I Meet The Man Who Purchased Me
*
The night before the auction I tossed and turned, not getting any sleep. Finally, I got up around 3 and began cleaning, trying to will the time away. The day passed very slowly and even though I was tired, there was still a spark of anticipation. That evening, as I was getting ready for the event, I put on a bright red dress with a plunging neck line and then put on my red high heels. When Art saw me just before I was ready to leave, he suddenly had a change of heart. "Hey," he said. "You look too damn good to go."
"What are you talking about? The guideline said we should dress nicely, and when I wore this the last time we went out, you never said a word about how I looked." I was a little miffed that he waited till now to say something. I was wondering if another man would notice me now and Art couldn't offer any reason why I shouldn't go. Then I used my trump card. "You were the one who said I should go, to help your business. Are you saying I shouldn't go now because another man might notice me, when you've been ignoring me lately?
"Look, don't worry, it's only for the weekend, and your parents will help with the kids tomorrow. So relax, I won't allow anything bad to happen and the rules say I'm allowed to call you once a day. If necessary, I'll use the safe word, and let you know where to meet me."
"If you have to use that safe word, I'll kick that guys ass."
I just rolled my eyes. "Amber said it was easy, and she's going along as well. I know you're staying with the kids, but Chris will keep an eye out for me and if he thinks the guy is bad news, he'll tap his forehead, that's the signal for me to balk and change my mind. Okay?"
"Yeah, I just wish we could have gotten a sitter, so I could look the buyers over."
"Like you would approve of anyone. Relax, I'll be fine and home in less than 48 hours. It's almost five now, and I'll be released at 3 pm on Sunday. I have my clothes ready and I'll try to keep my cell phone on me at all times. Okay?"
He nodded, and he kissed me deeply. "I may have been wrong about this, so please be careful and know that I love you deeply, no matter what happens."
He kissed me again, but in my head, I was wondering what he meant by no matter what happens. This was his home town, what had Chris told him, and why had he asked that I go to this thing? There were too many questions and I was so nervous, I was about to back out, when Amber came to the door. She was dressed in a really short yellow mini skirt, which helped highlighted her red hair. I saw Art open his mouth in surprise and I was suddenly angry at him. He criticized my attire, but Amber walks in with that slutty little dress and I could see his eyes lock on her figure. Why are husbands such jerks?
"That's the look, I was going for," she said, as she twirled around, and behind her was Chris.
He entered and took a long look at me. "Damn Cindy. You're going to give Amber a challenge on who makes the most money. Thank God it's for the church, and us. If it were anything else, I'd tell Art to not let you go." So, he had the same thoughts as me, well I could always back out. It wouldn't look good, but then I turned to my husband and talked to him quietly, asking him to tell me it was okay.
Art looked me in the eye and I could actually see the love and tenderness there. "It will help my business, but if you don't feel good, then don't go."
Amber overheard the conversation. "Don't want to butt in, but Cindy, I was just as nervous as you are now. Wasn't I Chris?" she asked and he nodded. "I told you, I was a little scared but it was kind of fun. The men who can purchase us are screened by the church, no criminals, deviants, anyone with a shady background is not allowed to bid." She stopped there and waited for my decision.
"Okay," I responded. "Let's go." I kissed Art and then the kids, as he explained that I was doing something with the church and I would be gone until Sunday. The kids looked at me a little funny, like they had insight to what was going on, but they soon waved goodbye and turned back to their television and internet system.
We arrived at the church right on time, and I was a bit relieved to see literally dozens of women, some dressed very conservatively, others more like Amber and myself. I learned that Amber made the most last year, so there were a couple of women who wanted that title. I did see a couple of women, especially one older woman give Amber a really nasty look, but she hardly looked at me even though I was right next to her. That made me wonder who she was. I asked Amber, and she shrugged her shoulders, not seeming to care so I let it go.
Before long there was a short dinner, where the future servants got to mingle with the different tables. I kind of followed Amber around watching as she flirted with some guys, but I kind of just stayed back and watched it all. It all seemed surreal, I mean we were in the school auditorium, since it was too big to host this event in the church, and the place was filled with men, all of them wearing a number on their chest like us. Our numbers were in pink, theirs in blue and though most of the men were nice and respectful, I did spot several who were looking at me, one even licking his lips. I almost turned around right there and went home.
Eventually the dinner ended and we were told to line up according to our number, which actually started with the last number first. My number was 53, Amber was 54. The numbers went up to 81, and I was surprised to see so many married women signed on. As we lined up, all the women took off their wedding rings, the idea as it was explained was that to be a slave meant we could not have personal belongings. The rings were taken by husbands and friends and Chris grabbed mine and told me to relax. His smile made me feel a little better and I saw him grab his phone and make a call, probably to Art. That also made me feel better.
The bidding on the first ten women didn't last long. Then a very pretty woman, number 64 was up and this took a little longer. With more men from around the area allowed in, there was a bit more bidding. She finally went with a nice looking young man who paid 351 dollars. Amber was pissed, the woman had beaten her score from last year. I looked out in the audience and actually saw the older woman who had scowled at her, smile. Okay, there was definitely something between them, but I didn't have time to dwell on it as Amber suddenly went out onto the stage.
Amber did a good strut and stood there, smiling and calling out to several men whom she knew. She turned around a few times and suddenly the bidding was getting higher. In no time the bidding had reached 300 dollars, and a couple of turns and a hoot from Chris, and then it was 350. Then 360 and that was it. I looked to see who had made the winning bid, expecting it to be the older man Amber said won last year, but I couldn't see who it was from my spot.