THE WETLANDS


November 29, 1994

It's funny how sometimes you can be more honest with strangers than those you are close to. Some people go to confession. I went to the Wetlands.

So anyway, there was a night, I was trying to recover from a bad day...that lasted five years.

I was coming out of the Wetlands...I think it's down on Hudson street. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning on a cool fall night. I was walking to my car I met two black women standing on the street.

One was in her early thirties, tall and thin. She had a short dress on, but she didn't look sleazy. She could've went to church in it. The other was a young girl who I later found out had just turned 19. She was dressed in homegirl clothes. Baggy jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. She had nappy hair and a little gap in her front teeth, but her face was really beautiful.

As I passed the older of the two ask me if I wanted a date. I said "no" but we struck up a conversation. I told her I was writer and interested in learning about their lifestyle.

After chatting awhile she asked if they could go sit in my car so they could get warm. We drove around the city a bit with the heater running. I soon found out that the younger girl was thinking of becoming a prostitute and the older woman was showing her the ropes.

The younger girl sat in the back smiling nervously. The older one was very excited about the prospect of being a mentor. "This is so sweet, I remember my first night," she said, remembering fondly.

Suddenly the older woman turned to me and said, "so are you going to write a book about me?" From there, as a means of showing off she began to tell the younger woman the ropes of the business. "Don't date drunks. They never come. Always use a condemn. It's not your job to make them come. You're just paid to make them feel good."

The younger woman sat in the back nodding like a self conscious schoolgirl.

The older woman was really beginning to enjoy the teacher role and took great pride in her work and knowledge of the business.

To cap off the girl's lesson the older woman offered to give me a free blow job to demonstrate her skills to her pupil. Before long she was down on me in the front seat as we sat parked on 10th Avenue. I looked into the back seat to see how the younger girl was taking all of this.

When I looked at her she smiled at me sheepishly. Embarrassed and frightened, her face had a deep sadness written on it. Without thinking I reached into the back seat and took her hand in mind.

In the front seat the older woman was sucking me, in the back the young woman held my hand.

My own life was in shambles and it had been awhile since I felt human contact, and all that I remember is how wonderful, warm and soft that girl's hand felt in mind. I was completely oblivious to the blow job because all that I could think about is how wonderful her hand felt. Soon I began to go limp because I was so focused on the warmth of her hand.

I looked back and the girl had my hand held close to her face and was staring out the car window with a far away look in her eyes. A wave of emotion washed over me. I tried to pull myself away from the woman in the front to get her to stop but she became determined to make me come.

The teacher could not lose face by failing in front of her pupil. She sucked harder and began moaning, "I love hard cocks, I love it when they come in my mouth."

I hate that kind of fake seduction and I became even limper. I could feel the young woman in the back squeezing my hand tightly. I turned to the back seat again and she was looking at me with her eyes moist and a pleading expression on her face.

In a instant I blurted out "stop," letting go of her hand and pushing the woman in the front away from me. All three of us sat there dazed for a second. The older woman had no idea what had passed between the girl and I. After we regained our composure I drove them back and dropped them off.

As we drove I felt desperate to say something to the younger woman. Finally as they got out the car I grabbed her hand and ask her to see me again. We agreed to meet the next night.

On my drive home I felt elated. I felt so happy to be seeing the girl. I wanted to protect her, and save her from her fate. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

The next morning when I awoke I thought I must be crazy. I didn't need this in my life. Another troubled soul to get entangled with. I never went to meet her and I never saw her again. Tonight though I can't help wondering where she is, and how our lives might have changed if I hadn't backed away.