Electric Avenue • [h.s]

chapter two

San Francisco , California

May 22nd 1976

Delilah took a swig from the brown paper bag covered liquor as they rounded the corner. Her face contorted as the biting kick of off-brand vodka trickled down her throat. Jane took the bottle from her hand as she grimaced and brought it to her mouth. The ease at which she tipped it back puzzled Delilah.

"Right, somebody is an overachiever" She joked with a dubious smile.

The street is glittering in every colour of the rainbow. Dangling signs flash "Jazz Bar", "Topless Girls", "Gentleman's Club".

There is a buzz of excitement whipping through the salty sea breeze as Jane takes a firm grip of Delilah's hand and steers her towards the hustle and bustle. Delilah takes another swig as she ogles up at the array of flashy lit-up displays.

The setting sun still peeked over and drenched the glass windows with a magical tint of fruit-punch pink, moulding perfectly with the reds and oranges of the illuminated advertisements blanketing the downtown strip.

People are scattered across the parade smoking, laughing, and sniffling their very obviously cocaine-burnt nostrils. Delilah grins down at her shoes. It wasn't as if she hadn't already grown accustomed to this kind of thing...she was from New York, after all.

Jane navigates the streets with ease, taking more turns than Delilah can keep track of. She just follows behind silently, taking it all in.

Jane's red leather flares and cropped velvet waistcoat look effortlessly hardcore, a direct contrast to Delilah's floral orange A-line dress and over the knee white boots. The duo looked as though they never intended to cross paths, but they liked it. It gave them an edge.

"Here's where I lost my virginity in 9th grade. It was terrible-" She pauses to spark a cigarette, dropping the match to the ground and smushing it with her patent platforms. "Rudy Brickhill... piece of shit" She continues as though Delilah has the faintest idea of who she is reminiscing about.

They continue down a back-alley, Delilah side stepping puddles of murky dampness on the cobbled sidewalk. She couldn't help but pray that it wasn't human piss, but the smell was all too clear. Her shoulders raised up involuntarily at the grotesque idea. Jane didn't seem to be phased by it.

"C'mon, you're dragging behind" She poked.

The sun had since descended behind the tall buildings of the damp alley and the sky bloomed to a deep violet above them.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Delilah quizzed her, trying to sound as calm and playful as she could possibly muster despite the growing feeling of anxiety in the pit of her cinched abdomen.

"You worry too much. We're almost there"

The sound of indistinct, muffled live music crept up on them as they neared the mystery joint. One more turn and they were there: "Big Joes Lil' Tavern". The signpost out front was written in chalk against a black background, half scratched off, and there was no trace of another human outside the dimly lit bar. The only clue that the place wasn't entirely deserted was the thumping bass coming from inside.

The bouncer behind the entrance has Jane's name down on the list. They both show their ID's, and the bald, bulky man allows them to enter. When they make it inside, the interior is dingy and cavernous with a low-lit, vaguely dark blue glow. It smells of smoke and stale beer.

"I'll have a wine cooler, please" Delilah says when they get to the bar. The bartender, a middle aged man with a pot belly and a bushy moustache eyeballs her. A wildly uncomfortable Delilah begins adjusting the cowl-necked front of her dress in hopes he hadn't just been staring at her breasts.