"Hi, I'm Lacy's mother Denise. Lacy tells me I need to have you come over here. I trust her judgment, so... so I guess your some kinda handyman or somethin'? Call me..."
That was the first voice-mail I got from Denise. This was right after it:
"Hi, me again. Sorry...did some shots with my friends, I'm a little scattered. So Lace tells me your hot. Call me..."
And this was right after that one:
"Boy, this isn't goin' well (laughter). 555-2173. There, we got that outa the way. I don't know what she wants me to do with you, but we'll figure somethin' out (laughter). You're a handyman right? OK..."
I laughed as I listened to them, and I called her back and made an appointment for the following afternoon. They lived in one of the few old trailer parks left in town, a fairly nice one north of the city, only ten minutes or so from the river.
I grilled a steak and had a nice quiet dinner on the porch, and saved the leftovers for Lee in case she was hungry. She walked over in the dark after her hospital shift, using a flashlight to navigate her way through the woodlot between us. It was a little after ten. She looked wiped out after a crazy day in the E.R., and was delighted to have a plate of food and a glass of wine placed in front of her.
"So I got some voice-mails today that are pretty funny," I said. I played them for her and we both laughed.
"Oh my God, that's too funny! You know, she's a really sweet person, but definitely wild. She's a bartender somewhere. Maybe you've seen her around, she's pretty hot. I met her at work. I already knew Lacy — she and Becka have been friends forever — and then a few years ago Denise came into the E.R. all bruised and with a broken arm from her boyfriend. She likes bad boys and bikers. You're not her type, you're way too nice," Lee laughed.
"Should be interesting — sounds like she doesn't even have a job for me," I said.
"Sad to say, but Lacy probably just wants her to hook up with a nice guy for a change," Lee said.
"Maybe," I said. "So how was it today."
"It was ugly," she said. "I don't even wanna talk about it. I think I'm starting to burn out. It happens a lot with E.R. staff. The only thing that got me through was thinking about that slow fuck you promised me." She gave me a tired wink.
"Boy, you look beat," I said. "Do the girls know you're here? If you fall asleep I don't want them to worry about you."
"Yeah, they know. They're jealous I think," she said with a little smile.
"Wow, that's kinda weird, isn't it?" I said.
"Sure is," she said. "It's good though. I haven't had much time to spend with them yet, but I loved the dynamic between us this morning when they were telling me everything about last night. It's the most open, real conversation I've ever had with them. It was really wonderful. I had tears in my eyes a few times just because of how wonderful it was to have them opening up to me."
"Nice. They're sweet girls, with a sweet mom," I said. "You've never told me about their dad, what's up with him?"
"He moved back to Sweden," she said with a disgusted look on her face. "He came over here to college, we fell in love, married, kids. Fifteen years later he gets homesick and has to move back. I wasn't about to uproot the kids at that point, or myself. We'd grown apart anyway, so..."
"That explains all the blonde hair and blue eyes," I said.
"Yeah, they get it from both sides," she said. "I'm mostly Dutch."
"So, what do you say I rock you to sleep on my big fat cock," I said.
"Oh my God, that sounds like heaven. You should re-name this place Camp Heaven."
"Taken already," I said. "My friend Penny — she was the one on the porch Memorial Day — she's got a sweet little place way out in the woods near Long Lake. She named it Camp Heaven last summer."
"After a wild orgy I'm guessing. I guess all my wishing for a better sex life these past few years has paid off — looks like I fell in with the right crowd," she said with a tired smile.
"It's only been about a year since I fell into it all too," I said as I stood and reached out my hand. "Come on sweetie, one slow fuck, comin' up."
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I parked my truck in front of trailer number 17 the next afternoon. It was pretty rough looking, but clean. The entire front yard was cement. Parked on it was a tired looking old Toyota pickup truck and a customized, well-used and dirty Harley Davidson Sportster, parked under a small, badly constructed plywood roof. There was a faded plastic palm tree next to the front steps. I knocked at the door and Denise answered.
"Holy shit!" we both said almost simultaneously. She was one of the bartenders at my favorite blues club, and she recognized me immediately. We call her Dennie at the bar, and I should have put two and two together when Lee described her.
"So you're the Steve my Lacy's got the hots for. I get it now," she said with a smile. "How the hell are ya? Haven't seen ya at the bar much lately."
"I'm doin' good," I said. "I'm busy with this new business, and a whole bunch of new friends, so I haven't been gettin' out to the clubs as much lately."
"Too busy screwin' twenty-year-olds," she said, and she squeezed my ass as she ushered me inside.
"I don't want you to get the wrong idea about that," I said. "I didn't pursue her, she was with my neighbor's girls and, well, one thing led to another."
"Wow! You nailed the girls next door too, huh?" she laughed. "Tammy and I always thought you were hot, but I had no idea you were such a mover." Tammy's another bartender at the club. I was getting a little uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, so I changed the subject.
"So what kind of jobs can I do for you," I asked, looking around. The place was pretty nice inside.
"I can think of a few," she said, running her eyes over me and laughing, "but they're probably not on your list of services — or are they?" She looked up at me seductively.
"If you don't mind me making a suggestion, the first thing should be fixing your front steps. They're kinda dangerous," I said.
"Well that's not nearly as much fun as what I was thinking, but yeah, let's do that," she said. "You know bartenders though, we're broke mosta the time. Can you give me an estimate first?"