Getaway Girlz (25 page)

As the ferry pulled away from shore, Ponytail’s wrecked SUV pulled into the parking lot. He got out and slammed the door, which popped back open.

“He looks ticked,” Wendy said.

“Guess he missed the boat!” Lucy joked.

VIVIAN DIDN’T want to feel confined by the crowded, though air-conditioned, interior of the ferry, so the girls opted for the breezy and less crowded upper deck. She also wanted to smell the ocean and feel sunshine on her face.

A three-piece band roamed amongst the passengers, singing to ladies and hitting people up for tips.

“Reminds me of the taqueria on Richmond Avenue in Houston,” Wendy said. “Great place for 2 a.m. breakfast. I’m going to have to request a song.”

She wandered over and spoke to the guitar player, passing him a few pesos. She joined the girls at the railing as the band began a new song.

“This is our song!” she said.

After a few beats Kate asked, “What are they saying? One ton tomato?”

Wendy laughed and responded, “No, it’s ‘Guantanamera.’ You’ve never heard this?”

Kate shook her head, as did Lucy.

“I consider the late night taqueria experience part of my college education.”

Vivian had heard the song on her own taqueria adventures, and said, “Amen to that, sista! I’d cheers you, but we don’t have any cheersing materials.”

Lucy stopped the drink girl walking by who was carrying a small cooler filled with an assortment of beverage choices. “Round of tequila shots!”

“Oh no no no, not for me,” Vivian said. “I’m tequila’d out at the moment, but I’ll take a Dos Equis. With lime.”

The drink girl nodded.

Wendy and Kate also vetoed the tequila but ordered
cervezas
.

“I’m drinking this for medicinal purposes,” Lucy declared, holding up her shot. “It will help me relax and liven up all at the same time. Down the hatch.”

We’ll see about that
, Vivian thought.

Vivian started to relax a little from the beer and being on the water. It also helped being on a vessel where no one suspected her of murder, was chasing after her, or was shoving a camera in her face.

The ferry was about to dock in Cozumel, when Vivian felt her stomach growl.

“Wendy, go ask the guitar player where’s the best spot to eat over here.” Vivian rubbed her stomach. “I’m starving.”

Wendy waited for him to finish their last song before interrupting. She came back in a minute shrugging her shoulders. “He didn’t suggest any restaurants but said we have to go to a place called the No Name bar.”

“The what?” Kate asked.

“It’s seriously called No Name,” Wendy said. “He gave me directions and said it’s not far off the main drag. There’s no sign, just a blue door next to a gold exchange place. Said it’s more of a hangout for locals.”

“Ok, I’m in,” Vivian said, feeling her stomach growl again. “Where should we eat?”

“We’ll pass plenty of places along the way,” Lucy said. “Let’s just go see what looks good.”

The ferry docked and they followed the crowd toward the main area of town. A line of taxis waited to take people to destinations farther away and a pushy guy offered scooters for rent. To Vivian, this part of town looked a lot like Playa del Carmen. Tons of shops with souvenirs, jewelry, pottery, etc. They walked past Señor Frogs, Carlos and Charlie’s and waved off the merchants trying to get them into their stores. “My turn, my turn,” they called.

The girls wandered up to a restaurant called the French Quarter.

“Anybody up for some Cajun and Creole food?” Wendy asked.

“Cajun in Mexico?” Kate looked skeptical.

“Let’s go in and see what it’s like. I’m starved!” Vivian said.

They walked in and felt like they’d been transported to Bourbon Street. Emerald green, gold and purple was the color scheme, accented by Mardi Gras beads and masks, along with gator heads, an inflatable crawfish, and fleur de lis everywhere.

“This is cool,” Wendy said. “New Orleans without the crowd.”

“Or the smell,” Lucy added.

They were seated at a table by a waitress who then took their order for standard Louisiana fare. Lucy ordered a “yard-long” hurricane, Vivian a Jax beer and Wendy and Kate both ordered regular-sized hurricanes.

The waitress arrived with their drinks and they laughed at the hurricanes. The little paper umbrellas were torn to shreds.

“Guess they’ve been through a hurricane,” Lucy said, then sucked on her yard-and-a-half-long straw. “Maybe our next trip should be to New Orleans. This thing is yum!”

Lucy posed with her prize and Vivian snapped her picture.

“I love New Orleans,” Wendy said. “It will have to go on the Getaway Girlz destination list for sure.”

They stuffed themselves family style with red beans and rice, etouffee, jambalaya and gumbo, all of which tasted like a top tier New Orleans chef had made it.
Bam that, Emeril
.

They paid the bill and slowly stood up to leave.

“I feel like Jabba the Hut,” Vivian laughed, then made some “Jabba noises.”

Lucy belted out growling roars like Chewie and Kate beeped like R2-D2.

“I don’t know y’all,” Wendy laughed and walked away from them a little bit.

Mid growl, Lucy tripped over the curb. She had finished off her yard about three-quarters of the way through dinner and hadn’t said much since.

“You okay, Lucy?” Kate asked. “We don’t need any face-plants.”

She gave a thumbs up, which was bright red from the hurricane, as were her lips.
How did she get hurricane on her thumb
? Vivian thought.

Once outside, they wandered toward the main square and worked their way through the crowd to see Mariachis playing in front of a large fountain and dancers performing what resembled a square dance. They looked like something out of the movies, the women in colorful embroidered dresses, their hair pulled off to the side in a bun and accented with flowers, and the men in black mariachi suits adorned in silver, hats, too. Children danced, also dressed in the traditional outfits. The little girls even had frilly fans.

Vivian had enough after a while and said, “Let’s see if we can find the No Name place.”

They walked away from the square, toward some shops and were beckoned in by the storekeeper. “Free gift,” he promised. The lady behind the counter gave them each a small silver charm. Vivian got a starfish and Kate gave her the seashell charm she had been given.

“Awe, thanks. I’ll have to put these on necklaces for Audrey and Lauren,” Vivian said.

The ploy worked and they each spent a little bit in the shop. Vivian bought a small jewelry box, Lucy some earrings, Kate a charm bracelet and Wendy some magnets.

They left the store, planning to window shop their way to the bar, when another shopkeeper offered free beer.

“Can’t pass up free beer,” Vivian said, taking the bait. She then proceeded to pick out funny onesies, “My mom rocks” and “It wasn’t me,” for the twins. Both advertised Cozumel, Mexico.

“I need to sit down,” Lucy said after several shops and a few more complimentary beers. “We getting close to the No Name, yet?”

Kate glanced around, then pointed down the street. “Look, there’s a gold exchange place.”

“And there’s a blue door,” Wendy said.

VIVIAN FELT a bit apprehensive as they approached the blue door. What kind of a place doesn’t have a sign?

Wendy pulled the door handle, cigarette smoke and the sound of thumping bass traveled down a short, dark hallway. “Tejano music. Great, I feel right at home.”

Wendy lived in her grandparents’ house which was built in the ’50s. The neighborhood had morphed over the years and lovers of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” had been replaced by lovers of La Mafia’s “Como Me Duele Amor.” The German and Czech-influenced Tejano music was often heard blaring from cars parked in the streets, driveways and yards, front and back.

“I don’t know about this place.” Kate crossed her arms, reluctant to go in. “The smoke, the music…and it looks kinda seedy.”

The Tejano music ended and Guns and Roses “Sweet Child of Mine” blasted out the door. “We’re here so we might as well check it out” Vivian said and did the goofy sway dance made famous by Axel. “If it sucks, we’ll move on.”

Lucy nudged Kate forward, who sighed and walked through the door Wendy still held open.

The short hallway opened up to a decent sized bar lit mainly by neon beer signs, giving the small dance floor a greenish glow. It took a few seconds for Vivian’s eyes to adjust, but she decided the place looked okay. The few locals in the place stared at them as they walked across the room and took a seat.

A waitress approached their table and threw down beverage napkins. “
Que quieres
?”

Wendy glanced over to the bar, looking for taps or any other indicators of what was available. “Have any specials?” she asked.

“
Especial
‘No-Name’ drink.
Tequila, jugo de naranja, es rojo y
…” she shrugged.

“Is it fruity?” Lucy asked.

“
Si. Es fuerte
.”

“Oh, it’s strong. Cuatro por favor.” Wendy gave the girls a thumbs up.

“Love Lockdown” by Kanye West kicked on.

“I love this song,” Lucy said. “Let’s dance.”

“Y’all go ahead. I haven’t had enough to drink yet.” Kate put her feet up in Lucy’s vacated chair.

“I think I’ll wait for my frosty beverage,” Wendy said.

Vivian and Lucy had the floor to themselves. Vivian’s white tank-top glowed green, and Lucy pointed out her floral bra showing through.

Vivian shrugged. “Didn’t seem so noticeable at the hotel when I put it on this morning. These green lights show it off. Oh well!”

Two older guys sat down at a table right next to the dance floor.

“They’re leering.” Lucy turned so that her rump wasn’t shaking in their faces.

“Just ignore them,” Vivian replied.

One of the guys moved behind Lucy and started dancing. Vivian grabbed Lucy’s hand and twirled her away from him. Didn’t deter him though. Lucy had no idea he’d moved back behind her until he grabbed her waist and started to grind.

She turned around and wagged her finger at him. “No no no,” she chided.

He gave her an innocent shrug and kept on dancing, but without touching her.

Lucy and Vivian finished the song and headed back to the table.

“This is freakin’ good.” Kate took a sip of her no-name drink. “I wish I knew what was in it.”

Vivian tried it, too. “Damn. This is tasty. Wendy, you were a bartender. What do you think is in it besides tequila and orange juice?”

She took a sip and pondered for a moment. “Coconut rum, crème de cassis and pineapple juice maybe? Grenadine is what turned it red. It’s hard to say. There’s something else I just can’t put my finger on.”

“Well, I’m putting my lips on it. Yum!” Kate was almost done with hers.

The waitress appeared with four more. “From the man over there.” She pointed to the wanna-be grinder.

They raised their glasses to him. “
Salud
!”

After a while of enjoying their drinks, Kate said, “We should probably head back to the ferry pretty soon. We don’t want detective Vega lookin’ for us and unable to find us.”

A ray of sunshine shot down the hallway, illuminating the entrance just enough for Vivian to see the outline of three short shadows in the doorway. The door closed behind them, and her eyes adjusted back to the green glow. There stood Shorty and The Ladies.

“Holy crap!” Lucy had a panicked look on her face. “They followed us.”

“No, no way,” Vivian tried to reassure her. “We weren’t followed. We’ve been here for a while already. If they followed us they would have come in right after us.”

Shorty’s eyes flashed with recognition and he and The Ladies sauntered over. “
Aye
, look who here.” Speedy Gonzales gangster-talk in the house.

Vivian glanced at the girls and then at Shorty. “Well look what the cat dragged in. What are y’all up to tonight?”

“Having good time?” he asked, then gestured to their table.

“Oh, yeah, join us.” Vivian immediately regretted saying that as Kate’s eyes got wide and she sucked in her breath. Thankfully, she regained her composure quickly.

The waitress scurried over and pushed a second table to theirs, and added three more chairs. Another arrived with three tequila shots and sat them on the added table. She then set down a full bottle of tequila and four empty shot glasses.

“So just out in Cozumel for the heck of it, huh?” Lucy asked.

Shorty sat down and his entourage followed suit. He introduced The Ladies as Eva and Josephina then said, “My family owns bar,” he tapped an index finger on the table, then continued, “and two, three more. I check them, you know?”

He shot his tequila without flinching, it might as well have been water. From the corner of her eye, Vivian saw Kate cringe. One of his ladies refilled his glass.

“Besides,” he continued, “I take boat out.”

“So you own this bar?” Wendy asked.

“
Mi familia
.” He gestured toward the bartender who held up a tequila shot in
salud
, then sucked it down.

“Oh,” Vivian said. “I heard you were in the tequila business.”

“We make best tequila in world.” He picked up the bottle and turned the label toward them. “Tiempo Loco.”

He unscrewed the top and poured four shots. “I vice president marketing
y
distribution.”

“Every bartender or waitress we order margaritas or tequila shots from has recommended it. It’s good.” Kate picked up her No-Name drink. “This is good, too.”

“Glad you like,” Shorty passed each of them a glass. “I have persuasive power.” He gave them his best shit-eating grin.

What is his marketing pitch
? Vivian thought. “
Sell only my tequila, or else
?” but said “Yeah, it’s good stuff.”

Lucy nodded in agreement.

“What about salt and lime?” Kate asked.