The Devil's Bargain Ch. 14

The Queen's Arms was still there. It hadn't aged all that well, but there had been minor renovations. It looked more like a pub, and less like a run-down dive.

I sat at the same table in the corner, and ordered a Guinness. The waitress had green hair, and more tattoos than the crew of a destroyer.

- "Want me to run a tab for you?" she asked.

- "Please."

This was the exact place that I'd made a decision which had changed my life. Well, one of them. There are, in fact, plenty of life-changing decisions. There are immeasurably more non-decisions, where we choose to carry on with our lives of 'quiet desperation'. But there are also lots of pivotal moments, whether we recognize them or not.

I could have laughed in Tansa's face. I could have settled for Holly, and not brought Monica into the mix. Would I have messed up Josh's life more, or less, if I hadn't fucked Kim?

- "You look lost in thought." said a female voice.

- "Tansa." There she was, looking exactly the same as she had seven years ago. Light brown hair, light blue eyes, with that same toothless smile and unearthly dimples. She sat down across from me, and placed her gin and tonic on the table.

- "Hello, Dan." she said. "How are you feeling?"

- "Pretty good." I said. "You?"

- "I meant how you're feeling about our bargain."

- "Good." I'd used up nine of my fourteen choices, and I was alone again. But in the process I'd met some truly wonderful women.

- "You have had a good run." she said. "I'm pleased for you. But I imagine you're here because you're prepared to meet the obligations that you owe me."

- "I think that I am. But ... I have a few questions, first."

Tansa rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Of course you do. Oh - I'm sorry about your dog."

- "Thank you." Then I was struck by what Tansa had not said. "Umm ... you do know that my mother-in-law is dead, too?"

- "Yes."

Wow. I know what I was taught to believe - and that was largely B.S.. But I still thought that one shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Tansa obviously belonged to a different school of thought.

- "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all?"

- "Please." said Tansa. "I feel sorrier for Freya, and she had a damn good life. You did well by that dog. You don't really miss Connie's Mom, do you?"

- "She wasn't a bad person." I said quickly - and perhaps a tad defensively.

- "Wasn't all that good, either. Did she ever thank you for what you'd done for her? Or did she just act like it was her right, and your duty?"

That was a little too close.

- "If I give you your year now, what happens to my house? And my job?"

- "It was never your house, Dan. Still isn't. There are a few, very recent, good memories for you there - and decades of not so good ones. Sell it. Move into a condo, or an apartment. You're suddenly quite a bit richer than you've ever been. And don't worry about your job. You'll still be there most days. If I need you for more than an evening or a weekend, you can take holidays, or a short leave."

- "What?"

- "You'll be on call for me for the next year." she said. "That doesn't mean that I'll be working you 24-7. I told you this. Did you forget?"

Had I? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I just wanted to discharge this debt. I hated having this obligation hanging over my head.

- "What exactly will I be doing?"

- "Whatever I ask you to do. Within reason, of course. I won't ask you to kill anyone - for the first six months." Tansa saw my face fall. "Kidding, Dan. Just kidding. Relax."

She drained her drink, and stood up. "You start Thursday night. Make sure you car has a full tank of gas."

- "I'm going to be driving?"

- "Seriously, Dan - you should have read your contract more closely. You'll be doing whatever I ask you to do."

***

Tansa called me on Thursday at 6 p.m.. She gave me a list of three addresses. "You'll be picking someone up at each stop. The first one is named Jesper. He'll know the others. You take all three to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Make sure that you're there by 8:00 - 8:15 at the latest. Then you park, and wait in the car. Understood?"

- "Yes." I was going to be a chauffeur. The Devil needed a driver?

The first address was a house. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, a distinguished-looking man came out, wearing a jacket and tie. He looked to be about forty. Without hesitation, he got into the back seat of my car.

"Jesper?" I asked.

- "Yes." he said.

- "I'm Dan."

- "Nice to meet you, Dan. But we should get going - there's always traffic around Terry's place."

- "Terry?"

- "Our next stop."

I backed out, and headed for the second address. I couldn't help taking a look at Jesper in the rear view mirror. He had that Scandinavian look - tall, blonde and handsome. But I couldn't tell much else about him.

- "Jesper - do you mind if I ask: what's going on tonight? I'm not the getaway driver, or something, am I? We're not going to do anything ... illegal, are we?"

Jesper smiled. "No, Dan. You're going to drive three of us to the hotel, and then drive two of us home. That's it - unless Tansa asks you to do something else."

- "Can I ask - are you working for her?"

- "Sorry." he said. "You know that we can't talk about that."

Terry was a good-looking young man, in a wholesome sort of way. The boy next door? The third passenger was a tall fellow named Nick. He was dark, and extremely handsome, like a model or a movie star. Both he and Terry said hello to Jesper, to each other, and to me. After that, they all sat quietly as I drove them to the hotel.

I dropped them off at 8:05, and then found a spot in the parking lot. I realized shortly thereafter that I should have brought a thermos of coffee. I waited.

I might have fallen asleep. It was around 10:00 when Terry and Nick came to the car, and woke me by tapping on the window. I quickly gathered my wits.

- "Where's Jesper?" I asked.

- "There's a formula, Dan." said Terry. "You pick up three, drop us off, and then drive two home. You'll get used to it." He glanced at Nick. "We all did."

- "Oh? You guys were drivers, too? Before you started ... whatever it is you do now?"

Terry just shook his head. "You know the deal - we can't talk about it. But I get the feeling that Tansa will explain it to you soon enough."

I drove them both home, and managed to get to my own house just after 11:00.

***

Ten days later, on Sunday afternoon, I picked up the same three guys, and drove them to the Sunflower Cafe. Once again, I waited in a small parking lot across the street. This time, though, I didn't fall asleep while I waited. The sun was too bright, plus I'd brought a Sudoku book to while away the time.

This time I drove Jesper and Nick home. Yes, I was confused. But if could work off Tansa's year by playing chauffeur every ten days, it wouldn't be so bad. I probably should have used my head a little more.

The following day, Tansa called me. "You'll need to take a long weekend." she said. "Take Friday off. You'll be driving to Montreal, and picking up three people on the way. I've booked motel rooms for you Friday and Saturday nights. Then you'll be driving home on Sunday, with two of them. Understood?"

Same deal, longer distances.

From my home to Montreal was a seven or nine hour drive, depending on the traffic. Honestly - the stretch of the 401 that crosses the Greater Toronto Area is probably the worst highway in North America. No government wants to spend money to fix the problem, because by the time it's completed, they would be out of office, and so unable to claim the credit. One provincial government used public funds to build a toll highway parallel to the 401 - and then promptly sold it to a private consortium. Thanks a lot.

The first address was in Burlington, next to Hamilton. My passenger wasn't a guy. She was blonde, and stacked.

- "Hi, I'm Dan." I managed to say.

- "Hi, Dan." she answered. "You can call me Angel."

No, it wasn't her - not my Angel, from seven years ago. But I suddenly understood what was going on. Jesper, Terry and Nick were male versions of the Angel I'd met. Tansa had given me my choice, and I'd chosen white-haired, beautiful Angel.

We stopped again in Toronto, in the Christie and Bloor area. This woman had black hair, and was very statuesque. I introduced myself.

- "Hi, Dan." she said. "I'm Angel."

- "What an incredible coincidence."

Her face changed immediately. "I'm sorry. But you know that we can't ..."

- "I understand." I said. "You're not the first angels I've met."

The second angel - the black-haired one - gave me a shy smile. "I hope that it worked out for you." she said. "But you know that we can't talk about what we're doing."

We drove all the way to Prescott before picking up our third passenger, a young, slender woman with light brown hair and a classically beautiful face. She could have been Lisa's younger (and slightly less attractive) sister. In case you're wondering, the first Angel (blonde and buxom) wasn't my type. But I would totally have used the magic on the second Angel (black-haired and kind). The third Angel reminded me too much of a cross between Lisa and Kim. She was hot, but ...

I got them all to Montreal safely, and found the motel that Tansa had booked. The Angels were sharing a room, and I had one to myself.

To my surprise, Angel #2 asked me if I wanted to get something to eat with them. I was certainly tired after the long drive, but not looking forward to a quiet, boring night.

- "That sounds good." I said.

The Angels voted, and picked a sports bar, where we could get wings for Angel #1, and where Angel #3 could catch up on her sports on the big screens.

The girls were only hit on nine times (three times with me sitting right there - the other approaches were while I was at the bar, getting a round, or in the bathroom). They deflected the would-be suitors with practiced ease.

Angel #2 was the only one to actually make an effort to speak with me.

- "You're not the first Angel I've ever met." I said.

- "I didn't think so." she said. "But you know that we're not allowed to talk about Tansa."

- "I know."

- "You seem like a very nice guy, Dan. I could wish that I'd been your Angel. Or that you'd been mine."

The girls drank a bit too much (well, two of them, anyway). I drove them back to the motel. Everyone slept in. Tansa called, to let me know that she wanted the three women at the Radisson Hotel at 8:00.

- "The three Angels?" I said.

- "Yes." said Tansa. "You and I will have a conversation later tonight, but please make sure that they are at the Radisson by 8:00."

I did my job. Driving a car isn't difficult, even if the passengers are very distracting. I dropped off the three angels at the hotel, and parked the car. I had my coffee and my Sudoku puzzle book. But I had parked facing the hotel entrance, and after the first hour I began to look up every now and again.

And then I saw Angel #3 come outside, holding the arm of a very tall, very large man. They went and got into a car, and drove off.

Ten minutes later, the two other Angels came out. To my surprise, Tansa was with them. I got out to open the doors for them.

- "Thank you, Dan." said Angel 2 (the black-haired one).

- "Yes, thank you." said the other Angel.

- "Such a gentleman." said Tansa, as she got into the front seat.

- "Where to?" I asked.

- "Your motel."

- "Umm ... what about Angel #3?"

- "I have a driver who'll pick her up later." she said. "You'll need your rest, because you'll be driving the three ladies home tomorrow."

When we arrived at the motel, the two Angels said goodnight, and went to their room. Tansa led the way to mine.

"Time we had a little chat." she said.

Tansa sat down on one of the two chairs in my room. I sat across from her. She took a good long look at me.

"You know, you continue to surprise me, Dan." said Tansa. "Most of my Angels are usually bursting at the seams with questions by this time - and I expected you to be one of the worst."

- "No." I said. "I think I understand my role. And I understand what the Angels are doing. I don't understand why, but none of them will talk about it, so I suspect that you aren't going to tell me anyway."

- "You can ask, if you want." There was that toothless smile I remembered, showing off all of her dimples.

- "Is it just sex? Are you some kind of succubus? Or is it just easier to reel people in with sex?"

- "No to your first question. The Angels do much more than you know. And no, I'm not a succubus. I don't feed off the sex. Nor am I 'reeling' people in. Humans want what they want, when they want it. Most can't see any reason why they shouldn't have it. Did I not do you a good service, Dan?"

- "Of course you did - but that's not the issue, is it?"

- "You know, I admire your self-control. Many men would have used all of their wishes in a very short time. Then they would have wanted more wishes - or they would have tried to use the magic even after it had been exhausted."

- "What would have happened if I'd done that?"

- "If you'd tried the phrases on a fifteenth woman?" she said. "Oh - you would have been in breach of contract. And you would have owed me much more than a year."

I kept forgetting who I was dealing with. Tansa had the body and form of a beautiful woman - but what did she really look like?

"You said that you wanted sex, Dan. But I kept seeing you looking for a relationship. Quite remarkable."

- "As you yourself said, they're real women, with lives of their own. Dreams of their own."

- "Well put. So ... answer me this: if you could have a wish for each of your women, what would they be?"

- "What?"

- "I'm curious. If you could make a wish for Holly, what would it be?"

It wasn't something that I'd thought of in terms of a wish, but I knew the answer to that question already.

- "A better balance between her work and her personal life."

- "Ah - I see. Good choice. And Monica?"

- "Why are you asking this?"

- "Humour me. Monica?"

Again, I didn't have to think too long.

- "That she could find a decent man based on more than his physical attributes."

- "And Aarti?"

That was more difficult. "She needs to break her cycle of dependency. She sees gifts and compliments as confirmation that she's desirable and deserving of love. Once she stops needing that reassurance, she'll be better off - and she'll find a better type of guy."

- "That was fairly well-put. What about Lisa?"

This was difficult, too. I knew the words; they were just harder to say. "That she finds a man worthy of her."

- "Sweet. And what about the terrible trio?"

- "The what?"

- "Your worst choices: Brenda, Kim, and Alanna."

- "For your information, Brenda was a great choice. She's a wonderful girl. I would hope for her that she could find a decent guy, but I'm pretty sure that she already has. Kim ... needs to grow up. She can have all the sex she wants, but she should respect other people's feelings. Alanna could use a little humility - or a dose of reality."

- "You're doing very well, Dan. What about Sue?"

Tansa smiled. I think that she was enjoying this. Of course she probably knew how similar Sue had been to Connie, up to and including the reasons I'd broken off with her. This was actually a question about the worst experience of my life.

- "I would hope that ... that Sue could find a balance in her priorities."

- "That's very generous. And I won't ask about Gabrielle, because you already did so much to help her find her heart's desire." Tansa stood up. "Well this was very nice. We'll talk again soon. You can sleep in a bit - you won't be leaving until around noon."

- "Wait - do you need a ride somewhere?"

- "Thank you, Dan. That's very kind. But I have my own driver. Goodnight."

I didn't sleep very well that night. Fortunately, I didn't have to get up early.

A little after noon, the three women were ready to go. Angel #3 looked exhausted, and fell asleep before we'd gone five kilometers. Angel #1 was glued to her phone pretty much the whole way. Angel #2 sat in the front with me, and occasionally tried to keep me engaged in conversation (on topics that had nothing to do with Tansa, such as music, or hobbies).

Don't take Highway 401 anywhere near Toronto on a Sunday evening. I didn't get home until after midnight.

***

Chauffeuring for Tansa didn't take all of my time. I still worked at my regular job, and looked after my house. I kept in touch with Holly, Lisa, and Gabrielle. I went out with Josh & Brenda, and had George and Anna over for a meal. George, as ever, wanted to know if I was seeing anyone.

But I was only half-heartedly looking for a new romantic partner. I was leery of making a mistake, of course, but my main concern was that I was no longer master of my own schedule. I didn't know when Tansa would call on me.

I drove the three men twice more - once to Kitchener, and then to Oakville. Then there were two very odd jobs. I drove to Port Colborne, picked up a package, and took it to Windsor. A week later, I drove to Niagara Falls, and helped unload a rental truck full of furniture and boxes. The house belonged to an old lady, and another old lady was moving in with her. They tipped me $20.

I also chauffeured for the three female Angels again, this time to Toronto. It was Angel #3 who stayed behind once again. She lived in Prescott, some six or seven hours from my home, so Tansa had her driver look after the Angel, and rode with me and the other two.

I dropped off Angels #1 and #2, and then asked my remaining passenger "Where to, Boss?"

- "Would it be alright if I stayed at your house, Dan?"

- "What? I mean - umm, sure."

- "If it's not too much trouble."

- "No trouble at all."

- "Igor should be able to pick me up tomorrow afternoon."

- "Igor?"

- "My driver."

- "You call him 'Igor'?"

- "That's his name. His parents came from Belarus."

- "Oh."

- "He's been my driver for six years now."

- "Six years?"

- "Do you remember asking me what would happen if you breached our contract? Let's just say that Igor broke his in several ways."

- "Ouch."

- "Ouch indeed." she said. "So - time for another conversation. Jesper only owes me another month. I'll need a distinguished-looking man in his early forties. You'll be taking his place."

- "WHAT?" My first reaction was indignation, but then I couldn't help laughing. "Don't know if you've noticed, Tansa, but I'm almost fifty."

- "Look in the mirror, Dan."

- "What?"

- "Look in the mirror."

I did. And I was shocked. Looking back at me was a younger man with very few grey hairs, and much shallower wrinkles.

Tansa chuckled. "For me, you will always be the man I met at the Queen's Arms that night. Fairly handsome fellow, wouldn't you say?"

I didn't how to react, or what to say. Tansa let me drive another 20 km before she spoke again.

- "You still don't understand, do you, Dan?"

- "Understand what?"

- "What we're doing. Who I am. Why you're here."

She had me there. "No, I don't."

- "Do you remember the beautiful white-haired Angel who went home with you from the Queen's Arms?"

I did. Angel was beautiful - inside and out. She'd made love to me several times. She was not a hooker, or a succubus. I knew that. She'd warned me to be careful about my bargain with Tansa - without actually suggesting that I run away, or avoid it altogether.

"I want you to be an Angel, Dan."

- "I - "

- "Did Angel lure you to your doom? Did she ruin your life?"

Far from it. Angel had restored me. I'd gone on to accept Tansa's bargain, and change my life. I thought of the wake for Connie's Mom: Holly, Lisa, Brenda, Sue and Gabrielle. Without Tansa, I'd never have had a relationship with any of them.