Irreconcilable Differences

I could hear her thinking on the other end of the line. She was clearly more relaxed when she spoke.

"My, aren't you devious? And when it comes time to talk settlement money, Frank will learn that the tapes still exist and might surface if he ever reneges on the divorce settlement, right?"

"That's what I was thinking, but Sherry, don't get greedy. Have your attorney ask for what you're entitled to. Don't attract attention to yourself or to Frank by financially castrating him. Don't take away his earning power. On the other hand, we will make it clear to him that if he ever messes with a minor again, that tape will find its way to the Boise newspaper."

"All right. So, are we still on for Thursday?"

"We are if you're still sure you want to be there. I can do this alone if you're too uncomfortable about it, though."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for anything. See you then."

[Thursday, August 29]

I spent Thursday morning at the office checking out my equipment. At 10:30 a.m. I loaded it into the pickup and headed to the mall to pick up Sherry. It started raining as I pulled away from my office. Finally. We needed the rain. But it was also about 80 degrees, so the humidity was becoming irritating.

Sherry's car was parked in front of the bookstore in the Factory Direct mall exactly where I'd told her to be. She, however, was not in sight. I had hoped she would be with her car so we could get to the motel and set up the equipment. As I turned from Rock Creek Drive into the parking lot, however, I saw Sherry come striding out of one of the nearby clothing stores. It's funny how people look different once they are away from their jobs. At the library, she's dressed very, well, librarian-like. Not much style, no flair. And her walk is almost a shuffle. Here, on the other hand, she walked with a confident long stride, nothing tentative, very much in control. She was dressed in very stylish form-fitting blue jeans and white tennies. Even her Big Shirt with one button fastened was very attractive over a white blouse or tank top. She seemed a little overdressed for the hot and smelly Stateline Motel room, though.

She waved to me and jumped in the pickup as I pulled to the curb.

"Do you need to get anything from your car?" I asked.

"Nope. Let's go," she said with an almost adventurous laugh.

"Once we get there, I'll drive around the motel once, just to be sure Frank isn't already there. There's no reason to think he will be, but we need to be careful. We're in room 112; he's in room 114. The rooms adjoin but don't connect with a door. We'll have to be reasonably quiet when we talk, but the most important thing is to not knock anything over."

She nodded in agreement.

"I'll back the pickup up in front of our door so we can quickly unload the equipment. Once we've got it in the room, you stay in the room with it. I'll take the pickup and park it in the burger joint parking lot. We'll both be in the room, but pre-positioning the truck gives me a platform if I need to get some still photos."

"Are the still photos so we don't have to rely on the videotapes?" she asked.

"Exactly. Remember, we are taping illegally. Other than us, Frank is the only person who should ever know about those tapes. And you shouldn't even tell him about them unless it becomes absolutely necessary. The still photos by themselves ought to convince him that his best course of action is to treat you well financially and then slither away quietly."

"Who will be with him in the room today? Do we know?"

"Not for sure. I'm pretty sure that Lori Lee will be there. He sent an email to her telling her that today was on. But he also said another woman would be there, too."

"So it looks like Frank is going to do two women today?" she wondered.

"I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. I mean, he could set up the camera and then jump in, but from what I saw on the Sharon and Lori tape, my guess is that it will be another woman."

"The judge again?"

"Not likely. Court's in session in Boise this week."

"Maybe Cassie Donovan?" she asked.

"Could be. We'll see. If it isn't, then I'll have to find out who she is."

"Hmmmm," was all Sherry said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said rather vacantly.

We entered the Stateline Motel parking lot through the alley entrance and drove once around the building. There were only two other cars parked near rooms. Neither of them was in the same wing as our room. I backed into the spot in front of room 112 and handed the room key to Sherry.

"Go ahead and open the door. I'll bring the stuff in," I said.

She unlocked the door and stepped into the room.

"Nice accommodations," she said very sarcastically. "Can we turn on the A/C?"

"Yeah, go ahead for now, but we'll have to turn it off about 1:30." Having the window-mounted air conditioner running would be odd when Frank and friends arrive. "No, on second thought, don't." I said.

"Why not?"

"It drips condensation outside. If Frank sees the drip, he might wonder why the A/C in the next room had been on."

"Okay, but it's got to be 90 degrees in here."

"Sorry. It's not going to get any cooler when the electronic equipment is running either. If you're hot, take off your outer shirt."

"Can't. All I've got on underneath is a halter top."

"Sherry, I've seen women in halter tops before."

"No, I mean ALL I've got on is the halter top. I didn't wear a bra." She actually blushed.

"Oh. Well, it's up to you."

I unloaded the equipment, relocated the pickup, and walked back to the room.

Sherry had already started opening the equipment cases and setting up the equipment. Much to my surprise, she handled the equipment confidently and expertly. It was obvious she had used video equipment before.

"Where did you...," I started to ask where she had done video, but she cut me off.

"Just after Frank and I moved to Fightin' Creek, I tried to get a job at the library but they had no openings. The local television station was looking for a researcher and they were impressed with my MA degree. While I worked as a researcher for them, I developed an interest in the technical side of television. The geeky chief engineer was more than happy to show me how to use the equipment. I even got to go help them set up for some live remotes at the county fair. The on-air talent knew that because of my looks, I was no threat to them, so they were actually pretty helpful as well."

"Well, don't underestimate your looks."

"Oh, no. Don't misunderstand me, Lee. I don't think of myself as unattractive, even if Frank does," she paused, and a look of sadness crossed her face briefly. Then she resumed, "But you need a certain look for television. I had the talent to write good stories and do stand-ups, but I didn't have the look for it. And besides, after I had been there for two years, the library job opened up."

I helped connect the equipment but continued to talk with her.

"It sounds like the TV station was satisfied with your work. Wouldn't a job in TV have paid better? Couldn't you have been a producer or taken some other off-camera job."

"Yes, but my real love is library science and library research. I know it sounds weird, but it's true."

"Well, let's fire this stuff up and make sure everything's working," I said.

We ran through checks of all the cameras, the audio, and the recorder. Sherry used my impressioned key to go into Frank's room and do some sound checks. While she was there, she struck some suggestive poses on the bed. She laughed and commented about that being her porn debut. Then she very carefully made sure the room was properly arranged and returned to our observation room to wait.

"You didn't tape me in the other room did you?" she asked with a giggle.

"Sure I did. (I lied.) You can show it at the next library Christmas party. Of course, it would have been better if you had taken your clothes off first. See, that's sort of the idea of porn. Then again, maybe a fully-clothed librarian is all the titillation the library staff could handle."

"You goof!" she said as she slugged my upper arm.

Just then we heard a car turn into the parking lot. I peeked out through the space between curtains.

"Frank's here. It's show time!" I said. I put my finger to my lips to tell Sherry to be quiet. She nodded.

I pointed to the recorder. Sherry flipped it on, and pictures came up on the monitors. I sat down at the table and put on the headset. Sherry tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to my headset, indicating she wanted to listen, too. I nodded, then turned the audio amp volume control down, then flipped toggle switch from "Headphone" to "Speaker". As I brought the volume control up, we could both hear noise in the next room as Frank was setting up his equipment.

"Do you think he'll turn on the television?" Sherry asked.

"Not likely while he's filming. See what he's doing? He's putting a couple of boom mics to cover the bed. He wants live audio from the actors, not from the TV."

"Actors. Yeah, right," she sniffed disdainfully. "Talent measured in inches."

At about 1:40 p.m. we heard another car driving in. I stayed with the equipment while Sherry looked out. Sherry looked back at me and cupped both her hands well out in front of her own breasts and silently mouthed, "Lori."

We heard the knock on Frank's door and saw him open it.

"Hey, babe," he said, "Glad you had time to change. You look great."

Lori was wearing a very revealing sundress. What a body.

"Thanks, sweetie," she replied. "So, who's here today besides us? Is it Sharon again? You know, for only just turning eighteen, she can eat pussy like she's done it all her life. She left me weak-kneed after our last go-round. I got into her so much that I forgot all about the camera."

Aha. Lori "supertits" Lee has just acknowledged that she was very likely aware that Sharon Donovan may have been underage during one of their encounters. A prosecutor would seize on a statement like that to tack on a few more years to her jail sentence.

"Nope, not Sharon. Sorry to disappoint you. Actually, though, you're close. It's her stepmother."

"Listen, if she's half as good as her daughter, you'll get another great tape."

"Well, see, that's the rub. She's only done a couple of solo toy tapes for me. She seems to get off on that. I've talked with her quite a bit, and from what I gather, she's never been with another woman. You're probably going to have to do most of the work and bring her along slowly."

Lori laughed, "Maybe she ought to take some lessons from her daughter. God, I can't get that girl out of my mind. I'm getting hot just thinking about her."

"Well, don't get all worked up yet. I've got the camera behind a screen over here so maybe she won't be quite as self-conscious."

"She knows you're filming, right, Frank?"

"Oh, yeah, Cass doesn't mind the camera. She just doesn't know that you're going to be her partner. I have a feeling we'll burn a lot of tape today until you work your magic on her. Then again, maybe she won't do it at all. If she's really uncomfortable with you, we'll just call it off."

"Listen, Frank, I have never yet known a woman who wasn't at least a little curious about what it would be like to be with another woman. Some women just take a little longer to admit their curiosity. If she's the least bit interested, I'll be able to get to her."

"Oh, yeah, baby, I'm sure you will."

I glanced at Sherry. She stared at Lori but said nothing.

A car door slammed. Sherry went to the window and looked out. "Cassie," she whispered.

Frank went to the door when he heard the knock.

"Hi, Cass, come on in."

The surprised look on Cass's face told us that she was expecting to see only Frank. She confirmed it when she spoke.

"Frank, I thought you were just going to film me alone today. Did I get the time wrong?"

"No, you've got it right. Cass, this is Lori. Lori, Cass."

Cass extended her hand as if to shake hands. Lori shook it gently but did not let it go as she spoke.

"Cass, Frank's told me so much about you. He's also showed me some of your tapes. I'm impressed."

Lori was probably lying very expertly about seeing the tapes. And she continued to stare into Cass's eyes.

Cass seemed unsure of what to say, so she stammered out a thank-you.

"Does it bother you having me here today?" Lori asked.

"Well, I guess a little bit. But..."

Lori took the opening. "Would you feel more at ease if Frank were to film me first?"

"No, it's not that..."

"Look, sit down here and let's talk about it."

Lori led Cass to the foot of the bed and guided her to be seated. Then Lori seated herself next to Cass positioning her between Lori and the camera. Good move. Keep Cass's attention away from the screen concealing the camera.

"Cass, I hope you're not worried about how your body looks to another woman. Because if you are, let me tell you that you have nothing to be concerned about. I mean, look at you. In those cute short cutoff jeans and that tight halter top, your figure would make twenty year old women drool." Lori placed her hand on Cass's.

"Thank you for saying that. But I am almost forty. Time and gravity do begin to take their toll."

Lori allowed her hand to slide slowly off Cass's hand and onto Cass's thigh. If the older woman noticed, she didn't let on.

They still had eye contact. Cass seemed unable to break her gaze into Lori's eyes. She shivered slightly as Lori's hand moved slowly up the inside of her thigh. Yet she still didn't turn away from Lori's face.

Lori's voice grew softer and thicker. "No, Cass, you don't have anything to worry about. You will attract men and women for many years to come. But I don't want you to be at all uncomfortable. Are you uncomfortable?"

Cass opened her mouth as if to speak, but she seemed unable to form the words.

"Cass, you are a very beautiful and sensual woman. Don't be afraid to express your sexual side, even with a woman. Let yourself feel whatever you want to feel."

Lori was speaking even more slowly, seductively, hypnotically. Cass said nothing as Lori spoke softly and soothingly for several more minutes. Lori was almost imperceptibly moving her entire body closer to Cass's. Lori's sundress had slid up exposing her right thigh that was now touching Cass's left leg. Lori was moving her face closer to Cass's. The older woman's eyes seemed to briefly fight to stay open, then slowly closed as her lips parted.

Lori brushed her lips across Cass's. When Cass responded by ever so slightly pushing her lips harder against Lori's, Lori used her tongue to trace an outline around Cass's lips. She kissed Cass very lightly, almost delicately on the lips, then slightly harder.

I tore my eyes from the erotically charged image on the screen and switched to record another camera's picture, this one of Frank operating the camera behind the screen. This camera angle made it possible to have Frank fully visible in the foreground and the women partly visible in the background. It was important to show Frank and his camera in the room with the women.

I switched back to the large monitor to see Lori continuing to kiss Cass, then whisper something in her ear, then back to kissing again. Lori's left hand began to make fingertip circles on Cass's upper thighs. Her right hand was moving slowly and lightly across Cass's bare shoulders, sometimes stopping at the base of her neck. Lori was slowly but deliberately seducing Cass.

As if drawn by some magician's levitation, Cass's right arm began to rise. She did not seem to be controlling it. Her right hand briefly lingered on Lori's cheek, then followed her jaw line and neck to Lori's bare shoulder, then sank slowly to Lori's left breast. Cass rested her hand on Lori's breast, still concealed beneath the sundress. Cass's motions were almost as if she were out of her body, moving involuntarily and unknowingly. Lori put her left hand over Cass's and held it against her own breast.

"Your hand is warm. Do you like my breast, Cass?"

Lori did not wait for an answer. She guided Cass's hand slowly across and around her breast. Lori's nipple was beginning to harden in anticipation, and Cass's fingertips lingered on it. Cass's touches and light pinches were arousing Lori even more, and her kiss became firmer. Cass's lips began to part, then Lori's, then their tongues reached out as if to search for each other. Both women were breathing heavier. They seemed completely unaware of Frank and his camera behind the screen.

I, too, was becoming aroused at the sight of these two women in the early stages of lovemaking. So much so that I had forgotten about Sherry. I hoped she had not seen my hand moving slightly over the bulge in my jeans.

I need not have worried. Sherry was standing behind my chair, her eyes affixed on the woman-to-woman sexual drama unfolding on the screen. She, too, was breathing heavier, apparently also aroused. I glanced back over my shoulder to see that the single button on her Big Shirt had been unfastened. She was perspiring noticeably.

Cass and Lori had fully succumbed to each other's sexual attractions. Their kisses became more insistent, their sounds of desire more demanding. Lori's left hand had come to rest on the jeans covering Cass's mound. Her hand began to massage Cass more aggressively. Cass's muscles tensed as her sexuality began dominating her responses. Any uncertainty Cass may have been experiencing had dissolved with the warmth and persistence of Lori's seduction.

Lori's hand moved upward to the top of Cass's denim shorts, then her fingers slipped down slightly inside the waist. Lori allowed her fingers to gently massage the skin under the waistband. Then, she deftly unbuttoned the top of the cutoffs and slowly ran the zipper down to reveal the front of the white cotton thong Cass wore underneath. I zoomed in as Lori's fingers briefly caressed Cass's womanly treasure hidden by the thong, then I zoomed out when Lori brought her hand up to the tie on the front of Cass's halter.

Cass's hand was still caressing Lori's breast and nipple, and this was clearly having its effect on Lori. It was clear that Lori was trying, almost struggling, to control the actions for the camera, but her own lust was rapidly replacing whatever restraint she might still have. And Cass was clearly under Lori's sensual spell.

Lori's left hand began to untie the front on Cass's halter. With painful slowness, the knot dissolved. Lori simply allowed the halter to part on its own and reveal just the inside of Cass's breasts and the valley between them. Lori's hand brushed the fabric away from Cass's right breast, her fingertips lightly touching Cass's skin, the areola, and the nipple. Lori slowly kissed her way down Cass's jaw to her throat. Cass tilted her head slightly back with a perceptible sigh as Lori's kisses burned fires in Cass's neck, then around her collarbone, then down to the edge of her breast. Cass turned her body slightly toward Lori.

With whatever part of her mind that had not yet given over to animal instincts, Lori slowly guided Cass back onto the bed and lay her head back. Again, Lori whispered something to Cass, then stood up at the foot of the bed and slowly pulled the sundress over her head. Lori wore nothing underneath her dress.

Though my eyes were locked on the video monitor's screen, a noise immediately behind me interrupted my concentration. I glanced up at the mirror on the wall behind my equipment and saw Sherry's reflection as she stood behind me. Her left hand was up under her Big Shirt and seemed to be touching her right breast. From what I could see in the mirror, her right hand was down inside the front of her jeans. Her eyes were transfixed on the screen and did not see me looking at her. The sound I had heard was Sherry's increasingly hard breathing.