Mob Princess - Tess DiRosa's Story
Copyright© 2025 by Argon
Chapter 21: Getting Serious
After a private dinner, this time at Ted’s place, they spent another night testing the limits of their endurance, but then Advance Team 2 was deployed to Seattle where POTUS was to meet the Canadian PM for bilateral consultations. Both were popular on the West Coast, and the influx of threatening letters and emails was minimal. A total of sixteen past Section 871 offenders were whittled down to five who warranted a house call, and they were divvied up between Tess and Sondra and the other team, Gordan and John Doe, and those calls went smoothly. It was great to see how Sondra was blossoming in her new role, projecting a quiet authority for which Tess envied her a little. One of the marks, who had been caught trying to sneak paint-filled balloons into a rally with GWB way back when, was deeply flustered over Sondra, assuring her in flowery words that he was past his youthful stupidity and a responsible person these days.
This time, both Tess and Sondra were worked into the rotation providing close protection to POTUS, and Sondra was bursting with pride when she texted her parents about finally being part of the small elite who guarded the chief executive. When asked by SAC Chang about her mental turnabout, she sheepishly admitted to having taken up knitting, making Tess shoot coffee through her nose. That required an explanation, and Chang shook his head with a big grin upon learning about Tess’s Christmas gift for her partner.
Still, they flew back to DC in a separate plane, together with Advance Team 4 and the Sewer Rats. There were two more days until Saturday, and they would have the weekend off. As soon as they touched down, Tess was calling Ted.
“Hey, lover, guess what: I’ll have the weekend off.”
“Hey, that’s great, sweetie,” Ted answered, with genuine happiness.
“I would like to take you on a trip to Philadelphia. I want you to meet my happy patchwork family. They’re curious about you.”
“Oh, I’m curious about them.”
“Road trip then? We can work off some calories Friday night and be on the road on Saturday morning.”
“Sounds great. I haven’t been to Philly for at least seven years.”
“Would you mind if I asked Sondra to join us? She needs to stop her knitting once in a while.”
“On Saturday morning, right?”
“Goof! Of course. I promise you a very special Saturday night.”
“Meeting Don Vincente?”
“Nope. That’ll be Sunday morning. But I still have to collect my accolades at the Tulips.”
“You want to drag me into a queer bar?”
“You and Sondra. It’ll be a hoot, I promise. I sort of have free drinks for life there, so it’s gonna be cheap for me.”
“Are those lesbian chicks hot?”
“Some are, some not, just like any bar. Oh, you’ll meet Joey’s mother in law and her wife. Maureen is hot, not just for a mid-forties MILF. Prepare to be awed.”
“You want to find out if I can handle your family?”
“I want you to meet them to understand me completely. You’ll meet Joey and Deirdre, too, and the kids. You’ll meet my former roomie Eileen, too, another wounded soul who decided to stop being a doormat.”
“How can I say no to that?”
“You can’t. Just be yourself, and they’ll love you.”
It took some time to convince Sondra to come along, but Tess persevered. Come Saturday morning, the three of them were on the road north on I-95, skirting Baltimore on the beltway, and then continuing to Philly. By eleven am, they crossed the city limits and proceeded to Powelton Village. Calling ahead, she saw Joey who just vacated a parking space at the curb and drove his aging BMW Z3 into the small garage, allowing Tess to park in front of the house.
As it turned out, the house was full, with Joey and Deirdre, little Gianni, an Eileen whose butch appearance had mellowed a little, and of course, Maureen, Carla and Numi. With Tess, Ted and Sondra, that filled the living room to capacity, and for the next minutes, Tess made the introductions.
She saw Joey and Ted shaking hands solemnly. “Thanks for keeping Tess alive,” Ted said earnestly.
“Thanks for finally making her happy,” Joey grinned back. “She hasn’t had much happiness.”
“I could tell, but she’s also a wonderful woman.”
Joey just nodded. “She deserves happiness.”
Tess talked to Maureen and Numi next. “How are you guys? Are we on for tonight?”
“Oh, yes. I told Lola; about Ted, too. She’ll appoint you as honorary dyke tonight. Just play along. They’re really grateful and they all love you for what you did,” Maureen said with an almost motherly pride.
“Yeah, I get a similar treatment each time we visit; free drinks, free pussy, the works,” Numi added.
“As if!” Tess snorted. “Besides, you have free pussy at home. So, how’s the job?”
“Don’t ask!” Numi groaned. “There’s this councilwoman, Nadine Laporte. She want’s to court the PC crowd, and she worked on the Chief. They’ll make me captain.”
“Oh, shit, even more paperwork?”
“Nothing but. And you? I hear you guard the president with your gorgeous body?”
“Yeah, well, it’s a mixed bag. Sure, it’s prestigious, but it can also be boring and tedious. So far, it’s still new, but I’d hate to see myself two years from now doing the same thing.”
Meanwhile Ted and Sondra made the rounds getting to know people, and Tess found Eileen a little to the side.
“Hey, Kiddo, how are you?”
“A bit down. I met this girl Jenny, and I thought she cared for me...”
“Just curious?” Tess asked.
“Yeah. She went back to her husband, keeping the lie alive.”
“I’m sorry. She’s stupid.”
“And you? A breeder now?”
“You know me, Ellie. It’s the person...”
“ ... not the genitals. Will you go to Lisa’s wedding?”
“She invited me, and I’ll go.”
“With ... Ted?”
“Sure. I’m not ashamed of Ted or my friends, and Ted knows about my leanings.”
“Shit! Sometimes I wish I was just a run-off-the-mill breeder. They have it so easy compared.”
“Well, look at Maureen and Numi. They made it. Think of Lisa and her Lorna. They seem to click and thrive. Somewhere out there, there will be your girl or woman. Don’t lose faith!”
“Yeah, I keep telling myself the same.”
“Are you going to Spokane, too?”
“I wasn’t, but now I’m considering. Jenny felt uncomfortable, but with her out of my life...”
“We can travel together if you want.”
“Really? That would be nice.”
“Let’s text and firm things up in the next week. With three of us spelling each other, we can probably make the trip in two days.”
“Why not go by plane?”
“There’s somebody en route whom I want Ted to meet, a very special woman.”
“The mysterious Holly?”
“The very. She’s tough as nails in everyday life, but the most gentle person from up close.”
“Yeah, okay, I want to meet that wonder woman, too.”
With an amused Ted and a slightly apprehensive Sondra in tow, Tess, Numi and Maureen entered the Tulips. They had professional security at the entrance now, with handheld metal detectors, but for once, Tess was not carrying and not wearing her badge, and neither was Sondra. They passed easily. Once inside, Tess looked around to get her bearings again. Due to new security measures, Lola had changed the floor plan and some features. Tables were now placed in 4-foot-high polycarbonate cubicles. According to Numi, those were laminated and able to stop handgun rounds. In case of another attack, the patrons could seek cover behind them. An anonymous donor had financed them.
They had a reserved table, but they had barely sat down, when Lola, the manager, approached them, a microphone in her hand, and at her sign, the music stopped and Lola held the mike to her lips.
“Ladies, we have a special guest here tonight, but before I continue, I want to reenforce the ban on taking pictures here with your hip smartphones. We all know why we have that ban, but tonight there is an extra reason. Our guest would lose her job if her picture became public, and we owe her too much to let that happen, right!”
All over the room, acclamations sounded from the patrons.
“Our guest of honor is not a regular, but she was here when that deranged asshole tried to blow us all up last year. We already knew her as a bad-ass chick, but that night, she was awesome, first nailing the bomber and then seeing to it that we could all leave safely. I can say that she received the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor from the President for that feat. A little less official, she also gets free drinks for life in this joint and I have a paper here appointing her as Honorary Dyke, in spite of turning breeder on us. Yes, she’s here with her man, so don’t give him a hard time! You don’t want to piss off this chick!”
With that, Lola handed out “Honorary Dyke” certificates to Tess, Ted and even a blushing Sondra, who caught a few interested looks, increasing the blood flow to her cheeks. After that, some twenty patrons formed a line at their table, each shaking Tess’s hand relating that they had been in the Tulips that night and that they owed Tess big time. A few times, those handshakes turned into tearful hugs, and by the end of it all, Tess had tears in her eyes, too.
“Gimme the mike, please,” she asked Lola, and when she had it, she cleared her throat. “I guess you can call me a switch hitter. I’ve felt attraction to guys and girls, and I’ve always felt comfortable here. I like the atmosphere, I like it that nobody is judged. I am happy that I could prevent a horrible tragedy here, and I’m happy to see that the Tulips is still thriving. And yes, I’ll make use of those free drinks. I would also mention that some really heavy lifting was done by our Numi N’Gomo, who coordinated the rescue and police response in that night. Lola and Eileen started to evacuate the guests almost immediately and are also to be credited for the happy outcome. So, thanks to you all and have a good evening.”
Her impromptu speech was received with applause and some catcalls and with a final wave of her hand, Tess sat down again.
“So much for having a fun evening,” she commented to Ted.
“Think I’m allowed to take you to the dance floor?” he asked.
“Why not?”
“Well, I’ll be the only guy...”
“Who gives? Let’s!”
Tess pulled Ted up and they joined the five or six women on the dance floor. The DJ played a mix of 90s’ and 2000s’ club music, strewing in a few — female — Rock singers. Ted and Tess started to Chrome-plated Heart by Melissa Etheridge which was followed by Motherload by Alannah Myles. After another song, Zombie by The Cranberries, which saw a lot of older ladies flock to the dance floor, they took a break.
“It’s really a great club,” Ted commented, using a paper tissue to mop his forehead. “Came here often?”
“About once every other month, mostly accompanying Maureen and Numi.”
“Would they let me in if I came alone?”
“They used to let men in, but I don’t know if that changed after the bombing scare. Why? You aiming at replacing me already?”
“As if! You could have the pick of the coop though.”
“Been there, done it, got the sweaty sheets,” Tess laughed back. “After the breakup with my la..., well, second-to-last boyfriend, I tried to get him out of my system. It was fun at first, but it gets old quickly. Plus, I picked up drama queens twice. Getting them to understand the meaning of one-night-stand was a daunting task.”
Back at their table, Sondra had seemingly picked up an admirer, a bookish-looking wallflower wearing a sexy librarian outfit and hairdo. She was playing her part to the T, but Tess knew her to be a user, on the prowl to find somebody to fleece.
“Hey, Ruthie, looking for a new cash cow?” she asked the woman rather brusquely. “Don’t fall for her shtick, Sondra. For some people, doing business is pleasure; for her, doing pleasure is business, right, Ruthie?”
“Oh, Miss Super Hero, and now a lousy breeder!” Ruthie spat.
“Oh, no, ask Ted here: I’m an excellent breeder. Now shove off, Leech!”
The woman beat a retreat casting an angry look at Tess, but when she tried to raise her smartphone, one of the other patrons, a tiny, butch-looking blonde, reacted quickly, snatching it from her hand and stomping on it with her boot heel.
“Get lost, bitch!” she advised Ruthie, who left the Tulips in a rather undignified hurry.
“Thanks, Tess. I didn’t know how to tell her in friendly terms that I’m not interested,” Sondra smiled meanwhile. “I guess, unfriendly works better.”
“There’s rumors that she doesn’t mind a little blackmail to supplement her income,” Tess explained. “I hope you didn’t give her any personal information?”
“I wasn’t born yesterday. But you two had fun.”
“We did. Your brother has some good moves.”
“I bet he has. I just hope, he didn’t do them here in public,” Sondra gave back, grinning at her brother.
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