The Wages of Sin Pt. 01 of 03

She looked me in the eyes as she passed on the other side of the aisle. "Hello," I said. I had never been too clever in these situations.

"Hello, back," she replied with a smile. Unfortunately, she reached the end of the aisle and turned the wrong way. She went right, away from where I was going. Oh, well!

I turned right to continue my shopping and was almost halfway up the next aisle when I saw her turn the corner ahead of me. "Hello, again," I said with a smile. She didn't reply, but she did smile as we passed. We met again on the next aisle. I stopped this time and accosted her. "Now I know I'm being stalked."

She laughed as she checked out my uniform shirt. "I didn't think plumbers were victims of stalkers."

"Um, they're mostly not, but I own the company so I guess I could be a target."

"Maybe," she commented as she leaned forward to check out my name on my shirt. "Uh...Tim, sorry, but I don't stalk married men." She pointed then to my ring.

"Yeah...well, I've really been busy since she left and I can't get it off. I'll need a jeweler to cut it and I just haven't been able to find the time."

"I am so sorry if I offended you. I know exactly how you feel. That's pretty much what happened to me about eight years ago."

"Excuse me for being forward, but he must have been an idiot. You're a gorgeous woman."

"No man should ever have to apologize for giving a woman a compliment." I would have loved to continue the discussion, but lines were building up behind us. She noticed and began to leave. "I'm Amy. Maybe I'll see you again next week."

I would have said, "I hope so," but she had already gone. I finished my shopping and stood in what seemed to be a longer line than usual at the cashier. Then I saw Amy rush up with what looked to be a forgotten item. Her cart was three in front of mine so I could hear her when the cashier said $112.63 and she replied, "Oh, I don't have that much. I don't know what to do." She turned to all of us on line to apologize, but before she could get, "I'm sorry," out of her mouth I was handing the cashier a $50 bill.

"I can't take that from you, Tim."

I was almost laughing when I said, "I didn't give it to you. I gave it to the cashier." I walked back to my cart before she could say another word where another customer—an older woman-- told me that I had been very kind.

Amy had pushed her cart out of the way when she returned to speak with me. "You forgot your change." She held the bills and coins out to me.

"I think you should keep it. When do you get paid again?"

"Next Friday."

"Well, what are you going to do if you need gas or something from the drug store? You obviously have at least one child unless you have a taste for Froot Loops. Listen, I have plenty of money and I'd appreciate it if you'd just consider it a gift. I'm not expecting anything back. You needed something that I had and I gave it to you. It's that simple. You'd better get moving or your ice cream will melt." I smiled; she smiled back and walked away.

"Smooth, Tim," I thought. "You'll never get laid at this rate." Oh, well! That was an expression I was getting to know too often. My attention returned to the line. I was almost to the cashier so I pulled out my rewards card and waited while the woman in front of me dug around in her purse for the money. Maybe she thought I'd help her, too. Sorry, but Santa comes only once a year.

The supermarket we use doesn't have one of those belts like they have at Walmart. The cashier unloads the items from the cart and an aide places them into bags. The first time I went shopping I didn't give a thought to the bags, but I've quickly learned the difference between paper and plastic. I always take paper, except for things that might leak like ice cream or rotisserie chicken.

I had paid and was on the way to my truck when Amy intercepted me. "I want to thank you, Tim. It was very kind of you to help a total stranger."

"You're hardly a stranger, Amy. A stalker, maybe, but a stranger...never." She smiled again and I knew that my generosity had been worthwhile.

"I insist in repaying you. Will you come to dinner tomorrow night?"

"You know I have two girls—Andrea is thirteen and Chrissy is eleven and they eat like it's going out of style."

"Bring them, all the same. I have a daughter, Amber, who's twelve." She handed me a piece of paper with her address and phone number. "Six, okay? Please?"

I knew we had no plans and she was really a gorgeous woman so.... "Okay, thank you; we'll see you then. I recognize the address. I have some customers just up the block." Amy left and I finished putting my groceries in the truck's rear seat. I was on my way home minutes later.

I thanked Mrs. Hoskins, paid her, and told her we wouldn't need dinner tomorrow. "Are we going out, Daddy?"

"Yes, we are. We've been invited to dinner by a woman I met at the supermarket."

Chrissy and Andrea looked at each other and grinned. Speaking as one they asked, "Is she hot, Daddy?"

"THAT is none of your business. I will tell you that she has a twelve year-old daughter so I think you'll have someone to talk to besides me for a change." I grilled a ham steak with baked potatoes and frozen peas that I was able to nuke just before we sat down. Terri had never been big on religion, but since she had left us we agreed to have a blessing before every meal. Tonight it was Chrissy's turn—big mistake.

"Thank you God for helping our family, especially Daddy. We need him so much now and we know how busy he is trying to be our mother and father. Thank you for our food and our health. I pray that Daddy's new friend is really hot. Amen."

"Chrissy!"

"Well, Daddy—you always tell us to be honest."

"You do, Daddy."

"Okay, you win—she is hot."

"Really hot, Daddy?"

"Don't push your luck; time for eating, not idle chatter." After dinner they went to finish their homework while I cleaned up the dishes and took out the trash. There wasn't much so I was done quickly. Then I went into the home office and went online to Google "Amy Chambers."

I found her Facebook page where I learned a bit about her history and her family. I saw her mom and dad and her daughter, Amber in several vacation photos—Disney World and Universal Studios. Looking at her mother I could see where she got her good looks and her body. Looking down the list of Google citations I learned that she was a legal secretary at a big local firm. I knew that they made decent money, but that didn't mean that she had money to burn. Daughters and parents can become ill and daughters might need braces. I knew that mine had. And then there were expenses like rent or mortgage, electricity, phone, gas, and whatever else might be on her list. I knew that mine seemed to go on forever.

I turned to my drafting table where I checked the plans for the Johansen renovation. We were almost ready to begin. They'd decided to go top drawer, even expanding the bathroom to include a large whirlpool tub by removing a non-weight bearing wall in an adjacent bedroom and repositioning it eighteen inches. The bedroom, currently used as an office now would be slightly smaller, but their bathroom would be incredible. There would be a large skylight in the middle of the ceiling and ultra high-end plumbing and electrical fixtures. It would be the most expensive renovation I'd ever done and I wanted to make sure it was done right from beginning to end. I quit at nine, just in time to hug and kiss my daughters good night.

++++++

Friday flew by in what seemed to be an instant and then I was on my way home. I paid Glenda as I did every day—for some reason she never shared that was the only way she'd accept it--and wished her well for the weekend. I sent the girls to the bathroom to shower and change into something better than school clothes while I retreated to the master bath where I also showered and shaved then changed into a golf shirt, slacks, and cordovan loafers. I put on my best watch then rubbed my finger where my wedding ring had been. We had two jewelers in Kiwanis and I was good friends with one. I'd bought Terri many pieces of jewelry from him over the years. It was hard to ask him to remove my ring, but I did. I was almost in tears when I asked him, but then I realized that I had done nothing other than love Terri unconditionally and give her a much better quality of life than she'd ever have in the future. This was all on her. I asked my friend to melt it down to a lump that I could keep on my dresser as a reminder of what a fool I had married.

We were in the truck by 5:30, Chrissy holding two bottles of wine—one a chilled chardonnay and one merlot just to cover all the bases. I pulled into Amy's driveway at 5:54 p.m. "Her name is Amy and her daughter is Amber. Any questions?"

"Jeez Daddy, it's dinner, not meeting the President. We do know how to behave."

"Sorry; I guess I'm a bit nervous. I haven't done anything like this in almost twenty years, long before I married your mother."

"Ex-mother, Daddy; we don't want anything to do with her. Why don't we ring the bell? Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" They almost jumped out of the truck with me trailing behind. They rang the bell just as I stepped onto the porch.

I listened with amusement when the door opened. "Hello...you must be Mr. Tim. I'm Amber. Hi, are you Andrea?" She continued once Andrea had nodded. "Then you're obviously Chrissy. Want to come up to my room? I have XBOX ONE and lots of games. C'mon." I stood there in amazement as the three of them ran up the stairs. I closed the door and walked in to find the kitchen. She was there stirring something in a big pot.

"Hello, Tim; thanks for coming. Stew okay with you guys?"

"We love it, but we haven't been able to have any since...well, you know. I brought some wine—merlot and chardonnay. She handed me a corkscrew while she put the chardonnay into the refrigerator.

"Amber seems to be a bundle of energy."

"She is and she's on her best behavior tonight. You should see her most nights. I shouldn't complain, she really is a good kid."

"So are mine. They've been so supportive since their mother took off. They actually caught her screwing the guy—her sleazy boss—more than two months before I did." I explained what had happened and what I did while Amy laughed.

"I don't think too many men would have touched his scrotum."

"Well, I had just come from a stopped sewer line where someone flushed the toilet so I had quite a mess on my hands earlier. Whether you're a parent or a plumber you learn right away that it washes off so it was no big deal. Kicking him with my steel-toed boots—now, that was a big deal."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, double ouch. Why don't we talk about something else? What do you do for a living?" She told me all about her job and the special skills it required. Amy had started out as a regular secretary, but was taken under the wing of one of the partners once her husband had disappeared in the middle of the night. She had gone to sleep with a husband and a four year-old daughter and awoken with just Amber. That was even shittier than what had happened with me. She had moved up the ladder once she had mastered the requisite skills and was now the personal secretary to one of the partners. She was pleased with her progress and was even happier that the firm's non-fraternization policy was strictly enforced. She told me that she didn't need any unwanted attentions. "Some lawyers can be really smarmy," she told me.

"Accountants, too," I replied with a wry smile.

"What about plumbers?"

"We're the children of God. Didn't you know?"

"Actually," she laughed, "I think a little birdie told me yesterday. I still can't believe you were so kind."

"It really wasn't that big a deal."

"I'm sure to you it wasn't, but it sure was to me. I needed everything in my cart. I earn a decent living, but there's no room for frills. I know it and so does Amber. She hates what her father did to us."

"It was cowardly. That's the only way to describe it. If Terri had told me that she wanted a divorce I would have agreed. Of course, I would have kept the house and my business because they were mine before we married and, because of that, I probably would have gotten custody of the girls. They hate their mother for what she did to me and how she tried to manipulate them. They refer to her as their 'ex-mother.'"

"I can't say that I blame them. What the hell was wrong with that man? Couldn't he afford a cheap motel?"

"I've thought about that and I think he was marking his territory by doing it in my bed. That was his feeble attempt at showing himself to be more masculine than I was. I don't know. I doubt that I ever will. More important, I really don't care—not any longer."

Amy checked on the stew then placed a tray of rolls into the oven. "Ten minutes; do your daughters need to wash up?"

"I doubt it. They were only out of the shower a few minutes before coming over here...me, too, in case you were wondering." Amy just smiled in response. She walked to the stairs and called for Amber. All three hustled down the stairs. I made the introductions and offered to help Amy as the three girls sat at the table.

A few minutes later the rolls were out of the oven and into a bowl that was covered with a cloth napkin. Then Amy began to scoop hearty servings of stew that I carried to the table. Chrissy spoke up once we were all seated. "Could we say a blessing, Amy? We started when you-know-who left us and we do it every night now."

"That's an excellent idea, Chrissy. Would you like to do the honors?" I cringed when Chrissy smiled.

We held hands just like we did at home and Chrissy led us in prayer. "Heavenly father, thank you for our food and for our new friend, Amber. Thanks, too for Amy who is even nicer than Daddy said she was. Amen." There was a chorus of "amen's" and I breathed a sigh of relief, especially after Chrissy's grace last night when she prayed that Amy was "really hot." Looking at her now I'd say that Chrissy's prayers had been answered.

We enjoyed the dinner and the company even more. It was the first time in—a while, anyway—that we all laughed. I noticed Amy reach out to touch me—my arm and hand—several times as we chatted away. Andrea and Amber asked for seconds, but not me. My helping was more than I'd usually eat and I had always found stew to be really filling. Once dinner was done I was shooed to the living room where Andrea brought me a can of cold beer and I watched the news on TV while they cleaned up the kitchen and dining area.

I looked around the room, noticing for the first time that the house was small and sparsely furnished, but as neat as neat could be. The furniture was old, but well-maintained. I guessed that I was drinking the very first beer or soda ever consumed in this room. I felt honored. I also knew I'd be extra careful.

I could hear laughter coming from the kitchen and I smiled, knowing somehow that they were talking about me. I didn't mind at all. I knew that laughter healed many ills. Turning back to the TV I tried to concentrate on the news, but it was just as depressing as my life had been for the past months. I changed the channel, looking for ESPN.

After more than half an hour I began to worry. I could still hear the women in the kitchen, but they should have been done a long time ago. A few minutes later Amy joined me on the couch, sitting next to me—not too close, but close enough, if you get my drift. "Everything okay," I asked.

"Oh, yes—of course. I love your girls. They're sweet and funny—smart, too. It's very clear how much they love you. A lot of kids start to rebel at this age, you know."

"Yeah, I do. I have some older guys who work for me. The stories they've told me are scary. One of my guys—his daughter got involved with a bad crowd. Next thing he knew she was four months pregnant. They're Catholic, like us, so abortion was out of the question although personally I think I would have insisted—sin or no sin. I'm putting both of them on birth control in a couple of weeks when they next see their gynecologist." I had to laugh. "I'm not looking forward to that appointment—no way. There's something about being the only male in a sea of pregnant women. It's almost as bad as shopping for bras and panties. There are some things a man should never have to do."

Amy laughed, but put her hand gently on my thigh. Under other circumstances I thought that maybe I'd get lucky tonight, but there were three young girls lurking around somewhere so I knew that absolutely nothing was going to happen.

Suddenly they ran into the room shouting and jumping up and down. "Daddy, Daddy...Amber just had the greatest idea. Can we have a sleepover? Please, Daddy?"

"I don't know, honey. I think we've imposed on Amy's hospitality enough for one night, besides you don't have anything to wear."

"I don't think that will be a problem, Tim. Chrissy can wear one of Amber's nightgowns and I can lend Andrea one of my t-shirts. Their clothes are clean enough to wear tomorrow, I'm sure. Amber has a big bed—a double and she has a sleeping bag with a foam pad. I'll take good care of them. Why don't you take the night off?"

I looked at her, noticing her sincerity, and then I checked the three girls and I had an idea, one that would work out for all of us. "I'll agree on one condition—I planned on taking Andrea and Chrissy to the aquarium tomorrow. They can stay if you'll agree to come with us."

"Please, Amy," Chrissy begged. "The aquarium is so neat and Daddy always takes us to Nathan's—the real one—after for lunch."

Amy looked at me, her eyes pools of liquid blue. "I didn't know there was an aquarium around here."

"It's in Coney Island, maybe half a mile or so from the boardwalk and the amusement parks. Chrissy loves watching the trainers test the electric eel. There's no accounting for some people's tastes."

"Daddy!" I pulled Chrissy to me and hugged her, wondering how much longer I'd be able to do that. I had just released her when Amy agreed. The three youngsters were ecstatic. They ran up the stairs, yelling and jumping all the way.

"I really don't want to be a drag on you, Tim. You've already done so much for us. I'm ashamed to take any more."

"Amy, plumbing is a very lucrative business. I have fifteen employees who go out every day and earn money for me. Of course, they're in a union and I have responsibilities to them, but every day my crew works I clear roughly a thousand dollars. Life has been a bitch since Terri left us so I always make the weekends fun for Andrea and Chrissy. Having money is only important if you can do something positive with it. They need to have fun and so do I. They love the aquarium and Coney Island, too. I think it will be even better with you and Amber to share it with us."

"I was right when I said you were an especially kind man, Tim. We'll be very happy to join you." We spent the next hour talking and laughing together and—yes--she did touch me several times and—yes—I did enjoy every time. Finally, around ten I called Andrea and Chrissy to say good-bye to them. We hugged as we did every night and kissed. I didn't remind them to behave. I knew they would.

I was just about to leave when I asked Amy what time I should pick everyone up in the morning. "You tell me. How long will it take us to get there and how long at the aquarium?"

"It'll be Saturday, but there will still be traffic so I figure an hour and two, at least, in the aquarium plus another five minutes to get to Coney Island for lunch. Ummm, nine o'clock okay?"

"Perfect; Amber and I are early risers, although with company tonight who knows?"

"They can always sleep in the car."

"Are we going in your truck?"

"No, I have commercial plates on it so I can't drive on the parkways. We have a minivan that their mother used to drive."