Marty has just put the meatloaf in the oven along with two potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. She opens a can of peas and sets them over a low flame and covers the pot.
"Jim's on his way home and I got time for a shower", she thinks.
She goes in the bathroom, adjusts the shower water to a nice warm temperature, then slips out of her tank-top, running shorts and panties. She hasn't bothered with a bra this day.
Marty is a petite 5' 2", with hair down to her butt—dishwater blonde that changes with the seasons and how much sun she gets, which is usually quite a bit. Weather permitting she likes to be outside. No kids yet, so her b-cup sized breasts still hold their teenage perkiness. She washes and conditions her hair then wraps the conditioner laden hair into a bun and soaps up the rest of her body. After rinsing out the conditioner, she wrings it out again and steps out of the shower.
"Rats!" she mumbles to herself, "Forgot a towel."
Leaving the clothes piled on the floor, she slips into the flip-flops and runs dripping down the hall, grabbing a towel as she passes the closet. She dries off in the bedroom and blowdries her hair. The warm air feels good on her damp skin. She takes a pair of baggy sweatpants from the dresser drawer and debates in her mind if she wants go to commando. She decides not and picks a red lacy thong to wear underneath. She forgoes the discomfort of a bra, however, and pulls a loose-fitting sweatshirt over her nude torso.
Her cell-phone rings. Jim is calling to let her know he's bringing a friend for dinner.
"Shit!" she thinks. "Why does he always do that—and always at the last minute. I wish he'd let me know before I make dinner."
Marty slips on her flip-flops and returns to the kitchen, where she washes off another potato, pokes it a few times with a fork, and puts it in the microwave. When it's done, she finds a hot-mitt to take it out, and she wraps it in foil and puts it next to the other two in the oven.
Jim arrives home with his friend, Ben, a heavyset bearded man in a flannel shirt. The the three of them sit down for dinner. Jim and Ben have a beer with their meal; Marty has a Pepsi. The men each have another beer while Marty cleans up. Ben invites Marty to join them, but Marty declines explaining that she has to work tomorrow, and she goes to bed.
As Jim and Ben get more buzzed, the conversation turns to the $19,000 Jim owes Ben.
Marty overhears Jims voice, "I'll get it for you, dude. You know I'm good for it. I just don't have it right now. But I got this deal gonna happen. It's gonna be good. As soon as it happens for me, I'll have your money."
"Bro, you been saying that forever! Fuckin-A, I need the fucking money now! I told you that. I got expenses you know. That's why you brought me here, you said."
"I know, but gimme a chance. You know I'm good for it."
They drink their beers in silence.
Next Ben says, "Tell you what. You got a deck of cards?"
"Yeah, somewhere around here. Why?"
"Go get it."
Jim rummages through a drawer and sets a beat up deck of cards on the table.
"They all there?" Ben asks.
"Yeah, they're all there," Jim answers indignantly.
Ben picks up the deck and says, "Tell you what. I'll play you for it."
"Play for what?" Jim asks.
"The money you owe me."
"How'm I gonna do that? If you know I don't have any cash?"
"Ever play strip poker?"
"No. Why? Are you fucking gay?"
"No, dumbshit," Ben says. "ButI got a proposition for you. Strip poker, me and your wife. The clothes she's wearing against your debt."
"She's not gonna do it," Jim protests.
Ben shrugs, "Have it your way. Then I want my money."
"Fuck," Jim says. He runs his fingers through his hair. "Fuck," he repeats.
"Whatya got to lose?" Ben says. "It's just clothes."
"It's my wife, asshole."
"Careful how you put that, dude. But ... if you're feeling lucky, you could be out of debt today, then I just go home."
Jim stays quiet contemplating Ben's proposition then says. "Okay. I'll ask her, but she ain't gonna do it."
"Can't hurt to ask."
"Wanna bet?"
"Yeah, but not on that," Ben says.
Jim goes in the bedroom and finds Marty lying on top of the covers still clothed.
"Hey Hon'," Jim whispers. "Thanks for supper."
"Fuck off," Marty tells him.
"You heard?"
"Yeah, I heard. Tell the creep to go get fucked."
"It's not that easy, Babe," Jim says, and he puts a hand on her, but she pushes it away. "Listen, Jim continues. You could help me out. You're a good poker player, and he's drunk. You'll win. C'mon Honey, help me out."
Marty rolls over to face Jim
"If I do this for you, you're really gonna fucking owe me. I hope you know that."
She follows Jim back out to the living room where Ben is seated on the sofa with the stack of cards on the coffee table in front of him.
"She'll do it," Jim says.
Ben stands and brings a kitchen chair for Marty and sets it across the coffee directly in front of where he's sitting.
"Cut for the deal," Ben says.
Marty cuts an ace.
"Guess it's you," Ben says and hands her the other half of the deck. "You understand the deal, right?"