THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE LONELY

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE LONELY

He was finally gone and Lola was free from him and the terror of his abuse. Just the day before she had gone and cut all her long wavy blond hair off. It now rested just above her shoulders, rather than down her back like it had been her entire life. Today she would complete her transformation with a box of chestnut hair dye. As she stepped out of the shower and looked into the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. Perfect she thought. There is no way anyone in Oystercliff would recognize her.

She was tired of the endless questions - ‘Where is he?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘How?’ ‘Why?’ - She was tired of all the gossip. No one ever asked how she was, if she was okay. She knew she would be fine though, in time. With him behind bars, she no longer had to fear his sinister return.

Tomorrow she had a job interview, however, today was the day she would throw all his crap into the garage. When Friday came she put it all on the curb, and as the trash man carried it away she felt as though the dark clouds which had loomed over her for so long were fading away. All those tears and painful memories were gone now, too. She was suddenly overcome with happiness. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been happy.

She had gotten the job at Sharks Bar-n- Grille. Waiting tables and bartending was really all she knew. Lola was happy with the job, at least she would be able to pay the bills. Her boss seemed nice. She was an ex Vegas showgirl that had almost too much VaVa in her Voom for a town as small as Oystercliff, but everyone liked her. Lola admired the confidence that Dolly had. She was an older woman but, yet she could attract the interest of men and women alike. Confidence was something Lola had lost years ago.

A couple months had passed, she loved her job and had actually made a few friends. It had been years since she had considered anyone a true friend. Lola even had a crush on one of the cooks. He was so handsome, tall, clean cut, quiet, respected, funny and kind to her. To be honest Billy was everything that all the other men in her life hadn’t been. Everyone she knew said that he was exactly the kind of man that she needed in her life. Despite all of her fears and restraint she was absolutely smitten with Billy. She worried that the bad boy image he had around town, would end up being true but maybe he really was kind. Maybe the stories really were nothing more than just stories. After all, what else does anyone have to do in a small town, but gossip and talk about each other. She didn't want to go her entire life being afraid. When he finally asked her out for a drink she almost couldn’t believe it. Of course she had to be calm and not let him see how excited she was. Billy knew though, he could read her like a book, and he liked that about her. She was different, not like other girls he had dated.

To her surprise he was a complete gentleman, she had never had a man actually hold a door open for her. He was everything she had dreamed of. Nothing like the last guy. Despite all his charisma she still had a few doubts. Did he really like her? Was he really different? Would her heart be broken, or even worse her face? She promised herself months ago that nothing like that would happen again, that no man would ever harm her again. The thought of someone getting close to her terrified her. She felt so vulnerable but she had to try, she couldn’t be alone forever. So as time passed Billy and Lola began to get to know one another better, at work mostly, but a few times after hours if they worked the same shift.

One evening Lola invited him over for dinner, which he couldn’t believe since most of the women he knew couldn’t even seem to boil water without burning it. He was actually rather impressed with her cooking, it was delicious and better yet none of it was burnt. As they finished their beers and she walked him out to his black truck, he stopped suddenly and stared at a briefcase that was sitting on a shelf in the garage.

“Who’s briefcase is that?” he asked her quietly.

“Why, do you want it? Take it, it doesn’t belong to me or anyone that i care about.” she replied, “Hell I could never get that damn thing open anyways, and I doubt that there is anything inside of it that’s worth a damn thing to me. I could care less if there is.”

He was happy to take the briefcase off her hands and thanked her several times. She thought that it was a bit silly for him to get so excited over a crappy briefcase with a broken lock, but who was she to judge. After all, they say one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? Billy kindly thanked her for a wonderful meal and even better conversation, kissed her on her cheek then got in his truck and went home. Little did she know that he and his brother knew the contents of that briefcase were far more valuable to them than she could ever even begin to imagine.

She hadn’t the slightest idea whom she was falling for, until one morning which started like a normal day to her. She woke up in his arms, kissed him good morning, and put the coffee on. They both laughed and talked, as Billy made breakfast for them, and she couldn't help but think how happy she was. The idea that maybe she had finally been dealt a good hand after all. The ideas of a coincidental romance, true love, destiny had all seemed so silly just a few months before. That was until his brother Tommy came to the house.

Tommy was an important and respected man, who did important things. Everyone liked Tommy. No one, not even the police seemed to care that the important things Tommy did were more often than not illegal. He could make people talk or worse he could make them disappear. Lola was always nervous around Tommy, she couldn’t put a finger on why exactly. Billy reassured her that he was a good man, he was someone she could trust. So when Tommy rode up on his loud black Harley Davidson, and told Billy that he needed to talk to Lola about a couple of things, she politely obliged. Billy took Lola’s hand as they joined Tommy in the yard. They all sat down at the picnic table which sat beneath a massive live oak tree. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, with a light breeze. The air was cool, and was sweetly scented like the honeysuckle that hung from the branches above them. Everything seemed so calm, everything except for Billy and Tommy. As a matter of fact Lola had never seen either one of them like this, which caused her to become nervous herself.

Once they were all seated Tommy slowly pulled, from the pocket of his leather vest, a little black book that Lola thought looked oddly familiar. Tommy looked up at her as he laid the book on the table in front of her, his stare was cold and cut through her. His eyes seemed almost void of emotion. This worried her but she tried not to let it show. Billy must have been able to sense her fear because he held her hand a bit tighter as Tommy began to speak. As he began to speak Lola could feel a lump in her throat begin to grow. She was afraid to speak for fear that nothing would come out. She had no idea that what she would say in the next few moments may very well be the most important words she would ever speak.

“So Lola,” Tommy began, “do you know what that is?”

“A book.”

“Yes, it's a book. That is obvious Lola.” his voice was cold.

“Hey, bro.” Billy began to interrupt.

“No, I’m doing the talking. I told you yesterday that I had to talk to her, and if you were going to be present then you also must be silent. Didn't I Billy?”

“Yeah I know.”

It was at that very moment that Lola realized something wasn’t right. What was happening? Why was Tommy so stern, and Billy so nervous. She had a feeling that this revolved around the book that lay in front of her. She had seen her ex with one like that once or twice but had no idea what was going on.

“So tell me what you know about this little book Lola.” Tommy assertively asked.

“Tell you what?”

“What do you know about it?”

“I don't know anything about it. It’s not mine. Why are you asking me about it?”

She caught a glimpse of Billy and he looked worried now. Almost as if he was silently praying. For what though, what was going on.

“Why don’t you open it and read it dear.” Billy said as he slid the book towards her.

The lump in her throat seemed to be growing now.

“Yes Lola go ahead take a few minutes and look it over, then you can tell me if you know what it is.” Tommy quietly whispered.

So she began to turn the pages. There were pages with dates, times, addresses, tally marks and an assortment of other odd notes. What was this, and why did almost every page have names of people she knew from around Oystercliff. Some were friends, others acquaintances, and some were just names she recognized hearing over the years. There was only one thing that they all had in common, and that was that all of them made a living either selling, buying, making, or distributing narcotics of some sort. There were even a few names that were crossed out. Lola knew that those names that were crossed out were all in jail and had been put in jail prior to her meeting Billy. She was still having trouble connecting the dots , which must have shown on her face because Tommy began to speak again.

“Well what is it?”

“I don’t know, it looks like a record book of some sort.”

Then it suddenly hit her. The handwriting which was at times illegible was her ex's writing. It was his but what person keeps a small book like this unless they are a cop or a snitch.

“ OH, oh my did this belong to,” and she looked at Billy “was this his? This was in that briefcase wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was.” Billy replied softly.

“Yes it was so did you know that he was a dirty damn snitch? Are you damn snitch as well?”

“NO IM NOT.” Lola exclaimed “He was a junkie, piece of shit that made jokes about working for the FBI but i never believed him, ever. I also never questioned it cause he would have just beat me more.”

The next few hours went by with Tommy asking questions over and over. A few times She was almost in tears. She had no idea what was really going on until she saw Tommy take his pistol out and lay it upon the table in front of her. Her heart stopped and she understood.

Billy immediately interrupted, “Hey bro you told me that you would not do this.”

“Do what Billy?”

“Hurt her, or scare her.”

“The truth comes out when someone is scared though. Doesn’t it Lola?” Tommy said looking back at Lola.

Billy knew the whole time that this was going to happen she thought. Why? She had done nothing wrong.

Lola blurted out, “But it's not my damn book.”

Billy could tell Tommy was becoming irritated. He asked Tommy to stop.

Tommy replied in a deep eerie voice, “Oh Billy, you know that the powers that be have seen this little book in question . You also know how they feel about loose ends.”

Tommy turned to her and said calmly, “Dear dear Lola ,I know my brother loves you, but it isn't his choice. My boss has read this book, several of my bros have gone to jail because of the information this book contains and you can't expect us to honestly believe you when you say you didn't know that piece of shit ex you were with was a junkie snitch.”

She cried out “But i didn’t know. I have never seen the inside of this book until now. Please damn it you have to believe me.”

“She said she doesn't know anything Tommy so stop it damn it .” Billy said as he stood up, “ You all promised.”

“Well the boss said to drill her with questions until I knew for sure her involvement. The boss told us both that the contents within this book could end us all if it fell into the wrong hands, remember?”

“But it didn't, it fell into ours instead, and I LOVE her.”

Wow, he said it, he said he loves me she thought. Did he really love her?

Tommy continued, “You know what your job was bro, right? I’ll remind you ok. It was to get the briefcase because we had heard about this book. You fell in love on your own. Sorry but no one told you to do that.”

Billy nodded.

“We told you we wouldn't harm her if she was honest, and I don't think she knew what was going on really I don't. So Lola you can go inside now okay i need to speak with Billy on a different issue now, we are done.”

It was at that moment that Lola understood that their love was an accident, but them meeting one another was far from accidental. It was all part of a well thought out plan. From the very first date. She got up, told Tommy goodbye, kissed Billy and quickly walked to the back door. She fell to her knees as the door shut behind her and she began to quietly sob. She may never know exactly when she was no longer a job to Billy, and became his love interest, but she knew she owed him her life. She could never begin to express how grateful she was for him, hopefully he knew. Lola didn't care about all that, she just cared about Billy. she would be dead behind a gas station somewhere, if Billy didn’t love her. He had put his name on the line for her and as she sat on the kitchen floor crying she knew she had found the one great love in her life. Lola was finally home, finally somewhere safe.