Chapter 2: Being Helpful to Everyone

Doug was heading to work, so I took the opportunity to call Phyllis, knowing she would be free to speak candidly. After exchanging pleasantries, I came to the point.

"Your husband seems serious about wanting to go into the auto parts business," I said as an opener.

"I know. He says you're being very helpful."

"We've talked about it a couple of times. That's about it."

"I think it's wonderful that you're taking such an interest in his plans, Sammy."

"Phyllis, are you comfortable with Doug taking this giant step?"

"Of course, why shouldn't I be?"

She wasn't a stupid person. "I'm sure you've considered the risks involved in giving up a steady job to enter a new business."

"I'm surprised to hear you talk that way, Sammy. My husband is thirty years old. I have faith in his ability. The next ten years will be the building blocks that will support our future."

"Doug is fortunate to have such a supportive wife," I said, wanting to change to the more delicate subject. As it happened, I didn't have to bring it up.

"I think it's fabulous of you to help Jessie. I've always said you're an upstanding man, Sammy. I'm glad you called. I've wanted to tell you how disappointed Kelley made me when she told you about her one night stand with the Seattle photographer. If she'd taken my advice you wouldn't be the wiser and the two of you would still be together."

Afraid that I would say something incriminating, I ended the call as quickly as possible. It sounded like Phyllis was aware of the relationship that existed between Doug and Jessica Langley. She either trusted her husband or she didn't care if he took a single female on an overnight camping and fishing trip.

Did Phyllis assume that I had agreed to go fishing with Doug and Jessica? Obviously, he'd not had time to tell her about the question I planned to ask Jessica. Had Doug figured out that I had reserved the right to back out of going, regardless of the way she answered my question?

Was Phyllis baiting me with her remark about Kelley not taking her advice? I wasn't so sure it had only been a one night stand, but I knew that whatever I said would get back to Kelley. I didn't trust either of them.

The monthly meeting was held at the new home of the Coulters. Maxwell was a financial advisor and tax consultant. Marie owned a home decorations shop. The house was a showplace, evidence that Marie knew what she was doing.

Since I arrived late, the hall closet was overflowing with coats. Marie told me to stack my coat on top of the ones that had already been placed on a bench in the foyer.

I caught a glimpse of Marsha Cody out of the corner of my eye. She was headed my way, charging really.

"I met with your friend as a courtesy to you, Sammy, but please tell him to stop calling me. There's nothing I can do for him."

The room was crowded, and Marsha was finding it convenient to wedge her body next to mine in order to make herself heard over the noise. The meeting had drawn a good turnout. I could see that another room to the rear was just as crowded.

"I'm sorry if he's becoming a pest, but he's only an acquaintance, not a friend."

Marsha leaned in even more, and cocked her head. I bent my head down to offer my ear.

"He speaks highly of you. He says you're fishing buddies."

I laughed, and felt her lips touch my jaw as she spoke. "Let's find someplace more private where I can tell you exactly what was said." I let her take my hand and lead me through the other room to an open door, where a tent had been attached to the back of the house to provide a sheltered place for smokers.

There were three people in the tent, including Cynthia. She and the two women with her were smoking and sharing a quiet discussion. I couldn't help but notice that Cynthia was wearing the sweater and scarf I'd given her as a Christmas gift.

Marsha maneuvered me to a back corner of the tent, where she proceeded to tell me what my 'friend' needed to do if he expected to find financing for his venture.

"He has no business plan," Marsha said in a hushed tone, like she was discussing a top-secret battle plan. She had me backed up in the corner of the tent, making it impossible for me to shift my weight without colliding with the tent walls or her breasts.

"He has a complete list of capital equipment and the inventory he'll need to get started," I countered.

"He's done no competitive research, and he has no sales projections. He has this pie-in-the-sky belief that every repair shop for miles around will beat a path to his door."

"I spoke to his wife earlier today. She's an educated woman. I guess I assumed that she would have helped him prepare a business plan," I said, wishing that Marsha would back off. She was making me nervous. What must Cynthia think of the way Marsha had me pinned against the tent wall?

"I would be willing to help you develop a business plan to show other loan officers if you would like to come to my house next weekend," Marsha said in a low seductive voice that made it sound like she was offering more than help with a business plan.

"Thanks, Marsha, but we're going fishing next weekend," I said. My sudden decision to take Doug up on his offer of sleeping two nights in a tent with him and Jessica ... in January ... was reached quickly, not well thought out. Had I forgotten about the question I planned to ask Jessica?

Cynthia glanced my way as she threw her cigarette to the ground and stepped on it before striding back into the house. The other women followed her, leaving only Marsha and me in the tent. She stubbornly held her ground, practically grinding her breasts into my chest.

"It doesn't need to be next weekend," Marsha said, pleading now.

Didn't she know I was a college graduate and smart as hell? Did she really think I needed help writing a business plan?

"I may take you up on your offer after I've had a chance to find out what Doug can tell me about competition and if he's calculated his expenses. That will make me much better prepared to meet with you."

"Call me after your fishing trip," she said, giving me room to breathe.

"I will, but I'm not sure when it will be. I'm traveling frequently these days," I said and watched Marsha move toward the entrance to the house.

"It's time to begin the meeting," she said, like she hadn't heard me say that I traveled frequently.

Cynthia and Kelley were huddled in the crowded room. They both saw me, but looked through me, like I wasn't there. I wondered if they were comparing notes, Cynthia declaring that I was the best fuck she'd ever had and Kelley boasting that she'd had better.

Fortunately, Rudolph Phillips took me by the arm and guided me back into the smoke filled tent.

"Sammy, is that bay in your R & D building still available?" he asked as soon as we were in the middle of the tent.

Marsha was calling the meeting to order.

"Yes, as far as I know. Why do you ask?"

"Our neighbors have caught on to what we're doing. They've started a petition and they say they'll give us thirty days to cease operations before they go to the authorities," Rudy said, sounding desperate.

"I suggest that you call our sales manager on Monday. Jack Piedmont can show you the space and if it doesn't suit you, he knows everyone in the business."

"Could he show it to us tomorrow? I've got to settle on what I'm going to do before my neighbors lose patience with me."

"Tomorrow's Sunday," I said, but when I saw the desperation in Rudy's eyes, I told him that I would call Jack at home and see if he would be available the following day. Rudy gave me his business card, and we got back in time to hear Marsha say the meeting was adjourned.

Most of the members hung around to have another drink or to see if they could pick up a date for later. I edged my way to the door, wanting to see if I could reach Jack by phone that night. I was pawing through the stack of coats on the bench when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"May I have a word with you, Sammy?"

I straightened up to stand face to face with Cynthia. She looked into my eyes, waiting for me to answer her. I was gratified to see that she was one inch shorter than me.

"Sure, Cynthia, are you ready to leave? Is your coat in the closet?" I asked, preferring to hear what she had to say to me outside, away from the crowd.

"It's the long black one," she said, obviously expecting me to retrieve it for her. Maxwell Coulter was there to help me find our coats. We said goodnight to him and waved to the other members as we left the house. They seemed to be milling around, seeing if they could hook up with a member of the opposite sex. I'd missed getting to speak to Kelley, but that could wait until the February meeting.

I took Cynthia's hand to help her walk on the frozen ground. "I forgive you, Sammy," she said as we reached her car.

"What are you forgiving me for?"

"I forgive you for not admitting that you slept with that woman in Denver. I already told you that it would be all right with me, even if it was not necessary to fulfill your mission. I don't know why it's so difficult for you to admit what you did, but I forgive you anyway."

She'd unlocked the driver's door to the big car and had turned to face me, waiting for me to respond.

This was an impossible situation. Did she have a clue that I was furious with her unreasonable charge? She wanted me to admit something that I didn't do. In other words, she was calling me a liar. Denying that I had slept with Sandra Lynch would have been met with disdain. I decided to try a different tack.

Cynthia watched as I unbuttoned her coat. There were several buttons and it took some time to reach the last one, but she remained silent. She continued to watch as I unzipped my own coat, and when my hands went inside her coat, she got the idea and did the same with me. One of my hands felt the soft material of the sweater and my other hand cupped her ass. I felt one of her hands on my back and the other one pulling my ass to her.

"I've missed you," I said as our lips met. Her tongue tasted rancid, and I could smell the tobacco smoke as she exhaled.

"Damn, Cynthia, I thought you quit."

"I will, Sammy, I'll quit, I'll be a good girl, you'll see," she said, capturing my lips again. I let her maul my mouth. "I've missed you so much. I've missed this," she said when she stopped to take in air.

I spread my fingers and felt nothing but bones in her spinal column. There was no meat on her ass either. I broke the kiss to scold her, "You haven't been eating."

"I'll try, Sammy, I'll try to eat. I promise to be a good girl."

"You are a good girl, Cynthia. I don't know how you can let Kelley fill your head with nonsense. You're smarter than that."

She began to cry. I held her, running my left hand over her back and squeezing her butt cheek with the other one. "Please come home with me, Sammy. I'll be your bitch and I'll try to eat anything you want me to."

"I can't Cynthia. If I came home with you it would be like I was admitting that you were right about me sleeping with the Lynch woman. I would be accepting the fact that you don't believe me. I can't, in good conscience, do that."

"But Sammy, I forgave you," she said, in dead seriousness.

"You don't get it, do you? I cannot be with someone that doesn't believe what I tell them."

"You lied about your age," she said in an accusing tone of voice.

I held her close and whispered in her ear. "Technically, yes, it's true that I have not been on this earth for twenty-three years, but if you count the time I was in my mother's womb, I am closer to twenty-four than twenty-three."

Cynthia's arms held me tight and her cheek moved up and down, slowly, like she was nodding to agree with me. "Is that why you told me you were twenty-three?"

"No, I stretched the truth to make it sound like you were only ten years older than me instead of eleven years."

"You did it for me!" she exclaimed as she engulfed my lips.

"Yes, I did it for you," I said when she finally released me.

"Is that the reason you keep saying that you didn't sleep with the woman in Denver? Are you doing it for me?"

I pulled away. She reached for me, but I moved further back, zipping my coat. "Go home and think about what you just said. How you can stubbornly cling to an idea is beyond me."

I was ten feet away, walking swiftly when I heard her call to me. "Please, Sammy, come back, I'll be a good girl."

Couples were leaving the Coulter home as I made my way to my car. I was surprised to see Kelley leaving alone. She caught up with me, fell in step and walked to where my car was parked.

"I hear you've already dumped Cynthia for Doug's friend," Kelley alleged before I had a chance open my car door.

She was bent on picking a fight. Surely, she didn't believe that I would dump Cynthia for Jessica Langley. How could I have loved such a quarrelsome person? Kelley watched as I unbuttoned her coat, slowly, taking my time. She must have known that if she uttered one word, I would get in my car and drive off, leaving her standing in the middle of the street.

I unzipped my own coat, and put my arms inside her coat, the same way I'd encircled Cynthia with my arms. Kelley did the same, placing one hand on my back and the other one on my ass, snuggling to me.

I kissed her, and felt her lips open to permit my tongue inside. She was soon moaning, trying to swallow my tongue and pushing her pelvis into me. "Sammy, we can't do this here. Take me someplace."

"Can't do what?" I asked as I squeezed her ass with both hands.

"You're practically fucking me in the middle of the street. Do you have the key to that condo?"

"No."

"Do your seats recline?"

"I don't know."

"Mine do, come with me," she said, taking my hand and trying to pull me back toward the Coulter home. I resisted and when she saw that she couldn't make me budge, she came back and resumed kissing me. I didn't resist.

"Why did you accuse me of dumping Cynthia for Doug's friend? You don't really think that I would do such a thing, do you?"

Kelley must have known that she didn't stand a chance of getting laid. "I know you wouldn't, Sammy. I don't know why I say things like that. You've got a good thing going with her. Cynthia is rich and she wants to have your baby."

"Kelley, be truthful with me. Did she really tell you that?"

"She's crazy about you. She told me the affair was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to her."

"Affair? It was only a week."

"It was twelve days. She told me about every time, how you took her after the December meeting, how you ripped her dress and her panties apart and how you fucked her three times that night. Why didn't you ever take me that way, Sammy?"

"She wanted to become pregnant?"

"She still wants your baby. You must go to her, Sammy."

"I can't. She's got it in her head that I screwed someone and she refuses to believe differently."

Kelley kissed me and pulled away, seemingly giving up her mission to get laid. "Are you sure you don't want to see how my front seat reclines, Sammy?"