America 1982-Chapter 221 - 78: The Business of Clearing Weeds

Providence, Paradise Club.

Jim Manzi paid three US dollars to the receptionist and then entered the dimly lit, chaotic hall. There were no dancers performing on the stage, no sultry music playing, and not even a single customer in sight, just empty bottles and cigarette butts littering the place.

He sat at a high stool in front of the bar and signaled the bartender to pour him a drink. While the bartender was pouring his drink, he asked, "Did I come to the wrong place, buddy? The sign outside says this is a strip club; does that mean customers are supposed to strip naked themselves, climb on the stage, and shake their asses for their own entertainment?"

"The show’s over, you’ve come too late, sir," the bartender said as he pushed a glass of drink towards Jim.

Jim glanced at his watch. "Two o’clock in the afternoon, too late? Did Rhode Island get fucking annexed by the Soviet Union? Are we no longer on Eastern Time but on Moscow Time? And even more outrageously, the front desk still fucking charged me three US dollars admission, are they expecting me to watch over this trash for them, afraid that some homeless person will scavenge it away?"

"No need, someone will clean up the trash, but you’ll have to wait another hour or two for the other girls to come in for their shift. The thirty or so girls from last night have all been taken out, no time to have fun with you, sir," the bartender finished and then yelled to the back, "Big Fis, get those two guys in the champagne room pretending to be Mr. Wealthy to come out and clean up the trash in the hall! We have a customer!"

"You two, go clean up that trash in the hall! You can finish up after you’ve settled the bill, don’t force me to get physical," a bouncer walked over to the champagne room area and called inside.

Soon, footsteps were heard, and Tommy and Dennis came out from inside. Dennis was cursing at Tommy as they walked:

"Tommy! This is the fucking ’hospitality’ you spoke of! This is how you fucking treat your friends with the money you earn, by having me do janitor work in this kind of place with you? And if I dare refuse, the bouncer instantly shows off his grapefruit-sized muscles to me?"

"Find Pam, the dumbass was so drunk he went to see Carly wearing my coat! All my money’s in that coat! My old man’s drunk in the pub, no one’s home to answer the phone, luckily I arranged to meet a dumbass here at three o’clock, at that time first let... Hey! Jim! Great to see you! I didn’t expect you to come this early." Tommy spotted Jim Manzi, who was sitting at the bar with a whisky in hand, watching him, and immediately showed a relieved smile as he walked over to the bar.

The bouncer’s face darkened as he looked at Jim: "Sir, do you know these two?"

Jim eyed Tommy and then looked at the bouncer: "Not too sure, I’m worried that I might be the dumbass he’s supposed to meet, so I need to see how he behaves to decide whether I know him or not. First question, what trouble has this Tommy caused here?"

"Last night he rented out the entire club to entertain his high school classmates, woke up without the money to pay the extra bill," the bouncer said.

Jim looked at Tommy, who was giving him a warm smile, and continued to ask cautiously, "How much is the extra bill?"

"Thirteen hundred bucks," the bouncer stated a figure.

Upon hearing the amount, Jim immediately said crisply, "Good, I’m sure I don’t know him. Take him to clean up the trash, and buy me a Polaroid camera while you’re at it. I’ll take some photos of him and sell them to the newspaper; this could definitely turn a profit."

"Put up the money and I’ll pay you back. My friend walked off wearing my coat, and the worst part is I don’t know which hotel he and his girlfriend got a room in." Tommy sat next to Jim and told the bartender, "A mint cocktail, please. I need to sober up. This guy will pay for it."

Dennis also moved over to sit next to Tommy and spoke to the bartender, "I’ll have a..."

"What do you want, Dennis! Fuck! It’s all because of your bullshit that I ended up in this mess. If it wasn’t for your insistence on having every damn dancer in the club show you a ’visual feast’ in the champagne room, I wouldn’t have had an extra bill to pay! And now, in front of Mr. Jim Manzi, you’ve made me completely lose face, so hurry up and find Pam! Get my coat back, and with it my wallet, credit card, car keys, and the fucking Trojans!" Tommy roared angrily at Dennis as he was about to sit down.

Dennis, devoid of any guilt, consoled Tommy, "Tommy, cool it man, it was just for a bit of fun, no need to get mad. You said we’d do it again next week, you’ll stick to that promise, right? Actually, there were two dancers I didn’t even get to check out properly; I was too drunk to lift my arms, next week I’ll definitely be able to..."

"Brother, if you can’t find Pam, can’t find my wallet, next week I’m shipping you off to California to make some money for me in amateur films with a dude named Jason!" Tommy glared at Dennis as he cursed.

Upon hearing Tommy’s words, Dennis excitedly asked, "Amateur films with Mexicans? Nice, there are a few Mexican chicks at the community college who don’t look too bad. Are you sure it’s free of charge, and you can even make money?"

"Staying in California too long, I forgot you’re just a hick from Warwick like me. Yes, Dennis, if you find the wallet, you’ll have a chance to experience the Mexicans," Tommy said weakly at Dennis’s reaction.