Slightly embarrassed I told him the plight of my $200 diamond stud. A smile appeared on his face, which was contagious. He stroked my arm then went to the front of the coffin for a second time. Like the good Catholic that he wasn’t, he crossed himself in front of Jimmy, then genuflected. He made it look so genuine. Within seconds he was at my side again, and with a fa?ade of deep concern he held my hand and led me outside. In my hand was my treasured stud.
The burial was even more heart wrenching. Jimmy’s mother was howling, as any mother would who had to bury a son. John translated her cries for our benefit: ‘Why did you have to take drugs? You were so good-looking, we gave you everything, how could you abandon us this way?’
And with that she threw herself in the grave on top of Jimmy’s casket. I could handle no more, I could feel the previous night’s food rising in my stomach. I ran to the side of the car and threw up.
During the drive back to the restaurant, Stephan, George and John were talking about having found the girl that Jimmy had gone home with that fateful evening. Apparently she lived with a real heavy and together they had a reputation as people you just didn’t mess with. George was saying, quite calmly, that he and a lot of the boys were going to set things straight later that evening. By his tone I knew he was deadly serious. I never heard what happened to the girl or her thug boyfriend, but a couple of days later, George said something that stuck in my mind. Something so astute that I instantly knew the Jimmy saga was closed. He said, ‘Jimmy can now rest in peace!’
I didn’t see the boys ever again. That little experience was too close to the bone for my liking. I realised I was capable of surviving on my own; I had come this far unscathed apart from a few emotional scars to add to the collection. I had to get together some real money and once and for all get away from Sonja and her associations.
13
Felicity’s
After working in the restaurant one afternoon, I went to an interview at Felicity’s, which was the top brothel in Australia at the time. I was so nervous, worrying whether I’d meet their standards. Would I be too short? Too stocky? But more importantly too young?
I was seventeen, so I thought I was pretty safe on that note.
From the outside the building was so normal; you could imagine Mr and Mrs Solicitor living there with their three-year-old son. But from the moment the door opened you knew you had the right house. A woman in her mid-thirties greeted me, introducing herself as Louise. She looked like a supermodel. She was tall and impeccably made-up, and wore a suit that would look quite at home at the stock exchange, but she somehow made it look seductive.
It truly felt like a job interview. The questions were flying thick and fast and I got the impression that I was not doing well. She came across like a real hard arse. After about half an hour she left the room. Five minutes later a very slight, swarthy man came in. His name he said was Gino. He was softly spoken and easy to communicate with. He informed me that if I wanted the job it was mine and as soon as I had a medical certificate I could start. He briefly went over the rules, then with all sincerity said if I ever needed to talk to anybody to call him, and handed me a card. I was surprised to read ‘Building Contractor’ on it.
Louise gave me instructions on how to get my medical certificate. She also gave me my roster and asked me what name I wanted to use. She pulled out a book of baby names.
‘Now, we ask that you select a name that begins with the same letter as your first name so that if you ever slip up it can quickly be corrected.’
I opened the book and turned to the As. I asked her if I could be Amy.
‘No we just had an Amy leave and I don’t want clients confusing her with you.’
Apparently they had about thirty girls working there and you weren’t allowed to duplicate their working names or their real names in case loved ones called – it didn’t always work that way but at least the thought was there.
Gino said, ‘She looks like a Kate to me!’
I was not asked what I thought; Louise just commenced writing in Kate to the roster. So Kate I was. Louise was a stickler for rules, and this broke one of the big rules as far as she was concerned, but Gino’s word was not to be challenged. You could almost see the clench marks on her lip from her containing her instincts to argue the point, but she remained schtum.
I went to the STD clinic at a hospital in Randwick for my medical certificate. The clinic was clearly marked so even I couldn’t miss it. As I turned the corner following the red arrows, I found a long row of chairs and a book with a pen tied to it. I stood there for the longest time not sure what to do. A plump and very motherly nurse finally appeared.
‘Just pop your name in the book, sweetie, and the doctor will see you soon.’
Which name? I wrote ‘Kate’ and took a seat beside two ladies having a conversation about their children. I waited for a break in their conversation then politely asked how long had they been waiting.
‘Today’s fairly busy so it should only take twenty minutes,’ said a statuesque brunette.
I was a little taken aback by her response; she made this place sound like a laundromat that she used weekly.