But for the Grace of God

When they left the condo, it was already after eleven o’clock. They drove to a section of Baltimore that Frances would never have gone to on her own. The streets were dark and dangerous looking. Most of the streetlights weren’t even working. There were seedy-looking characters lurking about in the shadows. The houses were squalid looking and in bad need of repair. It was cold that evening, but on almost every corner stood half-dressed girls wearing way too much makeup and smoking cigarettes. They were driving slowly so that Brandy could try to find the house that they were looking for. Somewhere in the distance you could hear music blaring.
“Slow down, slow down! I think that’s it up ahead,” Brandy said excitedly.
“I’m not surprised,” Frances remarked. It was the house with the blaring music. Cars were parked everywhere. As they got closer, you could hear people talking, shouting, laughing, and even the occasional scream. “I don’t know about this... are you sure my car’ll be okay parked out here? It’s not much, but it is all I have.”
“Don’t worry girl”, Brandy snorted, “We’ll tell the security guard to keep an eye on it.”
“Very funny. But I’m serious, I...”
“You’re always serious!” Brandy cut her off. “Too serious. Now lighten up and get ready to have a good time. And don’t let me catch you sittin’ by yourself in some corner all night watchin’ the clock. It’s almost midnight. You have two hours to get down! And if you want to stay longer, well you just say the word.”
“Yeah, right. My goal is to just get out of there alive.”
“Come on Franny! Let loose for a change. Chances are you won’t know anyone here. I’d be surprised if you did anyway. You can do anything you want, be anyone you want and you’ll never have to come face to face with any one of them again. Get wild! Go crazy! Let your guard down! Forget about your job and your mother and your church and your God, just for tonight. Have a blast!”
That was the problem, Frances thought. She couldn’t forget about her God. Even for one night. He was with her all the time. Suddenly, Frances felt guilty about coming. It was the little angel again; shaking her finger at Frances. She should not have come here with Brandy. Why did she let herself get into these situations? She thought of Alice’s words; “Just be sure that wherever she takes you is a place that you’d not be ashamed for your mother to know about.” My mother would have a heart attack if she knew I was here, Frances thought.

They finally found a parking place several blocks away and started to walk back to the party. Frances was on edge. She felt threatened in this neighborhood. Everything looked dangerous. Somewhere in the distance, you could hear some kind of alarm going off, and Frances swore she heard gunshots. When they got to the corner of the street where the party was, a man approached them.
“You ladies lookin’ for a good time?” he asked them.
Brandy took Frances by the arm and hurried her along. Neither of them spoke to the man. Frances’ heart was racing. She was genuinely scared.
“Brandy, I don’t know about this. This just isn’t my kind of place.”
“Well they don’t hold parties like this in the church social hall and we’re already here so get a grip girl, we’re goin’ in.”

With that, Brandy swung the door open, stepped into the house and pulled Frances in with her. The music, which could be heard from blocks away, was now almost deafening. The smoke was so thick that it looked like a fog. And the combined smell of liquor, cheap perfume, and who knows what else made Frances almost nauseous. She wanted to turn and run but it was too late now. Brandy had hold of her arm and kept pulling her deeper and deeper into the belly of the party.
It was a sight to behold. Frances tried not to gawk, but she was absolutely flabbergasted by what she saw. She had never been to a party like this before. It was very dark except for a few lamps, some candles, and a partially working string of white Christmas lights that went from one end of the house to the other. People were talking, laughing, and dancing. There was a dirty mattress in one corner where a couple was making out like there was nobody else in the room. And the way these people were dressed! She could hardly believe her eyes! Some of them made Brandy look like she was dressed conservatively.