Chapter 20: Naïve Nicky

We gathered at Jim and Darlene’s home for our ‘Start of the Weekend’ Party on Friday evening. Missing from our usual party goers were Cole and Stacy Mason. Cole had what he called a serious date with some girl he’d met through work. He wasn’t sure what Stacy was doing, only that she’d sent regrets.

Ally, KC, and I had talked about what Nicky had just done on Wednesday evening and had an outline of what needed to happen. I was to start the process. I culled Nicky from the herd as we stood around on the Hick’s patio having cocktails. “I heard you had an interesting evening two nights ago.”

Nicky grinned, “I did. Steve must have told you. I met this nice guy at Elements named Rick and did some heavy flirting with him. He saw me parking my Porsche and struck up a friendship by asking me about the car and what I did for work.”

I teased, “Good approach on his part. Didn’t need a catchy come on. I heard that he got you off.”

She blushed and looked down with some embarrassment, “He did and I liked it. I wanted to do the same for him but some guys in the club started fighting and cops came in to break it up. We were surprised because Elements isn’t the kind of place where two men would get into a fist fight. The big lights were turned on, there was a lot of yelling, and the whole ambience of the place changes in two seconds. We both left after that started but planned to meet up in a week.”

“Were you planning to go off and fuck him that night?”

Nicky looked surprised at my question. I wondered whether her husband had asked her that. She admitted, “The thought crossed my mind in a serious way as we were making out. He was pretty appealing until the uproar in the place.”

“There would have been a lot of fall out if you had sex with your new friend Rick Travia.”

“Fall out?” She reeled back, surprised that I knew his name. I’d done my homework, going to club and checking the videos. I got Rick’s picture, and image matching on the Internet took care of the rest. I had learned a few years earlier how to find out a lot about a person from the Net.

I patiently explained, “Besides the abrupt feeling of infidelity that Steve would have felt, you probably wouldn’t be popular among your friends here for more than a few weeks. We’d want proof after about eight weeks had gone by that good-old Rick didn’t leave a more lasting memento with you. During that time, no one should be intimate with you including Steve.”

“Huh?”

“Did you have condoms with you? If you did, would you have used them?”

“Oh, shit. No. I see what you mean. I didn’t...”

I interrupted, “Are you on birth control? I assume you are based on your behavior around here.”

“Yes. Double covered, in fact.”

“Were you wearing your wedding rings?”

“Yes, I rarely take them off.”

“Your paramour knew he was seducing a married woman. Women like that are cannon fodder for single men. They know you probably want to fuck, and won’t raise a ruckus if things don’t work out. He figured that you were cheating on your husband, and he’d be the winner since you were on the prowl. The new Porsche might have helped him get that impression.”

I shifted gears and tone of voice, “What would your daughter Ellie think if she knew about Rick and particularly your plans? You do know that she’ll find out, if she doesn’t already know by now.”

“Steve wouldn’t tell her, would he?”

“Unlikely that he’d have to. How many people were in Elements that night?”

Nicky shrugged, “Maybe a hundred or two. It seemed pretty busy.”

“Did you see anybody you knew or recognized?”

Nicky was quiet for a few seconds. “One woman that I think ... Fuck.”

“What?” I asked in teasing tone and waving my hand.

“I did recognize another woman and she nodded at me. She’s a single mom, and has a kid that’s in Ellie’s class. Our kids are in the same high school.”

“It’s a small world, Nicky. Very small. Our little cul-de-sac is our oasis in the turmoil, but I don’t think for one minute that what we do isn’t known to others outside our neighborhood. Just think about that woman you saw heading home and mentioning to her daughter that she saw Ellie’s mother at Elements ... making out with some guy.”

“Based on that, are you telling me not to see Rick?”

“Nope; that’s up to you. I’m making you aware of some other information that you should know. I do this because I love you. I want you safe. I didn’t address that point. Normally, before a single woman goes off with a man she’s just met, she makes sure that he’s who he says he is and establishes some ground rules.”

“How would I do that? I haven’t dated anybody for decades, and Steve and I met in college in a more controlled environment.”

“Take a picture of his driver’s license and send it to someone you trust who will call out the militia if you don’t show up when you’re supposed to. Don’t go with him to where he wants to take you. You take him to a place you know that is neutral and safe for you. Before you start going off alone with him, double date. Get a wing man or wing woman and use them to help guarantee your safety.