I'm Okay, You're Not Okay Pt. 06

Chapter 6

The men's room door creaked open. Jimmy hunched forward on the toilet holding his breath.

"Jimmy?" Lisa called. "You in here?"

"Uh, yeah," came the reply from inside the locked stall.

"Everyone's looking for you. Where have you been -- sitting on your ass pretending to be using the damn bathroom? Or jacking off?"

"Um, no, I... I have asthma, Lisa. I just had an attack."

"Oh. Wow. Shit, I'm sorry. You okay?"

"Yeah, I am now. Thanks."

"Well, um, when you're done, DeeDee says she wants you out front."

"Be there in a sec."

The door shut and Jimmy exhaled. As badly as he wanted to hide in the bathroom all night, he knew he had to pull himself together, march back out into the bar and face his wife to find out what she was doing with Mike and Red.

After yanking up his pants and flushing the toilet, Jimmy put one foot in front of the other and shillyshallied toward the men's room exit. He pushed out a lungful of anxiety, opened the door and stepped into the maddening crowd of drunken factory workers. Jimmy peered through the boisterous throng but was unable to find his wife. While scanning the room, he locked eyes with DeeDee, who crooked her finger at him.

The bar manager crossed her arms and glared as the probationary porter slinked closer. "Where in the FUCK have you been? We need Miller in the cooler, there's empty bottles and garbage all over the goddamn tables, and that kitchen looks like SHIT."

"Um, sorry, I... I have asthma, and I had a pretty bad attack. I was in the bathroom trying to catch my breath."

DeeDee blinked. "Asthma? Jeez, you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks, I'm fine now. Sometimes it takes a while to get through it, though."

"You able to finish your shift?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Good. I'm glad you're feeling better. If you're up for it, then, go ahead and take care of everything, because it looks like shit and Mike's here."

Jimmy stocked the cooler and scrubbed down the kitchen, where Marco the cook had spilled a vat of clam chowder. The busboy then steeled himself before making his way the bar taking care of the tables. He knew he'd eventually run into his wife, and as he worked he did his best to tamp down his apprehension so the asthma wouldn't flare up for the second time that night. As he was policing a table near the front entrance he finally spotted Nicole sitting in a booth next to Mike and across from Red. She smiled at her husband and waved him over.

"Hiiii, Jimmy," Nicole slurred as he crept up to the table with his hands in his pockets. "Where you been?"

Mike frowned. "Yeah, these damn tables are a mess. What the hell have you been doing? Didn't DeeDee tell you it's your job to make sure the tables are cleared off?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I... I had an asthma attack."

Red scoffed. "Asthma? Damn, boy, you got all kinds of problems, huh? You must've pissed Mother Nature off something fierce, cuz she sure ain't been kind to you!"

"He manages the asthma okay; it shouldn't affect his job," Nicole told Mike before frowning at Jimmy. "What brought it on?"

"I... I have no idea. It just came over me all of a sudden and I couldn't breathe."

Nicole informed her table companions: "His asthma usually only flares up when he gets nervous or scared."

"I bet that happens a lot with this skinny little pansy," Red said before touching Nicole's wrist. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey, I forgot he's your husband."

Jimmy gritted his teeth and absorbed the put-down as Nicole shrugged. "No big deal, Red," she said, kissing up to the rich guy. "I mean, Jimmy does tend to get upset a lot, and his asthma flares up sometimes." She smiled at her husband. "But you handle it fine, don't you?"

Jimmy nodded. "Um, yeah. What... what brings you here, honey?"

"Oh, Mike came by to fix the kitchen window that wouldn't open, and when he was done he asked me to come out for a drink. Ma's at Bingo Monday nights anyway, so I figured I'd come up and say hi."

"Oh." Jimmy twiddled his fingers. "Hey, honey."

Mike leaned back his seat. "Listen, if you say you're feeling better, then you should probably get back to work. There's a lot to do; this bar is a mess."

"Ah, okay, sure, you guys have fun." Jimmy faked a smile. "Does anyone need anything before I go?"

"Nah, we're good." Mike smirked. "Pee-Wee."

Nicole covered her mouth in a clear attempt at stifling a giggle as Jimmy turned to leave. The last thing he heard before shambling out of earshot was the drunken factory owner warble, "Damn, girl, I can't believe you're married to that pansy. I figured he was gay."

The humiliated hubby fought the urge to turn around and bust Red in his fat mouth, but he immediately pushed that bad idea out of his head. Even though the older man was severely overweight and out of shape, there was no guarantee the wimp could kick his ass in the first place -- and if Jimmy chose to fight for his honor and did somehow get the best of Red, Nicole would go apeshit, as would Mike. And Jimmy had no doubt who would win those two battles.

As he went about his duties, Jimmy kept finding excuses to swing by the part of the bar where his wife was partying with her ex-boyfriend and his rich acquaintance. Every time the sad-sack hubby looked, Nicole was smiling or giggling at some private joke. Jimmy felt so miserable and left out while his wife seemed to be having a ball with the two alpha males at her table. Because Red's employees revered him, a steady stream of well-wishers stopped by to chat, and from Jimmy's vantage point it seemed like the rocking chair mogul was introducing Nicole and Mike as a couple -- or maybe, the despondent pantywaist told himself, it was just his imagination running wild again.

After the popular, filthy-rich Red had bought four rounds for the house, he stood to make a toast, holding his beer bottle aloft. Dozens of patrons, mostly his employees, followed suit.

"Here's to good friends -- especially my friend Mike here, whose dad, Big Mike, opened the bar back in 1938. I've known this guy since he was running around shitting his diapers, but he's all grown up now. He went to Vietnam and made us all proud. Our Silver Star hero, everybody! This man saved a whole platoon."

The drunken customers cheered. Red held up his hand for silence and continued.

"Since Mike got home and took over the bar, he's done wonders with the place. He's expanded the Sitting Bull a few times and turned it into a real class operation that would've made Big Mike proud. We're all like family at the Sitting Bull, and the place sort of belongs to all of us in the community, and that's why I'm letting you all know that we'll be opening a whole chain of Sitting Bulls, starting in two states -- but eventually throughout the entire motherfucking United States of America. Now -- another round for everyone!"

As the house went wild, it appeared to Jimmy that Mike was surprised by Red's announcement. The war veteran sat motionless with his mouth open for several seconds, and then jumped to his feet and shook Red's hand before turning to Nicole and giving her a long bearhug. Jimmy watched from the far corner of the bar, feeling like a sap as the furniture factory bigshot led his two companions out of the booth and into Mike's office.

The next few hours were excruciating for Jimmy as he busted his ass running back and forth through the bar cleaning and fetching, all the while eyeing the office door and wondering what was going on in there. A threesome? Jimmy initially rejected that notion, figuring there was no way the gorgeous ex-cheerleader would ever sleep with a fat troll like Red Corrigan. Then again, Jimmy thought, a lot of money was at stake -- although it was money that would benefit Mike, not Nicole, so why would she do something distasteful when she wouldn't get anything out of it? Unless...

Jimmy tried to concentrate on his job and ward off the pictures and narratives his imagination kept conjuring up. The shift dragged out like a hot sauce enema, and the overwrought hubby must've peeked at Mike's office door a thousand times as he bustled around performing his duties. Finally, when it was almost closing time and there were only two customers left in the bar, Nicole, Mike and Red emerged from the private room sniffling and pulling at their noses.

Red spotted Jimmy and pointed. "There's my lil pansy!"

Mike and Nicole smirked at Jimmy with cracked lips.

"The bar looks good, Pee-Wee." Mike waved his hand. "Nice and clean."

"Uh, t-thanks."

Red staggered up to Jimmy and threw his arm over his shoulder. "Mike says you work real hard for him like a good lil pansy."

"Um, I guess." Jimmy fumed at the insult but swallowed his anger.

Red pinched Jimmy's cheek so hard it made the smaller man wince. "Well, Mike won't make you available full-time, but your wife says you'd be up for coming over to my house once a week to clean for five hundred bucks a pop. How's that sound?"

Jimmy's lips motorboated. "F-five hundred dollars? A week? That's... that's a whole month's pay."

"Well, I've got a big mansion." Red winked. "And, there'll be some other, um, extras you'll be responsible for. Your wife will explain later. Now's not the time."

"Wha... I..." Jimmy's stomach churned. He gazed into Nicole's dilated pupils. "Extras? What's going on, honey?"

"Not now. Like the man said, we'll talk later."

Red pulled at his nose. "Well, guys, I'm headed home." He shook Mike's hand. "Glad to be onboard."

"To success!" Mike toasted, hoisting an imaginary beer bottle.

After a quick hug for Nicole and a sneer for Jimmy, Red stumbled out of the bar.

DeeDee, who'd waited until the boss's conversation with the important customer was over, approached the trio. "The safe's full; you want me to make a bank run tomorrow?" she asked Mike.

"Yeah, thanks." Mike nodded at Jimmy. "How's his probation working out?"

DeeDee shrugged. "He's alright. I end up having to explain stuff over and over, but at least he works hard and does what he's told, unlike Carlos."

"Yeah, it's hard to find a good man for that spot." Mike rubbed his chin. "You know what, Jimmy? I want you to go to the bank. Have DeeDee give you the bags and write down the account number, and then tomorrow I want you to take the money into the First National Bank on Larson Street and deposit it in my account. This is a big job, Jimmy. You think you can handle it?"

"Um, y-yeah, of course."

"You sure about this?" DeeDee asked Mike, jerking her thumb at Jimmy. "He does what he's told, but he gets a lot of stuff wrong."

Mike shook his head. "Nah, Jimmy will be fine. Won't you, Jimmy?"

"I, uh, yeah."

"You know, there's probably four or five thousand dollars in those bags, Jimmy. That's enough money for you to just drive away and disappear into Canada or Mexico somewhere. I'm trusting you not to do that. Red says he wants you around, so I'm giving you more responsibility."

"What... why would Red want me around? The fucking guy hates me. He's always saying rude shit."

Mike snorted. "Well, I told you before -- Red Corrigan is a strange dude. I mean, strange. That's not exactly a secret. And he's taken a liking to you."

"A liking to me?" Jimmy begged Nicole with his eyes. "What the fuck's going on?"

"I told you: we'll talk later. There's a lot to go over."

Mike touched Nicole's arm. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Don't worry, Jimmy. It's gonna be fine. We have an opportunity to make a whole bunch of money. I mean, a whole bunch. And it's nothing illegal. Just be patient and I'll explain everything later, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, um, okay," Jimmy muttered.

Nicole flipped her hair and pranced out of the bar with her ex-boyfriend by her side.

Jimmy spent the rest of the evening in a daze as he helped close the bar and drove home eyeing the two bags of cash on his Gremlin's passenger's-side floorboard. He tried to focus on the road, but his mind was overwhelmed with the need to talk to his wife and find out what the hell was going on -- but when he got to Marlene's house and sneaked into his basement quarters, Jimmy was bummed to find Nicole snoring away. He lay in bed and tried to join her in slumberland but for hours his brain wouldn't stop racing. Finally, at dawn, he managed to drift off.

Nicole stirred first, looking and feeling haggard from the previous night's partying. Jimmy, always a light sleeper, awoke as soon as his wife rousted.

"G-good morning," he ventured.

"Ugh, I did way too much coke last night."

"Is that what you guys were doing all that time in Mike's office?"

"Yeah -- that, and talking about you."

"Me? What about me? What the hell's going on, Nikki? All this stuff about cleaning Red's house -- for five hundred a week. He wants me around? It doesn't even make sense -- the guy fucking hates me. And what 'extras' was he talking about?"

"Well, it's kind of an open secret that Red's gay."

"So?" Jimmy set his jaw. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Well... you remember when we were first dating, and we got drunk and confessed secrets?"

Jimmy groaned. "OMG, Nikki, are you fucking serious? That happened in college. One time. I was out-of-my-mind drunk."

"But you said you kind of enjoyed it."

Jimmy rubbed his temples. "I can't believe you're bringing that up."

"What? Red said he's attracted to you, and he's willing to pay for it. Five hundred a week, Jimmy! That's twenty-six grand a year -- way more than you were making at Triumph."

"Did... did you tell them about Ronnie in college? When you guys were in Mike's office talking about me?"

Nicole touched Jimmy's hand. "Yeah. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was on coke and... well, I-I mentioned it."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No, I'm not kidding -- and you might want to watch your fucking tone. I don't appreciate being yelled at."

"I... I'm sorry. But, come on! I tell you a secret and you blab it to everyone?"

"Look, it just came out, okay? The man said he was attracted to you, and got talking about how much he'd be willing to pay, and I... well, every time I do coke I end up saying something I shouldn't. That shit's like truth serum to me. But it all worked out, Jimmy -- Red really wants you. Five hundred a week!"

Jimmy bowed his head. "Why are you doing this to me? Putting me in this position?"

"I'm trying to save our marriage Jimmy. Listen, this isn't a damn game. There's a lot of money on the table, and you need to think long and hard about this. Five hundred extra dollars a week would solve all our problems; we could get a house downpayment in a few months, easy."

"But, honey -- I'm not gay."

"Neither am I, but if some woman wanted to sleep with me for two grand a month, I'd jump at it. Jimmy, it's twenty-six grand a year!"

"I know, I know, it's a lot of money."

"So?"

"I... this doesn't even make sense. Red hates me. Why would he want to... you know... when all he does is put me down?"

"Mike says he's a real strange dude. He's the nicest guy in the world to most people, treats his employees like gold -- but according to Mike, he always finds one person to pick on. It's a sexual fetish thing; he's a sadist who enjoys being mean to people he sees as weaker than him. He apparently had a chauffeur he dogged for years but the guy died. Red kept saying how you reminded him of his old driver, and actually wanted to hire you full-time. I mean, he wanted to hire you bad, but Mike said he needs you at the bar, so this was a compromise."

"A compromise? Those guys were making these fucking decisions without bothering to check with me? What the fuck, Nikki. This is bullshit."

"Nobody made a decision, Jimmy, stop being so dramatic. We talked about you, that's all. Red said he wants you, and I told him I'd pass that on to you. Nobody's making you do anything, Jimmy -- but I'm telling you right now, if you say no to all that money without even thinking about it, after everything you've put me through, then we're gonna have a major problem."

"It is a lot of money, but--."

"So, will you do it?"

"I... Nikki, I'm not gay! And I sure as hell don't want to be that fat motherfucker's whipping boy -- I don't care how much money we're talking about! Come on, Nikki. Think about what you're asking me to do! Honey, I'm not gay."

"Well, you're sure as hell bisexual."

"No, I'm not."

"Bullshit. I could see it a mile away even before you told me about that guy in college."

"It was one time."

"Once is all it takes. Look me in the eye and tell me you never think about being with a guy ever."

"I... okay, maybe I think about it, like every once in a while -- but that doesn't mean I actually want to do it. I like women. I'm not bi. Ronnie and me were drunk, and we... experimented. One time. That's all."

"And you did that for free. This is twenty-six thousand dollars a year, Jimmy. TWENTY-SIX GRAND. You asked me yesterday what you can do to save this marriage. Well, Jimmy, this is what you can do."

"But, I--"

"I don't want to hear it. You either do what needs to be done to fix this marriage or you don't. You either sacrifice or you don't. What's it gonna be?"

"I... uh..."

"Think about the men who go down in the coal mines for 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Do you think they like doing that? Do they enjoy it? No. They do it for their families. They sacrifice, and put themselves though a living hell every single day of their lives in order to keep their families together. That's a lot harder than what this is."

"Honey, it would be so fucking embarrassing. I can't even believe--"

"Embarrassing? To who? You don't even know anybody in Harvest Springs -- other than my Mom, and I doubt you could do anything that would make her think less of you than she already does."

Jimmy clutched his chest. "Ugh... I can't breathe."

Nicole grabbed her husband's arm. "Look at me, Jimmy. Calm down. Breathe. Breathe. Okay?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Good. Listen, I know this is a lot to digest. I'm asking you to make a huge sacrifice for our marriage. Yes, I'm asking you to do something you don't like, but it's for us. At least try. If you don't like it, you can quit. But we've got to do something, because we won't survive the way things are now, Jimmy, and you know that. I can't respect a husband who can't even get us out of my mom's basement, you know? You said it just yesterday: I'm pissed at you all the time. You want us to go on like that until the inevitable happens?"

"I... I..."

"Come on, Jimmy -- just say yes already and come lick my pussy." Nicole touched herself and shot her husband a sultry stare. "I'm horny as hell, and I need your tongue down here."

Jimmy's stomach felt like it had been pumped full of helium. Managing a gulp, he croaked, "Um, okay. Okay."

Nicole smiled, lay back on the mattress and spread her legs. With his heart pounding in his ears and his cheeks red-hot, Jimmy settled into position, staring into his wife's puffy pussy. He touched his tongue to the pink flesh and recoiled, but he didn't want to offend Nicole so after a split-second he resumed licking, even though something seemed awfully fishy.

Marco, the Sitting Bull cook, had made clam chowder the previous evening and she must've had a bowl, Jimmy reasoned as he supped up the glop. Deep down, or maybe not so deep down, the henpecked hubby knew better -- but that was the story he told himself as he forgot all his troubles and dove into a heavenly world of aroused femininity.