Page 29 of She's perfect for Daddy

“Then go and enjoy yourself, miss. I'll be fine.”

“Promise you'll call me if anything happens.” The neighbor across the street...

“Hurry up, Helena!” You've lost patience with me.

“All right!” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

I took the address Jennifer had given me and calculated the subway route to get there. I didn't have a car, and considering New York's traffic, that wasn't much of an advantage. Public transportation always got me where I needed to go.

It was almost eight o'clock on Saturday evening when I pulled up in front of the establishment. There was a queue and two truculent security guards at the door. I soon found myselfthinking that it would be much better to be at home preparing lessons for my students than on this strange adventure.

I was about to turn around and make up some excuse to send a message and say I couldn't make it. Who knows, maybe if I coughed on the audio and invented a terrible cold, Jennifer wouldn't be upset by my failure. However, before I could run out of that place, I felt a hand on my arm and someone pulling me close.

“Helena!”

“Jenn.” I returned the hug.

“It seems like I saw you yesterday, but it's been so long.” She stepped back to take a closer look at me. “You haven't changed a bit, or hardly at all...” She giggled. “You're prettier.”

“Thank you.” I was a little embarrassed. “You look very pretty too.”

I noticed her hair in long braids and her black skin even more glowing than I remembered. Jennifer had always been one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met, and I still thought so.

“Come here!” She pulled me by the wrist. “I want to introduce you to some people. Old friends and others I met at the workshop.” She pointed to a group behind her. “Summer, Hopper, Julius, and Ulysses.”

“Hi, guys!”

“Hey, Helena.” As one of them said my name, I assumed that Jennifer had already introduced me.

“Let's get in line.” She took my arm and dragged me away.

As we were simple people without any privileges, it took about half an hour before we finally managed to get in. Thesound was loud, and the smoke coming from a machine under the DJ's stage gave the place a ghostly air and made people look deformed. I didn't have any sight problems, but I could see in that place how people with short-sightedness could see.

Then I remembered why I didn't like environments like that. Crashing music, cramped space, people rubbing against each other, and nowhere in sight to sit.

“Do you want to...” Jennifer's voice disappeared amid the noise.

“What?”

“Would you like something to drink?” She tilted her head to bring her mouth close to my ear.

“A bottle of water?”

“How about something a bit stronger?”

“Water is fine for now.”

“I'd forgotten what you were like.” She burst out laughing, and when she turned her head away, I could no longer hear what she was saying.

I noticed the group that had come with her. They were already moving to the beat of the music and seemed much more excited about the atmosphere around us than I was. My grandmother was right; maybe I should just cheer up a bit more and let the fun infect me.

I forced a smile and shook my shoulders from side to side as Jennifer leaned over the counter. From the time she spent talking to the guy who was serving her, I imagined she was flirting with him.

“Here's your water.”

“Thank you.” I opened the bottle cap and took a sip.

“I got you a shot of tequila.” Julius handed me a glass, and I stared at it for several minutes.

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