Carnival Days~ Part Three of Six

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So, I was working a joint up on a sort of hill. Was there pretty much on my own this one particular night. I felt so alone and a bit mad that I was in there by myself. The next thing I knew I quit. One of those dumb things young people do sometimes. Here I was four or five states away from home and no real savings, and now no job. I went down to Mack's and got on there. It was a miserable joint, in disrepair, barely standing and very few people playing the game. I was alittle embarrassed even to be in there. What had I done? Each night for the four or five I worked for him Mack would drive me home to the motel. If I was hungry he would buy me whatever I wanted. He acted really interested in me and wanted me to like him. Looking back now I know he was grooming me. I continued there for about a week I believe. (It's only been about forty five years so some of this is a little sketchy.) Each night Mack took me home, I took speed to keep me going. He provided that as well. Friends would come by and say they missed me. I missed them too. An old boyfriend came up to me one night and said he had something to tell me. I wondered because he hadn't been that friendly. He told me that he had overheard Mack talking. He was planning on taking me over the border into Mexico and selling me as a prostitute. This was in the early 70's and before we knew about trafficking. I believed him. I left the joint and went out on the lawn and laid down. What was I going to do? I had quit a good job with a good boss. All I could do was go back and try to get my job back. I ran back to the other side of the lot and never looked back. I never saw Mack again either. I kept to that other side and intermingled with my friends. I think my ex boyfriend saved my life. I was very lucky. A date of mine took me to some of the exposition buildings there. One was a place where you could buy oysters guaranteed to have pearls in them. He bought me two or three. They opened them for us and sure enough, three black pearls. We also went to a greyhound race. I remember I thought it was so sad to see these skinny animals running like this. They would bring them out on the raceway, show them a dead rabbit carcass and let them start running for it. That was the 'race' incentive. Run for the the rabbit which they never got. I was disgusted.