A Tale from the Hills (19 page)

There was a small cafe’ down the street that he favored over most of the other restaurants in town. A coupleof cute waitresses in that particular eating establishment made him feel welcome and important. He thought that they were genuinely glad to see him every time that he went inside and sat down. He did not realize that they were genuinely glad to see everyone who walked through the swinging doors. Their livelihood depended largely upon the tips of customers like himself. It took him a couple of weeks to figure out that aspect of their jobs.

William got a job with the largest employer in the area, The Three Binders Paper Mill. His job required that he removed the bark from the trees that likewise provided the pulp for the paper products. It was not a difficult job, but it was strenuous and sometimes backbreaking. For the first few days he went home so sore and stiff that he could hardly walk.

He wanted to work the first shift but openings were available only for the second. He went to work at two o’clock in the afternoon, and usually clocked out just after midnight. His whole life revolved around the boarding house, his job, and the small cafe’ down the street. He ate, slept, and worked, but not necessarily in that order. Within a month of starting his new life in Wilkesboro, William was beginning to become acquainted with some of the other tenants in the boarding house. There were a few guys that were close to his age or a little older, but most of the men were middle aged or even older. Of course anyone over the age of thirty was considered to be middle aged to him.

While living in the new town William acquired somewhat of a taste for alcohol. Sometimes at night when his shift was over at the mill, he would not be ready to go to bed. There were several bars downtown and he began to frequent them mainly because there was no other place to go at that time of night. There were usually a few people sitting around the bar or at dimly lit tables. He was unsure of himself at first, but his confidence grew after a couple of drinks.

He quickly discovered that the bars were frequented by all kinds of people. Some of them he would not have minded to get to know better, and a few he learned to avoid completely. He soon recognized the ones that he was comfortable with and the ones who made his skin crawl.

On one particular night he met a very attractive woman. He could not have guessed her age by looking at her, but he was quite sure that she was much older than he. It seemed like for all of his life the women that he knew were older than he. He felt comfortable with the lady that he found out was named Sofie. He was sitting at the bar and she came over to the stool beside of his. She gave the impression that she might need some support to get up on the stool, and she placed her hand on his left leg for that purpose. The touch of her hand excited him. She knew exactly what she was doing, because she kept it there.

“I could use a drink.” she said to him, looking directly into his eyes.

“Bartender, bring the lady a drink.” William said to the man behind the bar.

The bartender did not have to ask what she wanted. She was a regular at the bar and he had witnessed her routine many times before. She drank straight whisky, no ice. William was drinking a beer. He was actually beginning to acquire a taste for it. He used to make a face every time that he took a sip, but he quickly stopped when he thought that people were making fun of him.

The lady drank the whisky in one gulp. She even made a noise when she swallowed it. It was not a lady like sound either, but William did not seem to mind or notice. She moved her hand a couple of inches up his leg and looked into his eyes again. William quickly ordered her another, a double this time at her suggestion. She played with his leg as she drank the strong whisky. By the time the glass was empty her hand was at the edge of his pocket. She put two fingers inside his pocket almost as if she was searching for something that she had lost. By the time that she had found exactly what she was searching for, William was breathing kind of hard, and fast.

“Meet me around back in five minutes.” she whispered into his blushing ear.

She got down from the stool and made her way out of the front door. The bartender quickly walked over to face William.

“Did she just ask you to meet her out back?” he asked the still blushing boy.

“Yes.” William answered reluctantly.

“Whatever you do, don’t go back there. Her husband is waiting. She will get you in a vulnerable position and he will come out of no where. He will demand money from you or he will beat you within an inch of your life. I know that for a fact because its happened before. I can’t get the police to patrol back there, so I try to warn people if I suspect that she is up to something.”

William’s excitement withered inside of his pants. He paid the bar tab and quickly ran all the way back to the boarding house. He did not dare tell anyone about his experience with the not so lady like Sofie. He avoided all ofthe bars for a couple of weeks after that painful experience.

**********

William had become somewhat familiar with the man who boarded in the room directly across the hall from his own room. The man was in his late twenties and worked at the mill too, but in a different department from William. The two of them chatted on the way to work, but William hardly ever saw the man after work. He figured that the man, named Alex, visited a girlfriend after his shift was over at the mill. He also noticed that sometimes Alex never came home from work at all.

After they became close enough friends for personal questions, William asked Alex about the night time mystery. Alex asked William how old he was. William of course lied and said that he was nineteen.

“That’s old enough.” Alex said.

“Old enough for what?”

“A taste of Paradise.” was all that Alex would say. “Meet me out front after work.”

The intrigue in Alex’s voice convinced William that he should be out front after their shift was over.

They walked to a section of Wilkesboro that William had never seen before. They crossed the railroad tracks on two separate occasions and ended up in a part of town that had long ago seen better days. A first time visitor could tell that it used to be a very elegant section of town. The houses were huge. They reminded William of the big house on the river, where he and Hank spent a night what seemed like another lifetime ago. As the two of them approached the old mansion at the end of the street, Alex began counting his money.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that it costs two dollars to enter Paradise.” he said to William.

“And what do I get for my money?” William asked.

“You will be relieved of all of your cares and worries. You will leave with a big smile on your face and a rhythm in your step.”

William did not know whether to run and hide, take his chances in another bar, or go inside. Curiosity finally got the best of him. He went inside the old mansion with Alex. The two dollars was in his left hand, his right hand was in his pocket.

There were women everywhere. They were dressed in the sheerest attire that William had ever seen before that moment. He could not have imagined anything in his wildest dreams that would have rivaled the outfits that the women were prancing around in. They were even sexier than the postcards that he treasured so much, that were hidden under his mattress at the boarding house. He was so busy noticing the women’s bodies that he neglected to notice that all of them were exotic shades of brown. From light to dark, to almost black, they were African Queens in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

“And what did I tell you?” Alex bragged.

“You were right.” William reiterated.

An older lady greeted the two men in the foyer.

“Mister Alex and a friend.” she said. “How are you on this fine evening?”

“We are fine madam.” Alex said. “And you?”

“We are kind of slow tonight. You have your choice of the ladies.”

“I want Sally.” Alex declared. “William here needs to see the merchandise.”

The madam clapped her hands and the women lined up for a closer inspection. William was embarrassed by all of the attention that the women were giving him. When he was about halfway down the line, a tall, skinny, light skinned girl with a bright red wig caught his eye. She winked and rolled her eyes in such a way that he could not resist. She took his hand and led him toward the stairs. At the foot of the staircase the madam stood with a silver tray in her outstretched hand. William saw Alex put his money delicately into the tray and he did likewise.

At the top of the staircase the foursome separated. Alex winked to William as the lady led him away. The anticipation of what was about to take place made William forget about the hard earned money that he had just placed into the silver tray.

As soon as they entered the dimly lit room and she had closed the door, William was completely at the mercy of the lady in red. She removed his shoes and took him to the middle of the room. She told him to stand perfectly still. Her voice surprised him. It was sultry and sexy and somewhat husky. He could tell that she was all woman and that she knew exactly what she was doing.

She unbuttoned his shirt with her teeth. She nibbled on his neck and moved her tongue down to his left nipple. He was glad that his shift at work had not been too strenuous. He would have hated for her to have to taste his sweat, not that she would have probably minded. In her line of work she had tasted many things.

When she got to the button just above his belly button she eased herself down onto her knees. She unfastened the top of his pants so that she could pull his shirttail out of them. When she had all of his buttons undone,she unzipped his pants slowly and deliberately. She raised his left leg ever so slightly and stepped him out of his pants. She then stood back up and carefully removed his shirt, kissing his back and shoulders as she slowly tiptoed around him. He felt like he was the one being inspected now. She led him to the bed and motioned for him to sit down on the edge. He was naked by then except for his socks and boxer shorts. She sensually lowered herself back to her knees and removed his socks pulling on one toe at a time. She lightly kissed the bottoms of his feet. Starting at the tips of his toes, she moved her tongue across his foot and up the inside of his right leg. She lingered her hot tongue behind his knee. She then slowly moved up his inner thigh to the bottom cuff of his shorts, all the while looking into his sheepish eyes. She positioned her hands at the top of his shorts. She slowly began to pull them down but stopped just shy of his pelvic bone. She would have to reposition him somewhat to finish the task in front of her. She placed her delicate hand just inside his shorts and that proved to be more than he could take.

The little bit of time that it took to get him to the point of no return was the most exciting experience of his young life. Although he was finished before he even got started, he knew deep down in his soul that he had just had sex with a real woman for the first time in his life. He would hold on to the postcards because they were free to look at anytime, but this was an experience that he would always remember.

“I’m sorry that I finished so early. I just got too excited.” he apologized.

“Hey, that perfectly all right. I’m glad that you were having a good time.” she replied.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Around here folks just call me Starla. Ask for me next time, ok?” she said in a low, sexy voice.

“You bet Starla.” he said, still breathing quite fast.

He dressed quickly and left the room, only looking back once to gaze at the beautiful woman named Starla. Usually she got further along in her one act play before thedramatic climax. But to her credit and thanks to her ingenuity, no man ever got to the stage in their two dollar relationship to find out that she was built in the front exactly like they were.

Unlike Alex, William did not spend the rest of the night at Paradise. He walked back to the boarding house alonebut too happy to be afraid in a seedier part of town.

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

William could not wait until his next visit to Paradise. It was the last thing that was on his mind when he finally went to sleep that fateful night. He awoke several times during the long night and early morning, and each time he felt a kind of excitement that only a trip like that could put into his head. He visualized the beautiful Starla in his mind and his imagination modeled her into an erotic, exotic goddess. He could hardly believe that their time together was over so soon. He definitely would be going back to see her, but the next time he was going to be the one removing the clothing, and it would be hers the next time instead of his. He made a silent bet with himself that she would be even more beautiful than the women in the postcards. He pulled them from their hiding place for another quick look.

He wanted to make sure that he was still at the boarding house when Alex finally returned from Paradise. He wanted to talk to Alex about the events of the night before. He was curious about the number of women at the fantasy house that Alex knew intimately. He remembered that his friend had asked for one specific girl and he wanted to know it that was standard procedure there. William could not imagine asking for anyone other than Starla. One night was all that it took to make him realize the she was the only one for him each and every time that he visited. First impressions were always the best impressions for the Star ‘la’ struck boy from Jewel Ridge Mountain.

Alex never showed up. William even left for work earlier than usual because he thought that maybe Alex would go straight to work from Paradise. Alex did not showup at work either. Tow days passed and not a single word from his friend. The supervisor knew that Alex and William lived in the same boarding house, so he asked William of he knew anything about Alex’s whereabouts. William did not dare tell the man anything about their trip to Paradise a few nights earlier. The supervisor said that if Alex missed one more night of work, that he would be out of a job.

That same night after work William decided to pay another visit to the place called Paradise. Not only to see Starla again, but to also look for Alex. He was really concerned that something bad might have happened to his new best friend. He also considered the possibility that Alex might have just taken off with the black girl named Sally. He knew very well that Alex could never live in a southern town with a woman of color. Klan or not, it would be an impossible situation.