Postcards

"Maybe you got the mortises too shallow, how did you adjust the reveal?" Lourdes questioned.

"Reveal Morty to who?" I was bewildered.

Lourdes just rolled her eyes. "Good God Kevin. Give me your address. I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

And she did, Lourdes had grown up hanging around her father a day labor and handyman. What Lourdes knew about house repairs and remodeling rivaled the gang of the former TV show "This Old House". When she didn't know, Lourdes would show up at my house with one of her residents from the nursing home she worked at. That place held a bunch retired master craftsmen in every trade possible. These old guys loved to get away and spend the day instructing us in their specialties-everything from tile work to plumbing. It was like having my own Home Repair Contractor Union.

We did not have a lot of loose time due to our schedules. But every free moment we could we spent together. Lourdes and I had been getting closer every meeting, just not the real close I longed for.

One evening we had completed refinishing the dining room table and I was in the shower. I felt a cool breeze, then thru the mist the caught the erotic sight of a naked Lourdes entering the stall.

"Your hot water heater is too small Kevin." Lourdes said reaching up to hold my face. "We need to share the heat."

I grabbed Lourdes soft ass cheeks in my hands as we embraced. It was like magic, I was hard as a rock. Unfortunately Lourdes former statement was true, my hot water heater was too small. We were just getting into it when cold water put a damper on our passion.

We tumbled out of the chilly shower and into the bed. I dove between her legs but Lourdes stopped me.

"Your turn first Kevin." Lourdes smiled at me and moved down to my crotch. After such a long time- having Lourdes lips on my manhood was unbelievable. It was less then two minutes before I started to pass the point of no return.

"Lourdes I gonna.." I said to give her warning. Lourdes just increased her efforts, gripping my buttocks with her hands and pushing her lips all the way down to my pubic bone. My hips bucked as I spurted into Lourdes eager mouth. She never stopped, gently squeezing my balls to get out the last drops.

I lay back winded, Lourdes crawled up and snuggled next to me.

"Lourdes, that was.. was unreal." I exclaimed my breath was coming in gasps.

"Well Kevin a lady likes to be appreciated." Lourdes batted her eyes at me.

"I am about to show your how appreciated you are!" I told her, moving down under the bedcovers to get between her legs.

Lourdes had a trimmed patch, I soon had her squirming and panting. She grabbed my hair with her hands and tightened her legs on my head.

"Oh My God Kevin." Lourdes cried out. I felt her start to quiver as the first one overtook her. I never stopped and brought her off twice more.

Lourdes pulled my up on my hair. "Kevin I got to have you in me now! But you need to put on some protection."

Protection? Oh yea Condoms! Shit I did not have any! I didn't know anything was going to happen tonight!

"Um Lourdes.." I said sheepishly. "I don't have any."

That broke the mood. Lourdes sat up in bed. "Kevin I really want to make love with you, but I'm not on the pill and no way am I taking any chances."

"No problem Lourdes." I said getting out of bed. "You stay right there. I will take care of this."

But it was a big problem. I had no car, the nearest store open selling what I needed was over a mile away. What was I supposed to do? Ride my bike to the drugstore like some 14 year old on his first date or take the frigging bus! Then I did what every pilot does when they get in a jam. I called my chief mechanic. I explained the situation to Jose.

"Don't worry Captain." Jose chuckled over the phone. "I have not used rubbers since I left Cuba. But I think I know where I can get some. I'll fix you right up, stand by and we'll be right over with what you need."

I ran back upstairs and tried to keep Lourdes occupied and in the mood with one ear listening for the door.

Ten minutes later I heard the doorbell ring.

"Lourdes I'll be right back." I gave her a kiss and sprinted down the stairs hopping on one foot trying to put on my boxers.

I opened the door and was shocked to be greeted by my chief mechanic Jose's youngest son Angelo.

"Hi Mr. Kevin." Angelo said. "Dad told me to give these to you." Angelo held out a strip roll of condoms. I saw they were the kind the high school passed out in sex ed class. They had writing on them urging teens to practice safe sex.

"Um Angelo. Ah Thanks." I stammered.

"NO problem Mr. Kevin." Angelo grinned at me. "Hey you got that babe from those texts in there with you?"

Great I was getting into a discussion about my sex life with a kid who could not legally buy booze yet.

"No Angelo." I was trying to maintain some of my dignity. "This is a very special lady."

"OK Mr. Kevin, I'm cool with that." Angelo pointed out to his car parked at the curb with a pretty young co-ed in the passenger seat. "I got my best girl with me tonight too."

The young girl in the passenger seat rolled down her window and waved at me while saying. "Hi Mr. Kevin. Love your house!"

So much for my dignity I thought, waving back with a stupid frozen smile on my face.

Angelo punched me on the shoulder. "Gotta go Mr. Kevin. Text me if you need more."

I closed the door behind him. "God please let this night get better." I prayed and trotted up the stairs.

+++++++

The night did get better and the morning was even better. I almost had to take up Jose's youngest son on his offer about sending him a text for more condoms.

"Lourdes." I began giving her a kiss as she came out of the shower. "I have been thinking about this a while. Will you move in here with me."

"Kevin I am not some bimbo moving into any bed after a night of passion." Lourdes said while wrapped in a towel.

"Lourdes, I would love to have you in my bed every night for passion." I sat up in bed admiring her. "But this is also a more common sense proposition. We can live cheaper together as one then apart. And you will save money on rent. That will get you faster to your funding goal of that RN testing course, the RN board exam and stuff."

"Kevin I am no freeloader." Lourdes replied. "I'm not some low rent hooker trading my ass for free room and board. I always pay my way."

"You still will Lourdes." I grabbed at her towel. "I will trade you the fixing up you are doing to this house anyway instead of rent. Personally I feel I should be paying you for all you have done. I am getting the better of the deal."

Lourdes pulled back at the towel, then she sat on the bed next to me thinking hard. I was holding my breath. Finally she turned to me.

"Kevin do you think your friend Jose will lend us his truck to move my stuff on Friday." Lourdes said removing her towel and sliding into bed next to me.

++++++

We had been together for over six months. The house was never in better shape and I was happy. Sure I was still working the job cleaning houses and logging all the flight hours the FAA would allow. But I had Lourdes in my life. I wanted to ask Lourdes to marry me, but I knew she wanted to get her license and a career before settling down.

The housing crash affected even our town. Most directly it affected King 1 Developers. The place crashed and burned within a week. The whole operation was a house of cards, the bank recalled a few loans and King 1 Developers collapsed. Federal Regulators were sniffing around. Troy had been playing fast and loose with the rules, co-mingling funds and had mortgaged himself to the hilt, even on properties he didn't really own. He did not even have enough money for bankruptcy. However Troy Kingston took it like the man he was. Late one night dressed in his best suit, he sat in the shiny H2 Hummer with a bottle of JW while running the engine, closed the garage door and sucked in the exhaust. I felt bad about the people and the financial mess that coward Troy had left in his wake, but not about him. Oddly enough thoughts of how this affected my former wife Amy barely even crossed my mind. She was the past, I was looking forward to Lourdes and the future.

Some weeks later I was walking home from the bus stop when I saw a lone figure sitting on the steps of my porch. It was dusk but even in pitch dark I would know who it was.

"Hello Amy." I said standing over her.

"Hello Kevin." Amy replied. She looked at me, but made no move to get up.

"Amy I wish I could say it is nice to see you, but we both know it would be a lie. If you will excuse me I have just gotten off a long day. I would like to get into my home. Can I pass please."

Amy did not stir. "How come you are walking? Kevin where is your truck?"

"Amy you are sitting on it."

Amy looked around confused, then said "Oh -you mean you sold it for the house-I get it now. Why Kevin? You loved that truck."

"I loved a lot of things back then Amy. You learn to do without a lot when you are forced to. That Truck never let me down, unlike other things back then. Difference is I still miss that truck."

"What about me Kevin? Do you ever miss me -Kevin.. you know us?" Amy said softly.

I could not resist. "Sure Amy -I miss you with every bullet." Amy gasped, but I continued. "Besides Amy -How can I miss you-You are not gone yet."

"Kevin please can we talk. I just got out of the hospital two weeks ago."

"Amy I am sorry to hear you were ill and wish you a speedy recovery. However I do not really see how your health is my concern anymore. You made quite clear you not satisfied with the level of care I was able to provide. You chose Troy, his care and all his toys over me-us -a few years ago."

"Yea Kevin, but I almost died. When Troy did his smoking Hummer tailpipe routine in the garage that night. I was asleep in the bedroom above. The leaking carbon monoxide from his H2 almost killed me."

"Gee Amy I guess those H2 Hummers really are bad for the environment. In hindsight maybe you should have talked Troy into driving a hybrid."

"That is not funny Kevin."

I rubbed my chin with my hand. "Sorry Amy, but I am tired. Can we just go our separate ways. This is really not doing either of us any good."

"Kevin." Amy pleaded. "Please let's just go inside for a few minutes. I need to talk to you."

I sighed and pointed up the porch steps to the door. Amy started to get up. I forgot how tall she was. I still could not get over the double Ds hanging off her chest. They were now sticking me in the face.

"Careful Amy you could poke someone's eye out with those things now." I joked.

I looked up into Amy's face, she was trying to smile, yet something was different. Not just her new nose and big lips-something was odd-but-I could not see exactly what it was in the dim evening light. Amy had a walking cane in her right hand she was leaning heavily on. A mid-size gym bag she had been sitting on was crushed. I silently picked up Amy's gym bag, as she made a considerable effort to climb the steps up to the front door. I moved past Amy and unlocked the door holding it open for her.

"Going to be one a hell of a talk." I thought.

+++++++

Amy and I were sitting at the dining room table. In the light I could see what was different about Amy's face. The whole one side of her face was a frozen mask. Her one eyelid drooped half closed, the corner of her mouth was in a downward curl. This was more pronounced because of the size of Amy's lips. A little bit of drool formed that Amy kept touching with a handkerchief.

"It was a stroke Kevin." Amy started. "A result of the carbon monoxide poisoning. I was lucky the maid came early or I would have been a goner. The one side of my whole body is pretty weak and I am having problems with my short term memory. It gets worse when I am tired."

"Amy I am sorry to hear that. How are you doing now?" I asked.

"Kevin that is why I am here. I need some money."

I spit out my mouthful of coffee onto the dining room table. It took a few coughs before I stopped choking. I got up from the table to get a rag from the kitchen. I returned to wipe up the mess. "Amy you cannot be serious. I am truly sorry about your condition, but I am living right on the edge myself." I did not need to add "Because Of You". Amy looked down at the table and did not meet my eyes.

"Besides." I continued. "You must have some assets from your ..ah ..time with Troy. Last I saw you had more bling then a rap star."

"Kevin it's all gone." Amy dabbed at the corner of her mouth. "Troy pawned it all in the days leading up to the collapse trying to keep the creditors at bay. What was left was grabbed by the bankruptcy lawyers. After Troy's suicide the police made the house a crime scene. Last week I was finally able to get in and get this bunch of clothes." Amy pointed at the gym bag at her feet. "I have been sleeping in a women's shelter at night, getting my meals at the church kitchen."

"What about social service? disability?" I asked.

"I have filled out tons of forms, most take 90 days to process. The official already told me my injuries really don't meet the requirements that will stop me from working, or qualify for benefits." Amy explained.

"Amy -Surely you have friends from Troy's social circle who can assist you?"

"Not anymore, not even back then." Amy laughed without humor. "Those bitches made it clear they don't want me around. They are afraid of what I might do with their husbands for money. I cannot blame them-I did not exactly discourage male attention at that point in time. No one wants to help out a possible gold-digger. It would be like buying the rope for your own hanging. Who is going to trust a lady that is a cheater around their guy? I also managed to piss off any friends you and I used to share. They all took your side after the divorce. I burned a lot of bridges."

"OK Amy than sell your Camry. It is only a few years old. That model was the top of the line loaded with all the features when we bought it. That will give a quick source of funds." I proposed.

Amy's face turned red. "Kevin the Camry was never really mine. Um..Troy got it for me when he and I got ..friendly. The title was in King 1 Developers name I found out later. The bank seized it along with everything else."

I was surprised after all these years this new information brought back buried emotions. I suddenly felt like Amy's cheating happened yesterday.

I tried to control my tone. "Amy you got that car less than four months after we moved here. Did you start fucking that bastard before the ink was even dry on the mortgage!"

"No Kevin." Amy turned away. "Troy and I did not get ..ah ..physical until about 6 months after I started working."

"Sorry Amy" I said full of sarcasm. "I did not mean to imply your virtue was compromised in any way by waiting two more months to spread your legs to start banging your boss."

"Damn it Kevin! Don't you think I know I screwed up big time. This is hard. I never wanted us to end up like this. I just got swept away by everything." Amy looked at my deadpanned face. "Kevin you sure you want to hear about ..it?"

"Sure Amy why not?" I waved my hand. "They say the truth will set you free- Go ahead give me your best shot."

"It's not a shot Kevin. I just want you to know it was never any of your fault. It was all on me. I got sucked into it. It was nothing you did. I mean at first it was great I got treated like a queen when I began work for King 1 Developers. Troy was always taking everyone out and picking up the check. It was such a change to not look at the prices on a menu, count my change or worry about the cost of anything. He started paying attention to me. Troy knew all these important people. They treated me like I was somebody."

"You were somebody Amy. You were my wife, my partner since we were kids. Was that not good enough?"

"I know that now Kevin, I just wish I would have remembered then. It all really started back the day you went away on the three day charter flight. Troy brought me to this $2500 a plate political fundraiser dinner. Kevin my one meal could have paid two months of our mortgage!"

"You get the chicken or the fish?"

"Kevin stop! I am trying to be serious. Troy had been really nice to me for weeks. But this was a big event. Troy bought me a $2000 dollar evening gown just for that night. He didn't even blink at the price-acted like it was spare change! Everyone thought I was Troy's girlfriend, they treated me great. We sat at a table with the former Vice President of the United States! I was swept up in it. The people, the glamour, the power, I just lost my head. It was like playing make believe when I was a little girl. I was absolutely giddy the entire time, walking on air the whole night. Somehow Troy and I ended up in the parking lot having sex in his H2 Hummer."

"Valet must have got one hell of a tip." I commented.

"Kevin, please it wasn't like that." Amy countered.

"What do you call it Amy? Classy? -Getting fucked in a parking lot. Sounds more like a $20 hooker pick up from the street corner. Did you put the moon roof down to make it more romantic? You give old Troy a hummer in his Hummer?"

Amy at least blushed, but she continued. "The next day I was so embarrassed, feeling guilty and afraid you would find out. I stuck to you like glue when you came back home. Remember we finished remodeling the downstairs bathroom? I tried to kill you in the bedroom after that to make up for my...time with Troy."

"Wow Amy, and here I thought you paid all the plumbers that way."

"Kevin I swore it was never going to happen again. I was going to be the best wife, we were going to be the best couple ever! I was going to quit that job first thing. But Troy was so full of apologies, said he was sorry, claimed we both had too much to drink, couldn't help himself-it was an accident, never going to reoccur. He did not want to lose me as a valued employee over a one-time mistake, blah, blah, blah. He was so smooth and like a fool I fell for it. If you recall a week later, some secretaries, I and the others execs went with Troy to the coast to nail down a huge project. He had a big private jet chartered. It was so exciting, Troy snagged a multi-million dollar deal. Everybody was celebrating on the way back. A few drinks, some happy hugs, and kisses-then suddenly I am in the airplane restroom giving Troy a blow job and my ass."

I couldn't hold back. "Amy I can see how all that elegance made you weak. Getting screwed in the back seat of a truck, then joining the mile high club by being butt fucked in a toilet stall. What other high society refinement was next –gang bang at the bus terminal? No wonder you were not able to resist."

"Kevin I am not proud of what I did. I am not making any excuses. I am just telling you what happened. After that trip I just gave in and started to enjoy the lifestyle. Plays, fine wine, expensive food, jewelry. At first it was just when you were gone, then it morphed into lunches with a few nooners. Soon I was so comfortable I began to resent you and how we lived. I knew then I had put our relationship in real trouble. Sad part is that it was not really Troy's money. It was all the corporation King 1 Developers money. Troy had no real money of his own. His two Ex-wives got most of his salary. His Hummer was leased. Even the house, Rolex watches and most everything else was in the company name." Amy looked at me. "Well Kevin that is my sad pathetic tale. You have any questions?"

"Just a couple Amy." I folded my hands on the table. "If you got the lifestyle you wanted, why not just divorce me right away? How come all the sneaking around and cheating for another year and a half? What was the thrill going between your Prince Troy's riches and slumming with your pauper husband's rags?"