ᴉMierda! I thought. “Thank you,” I said. I didn’t have an extra $150 to get my clothes dryer fixed, so I paid the serviceman and walked him to the door.
At least my washer still worked. I had Thursday morning off so after I showered, I pulled my hair back, put on shorts and a baggy sweatshirt, and did the laundry that had been building up. I popped each load in a trash bag and then drove down to the Laundromat. Even if I would have to use their dryers until next month, I was not going to look like one of the campesinos who can’t speak English, pushing a shopping basket piled high with laundry. With my light skin and long face, I looked more Anglo than Latina, and I wasn’t going to spoil the impression.
Actually, it wasn’t bad. There were a couple of Madres folding their now dried family laundry over on the tables, and three guys who looked uncomfortable in a Laundromat. I loaded up a couple of dryers, sat down on a bench, opened up 'The Killing Dance', and tried to radiate disinterest.
A couple of minutes later a real skuzzball walks in and starts trying to sell some stuff that fell of the back of a truck. Although he got no takers, he didn’t leave. I figured he was trying to stay off the streets and out of sight. He kept eyeing me after the Madres left, and I started to worry when one of the dudes got done and left.
ᴉAhorrado! In walked a Norse god with his laundry! Even better, I knew I had seen him at Mass – even if he had never seen me. He had to be at least two hundred pounds of muscle and six feet tall. Mi Dios! He was a cutie! I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers! I felt myself flushing and squirmed a bit. I tried to go back to reading.
The Viking had started up his first load when the other two dudes finished bagging their clothes, grabbed their stuff, and headed out the door. As they left, I saw something flutter to the floor, as did Viking and Skuzzball. One of the guys had dropped a $20! Skuzzball started to go for it, but Viking was faster. He stepped on the bill, and shouted “Yo! Dudes!” at the guys who had just left, but the door had already closed. I could see that Skuzzball was ready to claim the money, so I got up, opened the Laundromat door and called out to the guys who had almost gotten to the corner.
“Hey guys! Did either of you two drop a Twenty?”
Dude two puts his hands in his pockets, looks up and says, “Yeah! You have it?”
“No. It’s in here.”
I held the door open for the guys. After a few “Thank yous,” and “Welcomes”, they left, with me sitting on the bench by the dryers and Viking and Skuzzball standing by the washers. While Viking started his second load, Skuzzball was giving me nasty looks – as if I was at fault for him not getting the $20. Viking saw him.
“The lady did something to you Dude?”
“Nah.”
“Then why are you giving her the bad eye? Matter of fact, why are you in here? Are you washing your clothes or drying them?”
“Just chillin, that’s all.”
“Maybe you should chill somewhere else, or should I call the cops?”
“Hey, fuck you asshole! I got a right to be here. Same as you.”
Viking pulled out his cell phone and said “Not if you aren’t doing laundry, you don’t. Maybe I should call the cops. Wait while I tell them about you selling hot stuff.”
“Hey, chill out M’man. I’m leavin.”
“Yeah. OK.” Viking watched the door close, and then turned to me. “Everything OK with you Miss?”
ᴉOh Mi Dios! A polite, gallant sexy hunk of a man! I can take a lot of this!
“Yeah, now he’s gone. Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for running after the guy who dropped the twenty.”
“No problem. You were busy keeping Skuzzball from taking it.”
“It wasn’t his. Not to change the subject or anything, but I notice you’re reading ‘The Killing Dance’. Do you like Hamilton’s take on mystery?”
Oooh, nice. He reads too. I like this. Big, clean shaven and he filled out his polo shirt and jeans completely. Big muscular forearms.
“She’s OK. I like detective novels, and she gives the story a sexy twist.”
“Sexy twist, eh?”
“Yeah,” I said, looking straight at him, “the heroine sleeps with the guy who saves her from a very dangerous situation.”
“I’ll bet the heroine wasn’t as cute as you,” Viking says with a big mile.
“Maybe, maybe not. Her savior wasn’t like you though.”
“No? How’s that?”
“He’s a vampire.” Big smile. “Vampires don’t smell as good as humans do.”