Helping Harvey

All of my writing is fiction and the characters of products of my imagination. All characters in this story are 18 years or older. Hope you enjoy the story, and please take the time to rate and comment if possible.

***

"So, who's turn is it to pay for this feast we're about to devour?"

"Joe, you ask me that every time," Franco replied, shaking his head and laughing. If you didn't bring any money with you just say so. I'll get it."

"Who uses money anymore? I have the magic plastic card. Trouble is, even with the card, you eventually have to have money."

We were laughing in unison now, after completing the usual opening of our Wednesday night dinner.

"Who's watching the restaurant tonight?" since Franco was here, someone had to be filling in for him.

"Dina's doing it, bless her heart. She always tells me I need my night out with the guys, even though 'the guys' is just you, and she knows that."

"Ah, yes, the good wife. She's a treasure."

"I know, and when we open the second Wain's Ribs and Chops she said she'd be willing to give up her job and run it for us."

"No shit?" Well, with her HR experience, you shouldn't have any staff problems there."

"She's really anxious to do that, you know, to help out in any way she can. I'm not sure I could give up a career like she's willing to do."

"You'd do it for someone you love like she's doing."

"You're probably right."

"Plus, she's a fairly impressive greeter, if that's what she's going to be doing."

"I know. She'll be doing that some, but she also has to oversee the whole operation, resolve disputes, and all that stuff. At six foot two, and an ex-volleyball player, she's built to handle it."

I knew Franco was referring to Dina's height and the natural bulk that went with it, but it also applied to the other connotation of the word "built." Having been an athlete, she was trim and solid, even shapely with larger breasts than you'd expect from a Division I volleyball player. Dina had been an outside hitter, and my wife, Sasha, at five-foot-eight, was her setter. Franco and I were spectators, neither of us being blessed with athletic ability. We always claimed we got an extra batch of handsome instead. Whatever it was, we both landed good-looking wives.

"I've said before, Franco, I'm way too conservative to ever take a chance of starting my own business. And now, you're risking it all to open a second place. You've got more guts than I have, or balls, or whatever."

"Funny you say that because, when the thought of a second restaurant came up, I wasn't going to do it, but Dina talked me into it. She's willing to take a chance. She said it comes from being an outside hitter. You take a chance at that position, and, like a quarterback, you're a hero or a bum." He laughed. "She's my hero."

"Look, here comes Harvey. Must not have a dinner to serve tonight." Like Franco, Harvey was concerned with food, but from a different perspective. Harvey ran a shelter for the homeless where food was their main, but not their only, service. Volunteers often provided evening meals for the people at the shelter, and Havey was usually there to help.

"Havey, not serving tonight?" Franco said.

He laughed. "Should be, but Ada told me to get out and go do something else for a change. She'd take care of the dinner."

"Sit down, man. You're always welcome here," I said, pushing a chair out from the table with my feet.

"Thanks," he said, sitting down and waving at the server. "Bring us a pitcher of Coors Light, would you please," he said when she came to the table.

"You don't need to be buying us beer," I said. "Use it for the shelter."

"I would, but there's something I'm going to need help with, and you two might be right in the middle of it."

"In that case, I'll drink your beer," Franco quipped. "What's up?"

Harvey sighed. "Something that's been on my mind for a long time, and I decided to grit my teeth, dig in, and take it on."

"Whoa, sounds serious."

Our beer came; Havey poured three glasses, then settled back in his chair, a sort of determined look on his face.

"We've always been centered on food, lots of food, for all our clients, and I can't complain about that at all. But, you know, on a cold night when we serve a dinner, at a church usually, and it's over, they all leave. I wonder if one or two of them are going to be found frozen to death in the morning. It's happened."

"Shit, Harvey, that's terrible. Sounds like we need to find a way to get them someplace to stay that's at least warm."

Havey smiled broadly. "You walked right into that one, and thank you."

"Oh?" I said.

"Yeah, don't get me wrong, but lots of them don't want it that way. They don't want an apartment or a room somewhere. They're happy with their tent and sleeping bag, usually with other similar tents in an enclave somewhere. They have no hopes and dreams of improving themselves or getting to a better place. Life, as they're living it, is the only life they can see or understand, so they're content with it."

"You mean, they don't want to, well, get ahead somehow, and live the "good life," whatever that is for them." I'd kind of heard Harvey's idea before, but it was so foreign to what I knew that it was difficult to comprehend.

"Yep. But not all are like that. Some don't have a tent or a sleeping bag, and when they go out in the cold at night, they're the ones that might not wake up in the morning."

"So," Franco said, "you're not laying this on us just out of the blue, are you?"

"I said before that I was going to need help. The building next to ours is ready to be sold. I've known the owner for years, and he's willing to sell it to me for a reasonable price. But, a reasonable price is still not free," he added.

"So," I said, figuring out where Harvey was headed. "You want to buy the building and use it to supply that warm place for your clients."

"Exactly. But, and here's where I need the help, the shelter gets just enough money to survive day-to-day, with nothing much left over. I didn't have rich parents or rich uncles, so I'm not much help. I need someone to help raise a bunch of money so we can buy the building, update it and fix it up for lots of people to sleep there."

"Us?" I asked hesitantly since I certainly wasn't a fundraiser.

Harvey looked from me to Franco.

"You're my best hope," he said.

He'd sprung the trap, and I think Franco and I were caught. Did he really think that two average guys like us could raise enough money to do what he'd just talked about? I looked at Franco, who seemed a bit dumbfounded. Still, he'd been able to start two restaurants now, so he had to know something about raising money. We'd helped with the shelter before, but this was different.

Having accomplished his main purpose, Harvey was happy to talk about football and other subjects, only occasionally going back to talking about the shelter, usually to answer a question from Franco or me. Finally, his cell phone rang, and he excused himself, thanking us again for our anticipated help.

"Well, what now?" Franco said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I wish I knew. I think he needs plenty money for this project. You think we could use the club?"

"Plenty of money in that club if we can figure a way to pry it loose."

"Let's aim our thoughts in that direction then and see if we can come up with anything."

We parted, each of us challenged to find a solution if one existed.

***

I discussed the problem with Sasha, hoping for one or two ideas to build on. But, everything we thought of was fairly mundane, and while they would generate money, we were sure it would be far short of what was needed. We vowed to keep thinking about it.

The next day, I was staying a little late at work trying to finish a slightly past-due project, but, as usual, my mind had drifted to thoughts of raising money for the shelter. I was concentrating on that when the sound of my wastebasket banging against the desk startled me.

"Sorry, boss. Trying to get the trash done."

"No problem, Mitch. Just startled me."

"Yeah, you looked like you were way out there."

I laughed. "Just trying to think up a way to raise money--a lot of money."

"Glad I don't have to do that, boss. Not my thing, yanno."

"Mine either, Mitch. We've got a men's club with lots of money...but how to get them to let loose of it."

"Men's club, huh."

"Yeh," I answered, noting the subtle grin on his face.

"Naked women."

"What?"

"Naked women separate men and their money."

I burst out laughing. "You speaking from experience, Mitch?" I teased.

"A little, boss. Been to the strip club a few times and stuffed a few bucks into a g-string. Saw a bunch of very nice skin, though."

Mitch and I both laughed as he finished with the wastebasket and moved on to the next office.

I continued to chuckle at his "strip club" story, remembering a couple of adventures of my own. It had been a while since I had tucked way too much money into the g-string of a stripper once I recognized her as being in one of my math classes. It had been...

I grabbed my cell phone and called Franco.

"What's up, Joe?"

"I just got an idea for raising money...from our custodian."

"I don't give a good shit where it comes from. We just need an idea."

"Don't laugh until you think about it, okay?"

"Must be really bad, Joe."

"Naked women," I said as seriously as I could.

"We opening a brothel?" he said after a few seconds.

"Think strip club," I prodded.

Okay, thinking, but not getting anywhere, so, go on."

"Remember the second time we went to that strip club, and you climbed all over me for giving so much money to the chick from my math class."

"Yeah, I sure do. You'd have given her more if I'd have loaned you what I had."

"Sure would have. So, I think we should have a stripper party for the club and part those guys from their money."

"That would probably work, and if we had your math class babe, we might get even more."

"We've got something even better." I paused for effect. "Our wives."

"We must have a bad connection, Joe. I thought you said 'our wives.'"

"You heard right."

"Are you kidding!?" Franco fairly yelled into the phone. "I've never even gotten Dina to skinny dip in a private pool with just the two of us there, let alone what you're talking about."

"Same here, although Sasha did strip in the ocean, held her suit up so I'd see it, water lapping at her chin, then put the suit back on. After that, we argued about whether that counted as skinny dipping."

"And these are the two women you're going to feature in the strip show?"

"It'll take some work. Maybe a guilt trip would work. I don't know." I was fumbling and hoped Franco might be some help.

"Why don't you start with Sasha and let me know how it's going," Franco suggested with a chuckle.

"No way," I countered. "You need to find out how Dina will react too, and we'll compare.

We agreed to do that and hung up. What had I gotten us into?

***

It had seemed so freaking easy when I'd suggested it to Franco, but sitting here staring at Sasha as she read something on her Kindle, I couldn't even find the words to start the conversation. It was hard not to picture what I was hoping against hope would happen, and the image of Sasha and Dina, both naked, made me anxious to get things moving. Of course, I'd never seen Dina naked, but I could imagine.

"Been working hard to figure out something to get some money for Harvey's shelter."

Sasha looked up from her Kindle. "Listen, I was talking to Dina yesterday, and she said Franco was doing the same thing. We both agreed that if there was anything we could do to help, we'd be more than happy to do it."

I wished I'd recorded what she'd said, so I could replay it to be sure I'd heard her correctly and be able to play it back to her when I needed to. I was sure I hadn't heard a "within reason" because what I was wanting was certainly a little beyond reasonable. She didn't realize that she had energized me to proceed with my plan.

"Thanks for the offer. We may be able to take you up on it."

"I hope so." She smiled at me. "Any ideas yet?"

Shit, an opening. Did I dare, and how much wrath could I endure this evening?

"I had one idea," I began, "and it came from an unusual source. It, um, involves the men's club."

"Ah, there's money there for sure," she said, chuckling. "What's the plan?"

"Well, it's, um, a striptease party."

Sasha's head snapped around. "You're kidding."

"You don't think that could raise a lot of money?"

"Women getting naked and perverts paying to see it. Sure, that should raise some money. How many hookers you going to hire to do that?" Sasha's last question had a cynical sound to it.

"No hookers, we just need good-looking women to get, well, naked."

"Random women?" She curled her lip.

I took a deep breath. "We were hoping it might be you and Dina." I'd said it and was ready to duck, or run, or whatever else was needed.

She looked at me for a moment, then began laughing hysterically. When she finally recovered, she shook her head, giggling.

"Me, that wouldn't consider skinny dipping with a bunch of other naked people, or even with just you. You guys didn't seriously think that would happen, I hope."

I didn't want to tell her we didn't because that would ruin our plan before it even got started.

"We were just kind of hoping," I said.

"Why would you hope to have your wife dancing naked in front of a bunch of strangers, yelling and clapping and stuffing money, I don't know, somewhere?"

That's exactly why I wanted it, but I wasn't going to say that. I wanted to raise a bunch of money for the shelter, and I was sure our good-looking wives could give things quite a boost.

"I just want to make lots of money for Harvey, and I think the striptease thing could do it. And if you two were the dancers, I think the guys would really respond."

"You mean, since they know us, they'd really respond and fork over the cash."

"Pretty much, yeah. And you guys could wear masks too." I thought that was clever but was quickly cut down.

"Let's see," Sasha smirked, "Dina, at six-foot-two, wears a mask, and no one has any idea who it is. Plus, perhaps you forgot that you've already agreed that, since they know us, they'd give more." It had been a while since I'd detected such a disgusted tone to Sasha's voice.

I knew what I was thinking and trying to convey without much success.

"You'd have a mask too."

"And three seconds after they figure out who Dina is, they're gonna know who I am too."

"I don't know if this helps or not, but I've heard models say that, even though they're in a see-through outfit, they're not naked..."

Sasha chuckled. "So, even though they know who we are, as long as we have a mask on, they don't actually know who we are?"

"Sure, they think they know, but they don't really know for sure."

"You guys are idiots if you think we'll do that."

Sasha stood up and stomped off to the kitchen; I think to emphasize what she'd just said.

I could still hope, but it seemed futile. I wondered how Franco was doing with Dina.

***

The Wives Talk

"Okay, I've got an important question for you." Sasha began. "Did Franco say something to you about helping with raising money for the shelter?"

"From the look on your face, I'd say you probably got the same speech as I got." She was shaking her head. "The perverts want us to do a striptease for the club."

"Joe said we could wear masks so, technically, no one could be sure who we were."

"I'm six-foot-two, Sasha. Everyone would recognize me. Yeah, with a mask, they won't see my face but still, I'm not sure I can buy that logic."

"It's just so weird and far out and so outside our usual behavior. The problem is, I'd like to help the guys raise lots of money for the shelter." Sasha was shaking her head.

"What Franco said to me last night doesn't help, either." She got a questioning look from Sasha. "He said that, with the two of us doing it, he'd expect to raise twice as much money than if we just had strippers, maybe a half-million dollars more."

"A half-million dollars? That's what he said?"

"It might be bull, but that's what he said." She took a deep breath. "Much as I hate to admit it, It seemed that he was telling the truth."

Now both ladies were thinking. That big number was having its effect on both of them.

"You're not really thinking about doing it, are you?" Sasha's eyes were wide with disbelief.

"How much money is our modesty worth? Can I be happy with myself if Harvey doesn't get enough money for the shelter, and I may have been a big part of the reason for it?

"You're really thinking about doing it, aren't you?"

I

Dina looked at Sasha. "I may regret saying this, but I'll do it if you'll do it."

With both of these ladies being former athletes, and good athletes at that, the "I'll do it if you will" challenge was hard to refuse. It was almost like they were daring each other to do it. It was a challenge that was difficult to avoid, despite what they'd have to do to fulfill the challenge.

"We wouldn't be totally naked," Sasha said, her cheeks turning red. "We can use pasties for our boobs and a thong or a g-string to cover the other parts. I think I've seen that in pictures...or maybe the internet." She knew she was rationalizing, but she had to do something.

"uh oh, sounds like you're surfing porn, but If we do this, and I emphasize the 'if', and it doesn't raise the big bucks they're talking about, Franco will be cut off for one year."

Sasha blushed and laughed. "I hope that doesn't happen, but I think we both have a lot of thinking to do. My heart is pounding just sitting here thinking about it, And trying to form a picture in my mind of you and me, in pasties and a g-string standing in front of, ugh, a bunch of leering men is, well, making me shiver. How hard will it be to make ourselves do it when it's time to step out on the stage and...strip.

I guess we need to do a little research and watchet up our courage a few notches.

***

I watched Sasha when I got home from my dinner with Franco, trying to think of some way I might persuade her to help with the striptease event. Her intense modesty was going to be nearly impossible to overcome but, I knew if I could get her to do it, Dina would follow. The two of them were so competitive that neither would let the other get ahead in any way. I was out of ideas and feeling defeated. Both of the women were very striking in their own way, and most of the men would know who they were, which I was sure would spike the giving, as my math classmate had done for me.

"How was dinner?" she asked, looking up from her Kindle.

"It was good, particularly the beer. I probably had one too many."

"Still worried about the shelter, huh?"

Was she trying to make me feel bad? Of course, I was worried since she wasn't willing to, well, help out.

"So, if Dina and I agreed to be your striptease girls, would that help?"

I shook my head, sure I hadn't heard correctly. I stared at Sasha.

"That's what I said. We'll do it as long as we can wear pasties, a thong, and a mask."

"You're not torturing me, are you? I mean, you guys are really willing to do it?"

"Yeah, and you guys better hope it means lots of money for Harvey, or you'll both be paying a big price." She was nodding at me. "Do the words cut off mean anything to you?"

I was fairly sure that Sasha enjoyed our sex enough that she wasn't about to cut herself off, but I also wondered what the hell they might have planned. Then again, I was so sure they'd be able to bring in more money than I could imagine that I wasn't worried about consequences. I was nearly floating through my living room I was so happy. I could only imagine how relieved Franco must be as well since I was sure Dina was sharing the decision with him at this very moment.