Chapter 5 Sloppy Seconds
Characters:
Victor Thomas: College student, age nineteen
Brian Thomas: College student, age eighteen
Tuck Tucker: Owns three restaurants, age fifty-five (Franco Touchily)
Elizabeth Tucker; The Witch, Tuck's second wife, age Thirty-two
Betty: Bookkeeper, petite, meek, age thirty-seven
Trudy: Office worker, age twenty. Large eyes are her distinguishing feature.
Vera Tucker: Tuck's first wife and mother of his daughters. Age forty-three
Eric: Restaurant Manager and fiancΓ©e of Caroline Tucker
Caroline Tucker: Tuck's older daughter, age twenty-three
Sarah Tucker; Tuck's younger daughter, age Twenty-one
Melinda: Housekeeper in Tucker home, Black, goes by Missy, age Twenty-eight
Salvatore: Tuck's cousin, manager of Tuck-South
Ginger: Party girl
Mark: Trudy's boyfriend
Joyce: Trudy's roommate, age twenty.
Walter: Betty's ex-husband
Carrie: Betty's daughter, age 19.
It was a Saturday morning and the office should have been quiet, but for the first hour, I was so busy sorting the mail, delivering faxes, and dodging Trudy that I didn't have time to consider what I'd let Elizabeth talk me into.
I kept telling myself that having one day off per week was not important. Elizabeth had conceded to give Missy Mondays off, to pay her for the days owed, and to let her visit me in the cottage three nights per week. I'd given up my day off for Missy. I only hoped that we could trust Elizabeth to keep her word. What if she confronted Tuck with the accusation that he played with himself while making Missy wear Elizabeth's panties? What if it turned out to be true that Tuck was a dangerous man?
Yes, I said that I had to dodge Trudy. I didn't recall it being this crowded behind the partition on the two days she'd trained me to do her job. Now, every time I moved from one piece of office equipment to another one she bumped into me.
At ten A.M. we were in the break room, having a cold drink when the telephone rang, and Trudy answered it.
"It's Elizabeth. She wants to talk to you," Trudy said, handing me the receiver.
"Is she within hearing distance? Answer yes or no," Elizabeth said.
"Yes."
"How is she dressed? Don't answer that. Is she dressed provocatively?"
"Yes, ma'am, I would say so."
"You didn't tell her about us, did you?"
"No, of course not," I said, irritated that I was being grilled this way.
"If she makes a pass at you, you'll have to give in to her wishes."
"Why?"
"If you refuse, she'll retaliate by telling Frank about us."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Tucker, I won't"
"Good. I'm sorry to put you through this, Victor, but it's important that my husband not find out about us."
"I understand."
"Call me if he wants you pick to him up," she said, and abruptly hung up.
"What did Elizabeth want?" Trudy asked.
"She wanted to know if her husband has called yet. He played golf yesterday, and stayed at his cousin's house last night."
"Right," Trudy said, sarcastically.
"Don't you believe he played golf?"
"The last time Frank played golf was twenty years ago."
"What do you have on Elizabeth?" I asked, without knowing why.
"Did she say I have something on her?"
"Not exactly, but she said that if you put a move on me, I'll have to put out."
Trudy roared. "She didn't say that. You're making it up to make me think that you're easy."
"I am easy. Besides, I think you have something on her. She asked if you were dressed provocatively"
Trudy rolled her eyes, and then sauntered toward me. "What did you tell her?" she asked, leaning against me, and giving me a view of the valley between her breasts.
"Yes. Do you have something on her?" I asked, feeling my cock begin to grow.
Trudy cocked her head, and looked into my eyes. "You fucked her, didn't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"She sounded nervous on the phone. Where did you do it?"
"You're jumping to...," I started a sentence before being cut off by her lips pressed to mine. My arms were around her, and my cock was grinding against her pussy when we heard the phone ring.
"Hold that pose," Trudy said as she answered the phone, and then, "It's for you."
Sal was on the phone. He gave me directions to his house where I was to pick Tuck up.
Trudy walked all the way downstairs with me, and watched as I got into the Lincoln.
"We'll go to lunch at Tuck-South when you get back," she said.
"How did you know I fucked Elizabeth yesterday?" I asked.
She rolled her big eyes again, and gave me her 'duh' look. "The answering machine was set to pick up on the first ring, and the 'closed' sign was still in the window when I came in this morning. Where did you do it?" she asked.
"Look at the carpet in her office," I said as I put the Lincoln in gear.
What made me admit that I'd had sex with Elizabeth? How did Elizabeth know that Trudy already suspected something had gone on between us yesterday? This was getting too complicated. It was almost like Elizabeth wanted someone to tell Tuck that we were having sex. It was okay with me if she had a death wish, but she was involving me, and I wasn't ready to die.
I called Elizabeth to let her know that I was on my way to pick up Tuck.
"Are you calling from your cell phone?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Does Trudy know about us?"
"Yes, ma'am. She surmised that we were having sex when she discovered the 'closed' sign in the window, and the answering machine set to pick up on the first ring."
"Fuck!" Elizabeth said.
"Is that an order?" I asked, feeling brave.
"I'll call you if I need anything," Elizabeth said, and hung up without responding to my question.
Damn, I thought, she has my cell phone number.
Sal lived in a nice neighborhood of ranch-style homes. The lawns were manicured, and I saw several swimming pools, surrounded by fences. I pulled into the drive, and Tuck came out, looking the worse for wear. He was followed by an equally sleep-deprived female. They got into the back seat.
"We've got to take Ginger home, Victor. Ginger, this is Victor. Tell him how to get to your apartment," Tuck said.
"It's nice to make your acquaintance, Victor," Ginger said. I looked in the rearview mirror, but she wasn't in sight.
"These God Damned shoes, some asshole stepped on my foot last night, and my feet are killing me," Ginger said as her head popped up above the seat. "Stop that, Tuck! I've got to get my face on before my old man sees me," she said.
I watched the make-up process in the rearview mirror as Ginger fussed with her eyes, put generous amounts of lip gloss on, and tried to comb the kinks out of her hair, then looked into a mirror to view the results of her efforts. Seemingly satisfied, she closed the compact and looked at me.
"May I use your phone, Victor?" she asked, and when I didn't respond immediately, she appealed to Tuck.
"I've got to see if my old man is home. I can't let him see me getting out of the car. If he answers, I'll have to walk a whole block in these fucking shoes."
Tuck woke up from his nap long enough to tell me to let Ginger use my cell phone. I handed it to her, and after two minutes she handed it back to me.
"He ain't there or he's not answering the phone. I wish I knew which it was."
She was undecided until we got to within a half-block of her apartment. "Stop!" she shouted. I slammed on the brakes.
"It was nice to meet you, Victor," she said as she glanced at the sleeping Tuck before getting out of the car. I told her it was nice to meet her too, and then watched her navigate on the high heels until she reached the entrance to her apartment.
I assumed Tuck wanted me to take him home, and was nearly there when he woke up.
"You've already forgotten about meeting Ginger, right, Victor?"
It wasn't really a question that required an answer. It was more of an order. "Yes, Sir," I said.
"She's one hell of a woman though, ain't she?"
"Yes, Sir," I said, thinking of the way Ginger's ass wiggled as she walked. Like her ass, her other measurements were on the bulgy side, and her hair, though presently blond, looked like it had been a mixture of every other shade at one time or another.
"You just said that you'd already forgotten her," he said, in a 'gotcha' sort of way.
"Yes, Sir," I repeated as I parked the big car in front of the garage.
He didn't get out, and I wondered if I should open the door for him. He looked tired.
"Did you tell my wife where I was last night?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir."
"Was she alone last night?"
How the hell was I supposed to answer that? "I believe she was, but I don't know for sure, Sir."
"She's been in a good mood lately. I believe she's fucking someone. You'd tell me if you found out she was fucking someone, wouldn't you, Vic?"
"Yes, Sir," I lied.
"You would tell me if it was you that she was fucking, wouldn't you, Vic?"
Where was this heading? He had me feeling very uncomfortable. "Yes, Sir," I lied again.