The Stranger And The Brief Case [mike]

I bought this old bakery 2 years ago today. I'll never forget that day. More over, I'll never forget the few days before that. You have to understand, this is hard for me. I've never talked about this until now. I'm not sure this small town would be ready for a story like mine. It was two years and 3 days ago today that the stranger walked into my life for the first time. Actually, he walked into Divas, the club I worked at. Now, I'd like to tell you that I was part owner there, or a bartender, or even one of those cute waitresses you always see, but we both know that's not the truth. I was a dancer.

Back then I didn't go by the name Tracy. I was known as Sugar and I was one of the girls who came out and danced for the evening crowd. There was always a waiting list to get a private room with me.


"You're late!" Carl, the back door bouncer, said with a raspy voice. "You know that Joe wants you in here promptly at 8 pm before the late crowd shows up!"
"Ah, cut me some slack would ya Carl. It's rainin' cats and dogs out there," I snapped back. He glared at me and stomped away. I rolled my eyes and sat down at my dressing mirror. For a moment I stared at the person looking back at me until a soft voice interrupted my trance from behind.
"Hey Trace, how's the day been for ya?"
I smiled and looked up to see Gina. She was the only friend I had in this dive. 


"I'm doing okay Gina, how 'bout you?" I said.


"Pretty good, I guess. I've had better though. School's killing me right now. And I'm gonna be out on my tail if Joe keeps cutting my hours here. What a pig!"


"I know sweetie....I know," I replied. I wish I had more to say to her but the truth was, I needed this job too and I wasn't about to get in the middle of something that could get me in trouble. Gina reached over and patted my hand. She didn't look at me but I saw her smile in the mirror. I envied her because the future was bright and open for her. She was going somewhere and she knew it. This was a temporary stop for Gina. That was more than I could say for myself. Pregnant and married out of high school, a miscarriage 3 months in, and divorced a year later when he decided the girls on campus were more interesting than me. To say I felt lost was an understatement.


"Lets go girls, chop chop....I got hungry paying customers waiting for some action out there! Time is money, and your time is my money!" Joe shouted from the hallway. His thick Italian accent made him intimidating and fierce to all us girls. I changed quickly and headed for the stage.

The music started and I sighed. Just another night Trace, you can do this! I said to myself. The curtain opened and I strutted out to the piercing sounds of whistling and cat calls. I never felt as cheap and worthless as I did on the nights that I stepped onto that stage.


It was only thirty minutes, but that night, it felt like I was out there for an eternity. As I stepped through the curtain and off the stage, Joe grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him. The smell of whiskey and stale cigar permeated the air as he brought his face close to mine.

"Hey ya Trace, I got a guy who needs a little Sugar with his spice if ya know what I'm sayin'. He's willing to pay me 5 times the amount I usually make off a guy in a private room with ya. If he leaves satisfied, I'll give ya a 40% cut....how does that sound?"
I held back the cough that was building in the back of my throat. "Sounds good Joe, just give me a minute to freshen up okay?"


"Just don't take all night!" He said belligerently and released my hand.

I splashed some perfume on my neck and swished some mouth wash then headed for for the upper level of the club where the private rooms were. I needed this money. I needed it badly.

I rehearsed my routine in my mind as I made my way up the steps to the room where the guy was waiting. I threw the curtain back and stepped in with a sexy smile and walk. He was sitting calmly in a padded chair against the wall. He wasn't like most clients. He was wearing faded jeans, a flannel shirt, and flip flops. His hair was shoulder length and brown. His eyes were dark but gentle looking. He said nothing as I walked in.
I gave him a desirable look and started my routine.

"Hey handsome, I'm Sugar, what'll it be tonight?" I said. He didn't say anything back to me. Oh, please don't be one of these types, I thought. I tried again, this time with a breathier voice. "I'm Sugar, honey, and I'll make your wildest dreams come true. I can give you the run down of what I do, don't do, do for extra, and all that good stuff if you'd like."


He said nothing.
I was getting frustrated.

"Come on pal, I don't got all night here. I got a whole crowd needing me out there so if you're not gonna....."


"I was hoping I could talk to you for a while," he interrupted.


"Huh?" I blurted out.


"I've been waiting a long time for this moment. I want to talk to you, Tracy."


I stepped back and glared at him. "What...did... you just call me?"


"Tracy. That's your name," he said.


"I know that's my name! But how'd you know it?"


He smiled. "I know all about you Tracy. Where you live. What your hobbies are. What you dream of. What makes you cry. The hurts you have. What you want out of life. What inspires you. Everything."

I started to feel terrified. I darted for the opening in the curtain.


"It's not your fault Tracy...what he did to you when you were thirteen. He was your father."


I froze. My body began to tremble. I turned sharply and stepped toward him. "Who are you? How do you know me? What gives you the right to say anything about me or my father?"


"Tracy, it's not your fault. I know that you feel empty inside. I know that your broken relationship with him and what happened led you to this place."


"STOP IT!" I screamed. "Stop saying that. You have no idea what I've been through. I don't know where you're getting all of this but you need to leave. If you don't I'm calling security."


"Tracy, please talk to me. That's all I want to do is talk to you," he replied calmly. He looked at me with this look too....like….I was worth something. He didn't look me up and down like I was a piece of flesh either. He looked me in the eye.
I dropped my arms to my side.

"Okay...okay," I said, then sat down across from him.
"So, what are we talking about?"


"You," he replied.


"Me?"


"Yes, you."


"What about me?" I replied.


His face lit up. "You're beautiful Tracy. Your smile can light up the darkest place. Did you know that?"


I shook my head. I was trying hard to ignore him.
He went on. "And you're funny too. You make me laugh when I think about you.”

"Yeah...well...let me tell you pal...I've heard all this before. I get guys in here every night saying things like that to......"


"I said you're beautiful Tracy," he interrupted. "I'm not talking about your body, I'm talking about your heart....your soul....you as a human being. You're beautiful."

I'm pretty sure my jaw was on the ground.
"Who are you?" I asked him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We were sitting face to face in a private show room in the middle of a trashy strip club and this guy was telling me that I had a beautiful heart. I started to laugh. As I shook my head, I looked up and caught his eyes. He was looking at me the way a mother looks at her newborn baby.

No one had told me that I was beautiful in a very, very long time. And no one had ever looked me in the eye and told me those things the way he did. The guys I knew in high school always checked out my body before coming close to looking at my face. Not him. His eyes never left mine.


"What.... what do you want from me?" I asked him hesitantly.


"I want to be your friend Tracy. I want you to know how precious you are. I want you to know that you're worth more than this. I want you to leave this place and never return."


"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I blurted out. "Now you're getting crazy. I can't leave this. I don't know what crazy, jacked up world you're from, but this is the real world and some of us gotta make money to survive."

He leaned in and smiled this big goofy-looking smile. "I thought you might say that Tracy. That's why I brought this." He picked up a scuffed and faded brown brief case and rested it on his knees.
"This is for you."


"What's in it?" I asked.


"I want you to take it, leave this room, go back into the changing room in the back, and open it. Do not show its contents to anyone." He stood up and placed the brief case by my chair.


"I don't understand! What am I supposed to...." I spun around but he was gone. I sat frozen for a moment, wondering if I'd just seen a ghost or if someone had slipped me a drug and I was trippin'. What is this? I wondered, as I looked the brief case over. I didn't waste time finding out. I grabbed the brief case and hurried to the back room of the club.

I locked the door behind me and sat down, pulling it onto my lap. Slowly I unlatched the locks on both ends and opened the lid. A fresh aroma hit my face as I stared at the contents. I blinked my eyes because I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Placed in neat stacks where hundreds, maybe thousands, even millions of $100 bills. There was a note resting on the stacks of money with these words-


"Tracy, you're not cheap, you're priceless. You're not an object, you're a woman who deserves respect and honor. You will find more money than the world can offer in this brief case. I've paid the highest price for you. You're worth that much. You belong to me. Go, and never return to this place. You're free from all of this. Live in my goodness. The choice is yours. I love you more than you can imagine. J"


My tears stained the paper as I read his words. That was the last night I stepped into Divas. It was the first night of my new life. The stranger changed my life forever.
And now I sit in the upstairs window of my bakery, day after day, watching the sunrise. As the warm rays flood my face, I'm reminded of that night two years ago. I smile when I think about it. I smile when I think of how deeply I'm loved and cared for by the stranger. He's no longer a stranger though. He's the lover of my soul. He's the giver of my life. He's my friend. He's the reason I feel alive when the sun hits my face.

I'm jealous for you.
 -2 Corinthians 11:2