Chapter 5: The 'Wife'

“Are you Dexter?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Amber.”

Dexter looked the young woman over. She was attractive in a ‘the girl next door’ manner. Brown hair that came to her shoulders, brown eyes, and a pleasant build.

He stepped back and said, “Come in.”

Amber entered the apartment and looked around.

Not impressed with what she saw, she said, “The agency said you want me for a week.”

“That’s right,” Dexter said.

“That’ll be fourteen thousand,” Amber said.

“Here’s the debit card. Call it in,” Dexter said holding out his debit card.

“You’re sure?” she asked skeptically.

“Yes,” Dexter answered.

“I’ll charge five grand on it, but I’d rather have cash for the rest,” she said. Seeing the look on his face, she said, “The five grand is the agency’s commission. I’d rather not pay taxes on the tip.”

“Ahh. You’ll have to take me to the bank,” Dexter said.

“You don’t have a car?” she asked.

Dexter said, “I left it in ... well I left at an airport. I have to go back for it when I’m feeling better.”

“Why don’t you rent one?” she asked.

“Why should I rent one when you have one?” Dexter asked.

Somewhat embarrassed by her old car, she answered, “My car is small.”

“So?”

“Just figured ... you’d want something better,” she said.

Dexter said, “Small is fine.”

“Let me call in the card to the agency,” Amber said.

“Go ahead,” Dexter said.

Amber made the call. She talked for a few minutes and then hung up. She turned to Dexter and asked, “Are you ready to go to the bank?”

“Sure,” Dexter said.

Dexter and Amber left the apartment. She had a little Kia Forte that was filled with junk. It took her a minute to clear the front passenger seat, for Dexter to sit. Based on how much stuff was in her car he wondered if she lived out of it.

The trip to the bank didn’t take long. She drove and he rode shotgun. The service at the bank was excellent, and actually impressed Amber, who was unaware that it was the normal level of service at the bank. She had assumed he rated some sort of VIP service. She left with nine thousand dollars in her pocket, and he left with a thousand.

They returned to the apartment. Amber walked around the place, and noticed that he had only one bed. She hadn’t expected otherwise.

Looking over at him, she asked, “Now what?”

“I’ve got a shopping list. If you could run to the store, it would be great,” Dexter said.

“Clothes?”

“Food.”

“Food?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You know ... that stuff we eat,” Dexter said.

“All right,” she said.”I was just thinking it was kind of kinky.”

“Nothing kinky for me,” Dexter said with a shrug of his shoulders.

She looked down at the shopping list he handed her.

She said, “I like yogurt for breakfast.”

“Get some,” Dexter said.

“This is all frozen dinners,” she said.

“Would you rather cook?” he asked.

She said, “I can if you want.”

“That would be fine,” Dexter said. “Buy whatever you need.”

“Okay,” she said. After spending five minutes in the kitchen, she came out. “You’ve got nothing in your kitchen.”

“I don’t cook,” Dexter said. “I nuke.”

“I don’t nuke. I cook,” she said.

“Feel free,” Dexter said, handing her three hundred of the bank’s thousand.

When Amber left to do the shopping, Dexter took a seat in his easy chair, wanting to rest a little. He didn’t seem to have much stamina, and he didn’t feel like he was making any gains in that area. He hoped by having Amber around, he could concentrate on recovering from his surgery.

When Amber returned, she carried a bag of groceries into the kitchen.

Coming out, she asked, “Are you going to help me?”

“I’m not supposed to life anything heavy,” Dexter said.

“Why not?” Amber asked.

Dexter said, “I had heart surgery last week.”

“You’re kidding,” she said.

“No,” Dexter said.

“Can you get it up?” Amber asked starting at him.

“I don’t know,” Dexter said.

Amber asked, “Why did you hire me?”

“I need someone to take care of me,” Dexter said.

“There are nurses for that,” Amber said.

“They won’t run errands, and they won’t stay here full time,” Dexter said.

Amber said, “I’m an escort.”

Dexter asked, “Who else could I call to come live here for a week, run errands, and generally take care of me?”

“Normally taking care of a guy involves ... well ... having sex with him,” Amber said.

“I need someone to remind me to take my pills. I need someone to drive me around,” Dexter said.

“I charge extra for scat,” Amber said.

“What?”

“You know, enemas and wiping a guys ass,” Amber said.

Dexter was shocked. “I don’t need that,” he said with a grimace.

“Good. I don’t really like that kind of action,” Amber said.

“I don’t blame you,” Dexter said as he sat there looking at her.

“I’d better get the rest of the groceries.”

Dexter went into the study to work on the website, while Amber took care of the groceries. He had been in there for an hour when a wonderful smell permeated the air.

He went into the kitchen and asked, “What smells so good?”

“Spaghetti sauce,” Amber answered. “My mother’s recipe.”

“It smells good,” Dexter said.

Amber said, “I made enough so that you can freeze the leftovers.”

“Great,” Dexter said.

She glanced at the clock. “It’s time you took your pills.”