the Girl behind the glass
in 1994 i had a gig in new york city at the javits center for tetrapak. i had only been there once before in 1990 for my honeymoon. this time i was all alone. after the show i was wired but nothing to do , i had a couple of hours to kill and didn’t feel like drinking. being to cheap to take a cab , i rode the bus to times square , it was fall and the air was a little chilly. it was about 10:00 at night when i got off in the square .
i walked past a few garishly lit joints with scummy guys outside yelling GIRLS INSIDE !! ect trying to coax me in to their fine establishments. finally i found what i was looking for. a tasteful blue neon sign read
CLUB PARADOX a Woman appearing to be in her late 50’s wearing a black and grey fur sat on a stool at the entrance. she winked at me. i paused for a minute , then went inside. it was all authentic art deco 1930’s inside with authentic paintings from the era on the walls. a tall Redhead sat behind the counter and recited “ tokens are good for 15 minutes and cost $10 each” i studied the row of dark booths ,then purchased an hours worth of tokens ,which were larger than silver dollars but made out of smooth brushed aluminum with an art deco woman’s head with flying hair and a cat on the tailside. i entered the booth locking the door behind me. i face a mirrored glass window with a tiny tip slot and an old timey black backelite phone recevier on the wall with a silver cord. i dropped in a token and a light pops on through the glass so i can see the boerd looking Girl sitting in the red chair. She was dressed in all shiny black vinyl -bustier, elbow length gloves ,miniskirt and knee high boots with chunky soles. i wanted to smell her, i imagined she smelled like new shower cyrtain in all that vinyl. She had pale white skin and long black hair with bangs. tattoos and peircings reming me of a 90’s Betty Page small and thin but round in the right places - definatly top shelf !
She looked pissed that i interupted Her nap and pointed to her tip slot with a shiny gloved finger. i rolled up $300 in 50’s and slowly slid it into the slot. She snatched the money ,thumbed through it cracking a slight smile ,but not too much -snapped it into a kurt kobain tin lunchbox she was using as a purse. she fumbled for her phone and said into it icily “ so what do you want me to do “ Her hand mechanically traveling toward her skirt.”whoa oh wait- i don’t really need to see that , i just did a huge multimedia show, how about a smoke break?” “you want me to sit here and just smoke? want me to talk dirty to you or something?” still icily. “only if you want to” i said “well i don’t want to” she said quickly in her new york accent slamming down her receiver.
i took out a pack of nat sherman purple phantom 164’s and pushed one to her through the tip slot. She lit up with a zippo with a picture of the beatles on it from the tin box and leaned back in the red chair . exhaling the smoke from her parted lips She sucked it up through a nostril in a natural french inhale. it was beautiful. She was obviously a real smoker not just showing off for me. She had a distant faraway look in Her half closed eyes farther away than the glass between us- She wasn’t there at all. too soon the window was a mirror again and i dropped another token in. She reappeared ,still dreamily smoking ,the gold filter between her lucious lips . taking the sigaret in Her gloved fingers h
Her hand dropped down a little. Her head nodded slightly forward and Her lips parted , smoke drifted from Her mouth lazily upward to mix with the haze of swirling warm smoke above Her head .
i wished i could kiss Her, i wished i could touch Her- but she was safe from me, behind the glass. again it was a mirror instead of a window . i dropped a third token and as the light popped on She snaped back her head after almost dropping the cigarette . She composed herself and flicked the smoked down to the gold filter ,butt toward my direction, it bounced off Her side of the half inch thick glass , it might as well been miles between us. Her eyes opened up and She looked in my direction and composed Herself . i didn’t know if She could see me or not. i watched the artfull grace of Her smoking until i saw myself in the mirror again
i dropped in my last token and slid her another 164 . this time i lit one up too and smoked with her.
She blew smoke streams toward me and they spread out in rings as they softly contacted Her side of the glass
i blew smoke back at her , i could almost feel her warm smoke on my face and neck. time stopped and i enjoyed watching her smoke for over five years before i saw my face in the mirror again , now i was older(39) and broke with very little to offer Her ,divorced now no longer looking as good as i did in 1994, she was behind the glass still ,unable to see the mirror , it is on my side of the glass . i walked back alone with boundless energy i couldn’t wait to visit Her again.
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