Chapter 12

The Joys of Ownership

The Joys of Ownership.

"Hey, Carl." The twins wanted something or needed something ... this wasn't a 'social' visit.

"Mina ... Bill. Do for ya?"

"When does our prepaid rent run out?"

"Shit! I never looked. You two are so little trouble I never bothered." Mr. Santiago looked a little put out. Not with the twins but with himself. "I'll have to go look at the receipt book."

He came out counting on his fingers ... mumbling. "April 1- May 1 ... one. May 1 - June 1 ... two. June1 - July 1 ... three. July 1 - August 1 ... four. August 1 - September 1 ... five. September 1 - October 1 ... six. You owe me for October and then there's November's rent." He had to do it, like, six times because he kept getting lost because of the ones.

He looked miffed. "You know ... you two have been so little trouble I've flat forgot it. Like my kids instead of renters."

Mina fetched her purse, paid him for the month of October and looked a little sheepish.

"What? You short? I know you've got money in the bank ... Pay me Tuesday."

"It's not that..." Mina turned red in the face... "Ah ... DD wants us to move in with her."

This was embarrassing. First someone ... they didn't really know the lady who paid their rent for half a year ... and the utilities ... and now they had a ... she hated the word she had to use ... but nothing else explained DD ... a 'Slave' who wanted to please them by giving them her home. She'd even explained it to Mina while they were cleaning the kitchen.

"What I have is yours ... I'm yours ... the money is yours ... the house is yours. You own me ... my choice. You didn't buy me ... I Gave me." DD said, "I'm not responsible ... you are."

"Gees ... I hate to lose you. You kids have been the best renters ever ... actually, you've been my only renters. I put that little room up there so's I'd have a place to hide from my wife. I'm not sure I'd even rent it out again. She died in that awful Oklahoma City Federal Building blast in '95."

"You're not 'Losing' us, exactly ... we'll be across the street ... you visit ... we visit." Bill explained, "we don't know jack about Texas history ... except for the Alamo and Davy Crocket ... and we got that from Disney ... and we know how he lied!

"If we have to go school at all next semester, it'll be to learn about Texas ... and I bet you know more about the REAL Texas than any brainwashed teacher."

That drew a laugh from Mina and a chuckle from Carl.

"How have you two kids managed to stay out of school at all? ... attendance is mandatory until you're 18."

"Emancipated ... both of us. The court in Shamrock ... we have papers. Legally, we're adults."

Which may or may not have impressed the truant officer.

In any event, they moved...

DD said, "I'm sorry as I can be ... but you're not moving that crap into my house ... even if it is your house now."

It was a simple matter ... DD and Mina walked the clothes ... still on hangers, across the street and into the master bedroom.

The master bedroom was bigger than their whole apartment.

The Jeep parked in the garage next to DD's Lexus, and the Dodge lived outside. The move took all of 30 minutes ... Carl even fetched and carried.

"Carl? DD won't let us move the furniture ... you want it?"

"Just leave it ... If I bother to rent it ... I can rent it furnished. You know ... Wanda had one hell of an insurance policy and since the Insurance Company couldn't claim it was an act of God ... Double Indemnity ... they HAD to pay." Carl chuckled, "what kind of a wife carries a three million dollar policy?"

DD, Mina and Bill all shouted..."The Good kind!"

"Yeah, well, she had the same on me."

Three separate and individual groans.

"Yeah ... exactly my thinking. We didn't get along that well."

After the move, the three met in the kitchen. Mina wanted to know how much the payments were and was amazed to find that DD had paid cash. When questioned, she informed them she was averaging Forty Thousand a week.

"You're shitting me!" exclaimed Mina.

"Forty Thousand?" questioned Bill.

"In cash ... every bit of it stuck in my slippery satin thong!"

"How about taxes?"

"I get paid a percentage of the drinks sold when I dance ... and they drink a lot of beer when I dance ... I pay taxes on that."

Mina asked, "How old do you have to be to dance there?"

"19 ... and you don't want to dance!"

"Why not?"

"Drugs, AIDS, Herpes, Prostitution, Kidnapping, Rape ... and those are the good parts."

"Oh."

"Yes, Oh. You might own me but I will never allow you to dance!! And don't you forget it."

"So, why do you do it?" Bill wanted to know.

"Because I fucked my way through highschool. Otherwise I wouldn't have graduated. My Mom was so proud of me ... she sent me a letter congratulating me ... the First one in my family to graduate ... the only one. I know my limits.

"I can't read, my writing is printing, I can't spell, school never bothered to hit anything in my head to keep it from going out the other ear. I can count change back, but I can't read a shelving chart ... it was only a matter of time before I was going to have to fuck my boss to keep my job.

"And I like it ... My pussy gets dripping, I get slick ... I sweat! I don't glisten ... I sweat. I like knowing what this body does to men ... and I love to tease."

"Bill, we need to go to bed... 9am in Dr. James's office."

DD giggled..."JimJim has a fat one." That was all she said about that.