Dancin' For The Groceries Ch. 01

When Elizabeth returned to her room after getting the kids to bed she recalled Jeremy's harsh words toward his father.

Kids are growing up way too quickly these days. I don't want that for my children. I want them to feel free to be kids as long as possible. I must do something about this 'man of the family' issue with Jeremy; he's way too young and he doesn't deserve to carry that weight,she thought as her head hit the pillow, sleep came quickly.

****

Three days later, Helen returned Elizabeth's call. "Hi, how are you holding up over there?"

"Oh I'm holding up," she replied. Elizabeth concealed the anger she still felt regarding the whole situation, not to mention her fears of the future.

"Hey, I just wanted to let ya know that you have an appointment with Ryan Foster at Steve's cousins law office this morning at eleven thirty. He said he could probably take your case pro bono, but he wants to meet with you. I told him you'd call back if you couldn't make the appointment. I would've called earlier, but I didn't find out until I came home from work, and then it was after two A.M and I didn't want to risk waking the kids."

"Oh thanks Helen. How will I ever repay you?"

"You don't have to repay me. That's what friends are for. Just keep me informed okay?"

"Sure thing, you can bet on it. You're all I have left besides the kids and I can't burden them with this."

"What about your mother? Have you told her yet?"

"Hell no. Are you crazy? You know what she thought of David from the time we first started dating? I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of saying she was right all this time. I'd never hear the end of it. Well, I should probably be getting off this thing so I can get ready. Are you working today? Do you want to go with me?"

"Oh Liz, you know I would if I could, but I've got a meeting I can't get out of. I'll call you when I get done to see how things went with Ryan though."

"Okay, talk to you later then."

What the hell should I wear to meet with Mr. Foster?Elizabeth thought to herself after she ended the call with Helen and slid her phone in her purse.I don't want to look like a bum, but then again I don't want it to seem as though I've got a lot of money. Hmm...her thoughts trailed off as she stepped into the shower.

****

At thirty-one Elizabeth was unsure of herself, uncertain of her future. She took pride in being a stay-at-home mother, who'd do anything for her family. But now, she felt she had to prove to everyone that she could take care of her children without the support her husband provided. Looking at herself through the eyes of others, she appeared strong and brave. Now's the time she'd have to prove it to herself.

After two children and three miscarriages, she'd kept her stunning figure. Her breasts and ass remained firm and nicely rounded. Her stomach still appeared flat, perhaps a slight belly, but she was never one to turn down a homemade brownie from her daughter's easy bake oven. Her hair of golden brown draped her shoulders stunningly. Her amber eyes, with just a hint of green, sparkled seductively in the sunlight. Her long, lean, feminine limbs contributed to her overall grace and elegance.

On the day of her appointment she dressed casual, jeans and a nice sweater that accentuated her finest attributes. "Damn girl, you look stunning," Helen said as they walked into the lawyers' office. Mr. Foster couldn't take his eyes off her. After a lengthy discussion he agreed to take her case and told her he'd take care of everything.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Helen asked during the drive back to her house.

"Well, I have enough to pay the rent and bills for about two months, but I have to find a job. I probably won't make enough to keep that nice apartment, so I'll be looking at what's available in my price range. In the mean time, I'm gonna spend lots of quality time with my kids."

****

Mr. Foster kept his word and took care of everything. He delivered the divorce papers to David at work and awaited confirmation from his lawyer. Elizabeth had said the only thing she wanted from the divorce was custody of her children.

When the court date came, David was a no-show and the judge awarded her the family vehicle, full custody of the children as well as spousal and child support. "I doubt that'll ever be seen, but I'm satisfied I have full custody."

A welcomed pressure excited Ryan when Elizabeth thanked him. He wanted to ask her out on a date desperately, but hesitated. He decided it would be best to allow her an adjustment period for her new lifestyle. "She probably doesn't want anything to do with any man right now, Ryan. But give her some time and I bet she'd go out with you," Helen said after he asked her opinion.

Elizabeth, it's time to change your life and do what's best for your kids.She thought to herself as she searched the want ads for a reasonable job that wouldn't interfere with Jeremy and Madison's upbringing. She counted on Helen a lot and eventually her mother to watch the kids occasionally if she'd had a late interview.

Three days after her search began, Elizabeth was hired in as a waitress at a neighborhood diner. She had gotten "stuck" as she put it, with the dinner crowd. The patrons, most of them elderly, lived on a fixed income. At best, she'd only bring home meager tips, inappreciative of her hard work and pleasant personality.

"This just isn't going to work for me," she told her boss when she turned in her two-week notice. During those weeks she searched once again for a job with a better wage.

Jobs came and jobs went; throughout all that, Elizabeth lost her apartment. She no longer had enough money to put a security deposit on the apartment she'd had her eye on and thus settled for one a few blocks away. To top it all off, the dire need for major repairs put her car out of commission from her inability to pay. She resorted to public transportation as a means to get her children to school and herself to work.

The children loved the bus ride and argued daily to sit by the window. Helen, when available, picked the kids up and took them back to her house. She gave them dinner and helped with homework until Elizabeth called then Helen drove them back home.

****

Another six months had passed. After an additional move to a cheaper dwelling, Elizabeth found herself behind on the rent for the second time. "If you don't pay what you owe by the end of the week I'm gonna have to evict you, lady!" the landlord shouted through the locked door to her apartment.

She applied for assistance at the nearest Family Independence Agency. The social worker she'd been assigned to seemed unmotivated in helping with Elizabeth's current situation. "Let me tell ya, you gotta learn to live within your means. Stop gittin' that junk for your kids, walk instead of taking the bus, shop at the dollar store instead of K-Mart."

Elizabeth could hardly believe the way the social worker had spoken to her. She'd made it sound as if Elizabeth was living high-on-the-hog so to speak.

"You gotta learn how ta save your money, girl. According to your last check, you made plenty of money to get food and pay rent. You just gotta look in the right places. I can get information about gittin your kids' daddy to pay up that support he owes you," the woman said as she chewed the end of her pen and tapped her lavishly painted fingernails on her desk.

"I knew this would be a waste of time, but thanks for your trouble."

"But miss. Miss? You forgot your information packet." The woman yelled across the noisy office, still in her chair.

"I don't want anything from that man, not that he'd pay anyway. Besides if I can't get help with rent or food for my children who's going to pay for the lawyer? I know those services aren't free," she replied sharply. The door slammed against the wall when Elizabeth pushed it open. She was angry and it showed.

Elizabeth never dreamed her life would be this difficult. She sobbed nightly for her children, as well as herself. The next morning, after she'd gotten the kids to school, she pounded the pavement once again in search of a low-income apartment.

Would this be her lucky day? The second apartment complex she'd come to had several one and two bedroom apartments available and at a price she just couldn't turn down. "I'll take the one bedroom, Mr. Stone."

"Great, you can move in whenever you want after you pay first and last month's rent sweetheart," the landlord said then gave a wink before Elizabeth turned to leave his office.

Helen's assistance with packing and unpacking, afforded Elizabeth a smooth transition. She'd uprooted her family for the third time since her divorce.

Elizabeth's depressed state of mind increased as the days passed. She no longer had the nice apartment, the nice car, or the luxury of spending time at home to raise her children. But what upset her the most was that she no longer had her diamond ring; not because she wanted the jewelry, but because she could have sold it to get the car repaired or put better clothes on her children.

With the move complete and the children's room set up, Jeremy and Madison willingly went to bed for the night, without being asked. Helen stayed to keep Liz company, knowing she wanted, needed, someone to talk to. She didn't want sympathy, only a shoulder to cry on, but never asked for anyone's help.

"Oh God. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I feel so bad or the kids. This is harder on them than me, I know it; but they're being great troopers. I can hardly believe that bastard actually took my wedding ring when he left us," she told Helen.

"Yes that was wrong of him, but it's in the past. Now you need to get yourself together and get on with your life for the well being of your children, not to mention yourself. Hey, do you have to work tomorrow? I know it's the weekend but I've lost track of your schedule."

"No, I asked for the day off because of the move. I wasn't sure how long it would actually take or how tired I'd be. Why?"

"Well, I'm not very tired right now and this place looks like it hadn't been cleaned in years. How 'bout I stay and give you a hand?"

"I'll never turn down an offer like that, especially in a place like this," Elizabeth said with a giggle and rose from the couch to get the cleaning supplies from the closet in the kitchen. "Thanks for the help and the company. I've missed you."

Helen rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a rag as well as the bottle of bleach. She poured more than the required amount in the bucket of hot water before adding three scoops of Spic-n-Span as well as the rag. She started in the kitchen while Elizabeth started in the bathroom.

Elizabeth, positioned with her stomach resting on the toilet seat lid was cleaning behind the porcelain tank when she heard a horrifying scream. She ran to the kitchen and found Helen dancing around in circles stomping her feet on the dirty tile.

"What on earth are you doing in here?" she asked, not having seen the roaches that scattered when she entered the tiny room.

"Oh my God! My heart is pounding out of my chest I think," Helen responded after taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Oh God, you didn't see them did you?"

"See what? All I saw was my best friend dancing around my kitchen like she didn't have a care in the world. Well? What did you see? Don't tell me you saw a mouse!"

"I wouldn't scream like that over a tiny mouse, but this was so gross!" Helen exclaimed as she shook her clothes and body. "Shit, they were everywhere after I exposed their hiding place!"

"What?"

"Roaches Liz! This place is infested with roaches! You need to call that landlord and tell him you need an exterminator up here on the double. This isn't good for the children."

"Okay, okay calm down I'll call him in the morning, but until then I can put this stuff around the inside of the cabinets and in the corners of the room. The kids will be going to school in the morning so I can get something else to help combat the bugs while I wait for the exterminator."

"Okay," Helen said, finally calming down. "You should probably put some of that stuff in the other rooms too, before you go to bed. I'd hate for you to call me in the middle of the night screaming because those things found their way into your bed."

"Oh thanks for the visual, smart ass."

Helen and Liz cleaned for hours before Helen said she should be getting home, but would be back after work tomorrow. Elizabeth was exhausted, but because of Helen's visual description of her bed she'd had a difficult time falling asleep. She remained at the kitchen table all night.

After her children were off to school she returned to the tiny, dirty apartment and continued her cleaning. During a break she broke down. Still exhausted from the day before and sleeping at the table didn't help her any. In anger and self-pity she threw her cleaning rag across the room only to discover more roaches.

"Holy shit! I definitely must find another job. I can't have my kids living here. It's not healthy; it's not safe. If I can't give them snacks in their lunch or nice clothes to wear the least I should be able to do is keep them safe and that's not happening here."

She called Helen and told her she was going to have her mom pick up the kids at school and she was going out job hunting, not coming home until she had found a job that paid enough to allow her to provide a safe place for her children to live. She finished cleaning the bathroom and the kids' bedroom then sprinkled the boric acid all around the small apartment, even on the beds and the sofa.

This should keep them at bay if it doesn't scare them off to somebody else's apartment. Hopefully they'll go to the landlords place and scare the shit out of him when he reaches under his counter for a pan.She thought to herself as she headed for the shower.

****

Once she felt clean, Elizabeth dried off and dressed for success and headed out to find another job. She searched everywhere. Even the business offices downtown for a clerical position, but without a college degree she didn't get far. Once again she became depressed.

Slouching in a corner booth she ordered a coffee and a sandwich. "What's a pretty thing like you looking so down in the dumps?" the waitress asked when she poured a coffee.

"Life sucks! Ya know that? I've been looking for a job that would pay enough for me to get my children out of that roach infested apartment we live in, but I'm not having any luck. I'm not qualified to do anything that pays descent."

"Well, you sure look like a classy lady to me, but if you are desperate for a better paying job why don't you try Bennie's? It's a bar and entertainment place. I hear a lot of "suits" frequent that place on lunch breaks and they bring clients there after work. It's right around the corner up a block on your left. You can't miss it. I'm almost certain they'd hire you, even ask if you can start tonight!"

The waitress offered a lot of information that had interested Elizabeth; the only piece of information she'd left out was that it was a go-go bar. Just as she'd done with the past opportunities, she walked in with her head held high and asked, "excuse me Miss, are you hiring?"

A sassy little dancer confronted her. "You got to audition for a job here baby. You ready for that?" She slid her hands up her own tight, very short dress, looking Elizabeth over from head to toe. "Let me give you some advice, go back home and get those clothes off. Put on something sexier then come back. The boss will laugh you outta here with what you're wearing, sugar."

Embarrassed to high heaven for herself as much as that young girl in the skimpy outfit, she ran out of the bar.What the hell was I thinking? I could never work in a place like that.She thought to herself running up the street as fast as her heels would allow.

As her embarrassment faded and she opened her apartment door, she remembered what brought her there in the first place. "Holy shit!" she said quietly, after she had turned on a light in the living room and roaches scattered in every direction. "I gotta do this, no matter what."

Her determination to get the children to a safe place kept her going. She rushed into her bedroom. Clothes flew everywhere as she undressed. She hopped over to the closet as she removed her socks then pulled out the silky black dress she hadn't worn in years and slipped it over her head. She removed the stockings from her dresser and her shoes from the rack behind the door as she finished dressing.

"This should do the trick." She slid her long coat over her shoulders, locked the front door and headed back to the bar.

All eyes diverted from the stage to the door when she entered. Some patrons laughed; some seemed interested when Elizabeth told the bartender that she wanted an audition.

"Oh please," the bartender sighed, rolled his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. "Hey boss you gotta come take a look at this one. She wants a job," he added with a snide snicker.

The owner of the bar strutted out to look Elizabeth over, "So, you really wanna work here do ya?" he asked. "Okay, I'll let you have a shot at it. I never turn anyone down before I see'em dance. What you got under that big coat of yours?"

Elizabeth removed her coat slowly, placed it over a chair at the closest empty table then turned for the owner. "This ain't New Years Eve lady, but I guess it'll do. Hey Candi, get your sexy little ass over here and take this broad to the stage. She's gonna dance for us today."

A young girl, barely eighteen, showed Elizabeth to the stage. "What's your name?"

"Leeza."

You ever been in a place like this? I don't mean to be rude or anything but you look like you could be my mother. I'd die if my mom came in here to dance, but then again I admire your courage, Leeza".

This made Elizabeth very uncomfortable as she staggered clumsily onto the stage. Her shoes slipped on the lighted platform, which made her feel uneasy about moving around, but she had to. Her dress, as the owner implied wasn't one that his girls would wear, but she looked very sexy in it nonetheless; a black halter style dress with slits on either side. The low cut back adorned with a silver butterfly exposed her sleek spine and gentle curve of her ass.

The dress hugged her form nicely in the right spots, which didn't hurt. Her sheer black seamed stockings held up by bands of elastic made her legs appear slimmer than they actually were. Her black leather heels completed her look.

The music, Slow And Easy by White Snake, started and Elizabeth began to move slightly, yet very stiff. Candi sympathized with Leeza and accompanied her on the stage, "Here, like this lady. You gotta relax and just move to the music," she said as she showed Elizabeth some of her moves. "Have ya ever danced in front of the mirror when you were a kid?"

Elizabeth nodded in reply. "Just move like that, but relax your hips more and move your arms over your head. And touch yourself. These guys here like it when you do that. That's it. I think they like ya! You look like a natural, sort of," the young dancer giggled as she moved away from Leeza and strutted her stuff.

Unsteady on her feet and quite nervous about strangers seeing what only her husband had seen of her body, Elizabeth clumsily moved about. But the more she moved the easier it was and the more she thought about those roaches in her apartment the harder she tried to please the boss as well as the men sitting around the small room.

I feel so dirty moving like this in front of total strangers,she thought, but continued her performance anyway.

She stood with her feet spread slightly and wiggled her ass while she bent her knees. "Spread your legs apart more," she heard from across the stage.