Chapter 1: Jimmy meets Ramona

I lost my mother when I was fifteen. She had been sick for awhile. I loved her very much and I thought my father did too. Both Mother and Dad claimed they were soul mates and I remember both saying so. The period following her death was difficult for me. I missed her terribly and Father drew away from me.

Father rushed into dating within six weeks after her death which was difficult for me to understand. I hated him when I first found out that he had forgotten Mother and moved on so soon.

I was left to my own devices, with only the housekeeper and the cook in the house with no parent to guide me, I went wild myself. My lessons took the hit and my marks dropped. The thing of it is, I liked school and didn’t skip any of my classes just my homework. Soon with me having more time on my hands from blowing off my homework, girls found me interesting. Me, I developed a new hobby of seeing how far I could get with these girls. I found there was no stopping me and they weren’t stopping me either.

The habit of finding a sexual partner with those of my age didn’t last long. The housekeeper, Rachael, happened to know the second girl I brought home and notified my father what I was up to.

“Jesus Christ, you could go to jail for fucking these youngsters. I might even go to the same jail for allowing it to take place here in my house and there is the problem. If you’re going to start screwing around, at least make sure who you are tapping is old enough. That puts the onus on them, not on you or me.

“You need to do some work around here. If you need to get laid, here is some money for that. I’m giving you $250.00 a month to check on things around here and to make the things that need repairs get done.

You seem to need sex and that I understand. Contact this woman whose name and phone number I’m giving you and she’ll fix you up. She’ll set you up with someone who is of legal age.”

He handed me five one hundred dollar bills. He finished with, “It’s against the law to screw a woman who is too young. Any one of age, you can fuck if you are man enough. You could even check out our housekeeper.”

He looked at me and grinned, “Well, I guess she is safe, she doesn’t even tempt me. Tell you what, I’ll increase your allowance so you can pay for some pussy. It should be enough if you plan it right. You ought to able to get some good pussy with that amount a couple times a month.

Then it was chore time. “The housekeeper and the cook both have credit cards to pay for the repairs you find that need doing. Use either one of their cards. I don’t expect you to do the work yourself, just see that it is done. Winnie will have a good idea what I’m talking about and has a list of the services I use.” No problem, I lived here and I did have pride in the home I lived in.

My thoughts returned to what we had been speaking about. I would guess this woman Cynthia, whose name I was given, would be someone my father knew at one time previously and some arrangements could be made to get me laid. I would use my father’s name when it came time to contact her. I was hesitant in calling this person, so I went looking to see what was out there before using her name. I waited awhile before I screwed up my courage to contact this person whose name I carried in my pocket.

In the interim, our house keeper and the cook mothered me until I became friendly with this person who guided me. Winnie, the cook, was the woman who became my surrogate mother for awhile. She also helped me in several other ways. I would finish high school and would never ask my father for advice. I was hanging out everywhere but at home during the day until evening and I only came home to eat and sleep. I also was never questioned by Dad about my life.

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My way of life actually began when Father slammed me for bringing home a girl my age for sex. It was a stroke of luck, but I didn’t know how big a stroke of luck it was at the time. I was now sixteen, out looking to get laid with money in my pocket, I looked for a section of the city where I didn’t think I would get robbed or have the cops question me.

To tell the truth, I was some scared and very shy about approaching the women who I suspected would sell themselves for sex. Some weren’t what I wanted to stick my dick into, either. I guess I was spoiled by the young girls of the age I had shared my earlier sexual experiences with.

And there were the homeless people, old and young, male and female sitting on the sidewalk that I stepped around. One man spoke as I walked by, me ignoring him. “Hey kid, I’ve been watching you coming up the street. What are you up to? You look the women over and ignore the men. I figure you must be a queer and never have tried some ones butt.”

I was shocked at this man’s idea of me. “God no, I just want to get out of here. I’ve got turned around and I’m lost. I saw one cop, but he would want to know what I was doing down here in this section of town.”

“You still haven’t told me anything.”

“Well, my old man caught me screwing a classmate. He gave me money to go get laid by someone eighteen or older.”

“You mean, he just handed you some money? He didn’t find you someone to stick it into for you? Someone old enough and safe enough? I’ll tell you, I don’t think much of your old man.”

“He gave me a woman’s name to contact for sex, but I wouldn’t know how to talk to her.”

“What was the woman’s name? I’ve been kicking around here for awhile.”

“The name is Cynthia Ramona Prentiss.”

“I know a Ramona Prentiss. She used to be a madam until she was shut down, fined, and had to do community service, but that was years ago. She doesn’t even use her name of Cynthia any longer. She runs a straight escort service now. Same thing as before, but no sex. You have a phone with you?”

“Of course.”

“Do you want me to call her? I may know her better than I let on. I’d like to touch base with her myself on a different matter.”

“Would you call?”

“I would if you’d buy me a burger and a beer. There is a bar up on the next corner. If anyone should ask, my name is Matt Hagar. I used to trade stocks and stuff until I lost everything. That happened when I didn’t have money to buy the financial papers I needed to keep up with the market. I had to give it up.”

“Libraries have Computers and Newspapers.”

“Yeah, but they aren’t open the hours I need them. I never could keep up with the computers and that is some of what sunk me.”

“I know computers. I think the Wall Street Journal has a financial section and of course Barrons. Dad has those papers delivered to his business and sometimes he brings home a copy. I’d like to have you show me how the stock market works.”

“I’ve got no way to show you. The stock market is good, but if you really want to get into it, I can teach you everything about trading commodities. That’s on the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) in Chicago.

“Well, okay, but I’d like to contact the woman I have a name for first, though.”

“Let’s get that burger. I’m pretty hollow.”

I was guided into a bar and across the room to some a booths in the corner. “Give me some money. You want something to eat? Ten bucks will be enough.”

“No, just a coke will be fine.”

I dug out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to him. Matt shook his head. “That the only bill you got?”

“The only one and that’s breaking into my pussy allowance.” I received an audible laugh at this. He was soon back with our drinks and his hamburger. He handed me the change. He began eating slowly and savored every mouthful. He sat back and took a sip of beer.

“So Kid, tell me what your name is before we call this woman. Will she recognize it?”

“I’m Jimmy Cummings. She wouldn’t know it, but she must know my father’s name or he wouldn’t have given me hers. His name is Charlie Cummings. You might tell me how you know this Ramona?”

“One of those coincidences in life I guess. A few years ago, I used to trade in the market for her. She has a brokerage account and I would call it in to him. Either him or one of his team would deal with it and confirmation would be sent to my computer. I had a few bad picks and she dropped me. Okay, forget that, hand me your phone.”

I laid the paper with the name, phone number, and address on the table before Matt. He called the number and said in an aside to me, “Someone answered, she’s coming to the phone.”

I might have chickened out if Matt hadn’t offered to call for me. How would I have explained myself? I waited, wondering how much he was going to explain about me and my situation. First, I had to listen to half the conversation between them. I took it this woman was glad to hear from Matt, both asking each other what was going on in their lives.

Finally he said, “Hey, listen Ramona, I have a kid with me who was down in this area looking for sex. He got lost and I’m trying to help him out. He was actually looking for you because his father gave him your address and a fist full of money. His name is Jimmy and his father’s name is Charley Cummings. Do you know anyone by that name?”

Matt listened a minute and handed the phone to me. I answered, “Hello.”

“So you’re Charlie’s boy. I went to school with your father about nineteen years ago. We had a thing going together for awhile. The last time I saw him was at our second school reunion. He had his wife with him ... probably your mother. She was pregnant if I remember right. Tell me what your problem is and why you’re looking for me. This is a name from my past and I haven’t thought of Charlie for quite some time.”

I told my story and ended up with having Matt guiding me to her building. I questioned Matt in the cab on the ride to Ramona’s about trading commodities. For some reason it seemed interesting. He stayed with me because Ramona wanted to talk to him after talking to me. I thought my money was leaving at a considerable rate. It wasn’t that far and it was on the same side of the town closer to home.

Ramona was Dad’s age and for ten minutes, she asked about him. She was sorry that I had lost my Mom. I was immediately comfortable with this woman. She was lightly made up with lipstick applied. She had on a grey dress with a top of matching color that was open but little and the wings of it were drawn over her breasts. Her hair was light brown and I couldn’t see any grey.

Then she shared a little of why she lost contact with my Dad. “I was at the school reunion and I could see your Mom was pregnant. I did have three girls working for me in the business, and I was myself. I offered to take your Mom’s place when she had to shut him off because of the baby being near term. He acted insulted and I have never seen or heard from him since.

“Quick recap of my life was I got busted and had to pay a hefty fine. I had purchased this building already so I wasn’t broke with the rents coming in and all. I took a couple years off and was bored so I took on a couple of young women and opened up a straight escort service. There is no sex involved. The law still checks me out sometimes which keeps me honest.

“I have six young women for escorts now, and I dress them well to go out on dates. Some of them work regular jobs and they hang around here when they have the time. Most of them like to cook and read and talk about relationships. There are two who worked for me in the past who found husbands with the men I matched them to. I receive a fee for each match I make.

I hadn’t asked any questions, but I was happy listening to this charming woman who knew my dad at one time in the past. “So Jimmy, what did you have in mind for yourself?”

“Well, sex is on my mind a lot. Dad has shut me down and was upset when I was caught having sex at the house with one of my classmates. He upped my allowance to go get laid, but not by someone who is considered jail-bate if discovered. He didn’t tell me anything about you and I am curious so I screwed up my courage to come meet you. School is just out for the summer and I’m at loose ends.

“I do watch over the house with the house keeper and the cook. I actually don’t have to do any of the work and Dad would prefer me not to, but it is on me to tell the workmen what work needs doing.

“I’m not one for lying in bed, and I usually play tennis for an hour in the afternoon. I need to be home by six in the afternoon for dinner. Dad pretty much ignores me and I the same with him. I also don’t have any bad habits, either. Of course, I’m only sixteen and not fully developed in the sins of the world.”

Matt, sitting across the table from me said, “Except for sex, that is.”

“You’ve got that right. But what Dad would give some money to his kid to go get laid rather than deal with the problem, himself?” We all laughed.

Ramona sat thinking, then came out with, “Okay, son, I’ll see if I can help you out and find a way to fix this problem of yours. You do have to keep your mouth shut about this.”

She paused and then turned to Matt. “Matt, tell me about yourself and what’s been happening.”

“Not much. I’m living mostly on the street panhandling. I go see my ex-wife occasionally, but we’ll never get back together. Ramona, you know about that part of my life. I wasn’t thinking straight with the divorce and with all these upgrades on the computer that I couldn’t keep up with. I’m terribly sorry I lost so much money for you in the past. I’d like to make up for the mistakes I made, especially with you.”

I butted in, “What was your problem with computers?”

“You tell me. Look I’m used to looking up the details I need in the newspapers, but most everything is posted in different financial indexes on line. I get confused or frustrated, I suppose. I made more mistakes in a month than I ever did in the previous year after I bought a computer. Then I got hit with a divorce. Anyway, I was out of the market. I would like to get back in. I just need someone to help me figure this all out.

“It looks like there is no chance of me getting back in. I don’t even have a phone, a computer, or money to buy the papers I need to keep track of the direction the different contracts and futures or where they are heading. Understand, day-old papers from the trash just doesn’t cut it. I also don’t have a broker’s account.

Again, I spoke up, “Matt, I have a powerful computer and I am pretty good with it. It is fast enough to play action games on. The monitor is only a nineteen inch flat screen, but that should be big enough. You’d have to tell me where to search for what you need. There must have to be applications out there that we could buy. I have the summer off and this seems like it would be interesting. My old man hasn’t even asked what I was going to do this summer.”

Ramona spoke, “Your father isn’t that old. He is the same age as I am.”

“You look a lot younger than he does.”

“Oh, I can see how you could make the girls happy. You probably can charm their panties right off them.”

“Maybe at one time but I found out it was against the law.”

“Did it stop you?”

“Mostly.” I grinned, not admitting there was little on the horizon except for maybe someone she could find for me to hook up with.

Ramona turned to Matt. “Matt, do you think you could get back into the market if you had the more modern equipment and a minimum amount to start?”

“If I had the facts and details I need to make the decisions before me, I believe I could trade at the same level I did before I went off track. It shouldn’t take too long for me either with someone like Jim here for me to explain my moves to.”

Ramona asked, “Jim, could you rent us your equipment and stick with Matt until he re-acquired his former expertise?”

“I’ll teach Matt everything about computers I know if he would do the same for me about trading.”

“Kid, you ain’t going to learn this overnight. Full time this summer is good, but you’ll be going back to school in the fall.”

“Okay Matt, but you could run through the days happenings in the evenings for me, couldn’t you?”

“I could, Jim.”

Ramona asked, “Matt, where are you living? I have a couple of rooms in the attic you could live in. It will be handy if Jim comes here in the winter to keep up his learning without a break from one day to the next.”

I asked, “Hot up there in the summer isn’t it?”

Ramona did know a little about computers “It is, but I’ll spring for a small AC.”

“That’s good. Computers don’t like too much heat. Can I bring my stuff over tomorrow? We’ll need a phone hook up and internet connection. Who pays for this? I mean my money is limited and I still want to meet a woman and I may not have enough to get what I need.”

“Jim, your dad sent you here for that. He probably thought you could get it from me. You’re a little too young for me so give me a couple of weeks and I’ll arrange something. We’ll talk about it later. Matt and Jim, I find it is exciting to watch the market and see if a person can make money at it. It has been a couple of years and I still have some money, but I can always use a little more. I’ll finance Matt with what he needs to start if you will work with him.”

“That would be great.”

“Okay, that’s it then. Jim, I’ll pay for the setup. You have the equipment we need and Matt, with some help from you on the computer, will get back to being a commodity trader again. We’ll have to start off slow because my funds are also limited, but if I remember correctly I have enough to get started.”