"Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer to use mine. Amber and I have been a big enough burden."
"There is no way either of you is a burden. I'm getting tired of telling you how much I enjoy having company. However, if you insist, I know a guy who works on cars at his house. He's good and inexpensive. I can call him now if you want."
"If it's not too late, I'd appreciate it."
I was lucky. Steve's mechanic had just finished a big job and was available. He even promised to pick up my car tomorrow from Steve's house. I explained that I didn't have a lot of money. He said none of his customers had a lot of money. He promised a cost estimate before he did any work.
Steve and I chatted for a half an hour before I began yawning. I said goodnight after thanking Steve for everything he had done. I lay in bed and worried about someone finding Oleksandr's body. I must have been tired because I didn't suffer very long.
Thursday morning, Steve had another breakfast for Amber and me. After getting my daughter to school, I went to the drug store and refilled my birth control prescription now that I could afford it. I didn't plan on having sex anytime soon, but I was tired of resorting to Plan B. Better to be safe than sorry. After all, I hadn't planned on sex with Tony or Frank. I knew I'd have to wait for my next period before I took my first pill. I felt happy as I headed to the supermarket for my shift; I felt like I was in control of my life again.
Before I started work, I was told to report to the manager's office. My boss explained that he had seen me dancing nude at the Pink Pussycat. It didn't bother him, but he was afraid of the reaction from his customers. He was sorry, but he had to let me go. I was in shock as I drove back to Steve's house.
* * *
Thursday night was even worse than the morning. After dinner, Amber complained it hurt when she swallowed. She seemed warm to the touch, so I took her temperature. It was only 99.1 degrees, which wasn't bad after an active day. I put her to bed after giving her the next to the last antibiotic tablet. She kept waking up and begging for ice water. I spent a nearly sleepless night caring for my daughter and praying.
In the morning, Amber was whimpering from the pain in her throat. Her temperature was 101.3. I bundled her up and drove her to the doctor's office in Steve's wife's car. I had to sit in the waiting with my daughter for nearly an hour as she continued to whimper. A young boy next to me puked and managed to soil both my khaki pants and my last clean blouse.
The doctor was concerned that she hadn't responded better to the latest antibiotic. He checked on the lab results on the most recent throat culture. It showed that Amber had a highly resistant strep infection. He wanted to admit her to the hospital for intensive treatment. I protested that I didn't have insurance and couldn't afford the hospital. The doctor was reluctant, but finally, he came up with an alternative treatment plan. He gave Amber a dose of an even more expensive antibiotic. He gave me the six tablets he had received from the pharmaceutical representative as samples, which would be enough for a couple of days. He wrote a prescription for more and made me promise to fill it. He took my hand and impressed upon me the seriousness of the situation.
I was trembling with fear as I drove my daughter to Steve's house and put her to bed. Even with the 700 dollars I'd retrieved from my locker, I had only half of what I needed to pay for a full course of treatment with the expensive medicine. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if Amber's infection didn't respond to the new treatment. I knew what I had to do. I didn't have a choice if I wanted to save my daughter.
* * *
Friday afternoon, I took a quick shower hoping it would revive me. Afterward, I wrapped a towel around my damp body as I looked for something clean to wear to an unscheduled job interview at The Dollhouse. Luckily, Amber was fast asleep as I rummaged through a mostly empty chest of drawers for the few clean clothes I had left. I should have taken Steve up on the offer of his washer and dryer instead of wasting my time sleeping for a couple of hours, but that was water under the bridge.
The only decent outfit left consisted of an old pair of low-rise skinny jeans with lots of fashionable rips and a threadbare white spandex crop top. The tears in the cheap jeans were there from wear rather than by design. I hadn't worn the sleeveless crop top in a long time because it was very tight and didn't hide my nipples. What I liked about it was that the scoop neck did a fantastic job of highlighting my cleavage, and the short top left my trim abdomen exposed. Despite my misgivings, I figured the revealing outfit would be great for tips if I managed to convince Carmen to give me a job as a waitress.
I found a clean pair of bikini panties and a bright red bra designed to provide extra support for the well-endowed woman. I didn't really need the bra for my perky breasts, but I had bought it out of concern my breasts would begin sagging if I left them free all the time. I only wore it under a blouse when I worked at the supermarket.
Fortunately, Steve wasn't home, so I used his bed to work the skinny jeans up my legs. I must have gained weight from Steve's cooking because I didn't remember them being this tight. It was a struggle getting them over my fat ass without enlarging too many of the rips. The zipper provided a battle that left my arms shaking.
I tried putting the top on over the support bra, but the red bra showed through the thin fabric, and there were bulges and exposed straps everywhere. It looked so hideous, I almost cried. The crop top looked better without the bra. The tight top flattened my large breasts and pushed the tops of my plump globes above the deeply scooped neckline. Significant amounts of my breasts were visible through the large armholes. Of course, you could see my nipples poking into the thin fabric. In case you missed my nipples, they were surrounded by the all too obvious pink bullseyes of my areolas. There was an acre of tight bare abdomen exposed between my top and my low-rise jeans. A pair of five-inch platform wedges completed the outfit.
I brushed my hair once more and put my auburn locks into a ponytail. I spent a few minutes covering the freckles splashed across my nose with foundation. Eyeliner highlighted my green eyes. A bright red lipstick completed the look I was going for. I was thinking of a rising starlet at a film festival hoping to attract a director's attention. The woman I saw in the full-length mirror looked more like a cheap hooker. I took a deep breath as I stood to stare at my reflection. It was the first time since taking Amber to the doctor that I'd had time to think. I was terrified and exhausted, but I told myself, you can do this. You're doing it for Amber.
I decided to take up Steve's previous offer to use one of his wife's coats. I picked a lined black leather jacket. I bundled Amber up in a blanket and drove my sleeping daughter to my babysitter's house. It began snowing lightly by the time I drove around to the back of The Dollhouse. I parked next to a small handful of cars by the employee entrance. It was just after 6:30 PM on a Friday night and The Dollhouse hadn't come alive yet. In a couple of hours, the place would be jumping with men eager to spend their hard-earned wages on booze while they fondled scantily clad women.
I sat staring at the employee entrance for several minutes as I tried to get up the nerve to go inside. There was nothing I had ever done in my life that caused me as much anxiety. Even pole dancing in the nude at the Pink Pussycat had been less terrifying. Still, I shuddered as I remembered the night, I danced naked for the first time. It was also the first time I had met Carmen Catalano, the owner of the Doll House. The bastard bought a lap dance from me. He had the nerve to offer me a job performing at his sleazy strip club while Tony stood there grinning. I had angered Carmen when I slapped him for taking liberties with my breasts.
My boss Tony had decided to auction off my outfit during the last performance of the night. Carmen got his revenge on me when he won the auction for my G-string. Tony had left me unprotected when he went to break up a fight at the bar. Carmen had his enormous bodyguard hold me while he stripped me of my last piece of clothing. The bastard wasn't satisfied with just seeing me naked. He finger-fucked me to orgasm as every TV in the Pink Pussycat showed a close up of my eager pussy humping his fat finger. As bad as the humiliation of cumming in front of a screaming mob of Rivervale's finest citizens had been, Carmen's threat afterward terrorized me.
He had whispered in my ear, "After I crush Tony, all of his dancers will be begging to work for me. Before you know what hit you, you'll be working naked all the time and turning tricks on the tables. When you get too old, I'll put you in a show with a stallion. You'll be sorry you ever laughed at Carmen."
I couldn't believe that I was now sitting outside of The Dollhouse intending to beg Carmen for a job. The owner of the Pink Pussycat had mysteriously disappeared, and his club was closed. If I could have gotten more hours, I might have been able to survive on my cashier's wages at the supermarket, but I had been fired. I had no idea how long Steve would allow me to stay in his house for free.
Tony had paid me well for my last two nights working for him, but most of that money was already gone. Tony had kept a portion to cover the money he had advanced me. The payday loan collector had taken his share. I had gotten my car fixed so I wouldn't have to depend on Steve. I even managed to get my birth control prescription renewed.
What little money remained wasn't enough to cover the new prescription for my daughter. I didn't have insurance, and I was desperate. If I wanted to save my daughter's life, I needed to come up with nearly two thousand dollars this weekend. I had made maybe half of that amount last Saturday at the Pink Pussycat on the best day I'd ever had dancing.
I had thought about asking Steve for a loan, but it was a lot of money. I've been forced to be self-reliant since my ex-fiancee left me to raise Amber by myself. I wasn't good at asking for help. Besides, I was afraid of what Steve would expect in return. I needed to stay at his house until Amber recovered, and I got back on my feet. The thought of sleeping with Steve so I could borrow money for medicine was morally abhorrent.
When I had borrowed from my boss at the Pink Pussycat, Tony had extracted a heavy price. He had fucked me two nights in a row after the club closed. The second night after taking his pleasure, Tony had sold my body to my best friend's husband. If Tony hadn't suddenly disappeared, I would probably have gone back to him and begged for the money I needed for Amber's medicine. That plan at least had the comfort of being familiar. Besides, my dancing had made Tony a lot of money the last two nights the Pink Pussycat was open.
With Tony's place closed, my only chance to raise that kind of money was to work for Carmen. That idea had burned in my brain ever since I learned her antibiotic wasn't working. My lack of sleep and obsessing about working for Carmen was making me nauseous. When I couldn't think of any alternatives, I had driven to The Dollhouse. I didn't feel like I could ever trust any man again, but at least Carmen had promised me a job.
I was still trying to get up my nerve to ring the buzzer by the door when a car pulled into the parking lot. I recognized the woman who got out. It was Ellen. She had been a waitress at the Pink Pussycat until last week. I struggled with the window's electronic control for a moment as I wished for a simple crank. By the time I managed to lower the window, she had unlocked the door and disappeared inside.
I left the window down, expecting someone else would show up soon for the evening shift. The cold air and blowing snow kept me awake. I didn't wait long before another car pulled into the parking lot. I was surprised to see my best friend, Ashley get out. I couldn't believe she was working for Carmen.
I shouted, "Ashley."
Ashley turned and said, "Hi, Tiffany, what are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to Carmen about a job."
Ashley got into the car with me and rolled up the window. "Oh honey, are you sure you want to do that? The Dollhouse is even worse than everyone said. I wouldn't be here except my husband has disappeared. With two young kids, I'm desperate."
"I'm desperate too. Amber has relapsed, and I can't afford the new medicine she needs."
"Oh sweetheart, is there anything I can do for Amber?"
"Thanks, but you've already helped me so much. This time a pistol won't be any use. What I need are some money and a miracle. I know you can't help with the money, but you could pray for a miracle."
Ashley sighed and said, "As my best friend, you and Amber are always in my thoughts and prayers. Speaking of the pistol, whatever happened to the loan shark?"
"Steve and some friends visited the payday loan company. Evidently, I paid off the loan weeks ago. The loan collector was lying to me about owing more. Both the Helping Hand and Steve's friends are looking for the loan collector. In any case, no one has seen him in a couple of days. I feel so relieved."
