A New Profession

"Because, usually, the right thing always ends up being the hardest thing to do. You had no idea when you married Gail or when she went to work at the motel this was going to happen. Bad shit happens to good people. It's how they deal with it that shows their character. Now, I'm going to leave you alone. Cry, scream, break shit if you want to. Just try to get enough out that you can function when it's time to go home to your child. I know I don't have to say it, but I'm there for you, brother."

After he left, I tried to cry. I thought about going to the package store and getting a bottle. I thought about beating the walls out of the motel room. In the end, I didn't do any of those things. I just sat there, numb, for the rest of the night. Bobby found me and didn't say a word, starting the shower and practically shoving me inside. The hot water hit me and I cried, bitter tears of betrayal and loss. I was a lot better when I got out. "Let's go. You're driving."

I slept most of the way home.

*****

Their bail was set at two thousand each. She had the money in her secret account but couldn't access it and there was no way in hell I was going to pay it. The longer she stayed in jail the more certain of me getting custody of Chad.

The kid didn't understand. I tried to explain it as best I could. "Son, your mother got involved with some bad people and did some bad things. She won't be living with us right now, so we're on our own. She still loves you, but she just can't be with us right now."

"So she's coming home later?"

"I don't know, son. We'll have to see." I was doing my best, trying to ease him into the realization Mommy wouldn't be living with us anymore. I was just glad it was the beginning of summer. I know how cruel kids can be and I was hoping by the time school started again the whole thing would be out of everyone's mind. Both sets of grandparents pitched in to watch Chad while I worked. We usually ended up eating dinner with whichever set had him.

It was really awkward at first with her parents. They apologized for Gail, but I shut them down. "She made her choices and it forced me to make mine. I need you to understand your daughter and I have no future together. None. That being said, it was her choices and not yours. Chad loves you and I would never stand between you and your grandchild. If it makes any difference, I've always thought a lot of you. If you feel uncomfortable around me or if it gets to be too much to keep Chad, let me know."

Her Dad just looked sad, but her Mom wrapped me in a hug and cried her eyes out. When she broke, she told me she'd expect Chad in the morning, and me in the afternoon. Meatloaf tomorrow. I hugged her again and shook his hand, wondering as I walked away how they were handling the stigma of what Gail had done. It was a small town, after all. I just hoped there wasn't a lot of small people in it.

It took her ten days to get out of jail. By then I had all her things boxed and sitting in her parent's garage. I sent her a letter with the divorce papers, telling her to keep her distance from me and that sometime in the future, after the divorce, I'd like to ask her why.

She went straight to her parent's house when she was finally free. I don't know what kind of reception she expected, but they made it clear she had two weeks and then she needed to be out. The rumor mill told me she and Honey rented an apartment in Charlotte. I thought that was a good thing, that they deserved each other. Lt. Brown called me a week later.

"I thought you'd like to have an update and find out when all this goes to trial. After they bonded out we made it clear to them if they left the state we'd be after them. Both she and her partner share an apartment. They don't work at the motel or the club because they've been seized by the city, but they've found work at other clubs. I don't know if it's just stripping or whether there are "extra services," but I don't think so. They get caught for prostitution again before they go to trial and it could go very badly for them.

I doubt seriously they get any jail time. If they do, it will probably be three to six months. The owner of the motel and the manager of the club face more serious charges. I doubt either one ever get their property back. The DA is up for election this year, so he'll be as hard on them as he can. I figure a couple of years for both. They could get more but they cut a deal and have given up three different sex traffickers and two major drug dealers. We're trying to keep that hushed up because if word got out they wouldn't last a week in jail. Her arrest and probable conviction will be a matter of public record, and that should help you keep custody of your child. I'm really sorry for the way your life turned out, but I'm sure the girls we rescue from the traffickers will be grateful. We've tracked them through four states and all the way into Mexico. Watch the news. What you see is a direct result of you coming to us. We can't thank you enough."

There were several stories over the next few months about traffickers, but I was too concerned about my situation to pay much attention. She got a lawyer and tried to block the divorce, and no one, including her lawyer, could understand why. I'd used Uncle Pete and he said it was an open and shut case. Her lawyer was pretty good and we did have some serious discussions. Oddly enough one was about money. She wanted half and full unsupervised visitation if she didn't get custody. We met in her lawyers' office. It was the first time I'd seen her in four months. She looked like a totally different person. Her hair, her eyes, her clothes, were all a far cry from what she wore when we were married. I guess she was a pretty good business woman. always advertising the product.

Pete started it off. "I think we're being more than fair here. He wants 70% of the assets, as little as they are, and he waives rights to child support. How could that not be fair?"

Her lawyer was a slick guy and I knew she had to be paying him a fortune. "That's just not acceptable. She wants 50% and full custody, with a fair amount of child support."

Pete countered. "Fifty-fifty, he receives custodial rights to the child with supervised visitation at first. If Mrs. Stoneman proves herself trustworthy, the supervision may be dropped. Plus, she will be required to pay child support."

The lawyer started to speak when Pete lay out a bank statement. "Fifty-fifty include this money, an account that was not revealed in discovery. There was fourteen thousand in it on the day our clients parted ways and no judge in the world would object. Whoever we get is going to take a dim view of it being accidentally left out of the financial documents."

Gail's face went pale. She hadn't known her secret account had been discovered. I'd gone into her purse again just before the arrests and found the bankbook. I took it out and photographed it, making sure I got the account and routing numbers. I don't think her lawyer knew about it, either, judging by the look on his face.

The lawyer asked for another meeting at a later date. For the first time I spoke. "NO. Take it or leave it, Gail. If you fight there will be a lot of dirty secrets you don't think I know that will come out. By the time I'm done any judge in their right mind would give me a restraining order keeping you away from your son. IF you love him, sign the papers. If money is worth more to you, I'll send you pictures of his high school graduation. It'll be the next time you see him."

I walked out, surprising Uncle Jake. He talked for a few minutes before he came out. "You need to tell me when you're gonna do things like that."

"She gonna sign?"

Her lawyer is working on her. He knows she has little option but to sign. Now tell me about her dirty secrets."

Laughing, I told him I made it up on the spot. He grinned. "Well, she must have some secrets she doesn't want anyone to know, judging by her reaction. I think she'll sign."

Everyone, especially old friends of hers, thought I was being a hardass. Fuck them. Let them fight for the well-being of their child and see how forgiving they were. I did offer an olive branch to Gail, letting her visit Chad for three hours under the supervision of her parents.

The divorce came through before the criminal trial, but I made sure I was in the courtroom when it started. Gail and Honey told a sad tale of being given cocaine by Bill, and then agreeing to strip in their weakened state. Seems he used the motel for a lot of not so strictly legal things. The swingers got caught up in the scandal and come to find out while most were married, it wasn't to each other. Three divorces came from the exposure. Honey's husband divorced her as well, using Uncle Jake to get custody of their little girl.

It also came out in court he was having regular sex with both as part of his fee for letting them use the hotel. I wondered how close a cousin he was to Honey. They also had to get their johns to pay $15 dollars for the room and they usually serviced four customers a night so he was making twice what a room cost a night. The Judge expressed sympathy about them being seduced into the lifestyle but noted both came back clean on a drug panel. Seems that after they got started, they didn't need the drugs anymore. In the end, he gave them three months in the county jail. Both were crying when they were led away.

I ended up getting two thousand in cash and fifty dollars a week in child support. Gail got to see Chad twice a week under supervision of Child Services, but after two months she was allowed unsupervised access if she visited at her parents' house.

Chad gradually drew away from her and one day she sent a note via her parents. She'd taken a job with a national chain and would be traveling up and down the East Coast performing for six weeks at a club before moving on to the next. She said it was so the customers could see fresh faces. Gail gave up her visitation rights but pleaded with me to let her see him when she was near. The next year she did a swing out West and ended up settling in Las Vegas. Well, at least what she had been doing was legal there. Chad still got an expensive present on his birthday and Christmas, along with letters when he got old enough.

He adjusted to a single parent household pretty well, especially since he had two sets of grandparents who were constantly around.

I remarried when he was twelve, to a woman about five years younger than I was. She came with a little girl of seven, so we sold both our houses and bought a bigger one to fit all of us. Chad was a little reserved at first, but Melody followed him around like he was a God and he warmed up to her. He surprised Katie, my new wife, by calling her Mom about a year later and she tried to hide the tears but we all saw them.

I took some of the money I'd made and gotten off the alienation of affection suits I'd filed against Bill and the club manager and bought a half share in Bobby's business. B&M Construction grew into a midsized business and we had a good reputation. We did a lot of work for the state through the contractor we'd worked with in the month I was hiding from Gail.

*****

When Chad was 24 he came to me with something serious to talk about. "I've met someone, Dad. I think she could be the one and I want to bring her by to meet you and Mom. She wants to bring her parents along if you don't mind. I think he's afraid to face you alone."

I thought it odd but we agreed to have them over for steaks on the grill.

Melody was 17 by then, and a handful. Our house always had several girls and more than a few boys hanging around. She was off to college in a year. The nest was definitely going to be empty without her. We made it clear she was to banish her friends that night and be on her best behavior.

Chad showed up about an hour before we scheduled, with his girl in tow. I could see the attraction, she was a cute little thing, just barely over five feet tall, with a dimpled face and long blond hair. Built pretty good too. Katie caught me looking and grinned. I think she approved of her the moment she volunteered to help with the side dishes. I laughed and handed Chad a beer.

"She'll know more about her before dinner than you'll learn in your entire life."

"Pam is a good girl, Dad. She lost her first mother even younger than I lost mine, and her stepmother is all she's ever known. The woman is like a momma bear where she's concerned, though. I was afraid to hold her hand in front of her for a few months."

Just then her parents came in. Her Dad shook my hand and grinned. "You don't remember me, do you?"

I had to admit I didn't.

He laughed. "That's okay. I've been your guest before, about eighteen years ago. Chad was six and Melody was two. Even then I think he was attracted to her. I'm Jeff. Honey's ex."

I shook his hand. "Then that means..."

"Yep, Melody is Honey's daughter. Let me assure you in absolute terms that she's nothing like her mother. Nothing at all. She's a good girl and I won't threaten you if something goes wrong. I'll let Amber do it."

Amber was an Amazon, easily six feet and weighing two hundred. I doubted seriously any of it was fat. She smiled to take the malice out of her words, but still made me know she was serious. "I own a dojo and hold a black belt in three different styles. Amber holds two. She can take care of herself, but just in case, if she gets hurt, you'd best just shoot yourself."

Melody and Katie had come outside and were laughing. "Mom! You've known him three minutes and you make a threat? You must be getting soft; I remember a time when you would have lead with that. Now, come inside and meet the mother of my groom."

She stopped suddenly, going red and putting her hand over her mouth. I had a feeling that she wasn't supposed to say that. Amber and Katie just stood for a minute before they both screamed and grabbed Pam in a three-way hug/dance before Melody came out and joined in.

Chad and Jeff looked at me. "What should we do?"

"Retreat. Let's go hang around the grill. I've got a cooler of beer and they won't even miss us."

We were in fact on to our second beer and plating the steaks before they remembered us. Still grinning, they sat down and let us serve them like the Queens they were. They stayed four hours before they had to leave. The women were in the den looking at wedding gowns on the computer and the men had retreated again, this time to the kitchen.

Jeff looked over at me. "When was the last time you saw Gail?"

"It's been fifteen years or better. You and Honey?"

"Twelve. You know there isn't a snowball's chance in hell of keeping her away when she finds out."

"I know. I should probably email Gail although I have no idea if she'd want to come."

"She'll come. She and Honey are still tight and I'm sure she'll tell her just as soon as she finds out."

*****

Jeff was right. Honey and Gail came to the wedding and sat in the back, tearing tissues up at an alarming rate. Even though Chad really didn't remember his mother, he was civil to her, let her into some of the photographs, and even did a mother/son dance with her. She was crying hard the whole time. I danced with Amber while Jeff danced with Katie, then Chad took them both out on the floor. When Katie came off, she was snuffling. She grabbed my hand and mouthed "later".

I was standing there watching the couples dance when someone grabbed my hand and tugged. It was Gail. Dancing with her was kind of surreal but she didn't say anything, just held me tightly, then let go and fled when the music stopped. I did not dance with Honey, though Jeff did. I watched Amber watching them and wondered if Honey had any idea how close to death she was.

The women disappeared into a chamber to help the bride out of her dress, and I took the opportunity to sit down in a small alcove, thankful for the quiet. I was thinking about how old I was getting and smiling when the thought of grandchildren popped in my head, when a hand landed on my shoulder. It was Gail. I started to get up but she clamped on.

"Please, stay seated. I owe you something and I need to pay my debt. You asked me to tell you why all those years ago and I never did. I want to tell you now. May I sit?"

I pushed a chair opposite me out with my foot and she smiled. After she settled, she told me it was more than she expected. I started to say something but she put her hands on my lips, a surprisingly intimate gesture. She used to do it all the time when I stared ranting about something. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk and just listen so I can get this out."

She sighed. "I did it for the money. We had been broke and struggling all our lives. Suddenly I had a chance to make some real money. Honey talked me into it, she even took me into the club and had me watch while she danced. She was really good.

"Then Bill offered us some coke and we took it. You weren't around me much in the early days, but I was a real party girl and the coke was nothing new to me. The stuff he had was almost pure and it wasn't long before I disconnected with reality. I came to my senses in bed with Bill. And Honey. He'd had sex with both of us. I screamed and ran out of the room. Honey got me into an empty room, calmed me down, and helped me shower. She had douches so we both used them. I remember her words."

"There now, all squeaky clean. Mack will never know."

"And you didn't. I thought you'd take one look at me and scream WHORE! When you didn't, I started to relax. A few days later he offered us more. I took it after he promised he wouldn't touch me. I woke up at four in the morning in bed with two guys I had never seen.

"I quit cocaine and never took it again. Bill kind of laughed and told me my cut was a hundred bucks. I never took the money. Bill kind of disappeared for a while and Honey and I stayed on the property. She did teach me a few strip,per moves and I was always a good dancer.

"Then the washing machine broke down and Honey told me I could make enough in one night to buy a new one. I hated the thought of going to the laundromat so I decided to try it. I figured I would be embarrassed and horrible, but all I felt was a rush, especially when they started throwing money on the stage. Honey collected it for me and I had a hundred and eighty dollars. People back then worked hard all week and didn't clear a hundred and eighty. Then Honey told me the real money was in mixing with the crowd and talked me into putting on a g-string and working the crowd. I had my ass pinched, my titties mauled, and one guy got a finger in my honeypot on the pretense of sticking a twenty in my underwear. I got another hundred forty from that. I was high on adrenaline and a few shots of whiskey when we got back to the motel and Bill said we owed him for covering for us. Honey got on her knees, pulled me down with her and we gave him a blowjob.

"Honey and I worked out a rotation. I'd take Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of one week, she'd take Tuesday and Thursday, and then we'd switch the next week. I didn't fool around with anyone but Bill during that time, and he got me twice a week."

She sighed and took a drink before she continued. "I didn't screw anybody else until my car broke down. I needed eight hundred pretty quickly. I'd just finished my set when this drunk guy offered me two hundred dollars to fuck my ass. I hesitated for about a mute before grabbing his hand and dragging him across the parking lot. Honey had lube and she helped get me ready, but it still hurt like hell. My john thought I got into it the way I wriggled and squealed, but the wriggling was trying to get him out and the squeals were from the pain. He gave me a fifty-dollar tip.

"Then Honey helped me clean up and I did another set and took another guy back for some standard sex. I charged him a hundred and he gave me a twenty-dollar tip for sucking his dick clean. Between those two and my dancing tip, I got the money to fix my car in one night.