Chicken A La King Page Eleven

He sat down at the console and played a videotape of actress Mona Meredith, the sexy blonde bombshell superstar of Cove Island. She was known for her outspoken nature and her outrageous antics. Mona Meredith would stop at nothing to save a cat, a dog or in his case, a chicken. She was his biggest enemy these days, the way she courted the press.
He watched more videos of her talking and then switched to an image of her naked in playboy Magazine. He ogled the pictures and then fantasized about being with her.
She would be attending a function at the St. Regis in honor of the Humane Society and luckily Mindy would be out of town. He had made it a point to have a private invitation.
But she hates you, he thought. She thought of him as a repulsive murderer, an animal killer. Hmmm, that was true. She wouldn’t be receptive to him...He needed another identity, a disguise. That was it. Now he was thinking.... a tuxedo and perhaps a beard with an eye patch. Ah yes, women loved pirates. A bad boy image for him! He looked at her picture again and thought about capturing this lovely creature for his very own. He could make her love him.
Scott walked into Pleasures Lounge off the strip and took a seat at the bar. He was dressed in his Elvis costume but didn’t give a damn what anybody thought. At least no fans would bother him here. A topless dancer was on stage, shaking her ass to a loud disco beat.
He was so pissed off and down in the dumps. His girl had cheated on him. She had lied to him just when he thought he might be falling in love with her. Women. You could never trust them, he thought. They’re all the same; take and take and take and then they take your heart and stomp on it.
“Hit me with a bourbon on the rocks”.
“Sure Elvis”.
The bartender laid down his drink on a napkin. He shot it back quickly, the bourbon burning down his throat. He looked up at the TV and there was a commercial of The King Of Wings surrounded by young peasant girls at a castle.
“I’m Uncle Sam the King of Wings and I want you to try my new secret recipe for X-TRA crunchy wings...”
“The King Of Wings!!!! What an asshole”, the bartender said.
Scott looked away from the TV. Another Elvis impersonator came and sat beside him at the bar. He had a lot of thick black hair and was wearing a white jumpsuit with a lot of gold rings on his fingers.
“Hi Mate”.
“Hi....” Scott looked sad and surprised to see a twin at the bar.
“Hit me again”, Scott said to the bartender.
The bartender laid down another drink in front of him and he shot it back. The other Elvis spoke.
“Hitting the sauce fairly early this morning’ eh?” He had a thick English accent.
“Yeah, that’s right, dude”.
“Must be the likes of a woman that’s done this to ya”.
“What else?”
The other Elvis extended his hand.
“I’m Arnold Wexler, nice to meet you Matey”.
“I’m Scott Raymond, likewise.”
“Been doing shows long?”
“Long enough!”
“I’ve been doing shows in England for twenty years now, I do Leeds, Manchester and London.”
“I didn’t know they had Elvis impersonators in England.”
“Oh yes, Matey, very popular.... Can I have a Foster’s please?”
“What are you doing in Vegas?”
“I’m here for a convention, they hired me to do five shows”.
“Good for you”.
“So what’s got you down?”
“I guess I shouldn’t be drinking but I just found out my lady had a husband.”
“A husband eh?”
“Yeah, she told me that he wasn’t really her husband so I don’t know the whole story. She was such a nice girl, beautiful, sexy, pure....”
“Aren’t they all? It’s just the devil in disguise Matey, don’t you know that yet?”
“Ain’t that the truth...I had some big plans for us.”
“Maybe its not too late.”
“Nah, it s over...”
“Give it time Matey.”
“Yeah, sure, well thanks for the talk dude.”
“God bless.”
“Adios”.
Ali was getting dressed for work. Her life suddenly seemed so empty without Scott. She put on her black mini-skirt, the tight aqua top, and her black pumps. The pumps were the worst offenders for doing rounds at the casino. Why wouldn’t they let them wear comfortable shoes?
She walked the ten blocks to the hotel. It was another scorcher today, almost 95 degrees outside. She was sweating and vaguely aware of someone walking behind her.
“Hi ya Blondie.... Slow down”.
She kept on walking at a quick pace, her long legs working harder.
“Don’t you want to talk with me?” the voice persisted.
She turned around sharply. A young guy with a mop of red hair was doing the harassing.
“No!! Leave me alone”.
“Bitch!”.
She reached the hotel felt relieved as the cool air engulfed her. The carpet was thick under her feet and she walked into the casino. Scott was nowhere in sight. Why wasn’t he there? Maybe he was somewhere else tonight. She felt depressed.
Tony Fratelli looked at his watch. There was Cookie coming in five minutes late. He’d have to point this out to her. He didn’t want her getting into any bad habits.
“Cookie, come here a minute.”
“Yes?”
“You start here at 5:00 and it is now 5:07.”
“Sorry”.
“Just don’t get into bad habits. It makes me nuts.”
“Okay, sorry.”
“You alright Cookie?”
“Yes”.
“I need you to smile out there, look happy and I want you to do the roulette tables tonight and the craps tables too. Think you can do it?”
“Yes”.
“Good, now get to work and put on a happy face.”
Ali picked up her tray and started to make her rounds. Chet weighed heavy on her mind and she felt bad for kicking him out. Now Scott had deserted her too. She was alone, again. The gamblers were tipping exceptionally well and she had $400.00 in tips. It was turning out to be a decent night tonight.
She thought of her parents back at the farm and how hard her father worked to make money. She wished she could see them again soon but there was no time to go home yet, she would have to wait.
Her shift ended at 12:00 and she stopped promptly. Tony Fratelli was watching her like a hawk.
“How’d you do tonight, Cookie?”
“Really good.”
“See, I told ya so...Why don’t you sit down and have a drink with me?”
“I better go home, I’m tired.”
“Sure thing Cookie...Maybe some other time.”
Ali strolled out of the casino and walked by the lounge. Scott was there with his band, finishing up his show and signing some autographs. She stopped and watched him for a while. He was engulfed with fans of all ages.
“I loved your show. You are fantastic!” said an adoring fan.
“Thank you very much darling”.
“Can I have your autograph?”.
“What’s your name sweetheart?”
“Vanessa.”
“Okay, Vanessa.... Here you go darling.”
“Can I have a kiss?”
“Lay your best one on me honey”.
She gives him a long kiss and hugs him tightly.
“You are so handsome, I love you Elvis”.
“Thank you.”
Ali walked up behind Scott and tapped him on the back.
“Can I have your autograph?”
Scott turned around and smiled.
“Hey, it’s you!” He smiled and hugged her.
“I didn’t see you before, I thought you were gone.”
“I was late tonight”.
“Me too.”
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Me too.”
“I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry too.”
He kissed her and she kissed him back passionately. She melted into him and the world slipped away, all the noise, lights, and people until there was only him holding her in his arms. There was applause from the band members.
“Hey, get a room.” they yelled
“Mind your own business”, said Scott smiling from ear to ear.
“Want to get out of here?”
“Yeah”.