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In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

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glimpse of bare chested Sandro and Ula. The slithery vamp effect<br />

conjured <strong>by</strong> the dress vanished as soon as Ula tried disco. Sandro did<br />

his best with her. He shoved her around the dance floor like the weird<br />

old Latino at Penn Station who did the Rumba with a blow-up porn<br />

doll taped to his feet. Penny didn't want to think what kind of sex those<br />

two engaged in but it dawned on her that the only Sandro Ula likely<br />

ever got was a battery-operated plastic one.<br />

Ula drifted into her tidal seaweed dance. Sandro gave up on her<br />

and wandered into his own space with trance dance. Everyone began<br />

watching him now, a thing so rare to see. They made room around him<br />

and watched him in a circle under the pulsing lights. Even Maia,<br />

surrounded <strong>by</strong> her admirers, watched him.<br />

Shiny with sweat, and before the music even began to wind<br />

down, Sandro stopped dancing and followed Ula towards Maia's golden<br />

throne in the V.I.P. booth.<br />

His wife looked like a vampire and smelled like a corpse, even<br />

under her vegetal fumes.<br />

He watched his angel dance with Max as Ula tugged him into<br />

Maia's orbit.<br />

All eyes were on Max, the star; except hers, they were so far<br />

away. How could it have <strong>com</strong>e to this? He shut his eyes and let himself<br />

drown in the music.<br />

Along the way Ula was snagged <strong>by</strong> some downtown parasite, so<br />

he spun alone into the seat next to Maia. She took his chin in her hand<br />

and looked into his eyes. He could never fool her.<br />

"What is it ba<strong>by</strong>? Is it Max?"<br />

"No, I want them happy, Maia."<br />

"Max is never gonna be happy, and he isn't ever gonna make<br />

her happy."<br />

"What do you mean?"<br />

"I mean, he's using, Sandro. Look at 'em, they're both high as<br />

kites. Lucy in the sky."<br />

He saw it now. He buried his drunken head in her breast and<br />

wept.<br />

She brushed aside his hair and kissed his clammy brow.<br />

"Oui, c'est triste. Oh, ba<strong>by</strong>, why didn't you take her when you<br />

had the chance?"<br />

She didn't know how triste it really was.<br />

"What am I going to do?"<br />

"Get Max away from her."<br />

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