Chapter 4

Cindy woke to the ringing of the telephone bursting into her subconscious.

“Huh?” she mumbled, still groggy with sleep.

“It’s time to check out. Will you be staying over another night?” the operator asked.

“Uh, no. I’ll be leaving,” Cindy said, setting the receiver back on its cradle.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Cindy sat up in bed until she was fully awake. Thinking about the night before, she smiled and was raring to go. Getting out of bed, she took the money from the back of the desk drawer and counted it. She was lucky she didn’t have to spend a nickel of her own money. All told, she had four hundred and twenty dollars.

“Not bad,” she mumbled, under her breath. “Not bad at all.”

Leaving the money on top of the desk, Cindy took a quick shower and then dressed. The first thing she wanted to do that morning was buy something new to wear.

Taking the money and stuffing it into her pocket, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. It was a bright, sunny day, but the smog hanging in the air like a murky brown shroud kind of ruined it.

She noticed that the whole scene was different during the day. There was still a lot of traffic, and all, but instead of kids being out, it was mostly men. Businessmen, she thought.

After asking directions, she walked leisurely in the direction of Hollywood Boulevard. After hearing so much about it, she could hardly wait to see it. She was sure the streets would be paved with gold.

The signs above her head said Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. Cindy looked down the long boulevard. Could this be it, she wondered? It looked like any other street. It even looked like the main street in Pleasant Hills. Maybe it was a little wider, but that was all. Disappointment showed in her face.

Hoping it would be different farther down, she started walking. As she walked, she looked in the windows of the shops that dotted the street. Seeing some cute outfits in one, she went inside and looked around. A salesgirl walked over and asked if she could help.

“Uh, yes, I guess so,” Cindy said, not really sure what she wanted. The clothes here were sure different than the ones in Missouri, that was for sure.

“What would you like to see?” the girl asked.

“I don’t really know. I just got into town,” Cindy explained. “What do the girls here wear?” she wanted to know.

“Well, let’s see. Would you like something like this?” she asked, holding up a pair of jeans that had been dyed in ten different colors.

“It’s colorful,” Cindy said, suddenly feeling like someone who had just gotten off a bus from the hills.

“Yes,” the girl said, smiling. “Why don’t you try it on and see how you like it? And here, take this blouse with you. That should look nice.”

“All right, thanks. Where’s the dressing room?”

“Straight back and to the right,” the girl said, pointing in the direction.

Cindy went into the dressing room and quickly put on the new clothes. Looking at her reflection in the three-way mirror, she had to smile. She looked like a completely different person. She looked with it. That was one of the expressions she had heard the night before.

Keeping the outfit on, she walked out of the dressing room. Over her arm, she carried her old clothes.

“Hey, far out,” the girl said when she saw Cindy. “Yeah, that looks all right on you.”

“Yeah, I’ll take it,” Cindy said, smiling.

“Groovy.”

Cindy followed the girl to the cash register and watched as she rang up the figures.

“Let’s see, that’ll be nineteen ninety-five, including tax.”

It seemed awfully expensive to Cindy, but she didn’t want to say anything.

Taking the bundle of bills from her old pants, she counted out twenty dollars and gave it to the girl. The remaining money went into her pocket.

“Oh, would you be able to throw these away, or something?” Cindy asked, indicating the clothes she had worn into the shop.

“Sure, let me have them,” the girl said, holding out her hands.

“Thanks.”

“You, too. Have a nice day.”

Cindy thanked her again and walked out of the store, feeling like a totally new person. Even the smog didn’t seem as bad.

As she walked farther down Hollywood Boulevard, the sidewalk grew more crowded. Men, women, kids, everybody was out. Some were shopping, some walking, and some just hanging around. As she passed a hamburger stand, she realized that she was hungry.

Sitting down on a stool at the counter, she ordered her lunch: a hamburger, coke, and some French fries. The All-American diet ... As she ate, she watched the people walking up and down the street, wondering what their lives were like. Whenever she would see a group of kids, she would feel lonely, wanting to belong. And then she would think about Rip. She would see him later that night.

After lunch, Cindy continued her walk, sometimes stopping in one of the stores to look around. After seeing some of the clothes she could get, she was anxious to rent a place of her own or at least have a place to stay. She wanted to buy more than the one outfit she had bought that morning. But she couldn’t very well walk around carrying a suitcase.

Around four o’clock, she tired of walking and decided to see a movie. That would kill the rest of the day until it was time to find Rip. She was still feeling kind of lost and was counting on him to show her around.

The movie was a good one, and when she walked out, it was getting dark. Not feeling like walking all the way back, she waited at a bus stop. After a minute, a car pulled to a stop beside her. There was a young guy with long hair driving.

“Come on, chick. Hop in and I’ll save you a quarter.”

“Thanks,” Cindy said, getting into the car.

“Where are you headed?” he asked, pulling away from the curb.