Cursed Ch. 04

Cursed: Chapter 4 - A Through Job Interview

Tiffany

Wednesday morning, I got up early to prepare Amber for school. Steve spoiled us with a breakfast of fried eggs, sausage, and home fries. He set the second batch of toast in front of me before leaving for work.

On his way out the door, he said, "I hope you have a better day now that Oleksandr won't be bothering you anymore. I'll be home by six and work on dinner. I hope you both like fried chicken."

The mention of Oleksandr's name brought my worries back into focus. I knew the bastard wouldn't bother me again. I'd shot him three times in the chest. I shuddered as I recalled the look of surprise on his face as he fell to the ground. Still, if someone found his body, he would cause me no end of trouble. I wondered if they still had the death penalty in New York.

Amber said, "Who is Oleksandr?"

"He's the man in the parking lot that attacked Steve. He won't be bothering us again."

Amber's eyes were wide open as she stared at me. "I'm glad. You were so brave. You saved us from that bad man."

I dropped Amber off at school and went to the supermarket for my shift. Everything would be so much easier if I could work thirty hours a week at the supermarket and get health coverage for myself and Amber. I wouldn't be so hard up for money to buy medicine. It was no use complaining. None of the cashiers got over thirty hours, and therefore none of us got benefits.

My shift ended at four, and I couldn't resist the urge to visit the Pink Pussycat before heading back to Steve's warm home. The club was still locked, and the parking lot was empty. I crept up onto the loading dock and opened the trash container. Thank God, it was empty. Since the place wasn't crawling with cops, I knew all I had to worry about was the body being discovered at the landfill. I had passed three massive garbage trucks on the highway as I drove to the club. With any luck, Oleksandr's body was already buried. I was never so happy that New York City was sending us their stinking garbage.

When I got home, Amber's key was hanging on the hook inside the door. I was amazed that Steve was willing to trust a seven-year-old with the key to his home. I found my daughter doing her homework on the dining room table. She had helped herself to some milk and cookies.

"Well, how's my brave Amber?"

Amber coughed and said, "Pretty good. I'll need some help on the math. I missed some stuff while I was out sick. I want to have Steve help me."

"Oh, your Mom isn't smart enough?"

Amber wrinkled her freckled nose and said, "You're plenty smart. I just like the way Steve explains it."

I laughed and said, "I think you have a crush on Steve."

"Don't you like Steve?"

I smiled at Amber and said, "Of course, I like Steve. He's been very nice, but we cannot stay here forever. We're imposing."

"Imposing?"

"Steve has his own life, and we're in the way. As soon as we can afford it, we'll get a new apartment."

Amber looked around the cozy room and said, "I like it here. Steve said we could stay as long as we want. He said he would be happy to rent us the room. Please, Mom, I want to stay here."

"I guess we'll see, but I don't think he's thought it through. I know we're in his way, but I promise I'll think about it."

I felt Amber's forehead when I gave her a hug and left her to finish her homework. I went into the living room and turned on the local news. There was nothing about finding a dead body at the landfill. Maybe just maybe I was going to be lucky for once in my life.

I was startled by the phone. I recognized Ellen's number on the caller ID and answered.

Ellen said, "Mike's at the Pink Pussycat. He doesn't know where Tony is, but he plans on opening the club for business tonight. You can get to your locker if you stop by tonight."

"That's great news, Ellen. Does that mean we can work this weekend?"

"Unless Tony shows up, the club won't be open this weekend. Mike said he cannot buy any supplies without Tony's credit card and only has enough beer for a couple of nights. He doesn't need any dancers and has enough waitresses already. The cook took a job elsewhere, but there's not enough food to open the kitchen anyway. It looks like I'll have to keep working for Carmen."

"I'm sorry to hear you're working for that creep. What's it like working at The Dollhouse?"

"Tuesday night was kind of quiet. I saw several of the regulars from the Pink Pussycat. It felt like home except that Carmen provides outfits for the women. They're kind of skimpy, but we've both worn less at the Pink Pussycat."

"I'm surprised Carmen doesn't make you pay for the outfits."

Carmen's not as cheap as Tony. He only takes twenty percent of our tips for overhead. He even has a contest on the weekends. The top employee gets a two-hundred-dollar bonus. Boy, I could sure use the cash. By the way, Carmen said he'd love to have you dance at his club. He said he would make it worth your while."

"Not going to happen, Ellen. I'm going to see Mike and get my money from my locker. I'll wait for Tony to return. Good luck."

"You too, Tiffany."

* * *

Steve showed up at six, and true to his word, he cooked up a batch of fried chicken. I left Steve, helping Amber with her math homework. I promised to do the dishes when I returned.

There were less than ten regulars at the Pink Pussycat when I arrived around eight. Mike repeated that he hadn't seen or heard from Tony since closing late on Saturday night. He planned to keep the club open a couple of nights. If Tony didn't show up by Friday morning, he planned to accept Carmen's job offer. With all of Tony's customers moving across the street, The Dollhouse was severely understaffed.

I cleaned out my locker in case the club closed permanently. I had just over seven hundred dollars stashed inside. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about the payday thug ripping me off again.

When I got back to Steve's place, Amber was finished with her homework and a snack. She was dozing in front of the TV. Steve said she fell asleep before Cinderella even made it to the ball. He carried her into the bedroom, and I put her to bed. Steve had turned off the TV and was reading a murder mystery when I came back out. He seemed happy to talk.

"Steve, do you know a good auto shop that doesn't charge too much? I want to fix my car, so I don't have to impose on you."

"You're welcome to keep using my wife's car. It needs to be run anyway."

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer to use mine. Amber and I have been a big enough burden."

"There is no way either of you is a burden. I'm getting tired of telling you how much I enjoy having company. However, if you insist, I know a guy who works on cars at his house. He's good and inexpensive. I can call him now if you want."

"If it's not too late, I'd appreciate it."

I was lucky. Steve's mechanic had just finished a big job and was available. He even promised to pick up my car tomorrow from Steve's house. I explained that I didn't have a lot of money. He said none of his customers had a lot of money. He promised a cost estimate before he did any work.

Steve and I chatted for a half an hour before I began yawning. I said goodnight after thanking Steve for everything he had done. I lay in bed and worried about someone finding Oleksandr's body. I must have been tired because I didn't suffer very long.

Thursday morning, Steve had another breakfast for Amber and me. After getting my daughter to school, I went to the drug store and refilled my birth control prescription now that I could afford it. I didn't plan on having sex anytime soon, but I was tired of resorting to Plan B. Better to be safe than sorry. After all, I hadn't planned on sex with Tony or Frank. I knew I'd have to wait for my next period before I took my first pill. I felt happy as I headed to the supermarket for my shift; I felt like I was in control of my life again.

Before I started work, I was told to report to the manager's office. My boss explained that he had seen me dancing nude at the Pink Pussycat. It didn't bother him, but he was afraid of the reaction from his customers. He was sorry, but he had to let me go. I was in shock as I drove back to Steve's house.

* * *

Thursday night was even worse than the morning. After dinner, Amber complained it hurt when she swallowed. She seemed warm to the touch, so I took her temperature. It was only 99.1 degrees, which wasn't bad after an active day. I put her to bed after giving her the next to the last antibiotic tablet. She kept waking up and begging for ice water. I spent a nearly sleepless night caring for my daughter and praying.

In the morning, Amber was whimpering from the pain in her throat. Her temperature was 101.3. I bundled her up and drove her to the doctor's office in Steve's wife's car. I had to sit in the waiting with my daughter for nearly an hour as she continued to whimper. A young boy next to me puked and managed to soil both my khaki pants and my last clean blouse.

The doctor was concerned that she hadn't responded better to the latest antibiotic. He checked on the lab results on the most recent throat culture. It showed that Amber had a highly resistant strep infection. He wanted to admit her to the hospital for intensive treatment. I protested that I didn't have insurance and couldn't afford the hospital. The doctor was reluctant, but finally, he came up with an alternative treatment plan. He gave Amber a dose of an even more expensive antibiotic. He gave me the six tablets he had received from the pharmaceutical representative as samples, which would be enough for a couple of days. He wrote a prescription for more and made me promise to fill it. He took my hand and impressed upon me the seriousness of the situation.

I was trembling with fear as I drove my daughter to Steve's house and put her to bed. Even with the 700 dollars I'd retrieved from my locker, I had only half of what I needed to pay for a full course of treatment with the expensive medicine. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if Amber's infection didn't respond to the new treatment. I knew what I had to do. I didn't have a choice if I wanted to save my daughter.

* * *

Friday afternoon, I took a quick shower hoping it would revive me. Afterward, I wrapped a towel around my damp body as I looked for something clean to wear to an unscheduled job interview at The Dollhouse. Luckily, Amber was fast asleep as I rummaged through a mostly empty chest of drawers for the few clean clothes I had left. I should have taken Steve up on the offer of his washer and dryer instead of wasting my time sleeping for a couple of hours, but that was water under the bridge.

The only decent outfit left consisted of an old pair of low-rise skinny jeans with lots of fashionable rips and a threadbare white spandex crop top. The tears in the cheap jeans were there from wear rather than by design. I hadn't worn the sleeveless crop top in a long time because it was very tight and didn't hide my nipples. What I liked about it was that the scoop neck did a fantastic job of highlighting my cleavage, and the short top left my trim abdomen exposed. Despite my misgivings, I figured the revealing outfit would be great for tips if I managed to convince Carmen to give me a job as a waitress.

I found a clean pair of bikini panties and a bright red bra designed to provide extra support for the well-endowed woman. I didn't really need the bra for my perky breasts, but I had bought it out of concern my breasts would begin sagging if I left them free all the time. I only wore it under a blouse when I worked at the supermarket.

Fortunately, Steve wasn't home, so I used his bed to work the skinny jeans up my legs. I must have gained weight from Steve's cooking because I didn't remember them being this tight. It was a struggle getting them over my fat ass without enlarging too many of the rips. The zipper provided a battle that left my arms shaking.

I tried putting the top on over the support bra, but the red bra showed through the thin fabric, and there were bulges and exposed straps everywhere. It looked so hideous, I almost cried. The crop top looked better without the bra. The tight top flattened my large breasts and pushed the tops of my plump globes above the deeply scooped neckline. Significant amounts of my breasts were visible through the large armholes. Of course, you could see my nipples poking into the thin fabric. In case you missed my nipples, they were surrounded by the all too obvious pink bullseyes of my areolas. There was an acre of tight bare abdomen exposed between my top and my low-rise jeans. A pair of five-inch platform wedges completed the outfit.

I brushed my hair once more and put my auburn locks into a ponytail. I spent a few minutes covering the freckles splashed across my nose with foundation. Eyeliner highlighted my green eyes. A bright red lipstick completed the look I was going for. I was thinking of a rising starlet at a film festival hoping to attract a director's attention. The woman I saw in the full-length mirror looked more like a cheap hooker. I took a deep breath as I stood to stare at my reflection. It was the first time since taking Amber to the doctor that I'd had time to think. I was terrified and exhausted, but I told myself, you can do this. You're doing it for Amber.

I decided to take up Steve's previous offer to use one of his wife's coats. I picked a lined black leather jacket. I bundled Amber up in a blanket and drove my sleeping daughter to my babysitter's house. It began snowing lightly by the time I drove around to the back of The Dollhouse. I parked next to a small handful of cars by the employee entrance. It was just after 6:30 PM on a Friday night and The Dollhouse hadn't come alive yet. In a couple of hours, the place would be jumping with men eager to spend their hard-earned wages on booze while they fondled scantily clad women.

I sat staring at the employee entrance for several minutes as I tried to get up the nerve to go inside. There was nothing I had ever done in my life that caused me as much anxiety. Even pole dancing in the nude at the Pink Pussycat had been less terrifying. Still, I shuddered as I remembered the night, I danced naked for the first time. It was also the first time I had met Carmen Catalano, the owner of the Doll House. The bastard bought a lap dance from me. He had the nerve to offer me a job performing at his sleazy strip club while Tony stood there grinning. I had angered Carmen when I slapped him for taking liberties with my breasts.

My boss Tony had decided to auction off my outfit during the last performance of the night. Carmen got his revenge on me when he won the auction for my G-string. Tony had left me unprotected when he went to break up a fight at the bar. Carmen had his enormous bodyguard hold me while he stripped me of my last piece of clothing. The bastard wasn't satisfied with just seeing me naked. He finger-fucked me to orgasm as every TV in the Pink Pussycat showed a close up of my eager pussy humping his fat finger. As bad as the humiliation of cumming in front of a screaming mob of Rivervale's finest citizens had been, Carmen's threat afterward terrorized me.

He had whispered in my ear, "After I crush Tony, all of his dancers will be begging to work for me. Before you know what hit you, you'll be working naked all the time and turning tricks on the tables. When you get too old, I'll put you in a show with a stallion. You'll be sorry you ever laughed at Carmen."

I couldn't believe that I was now sitting outside of The Dollhouse intending to beg Carmen for a job. The owner of the Pink Pussycat had mysteriously disappeared, and his club was closed. If I could have gotten more hours, I might have been able to survive on my cashier's wages at the supermarket, but I had been fired. I had no idea how long Steve would allow me to stay in his house for free.

Tony had paid me well for my last two nights working for him, but most of that money was already gone. Tony had kept a portion to cover the money he had advanced me. The payday loan collector had taken his share. I had gotten my car fixed so I wouldn't have to depend on Steve. I even managed to get my birth control prescription renewed.

What little money remained wasn't enough to cover the new prescription for my daughter. I didn't have insurance, and I was desperate. If I wanted to save my daughter's life, I needed to come up with nearly two thousand dollars this weekend. I had made maybe half of that amount last Saturday at the Pink Pussycat on the best day I'd ever had dancing.

I had thought about asking Steve for a loan, but it was a lot of money. I've been forced to be self-reliant since my ex-fiancee left me to raise Amber by myself. I wasn't good at asking for help. Besides, I was afraid of what Steve would expect in return. I needed to stay at his house until Amber recovered, and I got back on my feet. The thought of sleeping with Steve so I could borrow money for medicine was morally abhorrent.

When I had borrowed from my boss at the Pink Pussycat, Tony had extracted a heavy price. He had fucked me two nights in a row after the club closed. The second night after taking his pleasure, Tony had sold my body to my best friend's husband. If Tony hadn't suddenly disappeared, I would probably have gone back to him and begged for the money I needed for Amber's medicine. That plan at least had the comfort of being familiar. Besides, my dancing had made Tony a lot of money the last two nights the Pink Pussycat was open.

With Tony's place closed, my only chance to raise that kind of money was to work for Carmen. That idea had burned in my brain ever since I learned her antibiotic wasn't working. My lack of sleep and obsessing about working for Carmen was making me nauseous. When I couldn't think of any alternatives, I had driven to The Dollhouse. I didn't feel like I could ever trust any man again, but at least Carmen had promised me a job.

I was still trying to get up my nerve to ring the buzzer by the door when a car pulled into the parking lot. I recognized the woman who got out. It was Ellen. She had been a waitress at the Pink Pussycat until last week. I struggled with the window's electronic control for a moment as I wished for a simple crank. By the time I managed to lower the window, she had unlocked the door and disappeared inside.

I left the window down, expecting someone else would show up soon for the evening shift. The cold air and blowing snow kept me awake. I didn't wait long before another car pulled into the parking lot. I was surprised to see my best friend, Ashley get out. I couldn't believe she was working for Carmen.

I shouted, "Ashley."

Ashley turned and said, "Hi, Tiffany, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Carmen about a job."

Ashley got into the car with me and rolled up the window. "Oh honey, are you sure you want to do that? The Dollhouse is even worse than everyone said. I wouldn't be here except my husband has disappeared. With two young kids, I'm desperate."

"I'm desperate too. Amber has relapsed, and I can't afford the new medicine she needs."

"Oh sweetheart, is there anything I can do for Amber?"

"Thanks, but you've already helped me so much. This time a pistol won't be any use. What I need are some money and a miracle. I know you can't help with the money, but you could pray for a miracle."

Ashley sighed and said, "As my best friend, you and Amber are always in my thoughts and prayers. Speaking of the pistol, whatever happened to the loan shark?"

"Steve and some friends visited the payday loan company. Evidently, I paid off the loan weeks ago. The loan collector was lying to me about owing more. Both the Helping Hand and Steve's friends are looking for the loan collector. In any case, no one has seen him in a couple of days. I feel so relieved."