Chapter 22: Restless

A new weekend arrived in May, with the customer flow at The Beast House stabilizing. Several new members joined the Heartthrobs, increasing their numbers substantially.

Martin didn't join because he had already won.

Martin had no mental barrier towards their profession, but he believed that the effort should be proportional to the reward.

One hundred dollars for a dance? He could earn more in tips bartending for a night.

On Saturday night, Martin saw the person he wanted to meet.

Kelly Gray was watching a segment of "Tarzan the Ape Man" by the circular stage, threw down a pile of tips, and came over to the bar.

Martin was making drinks, waved briefly, and continued his work.

After sending off two female customers and tossing the tips he received into the cardboard box at his feet, Martin gave Bruce a look and walked over.

Kelly Gray's short hair was dyed flaxen, and her trendy dress made her look a few years younger. She sat on a high stool, drumming her fingers lightly on the bar as she observed Martin.

She had just watched the show and thought Martin Davis was more suited for the circular stage.

"Are you a bartender?" Kelly Gray asked doubtfully.

Martin smiled, "Manager and bartender, recently we've had more customers than we can handle."

Kelly Gray said, "This place is nice; I found the vibe of Los Angeles here."

"This is what we like and what we're striving for, isn't it?" Martin aligned himself with her. He prepared for this, "Would you like a drink?"

Kelly Gray said, "I'm pretty picky."

Martin cleaned his hands and fetched a new shaker, "A cocktail you can't find in Atlanta."

He added ice, lemon juice, Aperol, Averna, and finally bourbon whiskey, shook the shaker hard for ten seconds, poured the vibrant orange drink into a chilled glass, and garnished it with a folded paper airplane.

The bright orange liquid looked quite like a piece of art.

Martin gestured, "Paper Plane, please enjoy."

Kelly Gray took a slow sip and after a moment said, "I'm certain, I've never had this before."

Martin asked, "You've had many cocktails?"

"I spent a few years in Los Angeles, met a good friend there, and she was quite the drinker," Kelly Gray said casually, "Tasted quite a few drinks with her."

She raised her glass slightly to Martin, "A very distinctive drink, I like it."

Martin replied, "I'm honored."

A female customer walked over and asked, "Aren't you a dancer? Won't you go on stage?"

"Sorry, I'm not," Martin answered politely.

Martin turned back to see Kelly Gray holding back a laugh. He shrugged and said, "Can't help it. Every night there's a misunderstanding; someone always has a fantasy."

Kelly Gray asked, "Want you to get on the stage?"

"Yeah," Martin said helplessly, "I guess good looks can be a curse, making people think I should be a dancer. Prejudice, right?"

Kelly Gray's mood had been good these past few days, and this made her even happier. She raised an eyebrow, "You do look good. If you were a dancer, I'd invite you for a dance."

Martin joked, "I wouldn't waive the fee."

Kelly Gray took another sip of the orange cocktail and looked around, "Your club is nice."

Martin was honest, "I'm just the manager, the owner is someone else."

Kelly Gray suddenly asked, "There are no male customers here, right? How did you meet Andrew?"

She looked directly at Martin, who answered openly, "I'm also an actor."

Kelly Gray laughed, "You've quite the identity."

"Poor folks need more jobs to earn more income," Martin admitted, "I'm part of the Marietta Community Theater. I started joining crews at sixteen. Recently, I participated in the shooting of a plantation play where Andrew was the casting assistant. He happened to cast me as a corpse. We got along well, talked for a bit, and he mentioned The Freemen Society for us to keep an eye out, to call him if anything happened."

Kelly Gray had heard about this from Ella and found it consistent. She said, "That's a film I invested in."

"You're the investor?" Martin asked, "Ms. Gray, can I be honest?"

"Please do."

"That film is really terrible." Playing as a bartender and actor, Martin knew the importance of making an impression at the right moment: "Hero saves the beauty, then two main characters proclaiming love over two dead bodies - it's absurdly bad."

Kelly Gray laughed again, "If I'm not mistaken, you were one of the corpses?"

Martin stood his ground, "The handsomest and most reluctant corpse ever. I lay on the ground with a death stare."

"You're quite something." Kelly Gray laughed again, "No one's talked to me like this for a long time."

She pulled out a ten-dollar bill and placed it on the bar, "The Paper Plane is on me. The tip is for you."

Martin accepted it graciously, "This drink is worth ten dollars."

Kelly Gray added, "And the conversation."

After chatting a bit longer, Kelly Gray got to the point, "Tomorrow, contact my assistant and see the lawyer. On Monday, The Freemen Society has organized a press conference. The Beast House Club is part of it. You'll represent The Beast House in suing the Methodist Association."

Martin had already obtained Vincent's consent, "No problem."

Kelly Gray stood up, "Your club is doing great."

After leaving the club and getting in the back seat of a BMW, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number in Los Angeles, "Good evening, Drunkard Louise, it's me, Kelly. Today I discovered a cocktail I'd never seen before called Paper Plane. You haven't heard of it either? Aren't you coming to Atlanta with the crew in a while? I'll take you to try it."

Back at the club bar, Bruce finally got a break from his busy night.

He found Martin and said, "No wonder Hart calls you dad."

Martin quickly denied, "Don't slander me, I have no son."

On Sunday morning, Martin, representing the club, met a lawyer from The Freemen Society. On Monday, he attended their press conference.

*****

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