She kept walking my way, her focus solely on me, but suddenly her attention diverted to some customers and she ceased movement. I narrowed my eyes to take it all in.
“Sir, what is the matter here?” she asked a guy who glared at a woman who sat on her own.
His angry eyes shifted to Carla, and he jerked his thumb at the lone woman. “This dyke is making my woman uncomfortable by staring at her, and I’ve had enough.”
The lone woman stood up, anger etched on her face also, but before she could respond, Carla spoke. “I think it’s pretty damn rude of you to use language like that,” she said to the guy.
“I don’t give a shit what you think, bitch. I just want this fucking lesbian to take her eyes off my woman.”
This dickhead had overstepped all boundaries now, and I moved towards them, ready to kick his ass. Carla kept talking, impressing the shit out of me. “Number one, you don’t call me a bitch and get away with it, asshole. Number two, you don’t diss lesbians and get away with it. And number three, did you ever stop to consider that perhaps this lady wasn’t looking at your woman? Perhaps she was looking past your woman.”
The woman he was referring to as a lesbian piped up. “Thanks, but I can stand up for myself,” she said to Carla, and then looked at the asshole. “I wasn’t looking at your woman. I was actually checking out the chick behind her, dude. Your woman isn’t my type.”
Carla grinned. “Great.” She turned to the guy. “So you can sit your judgemental ass down and leave this lady in peace.”
He glared at her. “Not before I complain to your boss.”
Carla waved her hand in the air at him. “Do what the fuck you want, dickhead. If he listens to you, then he’s not the kind of man I want to work for anyway.”
With that, she turned and headed over to where I stood. She didn’t look happy.
“I’ll probably get fired for that,” she said, dropping her head down and shaking it before looking back up at me. Tiredness lurked in her eyes.
“Maybe you’d be better off not working for him if he fires you over that.”
Nodding, she agreed. “Only problem is that I need the money.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you could get another waitressing gig.”
Her lips pursed together and she sighed. Running her hand through her hair, she asked, “Why does life have to be so damn hard sometimes?”
Before I could answer that, her boss bellowed out, “Carla! My office now.”
“Fuck,” she muttered, and then added, “Yep, he’s gonna get rid of me. I’ll see you in a minute.”
I figured she knew what she was on about so I waited outside for her. She didn’t take long, joining me a couple of minutes later. Disappointment was etched on her face as she said, “Get me out of here, Havoc. Take me far, far away.”
In that moment, the barriers I had built began to wash away. I’d decided a long time ago that I didn’t want any fucker getting close to me anymore; didn’t want them to have any power over me and I certainly didn’t want to help them deal with the shit in their lives. After wanting so much in life, and losing everything I’d worked hard for years ago, all I wanted these days was the shirt on my back and my bike. Yet, Carla standing before me, with a wearied and beaten aura to her, threatened to rip my barriers down.
Against all my better judgements, and against the voice screaming out No in my mind, I nodded, got on my bike and told her to get on behind me. Pulling her hands around my waist tightly, I said, ‘Hope you’re up for a long ride, darlin’, because that’s the only way I know to get rid of the shit in your head.”
7
Carla
We’d been riding for probably close to an hour and a half when Havoc pulled off the road and cut the engine. We were somewhere in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and the café he’d stopped at looked inviting. I was a little cold because I hadn’t dressed for the cooler air in the mountains, so the warmth that hit me as we entered was welcome.
“What do you want to drink?” Havoc asked.
“Coffee, white with one please. And cake. I need cake.” I was firm. Cake always made me feel better.
He chuckled. “What kind of cake, babe?”
I licked my lips thinking about it. “White chocolate mud cake if they have it. But if not, anything will do so long as there are no sultanas or fruit in it.” I pointed at him sternly. “If you bring me back fruit cake of any kind, there will be hell to pay.”