For Art's Sake Ch. 03

Vicky's journey away from being a strait-laced suburban housewife continues.

Any resemblance to actual events, or people dead or alive, is purely coincidental. It's fiction.

Enjoy. There may be more chapters to follow, with your encouragement.

********

Arthur went off to work in excellent spirits, announcing as he left, "Fifty more days, tra-la."

"Fifty?"

"To semi-retirement." Arthur left.

It was Monday. Following her mother's and grandmother's habits, Vicky stripped the bed and marshaled all the washing in the laundry room by nine o'clock.

The first wash was well on its way at ten past nine. Vicky was back in the kitchen when Tony first called. She was standing, fully dressed, at the sink cleaning up the breakfast dishes and humming along to a tune from Carmen on her favorite classical radio station. She ignored the call but looked up at Tony observing her from his bedroom window. She gave a friendly wave. She shook her head at him, and he disconnected.

The unwanted calls followed regularly in half hour intervals. She ignored them all as she vacuumed and dusted the master bedroom. With each call her annoyance grew. First at Tony and then at herself for putting herself in this position.

His persistence succeeded. Vicky had stopped for a coffee in the kitchen when the fourth call arrived at ten thirty. She answered neutrally, "Yes Tony?"

"I needed to talk to you. Someone."

"What's the matter?" Vicky detected there an anguish in his tone that was nothing to do with getting into her panties.

"Mom's home." He paused.

"Yes? So?"

"The tool and die shop where she worked closed for good over the weekend. They're bankrupt. She was their bookkeeper. I think she saw it coming, but still it has been a blow for her. She's out of work."

"That's terrible. I'll speak to your Mom if you like?"

"No. I don't think she wants anyone to know." Vicky could understand Mary was processing her situation.

"Is your dad coming home?"

"Not before the weekend. They had a flaming row over the phone this morning. Can I come over. I'd like at least a comfort cuddle?"

Vicky thought, here we go. "No. No cuddles. Let me think if, and how, I can help you and your mom. You be kind and helpful to her. She is the one who is sure to need a cuddle, maybe share one with her. She needs your understanding at this moment. I'll get back to you, but it's not likely before tomorrow. I'll call you before ten tomorrow. Promise." The call ended without another word from Tony.

Vicky liked Mary, Tony's mom. They'd had many lively and interesting conversations over the years. She was a perfect miniature woman. She carried a large bust but otherwise was perfectly proportioned but barely five feet tall. In many ways she reminded Vicky of Dolly Parton to look at, but with beautiful thick auburn hair that she always seemed to wear up on her head to give herself more height. Always impeccably groomed, Vicky had never seen her without high heels or elevated sandals.

A bundle of energy and very loving, Mary never said a bad word about anyone. At the barbeques she always seemed to be looking out for Tony, with a loving look on her face. She'd do anything for him. Now it was his turn to do something for her.

After some thought, Vicky called Arthur. "Hi sweetie."

"What's up?"

"Do you employ bookkeepers?"

"Not as such. No. Why do you ask?"

"You know Mary who lives behind us. She's just lost her job. Her employer's gone bankrupt. Locked the employees out this morning. She needs a job."

"Quite a few of our best Accounting Assistants were once bookkeepers. We are always looking for good talent in this area. Mary's a sweetheart as I remember her, nice personality and good figure. Oops."

"Pig."

"Get her to send a CV in," Arthur gave Vicky the name and email address of their head of Human Resources. "Anything else? Oh, did you contact Elly?"

"I love you. Been doing housework, call her later. Bye."

"Love you. Bye."

Vicky called Tony. "Tony listen to me carefully."

Tony interrupted Vicky, "That was quick. I thought you'd not get back before tomorrow. Can I come over?"

"No Tony. Just listen. I'm going to call your mother. I'm basically going to say that when I called you to thank you for the work you did yesterday you let slip that she's lost her job. Got that? I also spoke to you about doing some more garden clear up."

Tony interrupted, "Really? That's good. I'd like that."

"Stay on focus here Tony. We'll get back to garden some other time. She'll be sure to ask you what you did over here yesterday. You should say I had you do some heavy lifting and started on the garden before I had to go out and stopped you. If pressed, tell her a little white one about moving some big stuff around in the attic. Got all that?"

"Got it."

"I've got a lead on a job for your mom, that's what this is about. But don't you say anything to her. Let me handle it."

After looking up her number and putting it on their phone address book, Vicky called Mary on her land line. "Mary. Vicky Jarried here."

"Hi stranger. What can I do for you?" Vicky could detect the false cheerfulness in her tone.

"I'm not sure if Tony told you I called him earlier. Yesterday, I was desperate and asked Tony if he could do muscle work for me. He kindly came over and did what I asked. Plus a few minutes in the garden before I had to go out. I paid him for his time."

"That was unnecessary. Payment that is. He's sitting around watching God knows what on his computer."

"Anyway, in the conversation we had just now he dropped in that you had just been laid off from work. He tried to take it back, because he knew he had broken a confidence. Tony's a good young man."

Vicky heard her Mary sigh, but pressed on, "Do you know my Arthur is the managing Partner of an accounting firm? I spoke to him about your situation. I hope I have it right: you are an experienced bookkeeper as I remembered our chats."

"That's right. I was three quarters the way to become a CA when I stopped to have Tony. Never did finish."

"My husband says you should send your CV to their HR person. You may wish to put one together. The quicker the better."

"I have my CV ready. I saw this coming and prepared myself. What I didn't appreciate is what a body blow it would be now it's happened."

"You poor thing. I can imagine. Maybe I can't. I've never been such an experience. Got something to write the contact details down?"

"Give me a moment." After a pause, "Fire away."

"The name and email address of the HR person. Here it is." Vicky spelled it out. "I suggest you do it immediately. Get the ball rolling. Good luck. Also, it's long overdue that we get together for a coffee, or better a glass or two of wine."

"Wine sounds better. I'll do a couple of tweaks to my CV and a put together a covering letter. May I mention you or your husband's name? I'll have it over to them by noon."

"Sure. Just mention we are neighbors."

"Thank you so much. No, that's inadequate. You must tell me what I can do for you."

"I'll think of something. Maybe just the pleasure of your company over a bottle of good wine. Good luck. One final thing, Arthur will not, in any way, be involved in a decision to hire you or not. Just so you know."

"I understand completely. The fact you have done this for me is beyond words. Bye."

Vicky felt pleased with herself. Maybe her time with Tony was meant to be. Nevertheless, she had to figure out to keep him at bay or otherwise occupied. She could see how he could become quite a nuisance. The beginning of an idea was forming in her head how she may curtail his unwanted intrusions, but that could wait until tomorrow.

Shortly after lunch she received a text from Tony: I'm on my own. Mom's gone for an interview.

So much for his hinting, Vicky simply replied: Good to know.

She had no plans to encourage Tony, and it was amazing news that within three hours Mary was getting an interview.

She continued with the housework.

********

As Arthur entered the house from the garage, he was whistling. As soon as he saw Vicky, he grabbed her and gave her passionate kiss on the lips.

"Good day then?"

"Forty-nine days to go."

"I like this."

They sat down for dinner and Arthur described the state of excitement and fear in the office due to the takeover. He mentioned in passing that he signed off on an offer to Mary, as he did with every new hire.

"You were just going to slip that one by me? Give me the goods."

"Well there are some confidentiality issues here." He teased. He shared everything about work with Vicky. She just gave him the look. He laughed, "Ok. I give in."

"It's amazing, sometimes the stars line up perfectly. We have -- had -- a problem-child whose work was good, but he was constantly finding issues to churn up for management and have the whole office on edge. He's an assistant to the accountants. Can you believe that he took this takeover we are going through as a personal scheme to get him out of the company. Defiantly, and to an almost universal round of silent applause, he handed in his resignation early this morning. He has been forgiven the remainder of his time in the office as vacation. No sooner had this vacancy popped up than Mary appeared. A miracle."

"She interviewed well I am told by Margaret from HR and the two Partners who formed the interview committee. She scored well on all aspects. She will be encouraged to return to the books to get her accountancy qualifications. That said, she is on probation for three months. If she does not screw up, she's in. She gets a courier delivered letter of offer in the morning. That's all she wrote." He looked kindly at Vicky. "Sweetie, that was a good call on your part. Must have been tricky though, with Tony in the wings."

"He called three times before I picked up on the fourth. He let slip about Mary's situation and then tried to back it down. He's still as horny as ever for me. I put him off, but that won't do it. He's persistent. I have let the genie out of the bottle. Now I'm trying to figure a way to point his cock in another direction. I think since he had no luck with his contemporaries, he has an older woman syndrome. What do you think?"

"Possible. Actually likely."

"I have an idea I'd like to pass by you." Vicky explained how her thinking was going.

"As much as I would like to jump in, since an employee of mine is involved I just found myself totally deaf, and heard nothing, and will assume you will proceed on your own initiative without any reference back to me until I am no longer part of the company."

Vicky felt a bit embarrassed she's put Arthur in an ethical dilemma. She looked at Arthur, "Sorry about all that garbled muttering to myself. I'm not sure what came over me." Case closed. But articulating her approached clarified her course of action.

"Bed early tonight? Been a good day."

"Why not? Lead on. Oh, I'll be few moments. I have to make a call. Go on up, but don't start without me." Arthur laughed.

Vicky called Tony. He answered on the first ring. "Mrs. J. Why are you calling me?"

"There is something I want you to do for me in the morning."

Vicky continued, "Go to your window at exactly nine o'clock. You will see me as you did two days ago. Doing some dishes, or at least pretending to do so."

"You're kidding me." She had his full attention. "Naked?"

"Yes. Now, here is the hard bit. When you see me, call you mother and ask what she makes of me washing up naked. Get her to the window, perhaps using the binoculars. You get behind her and hold her around her waist, and close in hard behind her. Lean and look over her shoulder. Getting this? If you have an erection push it against her butt crack. Keep it there as long as she endures it."

"That's so gross. She's my mother."

"She's a beautiful small woman. Think of her in those terms."

"If you can pull this off -- if you'll pardon the term -- I may well have a personal reward for you in the not too distant future."

"You really want me to do that? It's more than a bit weird."

"It might surprise you. She might like it."

"You think?"

"Yes. It may be a bit strange for you but do it anyway. How you get your mother to look out of the window at me, is up to you. I'll give you about ten minutes. If she's in the shower, or something else and refuses to put whatever she is doing aside, give me call. It's a little experiment I know you will enjoy when I follow up. If she doesn't cooperate all bets are off."

"Ok. I'll do it." From Tony's uncertainty in his tone of voice, Vicky was not sure he would."

"Remember nine o'clock. You'll see me then. Bye."

Vicky mounted the stairs and joined Arthur in bed.

"I just remembered. Chew on this. I spoke to Elly. We are on for Saturday at six at Elly's place. Goo will also be there. I looked for Elly's place on Google street view: nice modern looking house on the shore road."

"Maybe the anticipatory possibilities of that encounter can liven up this evening?"

"Maybe." Vicky grinned.

*********

Still in her nighty, Vicky was up early, invigorated by the solid sleep after their passionate romp and also by the prospects of what was to come later in the day.

Unsurprisingly, Arthur was in good spirits too. As he was leaving for an early start on a day of detailed meetings he offered, "Enjoy the melons."

Vicky shook her head and swatted him. "You'll have to wait over another forty-eight days before you can even think about a titty fuck. We'll see how the day goes. Bye." She waved him off.

Choosing what to wear was a challenge until she decided to channel Elly. She dug out a light blue vee-necked cashmere powder-blue sweater similar to Elly's although the neckline was deeper. She found and tried on a black leather skirt and was pleased to find it still fitted well. The hem was cut about two inches above her knees. She agonized over a decision about underwear and eventually settled on no bra or panties, just shear black self-supporting stockings, with mid-height black shoes. She set the ensemble out on the bed in the master bedroom.

After the success of the first couple of steps in her planning, she knew she would have to improvise the rest of the day. She showered, shaved her legs and pubic region, and dressed in just a robe as she fussed around in the bedroom.

As nine approached Vicky had doubts about her planned actions, but she thought back to Elly's voice urging her to just do it and the thrill it had provided. This was admittedly different and only a set-up for a larger plan, if it even worked.

Watching from the darkest part of the kitchen she could see Tony already on duty at his bedroom window. Vicky turned the light on over the sink and set the cooking timer to ten minutes. She removed her robe and set it on a stool behind her. Approaching the sink, she waved to Tony before running the hot water.

She looked up after a minute, having put a few dishes into the soapy water. Tony was still there. She swooshed her hand at Tony to get him moving. He shook his head and slowly turned and disappeared. Vicky just played with the cups and dishes in the water. She could not help but laugh to herself when she realized all she was wearing were the rubber gloves protecting her hands.

Without actually looking directly up, out of her upper peripheral vision Vicky could see that Tony had done it. Mary was there looking out of the lower part of the window with Tony hanging over her shoulder. Vicky repeated her trick of splashing soap bubbles up onto her breasts and wiped the off with a broad unmistakable gesture. Looking again from under her brows she saw they were still there.

She now started washing seriously and set the rinsed cups on the draining board. As a final act she looked directly up at the window, feigned a surprise look on her face, and waved before turning, and walking away naked. The final impression of the window was Tony wide eyed and his mother using the binoculars. Vick thought, stage one a success. She also wondered if Tony had boner that Mary could feel.

In the bedroom, she applied a light make up before she carefully pulled the cashmere sweater over her head. Her nipples hardened under the soft caress of the knit. Next, she loved the feel as she pulled the stockings up her newly shaved legs. The skirt was tight and nicely snug around one her best features, her butt. She slipped on her shoes. Examining herself in the full-length mirror she concluded she was ready for anything.

She had barely started reading the news on her iPad when the phone rang. She saw it was Mary. Here we go, she thought to herself.

"Mary, what's up?"

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you...."

Vicky jumped in, even though she knew the answer, "For what sweetie?"

"I got the job. I got it. Wooeee."

"Well congratulations. I'm sure you earned it and are very worthy."

"I'll be on probation for three months, but I'm sure I can handle it."

"I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"There are so many opportunities too. I'm on cloud nine."

"I think a celebration is called for. Come over and we'll break open the bubbly. I cannot think of a better reason to have a party. Bring Tony. After we toast your success, we can put him to work in the garden and we can have a girl-to-girl."

"Sounds like a plan. The vacuuming can wait on a day like this. Give me a few to freshen up a bit. We'll walk around the block. Maybe twenty to thirty minutes, is that OK?"

"Perfect. See you soon." Vicky smiled herself. Step three of her plan fell into place.

She found and placed a bottle of the good champagne in the freezer to cool it down quickly. She checked the family room was tidy, found some salty nibbles she always kept on hand and put them in bowls. She knew she had some finely sliced smoked salmon in the freezer and transferred it to the fridge. Found the crackers and bagels before checking her usual supply of cream cheese on hand. There was package of salad in the fridge and bottled salad dressing. She thought she was ready until she remembered the glasses. She brought out the larger ones.

He next twenty minutes passed excruciatingly slowly for Vicky. She ran over a dozen scenarios but knew she had little or no control from here on. She again felt Elly channeling her uncharacteristic behavior, her thoughts and moreover her desire. She wondered what it was with this woman that gave her the power to redirect her life so completely and not even be there.

The doorbell galvanized Vicky back into the here and now. Mary and Tony stood on the step grinning. As they came into the entrance hall, first Mary and then Tony both hugged Vicky. She gave Tony a bit extra of a tit-mash and hung on longer in her contact with him. Away from his mother he slipped his hand under the back of Vicky's sweater and halfway up her back before she pulled away thinking, you horny stud. He set aside his work boots and gloves.

Addressing Mary, Vicky said, "You can leave you shoes on if you like." She kept them on.

Vicky moved to the kitchen, and they followed. From the bag she was carrying, Mary produced a plastic container with home-made pâté, a box of Italian crackers and a chilled bottle of Prosecco. The pâté was set out on a plate with a spreading knife and side plates found. The bottle was placed in the fridge and Vicky pulled out the bottle of the more alcoholic Moet Champagne from the freezer, now nicely chilled. "Let's go into the family room."

Once the finger food and Champagne were set out Vicky raised her glass to Mary, "To your future success and happiness. Cheers. Yes Mary, you are allowed to toast yourself." They all drank. "Mary your turn to make a toast."

"To absent friends and family." They drank. "Oh, I have another. To Wonder Woman Vicky for making all this happen." Another tip of the glass.