Job Security Ch. 02

As abruptly as we had come in, we left. But, just as we left, I saw a light come on through the slightly opened door in the room behind the mirror. I was startled but left with Danny, who now seemed anxious to get back to the party. We parted as we entered back into the party room. I stood to one side, trying to regain my composure before talking to anybody. Danny headed straight for Mr. Lin, who was sitting in a corner surrounded by mostly women. I looked around for Marty but couldn’t see her.

As I stayed back from the crowd, she suddenly entered the room through the same hall door Danny and I had used. She didn’t see me and walked out to the front where Danny and Mr. Lin was and started seeing some of the guest off. Anxiously, I quickly slipped back out to that room. The door was unlocked and the lights on. When I went into the next room and turned the lights off, I looked into a mirror and could see clearly into the room we had been in. There was a soft chair pulled up in front of it. When I turned the lights back on, something caught my eye and I picked it up. In my hand were several red sequins, the kind that was on Marty’s costume wings. She had obviously seen and, I imagined, had heard everything. I had been set up! I looked in the trashcan and saw several tissues that appeared to be very wet. I had been enjoyed.

Before I left the party, Mr. Lin managed to get me isolated for a small chat. He expressed how pleased he was that he got to see me again and fully expected to spend some “quality time to ourselves” when he returned soon. Danny said nothing special to me as I said good night to him, Marty, and Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin gushed again about how much he had enjoyed my company that night.

I was thinking, “Not as much as some.” Then they had a taxi there to take me home, apologizing again for not taking me home personally, saying that they had a lot to discuss with Mr. Lin. Marty gave me instructions on where to return the costume. It was the longest, most lonely ride I had ever had in my life.

The following week David came back from his trip. After his first day back at work he came home very excited. It seems that Mr. Lin was very pleased with his account and was looking closely at becoming a partner of sort with the firm, opening up huge possibilities for expansion. Specifically, he had expressed great pleasure with the two of us and fully expected to see us socially on his next trip a few months away. Somehow, I had a dark feeling about all of it, but kept it to myself.

I took the costume back to the shop and thanked them for helping me on such short order. The lady asked me what I meant, and I explained the emergency delivery. She looked at me funny and said no, she had handled that order herself. She said a man had come in a few days before Halloween to pick up a bunch of Dracula suits and had an oriental guy with him. The oriental guy had walked around the store for an hour evidently looking for a perfect costume for a woman. The reason she remembered so well was that (and she whispered) he had an erection the whole time, which is not unusual for men in that store.

She said what was so unusual was the oriental guy picked out the costume, but the guy with him was the one with all the sizes and information. They had spoken openly how great the lady would look in it, and they had given her instructions to hold the costume until she was called with delivery instructions. She walked over and got the receipt.

“Here’s who signed the bill.” I took a quick look, thanked her, and walked quickly out of the store with tears in my eyes.

It was my husband’s signature.