The evening went well. I danced the first couple of songs, until I got the signal from Marilyn, and left the stage to make way for her.
While she danced, Mr. Andrew Jackson introduced me to some eager, wealthy, club members near the bar. Many more people than I had expected, were interested in being introduced to me. Maybe it was because they saw me dance?
I got the feeling, if they hadn't seen me dance the number of interested parties would have been far less.
Some of them even offered to buy me drinks, but I politely declined.
For the next hour, Marilyn, Mike and Todd took turns dancing onstage.
Knowing many people were still eager to talk to me, Mr. Jackson directed me to the kitchen, where he set me up with a silver platter full of wine flutes with a sparkling white wine.
Even though this was a servers' job, it allowed me to help out and make myself useful, while still socializing and keeping the clientele happy.
"Once all the regulars and important customers know you,", Mr. Jackson assured me, "you won't have to do any of the little jobs like this."
Mr. Jackson helped me shift the way I was holding the silver platter, so it rested more comfortably on my arm.
"Once, we had a star, so popular, all she had to do was show up, dance one song and the rest of the night, her adoring public paid to have her talk and drink with them."
He paused and looked me in the eye.
"You could be like her one day. Only take my advice and stay away from drugs. It was the drugs that killed her…my poor star faded, burnt and died out."
Mr. Jackson looked sad for a long moment.
"Alright. You look good."
He touched my arm gently.
"Off with you."
"And have fun!", he added as I walked away.
I politely made small talk, answering some questions about myself and my dancing, as I went along, offering drinks, and making change, until Marilyn, Todd and Mike came to join me.
I'd just unloaded my last two wine flutes when Marilyn tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned, surprised they were all here, standing with me.
"Who's on stage?", I asked.
"Look for yourself.", answered Mike.
It was hard to tell at first, because of the large crowd of newly arrived wolves, to see who was leisurely making their way to the stage, chaperoned through the excited crowd by a bouncer.
It was Essence and Angelique.
Although I shouldn't be surprised, I found I was. My new co-workers hadn't been joking earlier in the night when they told me how much of an excitement the pair caused in those who visited the Lunar Eclipse. They were popular with the patrons, especially the male wolves.
"I heard there's a rumour going around that they both wear illegal pheromones, to attract and enchant so many males."
"Oh, stop it, Mike!", Marilyn said. "You know that isn't true. There's no way the boss would keep them on if they were trading in illegal pheromones."
"It would explain a lot.", pointed out Todd.
"But they bring in so much money from clientele and booze, would it even matter?", asked Mike.
Marilyn shook her head.
"Forget about them! And since they have the stage now, you both know it means none of us will dance anymore tonight."
Mike and Todd dropped the subject.
"Let's see if they have enough waitstaff for the night, and if Mr. Jackson will let us leave early tonight."
As it turned out, they didn't need us to act as waiters. So, Marilyn, Mike and Todd invited me to go with them to a diner to get late night milkshakes.
Just as I turned to go, I heard Mr. Jackson calling me back.
"I need you to stay longer.", he informed me.
I told the other three to go out without me and assured them I would go out another time.
Mr. Jackson informed me that some important customers just arrived and wanted to meet me before I left.
When I asked who they were, Mr. Jackson said they were from a pack that was allied with the one who owned the Lunar Eclipse. I would meet that pack's Alpha, Beta and some other wolves.
I went to the kitchen to return my silver platter, now holding nothing but empty wine flutes. I asked one of the kitchen staff about my appearance and she helped me straighten my hair quickly before I went out again to meet Mr. Jackson.
I walked slowly beside Mr. Jackson, up the stairs to the second floor. He told me the wolves I was to meet were in one of the party rooms.
They usually booked one of the rooms to themselves and were served food and alcohol there. Sometimes they met there for meetings with other pack leaders.
The meeting with Alpha Neil, his beta and other members of his pack didn't take long. The wolves seemed to only have a polite interest in me, that hardly seemed worth me coming to meet them.
But Alpha Neil, was very interested. When I first walked in the room, his gaze on me was intense.
He scrutinized me and held me in conversation for about twenty minutes before he let me leave. The entire time we talked he asked me questions and I tried to answer them without revealing too much about myself or giving many details into my personal life.
In the end, I left the Lunar Eclipse feeling partially confused with the meeting. I felt he was judging me on some criteria that I'd never seen. Like the meeting had some significance that I didn't understand.
I felt so tired on the ride home, that I made sure to stand instead of sitting on the bus. I was afraid if I sat, I might fall asleep. Since it was the last run of the night, I was grateful I'd gotten to leave in time to catch it.
By the time I returned home, in the quiet of the house, I sluggishly got ready for bed and had no problem quickly falling asleep.