When I got back to work at the Golden Nugget, everyone was really nice to me. They were aware of my ordeal. There was an opening in the showroom because one of the girls got severely sick. Rumor had it that; the showroom servers made one hundred dollars per show on a bad night. I don’t know how it happened, maybe because they thought it was temporary, but I got the job. I loved the uniform. It was black and gold, with a bow tie. It was short, like all of the uniforms, but it was elegant. I worked with Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Dionne Warwick, Chris Kristofferson, and Dolly Parton, to name a few. There were two shows a night, and usually I went to work at 6:00 p.m. and was out by midnight. The money was unbelievable. It was not uncommon to get hundred-dollar tips from high rollers. I remember one guy giving me three black chips without even blinking an eye. $300. I loved my job and made quick friends with the other servers. One New Year's Eve, I was working and Paul dropped by with a bottle of Dom Perignon. I found that very ironic. He was picking his face. I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know.
I worked with an older woman, Harley, who had a southern accent. She seemed nice enough but was out of place with all us young girls. She was good friends with the showroom manager, and I figured that was how she got her job. I was twenty-eight, and she must have been ten years older than me. One night after work, she asked me for a ride home. Something was wrong with her car. I said sure, and she suggested that we stop for a drink. That was fine, and we had a few drinks. She was touchy, feely, and in my space. On the way to her house, she put her hand on my knee and was rubbing me. I told her to stop it. I was not gay. She continued to move her hand higher and I pushed her away. I told her to knock it off. She started moving closer to me while I was driving and I needed to stop because she was all over me. I stopped the car and told her to get out. She was mumbling some sex shit and I turned the car off, got out, opened her door, and pulled her out. She was stumbling. I got back in my car and left her on the sidewalk. I felt bad, but I was pissed. I am not a lesbian nor am I homophobic, but I’ll be damned if I was going to babysit some sex-crazed old lady. And I still had to work with this cuckoo bird.
After working in the showroom for a couple of years, a few of the girls and I decided we would go on vacation to Hawaii. The showroom closed for a couple of weeks at Christmas, so I booked the trip. We were going to Maui, also known as “The Friendly Island,” and we were going to stay at a condo in Kaanapali. I had spent time with these girls and always had a great time. I could hardly wait the month until we would leave. I told Paul and he cheerfully said, “Don’t fall in love with a pineapple.” I loved Paul's humor.
I reported to work as usual and was setting up when the manager called me into his office. I was bewildered. He told me I was under investigation for stealing. One of the employees witnessed this and reported me. I would be suspended until further notice. I was in shock and denied the accusations. He was very curt with me and I could tell he believed the rumor. I can’t believe the cuckoo bird did this to me. I decided to regain my innocence and called the manager every day to get an update. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. If he wanted an investigation, get it on. I wanted to scream at him, but kept my composure. After a couple of weeks, I could tell in his voice he was kinder. He was started to believe I was not guilty. Shortly before the showroom closed; I was called back to work. I was found innocent. When I saw the manager, I sweetly said to him, “I want you to know that I am not a thief and the person who reported me was being vindictive.”
He replied, “You were found innocent.” This was not a carefree place any longer. The girls agreed with me, and we went on vacation.
We arrived in Hawaii, and it was breathtaking. When we got to the condo, I was informed I would sleep on the couch because I was the only one who smoked. I was also informed that I couldn’t smoke in the rental car. What the hell was this, an intervention on my smoking? I was informed it was. Well, my girlfriends proceeded to bust my ass any time I smoked. They didn’t realize that I liked smoking. I was getting annoyed.
The beaches in Hawaii were amazing. One in particular had a reputation for huge waves and beautiful sand. It was called Big Beach and was located in Wailea. Rumor had it that next to it was a nude beach called Little Beach. We decided to go and didn’t forget our binoculars. The beach was huge and looked endless and was very crowded. We lay out and swam but didn’t see any sign of Little Beach. Then we noticed a lava rock that people were climbing up. We grabbed our binoculars and followed through a trail. We were giggling like ten-year-olds when we peeked onto the nude beach. These people acted completed normal. Some were playing volleyball and looked ridiculous. Some were just tanning, and some had binoculars like us. We never ventured out to the beach. I wasn’t taking off my clothes. I spotted something in the water. It looked like a huge jellyfish. I looked through my binoculars and it was 400-pound women floating in the surf. Ugh. I’d had enough. We went back to Big Beach and finished our day. My friends were still commenting on my smoking. I took a walk when I smoked. I knew the girls wanted me to stop because they cared, but it was still annoying.
We never had a bad meal in Hawaii. I love to eat out and try different foods. I loved everything I tried, especially the fish. Every time I saw a new fish I didn’t recognize, I ordered it. I loved the fruits also. I ate mango, star fruit, papaya, and pineapple. We took in some of the tourist attractions and saw how sugar cane and pineapples grew. We really had a good time with lots of laughs and lots of drinks.
We went out one night to the Hyatt Regency to go dancing. Right off the bat we were approached by guys offering to buy us drinks. I had one drink. The girls were doing shots with the guys and having fun. Everyone around us was smoking, so I lit a cigarette. The fake coughs from my friends were too much for me. I wasn’t having fun and walked away. A guy approached me and asked me to dance. I asked him if he smoked and he said yes. He was handsome and very nice. I loved his laugh. That was how I met my future husband, John.