Lisa’s Power

by Amy Corbin

When I first met Lisa I was captivated by her.  She had long brown hair that was wavy and wild, and beautiful blue eyes that looked like glass.  Lisa always wore Levi’s and belts with big buckles.  She had cowboy boots in every color and style, and when she walked, she sashayed through the bar.  You couldn’t help but want to be near Lisa and hear about her everyday activities.  She took a bath with a place mat of Elvis that she taped to the shower wall.  She loved to masturbate and didn’t mind telling us all about it.  She ate with her hands when the meal clearly called for a fork.  Who picks up a steak?  Lisa that’s who, and somehow she managed to make it look sexy.

When all of us waitresses would get to work we would divide up our sections and bicker about who had the crappy seating area the last time.  Except Lisa didn’t care; she took whatever section she was given, and never griped about it.  Of course, whatever section she was in was the busiest, and when it came time to counting our tips– we were all finished and Lisa was still counting.  At the end of the night we would all sit up at the bar and have a drink, but Lisa would have a glass of milk with ice in it.  She wouldn’t complain about the customers like we would, she’d just sip her milk and smile.

One day when I came into work I heard two of the waitresses talking about her.

“It’s hard to believe that she still hasn’t had a drink.”

“Yeah, I never thought she’d pull it off.  All that milk with ice cubes.  Seems impossible now to imagine her with a vodka in her hand.”

“Are you guys talking about Lisa?” I asked.

“You don’t know about her?” asked Debbie.

“Know what?” I asked.

“About the stabbing,” said Robin.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You tell her,” Robin said to Debbie.

“Yes, Debbie.  Tell me.”

Debbie proceeded to tell me how Lisa got drunk one night and stabbed her old boyfriend Richard, not once but four times.  Yes, this information threw me for a loop, but what she told me next was what really freaked me out.

“She’s not allowed to see him; it’s part of the probation.  But they still hook up on the sly.”

I’m no psychologist, but who wants to sleep with someone who’s stabbed you?  I also learned the reason Lisa doesn’t drink is due to her probation.  Apparently her dad is high up in the police force and that’s why all she got was probation and community service.

So here’s the thing:  this new information about Lisa made her more attractive to me.  Kind of like how I liked skydiving or roller coasters.  Lisa’s craziness made her eccentric and exciting and I found myself drawn to her against all sensibility.  I wanted to sit near her.  I wanted to listen to her stories, and when no one was looking I watched her.  She was so beautiful; it was hard to imagine her stabbing anyone.  There was something about her wild eyes, though.  They looked like a husky’s; light blue and there was no looking into them.  I really never thought someone scaring me would make them more striking, but this was precisely what happened.  I was caught in Lisa’s web and I wanted to know her more.  The night she invited me back to her apartment after work I couldn’t have said say no if I’d wanted to.

Her apartment looked like a cross between Graceland and a bad garage sale.  Velvet pictures of Elvis were plastered all over the walls

“Do you want a drink,” she asked.

“Sure.  Whatever you’re having is fine.”

She came out with two glasses of milk with ice.

When she pulled out the Tarot cards I should’ve said no, but the idea of Lisa sitting across from me telling me my future thrilled me.

“I’m going to do a 3-card spread.  One card represents your past, one your present, and one your future.”

The first card she pulled was called The Sun.

“This card represents your past,” she said.  You’ve had good health and lots of physical energy in your life.”

Okay.  I was twenty-two years old.  This was not rocket science.

The next card she turned over was called Temperance.

“See how this card is upside down?  It means poor judgement, like you’ve made some bad decisions lately.”

“I don’t remember making any decisions lately,” I said.

Next she turned over the Devil card.  I started sweating immediately.  Could there be anything good about the Devil card?

“Oh,” she said.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s not necessarily bad.  Sometimes it can mean a desire for material things and can be associated with financial security.  But your other cards seem to indicate that this card is about lust and sexual obsession and maybe even dishonesty.”

“What?”

“Do you want somebody?” she asked.

“Um, maybe.”

Something in her expression made me feel uncomfortable and I readjusted myself on the couch.

“Do they say what I should do?”  I asked.

“I can tell you that from this reading you need to be careful about any big decisions you make and to not make any large purchases,” said Lisa.

When I left Lisa’s apartment that night I felt exhilarated and directed.  I felt like Lisa was put on this earth to guide me and steer me down the right path.  I couldn’t wait until the next night at the restaurant.  I had seen an apartment for rent in an old brownstone I’d often admired, but I didn’t know if it was a good time to move.  I got to work early the next evening and waited for Lisa.  When she walked through the double doors I was transfixed.  Her hair was tied back and she had the most beautiful teardrop earrings on that brushed her collar.  I’d never noticed what a long slim neck she had.

“Do you suppose we could go back to your apartment after work?” I asked.  “I was wondering if you could do another reading.”

“Um, I kinda have plans,” she said.

“That’s okay.  Maybe tomorrow.” I said.

But, the next day Lisa blew me off again and the next day when I saw her she walked in the other direction.  Maybe she had seen something in the first card reading that she didn’t want to tell me about.  I needed to get back into her apartment.  I just needed one more Tarot card spread and I knew I’d be able to stop thinking about it and start sleeping through the night again.  At the end of the evening, I cornered her by the walk-in fridge.  “Lisa, could you please read my cards for me tonight?” I begged.

“Look baby, it’s not that I don’t want to it’s just that I have other things to do.”

That night I followed Lisa after work; she met Richard in a diner and they laughed and drank milk with ice.  I watched them through the big glass pane.  Richard was engrossed with Lisa.  As she sucked and crunched her ice cubes, his eyes were fixed and never left her, and then she looked up at the window and licked her lips.

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