Adreana thinks nothing of the phone call at 9:30 a.m. that Wednesday morning. Probably another telemarketer, she says to herself, getting out of the shower. She hurriedly dries off and wraps her hair in a towel. The phone still rings with annoying determination. Adreana answers the phone with a musical hello in her voice.  “Is that you, Glamour Girl?” the voice asks. “It’s me, Victoria Wellington. Have you forgotten me so soon Glamour Girl?"

Remember her, how could she forget such a crazy character? Victoria graduated with Adreana ten years ago from Overton Valley High. Victoria’s friends voted her as the student most likely to end up in Hollywood or prison. The two of them were partners in crime in school. They were always playing pranks on other lower classmates.  Victoria tells Adreana, “I’ve got tickets to the Mystic Powerhouse Performance in Canton this Friday night. I know they were always your favorite British rock band. Would you like to go see them with me?”

“Victoria, can I put you on hold for a moment?”  “Sure.”  Adreana dials her husband George on her cell phone. 

“Hello, this is George Lucernio, How may I help you?”  “Honey, guess what,” Adreana blurts out breathlessly. “What is it, sweetheart?”  “I’ve got an opportunity to see Mystic Powerhouse, Friday night.”  “No way, Adreana, all tickets sold out weeks ago.” “My friend from high school has tickets and invited me to go. What do you think? I have her on the other line waiting for an answer.”

“Sure,” insists George, “why not. Besides, I’ve got a poker game that night.”  “Okay, George, I love you. Bye Honey, see you tonight.”  Adreana takes Victoria off hold and tells her, “Sure Victoria, I would love to go.”  “Great Glamour Girl, meet me at Joe’s Bar on 6th Street at 6:00 p.m. and we’ll have a couple of drinks before the show begins at 9:00. See you then, bye.”  “But Victoria…Victoria…” It’s obviously too late; she has hung up the phone. 

Adreana is apprehensive about meeting at Joe’s Bar, because of its bad reputation, but she decides there would be no harm in a couple of drinks with an old friend.  Friday evening Adreana drops her two kids, Jackie and Polly, at their grandmother’s to spend the night. She arrives at Joe’s Bar at ten minutes till 6 o’clock, and the place appears packed. Entering the smoke-filled bar, Adreana wonders how she will recognize Victoria since she has not seen her for five years. She walks to the back of the bar and sees a blonde-haired female sitting at a plush booth with two long, stringy-haired males.

 Can that be Victoria? she muses. She was a brunette when I last saw her. She carefully walks closer, and Victoria looks up from her drink, and instantly recognizes Adreana.  “Hey, Glamour Girl, come over here, what a sight for sore eyes!”  “Oh, hello, Victoria, how are things going?” Adreana is shocked to see several tattoos on Victoria’s arms. 

“Fine, girl friend, come on and sit down and meet two of my pals.”  Pals, thinks Adreana to herself, they look like fugitives from a prison gang.

“Mike and Ralph, meet my girl friend from way back, Glamour Girl.”  “The pleasure’s all ours, babe. What can we order to drink?”  “Drink, oh, I guess I’ll have a small glass of burgundy wine.”  “Wine,” they all laugh, “that’s for sissies.”  About that time, a waitress comes over to get their orders. Mike tells the waitress to bring a bottle of their best wine and a bottle of their best whiskey. Mike and Ralph are clearly the unsophisticated trouble-maker types.

 These two dudes are the epitome of the punks your mama always warned you to steer clear of. Mike is clearly the leader and has a raw edge about him that startles Adreana.  “Chill out, Little Lady,” says Mike in a deep baritone voice. “We never bite new friends.”  “Not yet,” injects Ralph and laughs in a strange giggling manner.  “You guys better be careful, Adreana’s husband is a cop you know.”  “No fooling,” says Mike in a sneer, “I hate cops.” His steel-gray eyes meet Adreana’s. “See this artwork on my forearm? This is a cop with a knife in his back.”

“Come on, Mike,” says Victoria, “you’re scaring the lady.”  “Yeah, cool it, Big Mike, we’re out to have fun tonight, right?” says Ralph.  “Sure we will, sure we will,” says Mike, rubbing his hand through his shoulder-length hair.  “Let’s go to the powder room, Glamour Girl, while we wait on our drinks.”  When the girls get inside the restroom, Adreana blurts out, “Victoria, what in the world are you doing with those two duds?”  “Those guys are my friends, Glamour Girl. They just like to have a little fun.” 

“FUN! Do you call having a tattoo of a police officer with a knife in his back, FUN?”  “Oh, that,” says Victoria, “it’s just a biker club thing. They all have one.”  “Biker club, how did I get in this, Victoria?”  “They’re harmless, Adreana. We’ll just have a drink with them and be on our way to the concert.”  “Okay, but only one and we will split, right?”  “Sure honey, one drink and we’ll lose those weird characters and grab a sandwich at the deli across the street.”