Page 19 of My Thursday Throwback

SCOTT DRESSED IN Ablack suit with a red tie as he headed out to the West Coast Vent Conference with Danny packed securely in his carrying case. He blew Zelda a kiss as she sat in the corner in a large chair staring out the window with her arms folded across her chest. Her phone conversation with Michael didn’t last very long and by the looks of things, didn’t go quite the way she’d hoped.

The same could be said for Pip, who entered the door just as he opened it to go out. She actually growled at him as he walked by her. Halfway to the stairwell, Scott stopped, did an about face, and returned to the room. Cracking open the door, he peeped his head in, looking at the two women who were both deep in their own feelings.

“Hey, I hope you guys come over to hear me speak,” he said softly. “I am kind of worried that since my name is on the program, I may attract some unwanted fans.”

“Fans?” Zelda asked.

Scott arched one well-trimmed, formerly bushy eyebrow.

“You think SHE is going to show up and try to talk to you after you speak?” Zelda wanted to know.

“Who is this she you are talking about?”

“An old woman who molested Scott when he was a teenager,” Zelda said.

“She didn’t molest me,” he said flatly.

“You were younger than the age of consent, she was an adult, and therefore, molestation,” she said and nodded her head at him.

“This woman is back trying to cause trouble?” Pip wanted to know.

“I think so,” Zelda said, rising to her feet.

“Hold up, let me change my clothes and get my knife, and we will slice this bitch to pieces if she makes a move,” Pip said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Scott said, sitting down Danny’s case.

“Gone ‘bout your business! Me and Pip, we got this,” Zelda said, heading to the bedroom to change. “Pip, be ready to roll in fifteen.”

“On it, doggone it,” Pip said, flashing gang signs from some imaginary group she belonged to in Fairy Land.

Scott worried he had activated two monsters, picked up the case and made his way back to the elevator. By the time he reached the conference hotel, the thoughts of the two gangsters he left in the hotel suite all but faded as conference attendees and dealers flanked him. Questions started before he even took to the stage as the afternoon commenced with eager learners that he was more than excited to teach.

It only took twenty minutes before the ladies walked into the hotel conference room one block away from the suites where they were staying, while Scott stood on the podium taking questions. Only a few minutes were needed to spot Samantha, who raised her hand to pose a question which probably had nothing to do with the care of the wooden friend Scott was holding. Zelda tapped Pip on the leg, pointing to the lady with her arm in the air. On a silent count of three, the ladies broke left and right coming into the seating area, one on one side of Samantha, one on the other.

“Put your arm down, you old pedophile,” Zelda said.

Samantha’s body tensed as Zelda poked her with a pen in her ribs. “Put your flabby arm down,” she said through tight lips.

“I’m not sure what you are doing here,” Samantha said, trying to not appear rattled.

“You know, I was thinking the same damned thing. Years later you run into your first victim and decide to what, buy him a drink and talk about the good ole’ days? It’s actually kind of sick,” Zelda said.

Samantha turned in her seat, making eye contact with Zelda. “So what are you supposed to be, his great savior? Trust me, Honey, based on what I know about that man, he doesn’t need any saving.”

“You don’t know that man. You knew a lonely boy starved for his mother’s affections. He was a child that you took advantage of with your horny misguided desire to be loved. Scott, a young boy at 13 he didn’t understand his body and you used that for your dark, demented pleasures,” Zelda said to her in a whisper.

“Little Ms. Goody Two Shoes, you think you know all about it. You know nothing,” Samantha hissed.

Zelda pulled her by her arm, up from the chair, while Pip followed them out to the hallway.

“Tell us what happened to you as a child. Did your Daddy’s friend prey upon you to make you think it was okay to do the same to a kid, scared, alone and trying to figure his way through an adult world?”

“Just back off,” Samantha said.

“No, you back off,” Pip said. “If you think for one moment it’s cute to have an adult screwing with your head and using your body, you are wrong. I didn’t find it amusing when my Mom’s boyfriend did it to me.”

“And I didn’t find it slightly interesting when my stepfather wanted to use sex as a form of punishment to my 13-year-old body either. You being here, coming after him for whatever reason, whether it be to spark up old times or for him to make you feel young and desirable again, is sad. You are a withered old woman dressed like a stripper turned showgirl at the worst casino in town. Go find a corner and sit in it,” Zelda said, pulling out her phone.

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