For You
"Come on now, Audrey. You know I need somebody at the Shop tonight!" Mushnik, once again, was trying to persuade Audrey to work at the Flower Shop for the night. Usually she would give in, and he hopes today would not be different.
"We never sell anything at night, Mr. Mushnik, you know that," she kept telling him softly, trying her hardest to push him away without starting any kind of fight. He grabbed her arm and pleaded for a few more minutes, but she kept brushing him off, telling him she had somewhere to be that night.
"I already stayed here last week, Sir. You never paid me for it, either," Mushnik stepped away and grabbed the cash register. He opened it roughly and showed it to her.
"There's no money to pay you right now, you know that!"
"Exactly Mr. Mushnik. I know that, which is why I'm not staying."
Nobody around the shop ever really knew where Audrey went on certain nights of the week. Most girls just went to their apartments, often with a date, and stayed in. Urchins would knock on Audrey's door, and nobody would be there to answer. Of course, Audrey wasn't quite like all of the other girls. She had a plan.
Naturally, all of the people in Skid Row wanted to leave - it was a terrible place. It was smelly, dirty, poor and everything else a bad place could ever be. Who would want to stay in such a place? But Audrey had a plan…she would make money, marry somebody, and move out as honestly as she possibly could. So, she got a job at the Flower Shop.
Needless to say, it didn't help much. The Shop was nice, due to Audrey's talent with a broom, but never got any customers. Therefore, it never made any money, and could not pay its workers. This posed a problem for Audrey. If she couldn't make money, then no man would ever look at her, and she couldn't leave Skid Row as happily as she wanted to.
Family? She had no family. None left, anyway. They had all either abandoned her, or died. She was, as they say, alone in the universe.
So, Audrey did the only thing a girl could do - she went to the Gutter. For most of the girls there, the Gutter was the only thing. They even slept in the barn where it was placed during the day. That's why nobody ever really knew about the Gutter. It was almost like a horrible myth.
But Audrey had a day job. This left little time for her to sleep, and the sleep she did get was while she was fully awake. The barn was a home to most girls, but to Audrey it was just a job. That's right - the Gutter was a barn. It used to just be a secret meeting place to share money, but once the Police started arresting the women on street corners it became a base.
"Audrey, please. I'll pay you next week, just stay for the night!"
"Why can't you stay?"
"I'm busy," Mushnik answered, trying to not sound suspicious.
"So am I," she told him, and raced out of the Shop. She walked through the streets, carrying a large bag over her shoulder. Finally, she made it through the fields and into the barn. Into the Gutter.
"Audrey, where've you been!" they all asked her why she was late. Mushnik had been bothering her for quite some time, and even before then they had been trying to sell to a rather simple man. He kept then late, and Audrey stayed even later with Mushnik. The eclipse also confused them quite a bit, and neither looked at the clock for quite some time.
You may wonder why Seymour couldn't take care of the Shop. He had gone out to buy some new plants, and found quite the treasure. A small plant, which seemed to want water. It was an interesting little thing, and kept Seymour extremely busy. In the desperate Mushnik's eyes, tending to the plant was all Seymour would do that night.
So now Audrey was in the Gutter, being prodded by the other women around her. She spoke to them honestly, yet never told them where she worked. She knew they would tell everyone else on Skid Row. She simply spoke of 'her day job' leaving place and store completely open to their interpretation. None had any decent education, so they never even tried to figure it out. They had problems of their own.
Business was moving extremely slow that night. A few girls were taken away random men, some coming back after only a few moments, and some leaving for the entire night. It had become normal for the girls. Audrey sat at a round table, a few others girls with her. They had become completely silent, all waiting for someone to pick them up. Then a new man came into the room.
He was dressed in black pants and a medical white top. He was obviously a professional of some sort. Audrey was the first to notice him. His hair was greased back as flat as it would go against his head, nearly giving the appearance of a comb over. Still, Audrey told herself, he's really rather handsome.
Slowly he walked to the circle of girls, each of whom watched him intently, hoping they would be the ones to be chosen. He stared back at them, as if he did not know what to do. Audrey stood up.
"Maybe I should give him a hand," she told the rest of the girls.
"You'd better give him more than that if you want to make any money," another replied. Her name was Ronette, or so she told the others. Audrey knew Ronette from the street. She lived with two other girls, who believed she had a regular job. Little did they know what her real profession was.
So Audrey stepped over to the lost man. She put her hand on his arm, as a flirtatious motion, and leaned into his ear.
"You seem lost, don't you?" the man pulled away and looked at her. His arm was lost from Audrey's grip as he fixed his hand on her cheek, tracing its shape a few times. He dropped his hand.
"I suppose I'm in the right place, then?" his voice was deep, yet almost youthful. Audrey was surprised at how calm he had suddenly become with her. Normally, men would begin to sweat when a girl made such a pass at him, but he was different. Audrey nodded.
"Where would you like to go?" she asked.
"Come with me," he answered simply, and led her out of the barn. Audrey glanced back at the other girls before she left, each glaring with confused faces. She shrugged and followed the man.
Just outside of the barn a motorcycle was standing on an angle, held up by a metal bar. Audrey eyed it curiously. She had seen these things in magazines, but never up close. He pulled an extra helmet from the handle and told her to put it on. Audrey clipped it under her chin as the man swiftly threw his on. He hopped onto the bike and motioned for her to join him. She did so, seductively placing her hands around his waist.
"What is your name?" she asked, as he readied the machine for motion.
"Orin," he answered simply. Audrey asked no further questions. She knew that most men didn't want others to know they were going out with dark women at night, and that they didn't trust her type.
Audrey jumped when the machine began to move. It was almost like flying. Her hair flipped from underneath the helmet she had been given, which also flopped up and down worryingly. Eventually, the bike began to speed up, and Audrey's grip on Orin's waist tightened with each street corner they passed. It was an amazing feeling. Audrey was floating, she knew it. You can't move like this and still be touching the ground. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the experience, until finally Orin brought the bike to a quick stop. He jumped off and threw his helmet onto the handle bar once again, propping the bike up with the metal bar.
They were in front of a high class restaurant.
"I'm under dressed," Audrey told him while both her feet met the ground. She began to follow him inside when he turned around.
"Don't forget the helmet," he told her, and she quickly undid it, placing it on the free handle bar. She followed him inside the restaurant, and a clerk sat them down at a table for two.
"Order whatever you would like," he told her. When the waiter came, she let him order his meal first, then flirtatiously ordered the same thing, getting a bakes potato instead of mashed ones. He stared at her as she ordered, a strange look on his face.
"So," Audrey began him. "Tell me more about yourself."
"My name is Orin Scrivello," he told her. "I am a dentist just outside of Skid Row," Audrey was surprised at his sudden ability to talk about himself. She asked him more questions.
"Do you have any family?"
"No," he answered simply. Audrey remained silent at the sudden answer. "I did have a mother," he began again, to Audrey's surprise. "But she died a short while ago."
"What was she like?"
Orin began to tell Audrey all about his mother. He spoke about until the food came, and even half way into their meals.
"Tell me about you," he said passively, taking a sip of his wine.
"Well, I work at a Flower Shop," she said to him. He stared at her for a moment. She raised an eyebrow and continued. "The one in Skid Row, that nobody ever visits. I live just across from it, actually."
They continued their meals in silence. Every once in a while Orin would look at her and stare for a minute as she chewed. Audrey looked back up at him, when she saw a familiar figure across the room. It was Mushnik. Audrey bit her lip.
"What is it?" Orin asked her. She glanced at the tables around her and looked at him.
"May we please leave now?" he looked at her.
"Why?" he asked, looking behind himself.
"No," Audrey told him softly. "Don't look. I know the man behind you. Please, can we go now?"
Orin nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we can," he told her, still a bit confused at her sudden reaction. He motioned for the waiter to come and paid the bill. Thankfully, Mushnik had chosen to sit at the other side of the restaurant. While leaving, Audrey saw that he had a date. Ronette. She and Orin swiftly left the restaurant and each got back onto the motorcycle.
"Where do you live again?" he asked her, and she told him to take her back to the barn. He asked again, and she told him where she really lived. Once again Audrey was flying on the motorcycle, without a care in the entire world. When they reached her home, Audrey pulled her key from under the foot mat and opened the door. She looked at him, asking whether he was coming in or not.
"You know," he said to her. "You shouldn't leave your key out like that. It could be stolen, or you could be robbed." He began to get back on his bike.
"Aren't you coming in?" Audrey asked as he twisted the handle bar. He looked at her, shaking his head no. She stared at him.
"But don't you know what I am?" she continued. He nodded. "Then why don't you want to come in?
"You know, you never asked me to pay you," he told her. Audrey simply continued to stare.
"Well, you paid for dinner…" she began. "Look, what did you do this for? Why did you go to the Gutter?"
"I went there for you," Orin stood up from his bike and gave Audrey a soft kiss on the lips. She looked at him, shaking her head as he got back onto the motorcycle. He motioned for her to come closer, and he placed money into her hand.
"No," she told him. "You paid for dinner."
"Yes," he replied. "But I didn't pay for you."
Audrey was confused. Why was this man paying her. Usually they were selfish, and would use the dinner excuse, but he seemed to be paying her for eating. He had gone to the Gutter for her. How could he have known she was there, anyway? How did he know her?
Of course, Audrey thought, he didn't. Men often used that line, to make women feel better about themselves. It had worked.
"We'll do this again next Friday…at six. Is that alright?" he asked her.
Audrey nodded and took his money. She wandered into her apartment, taking the key in with her as Orin had suggested. She smiled at him through the window as he left.
Perhaps, she thought, he was sincere. Perhaps he had not really gone for her, but was happy for her. Perhaps, he really was there for her.