Read Birth of a Dark Nation for Free Online

and tiny windows that were too high to peer
into, in stark contrast to the other lounges and restaurants on U
Street which practically invited the public in through their wide
windows.
    "Aye… Is it true this place is a swinger's
club after ten?" Steve asked.
    Cissy remained silent.
    "Oh my God, it's true!" I exclaimed. "You got
us doing a fundraiser at a swinger's club!?"
    "Listen, I don't care what they do after we
leave. All I know is that the owner is letting us use this place
for free."
    "That's what's up," Steve said. "Well,
hopefully, this will be a huge success."
    Despite Steve's hopes, the happy hour wasn't
much of a success. It wasn't exactly a flop, but only about ten
people came through, and most were Cissy's friends. I sat at the
table next to Steve, collecting donations and logging them on
Cissy's laptop while she made small talk with people she'd
obviously already known for years.
    All of our promotion on Facebook and Twitter
meant nothing at the end of the day. Magdalene House just wasn't
the kind of place that would get its fundraising success doing
happy hours. Magdalene didn't have enough political cachet for the
vapid DC buppies to even consider supporting us. To them, and to
many, we were the equivalent of a mom-and-pop store trying to
compete with Target.
    I felt bad for Cissy, who smiled through the
entire evening, even after it became apparent that Ernie wasn't
going to bother to show up. Her friends didn't stay long, and only
one or two actually bought a drink. Most just dropped off their
donations and left within 20 minutes.
    As we packed up our promotional materials
four hours later, a young Asian woman came into the bar, dressed in
all black. Her black hair was full and bouncy, with one blond
streak just right of the center of her head.
    "Oh, hello! You must be from the Magdalene
group, right?"
    "Yes, we are," I smiled. "We were just
packing up."
    "Oh, I'm sorry I missed you guys. My name is
Chiyoko. I'm the bartender for the late night crowd."
    "I'm Justin," I said, shaking her hand
firmly. It was slightly cold.
    "Oh, sorry about that," she laughed, noticing
my reaction. "I've got bad circulation, so my hands are always
cold!"
    "Not a problem," I smiled. "This is Cissy,
she's the director of development. And this is Steve."
    "Pleased to meet you," he said. He was
practically salivating over the young woman.
    "You guys are welcome to stay as my guests,
if you want. That is, you know, if you're into the clientele
here."
    "Maybe next time," Cissy said quickly. "I've
got to get home to my kid."
    "Same here," I said. Steve looked at me from
the corner of his eye.
    "I think I'll stay," he said. "Watch you work
for a little while."
    "Fine with me," Chiyoko laughed. She then
turned her attention to Cissy. "Oh yeah, I was hoping to give you
this. I was going to mail it if I didn't catch you here."
    She dug deep into her purse and pulled out a
wallet. She peeled a hundred dollar bill off of a stack of bills
and handed it to Cissy.
    "Here you go. I read up on Magdalene House
when the boss said you would be having an event here, and I just
wanted to support."
    "Wow!" Cissy exclaimed. "Thank you so much!
Would you like a receipt?"
    Chiyoko threw a hand up and shook her head
vigorously. "Please, take it. It's the least I could do."
    Cissy took the bill and gave Chiyoko a
hug.
    "Thank you so, so much."
    Chiyoko smiled back.
    "Have a good evening. It was nice meeting
both of you. And as for you, Mr. Steve, let me fix you a drink.
Bloody Mary?"
    "Works for me!" Steve said excitedly. As they
disappeared back into the bowels of the club, Steve turned around
and gave Cissy and me a thumbs-up sign. We laughed and left the
club.
    "That Steve. What are we gonna do with him?"
I wondered aloud.
    "Pray. Women are his Achilles' heel."
    "Where are you parked?" I asked.
    "Right here. Got really lucky finding a
space. Are you okay getting home?"
    "Oh yeah, I'll be fine. I'm parked a few
blocks down. See you at work