Vicki knew she had made some bad choices in her life. Now she was determined to help her daughter, Sara, avoid some of those mistakes.
Vicki's path through life was an unusual one. Back in high school she fell in with the wrong crowd and got involved with drugs and alcohol. She ended up dropping out of school during her senior year and getting pregnant almost immediately afterwards. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who was fairly soon thereafter taken away when she was arrested for her drug habit.
With her parents' counseling she eventually gave up custody of Jon. Vicki's aunt officially adopted Jon and the day he left was undoubtedly the hardest in her life up to that point.
Partly due to the trauma of that moment Vicki made the decision to change her lifestyle for good. She moved back in with her parents and entered a treatment program. After several months and lots of hard times she was able to stay clean and sober for the longest period since she started down the wrong path.
She went back to finish her high school degree and soon started looking for a job. Unfortunately, she had no luck finding anything, as nobody was interested in hiring a 19-year-old mother with a felony drug record. She was at the end of her rope when she saw an ad for open auditions for dancers at one of the strip clubs in town.
She remembered some of the women she had met in rehab who had talked about how much money could be made by stripping. She also remembered how those women talked about how all the other dancers were high or drunk most of the time. She debated for a couple of days about what to do, but after being rejected for yet another job she knew she was qualified for she didn't know what else to do and decided to try it.
She drove to the club during the hours listed for auditions, but when she arrived she sat in her car wracked with nerves for several long minutes. If she hadn't been so desperate for money she would surely have started the engine and driven away. Instead, she took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her nerves and walked slowly toward the door of the club.
She wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the idea of stripping even as she walked inside the quiet club. She never really thought of herself as beautiful but she always had a constant stream of guys wanting to date her. Part of her feared they would turn her away for not being pretty enough, but the woman behind the bar welcomed her warmly and asked if she was there to audition.
"Um, yes," Vicki said nervously.
"Let me call Rick," the woman said with a smile. She disappeared into the back and Vicki looked around the club. It was about what she expected. It was small and reeked of stale beer and cigarette smoke. There were no windows and the lighting was so dark that it gave the place the feel of night despite it being just before noon. The club wouldn't open for business for about another hour.
"Hmmm, very nice," Rick said even before saying hello. It was a lecherous comment but still made Vicki feel a little more comfortable. "Hi, I'm Rick. I'm the owner," he said extending his hand.
"I'm Vicki," she answered.
"Have you ever danced before?" Rick asked.
"No," she answered.
"Well, Vicki," he began, "there isn't anything to be nervous about. Right now it is just you and me. I'll sit way in the back so you can't even see me. I'll play a song and you just get on the stage and do what comes naturally."
He seemed to sense Vicki's hesitation and reassured her. Rick was used to the newcomers being nervous so he went into his routine speech. He told her that when the club was open there were always at least two bouncers working. Any guy that touched her or made her feel uncomfortable would be immediately ejected with no questions asked.
"Do you have a certain song you'd like?" he concluded.
Vicki requested a popular dance song that had a good beat and always made her feel a little horny for some reason. She climbed on the stage as Rick searched through the CD collection at the DJ's booth.
"Ready?" he asked after he cued up the song.
Vicki nodded her head and the music started. At first she moved very tentatively and was sure she looked awful. She tried not to think too much about what she was doing. She stared off into the empty darkness as she removed her clothes and danced around the stage. She felt completely awkward and was sure she looked very silly.
When the song ended she stood naked on the stage and self-consciously covered herself. "No, no, don't be shy," Rick said. Vicki prepared herself for the rejection that she was sure would follow and was surprised when he said, "That was great. When can you start?"
"Really?" she replied. "It felt so weird and awkward."
"You'll get over that," Rick said. "Everyone is nervous to start with."