Chapter 10: Confessions and Seductions

They paraded from the two cars—three sexy women and one tall nervous man—to the modest two story house skirting the edge of Milwaukee, hinting of suburb. Arriving an hour early, Marta mashed the doorbell and waited a minute before searching her purse for the key to the house. Not having visited in almost a year, she felt estranged from the familiar place of her teenage years. Before her key found its hole the door opened. A younger male version of her stood in the doorway, eighteen and stocky and handsome and a few inches taller and smiling. "Marta!" said Leo, embracing her.

"Hi Leo," Marta spoke quietly. The quick embrace ended and siblings entered the house allowing the rest to follow. They hovered near the entrance to remove jackets and hang them in the vestibule. Leo as politely as possible reacted to the lovely shapely female strangers with widened eyes and brief scans and a dumbfounded smile.

Marta introduced the women simply as friends, Joe as her boyfriend.

"Relax, Joe. Mom and Dad are cool. Make yourselves comfortable. Mom should be here soon."

"Sorry to arrive so early," said Marta. "Traffic was light and I thought it would take longer. And sorry for kicking you out of your room."

"No problem. It was your room before."

"Not for some time."

"Yeah. What can I get you guys? Beer or wine or sodas?"

Leo grabbed a beer for L and himself. Marta poured three glasses of wine. They sat together in the cozy living room and chatted sparsely until Marta got Leo talking about his plans. He'd spent the summer with friends traveling the East Coast and planned to head west before winter set in to look at schools. He decided to take a year off before getting back into the intellectual grind.

"What do you plan on studying?" asked Joe.

"Film. I'm looking at USC or UCLA."

"I bet that's competitive."

"I'm not sure. I hope I can get in. Otherwise there's San Francisco."

Marta's mom arrived surprised by the number of people her daughter had brought. Marta made similar introductions. Her mom met Joe's eyes and she smiled genuinely. Not as magical as Marta's smile, damped down by age and complexity, it sparkled and made her more beautiful. Her mom stood a couple inches shorter. Her body had become heavier as middle age monkeyed with her metabolism. She still revealed grace and exuded sexiness. Meeting her helped Joe calm down a couple notches, though anticipating meeting the father kept him tense.

"Are you going to have enough?" asked Marta.

"You know I always overdue my roast. Speaking of which..." She headed to the kitchen and checked on the slow roasting meat. "It should be ready by the time your father arrives," she said loud enough to be heard. Marta joined her, asking to help. After filling a large pot halfway with water and setting it on the stove to boil, she joined her mom peeling potatoes.

"He seems nice," said her mom.

"He's a godsend."

"You look happy."

"I am."

"Should we stick to him, or can we discuss what you've been doing these past three years?"

"I want to wait for Dad. I don't want to have to repeat everything."

"And the two women?"

"Mary's my roommate. I'll tell you why L's here later."

"Mary's beautiful, but troubled."

"Yes she is. Life hasn't been easy. I think having me in her life has helped. She's helped me too. We keep each other sane."

"I knew you were too sensitive, but I never worried about your sanity."

"I'm fine. Mary and now Joe keep me fine. Things haven't been easy for me either, but I've had stability thanks to you and Dad."

"Okay. Tell me about him."

It surprised Marta how much she knew about Joe in the short time they'd been together. Her mother saw the interest and the love, something lacking from earlier beaus. It pleased her, cutting through the fear of finding out what had kept her daughter unknown to her for several years.

Marta's father seemed even nicer than her mother. Like his wife losing the body's battle against age, his slim structure held a rounded tummy which he carried with ease. His face looked younger than his 45 years and handsome. He shook Joe's hand firmly, his eyes, set an inch below Joe's, being a tall man, pierced deeper than the mother's. The smile eroded the last of Joe's nerves. He felt welcomed.

Leo grabbed a beer for his dad, grabbing a second for himself. Joe kept his wine unfinished. Mary worked on her third glass. Marta noticed a concerned glance from Joe when Mary replenished her glass. "Be good, Mary. I want you part of this family at least for this evening," Marta whispered.

Briefly seized by her natural quarrelsomeness, Mary took a breath, examined her level of intoxication and nodded.

Problematic discussing the strange women's presence, Joe guided the conversations towards himself and Marta's family. By the time dinner was ready, he felt uncomfortably monopolistic.

Conversation at dinner consisted of oohs and aahs, the food being excellent and homey.

Over coffee and delicious fresh strudel from a local German bakery, truth emerged.

"It's a delight meeting Joe," began the father. "And it's obvious he's been good to you. He's helped ease the worry we had from your long absence and your vague conversations over these past three years."

"I don't know if I want Leo to hear my confessions," said Marta.

"Hey Sis, I'm not the baby of the family anymore," complained Leo.

"You'll always be the baby of the family," said Marta. "But you're right. Just keep this mum, okay?"

"Of course."

"Promise her Leo," demanded his mom.

"I promise I won't speak of this to anybody."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" asked Marta.

"Used to. We decided to split when I travelled and she headed to Texas for school."

"Sorry."

"That's okay. We both decided we needed more experience dating. We'd been pretty much a couple since junior year."

"I just wanted to give you an exception, but it's best this way. God, how do I start?" Marta glanced at Mary and Joe and L.

"That bad, hunh?" said Leo.

"Worse."

"It might be easier if I tell you why I'm here," L began. She continued when Marta nodded. "I'm a private investigator." She dug in her purse and brought out a silver case containing business cards. She passed one each to the family. "My father and I are retained by Joe's firm. They're one of the top firms in Chicago if not the nation and chose us to assist them when necessary. We have established prestige. Joe asked me to meet with Marta. My father and I decided to take the case.

"The most difficult part of Marta's problem involves you, her parents. Your involvement makes her suffer even now. It's why I'm here. You see, without wanting to, Marta became an escort." The parents looked slapped. Leo looked confused, images of sex and the disrepute of Marta's job tussled inside him. "The key here is she didn't want to."

"Then why... ?" began her father.

"You're not going to like where it began," said Mary on the edge of tears. "Your daughter might represent a nightmare of bad choices, but she's the most amazing, the most beautiful and the most real woman I ever met. I can see why, being in the warmth of your family home. She let me come because..." Mary wept.

"Mary grew up in the most dysfunctional environment imaginable," Marta chimed in, taking Mary's hand and calming her. "My reason for choosing exotic dancing..." Less of a reaction after the first confession, it still shocked. "I'm sorry if I disappoint you Mom and especially Dad. I wanted to be a dancer as you know. It proved difficult and frustrating and financially impossible. Early on I supported myself stripping in Chicago on weekends. Then when my dreams perished, stripping became full time. I make good money. I'm very good as is Mary. We have each other. I have Joe now and his brother has become friends with Mary."

"And Mary plans a career change," smiled L. "I'm hiring her and training her in my line of work."

"That's good," said the mom numbly.

"Anyway, to get to why I'm here," said L. "For the past three years Marta has been coerced into prostitution."

"It's my fault," said Marta.

"It was one mistake, a mistake stemming from insurmountable temptation," explained L. "You're familiar with Georgy Belacourt?"

"The Chicago boss?" exclaimed the father.

"Exactly. Three years ago he scouted for talent, fresh meat so to speak. He has a fetish for escorts. He spotted Marta and had his associate offer an obscene amount of money if she'd visit Georgy in a hotel."

"He bargained with me until the money couldn't be resisted. Sorry."

"Marta never prostituted herself literally or figuratively before," said Mary.

"The only good thing coming from it was meeting Mary. She helped me come to terms with what I'd done."

"I've been a prostitute since I was fifteen," said Mary.

"Out of necessity," explained Marta. "But if Mary had the chances I had growing up, she'd have been a professor of philosophy like Joe's dad. Mary's brilliant."

"I'm not going to sugar coat myself. I like women. Your daughter ... I wanted her. Then and now I think she's the most beautiful woman I ever met. It didn't turn out like I wanted, but much better. I never had a friend since my early teens until I tried seducing your daughter. If I succeeded, I probably wouldn't be sitting next to her freaking you out. In fact I might not be here at all, I mean alive. She's that important to me."

The roommates exchanged a loving glance.

"Anyway," L restarted, "the boss ended up obsessing over Marta. He wanted her with a vengeance. He sent out his soldiers and when she refused a second visit, he upped the stakes, but not financially. He found out about you two."

"What about us?" asked the father.

"You both have a tendency to act as irritants to the ... Oh shit. Hold on a second. Keep quiet."

She darted outside, grabbed her father's bug spotter and returned. The boxy metal with lights and dials and displays travelled throughout the house. It stopped at each phone. "Shit," muttered L. Having finished her exploration she went to each phone and dismantled it quickly, pulling out the bug.

"You're kidding," grumbled the mother.

"Wish I was. Not a problem. I want them to know Georgy's been threatening your daughter. I just don't want them knowing what I need from you. You're both respected political figures in Milwaukee. Publicizing Marta's profession..."

"We wouldn't care about that!"

"Of course we wouldn't," the mother agreed.

"It would have hurt you," said Marta. "But I might have risked it except..."

"Georgy threatened to kill you and put the blame on the local boss. He claims not to care about expanding here, and it might be true, but..."

"He certainly wouldn't mind," finished Marta. "The idea of murder and expansion thrilled him like some fucked up sport."

"I need to know about the boss or bosses you stepped on," explained L. "If you want your daughter to get out of this monstrous trap, I need to know everything you know."

"The corrupt assholes fucking with the taxes, sorry Leo, probably have strings controlling them, but I couldn't say who controls the strings," said the mom. Leo nearly fell out of his chair when his mom spouted expletives.

"I can," said the father shaking his head.

"You never..."

"I wanted you safe," explained the father.

"Still..."

"I'm sorry honey. I couldn't risk it."

"Next time risk it," pronounced the mom.

"Yes dear."

"Give me what you know," said L to the mom.

"I keep my data tucked away safely in encrypted files and a heavy duty safe at my office," the dad informed L.

"Could I take a peak?" asked L.

"Tomorrow you can come to work with me. You can be a legislator's clerk from some Illinois town."

"Or a chippy," said the mom.

"I'd never..."

"Let them think what they want. Imagining me as an affair might divert suspicion from our true intent."

"Have you..." Marta started.

"We both have darling," admitted her mom. "Hopefully that's ended."

"Me too." The way they eyed each other and when they stood and kissed, it seemed reasonable to conclude sexual side trips had ended.

"Follow me," said the mom to L.

"Mom," interrupted Marta, "is the daybed still in your office?"

"We needed more space, so we moved it to the attic.

"Do you mind if we haul it down to the basement?"

"Of course. I thought the women could choose between Charlotte's room and the living room couch."

"We'd like to spend the evening discussing things. It would make it easier."

"It's a bit of a beast with the two mattresses."

"Leo and Joe and I can handle it. We'll stash it back tomorrow morning."

"Fine with me," said Leo. "Maybe we can keep it down there for future visits. Friends might come by."

"It'll be cluttered," said Mom.

"There's a bunch of junk I could move into the attic or maybe we could donate."

"Great idea. I've wanted to get rid of a lot of stuff since my babies have grown up," she sighed.

The parents and L went into the office. The others brought the day bags downstairs and helped shuffle things around to make room for the daybed which they fetched with difficulty and set up as a double bed. Once completed, Leo ran upstairs to fetch beers for everyone. Handing them out he asked, "What's it like dancing for horny men?"

"Why? Would you like a demonstration?" asked Mary.

"I..."

"What do you think Marta?"

"He's my brother; and Joe..."

" ... is a man. He won't mind."

Joe shrugged. "I've seen you dance. I enjoyed it."

"It'll be easier without those clunky ridiculous platform shoes."

"The floor's hard."

"Wait," said Leo. He walked to the other side of the partitioning separating the bedroom from the heaters and washer and dryer where he found a roll of carpet and an exercise mat. "Carpet or mat?" he asked.