Joey Cloudy online

American Woman  1999 DMT (part 1)    

“Don’t come hangin’ ’round my door        

I don’t wanna see your face no more        

I got more important things to do        

Than spend my time growin’ old with you”        

-Lenny Kravitz    

Monika’ Elisabeth Whittaker didn’t have any female friends, but today she’s trying to set her best friend Aaron Rainer Moore up with Jacqueline ‘Thumper’ Anderson, one of her fiancés, Dungeons & Dragons gamer geek friends from his college days. The two women are driving west down Forrest Lane shimmering undulating waves of heat hovered a few feet above the road in the searing 103-degree air scorching the grey stretch of cement as they rolled on towards Aarons, Mona’s newest boy toys pad at the Foxmoor apartments off of I-75 Central just before the Walnut exit.

The neon yellow Mini with its midnight purple racing stripe whipped and weaved in and out of the light Saturday afternoon traffic easily as Jaqueline nimbly maneuvered the tiny car with the ease of a motorcycle working the six-speed gear shift, clutch, and brake with all the skill and finesse of an Indy racer. Mona studied her driver, she was always in motion even now, stopped at the traffic light her fingers blurred keeping perfect time with the drummer tapping along the edge of the steering wheel her head bopped, she bounced and swayed dancing in her seat.  

Mona envied the diminutive blonde’s indefatigable energy, while she was only five five Jaqueline was three inches shorter, leaner, muscular with angular yet delicate features that made her look almost Elfin. Her skin held a deep healthy bronze patina of her Egyptian father in all seasons, in contrast to the ivory pallor of Mona’s that did not tan so much as it simply burned and peeled.

Mona never wore make up, but she always wore sun block. Jaqueline wore her platinum hair short bobbed spikey ringlets and styled like she was the androgenous pretty one in a boyband. Today both wore long black lacy layered skirts with long splits up one side and half-sleeved loose wide cuffed flowing shirts tied to show off their midriffs. The side of Mona’s right forearm was already burnt from their day in the sun.  

She adjusted the black scarf, worn like a Gypsy fortune teller, over her shoulder length ebon tresses, a little tired but happy after spending most of the day at Scarborough fair selling her wares, while her fiancé LARPed with all of his gamer friends from his old college. She needed a break from the whole ‘to hit armor class zero’ rpg crowd. She’d nearly sold out at the fair and Jaqueline even sold both of her large framed epic fantasy style oil paintings along with the caricatures she whipped out while you waited. 

It had been a banner day for them both, collectively they’d earned over three grand before 3 pm, so they closed up shop early and returned to the city. Mona normally only went out at night to sell her jewelry in Deep Ellum. But once a year for the last four years she had been attending the annual Scarborough fair, where she always made more than she earned during her weekends on the strip.  

  It was nice having another girl with her while she sold her jewelry, Jaqueline looked adorable, and was a natural saleswoman, even pulling out her fiddle during lulls to play Irish and Celtic folk tunes and jaw dropping mostly instrumental covers of ‘Locomotive Breath’ and ‘Whole Lotta’ Love’ she only sang one line of the song the rest she played on the violin but when the tiny woman staring at Mona near the end of the song screams “WAY DOWN INSIDE, WOMAN! Yooooou need, ah LOOOOOOOOOVE!” The crowd goes mad, and she just keeps playing, her eyes closed now, singing the outro to draw a crowd to their shared booth. She finished the only non-folk tunes she had done all day gave Monika a big hug, Mona felt her hand being lifted into the air by the woman next to her and they both took a bow. Mona was amazed by her she was quite the showman. They had come a long way since that first awkward email she sent right after the winter break. The idea of teaming up and sharing a booth was Mona’s, the idea of dressing alike was all Thumpers. Mona’s instincts were right, she was great for business. They left her fiancé with his friends at the fair and dropped their supplies at Nathans apartment.          

“Ohhhh! I love this track.” Jaqueline cooed with a softened Eastender accent as Lenny Kravitz ‘American Woman’ blasted out of the stereos speakers and reverberated within the confines of the Mini Cooper. She dumps the clutch, drops it into 5^th gear, stomps the gas and the tires squeal as she squeezes in between the twin steel and aluminum behemoth bodies of two tractor trailers. She bumps the horn twice in quick succession to let the truckers know she’s there and by the time they hit their airhorns blasting their reply grinning, she’s already shifted the car back into high gear speeding past them the engine revving, with a curt wave as she threads the needle at 90 miles per hour for the next half mile.  

The car speeds down the center of the white line passing between SUVs, pick-up trucks, and luxury sedans as they devour the road. 100 yards to their turn at the I- 75 underpass, a flick of the wrist, she slaps the car back into the left lane before they reach Central, down shifts taps the hand brake the tires screeching as they slide beneath the overpass sideways, the car still going west while facing south. Mona observes the driver whose fascial expression remains cool as lake water, in the moment, serene as a golden Buddha as they slid into the drift through to the other side, out of the shadow of the freeway. 4^th gear dumps the clutch, burying the tachometer in the red as she conducts this screaming symphony song of traction though the left turn onto the I 75 service road without losing too much speed. The Mini Cooper tries to get sideways as she counter steers the wheel and punches the gas, the car shakes her rear a little like a show horse flipping her tail before she straightens up, and they charge down the road south at 69 mph straight out of the apex of the turn.  

Mona is not worried, she drives like this all of the time, she knows she’ll be fine, and they’ll get to wherever they need to go, she whispers the mantra for mad drivers

“…you are my Dean Moriarty, you are my Dean Moriarty, you are my Dean Moriarty.”

she kept repeating like a prayer as they raced towards Aaron. He is going to love Jaqueline, Mona was certain of that, besides possessing an other worldly, near alien beauty she was also an artist. Mona sipped her bottled water in the Texas heat, beads of sweat running down the back of her neck as the cars AC struggles to lower the interiors temperature.         

“You know I’m using you to get out of having to play D&D with Nathan tonight. Don’t be mad.” Mona drawled laconically.        

“It’s alright, I kinda figured as much, everyone knows you’re only playing because Nathan pretty much forces it on ya.” Jaqueline gave Monas left knee a squeeze and smiled as they slowed and turned right off the southbound I – 75 service road onto the asphalt covered road though the Foxmoor apartment complex’s parking lot.         

“Park next to the red Dodge pick-up, that’s his truck. Our Mister Moore lives up those stairs in that breeze way second apartment on the right.”          

Jaqueline parked, threw the car into neutral, set the parking brake, then leaned across the gear shift to give Mona a quick kiss on the cheek, her emerald eyes erupted with the light of the magic hour as she stared into Monas dark grey eyes.           

“Don’t cha’ go worrying about those guys Mona, I didn’t drive all the way to Dallas from Texarkana to play with Nathan. I came because I wanted a chance to hang out with you.” She said smiling. Her face so close to Mona’s she could feel her breath.          

Mona kissed her back, this time she was ready. She tasted just like the cinnamon gum she always chewed. There was no gum now, just the memory, a ghost of sweetness haunting the tip of her tongue.          

“Thanks, it’s good to have an ally among Nathans mega dork friends.” Mona confessed bluntly.   

“Hey! I know I should be offended, but the only reason I’m not playing now is because I fancy ya’.   I see those moppets every day on campus and honestly Luv, I’m not sure that I would be friends with a single one of the lot if we weren’t trapped in that Podunk college town in Arkansas.”     

“Sooo, they’re your ‘…single serving friends.’ Mona chuckled, ya’ know like Tyler Durden’s friends on the airplane in ‘Fight Club’?”       

“No, clever, but no, however they are disposable friends, planned obsolescence of friendship dated graduation day.”  Thumper said somewhat wistfully.        

“You have no idea how relieved I am, I thought I was going to be trapped for the entire weekend.  Thanks for driving me to Aarons.”         

“I do not want to go to my dad’s house, and I certainly was not staying in the dorm all weekend.” The pixie like lithe platinum blonde continued.       

“So, you can relax, she cooed into Monas ear caressing her jawline lightly with her fingertips as she spoke, the others may have come down for an extended weekend of hardcore gaming, but I am all yours Luv. Now, let’s go ‘ave us a look at bachelor number 1.” Jacqueline said with a grin and a wink before she climbed out of the car.    

Mona’s heart was still racing, and she wasn’t sure if it was the drive, or her driver.    

Initially, they headed to Aarons under the pretext that Mona was taking painting lessons in exchange for modeling. The fact that she did model for Aaron in exchange for painting lessons was true, but they were using it as a subterfuge today to: A. get Monika way from role playing gamers. B. get Jaqueline to meet Aaron and C. spend time with Thumper without her fiancé or his friends around. Mona suggested that Jacqueline drive her over and meet Aaron since she was an accomplished visual artist as well. Before they were halfway upstairs, they could hear Pink Floyds ‘The Wall’ blasting through the breezeway. Mona knocked on the door, they barely heard Aaron shout over the music.          

“It’s open!”

Mona wasn’t sure what he said but decided to try the door and they let themselves in. Thumper takes in the view with an appreciative eye on everything from the professionally framed original art to the prints to the lush cool plants in brightly colored ceramic pots to the perfectly organized multiple bookshelves, neat rows of books are lined up on nearly every horizontal surface. He didn’t expect Mona to bring anyone, so he is only wearing paint splattered baggy khakis and steel-toed work boots. His dreads are up in a topknot of a ponytail showing the shaved sides and back of his skull, his bare chest adorned with a brass Ankh on a braided leather cord hung around his neck, next to the Eye of Horus tattoo with tribal stylings over his left pectoral, the center of the eye is his nipple.

His back remained to the door as he continues splattering watercolor across the large sheet of paper, adhered to a larger piece of wood paneling laying on his drafting table. He picks up the paper on the board and tilts it to the left staring at it in rapt concentration. After a moment he puts it back on his drafting table and takes a few wild slashes at the paper with what they both think is water until he stops lites a match tosses it onto the clear liquid and it ignites.          

Whoa dude, what the bloody hell!          

  Aaron turns around pissed at first believing Mona has brought one of her pet local losers she normally uses to chauffeur her around town into his apartment, but his face calms immediately the moment he lays eyes on Jacqueline. The chiseled, dread locked, black man laughs pointing to the glass bottle on the corner of the table, and they notice the liter of Everclear next to the paints, brushes, sponges, can of Lysol aerosol spray and a shoe box with the word texture scrawled on the lid with a large black sharpie. He goes back to work using the aerosol and his zippo lighter as a makeshift flame thrower. He uses the blaze to speed the drying time on the horizon of the wet in wet technique he is employing on his watercolor painting for a few more minutes before he reaches a stopping point.            

“Hi. said Aaron eyeing Jacqueline with an uncharacteristically expansive smile, I’d shake your hand but I’m filthy.”

Jacqueline takes his paint-splattered hand and shakes it with both of her small hands. They stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment while Mona looks on, a triumphant smirk spreading across her face.          

“Hi ya, I’m Jacqueline, pleased to meet cha’!” She shouts over the soundtrack. Aaron picks up the universal remote and turns down the volume on the TV. Jacqueline is fascinated by his painting process as well as his results.     

“Sorry, I didn’t realize Mona was bringing a guest.”         

“How can you watch the telly and paint at the same time?”  she asked their guest standing too close to be ignored.         

“Oh, that, I’m not watching the TV. I wanted to listen to Pink Floyd while I was painting but I don’t have any of their albums anymore. Then I remembered that I have the videotape of ‘the Wall’ so I put it on to listen to while I worked.”

Jacqueline knew at that moment she wanted him.   

“Mona, are you listening to this?”   

“Yeah.”    

“Love the Eastend accent, very sexy.” 

“Get your tongue outta’ my arse. We just met Luv. Where did you find this cheeky bastard? He’s precious.”   

“On campus. We had the same psychology class.”      

“Make yourselves at home folks, Aaron said embarrassed feeling his face warm flush before remembering his manners. I thought we met in economics? Can I get ya’ll a drink or something?”          

“What have ya’ got?” Jacqueline asked seductively. Batting her huge green eyes at the shirtless dreadlocked man who was their host.          

“I’m drinking frozen Margaritas but there’s soda, fruit juice, and a 12 pack of Shiner Bock in the fridge.”         

“OH oh, I want to make a smoothie! “Mona squealed, perking up at the sound of fruits and juices as she headed towards the kitchen.  “Aaron, the finals were the oral presentation. You aced the assignment.”         

“I do love a man with a gifted tongue. This your drink right here Cowboy?” Jaqueline asked picking up the plastic 7–11 Star Trek Voyager 7 of 9 Slurpee cup filled with what looked like a lime Slurpee. She stirred his margarita slowly with the thick red plastic straw.         

“Yeah,” he grinned as she pouted seductively wrapping her lips around the tip of the thick straw and began sucking with obscenely loud wet noises. She sipped his frozen Margarita, never taking her eyes off Aaron.     

“Wow, she exhaled, that is strong medicine.”        

“Everclear,” he says smiling devilishly.         

“I think you just became my newest best-est friend in the whole wide world.”  she grinned. “Luv your ink mate.” She said caressing his left pec with the palm of her hand.     

“Thank you.”   

“Mona was right. You are proper fit for an old geezer. Do you lift?” 

Aaron smiled shyly. As he lowered his head. He was overwhelmed by Mona’s new friend’s beauty as well as her candor. She moved fast and he normally moved slow, but it was obvious who was in control here.  She had an almost feral intensity about her that was magnetic. 

“No, I move furniture with my older brother’s delivery company for extra cash occasionally. I swim, and play tennis when I can get on a decent court. Rarely use the weight room here though.” 

   Mona smiled as she busied herself in the kitchen gathering ingredients to make a strawberry smoothie.  It was at least twenty degrees cooler in his apartment, the tiles of the kitchen floor felt chilled against the soles of her bare feet, and she was finally starting to cool off for the first time all day.

“I’m going to order Chinese if that’s ok with you guys. I’ve wanted dumplings all day. I’ve got dumplings on the brain.” 

 “I want kung pao chicken, fried rice, dumplings, and hot and sour soup.”  

“I’ll have beef lo mien, dumplings, and a large wanton soup. And do they have the good spring rolls?” 

“If you want the best spring rolls you need to order Thai or Vietnamese.” Aaron offered sagely, now contemplating dumplings himself. “But the Chinese place has the best dumplings.  Get extra egg rolls.” 

Mona picked up the phone from it’s cradle and one of the menus from the stack on the edge of the bar and called in their order. The Chinese restaurant had caller id and his number was already in their computer, so they knew the address.        

“The food will be here in twenty minutes. Mona announced. Do you have any bananas?” she asked as she returned to her half-prepared smoothie adding hand fulls of strawberries to the fruits, and juices already in the half full food processor.       

“Yeah, in the pantry, basket on the bottom shelf.”         

“Ok, thank you.” Mona sang in a dulcet tone.         

“Do you smoke?”         

“Pot? Yeah. Sure.” Jaqueline replied.        

“What did you think I meant; crack, meth, banana peels?”         

They both laughed.  He sips from the drink while she still holds the cup.       

“Ahhh, I only smoke cigarettes and weed for the record.” Aaron said, leading her to the couch.         

“I only smoke pot and cock.”

She slides an open palm down his abdomen until she reaches his package and smiles.  

“Never seen so many books in any one bloke’s flat before. Looks more like a writer’s garret than a painter’s studio.  Have you read all of these books?”    

“No. I have not read all of the Dune novels. I am missing the second book and I never read a series out of order. I also write. Short stories sci-fi, mostly, for a graphic novel I’m working on.”        

“Oh, that explains the massive personal library, you’re a collector. Digging the Sandman, that is a very nice print.”       

“Thanks, you read Neil Geiman?”       

Jaqueline lifts a small silver ankh on a delicate chain from where it’s been covered by the fabric of her blouse. And he smiles, she smiles back at her host wearing nothing on his torso but his own Ankh and the eye of Horus tattoo.       

“I dressed as Death although high school. Ankh eyeliner, top hat, full punk rock regalia. She sighed with a chuckle.  Well hello kitty, what’s your name?”       

“Sorry I missed that. That is Boomer, Ashlee’s cat.”    

 “She’s gorgeous.” Thumper cooed as the black cat trotted through the living room and exited out the narrowly opened sliding glass door onto the balcony.   

Mona closed the lid on the food processor and hit the button to puree and waited as the stainless-steel blades whirled for 2 minutes. She took the lid off, stirred the contents of the food processer with a wooden spoon, closed the lid and pressed the pulse button and held it for 30 more seconds. When it was finished, she poured the thick slushy mixture into a tall glass then headed to the CD tower next to the stereo cabinet. The black wire tower was identical to the cd holder in her fiancé’s trash littered living room.            

“How long have you been in the states?”  he asked. The two sit next to each other on the cobalt-colored chrome trimmed sofa. 

“Almost 2 years.” She says sipping the margarita chatting up their host while Mona dances in place next to the stereos obelisk like speakers’ slender black towers of woofers and tweeters nearly as tall as she. Mona leisurely dragged an index finger over the thin transparent plastic spines of the CD cases meticulously curating a selection of music for the Pioneer CD player. Odd, Aaron only purchased Sony stereo components and electronics. Why do I remember things like that about him?       

“When did you get the new stereo Aaron?”

   Mona inquired as she carefully read the titles of the CDs searching for just the right music to establish the ambiance she wanted for the evening.    

“It’s Victoria’s. He replied “We dug her system out of her storage yesterday.  Then we Frankensteined it together with my stereo and speakers. Four are in the bedroom and four here. Everything goes through the tuner, even the tv. 

 “It sounds amazing.”       

“I heard you have two very lovely flat mates.” Jaqueline said sipping his drink again.   

“Where are your roomies anyways?”  Mona asked. Only half paying attention to their conversation.   

“Victoria, Ashley, and Starbuck are in a rented cabin at Lake O the Pines for the entire weekend camping, I got the whole place all to myself.” He said, holding his arms out to either side expansively.     

“I have something I want to share with the two of you. I brought it to do with Mona, but there have been unforeseen circumstances. She looked at Aaron and Mona smiling mischievously. I think we should all dose together.”   

“What is it?” Aaron asked staring at the vial of clear liquid she pulled from her purse.   

“DMT.” Jaqueline said setting the vile on the coffee table next to the gigantic ceramic sun sign pink ashtray and the wooden boxes that held Aarons weed stash.   

“What’s DM c?” He asked?   

“DMT, D. M. T. (Dimethyltryptamine) is a psychedelic like acid and ‘scrhooms only better. Faster. You got any sugar cubes?”   

“Sure, Ashlee keeps them for her tea.”   

“Groovy. So, Aaron, are you game?”   

“I’ve done X, and acid, and mushrooms and never had a bad trip. Hell yeah.”   

“Mona, are you up for staying here and dosing with Aaron tonight?”   

“Do you even need to ask?” She replied with an exaggerated twang.    

Mona finished adding CDs to the 10-disc player, then crossed the living room with her freshly prepared strawberry smoothie in a tall clear glass. Jaqueline sat curled up next to Aaron who held a small wooden dugout he was gently packing with a fresh bowl of weed. Mona smiled as Jaqueline, behind Aarons back, silently mouthed the words;         

“Can we shag him?” And Mona nodding affirmatively as she silently replied”        

“Yes.” A wide grin spreading across her face. Jaqueline laid a slender arm across Aarons shoulders, leaned over and slid her tongue into his ear as he lit the pipe. Mona took a sip of her strawberry smoothie and sat on the opposite side, before leaning over to lightly nibble on his neck. Aaron sat between the two women while the CD player played a monotone male voice of the singer’s brother reading a passage from his novel ‘House of Leaves’.  

“You know, Mona whispered. After this, you’re still going to owe me a painting lesson.”  

Jaqueline giggled.

“Hmmm I luv this track.”      

  (2 B continued)

-about the author

JD Cloudy’s poetry has disappeared in the literary journals; Fatfizz, Mad Swirl, Texas Beat Anthology, Danse Macabre, Du Jour, and Death List Five. He has won no literary awards, entered no slam competitions, and never completed college. He lives to write in Dallas, Tx.