I found another friend and drinking buddy. She lived a couple of doors down from my apartment and lived with her brother. Leslie worked at a lumber place, and we quickly became friends. Her brother Tommy was an ironworker. He was thin but nice looking. Before long, I met the whole family. Leslie's mom and dad were lovely people and sometimes acted like hippies. They were so carefree. Besides Tommy, she had two other brothers. Their family parties were a blast. There was plenty of drinking and plenty of food. Leslie and I became close friends, and I felt like I had a family.
Before long, I started dating Tommy. We had a good relationship and went out often. We were together just about every day for months. Life was good. Tommy also worked construction and landed a great job at the MGM. It was great pay and a lot of overtime. It became a routine for him to sleep at my place, and one night he didn’t come over. I didn’t think much about it, figuring maybe he went out with his buddies, stayed out late, and went to sleep at his friends. I knew he had to work in the morning.
The MGM Grand was a twenty-six-story hotel with about 2,000 rooms. On November 21, 1980, a fire started in the deli. I believe it was faulty wiring. Eighty-four people died, and more than 700 were injured.
Bang, Bang, Bang. I answered the door and it was Leslie. Her voice was shaky, and she asked me where Tommy was. I told her he hadn’t come over last night. It was too early for me to get up, but I asked her why she wasn’t at work and what was wrong. My heart was pounding. She said the MGM was on fire. It was all over the news. We went outside and could see billowing black smoke in the direction of the strip. It covered the sky. This was no small fire, and the air stunk. Tommy was working there that day. I could hear emergency vehicles everywhere and started to get dizzy. I went inside and sat down. The world was spinning. I fainted. I blacked out for a second, and when I came to, hot fear swept through me. Leslie had turned on the news. The fire had started at 7:10 a.m., and the news showed helicopters rescuing people from the roof. The hotel was ablaze. I was now numb. Tommy was either hurt or dead because he didn’t call Leslie or me. We both sobbed. There was a knock on my door and there stood Tommy. He looked awful. He’d gotten drunk and stayed at a friend's house the previous night. He had his best friend go to work for him. I hugged him and he smelled like perfume. I later found out he’d picked up a bartender at a bar and stayed at her house. His friend died in the fire. Tommy and I were over. I still remained friends with Leslie. A voice whispered in my head, “Demand respect.”
I was miserable. I decided to go back to Connecticut. I quit my job and left in my lipstick-red Cadillac towing a small U-Haul carrying my few possessions.
Being back in Connecticut was fun at first. I started going back to my old ways. Evan was so happy to see me. Money and cocaine were everywhere, and I realized the truth of why I’d left. I was growing up. I took the roller coaster ride again with Atlas. I realized another truth. Atlas lived for the moment and would never change, and that made me sad because I truly loved him. It wasn’t that he hurt me on purpose, but he didn’t think about consequences and didn’t care. He loved fun.
I was talking to Leslie in Vegas, and she said Tommy was sorry for cheating on me and that she believed him. He said he didn’t remember that night and thought someone slipped him something. Leslie said they’d both got their own places and he was now living in North Las Vegas. She asked if it was ok for Tommy to call me, and I said, “yes”. He called and begged me to give him a second chance. I figured, what's the difference? Being with a cheater in Las Vegas or a cheater in Connecticut. I missed Vegas and agreed to give him another chance. I made arrangements for my friend Stinky (a.k.a. Bob) to drive my car out to Vegas and I would fly. I gave him the address. I told my mom and dad I was leaving again. My dad wouldn’t look at me. I told no one else, and I split. Here we go again.