bitchy one, but she’d never proclaimed to be perfect.

Sidling up to them at the bar, Stephany Gilmore smirked.  “Look what the cat dragged in…” 

“Or vomited,” giggled her sister, Bethany.

Tiffany Ellis made a braying sound like a donkey.  At first Christina thought and semi hoped, that Tiffany might be choking.  She then realized Tiffany was laughing. 

Both the twins were pretty with blonde hair, blue eyes, and cupid bow lips.  Stephany was heavier than Bethany, but both were attractive.  Their most striking attributes, however, were their impressive boobs.  The Gilmore twins had even bigger ones than Bonnie.  Looking at the Gilmore ‘assets’ and the reactions they garnered, Christina conceded Johnny might have a point about the correlation between boobs and superpowers.

Tiffany Ellis was another matter.  She was tall and skinny with red hair and freckles.  Her face was long and her lips were so thin, they were almost non-existent, but it was her eyes that were memorable for all the wrong reasons.  They were hazel, deep set and narrow, which made Tiffany look like she had a permanent squint.

Stephany looked Christina up and down sneering.  “Wow.  I hardly recognized you.  You look so old.” 

Bonnie snorted.  “She does not.  She looks fantastic and unlike you, she isn’t carrying an extra 40 pounds on her ass.” 

Mandy made a choking, giggling sound and nodded her head.  “So-so true, Bonnie.”  Looking directly at Stephany, Mandy pursed her lips.  “Why don’t you go away?  People might think we know you.”

Christina opened her mouth in surprise.  Mandy was one of the sweetest people you could meet, but she was also fiercely loyal.   The Anys moved forward as a group, with Bethany snarling, “bitch” at Bonnie and Mandy. 

Bonnie stepped forward and in her high heels, she towered over them.  In high school, Bonnie had been the toughest girl and gone undefeated in all her fights.  She had the meanest right hook in town, and once thrown, the consequences were devastating.  Something the Anys were all too aware of.

Christina wasn’t used to this sort of overt, aggressive behavior any more.  In her current social circle, disagreements were carefully contained with indirect references, wit and barbs, usually followed by a freezing out.  She stood watching what was occurring in front of her, like it was some horrible sociological experiment, without saying a word.  She felt conflicted between disapproving of the female aggression occurring in front of her and really wanting to see the Anys get their ass kicked.

Stephany Gilmore looked at Christina and smirked.  “Seen your
ex-husband
lately?”  And when she saw the surprise register on Christina’s face, she sneered.  “I thought not.  I have.  He’s back in town and I’ll be seeing
lots
of him later.  We’re
together
.” 

For a moment, Christina’s mind went blank.  She thought Stephany had said Riley was back in town, but that couldn’t be right.  Could it?

Stephany’s eyes glittered and she smiled widely.  “Didn’t you know?  It’s probably because you just don’t matter anymore.  Oh well,” she extended her left hand out, “I plan to have a ring on this hand before the end of the year.  He’s so
over
you.” 

Both Bonnie and Mandy snorted.  “Good luck with that,” Mandy said, pulling a face, “he basically lives with us in New York and he never,
ever
, mentions you.  Go sell crazy someplace else, Stephany.”

Tiffany Ellis stuck her left hand out.  “Stephany
is
going to get a ring, just like this one,” displaying the tiniest chip of a diamond ring anyone had ever seen.  Christina actually felt a moment of compassion for Tiffany, especially when Mandy laughed out loud. 

Mandy put her left hand out so everyone could see her engagement ring and it was huge.  A platinum princess cut diamond, with a three carat in the middle, and two one carats on either side.  It was borderline vulgar.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Mandy smirked, “I wouldn’t brag about that little itty-bitty thing if I was you.” 

“She’s speaking about your ring, Tiffany, and not your husband,” Bonnie quipped, fixing Tiffany Ellis with a malicious stare.  Leaning forward, Bonnie asked gleefully, “Speaking of rings – have you stopped throwing
your ring
about now that you’ve ma
rried the village idiot?” 

Tiffany’s face contorted with rage.  Unfortunately, it was true.  Tiffany had married the village idiot.  A man so stupid he could have been a Darwin Award nominee.  The question of whether Tiffany still put her ‘ring’ about, however, remained unanswered.

Christina stood watching events unfold in detachment, trying to snap herself out of it to help her friends.  She hated slut shaming because it was counter-productive to women’s solidarity, but there was no sense of female community happening here.  She sighed.

It was just like high school:  the same players, the same dramas, the same pettiness, and then it dawned on her.  It-was-just-like-high-school and she grinned.  Bonnie wasn’t the only champ in the room.  Christina might be out of practice, but all she needed was some training.  

Peeling herself off the bar, Christina stared Stephany Gilmore in the eyes and smiled so malevolently, that Stephany took a step back.  Keeping the smile on her face, Christina sneered, “I don’t think so, Stephany.  If you’re with Riley, where is he?”  Christina pointedly looked around the room and grinned, then looked down at her fingernails, and back at Stephany.  

Leaning forward and smirking, Christina said.  “It’s not that difficult to get him to marry you, you know?  Well, it wasn’t for me.  He just has to want to.”  

Stephany Gilmore’s face went a dangerous shade of puce and Christina thought she might actually combust.  Her twin and Tiffany Ellis were watching with nervous looks on their faces too frightened to intervene.  Snarling, Stephany snapped.  “What would you know?  We have sex – lots of it – all the time, and, and, and it’s awesome, awesome, bad mama jama sex.  He can’t get enough of me.” 

Christina actually snorted through her nose, “Bad mama jama sex?  Seriously?  Who would say that?  That’s just stupid,” making Bonnie and Mandy cackle with laugher. 

Staring Stephany down, Christina said, “Here’s a hint.  Free – just for you.  Maybe you should stop referring to sex as some silly disco song and he might ask you to marry him, or even better, be
actually
seen in public with you.” 

Mandy and Bonnie started laughing so hard they were bent over double.  When Bonnie recovered, she made shooing motions.  “Go on.  Run along now.  You’re boring and don’t come back, unless you want me to kick your skanky asses.” 

Glaring at them menacingly, Bonnie said, “Seriously.  It would be my pleasure.  Actually, I’ve changed my mind.  Please stay.  I haven’t kicked butt in a long time.”

The Anys started to move away, but Stephany wasn’t finished.  She turned back to Christina and hissed.  “Keep away from him.  He’s
mine
and he sure as hell doesn’t need you back in his life.” 

Christina shrugged.  “I have no intention of going near him, but here’s another piece of advice:  stop treating Riley like an object.  He doesn’t go for that, but you being his fiancé and all, should know that.  Right?”  Then, she leaned forward and laughed in Stephany Gilmore’s face until the other woman turned on her heel with everything bouncing, and fled.

When the Anys left, the three of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Christina ordered more drinks and they toasted their petty victory, knocking them back.  They hit the dance floor and Christina was drunker than she’d been in years, but she was having a good time.  It’s amazing what a face-off with your enemies can do to clear away the tension. 

They danced to La Roux’s “Bulletproof” and stayed for Whitney Houston’s version of “I’m every woman.”  They tried to whistle – badly – to Flo. Rida’s, “Whistle song” and when “Bad Mama Jama” came on, they nearly peed their pants.  They went over to where the Anys were and started mock disco dancing.

The three friends were back at the bar before Christina broached the subject.  “Do you think Riley really is here in town?”  Bonnie and Mandy looked at each other, and then back at her. 

Bonnie narrowed her eyes.  “Why?” 

Christina shook her head.  “No reason.  I was just curious.”  They went quiet and then Christina blurted.  “Do you really think he’s having sex with
Stephany Gilmore
?” 

Bonnie turned and stared directly at Christina with Mandy looking around Bonnie at her too.  “Why?” Bonnie asked.  “Does it matter?  I mean would it bother you?” 

Christina pulled a face and waved her hand.  “Pffft.  Nooooo - of course not.  Pfffft.  Bother me?  Ha!  No.”  Both her friends crossed their arms and glared at her, but she was saved by Katy Perry’s “TGIF.”  When it started she went: “Oooh, I love this song” and headed back to the dance floor.

Her friends watched Christina dance with a frown on their faces and looked at one another.  “How come she can dance so well and be
terrible
at driving?” Mandy asked.

Bonnie frowned.  “I think there’s trouble on the horizon.”

Mandy nudged Bonnie on the arm.  “I think we should have let her keep her jeans and sweater on.”  On that, they both agreed.

********************

Christina was leaning on the bar at the nightclub, mainly for balance and to try to avoid the lights that were impairing her vision.  It was way past her bedtime, but she didn’t feel tired, although her feet were killing her and she wanted to take her shoes off.  She kept replaying Stephany Gilmore’s comments about Riley through her head. 

The Anys had left a while ago; snarling comments and gestures at them as they left the building.  Bonnie and Mandy had responded in kind, but Christina had blown them kisses.  She thought Stephany was going to come back and punch her.  Even though she knew it shouldn’t, the thought of Stephany Gilmore heading out to Riley’s annoyed her. 

Turning to her friends she blurted.  “I want to go see him – you know – clear this up once and for all.” 

Bonnie and Mandy crossed their arms, glaring at her.  “No-you-don’t,” snapped Bonnie, “it is a bad idea.” 

Mandy nodded.  “Yep bad idea, Dina, bad-bad-idea,” but Christina was full of alcoholic courage and disagreed. 

When she couldn’t convince her friends, she yelled, “Let’s get another drink” throwing her arms in the air with a “wooooo,” making her friends nervous.  They watched Christina get back on the dance floor and swing herself around to Bow wow wow’s, “I want Candy.” 

Bonnie turned to Mandy.  “No more alcohol for her, but screw Candy, I want drugs.”  Ten minutes later, they dragged Christina out of the nightclub and headed across the car park to the Bikers’ Bar.

The chilly air made Christina realize she was a lot drunker than she should be.  Watching her swaying, Bonnie pursed her lips.  “Since when did you become such a lightweight drunk?” 

Christina just giggled and then started singing to Alex Clare’s “Too Close” that could be heard in the car park from the nightclub.
 
When Maroon 5’s “She will be loved” played Christina sang loudly and with feeling.  Mandy looked at Bonnie and sighed.

“Oh she needs to get
loved
all-right,” Mandy whispered.  Bonnie agreed.  Both her friends were determined she wasn’t going to do that with a certain person called damn Nicholas Riley. 

Much to Bonnie and Mandy’s annoyance, Christina was drawing a crowd, which circumvented their need for privacy to do something illegal.  Some of the people leaving the nightclub stopped to listen and a few bikers appeared from inside to watch.  Oblivious to it all, Christina danced and sang on.  She was twirling around, holding her skirt out, doing some weird tap dance routine, and almost exposing herself to the crowd.  Mandy and Bonnie gulped nervously.

Biker 1 yelled:  “Who is that?”  

Biker 2:  “Johnny Martin’s sister.” 

Biker 3:  “The crazy one?” 

Biker 4 yelled:  “Both his sisters are crazy.” 

Bonnie and Mandy spun around shouting:  “SHUT UP” in unison, making everyone, including Christina, laugh. 

Biker 3 looked at Bonnie and Mandy with a grin.  He was young, dark, with an infectious smile.  He bowed his shaven head in deferment to them and said.  “Hey ladies, she might be crazy, but she sure can sing.”