Chapter Seven

The hostel that I had stayed in was for homeless people.  They gave you a mat for the floor and a sheet to sleep with.  It was very uncomfortable and you always had to sleep with one eye open just in case.  I had stayed there for longer than I had wanted to and heard that Nicky and her father already made it home.  She had given him all the inheritance she had left in her account so he could open a business and disappeared without a trace.  I guess he just wanted to get rid of me so I couldn't talk sense into her.  The flight was quiet and I managed to finally get some rest.

When I landed in Vancouver, Laura picked me up and dropped me off at Julie's house.  Julie was my childhood big sister whom I had managed to stay in touch with.  They took me in until I was able to get some form of income.  I went to as many doctor's as I could to ensure the health of the baby despite taking birth control and the morning after pill.  "Everything seems normal Corey.  I don't think you have anything to worry about, but we are going to ask that you come in once a week for the next few weeks so we can monitor the baby's growth and development and to be safe."

"Here you go Kiarrah..."  I had made her some macaroni and cheese.  Shannon didn't have much food in her house and I really didn't want to take advantage of her kindness.  I got on the phone and called a few more people trying to find money to get back to Vegas.  I was losing hope and began feeling that it was best that I just forget about it.  Our freedom was worth so much more than the money that was in Vegas, but it would have been a great way to start a new life with my daughter.  As Kiarrah ate I sat and watched.  She looked so innocent, so untouched by the troubles we had endured.  I wish I could say the same for me.

I could still see the faces to some of the men, the scents, their voices and as I tried my hardest to push these memories out of my head, I would fall back into reliving them.  One that played over and over was the lawyer who was married.  His wife, whom he loved dearly, would never satisfy one of his desires which had at this point overtaken him to the point where I was standing in his room.  He had called the escort service I worked for and as he handed me the money, palms sweaty and nerves shaking, I knew this was the first time he had done this and didn't even really want to do it.  He felt the need to apologize every few seconds and explain himself.  "I wish my wife would just do it one time.  We have been together since high school and she's never done anything like that.  I have asked her several times, but she just won't give me head.  I just want to try it once... that's it.  That's not a lot to ask, is it?"  I reassured him that it wasn't.

I actually felt bad for him.  He was an attractive man, in a nerdy kind of way.  He seemed to really love his wife and was very torn between his fantasy and his life with her.  I guess his friends coerced him into making the decision to involve himself in a no strings attached kind of situation with an escort.  He came across as if it had taken him years to finally commit to seeking out his desires.  As I priced out what he wanted on top of the agency fee, I saw him tremble.  I explained that the agency fee only includes a twenty minute massage and anything above and beyond that has a fee and that most of the girls won't even stay for the agency fee.  They will just take it and leave once they know the client has no extra money for them to make.  Ashamed of himself, he reached into the hotel safe and pulled out the money I had asked for.

I told him to relax, get in the shower and make sure it is as warm as he can tolerate so he can calm down.  He did so and I prepared myself.  When he came out of the shower wearing only a towel I sat him on the bed and I was on my knees at the end.  I told him to lay back.  As I rolled the condom on him he ejaculated.  The excitement from finally having his fantasy fulfilled took him to another level without even experiencing that which he wanted most.  He spent the next half hour trying to get another erection without success.  I told him that he was going to have to give me more money if he wanted me to stay any longer and that I would help him, but I can't stay for free.  Full of disappointment, he let me go as he was uncertain as to whether he would be able to get hard enough.

As Shannon walked through the door I was shook from the startle.  I was lost in a daze and didn't hear her unlock the door.  Kiarrah was asleep with her head on my lap.  The house was still and silent.  I was wearing the same cloths I had on when she had left for work.  "Corey, are you ok?"  "Yes."  "Is there anything I can do for you?"  "Not unless you can lend me $500.00 for twenty-four hours and watch Kiarrah while I go do something really quick."  "If I had it to lend you, you know I would."  "I know."

She continued asking more questions about what had happened and how I showed up at her door.  Each question was loaded with a memory from the past I had just escaped.  There was no simple answers to give her without lying which made it almost impossible for me to tell the whole story, especially with Kiarrah right there in my lap.  She didn't need to know what had happened, at least, not yet.  She is too young and wouldn't fully understand anyways.

My time was up.  Most certainly they were cleaning out my room by now since I hadn't been there to pay my rent.  Today was the day that one of those ladies won the lottery and as much as I knew it should have been me, I also knew that everything happens for a reason.  We were safe, we were alive and we had another shot at building a life together... a life which her father was not ever going to be a part of.

I still had to figure out what I was going to do with myself and how I was going to provide for Kiarrah.  The only thing I could think of was getting social assistance.  Unfortunately, I had no identification for me or for Kiarrah, so it was like I was starting life all over again from scratch.  I had to replace our birth certificates, medical cards, my drivers license and social insurance card before I could apply for welfare, which put me in a pretty bad position.  I had no money to pay the replacement fees and I needed the identification to get money.

"Let's go to the Belagio tonight.  The awards show is tonight and guaranteed someone is going to be there.  Let's see if we can catch us a superstar!"  Jamie was hot to trot and ready to roll out.  We caught a taxi to Bally's and walked over to the Belagio.  I could smell the money like home baked cookies intoxicating the air.  Every turn of the head was into the face of one celebrity or another.  "Look, it's Brian McKnight... go say hello!"  "Do I ever cross your mind, anytime?"  My off-key notes made him chuckle and broke the ice for a conversation.  As we sat at the slot machines talking about why I was doing what I do, Jamie ran over to a table opposite of where I was standing.  I could see her standing over a big black guy, cheering the wins.  "I am doing this to pay my way through college.  I come here during my breaks and make whatever money I can and then go back to school.  I'm only here this week because of the music awards show.  There's a lot of money to be made right now and I have a huge tuition to pay."

Brian handled me a small stack of cash and told me that he wasn't going to disgrace me, but he was going to support my endeavors and went up to his room.  I joined Jamie, who was standing over Jay-Z.  "Rub my shoulder for good luck ma!"  Jamie put her hand on his  shoulder and he bust.  "Don't ever do that again!"  She took his hand off his shoulder and the dealer was dealing out the next hand.  Jay Z, also known as Sean Carter, was rocking in his chair completely intoxicated.  He orders the dealer to slow down because he can't see the cards and the dealer snarls back "open your eyes... sir" and as he opened one and looked at his hand, he says "hit me!"  The dealer, clearly annoyed with how drunk he was, says "Sir, you had a black jack and I have already paid you out."  Jay Z rubs his chin and responds "I'll stay."

Shortly after that hand there was at least fifteen of us up in the pent house suite of the Belagio.  We were all drinking and dancing around the room.  Out of the corner of my eye I see Jamie go in the back room with Jay Z and I stayed in the living area as everyone dispersed in different areas of the room with one or two women.  I found a watch, a chain and a stack of money in the kitchen area and quickly put it in my purse.  I went to the women's restroom downstairs in the casino and hid it underneath a trash bag.  I waited for Jamie to come down at the bar and ordered drinks for everyone and charged it to their room.

Just charge it... I wish I could do that now so I could get the documents I need so I can get welfare.  All this work for $525.00 a month.  It seemed so pointless.  I knew I could make more than that in an hour in Vegas.  I knew that if I could just get one trip out there that me and Kiarrah could get an apartment, furnish it and have nothing to worry about for a few months.  I was slowly going backwards, sinking into the trap that life offers and I had to get away from it and find another solution.