The Strip - Max

26 / Making Love

I took a full two weeks off of work to recover. Bruises, at least the visible ones, were faded enough that I could hide the remaining evidence with a little bit of concealer. The ones that had darkened my mental state were still a little tender. Spending every free minute of that time off with Dan had done a lot to repair the damage, but I was sure that getting back to work would speed the healing process. I just had to make a small change. The 'no nice guy' policy had to become, my new 'no more assholes' mantra and I would be golden.

Chantel was the first of the girls to welcome me back. I could sense an unease about her that almost had me reassuring her that I was fine. But that wasn't it at all. She had news she had wanted to share but waited for my return before making the announcement. "Sorry Bridget, I don't want to step into your spotlight but I gotta say this... it's been killing me for the whole week." I nodded and encouraged her to carry on. "My boyfriend got a new job. We're moving to Kent or Brockville in a week. We're still trying to find a place, so I don't know which... Anyway... I interviewed with Fantasia and got a job!"

"Oh... Chantel!" I wrapped her in a hug then felt a pile of arms and bodies encircle us. "You'll love it there. My cousin loves working at Fantasia!"

"I know. I saw her. I didn't actually talk to her, but I saw her perform. She's amazing." Chantel held me by the shoulders. "Now... how about you? Are you ready for tonight?"

"I'm just doing stage tonight. No privates. No... roaming the lounge. I am taking baby steps to get back."

Nia, a cute Japanese girl hugged Chantel then turned and wrapped her arms around me. "Welcome back. We've missed you. I have to get on stage, we'll talk when I'm done."

As I watched her walk away, I could still feel the warmth of her embrace in my soul. I realized something during my time off and needed to make a very important change. I had connected with Chantel enough to know a little about her. Enough to have suspicions about her age. But when it came to Nia... and the other girls, I knew their stage names, songs in the set lists, and certain bits about their work personas, but I knew virtually nothing else. I couldn't put a real name to many of them. I had closed myself off from knowing the people I worked with. I would talk to Nia when she came back after her show, but I needed to address the girls in the change room before they all disappeared into the lounge.

"Ladies... Thank you all for welcoming me back. I really appreciated the flowers and chocolates while I was gone. I have realized that I've been here for over a month, and I really don't know any of you. Not really. Not the way I should. I'm going to change that—" I started to weep and couldn't finish saying all the things that were burning to come out. It seemed like I didn't have to say them. The girls understood and put me in the middle of another group hug.

I took the stage twice that evening and felt the warmth of the audience surround me. I broke down in tears as applause and a standing ovation welcomed me when I stepped out from behind the curtain during the first song of my first set. The DJ stopped the music and let me collect myself for a restart. After a second set an hour and a half later, I prepared myself to go home.

"Bridget?" Tyler said as I made my way towards the employee entrance. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Better than good, actually."

"Okay, glad to hear it. Remember what I said when you came in this evening. Your return is on your schedule. If you wake up tomorrow and don't feel like coming in, just let me know."

"I will. Oh, ahhh, I forgot to mention... the wife of one of the... guys, contacted me." I shuffled my feet and cast my eyes to the floor. "I guess, she decided she's had enough of his abuse. Hopefully a judge will take her story serious. She actually thanked me for giving her the courage to leave him."