"Is that why your sister ran away?"

"You think of a better reason?" Normally Crystal would have ended the conversation by now but the alcohol was doing a good job of keeping the defenses down. "I took off a year later."

Laura's brow furrowed as she did the mental math. "You said earlier you were fourteen when she left. You were only fifteen when you ran away?" "Fifteen and a half, actually. Not the best age to be out on the streets but what the hell. It was better than being with them," she said bitterly, her gaze focused on the coffee table.

"There wasn't anyone you could turn to? An aunt, a teacher?"

Crystal snorted and drained her drink. "Once Patty told a teacher what was happening. She called our mother." Her face turned hard and she reached for the whiskey bottle. "Guess who she told?"

"Your father?"

The stripper nodded. "He beat Patty senseless. You think I was ever stupid enough to tell someone else?" She shook her head and made another drink. Somewhere in Crystal's drunken mind it registered that she was doing exactly that. She was telling her roommate, a woman she barely knew, that her father used to beat her. This time she didn't bother with the cola, drinking the whiskey straight. "I bet the characters in your stories never have such sordid pasts, eh?"

"Um, no not usually."

"Of course not." The liquid sloshed around in her glass as she gestured with her hands. "This is normal to you. A nice home, a reliable car, a family that loves you

I never had that." The urge for a cigarette was growing as was her desire for a strong hit of pot. She tugged lightly on her shirt. "I think I'm gonna go change and relax on the balcony."

"I guess it is kind of warm tonight. I'm sure you're due for a cigarette too." Laura stood up and reached for Crystal's glass. "I'll get us both fresh ice and meet you up there."

Meet me? Damn. There was no good excuse for refusing Laura's company and she did say she was going out on the balcony. "Uh, yeah sounds good." She picked up the whiskey bottle and headed for the stairs, determined to get a hit in before her roommate joined her outside.

Crystal was pulling on her shorts when she heard Laura coming up the stairs. Damn, you're quick, she thought as she zipped up and walked over to the nightstand. Opening the drawer, she pulled out a small flat wooden pipe and one of her many lighters. She took two quick puffs before putting it back and closing the drawer. Grabbing her bottle, cigarettes, and ashtray, she stepped out onto the balcony seconds before Laura.

"Oh good," Laura said when she saw the ashtray. "I wasn't sure you had one, especially when I saw all the butts on the grass." "I usually don't think to bring it out here with me." Crystal flopped down on the white plastic chair and reached for the glass Laura had brought up for her. "Figured you'd have a fit if I tossed one over the rail."

"You figured correctly," the dark haired woman replied. "It took me a good fifteen minutes to pick all those up this morning." "Fine, I won't toss them anymore." She lit a cigarette and reached for her bottle.

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I've taken more nights off lately than I can afford as it is." Crystal looked out at the shadowed outlines of the trees as dusk settled. "You ever hear the owl?"

"Oh, you mean George? Yeah, I hear him at night sometimes when I'm up late writing." Laura looked out as well, as if she could spot the elusive bird hiding between the leaves.

"There used to be an owl that lived in the trees near the trailer park," the blonde woman said, taking a drink between sentences. "At night sometimes I'd hear him. I used to lie awake wondering who he was looking for."

"The love of his life, I would imagine," Laura said. "Isn't that what we're all looking for?"

"I'd rather have money," Crystal said, her eyebrows raising when she heard her companion laugh. "What?"

"You don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?"

"I don't believe in fairy tales." She brought the glass to her lips, finding comfort in the familiar smell of whiskey. "Life ain't the Brady Bunch." "No, it's not," Laura agreed. "But it isn't Oliver Twist, either. Life is what you make of it."

"More like what it makes of you," the stripper replied sourly, drawing hard on her cigarette.

"The great thing about being an adult is the freedom to make choices," Laura said, glancing over to see Crystal drain her glass and reach for the dwindling supply of whiskey. "When I was in college my folks expected me to end up being a teacher. I was miserable studying all the time when all I wanted to do was write stories."

"So you have a degree?"

Laura nodded. "I've never used it. I doubt I could even get State certification at this point without going back for more credits." "At least you have something to fall back on." She stubbed the cigarette out and took a sip of her drink.

"Well, you have a skill, Crystal. You're fit, you can dance." The brief image of her roommate at the Tom Cat Club, half-naked and slithering around the center pole, flashed through Laura's mind. "I think they're looking for an aerobics instructor over at Mary's House of Fitness." It was hard to make out the quiet woman's features in the fading daylight but the clenched jaw and white-knuckled grip on the glass were still evident. "Crystal? Is something wrong?"

"I'm not into aerobics."

"You don't have to be" Laura stopped at the dismissive wave of Crystal's hand.

"I'm not exactly what they're looking for," she said angrily. "Forget it, Laura. You wouldn't understand." The glass was once again drained and a cigarette lit.

"But"

"I'm not a dancer!" Her feet, which had been resting on the rail, came down angrily on the wooden boards of the deck. The sudden movement caused some of the whiskey to splash out of the glass but Crystal paid no attention. She turned to face the writer. "I'm a stripper, Laura. I take my clothes off for money!" She leaned forward, her features hard. "I'm barely a step above a whore."

"I know," Laura said calmly. "I mean, I know you're a stripper." Crystal blinked in surprise, some of the anger diffusing. The dark haired woman continued. "One of the characters in my newest story has an affair with a stripper and I went to the Tom Cat Club once to do research." She shrugged at the questioning look. "I figured you'd tell me when you were ready." Do I tell her now? "Um you aren't the only keeping secrets."

"No biggie. Your life is none of my business."

"Maybe not, but if you're going to continue living here, you should know at least this part." Laura took a deep breath. As many years as she'd been open about her life, there was still always that little quiver of fear that she would be rejected. "Jenny wasn't just my roommate when she lived here. We were lovers."

"You're a dyke?"

"I'm a lesbian," Laura bristled. "Jenny and I were lovers for almost two years."

"Oh," Crystal said quietly, unsure of what to say. "I wouldn't have guessed. I mean, neither of you look like"

"Like a dyke?" the writer finished. "Here's a news flash, Miss Sheridan, not every gay person is obvious about it."

"I didn't mean," Crystal started, then stopped when she realized that was exactly what she meant. "I guess I never really thought about it." A bit subdued, she sat back in her seat and stared at the silhouetted tree line.

The seconds stretched into awkward minutes, neither sure what to say to the other. Finally Laura couldn't take the silence any longer. "Nice night." Crystal grunted in response, forcing the writer to try again. "Bet the stars will be pretty."

"Stars are boring."

"So you do remember how to talk. I thought I stunned you into silence," Laura teased, earning a sidelong glance.

"I've met a few lesbians before," Crystal said, turning her gaze back to the half-empty glass. "My friend has a cousin that's one." She paused, then shrugged. "Doesn't bother me."

"Good." Laura tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "I'd hate to think something like that would get in the way of our living together." She chuckled to herself. "After all, there's enough other things."

"Such as?" Now Crystal's attention was more on the conversation than her drink. The glass which seemed permanently attached to her hand was set down on the table.

"Nothing."

"You wouldn't have said it if there wasn't something behind it." The blonde woman leaned towards her. "What? Is there something I do that annoys you? Other than the pot, that is?"

Laura hesitated before answering. "What possessed you to buy a clear shower curtain?"

"It's better than that blue flowery thing you had up," Crystal defended. "The clear one lets in more light."

Laura decided to take a chance and tease the younger woman. "You need to see what you're doing in the shower? Don't you know where everything is by now?"

"Screw you," the stripper said playfully, her smile growing. "You need a whole shelf just for your shampoo, conditioner, finishing rinse and God knows what else you have in those bottles." She reached absently for her glass. "How many hours do you spend in there?" She took a sip of her drink. "I get in there, do what I have to do and get out. No mess, no fuss." She reached for her cigarettes only to be stopped by the high pitched beeping of her pager. Holding it up in front of her, Crystal pressed the light button and looked at the number on the display. "Shit. I gotta use the phone."

"Help yourself. After all, you pay half the bill for it." Laura jerked her thumb at the door to her room. "There's a phone next to the bed." "Thanks."

Laura leaned back and finished heri.e.tea, quietly listening to snippets of Crystal's phone conversation. She figured out that it was the Tom Cat