"I want you to get under my husbands skin. I need him to fall in love with you, and be able to let you take care of him. Then, you need to marry him, and take care of him forever after."
I had heard many things in my life as an escort girl, but this was a first. I had never had a wife telling me that she wanted her husband to fall in love with me. I must have looked very suspicious of her because she was quick to fill in some details.
"I'm dying. I want to hire you to become John's next wife. You will need to be faithful to him and him alone. You will need to be his wife, confidant, lover, friend and most of all, convince him that you love him and that he loves you. It isn't going to be a walk in the park either. I know because I know my husband very well."
"Ma'am, I don't think you have the right person. You need..."
"I need someone in a hurry, and beggars can't be too choosy now can they? Look, I only have six months to a year left, if that. John, without me, will waste away and die. If he doesn't kill himself first."
"What makes you think that your husband will waste away and die or commit suicide? Lots of husbands have lost wives before, and they've not done either of those things."
"I told you. I know my husband. Without someone to guide him and be a sounding board, he will make bad or flat out wrong decisions, and suffer for them in the doing. We have three adult children, and even though they are adults now, they still need someone too. John will need to be there for our kids and soon to be grandkids. I also know that John is the type of man that needs someone in his life, sharing the day to day things with him."
"I don't know. I've never done a permanent gig like this before. How am I supposed to get John to fall for me? Especially since I'm an escort girl and don't know him at all? Besides that, how do you intend to pay me for this? You want me to basically indenture myself to your husband for the rest of my life. How or why would I want to do that?"
"I have an insurance policy that has ran its life and now has a cash value in excess of a million dollars. I have made arrangements to have it signed over to whoever is married to John, my husband when that time comes. You will have to stay married to him for one year to collect it. I hope that you will fall in love with him like I did, and want to stay with him in the end."
"A million dollars? You're willing to hand over a million dollars to have me marry your husband, and be his wife for one year? So, I really will be giving up my freedom to be a slave then."
"Okay, you're right about that. I know that I'm asking you to sell yourself into servitude of sorts. It wouldn't be that bad, honest. First of all, John is a wonderful provider, loving and caring. Gentle at making love, but he can be a wild at times if the feelings are running that way. He would love you fully and honestly. You'd have to do the same for him. You won't ever have to work again, and actually, you probably won't have to work very hard at keeping him in love with you once he has fallen for you."
"Let me get this straight. You're offering me a life insurance policy proceeds for over one millions dollars, and to earn that I have to get your husband to fall in love with me, marry him and be his wife? Are you insane? Are you taking some kind of hallucinogenic drugs or something lady?"
"I know, it sounds crazy. I want you to know that I love my husband very, very much though. I also know that he will need someone. I can't leave this earth knowing that he won't have anyone there for him, and I know that if he doesn't have anyone by the time I'm buried...well, I don't want to meet him on the other side in a month or two. He still has a full and rich life ahead of him, and I mean to see that he lives it, one way or another. If you're not interested in my deal, then say so, and I'll continue on my search. I need to know within a day or two though, as my time is short and if you don't take my deal I will need every moment I have left to find someone for my husband."
"You're asking me to give up my lifestyle for your husband. I'm not so sure that would be a good deal."
"I am sure it's a good deal. You will be way ahead in the scheme of things. Look, how many men can you say have ever loved you for who you are?"
"I don't think that is any of your..."
"None, have they? Here's your chance to have and hold a man who is an excellent lover, a great provider, and an all around wonderful person. You're even going to make a million dollars for the pleasure of having him too."
She had tears in her eyes. As they began to slip down her cheek I realized that she truly loved and cared for John. I had never seen such love or devotion for a spouse ever in my life. Most men never earned such respect or love ever in their lives. I was sorely tempted to take her offer. A million dollars and all I had to do is get her husband to fall in love with me, marry me, and spend at least one year acting like I loved him in return. After that, if I wanted, I could split. I was not so sure that I wanted to go there though.
"My life is pretty great right now. I have all the sex I want or need, lots of different men for companionship, and I don't have to share my bed at night if I don't feel like it."
"You have nobody to love you, or take care of you when you're sick. You are alone most of the time, and not sharing your life with anyone. You have sex, but no love to back it up. It is an empty life. I'm offering you a fuller and richer life than you can probably imagine."
She had me there. I had often thought that there should be more to life. I had many a time, gone to bed alone, wanting, wishing that I had someone sharing that bed with me. Someone that understood me and loved me. I could feel my resolve to not get into this crazy scheme weakening.
"What's to stop me from walking after six months or nine months? What actual guarantee do you have that I'll ever even try to live up to the bargain?"
"I have none. I do know however, that if you open your heart just a little bit, John could fall in love with you and be happy. I'd rather see him happy than dead, and I'd rather he had some happiness for even just a year than not. I'm betting that you will fall in love with him too though."
"I'll need to think about it for a day or two. As for me falling in love...I don't do that. It's against my nature."
"I can only give you twenty-four hours. After that if you haven't signed on, I will have to search for someone else. You will fall in love with him...it will happen. At least I hope you do. Your nature is like any other humans, you want and need love. I think you will both benefit from a relationship."
"You're real serious about this aren't you?"
"I love my husband. I would do anything in the world...in the universe for him."