FOE Family First Chapter 14 God Bless the Poor
Following Pam's instructions, Tommy walked towards the white security guard at the door. The security guard was also looking at him straight and asked, "Young man, I need to see your ID to decide whether you can come in."
"Bruce from Hill Street." Tommy took out his day card and said to the other party.
The white security guard glanced at the black card ticket in Tommy's hand and said, "Boy, didn't anyone tell you that in addition to the code, you also need to pay a two-dollar toll?"
Tommy Hawke hesitated, took out two one-dollar bills and handed them to the other party. If he had known that he would have to pay extra, he would not have ridden his bicycle 17 kilometers to come here specially.
Seeing that no one was around, the white security guard took the money, tilted his head toward the door, and said with a sly smile, "Go in and enjoy yourself, kid. Remember, don't cause any trouble, because that will implicate me."
Tommy Hawke was no stranger to the Paradise Club, which was an old chain club. When he was studying abroad in Boston in his previous life, he had gone to the Paradise Club in Boston with his classmates.
After passing through the dark and narrow corridor, the receptionist at the front desk confirmed his ticket and let Tommy Hawke enter the hall, which sounded loud and had flashing lights, but was actually shabby and deserted.
That’s right, the hall will not have the imagined erotic scenes of beautiful women dancing naked.
Cigarette butts all over the floor, the pungent smell of cigarettes and cheap perfume, large tracts of empty seats, and dancers whose faces cannot be seen clearly twisting their bodies weakly on the dim stage are the true scenes of this kind of mass-consumption strip club.
Moreover, although there were indeed dancers dancing on the platform in the hall and taking off their clothes, Tommy was sure that they would keep a full set of bikinis until they left the stage and there would be no exposure.
Striptease is a legitimate profession in the United States. Like teachers, drivers, doctors and other industries, the industry is very mature and the rules are strictly formulated. In the United States, such clubs are divided into different levels. There are indeed clubs that are as decadent and luxurious as Tommy Hawke imagined, with many naked beauties. However, they only exist in some specific cities, such as Las Vegas, New York, Boston and so on. Generally, they are high-end consumption places with membership system.
At this moment, there were only six or seven guests in the club hall . Two of them were sitting at the bar drinking beer and had no intention of watching the show. The rest of them were just sitting around in their seats with their arms folded, with no desire to throw change to the dancers.
Obviously, the afternoon is the slowest time for the club's business. The earliest business will pick up is after nightfall, when a large number of men finish work.
Tommy Hawke did not go to the show. He sat down at the bar, handed over the change and said to the bartender, "Give me a beer, please."
Then I looked at the price list on the bar. Compared with the Paradise Club in Boston in 2022, the prices of the Providence Paradise Club in 1982 were really affordable.
Unlimited hall day tickets are $15 per person.
A single hall ticket costs US$3 per person.
The price for dancing in a single room is three dollars.
The champagne room costs US$50 per fifteen minutes and comes with a bottle of champagne.
In chain clubs like Paradise Club that cater to the general public, there won't be any overly hot scenes in the lobby. If guests want something more exciting, they need to make additional payments, such as sitting in a single curtained room, pulling the curtain, and receiving individual service from a dancer. Although you can't touch her, the dancer can sit on your lap and perform a show. Each song is two minutes long and costs three dollars.
If you want to go a step further, you need to go to the more expensive champagne room. The club will give you a bottle of champagne. At that time, it depends on the dancer's skills and how many fifteen minutes can the guests buy from her. Generally, if the guests buy a generous one-hour champagne time, and if the guests are not annoying and interested, it is not surprising that they go out for a midnight snack and play poker together.
"Boy, when I was young and handsome like you, I never had to come to places like this to meet women." A white man at the bar raised his whiskey, looked at Tommy Hawke sideways, and joked, "Don't you think dating high school girls is more attractive to you than these dancers? Only old guys like me in my thirties and forties would consider coming here to have some fun with tips."
Judging from the other person's accent, it was obvious that he was not from Rhode Island, but more like a visitor from Florida.
"Sir, I think your mature appearance now is also very attractive to women." Tommy Hawke took the beer handed to him by the bartender, gestured to the other party and said with a smile.
That's what bars are like, whether you know each other or not, you can chat and pass the time.
The reason why Tommy Hawke praised the other party was that he was actually thinking that if this middle-aged white man was approached by a dancer and could afford the champagne room, he might need Adrar to improve his stamina.
The man laughed happily when he saw Tommy respond to him. "Boy, you are good at talking. Yes, I am charming. If I were in Miami, I could take away four or five Cuban girls in the bar in one night. But Providence is rotten. The bars around here are all drunk Irish drunkards. The barmaids are old enough to be my grandmothers. I have no choice but to come here to drink and kill time. At least there will be no drunkards causing trouble here. At most, the dancers will persuade me to go to the private room and open a bottle of champagne."
"Are you here on business, sir? That's really bad. This city is too small and the entertainment industry is lacking." Tommy Hawke said as he took a sip of beer.
The man laughed. “No, it’s worse than being on a business trip. I’m here on vacation.”
"Vacation? Sorry, I rarely see outsiders coming to Providence for vacation." Tommy looked at the other person after hearing this. Unless there is some serious mental illness, no one would choose to come to a remote small city like Providence for vacation.
The middle-aged white man nodded in agreement, smiled bitterly and shrugged: "I understand, but there is nothing I can do. The nature of my job determines where I should go on vacation. Will Hendrick, a maintenance engineer at the Rhode Island processing plant of Philip Morris Tobacco Company."
"Carlo... Carlo Leon, a student at the University of Rhode Island." Tommy Hawke was stunned for a moment, then responded with some surprise: "Sir, I..."
The man interrupted Tommy Hawke with an expression that said "I understand" and said, "You can't hide it from me, kid. When I was in high school, I was just like you, and I was curious about this kind of place that only adults can visit. Don't worry, I won't help you reveal the secret."
"I'm not curious about this, sir. I'm curious about another question. When did Philip Morris Tobacco Company open a tobacco processing plant in Rhode Island?" Tommy asked the white man who called himself Will.
The white man drank the whiskey in one gulp, asked the bartender for a refill, then exhaled a breath of alcohol and said to Tommy, "We just opened our shop, on the high seas 200 miles away from Providence. That's why I have to stay here for vacation, because I have to ensure that if there is any problem with the factory machinery, I can rush over to repair it as soon as possible."
When Tommy Hawke heard what the other party said, the night news he had seen on TV flashed through his mind. He smiled a little more and muttered to himself in a voice that only he could hear:
"May God bless me, a poor American."
