Less Than Whole

Aloysius could not believe how beautiful El Paso was. He had never been to such a large city and was dazzled by the lights that shone everywhere in the night. They could see into Mexico, too. Kylie said it was the city of Juarez. They were going to pick up Pablo at the end of the weekend.

Kylie watched Aloysius take it all in. He smiled at his child-like enjoyment of the place. It wasn’t a big city by Kylie’s standards. He’d been to Paris and New York. He’d been to Austin with Mae at a convention for ranch farmers when Aloysius was very young. He knew El Paso was really just a hot, dusty, small town compared to those places. Yet it was fun to see his friend so happy.

All the same, Kylie was worried that there would be trouble. He couldn’t help it. Aloysius wanted to go to a nightclub and dance. There were a few that allowed people who were legally adults, but underage for drinking. Aloysius had a list that he’d printed off the computer. He clutched it like a talisman as Kylie wound through the streets looking for a Motel 6.

Once they settled in they stopped in the drab lobby to get a cup of coffee each. Then Kylie told Aloysius to pick a club off his list.

Aloysius closed his eyes and pointed at the list. The name closest to his index finger was “The Rio.” Kylie shrugged. “Okeedokee then, that’s the place. Just do me a favor. Listen to me, OK?”

“I always listen to you.”

“Yeah, right. Well, listen up carefully this time, though. You’re a good looking young man. If I was a fag, I’d say you were hot. But I’m not going to say that. What I’m trying to say, is that you need to be careful. You’re going to have people trying to take you home with them. Don’t go. I want to stay together.”

Aloysius nodded, but Kylie wasn’t sure he was listening. He was already in the club, mentally, imagining it like an Mtv video.

When they got to The Rio, it was already packed, as evidenced by the full parking lot. They had to park up the street a little and get out. The heat wasn’t as forceful as it had been on the drive down, but it was still very hot compared to the air conditioned car. There was a lot of wind and it picked up the stray wisps of Aloysius’s hair that hadn’t been tamed by braiding or hairspray. Kylie’s hair, twisted into many little dreadlocks didn’t move at all. But he sniffed at the air and smelled sage and cigarette smoke.

Kylie was right: Aloysius created a huge sensation in the club. He was naturally graceful and moved bonelessly through the many moving bodies. He was also physically different from the majority of the people in the club who were Hispanic or Mexican. He stood out like an albino snake, smoothly cruising and turning through the room.

In contrast, Kylie felt like he stole light, that it sank into his body so that he disappeared and melted into dark club atmosphere. This suited him just fine as he shadowed Aloysius.

Just as he predicted, people watched Ally. The women were especially obvious about looking at him, but Kylie also saw some men openly gaping at him, their eyes settling at around waist level.

An explosion of music momentarily distracted Kylie. The dancing started in earnest to a loud reggaeton song that had women shaking their asses and men trying to shake theirs so they could get closer to the women. Strobe lights blinded him. He saw a staircase that led to a small balcony that overlooked the dance floor. He bounded up the stairs two at a time and leaned over the railing. He scanned the room and didn’t see Aloysius at first. But then, he saw him leaning against the bar, a drink in his hand (Kylie hoped soda or water) and smiling at a small group of women.

They all made every small excuse to touch him, get closer to him. One was even unbraiding his hair, her long brown fingers combing and twisting. Kylie was alarmed, even though he had expected this. Aloysius seemed oblivious that anything was out of the ordinary. For all he knew clubs were always like this, with women fawning all over one special person. It was like a music video, Kylie realized.

The woman unbraiding his hair managed to slide her hands around his chest and was working her way under his shirt to touch his skin. Aloysius seemed to like this attention, but Kylie could see that his interest lay elsewhere.

He was surprised, even though he knew he shouldn’t have been. He’d known Aloysius for his whole life and Aloysius had always shown a preference for larger men and women over skinny ones. In movies, he swooned over John Candy, Jack Black, Queen Latifah and even muscle-y guys like The Rock.

He managed to remove himself from the group, much to their obvious disappointment and stalked towards the woman with the generous curves. Her skin was dark and her black hair curled tightly against her head. Kylie saw her smile at him and get him a drink. He watched as Aloysius for the first time became the one doing the touching, and she touched him back. They were long, lingering caresses that embarrassed Kylie and made him feel less like a protective pseudo-brother and more like a voyeur. Soon, the touching escalated to heavy petting in the dark corner of the club. He watched Aloysius kiss her and saw her push her round breasts against his chest. She was taller than him. She began to back further into the dark niche behind her and Aloysius followed.

Kylie realized he needed to intervene. He had to look away to find the stairs again, and then spotted them easily in the dark. More bright bursts of light kept ruining his night vision, however, but he remembered where he had seen the woman and Aloysius and hurried to the spot.

When he got there, they were gone.

Kylie searched the whole club. They weren’t there anymore. He ran out to the street where they had parked the car. The car was still there. Had he left with this woman? He asked people in the parking lot if anyone had seen them. He didn’t speak Spanish well and he was confronted with a lot of people who wouldn’t or couldn’t speak English. When he did finally find someone who both spoke English and had seen them, he confirmed that Aloysius had left the club with her.

Now he was in a panic. In his hurry back to the car, he forgot to pull on his driving gloves and touched the metal on the door, burning his left hand. He swore and pulled out his gloves from his pocket, put them on and got in.

He pulled out a map of El Paso, found his favorite crystal in the glove compartment and began scrying for Aloysius. He hoped it wouldn’t take long. The woman’s life might depend on it.