When I got to work I could see from the way every one was allready running around like chickens with their heads cut off that the night wasn't gonna be strange after all.Yep,,that was the norm for that place.

   Okay,,the way the Country Club worked was,,the customers,,or 'members' would indicate their plate choices before the dinner.These would then be prepared a little ahead of time,,except for meats or such that had a 'cook to choice' option.When 'dinner' started the plates went out like an asembly line,,and came back in staggered rushes and dribbles.When I worked,,it was often as 'minor cook/prep',,food server/runner and dishwasher/closer so I got in on it at the start,middle and end.

   This night was about as average as they get.The only thing unusual to occur was that as the 'cook staff' was going off the clock,,Tina,,a tall slender,petite Milky Way chocolate brown black girl with a cute,kewpie doll face came over to the dishwasher where I was starting to pick up allready and said,,"Hey,,Mabel wants to talk to you." in her birdlike voice,"Where is she?,,I thought she was gone allready." , "No,,she's waiting to talk to you about something.She's in the back by the time clock." Heading toward the back with Tina I asked,,"What does she want?I don't play the numbers and she knows it.Well,,she ought to from as many times as I've told her." , "She said something about a dream,I think." was Tinas reply.That wasn't a surprise and didn't change a thing since that was a common thing for Mabel to do,,talk about dreams being a way to pick winning numbers,she was allways 'interpreting number dreams' for folks.And getting them to play the numbers with them.

   Since Tina really wasn't much of a talker,,that's all I got out of her by the time I got around to where the time clock was and walked up to Mable sitting at a small table by the back doors.I liked Mabel and I had allways gotten along with the older,gray haired,yellowish complected black woman even if she was often hard to understand.She didn't exactly have an accent,,she just mumbled a lot.I sat down and said,,with a big smile on my face"Whazzup,Mable?You ain't gonna tell me you had a dream with numbers in it that I should use to play the numbers with are you?You know I don't play."

   She looked at me with a kindly smile on her face and said,,"No,,but you can if you want.The dream I had about you had a woman that's on an island hollering at you over here across the ocean from her."

   "Wait,Mabel,,are you serious?" I asked incredulously,"You actually had a dream about me?" , Tina,,standing to one side asked in an equally astounded seeming voice,,"And it didn't have no numbers in it,Mabel?"

   "Yes,,and it had numbers in it,too.A bunch of them." , "Aww,you're kidding,,but tell me about the dream,let me hear it."

   "Well,,Like I said,,there was a woman on an island,,but at the start of the dream she was fighting stuff,,4 kinds of dark nasty evil things on the island.And she was beating them and killing them,,her and 6 other folks were defeating these things and putting them in boxes and like crates.Some they threw in 2 big furnaces.After a while,,even though some of the people,3 of them,,died,,they beat all but 5 of the smallest of the black things which had managed to scurry away and hide.Then in the dream,,a double set of fives goes by on the water and the woman is older and has 5 of the boxed up things on her back.No one else is with her now,and she seems sick to death.Then the sun sets and it becomes a starless,moonless night.She wants to go somewhere but the things on her back have her pinned to the ground and she can't go.She called an eagle from the east and gave it a box,,and said 'Take this to my little brother and tell him to give it to The White Indian'.Then she watches it fly off as 4 grape clusters with 7 grapes on them grow up by her.Then she holds her hand to her ear and yells,,to you,,"You're the closest,,the others are too far,,get rid of it.Try,try and try again.The Borrower borrows,The Redeemer Redeems,the Consuming Fire consumes.Then 12 grape clusters with 7 grapes on each of them grow and the sun comes up.That was the end of the dream."

   "Oh,Mabel,,that was weird,,why are you messing with me like this?" , I said this staring at Mabel with a few patches of hair on my arms trying to stand up and wave at the world.Tina,,who had been jotting down the numbers Mabel said asked,, "Okay,Mabel,,you said,,4,6,2,3,5,,,a double set of 5's,,that's 55,55 or 5,5,5,5, or 10,10 or 20?,,Then you said another 5,4,7, then 12 and 7.Right?"

   Mabel looked at Tina like she had just woke up and said,,"Huh?Oh,,yeah,,but the first is a 7 because the 6 were with her and after the 4,7 there is one more 3,,try,try,try again,,makes a spoken three." , "Really,?,okay."

   I simply stood up and said,,"Tina,,if you hit any of those you gotta share with me since it was a dream about me,,right Mabel?"

   Mabel started giggling a little and told Tina,,"Sweetie,,those numbers won't hit for no one but him.And they won't hit for money.They will only work for him.Sorry." Now,,that made it even worse if she wasn't pushing me playing the numbers with the numbers from the dream,,that threw me enough to ask Mabel,,"Okay,,wait a minute,,you aren't saying I should play those numbers?" , "No,,I said they won't hit for money,you should play them,,but they won't hit for money." , "What's that mean?" , "I don't know,,I just had the dream,youngun,and had to tell you,I don't have a clue as to what it's all about.That's your bidness,boy.Now,get back to work before those bus pans pile too high." She was right,,and to punctuate her statement the sounds of bus pans hitting the stainless counter of the dish washing area came clunking and clanging from up front.

   As I got back to the dishwasher,,Aloisias,,a little,goat looking really black guy who was like 40 but looked like an ugly 17 year old,,was starting to do the pans.On seeing me,,he smiled real big and said,,"I thought I seen you a minute ago,where'd you go?"," Aloisias,,Mabel just told me about a dream she said she had,,about me." He started to laugh and say something.I held up my hand while stepping past him and getting him to scootch out of the way and let me in the loader spot and said,"No,,wait,,you ain't gonna believe this,there were a bunch numbers and," , He started to talk again."Naw,,wait till I'm finished,,you ain't gonna believe it,,she said DON'T play the numbers with the numbers,,they wouldn't hit for money."

   He sort of froze and his face went kind of blank for a moment,,then je said in a low,low voice,,real slow,,"I don't believe it.Really?No shit?", "No shit Aloisias,she said they wouldn't hit for money.I should play them though,she said they would only work for me,,but they wouldn't hit for money." , "What's that mean?" , "I don't know,,how can I play numbers and win but not in something that you play for money?" , "Dude,,she has to messing with you cause that don't make no sense."

   After that we kept trying to think of something that would fit the satement,,but never really came up with anything other than maybe picking the phone number that matches that particular girl you met the night before after a night of collecting a bunch of numbers.

   Not a likely scenario,,overall,so by the time the night was over,,I still had no idea how that all fit in with what had went on before.The chances of Mabel and John being in on such a swerve was next to none at all.Even with a chance of Mike or Dale being involved,,Mabel didn't really like either and they allmost never ever come to the club anyway.So that left a real puzzler.And yet,,like Aloisias said about Mabel and her 'dreams',,"Even though she gets people to play the numbers,,the numbers she dreams up tend to hit a lot,,don't they?" To which I had to honestly admit that,,"It sure seems like it."

   As I left work,,I debated on stopping in at Park Place,,a bar down the road from the Country Club.Yes,,modeled on the Monopoly property.Same colors and typefont for the siganage and such but inside it was just a bar with it's own flavor that attracted a lot of the ritzy folk,,some of which did belong to the club.But us lowlives went in too,,our money was as green as theirs to the bar owners.The debate was between stopping there for an average time of draining a few pricey drinks looking around at who was there,,wondering who or what might come along,,or going home and seeing if that girl was there.I sort of doubted it,,but I passed up Park Place,stopped at the ABC,picked up a bottle of Absolut,ice and mixer then headed home.

   When I got there,there were empty beer cans galore,John was snoring on the couch,,Mike and the girl I spoke to earlier was laughing when I walked through the door.There was another girl there that I suppose was Mikes date since she was passed out with her head in his lap.

   I smiled real big at the girl while Mike set the girls head down on the couch and got up saying,,"Good man,,dude,,you have the Absolut Idea,,here let me put it in the freezer for you." Still looking and smiling at the girls cute face I said to Mike while holding the bottle,ice and mixer out to him,, "You have to deal with it all then,,and only a swallow,,let it get good and cold and we can play shots with it for a little.Is there any beer left?" With that question I looked at him trying to get the ice,bottle and mixer situated in his arms to carry to the kitchen.He was pretty messed up from the look in his eyes and the smile on his face.I kept hold of the bottle and said,,"I got this,Mike.What's this pretty girls name and is there any beer left or have you hops hogs guzzled it all?", "Melissa,,two,,and I am a 'hop head' thank you,,I know how to share,,do you want one?They're cold."

   He turned and headed a little wobbily for the kitchen.Following I slowly walked past the girl,kept on smiling and said to her,"Hi,Melissa,,I'm really glad you're here." She looked up at me,smiling equally big and replied with,"I'm glad Amandas family came home or her and Dale would have been 'playing seance sex games' at her house." , "Really?Now,,that's a new one on me.I've heard of Tantric sex,,but seance sex'?"

   Looking at the beer bottle in her hand I winced,,looked around at the empties and realized that they were all Budweisers.

   John had probally bought the beer since it was his favorite brand and he wouldn't buy anything else.Or if he swiped it from his dad,,that was all his dad drank.Mike liked Lowenbrau but drank a lot of different kinds,Dale liked Heinekin.I drank Busch and really disliked Bud,,so I asked her,,"Do you like Absolut?" , The look on her face became a grimace as she held up her Bud bottle and responded with,"Right now,,anything besides this will be great." , "You don't like Budwieser?" , "No,,and I've been nursing this one so long I am sober,bored,starting to get a headache,," she looked me dead in the eyes with a visible glitter in hers,,,",,but really glad you showed up,,and with something worth drinking to top it off.I absolutly love Absolut,but would gladly have settled for a few cans of Busch the past couple of hours."

   Saying,,"Cool,,then I will go get some,they are allmost out and I can't stand Bud,,you want to take a ride with me to the store?" , "Sure.",was her happy rely.Spinning on my heel,,I went off to the kitchen where I found Mike talking to Dale who was standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist with two unopened bottles of beer,one in each hand.Mike had a hold of one and had the bag of ice still in one hand and was saying,"No,,I get one,,you two share one." , Dale,,obviously shitty faced was saying,"Aww,Mike,,John owed me the money he bought the beer with,,they were mine and she wants a beer,,she don't want to share one.If it's the last one,let her have it,I want to get laid.", "Let her have yours,,you drink another one you won't get it up again anyway." , "Oh,,yeah I will,I will.She can suck a golf ball through 30 foot of garden hose,,she'll Hoover me stiff in a second.But not if she don't get another beer,,Give me the beer,dude!"

   Reaching past them and opening the freezer door to put the Absolut in it I said to my two comically struggling friends,"Hey,,I've got a bottle of vodka and I am going to go get some more beer,,calm down you drunks." Shutting the freezer door I turned to head out and pinched an edge of Dales towel and held on while walking away from their continued tussle over the beers.Dropping the towel over a chair back,,I laughed aloud as I heard Dale say,,"Hey,,that's my towel!" Then Mike saying ,,"This is my ice,," , "Aaaagh!!Get it off my balls!!" , "let go of the beer!" , "Aaaagh!" ,,"And this is my beer now." Which made me holler over my shoulder,,"Mike,,rinse Dales ball sweat of the ice bag before you put it in the freezer,,please!"

   Melissas friend,Amanda,,dressed only in a t-shirt and pretty pink panties,came out of the hall right as I said that and her face was allmost angry looking when she reacted with,,"What sweat?That's me."

   I went back into the kitchen and took the bag of ice from Mike who was now chasing the still toweless Dale around the kitchen with it while still struggling over the beer,and rinse it off in the sink while Amanda started asking Dale questions like,,"Where's my beer?Why are you playing around naked in the kitchen with some guy while I'm waiting for you in the bed?Are you queer,,or only bi?" and trying to grab the beer from Dale that Mike didn't have a hold on with both hands now,,while Dale was squeeling,"You making me shrivel up,,stop!!"

   Getting done and throwing it in the freezer with the Absolut,,I slid past all three while I said,"Hey,,drunk,naked Dale,,half naked Amanda,,and drunk Mike,I'm going to get more,share one somebody,,I'll be back in a few minutes.",grabbed Melissas hand as she approached from the front asking,"What's going on in here?" and pulled her back the way she came saying,,"A drunken squabble over a beer,,come on let's go get some more before they get bloody over the last two."

(intro) (prt1) (prt2) (prt3) (prt4) (prt5) (prt6) (prt7) (prt8) (prt9) (prt10) (prt11) (prt12) (prt13) (prt14) (prt15) (prt16) (prt18) (prt19) (prt20)