A rare miss a Follies

I had somewhere to be but was in the Follies neighborhood around 11:30AM, so ... aw, fuck it. Grabbed a parking spot in the shade before the valet. No cover but got a cursory patdown from a woman seemingly dressed for physical labor. (I think she even put aside a small ladder to do it.) When I say "cursory" I mean it; she missed something in my pocket that is usually mistaken for a weapon if not pre-disclosed. No tip requested, no jar visible, didn't bother. I enter. It's pitch black. Damn, I forgot to wear my eyepatch.

Time passes. Did they turn up the lights? No, my eyes are starting to adjust. I carefully make my way to the bar. Bottled Water. "$3.25" I drop a $20. "I can't break that. I don't have any money yet." Huh. I pick up the $20 and give her 4 singles. Turn right and find a high top. Still early. Several available.

They slowly turn up the lights a lot more. No, just my eyes adjusting. More patrons than dancers, and the few dancers I see are not the quality I remember from my last visit many, many moons ago. Seems like the blight has hit everywhere. Looks about evenly split between AAs, Latinas, and Caucasians. A forgettable dancer approaches, welcomes with a brief Follies handshake. "Not yet, thanks, I'll let you know." She leaves.

A couple of guys wander around the club, looking at the ceiling in various places. One is pointing something out to the other. Nothing like maintenance during business hours. Another dancer asks for a dance. Really not my type. "Thank you, no." She smiles, gives me the Follies handshake as she walks away. Um, okay.

More dancers trickle in, but things aren't looking hopeful. Most are staying on the other side of the club. Few wander over to my side. Wait. Is this the dealer side? I look around. Maybe so. Maybe I should move. First girl of the day takes the stage and is she? Yep, second song she makes the move that always makes me smile. She's about a 5, and not really my type, but she made the move. I get up, navigate around the maintenance, tipped the dancer, getting a nice smile and a better view for my trouble. Return to my seat and decide to move before this dancer on stage finishes her set and comes looking. Spotted a possible target on the other side of the club anyway, so I grab my water and make my way to the DJ side. As I do, my target starts to move toward the bar. By the time I find a seat on the DJ side, my target is on the side I just left. Lost her in the slowly growing crowd.