Chapter 28

The parking lot of the bar at the corner of Third and Oak was packed. Cars lined the street a block in every direction. Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to park anywhere near the bar, Dan pulled over at the curb in front of the bar. He let Diana and his mother out so that they wouldn’t have to walk through the rather rough neighborhood. Once they had gone inside the bar, he drove off in search of a parking place.

He parked a block and a half away. Another car with a pair of women pulled in behind him. He got out and waited for them. When they approached, he said, “Hello, ladies. Would you mind an escort?”

“We don’t want one,” one of the women said. Her voice was cold enough to freeze water.

“Do you mind escorting me?” Dan asked with a smile.

“We don’t need a man,” the other woman said staring at Dan.

“Okay. I’ll see you at Pat’s,” Dan said as he turned to head up the street. There was a small sound behind him suggesting that someone had been surprised by his statement.

One of the woman said, “Hold on. You’re going to Pat’s?”

“Yes,” Dan answered looking back at the pair of women.

The other woman snorted and asked, “Do you know what kind of place that is?”

“I think so. I’ve never been there before, but I’ve heard that it’s a real nice place,” Dan said smiling at the two women.

“They don’t like men there.”

Dan shook his head and said, “Really? I find that amazing. I’ll definitely have to check it out then.”

He turned and headed up the street. The two women followed behind him laughing. They thought he was going to be in for the shock of his life. They decided that they wanted to see the expression on his face when he realized that it was a lesbian bar.

After a half a block, one of them said, “Wait up for us.”

Dan waited for them to catch up. As they walked, he said, “I hope that I haven’t kept my mother and sister waiting too long.”

The two women cracked up on hearing that. One of them said, “Let me guess. Your girlfriend is there too.”

“Yes,” Dan said. He was going to add that two of his girlfriends were there, but decided that they would start laughing so hard that they’d never get to the bar.

When they reached the bar, Dan held the door open for them. The pair rushed in and then turned around to see watch his reaction. Dan stepped into the bar and looked around. He nodded his head as he considered the atmosphere of the place.

The low gravely voice of Pat cut through the noise as she said, “Dan! I’m so glad that you could make it.”

The two women were shoved apart as Pat came over to Dan and hugged him. Dan said, “Ah, Pat. How are you doing, my love?”

“Don’t let Betty hear you talking like that. She’ll think you’re trying to steal me away from her,” Pat said with a laugh.

Betty shouted, “The male stripper is here.”

Dan laughed and said, “Betty! I’m going to get you for that one.”

The two women who had entered with Dan were staring at him open mouthed. Pat didn’t allow gay men in the bar much less straight men. To see her hugging this guy was too much. One of them asked, “Who is he?”

“Be nice to him. That’s Dan Parker. He’s a friend,” a woman answered. The woman added, “He’s Sue’s muse.”

“That’s Dan Parker?” the woman asked. Everyone, with the exception of Dan Parker, knew that Sue considered him to be her new muse. He was the one who had inspired her to return to painting.

As if to emphasize the exchange, Sue came over to Dan and kissed him on the cheek. She said, “I’m glad that you could make it.”

“I’m glad, too. It looks like it’s standing room only in here.” Dan said.

“It is. Pat reserved a table for us. Cathy will be here in thirty minutes. I’ll meet you over at the table before she gets here. I’ve got to mingle,” Sue answered with a smile. In a way, she was very pleased to show him off to the crowd at Pat’s bar.

“Go ahead. I’ll talk to you later,” Dan said. He started to make his way to the table where his sister and mother were seated. The crowd shifted and he could see Ann and Sally at the table as well.

“My God! I can’t believe it. Dan Parker! You are such a fucking loser. Only you would go to a lesbian bar to pick up dykes! Loser!”

The woman shouting did not notice that the bar had become very quiet. She didn’t feel the woman she was with hitting her in the side trying to get her to shut up. Everyone within five feet of her moved away. It was only when no one said anything that she looked around. Based on all of the angry faces she knew something was wrong.

Pat turned towards the woman and, in a very low controlled voice, said, “Get that cunt out of here!”

When hands reached out to grab Kim, Dan said, “Pat, I’m not offended. Let her walk out of here.”

Furious at the idea of Dan Parker protecting her, Kim said, “You can’t throw me out of here. I came here to get Sue Adams to paint my picture and I’m not leaving until I talk to her.”

Sue walked up to Kim. She stared at her remembering the last time the two of them had met. In a very tight voice, she said, “I am Sue Adams.”

When Kim started to say something, Sue hauled off and slapped Kim as hard as she could!

Furious, Sue shouted, “That was for insulting my friend. Get out of here before I really get mad.”

Holding a hand to where she had been slapped, Kim stumbled towards the door wondering what had happened. She couldn’t believe that a bunch of lesbians were sticking up for Dan Parker. She had just stepped through the door when a tall blond haired woman hit her in the stomach.

The woman leaned over and said, “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you. No one comes in my place and insults my friends like that.”

Kim found that she was sprawled out on the ground in front of the bar. The big blond woman had gone back inside the bar. Kim stood up and shouted at the door, “You bunch of fucking freaks.”

Inside the bar, Dan said, “I apologize for that. I did not want my presence here to be a problem.”

Pat turned to Dan and said, “Your presence wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t your fault, Dan.”

Dan shook his head and walked over to Sue. Giving her a hug, he said, “Thank you for standing up for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Sue said remembering the flowers that had showed up the day after she had poured water on that woman. The memory brought a smile to her face.

Still angry, Pat shouted, “Who brought her here?”

A woman raised her hand and begged, “Don’t throw me out, Pat. I had no idea that she would act that way.”

Dan looked at the woman and recognized her. He remembered her as a member of Kim’s high school entourage. It had always been a little pathetic the way that she would grovel at Kim’s feet for the least bit of attention. Seeing her here, he realized why she had been so desperate. She had been in love and there had been no way to say it to Kim without becoming a social pariah.

He said, “Hello, Jennifer.”

“Hello, Dan,” she answered looking down at the floor. She was too embarrassed to look at him.

He said, “I see that you’re still trying to get her to notice you.”

“Yes,” Jennifer said.

“You thought that if she got a painting with the two of you in it that she’d realize you were her true love,” Dan said.

“Yes,” Jennifer said in tears. Thinking back to the number of times that she had humiliated herself to get Kim’s attention, she said, “All I’ve ever wanted was for her to look at me. Just once. That’s all.”

“You deserve better than her,” Dan said.

“She’s never going to love me,” Jennifer said in tears.

“It’s not your fault. She doesn’t know how to love,” Dan said. This was a good example of a woman wasting her life trying to change another person’s character.

She said, “I realize that, now.”

“Look around you. There are a lot of women in this room who do know how to love. Don’t waste your time on someone who can’t,” Dan said. He hugged her and looked around the room. Several women were looking away and wiping tears from their eyes.

Unwilling to punish another victim, Pat said, “She can stay.”

Dan led Jennifer and Sue to the table. He had them sit down and performed the introductions. Sue already knew everyone there, but Jennifer was virtually a stranger. Jennifer nodded blankly at everyone in the group and then stared at the table. She was a hurt, lonely, and sad young woman.

Dan’s mother was furious. For years she had listened to Dan cry about how Kim Parker had treated him. This was the first time she had ever observed it in person. She wanted to destroy Kim for all of those sleepless nights. She said, “I want to kill that bitch.”

“Get in line,” Diana said.

Still furious at Kim, Sue said, “She came here for a painting. She’s going to get a painting.”

“What?” Diana asked turning to look at Sue.

“I am going to paint her just as I see her,” Sue said imagining the painting that she would create. She smiled and said, “It’s going to be huge. I’ll hang it in Lynn’s gallery.”

Shocked, Ann said, “Lynn has been after you for years to hang a piece of yours in her gallery.”

“Yes,” Sue said, “She’s going to get a masterpiece worthy of a museum.”

Dan was standing beside the table since he had given up his seat for Jennifer. A number of women offered him their chairs but he waved them off with a smile. He looked down at the young woman worried about her. She was staring at the table with tears streaming down her face. Slack jawed, her mouth was slightly open. He leaned down to his mother and whispered, “I’m worried about her.”

Dan’s mother looked at Jennifer and bit her lower lip. Dan was right to be worried about her. She looked like she wanted to die. Concerned, she said, “I don’t think she should be left alone. We’ll take her home with us and call her parents.”

Wondering what was going on, Cathy strolled into the bar right on time. All she knew was that Pat had called and asked her to stop by the bar that evening at eight for a few minutes. The parking lot had been full and she had to park almost two blocks from the bar. She had almost considered skipping it, but her curiosity got the better of her. She hoped that Pat was trying to fix her up with someone.

Pat came up to her and said, “Hello, Cathy. You came just in time. Sue is going to unveil a new painting.”