Chapter 6

After the honeymoon, they settle in to married life. Paul gave up his apartment and moved his things, mostly computer equipment and manuals, into the office which he now shared with Angel. Because his schedule fluctuated with the whims of his clients, he often only saw her for brief periods of time other than when the both finally made it into bed. One morning however, they were both in the office, each working at their own computer and each having a miserable time.

"Ooooo, this bookkeeping program drives me crazy," Angel said, slamming both hands on the desk in frustration. "It's slow, hard to use, and so outdated that I'm afraid to get a new computer because I've heard that it won't work with the new Windows operating system."

"I know what you mean; that's what I've been dealing with for the last couple of years; and now with Y2K less than two years away, I'm afraid I'm going to lose a lot of my work to newer and better systems."

"Paul, I been thinking. You've been working awfully hard lately, we've been seeing less and less of each other, and you don't seem to be really happy with your job. Why don't you just give up all of your clients?"

"If I don't have any clients, how am I going to make any money?"

"We don't need your money. I know we really haven't talked about finances yet, and haven't filed our first joint tax return, but I make plenty of money for the both of us."

Paul was skeptical, and he said so. He knew the place was always pretty crowded, but how much could she actually be making after paying all the bills?

"Honey," Angel replied, "this place is a cash cow. My profit on food is a little over fifty percent and my profit on beer and liquor is over seventy percent. My labor costs are low because the customers pay a lot of payroll costs through their tips. The entertainers, of which I'm one, receive most of their pay from the customers in tips. My biggest expense is the insurance. I own the building; the bar pays a hefty rent, which more than covers any expenses, and we basically live rent free, not to mention our other costs of living that flow through the bar as well."

"But Ang, what would I do? I can't just sit around here doing nothing all day."

"I was getting to that. When you're not taking care of any specific needs of mine -- if you know what I mean -- why don't you write and design a new bookkeeping program? Something that the typical small business owner could use; something that could be bought right off the shelf, installed by the user, and most importantly, could be used on the new PCs using Windows."

"I've taken a couple of seminars on the new Windows program, but I really don't know that much about accounting and bookkeeping."

"I could help you with that; you could use our businesses as the basic framework and you could ask my accountant for his input on any technical questions."

"Ang, I may not be able to bring in any revenue for a year or more; and there still is the question of marketing my program. Will we have enough to live on?"

"Paul, I didn't want to have to tell you, but I guess you'll find out about it anyway at some point. I bring in more money in a month than you do in a year."

Paul looked at her, too stunned to speak; then turned and left the room.

"Shit!" Angel said as she got up and followed him.

"This is why I never told you; I knew you would react this way."

"Ang, how am I supposed to feel? You just told me that I'm basically worthless. I grew up believing that the man was the bread-winner in the family. That it was his job to support his family and it was the woman's role to be supportive and nurturing. I know that times have changed; that women are now in the workforce and rightfully demanding equal pay, with no limitations to advancement. But this is different; I'm not holding up my end of the bargain and I don't know if I can live with that."

"Paul, listen to me; if your program becomes a success, you'll make more money than I ever will. But if it doesn't, I don't care; as long as you tried that's all that's important. You've already done more for me than you can imagine. I was broken emotionally; I was damaged goods. I never thought there was anyone who could love me for who I am ... for what I had to be. Then you came along and changed my life. You loved me. With all my faults, with my need to be in control, and even looking and acting the way I do, you've always loved me. That's all I ever need from you. And if your company never gets off the ground, then you'll just have to assume the role of being supportive and nurturing."

She stood in front of him, their size differential never more apparent, lifted him into a loving embrace and said, "Please Paul, I love you and need you; please don't feel this way."

"I'll try Ang. I love you, too."

The next day Paul sent out a letter to each of his clients, informing them that they had thirty days to find a new computer guy. He thanked them for their business and promised to complete any unfinished projects before the end of the month.

Over the next thirty days Paul watched as his work load disappeared until he had only one project left to finish. Coincidentally, it was for the electronics distribution company down the street. On Friday after five he delivered and installed his final project for the company. After he determined that everything was running smoothly, he cleaned out his desk and packed his things into his car. Looking back, Paul sighed with relief and proceeded to drive the short distance back home.

He hadn't realized that the job had taken as long as it had; when he pulled up to the front of the bar he found the parking lot completely full. There were even cars parked on the street. Fortunately his reserved spot behind the building was empty. Normally he would have gone right up stairs and watched a little TV before going to bed, but tonight he thought to himself:

'I'm going to have a beer or two in celebration of the start of my new project and the close out of my old one -- and I'll finally get to catch Angel's act. I wonder what she does on stage.'

Although the place was packed, he managed to find a single seat at the bar. Paul was sitting between two groups of guys who were so busy hooting and hollering at the current dancer he didn't think they even knew or cared that he had invaded their turf. Dave came over and Paul said he'd have his usual draft beer. As he drew Paul's pint he said, "I'm glad you're here; Ang will be on in about twenty minutes and wait until you see her latest stage show, I think it's her best ever."

Paul finished his first beer and was half way through his second when the music went off, the lights dimmed, and a voice boomed from the overhead speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present for your entertainment the one, the only ... Angel."

The place erupted; guys cheering and pounding on the bar and the tables behind him. He looked around the room and noticed that there were several groups of women scattered in with the mostly male crowd.

After a few moments, Angel stepped out from behind the curtain and onto the elevated stage in the center of the room. She looked magnificent, dressed in the black baby-doll pajamas that he had seen her buy at Victoria's Secret, and black stiletto heels. She was strutting around the perimeter of the stage giving each patron sitting at the bar a wink and her sexiest smile. When she was almost in front of him, she paused, smiled and blew Paul a kiss. That got him acknowledged by the guys sitting on either side. He was on the receiving end on two playful punches in the arm.

"Thank you" she said after she returned to her starting point at the back of the stage.

"For those of you who are new to Angel Heaven, or have not seen me before, welcome. I am not your typical stripper/dancer, as you can plainly see. One: in heels, I stand six feet seven inches tall. Two: I weigh two hundred and twenty seven pounds. Three: my measurements are fifty-two -- with a C cup; twenty six, thirty five. And finally," she smiled as she said, "I don't dance very well."

The place was eerily quiet; she was a master at playing to the crowd. She hesitated until the last possible second before the crowd could get restless, then, reaching up, untied her top and let it fall to the floor.

The guys started cheering and whistling, as she started her posing routine. She morphed from a double bicep pose to a lat spread, to a single bicep, to a pose with her hands behind her head, featuring her chiseled eight-pack abs. All the time she was moving around the stage, giving each side a close up of her unbelievable body.

She moved to the center of the stage, just under the rings that hung from the ceiling and looking around the crowd said,

"You know, my muscles aren't just for show; watch."

Kicking off her heels, Angel leaped up, grabbed hold of the rings, let her arms relax until she was completely still, and then slowly pulled herself up until her head was even with the rings. She smoothly reversed her grip, then muscled herself up until her arms were completely straight. She held that position for a few moments until the rings were completely still and then ever so slowly lowered her body by moving her arms directly out to the side.

Paul had watched enough of gymnastics during the Olympics to know that this move was called an Iron Cross and required a tremendous amount of arm and shoulder strength. She held that pose for about thirty seconds and then lifted her legs until they were perpendicular to her body. Angel smiled at her audience, winked and did a couple of leg splits, giving the guys directly in front of her a great view of paradise, just barely covered by her g-string. Holding her legs in that position she lowered herself out of the Iron Cross and began a series of chin-ups, making them seem effortless. Finally, with her arms fully extended again, she lifted her legs up and over her head, until she was facing the stage floor, with her body extended straight out parallel to the floor. She smiled, did a quick somersault and landed with a thud onto the stage in a perfect dismount.

Angel slid her feet back into the shoes and strutted around the stage again, this time she paused every couple of feet in order to flex her quads or her calves. In those stiletto-heeled shoes, her magnificent legs were already huge. In front of some of the more vocal guys she turned and gave them an up close view of her unbelievably solid ass as she flexed first one glute and then the other.