We were in pretty serious financial condition. Wintertime in the U.P. of Michigan isn’t really our construction season. And because the economy was in the toilet, my construction company had a lot of trouble finding any jobs that paid much the previous summer. So money was really tight at this point. We had payroll to meet, bills to pay, and not a lot of money coming in. We had a couple small-time remodels going, but those were barely going to be able to keep the lights and heat on.

My crew had looked forward to getting raises this year, but that wasn’t going to happen. In fact, it was so bad that I had to choose between letting some of my people go or taking a cut in my own pay. I considered these guys as close as family so I did take the cut in pay, and a few of my long-time employees joined me in trimming our salaries so we could keep everyone getting some kind of paycheck.

My wife, Cindy, and I were sitting at the kitchen table one evening, going over our household bills and wondering how we were going to make them all. We looked at the pile of bills, some in yellow envelopes or with big large “OVERDUE” stamp across the front. It was imposing to say the least.

“How are we going to pay all these bills?” she asked me.

“I dunno, honey. Some of these bills are already overdue and they have late fees attached. Others are getting ready to be overdue. I guess we are going to have to pay the ones we can’t ignore first, like the utility and house payments. The others will just have to wait. That’s about all we can do and we’ll be lucky to do that,” I said.

“Yeah,” she sighed heavily. I knew she was worried. We were up against a wall. We were in debt up to our necks and there was no way we were going to be able to borrow any money to make the bills. My parents were both on fixed incomes and barely able to pay their own bills, and my wife’s parent’s were both gone so we had no family to borrow from. And with the lack of jobs in the area, the idea of getting a part-time job was going to be extremely difficult.

“You know, honey,” Cindy said, “there is a way I could earn a lot more money.”

“I’d like to know how. There are no part-time jobs to be had around here,” I answered, wondering what she had in mind.

“Well, you remember my college roommate, Tina? I told you about her before.”

“Yeah, I remember. Didn’t you tell me she finished school and got married?”

“Yeah, that’s her. Well, she was having money problems while she was in college. She was halfway through her second year when the scholarship she was on dried up. She was facing having to drop out of college,” she said. “Now she is living out in Los Angeles somewhere.”

“Did she graduate from college?” I asked.

“Yeah, she was able to find a way to make money and she was able to finish college.” she said.

“That’s good. So what did she do?” I asked, curious now.

Cindy hesitated for a moment. I could tell she wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure if she should.

“What is it, Cindy?” I asked.

“Well, she was sort of self-employed. An unusual job that she didn’t tell a lot of people about. In fact no one knew about it except me. I was Tina’s roommate and her best friend and she told me everything, but no one else,” Cindy said.

Now I was intrigued. “What did she do?” I asked again.

“She, uh...” again Cindy hesitated. “She was a prostitute. I mean, she didn’t call it that. She described what she did as being a ‘party girl,’ never anything else.”

I was stunned. “Did her husband know about her being a prostitute – I mean a party girl?” I asked.

“I don’t think so, at least not before they were married. He may know now, I don’t know. I was the only one she told about it at the time, though. She said she got into it through a friend and only worked on weekends so she could study and stay in school. Some weekends she said she made $1500.00 or more.”

“My God. That’s a lot of money. Was it dangerous?”

“No, not for her. She was very careful. She was on the pill and she made sure the clients always wore a condom,” Cindy said.

“Was there a pimp or something to protect her? I mean I’ve heard that prostitutes get beat up a lot,” I said.

“Well, not in the TV show sense, no. There was a guy who set up her party dates and he made sure things were safe for her. He took a small cut, naturally, but he was pretty good to the girls. They got to keep most of the money they worked for, unlike some of the pimps we hear about who take a lot bigger chunk of their pay,” she said.

I was still so intrigued, I had almost forgotten that Cindy had brought up this subject thinking she might take this up herself.

“Did she fall for any of her clients? You know, get emotionally involved?”

“No, never. It was just sex. A business deal. She made sure it never got personal.”

“Did she enjoy it? I mean, did she...?”

Cindy looked embarrassed. “Well, I never really asked her that point-blank, but she told me she had a good time, yes.”

“My God! You mean she came? She had orgasms?”

My wife looked uncomfortable for a moment.

“Yes, I guess so,” she said, looking down. “She was 19 or 20 back then, same as me. And we both were dealing with our hormones,” she said.

“I see.” Finally I remembered why Cindy had brought the subject up.

“Well, I think the whole idea is crazy, and don’t want you to even consider it.”

“Okay, darling. It was only an idea.”

We embraced and kissed and dropped the subject. We went to bed that night without talking about it any more and forgot about the whole conversation by morning.

It was several weeks later before the idea surfaced again. Our money problems had worsened when one of the few jobs we had lined up at work backed out because they didn’t have the money to do the work.

Then my truck’s transmission decided it didn’t want to play anymore so there was another bill we had to pay. I needed my truck for work and it was also our only vehicle. I had a friend fix it, and he knew our situation so he didn’t pressure me for the money, but I still wanted to pay him – after all he was a friend and did me a favor by fixing the truck.

One day I came home from another depressing day of trying to keep the business afloat and the creditors off our backs.

“Hi honey, how was work?” she said, cheerfully.

“Don’t ask,” I said. “I really don’t know how much longer this can go on. We are barely hanging on by a thread at work. The creditors are getting mad and we are quickly losing places that will give us the materials we need for the few jobs we have.”

“Sweetheart, it’s Friday night and the weekend is here. We don’t have to worry about work for a couple days,” she said, putting a happy spin on things. That was my Cindy’s way ... she could find a happy side to anything – even a natural disaster!

I had to take her in my arms and kiss her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, honey. Your sunny disposition just makes me smile no matter how bad things are!” I said.

“Well, someone has to cheer you up, you worrywart! I can’t have my man getting worry wrinkles at such a young age!” she said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Oh by the way, I called Tina and it just so happens she is going to be in town this weekend. Can we get together with her – it’s been a long time and I’d really love to see her again!” After some hesitation, I agreed. I realize now I was very curious about Tina and wanted to know more about her secret life.

We met Cindy’s college roommate at her hotel and the three of us went out from there. We had quite a few drinks and ended up having dinner at a nice place nearby and then returning to our apartment for coffee.

I was somewhat surprised to find Tina completely normal; that is, there was no sign of any kind that she had ever been a prostitute. She was invariably outgoing, cheerful, and bubbly ... rather like Cindy, I thought. I was intrigued.

Tina seemed to be doing rather well for herself. I didn’t know her in college, but she was dressed impeccibly and she was staying in a very nice hotel. She even insisted on picking up the tab for diner that night.

I listened to the girls “catch up” nodding once or twice just to show I was still paying attention. Who wouldn’t – Tina was a very sexy and beautiful woman and with the dress she was wearing ... well let’s just say she was certainly not shy and she knew how to sell!

Cindy and Tina talked about what had been going on since their college days and we found out that Tina and Rick had split up just after college – he went overseas to work while she had gone to Seattle herself.

“I still work nights too, you know,” said Tina, who had been telling us about her life in Seattle. “I have my days off and the money’s great.”

“Oh,” said Cindy, blushing slightly. Cindy and I looked at each other and then back at her.

“Actually,” Tina said, “It isn’t all that bad. I am only working three nights a week and I am doing pretty well for myself. I am also building up a great nest egg for when I can’t do this anymore.”

I’ll admit, I was impressed. Maybe it was the alcohol, or because of the money and glitter she was displaying, but the whole idea didn’t seem so shocking and outrageous anymore. I saw how happy Tina seemed to be, and I began to think about Cindy doing it if she really wanted to.

“Well,” said Tina, “I was talking with my business manager recently and he asked me if I knew any girls who might want to get into this business. And I thought of you immediately, Cindy. I know that Seattle is a long way aay from here, but if you are interested we can set something up here locally for you to get started and then my business manager can run things using Mark here as his associate.”

“How would that work?” I said absentmindedly. Cindy’s ears perked up when I showed interest in the idea.

“Well, my manager would make the party arrangements and let you know about them. You would go with Cindy here and oversee things to make sure the rules were followed and that everyone had a good time. My manager would get his cut, which isn’t much at all, and you guys would get the rest. Depending on what the arrangement is and the number of clients, I make around $1,000.00 a night, sometimes more,” she said.