Nina and Mikey

Nina:

Well that's that. I finally got my ex to come back and do what he does best—sell hardware. Now, Malcom and I can stop merely breaking even and calling it a win; it hasn't been even close to being a winning situation. But a million dollar business needs a million dollar manager, and Mikey is one; neither Malcom nor I, on the other hand, qualify.

Mikey will make the business prosperous again. As he used always say; "baby, that's a dead-mortal-lead-pipe-cincheroonie!" Could I have gotten someone else to do the job? Maybe, but not for sure. And, so far Malcom had not found anyone near as capable as Mikey. Mikey I'm sure of. And yes, there were other reasons for wanting him running the business.

Malcom and I had fucked him over good in the divorce; talk about a pyrrhic victory. And frankly, I'd never felt right about it. Mikey had never hurt me, but I'd sure as hell hurt him. Then I'd raped him in the divorce. Oh Malcom was a more than willing participant, but in the end it was all me; I was the one married to the man.

And again, if the truth be told, I still felt something for the little shrimp. He is the kindest and sweetest man, and there are times when...

Then there are the kids. They love him. They love him more than they love me. I know it. Sometimes it hurts too. I suppose, deep down, it was to partially separate them from him that I sent them to Ojai to go to school. There was a secondary reason too though. I knew Mikey was hurting financially, I'd checked—a dirty trick, but I had to know.

Once I knew that he was all but broke, I also knew that sooner or later there was a good chance he'd accept my job offer just so he could see the kids more often; it costs money to travel a hundred miles.

Hey, but my little bit of plotting has created a win—win situation. He gets what he wants and needs, and Malcom and I get someone who really does know how to run the business. Sometimes you gotta use the tools you have handy to get the job done.

I'm gonna do some more investigating too.

Somehow, I'm gonna make all of this work for me, for all of us.

I sigh a lot these days. Divorce is such a nasty, hurtful business. I sometimes think about Mikey. I think about his little dick all five inches of it; I compare it in my mind to Malcom's eight inches. Size does matter to a girl, especially if she's a big girl like me. I'm three inches taller than Mikey too, and in heels, which I Love to wear, I tower over him. Funny, but it never bothered me much when we were dating. He was so funny, and intelligent. And he was a wonderful dancer. He knew all of the Latin dances, and boy could that man jitterbug—my favorite thing in the whole world.

And he has a great looking body. He just wasn't any good in bed, at least not with his teenie-weenie. That said...

There are times, when I wonder if a big dick and a taller husband is worth all of the tradeoffs. Well, it hardly matters now. But, I am determined to make it up to Mikey to some degree. For one thing he is definitely going to get a raise as soon as the business can sustain it, and that's a promise I am making to myself right now, a big raise too. Malcom can fuck himself if he doesn't like it; his dick isn't that big. ******

The meeting with Mikey has had me climbing the walls since I left the restaurant. I am so hot that if that husband of mine doesn't get his ass home pretty soon I'm gonna hunt him down and shoot him—after I rape him of course!

The kitchen door slammed. "Damn it Mal!"

"Sorry," he said, "I was carrying some groceries, and I had to use my foot to close it." I had to laugh when he came around the corner from the kitchen and saw me. "Jesus! You're gorgeous," he said.

"Why thank you prince charming," I said.

Standing in the middle of the room, naked, except for my stockings and high heels, I pretty much had this specimen of malehood where I wanted him, and I knew it. I beckoned him with my finger. He came towards me, and I could see he was shaking in anticipation of what was about to occur. I turned my back to him.

I sensed rather than felt him fall to his knees and bury his face in my ass cheeks. I loved being worshipped, and he was worshipping me now. He licked my anus lovingly. "God you're good," he said.

"Of course," I said, haughtily.

I felt him begin to pull me down to the floor with him. He was going to do me right there. "Oh my," I said. "Oh my! Be careful of my legs. That's better. Yeah, just let them rest there on your shoulders."

"You got it," he said.

My legs were straight up in the air. I felt him start to push into me.

"Uhhggg," I groaned, "slower, you're too big."

"Not like your wimpy ex, huh?" he said.

"Just shut the fuck up and do me, okay. Leave my ex out of it." I wanted his cock, but I didn't need his comments. I almost lost my interest because of his uncalled for nastiness.

He started pounding into me. I surrendered to him and mewed as he fucked me to an orgasm. He let my legs drop to the floor. I lay still and spread wide as he filled me with this cum. I let my eyes shut in the afterglow.

"Good for you?" he asked, inordinately proud of himself.

"Hmm," I said. Then, I began to think of Mikey. He probably hadn't had any sex in a long time. Why did this man have to bring him up? He knew it would upset me. It would serve this nitwit right if I let Mikey have me, just for old time's sake of course. I'd have to think about that. I'm pretty sure I could interest him. I could get him off no trouble if I really decided to go for it. ******

Being back in my store was a good feeling. The conditions were shit, having to be an employee of my ex, but being back was hard to describe it was so good.

My first day back was Sunday, and all I did was move around, observe, say hello to old friends that used to work for me, and accept a whole lot of sincere welcome backs—a few even from old time customers. Did I say I felt good!

I was heading for the coffee station to grab me a cup when I was held up by the bookkeeper. "Hi, Mr. Kellerman. We, all of us, are so glad your back," said Mary Tyler. "Things haven't been so good, especially this last year."

"Hi Mary. What's been the problem?" I asked, really wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Oh Mr. Kellerman, business has been off; and Mrs. Brady had to let Sam and Harlan go. We all felt terrible for them. Sam is working for Walmart now, and Harlan is still unemployed, or so I hear. It's sad, Mr. Kellerman."

I nodded. I had to talk to Nina. I had to know who was going to have the authority to handle personnel. I should have as the manager, but I well knew that Nina had veto power, and so did the asshole in the final analysis. I knew too that Malcom had not gotten along with Harlan. Harlan had early on warned me that Malcom had been coming on to my wife, and when I had confronted her about it, I had mentioned Harlan as the bearer of tales. That, I guessed, pretty much sealed his fate after the divorce. But, I wanted him back. I was expecting my first problem because of that bit of history.

It was 8:00PM and I was standing a few feet from Jack Stuart the night man as he was closing up. We were just turning to head out when Nina pulled up out front of the store. She waved me over.

"Hi Jack," she said, waving at him. He waved back.

"Come on, Mikey," she said, "let's have a drink." I nodded my acceptance. It would be a good time to talk to her about Harlan and Sam.

Her T-bird was a nice ride, and it was a fast ride. She got us to the Nite Owl in about seven minutes: a ten mile run!

"How about something to eat, first," she said. "And I pay, no arguments."

I chuckled. "Okay. What's the most expensive thing on the menu?" I said. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Chateau Briand."

"Good." I closed the menu.

The waitress, a twenty-something nymphet arrived to take our orders. "And you miss?"

"Uh—Chateau Briand," said Nina. "Oh, and glass of Chateauneuf du Pape '85."

"And you sir?"

"A cheeseburger and a Lite beer," I said.

"What!" flamed Nina.

"I'm afraid I am too much of a plebian to imbibe French wines," I said, laughing out loud. She was miffed.

We talked about nothing for a while. The food came and in between guffaws we chewed and ate and had a good time. And then it was time for business.

"So, how was your first day back," she said.

"Good. I talked to a lot of the old hands who were still there. But uh—"

"Yes?" said Nina.

"Harlan and Sam were gone," I said. "I wanna bring 'em back. I assume, since I'm the manager that personnel decisions are mine."

"Mikey—I—I mean of course." She was clearly uncomfortable.

"What were you going to say, Nina? We gotta have everything out in the open or this little relationship isn't going to work," I said.

She fidgeted. "Mikey, Harlan and Malcom..."

"Yes, I know they aren't bosom buddies. But, this is business. So I'm askin', do I have the authority or not?" I said.

She sighed. I knew there was going to be a spirited discussion at home tonight for Nina. But, this is one I had to win on several levels. Number one, either I was the manager or I was just a figurehead, and that is what I told her. "Nina, I know Malcom isn't going to like it much, but either I'm the manager or I'm a figurehead. If the latter, I'm gone. I will not be a powerless buffoon."

She had on a look that could only be described as sad. I still had feelings for her even after eight years. But, I had to have this my way or not at all. I felt sorry for this woman, my ex-wife; I didn't want to cause her any trouble, but it looked like in this instance it couldn't be avoided.

"Okay, Mikey. You're right. I'll make it good with Malcom," she said.

"You know, Mikey, in spite of everything, Malcom is a good man. He loves me, and I love him. We have our differences from time to time. But, he takes care of me and tries hard. He just isn't worth a damn when it comes to running a business and neither am I. He knows it; I know it; that's why we asked you to come back. In a sense you are being asked to save a business that once did two million in gross annual sales. Now, it's down to a quarter of that. I guess what I'm getting at is, can you turn it around?" She paused and looked me straight in the eye.

"Yes, if you stay out of my way and let me do my thing," I said.

"Okay, that's good enough for me," she said. "I promise, Malcom will not cause you any problems. Hire Sam and Harlan back if you want. But, Mikey, the business has to fund any increased payroll. Okay? I mean that's why we're payin' you the big bucks," she said, laughing.

"Absolutely," I said, but I wasn't laughing. "One thing, do you think I could get that truck you mentioned tonight? I sure could use it."

She smiled. "Of course, Mikey." We had a few drinks and talked some more about staffing and supply. I was able to gather that "out of stocks" had been a big part of the decline in sales. I'd have to look into that; that was a biggee. A store couldn't increase its sales if it didn't have anything to sell. Oh yes, I would be looking into that and soon.

She drove me to her house; it used to be our house, and got the keys to the truck. I waited in the car while she went inside. She was back outside in minutes. Malcom came out with her and waved to me from the stoop. I waved back; I figured we wouldn't be dealing with each other much, but on those rare occasions when we did, we'd need to be civil to each other.

With the truck, I now had the wheels I needed, not only for the job, but to be able to see Jennifer and Robbie too. That I was dependent on my ex for the largesse rankled, but what the heck, what is, is, I told myself. ******

I had driven to the store after hours every day since that first Sunday. Technically I wouldn't be full time until the 15th, two weeks after that first day. But, I had loved that store and I was determined to get it back on its feet.

I saw Nina every time I was there. That kind of bothered me. I had the feeling I was being watched. I knew that was being paranoid, but it's how I felt.

Having gotten in touch with both Sam and Harlan through Mary, I was able to meet with them and persuade them to return on the same day that I was officially starting. Harlan especially was thankful. He'd fallen on hard times. Sam was working, but Walmart was a far cry both in pay and the type of work that he had been used to for more than twenty years.

Mary pulled me aside after my meeting with the two men.

A little bit about Mary. She was forty, six years younger than me, and three years younger than Nina. Where Nina was tall and athletic, Mary was short and petite. She was small in every department: height, weight, and bra size. But, she was sharp as a tack. She could have been an accountant, but she hadn't been able to afford college, so bookkeeping was her stopping point.

She was cute too. Turned up nose, medium length brown hair, and she always smelled great, female. "Mikey, I want to tell you that I appreciate you going to bat for Sam and Harlan. All of us old timers feel that way," she said.

"No problem, Mary, as far as I'm concerned it was a no brainer. I'm gonna need them, especially Sam, to handle inventory and resupply. I'll be assigning Harlan to work with him in that regard," I said.

She smiled. "Mikey, do you have plans for tomorrow night?" she said.

I looked at her questioningly. "No, not really. Why do you ask?"

"Would you be my escort to a little dance thingy I have been wanting to go to forever," she said. "Uh—yes—sure," I said. "Heck, I haven't been dancing since..." I didn't finish. I was about to say since my divorce.

The few dates these past years had turned to shit, so a night out dancing with an old friend would be great. I was going to be rusty, but not that rusty.

"Great. Do you remember where I live?" she said.

"Yeah, yeah, over on Oak, right?" I said.

"Yes, that's right," she said. "Seven o'clock okay by you?"

"Yeah, but where will this shindig be happening?" I asked.

"At the Moonlight Ballroom downtown," she said. "It's actually a contest we'll be entering. I remember that you used to be really good.

"I've gotten to be okay myself, actually." She beamed with pride.

I breathed a sigh of relief that it was the Moonlight. But, I thought I'd better ask anyway. "Is there an entry fee?"

"Don't worry about that," she said, "I'm paying."

I threw up my hands. "Okay then," I said. I was actually looking forward to it. Nina and I had won several contests in the old days. But, that was then and this was now. I didn't know if Nina had kept up with her dancing, but I doubted it. Malcom didn't seem like the kind that would like competitive dancing. ******

Mary looked like a million bucks, and her dress looked like it cost that much. Jesus, she looked good! I didn't look too bad. I still fit into my dancin' shoes, and my suit fit me perfectly. But, I didn't begin to compare with her.

"You look terrific," I said.

"You look pretty good yourself, mister," she said.

"Let's get going. I can hardly wait," I said. And, I couldn't. I was excited about something and that for the first time in eight years! We got to the venue a little early. The refreshments bar was open and we helped ourselves.

"Mary, I have to ask. Why don't you have a regular guy to take you to this do? I mean I'm thrilled. Actually, I'm excited for the first time in a long time. But you? You look great. There has to be a hundred guys trying to get you to go out with them," I said.

"I've had offers," she said. "For dates. But not this kind of date. There aren't many men who can even spell Paso Doble. You on the other hand—can." Her smile was infectious. I started to chuckle.

We talked and laughed and told ourselves how wonderful it would be if we won. That, I knew was going to be a tall order. We'd have fun, but the experienced hoofers were going to kill us when it got to the more difficult dances. Heck, we hadn't practiced at all, and practice was everything in competitive dancing.

The dancers were finally swirling and twirling around the floor and so were we. We didn't look to bad, I didn't think. Better than some. And, it was due to the skill and feel for the timing that the woman I was with possessed, not the rusty if enthusiastic talents of her partner. The Waltz was first; then, a succession of Latin dances. And, Shock of shocks, we made the initial cut. We were in the top half of the group.

"Hi Mary," called out a woman in her fifties, as we passed their table during the break. "You guys look great. Who's your handsome beau?" said the woman.

Hi, Harriet. This is Michael Kellerman. He's my boss," she said looking up at me.

I nodded. "Actually, she's my boss tonight," I said. "She's got the moves and I've got the rust, I'm afraid."

"Not from what I've seen, young man, you two look good out there. Hope you make finals."

We laughed and headed for our table. There were two other couples sharing it, and we engaged them in conversation. All in all it had been a nice evening—so far.

The break ended and the swirl of rhythmic bodies went to war. If it had been a shock to make the initial cut, it was absolutely stunning to make the top ten.

"Mary, I don't know how we've gotten this far. But this next Sunday we're both going to church to thank God, because no way we did this without divine intervention. I mean you're good, but I haven't danced in eight years—at all.

After the dust settled, we were in possession of two small strips of ribbon at whose ends dangled little bronze coins. We'd placed third! The boost to my ego was beyond telling, and Mary was nothing short of effusive.

We headed to Concho's, a country western bar-cum-dancehall. By the time we were ready to go home; the barkeep had pulled Mary's keys. We were both sloshed. I had my truck but it was back at the store; we'd come in her Corolla. The keep got us a cab.

"Mikey, you're stayin' at my place tonight. It ain't much, but it's comfy," she said. I tried to demur, but frankly all I wanted to do was sleep at that point; so my protestations of impropriety pretty much fell on deaf ears.

I wasn't sure what time we'd gotten in, but I was even more confused about where I was. That after having been cruelly awakened by the sun god; that's the last fatted calf he'd ever get from me for damn sure!

I rolled to my right and bumped into sleeping beauty! "Jesus! Mary!"

"Hmmmmm," she noised. She licked her lips. "Mary! What—"

She was fast regaining consciousness. "Oh, I guess we passed out here last night. Don't fret big boy; I didn't take advantage of you," she laughed, or started to before she realized she was in pain.

I lay back down, and tried to get a handle on the previous night's events. "We won didn't we?" I said. "I mean we really won."

"Third," she said. "Not bad for a first time. I mean the two of us."

"No shit. I can't believe it. It must be true about what they say about riding a bicycle. "You gonna stay partners with me?" she asked. She was being very serious.

"Uh—sure—if you're sure you want me to," I said.

"I'm sure. We make a good team," she said. ******

It was the Saturday after my third week working at the store. Things had gone well, slow but well. We were getting product in basically on consignment. And that, I was gratified to learn, was because some of the vendors remembered me and were willing to cut us some short term slack.

Harlan and Sam were doing a great job controlling inventory and the buying. I was the final arbiter of all things, but they knew almost as much as me, so I was fast becoming a rubber stamp.

At noon, I was about to walk down the street for lunch at the diner when Nina showed up. And, she had cargo: Jennifer and Robbie.

"Jen! Rob! It's so good to see you," I said, smiling broadly. I looked over at Nina. She was grinning.