*Note - This is a work of fiction.
By the time the summer of '75 came, 8 different girls were involved with Helene's little voyeuristic game. They all thought they were doing it just for Helene and their own benefit. Only Gracie knew that I knew as well.
If I have given you the idea that I just went to work and then moped around all the time waiting for Helene to be in town, I apologize. Most of the time my apartment was being visited by some of my friends (yes, I did have some). Sometimes these visits did not include me.
My best friend, Kent, had a set of keys to my place. It was not unusual to come home and find Kent and ___________ (please insert any name you wish. He had more girlfriends than I had rookie cards, and I had a shoebox full.), already there and in my bed playing 'Wild Kingdom".
Twice he ruined a set up for Helene and me. One night I specifically told him I was going to have company and please wait till the next day. I don't know if he forgot or just didn't care, but I came home with Helene and this really gorgeous girl named Chrissie and, damnit there he was! I didn't want to take the keys back from him. That would have been a little harsh. But he had to pay for blowing the opportunity with Chrissie for Helene and me.
I took Chrissie home, and Helene and I went to a doughnut shop to talk about a plan.
I told her about my starting to have dreams about watching.
At first she thought I was kidding.
"You're front row, center. Why do you want to sit in the balcony for? She asked.
"Just for once, I'd like to try it," I said.
She shook her head and said, "Don't look at me, John."
"No, I already know about your virginal wish," I replied. "I have something I think we both will like."
"Oh, you're starting to sound wicked! I'm getting goose bumps! Let's hear it," she said.
One of the nicest things about my apartment is that it had a large walk-in closet in the bedroom. It could have doubled as a guestroom. Since I was a bachelor, I had very few items in that closet. It had sliding doors, with moveable louvers. I showed Helene what I had in mind, and she said that the closet smelled like my shoes. After moving my shoes to the hall closet, and a can of Lysol later, we were ready to execute the plan. All we had to do now was wait for Kent to show up.
Kent's way of letting me know he was there, was to play the stereo rather loudly. This didn't mean that I could not enter my apartment, rather that my bedroom was occupied. After a few evenings of laying in wait of Kent, we heard the stereo go on and in came Kent with a girl that looked rather skanky.
By now, Helene and I had this down to an art. We had beanbag chairs, a cooler with soda, and a bag of pretzels. Helene noticed the girl, and whispered to me. "He's slumming."
I just shook my shoulders, because I had actually seen him with worse. The girl and Kent began to undress, and jumped onto the waterbed. They then began a good bunny rabbit imitation. I reached down to grab the bag of pretzels, had the top in my hand, but before I had the chance to pull it open, Kent got off the bed. I looked at Helene, she was pointing at her watch. "20 seconds" she mouthed to me.