Karma Part 6

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Synopsis:

A trip to the spa, a night of partying and more problems with Paul. How could a day the started out so good, end so badly?

Story:

Karma Part 6
By Amanda D.

Two days after my meeting with Paul, Rita and Anita went to see him at work and boy did they have it out. The encounter ended with Paul calling building security and having the thrown out. Rita had come home pissed but her anger had quickly turned back to depression. For days, she had done nothing more than mope around the house. She cried constantly. Not to sound callous or anything but it was getting down right depressing around here.

So I called Anita, Pat and Kim and we all decided that we were going to haul her ass out of the house. The plan was to spend the day at a spa. (Not exactly a couple of beers and a football game kinda fun but this was for Rita.) No argument from Rita would be accepted. There was going to be plenty of opportunity for heartbreak down the road so today was going to be a day for fun. (I hope.)

Anita arrived first at about 10:30 am to help me get Rita ready. When we told Rita of our plan she, as expected, didn’t want to go. “I’m not in the mood today.” She protested.

“Ma” Anita argued “we are not going to let you sit here and mope around all day again. You need to get out, even if it’s just a little while. Staying here and hiding is doing you no good. You’ve always been reasonably happy and cheery. Don’t let that bastard turn you into some kind of brooding old woman.”

“I’m not an old woman!” Rita said defiantly. “I do however have every right to depressed at the moment.”

“Yes you do.” I jumped in. “What dad did to you sucked! Big time. But if you just sit here depressed and don’t try to get out and get your life back to some semblance on normal, I’m afraid you’ll just wither away. Besides he’s not sitting around worrying about what will happen next, he’s out doing the same things he always did. You should be too.”

Rita looked back and forth at the two of us. We stood there, hands on our hips daring her to challenge us some more. She gave a resigned sigh and said “Okay I give up. Tell me again, where are we going?” Anita and I smiled. We walked over and each gave Rita a big hug. “I love the two of you so much.” Rita sniffled.

“We love you too Mom.” Anita replied.

Pat and Kim were told to be there at eleven, so they were right on time at quarter to twelve. The appointment was for 12:30 in Braintree so we need to get moving. We all piled into Anita’s Black Yukon and headed off. The ride over was uneventful. We all chit chatted about this and that. Route 128 was congested as usual, so we made it to our destination with minimal time to spare.

Pat was completely stoked at the thought of “an afternoon of beauty.” Perplexed as to the exact meaning of that phrase, I asked her to explain. “You and your memory problems.” she joked “I knew all that pot you smoked when we were younger would come back to haunt you.”

Rita’s jaw hit the floor. “Just kidding Mrs. D.” Pat quickly added.

“Actually,“ Anita jumped in as she playfully smacked Pat in the back of the head “Trying to explain it wouldn’t do the experience justice. You’ll just have to go through it. Believe me when I say you won’t regret it.” (Hopefully that won’t qualify as Famous Last Words later.)

When we arrived we were greeted by a smiling young woman named Josephine. She collected or names and introduced us to our “Individual Beauty Consultants.” Mine was a voluptuous raven haired beauty named Angela. (Ya know it used to be that I’d check out women cause I like they way they look. Now I seem to check out women to see what kind of outfit their wearing. Sad aint it?) After introductions were made, she took me into a changing room. “There’s a robe for you to wear.” She said “Please strip down to your underwear, put it on and meet me back out here when you’re done.” I did as she asked. When I came out, she was no where to be found. I kinda looked around but I couldn’t find her. (I gotta admit I was feeling pretty uncomfortable standing in the hallway in my undies and robe.)

She returned after a couple more minutes, apologizing profusely for leaving me. I wasn’t happy, but not unhappy enough to complain too much. Angela talked as we headed down the hall. “First thing we have for you today is a session with our masseuse, Henry. I think you’ll like him. He’s very good.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “A male masseuse? A guy rubbing his hands all over me? You gotta be kiddin me. I don’t want a guy giving me a rub down.” I thought to myself.

“Is there a problem?” Angela asked. Not knowing how to put my objection diplomatically, I just kinda stood there. Angela must have figured it out because she said “Don’t worry it’s all done very professionally. If he touches you some where you don’t feel comfortable with, just tell him and it won’t happen again. (Touches me somewhere I don’t feel comfortable with?? How about I don’t feel comfortable with him touching me period!) I reluctantly let her take my hand and lead me into the massage room.

Henry was in there waiting. He was a BIG boy. He had muscles everywhere. His shoulders were massive. His biceps and forearms were huge. His hands looked like they could palm a medicine ball. I though he was going to break me in half as soon as he touched me. I gave him and Angela both a dubious look. (No way I was gonna let Baby Huey here put those paws on me! Uh uh! No fricken way!)

I started to turn and head right back out the door when Angela intercepted me. I could see she was losing patients with me a bit. “Miss David there is nothing to be worried about. Henry is a professional. He went to school for… How many years, Henry?” She asked him.

“Four years of college at UCLA. I majored in Physical therapy and human anatomy.” He answered.

“See four years of schooling to learn to do this. You’ve got nothing to worry about. He’s got a very gentle touch. Don’t you Henry?” She reassured.

“Yes Maam. I sure do. Not a single complaint in the eight years I’ve been doing this.” He answered in a calming tone.

“See Eight years. Not a single complaint.” Angela repeated.

Despite my misgivings, I relented. “O…Okay. I’ll give it a shot.” I said worriedly. “But you better be careful with my back,“I warned. “I just had surgery on it three months ago.”

“Back surgery. Got ya. No problem at all Miss David. I’ll be extra careful.” He said sincerely.

Now I know I’m gonna hate myself, later for even mentioning it but I gotta admit he was definitely a handsome guy. (Okay fine he was cute! There I said it. Happy?) “Good.” I replied a little too sharply. “I mean thank you. I’m sorry I’m just a little nervous.” I said trying to sound a little less bitchy.

He gave me a mock look of shock and said “Nervous? You? Thank you for mentioning it because I never would have noticed if you hadn’t.”

“Smart ass!” I retorted as I gave a small laugh.

“Well okay, I can see that you two will be alright together now, so I’ve got to check in with some of the other client’s I have. So I’ll be back in… forty five minutes?” Angela said as she headed for the door. Henry nodded in agreement. “Okay. Great. Then I’ll see you then.” She added as she walked out.

“Okay Miss David…” he began.

“Please, call me Amanda.” I interrupted.

“Okay. Amanda then.” he continued. “Um… not to sound indelicate, but are you still wearing your bra?” He inquired.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Alright then. I’m going to step out of the room for a moment and I’m going to need you to take it off and hop up on the table here laying face down. There is a sheet you can spread over yourself. When your all set just ring this bell and I come back in so we can begin.” He stated and walked out the door.

Wondering what the hell I gotten myself into, I nervously took of my bra and tried to get comfortable on the table.(There’s one fact I never considered before my transformation, it’s real tough to lay on your stomach when you have tits. You gotta get them in just the right position or it’s just not comfortable. Just needed to share that with some one, thank you.) When I had myself situated, I rang the bell, and just as he promised, he returned.

“All set?” he asked.

“I suppose.” I grunted.

“Okay then let’s get started.” he said as he reached down to touch me. I knew I was tense, but I didn’t realize how tense I was until he touched me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” He asked as he jerked his hands up.

“No I’m fine.” I answered with an embarrassed smile. “Just having some issues here. Nothing you did.”

“We don’t have to do this if it upsets you that profoundly you know.” He said.

Feeling like a total wuss, I said “No. No. Everything’s all set now. I’ll behave. I promise.” I gritted my teeth as he bent over and touched my shoulders. This time I restrained myself and he went to work on me.

I have to admit, this boy had magic hands. He worked out kinks in my body I didn’t even know I had. He rubbed me up and down and all over. My back never felt so good. (We won’t even talk about the other reactions my body had to his hands. Once again ISSUES!!!) When he was finished, I just laid there reveling in the way I felt.

“Well” he said “how was that?”

“Wonderful!” I replied dreamily. “I’m definitely going to have to come back for that again. Will you marry me?” I asked in jest.

“Sorry” he answered “but I don’t think my wife would allow me to do that. But I do appreciate the offer.”

“Well if it doesn’t work out, you come find me.” I continued in a playful tone.

“I will.” he laughed. “Why dont you get yourself together and I’ll let Angela know you’re all set.”

“Okay.” I said as he left.

I lay there for a few more moments after he left, enjoying the sensations rolling through my body. When I finally got up I noticed a strange heat up inside me and my nipples were hard.. I was confused for a moment before it hit me. I was turned on. It had never happened to me in this body. “So this is what it feels like.” I thought to myself. I had a half-hearted embarrassed laugh at myself and then quickly got up to get my robe. As I slid it on, the flap grazed across my nipple and something akin to a bolt of electricity shot across my chest. I t felt good, but it was also unnerving. I wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with anything sexual in this body yet. ( To be honest it was really bothering me that I would catch myself, from time to time, checking out men.) I quickly finished covering myself up and did my best to ignore what my body was doing.

Angela entered the room and asked “Did everything go alright?”

“She did fine .” Henry replied. “Even asked my hand in marriage.” He added.

Smiling Angela said to me “See I told you he was good.”

“And you were certainly right.” I said with a small blush. Angela, noticing my blush gave me a curious look.

“So what’s next on the agenda?” I asked trying to deflect the question I knew she was ready to ask.

“Um…” She answered looking in the book she was carrying. ”Let’s see…Ah, here it is. Your scheduled for a manicure and pedicure next.”

“Well then, let’s get going .” I said hurriedly. I put my hand out to Henry. “Thank you so much for putting up with me.”

“No problem. Any time Amanda.” he replied shaking my hand. His touch sent an uncomfortably erotic shiver through me. I needed to get out of there, like right that moment. Turning, I practically dragged Angela out the door.

Recovering, Angela led me down to the manicure area. Much to my surprise I was back in general population. Already inside the room were Kim and Rita. They were both staring at me as I walked in. “My aren’t we glowing.” Kim said. “What have you been up to?”

“Glowing? What are you talking about?” I asked feigning ignorance. “All I’ve done so far is get a massage.”

“Massage huh?” Rita said dubiously. “I take it from the look on you face, you enjoyed it.”

Trying to down play it I said “Yeah it was Okay. So what have you two been doing?”

“We got a hot mud bath, which was wonderful, and then we were brought here.” Rita answered letting me change the subject.

Before I could say another word Angela took my hand and brought me over to meet the woman who was going to be taking care of me. Her name was Greta. After introductions were made, she sat me down and began to look over my hands. “Dear, what do you do your nails with? A wood chipper?” She joked.

Kim and Rita got a good laugh out of that one. Frowning and sticking my tongue out at the giggle twins over the other side of the room, I answered “It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to get them done.”

“That I could tell.” Greta retorted. (Is everyone that works here a smart ass? Oh well at least Rita seemed to be having a good time for a change.)

Greta smiled at her own joke and got to work. The way she grunted and groaned as she worked made you think she was using a hammer and chisel on me. She scrapped and filed and added tips. While she did her thing Kim, Rita and I chatted about this and that. Nothing heavy. Just idle gossip. Then Greta showed me a variety of polish colors and wanted me to pick one. Having no clue what so ever, I deferred to her opinion. “Such a smart daughter you have here Mrs. David.” Greta shouted across the room.
“Yes she is. Beautiful too.” Rita agreed.

Blushing, I said “love you to Mom.”

When she had finished with my fingers, Greta moved on to my feet. I didn’t know that pedicure included her rubbing her fingers in between my toes. Already somewhat arroused, it didn’t help my situation. I tried my best to ignore the tingly feeling I got every time she touched my tootsies, but it wasn’t easy. When she broke out the electric nail sander I was all done. By the time she finished, my engine was revving on high. I needed a cold shower. I wasn’t at all happy with my body for reacting the way it was. The only thing that I had going in my favor was that no one else seemed to notice my dilemma. I really needed to get out of there.

Angela once again came to get me. This time Kim came with us. We were headed to get a mud mask. (No clue. Just hope it won’t make my… err…problem, worse. ) Once there we were told to lie down on a padded tables. Once set, the attendant proceeded to spread “mud” on my face. (Totally gross!) She tried to explain the benefits to my skin, but she might as well have been speaking Chinese for all I understood. So I laid there on my back for a while, trying to ignore how “earthy” the mud smelled. (While it wasn’t as effective as the cold shower I needed, it did a pretty good job of calming my body’s yearnings.)

After that it was off to the hair salon. This was good; I needed a hair cut in the worst way. Not that I wanted it to be cut short (Even though that’s what I wound up with.) it was just a mess. After being shaved just about bald in the hospital, my hair had finally grown back. Also I wasn’t really psyched to get a girl's hair do but like I said before, when in Rome…

A stylist named Susan introduced herself and brought me over to a sink to get my hair washed. Once she started scrubbing my scalp… well let’s just say, so much for being shifted into a lower gear. Once again the old engine was humming. (No wonder women like coming to these places so much.) By the time she was done, I was so revved up I wanted to cry. Thankfully, the wash didn’t last long. She led me to her cutting station and asked how I wanted my hair cut.

“I have no idea.” I told her. Upon hearing that she walked away for a moment. When she returned, she dropped a large book in my lap. “What’s this?” I asked.

“A book with all sorts of hair styles. I brought it so you could see what looked appealing.” she answered.

We browsed through the book for a while until I found a style that I liked and had enough hair to pull off. I wound up with a short, kinda pixyish cut. (Think Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club.) I’ll have to admit, I looked good. Then she attacked me with a make up brush. (Apparently the hair cut included a make over.) The paint job was on. She must have tried fifteen different colors of lipstick and eye shadow on me. Normally I’m not a big fan of make up. (There’s a part of me that just won’t accept wearing make up.) I usually wear just the bare minimum. I tried like hell not to squirm while she worked.

After about forty five minutes she was finished. She brought over a mirror so I could see the result. To say she did a great job would be an understatement. Between the hair do and the make up, I could hardly believe it was me. I looked beautiful. For what may have been the first time, I actually felt female.

“Well what do you think?” I excitedly asked Anita when she walked in a couple of minutes later.

“Wow!” She said. “Amanda! You look terrific. I can’t believe it. I hope they’ll do that good of a job on me.”

“Really? You think I look that good?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. Big sister you’re gonna have to fight the guys off with a stick.” Anita replied.

“Guys?” I thought to myself. Unfortunately, I was not as repulsed as I wanted to be. (I’m really starting to scare myself here!)

“As a mater of fact there’s a guy that works with Jack I’m dieing to introduce you to. His name is Mike and is he ever cute. I think you’d really like him.” Anita continued.

“Thanks but I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.” I replied trying to worm my way out.

“What’s not a good idea?” Kim asked as she came in the door.

“One of the guys that works with Jack came over the other day and saw a picture of Mandy. He thought she was very good looking. Only god knows why he’d think that.” Anita said sarcastically I stuck my tongue out at her. “Anyway I told him she was single and that I would see if she was interested in meeting him. But she doesn’t think it’s a good idea.” Anita finished.

“Is he cute?” Kim inquired.

“Most definitely.” Anita replied.

“So why don’t you want to meet him?” Kim asked me.

“I… I just don’t want to get involved with anyone right now.” I answered.

“Who said anything about getting involved? I’m talking about one date. Christ, Jack and I will be there too.” Anita explained

“Yeah. Since when aren’t you up for meeting a cute guy?” Kim interrogated. (Man getting tag teamed here.)

“Um… How about you let me think about it.” I said hoping for a reprieve.

“Think about what?” Rita asked as she joined us. (Oh No. Not her too. That’s it I’m dead.) Anita told Rita the story. “Why I think that’s a wonderful idea Amanda.” Rita agreed. “You know I’ve been worrying about when you were going to go out and start socializing again. You know at some point you’re going to have to find yourself someone other than me to hang out with at night.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from her. Wasn’t she the one that just got beaten by her husband? And here she is advocating me going on a date with a guy. Man if there was one person I thought I could depend on to help me out here it was her.

“But Mom I not interested in going out on any dates right now.” I whined. “I mean not much more than six months ago my ex threw me off a balcony.” (There that aught to back them off.)

“Mandy this guy is nothing at all like Jake.” Anita said.

“Yeah Mandy, you really do need to get out. And your own sister says he’s a nice guy.” Kim chirped in.

“Well then it’s settled.” Rita announced. “Anita you get a hold of Mike and set up a double date with him and your sister. Oh Amanda it’ll be so nice to see you go out with a nice boy for a change.”

“Wait a minute here. I don’t want to go out with him or anyone right now. Jeesh don’t I get a say in my own life?” I demanded looking around the room for any kind of support I could get.

“NO!” the three of them shouted in unison. I searched their faces for any kind of division I could exploit and found none.

“Fine.” I said dejectedly. They all smiled.

“What’s everyone so happy about?” Pat asked. (Hail hail the gangs all here.)

“Mandy’s going out on a date with a guy that works with Jack.” Anita announced.

“You are? Mandy that’s great.” Pat squealed.

“I wouldn’t say great.” I said flatly. Pat gave me a questioning look.

“She’s being somewhat resistant.” Rita explained. “But she’s going anyway and she’s going to have fun.” Rita gave me a stern look. “Aren’t you dear?”

I sighed and gave a fake smile. “Well since you put it that way… I guess I will.”

“I knew you'd see it my way.” Rita replied.

On the ride home I was as quiet as I could be. I just kept asking myself how I had managed to get myself into this position. I had absolutely no interest in going out on date with anyone, never mind a man. Unfortunately I didn’t see anyway out of it. “I’ll just have to try to delay it until he looses interest.” I thought to myself. I just knew this was going to turn out to be a disaster.

When we arrived back at home, I figured I’d give one more try to getting out of the date. “Ma” I pouted “you know I really don’t want to go out with that guy, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She said “I know. But I want you to do it. Ever since you’ve been home… The way you act sometimes it’s like… I don’t know… like it’s not really you. Almost like you’re someone else…someone just pretending to be Amanda. (Gulp!) I know it has a lot to do with what happened to you and the memory loss that went with it. But going on this date is something that the daughter that I raised would enjoy doing. So I need you to go so that … I don’t know… maybe it’ll help spark the part of you that seems to be missing.”

Wow that hurt and my face must have shown it too because she said “Not that I don’t like the way you are now. You’ve certainly been more considerate and you’ve finally learned to stand up for yourself. But I raised you to be a woman and that seems to be missing. So you do this and see if you can recapture that part of you. Okay? For me?” She gave me a pleading look.

“Okay Mom.” I replied. “I’ll try.”

“Good.” she said and headed off towards her bedroom.

I stood alone in the living room for a few minutes trying to figure out how to stay true to myself and still make Rita happy and act more like a woman. “Is Jake really worth hanging on to?” I wondered to myself. “Certainly no one seems to be missing him now that he’s gone. (Well maybe a bookie or two.) Not even Jakes mother had called here looking for him." I wandered over and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that hung behind the bathroom door. Standing there with red hair and new hair cut, makeup on and the outfit I was wearing, I certainly didn’t look like Jake anymore. Maybe it was time to leave him behind. I had to admit, I’d been a lot happier living this life than I was before. Something to think about anyhow.

All this heavy thinking was starting to bum me out, so I called Kim. “Mandy!” She screeched. (Does this girl ever speak normally?) “Missed me already, Huh?”

“What can I tell ya girl, I’m addicted to ya.” I joked.

“So what’s up?” she asked.

“Nothing. I was just hanging out here kinda bored. So I was thinking since we spent so much money on looking good today, it would be terrible waste to not let anyone else see us. So you wanna go out for a couple of drinks if I can get Anita to come and hang with Mom for awhile?” I asked.

“Sure.” she said. “Just you and me? Or do you want Pat to come too?”

“I don’t have a problem if she wants to go too. I’ll tell ya what, I’ll call Nita and you call Pat and I’ll get back to you shortly.” I replied.

“Deal” She said and hung up.

I called Anita and she agreed to come watch Rita while I went out. There was, however a price for her services. I had to commit to watch Charlie the following Saturday morning so she could go find something to wear for our up coming double date that night. I reluctantly agreed and sarcastically thanked her for telling me we were going out on Saturday.

“Well I was going to tell you tomorrow, but you called tonight.” was her reply. (Don’t ask. I don’t know.) “Anyhow“ she continued “I’ll be over in about half an hour.”

“Okay. See you then.” I said and hung up. Only a week to go until I had to out on a date. Now I really needed a drink. I called Kim back and told her we were good to go. She informed me that Pat was unavailable so it would just be the two of us. After hanging up with her I headed up to my room to find something to wear.

Twenty minutes later I was ready. I went to check on Rita. She was still in her room so I gave the door a soft knock. “Mom? Are you in there?” I asked. Through the door I heard what sounded like crying. I opened the door a crack but it was too dark inside to see anything. “Mom are you Okay?” I asked again. Through the gloom I saw the blankets on her bed move slightly. I came fully into the room and could tell clearly that she was indeed crying. I went over and sat down next to her. “It’s Okay mom. Everything will be alright.” I said trying to console her. She continued to cry for about fifteen minutes while I held her.

When the emotional storm had abated she looked up at me and said “Thank you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for.” I said. “You’ve done more for me in the last few months that I could ever hope to repay.”

She gave me a tired smile. “Thank you so much for today. I had such a good time. You and your sister, I don’t know what I would do without the two of you.” she said warily.

“Speaking of Anita, I asked her to come over and stay with you while I got out with Kim. But I’ll cancel and stay here with you if you want me to.” I told her.

“Don’t be silly. You go out with your friend. I’ll be fine. As a mater of fact Anita doesn’t even need to come over either. I’m certainly old enough to take care of myself.” Rita said.

“I know you’re old enough to take care of yourself. But I would feel better if someone was here with you while I’m gone.” I stated. Just then the door bell rang. “Stay here I’ll get it. It’s probably Kim.” I said as I hurried towards the door.

When I opened the door, sure enough it was Kim standing there. As had become our habit she came in and we gave each other a quick hug. She pushed me back slightly. “God damn girl! You look good!” She screeched.

“Do I?” I asked seriously.

“Oh yeah! God I wish I had a figure like yours. The guys will be all over you tonight.” She said. (Good grief!)

I went over to a mirror to take a look. I was wearing an above the knee leather skirt and a red top. The clothes combined with the makeup job from the spa this afternoon and the new do, well I had to admit she was right, I did look good.

Rita came into the room and saw me checking myself out. “Beautiful, isn’t she?” she asked Kim.

“Hi Mrs. D.” Kim said. “And yes she is. I was just telling her how jealous I was.”

I blushed and said “We can leave as soon as Anita gets here.” “Amanda!” Rita complained. “I told you I could take care of myself.”

“But.” I started. “Don’t you but me young lady. Now you two get out of here. Anita’s already on the way, so you two scoot.” she said sternly. (One thing I’ve learned is that when Rita’s in a mood, you don’t argue with her.)

I gave Kim a helpless shrug and went over to kiss Rita goodbye. “I’ll call you later and check on you.” I told Rita.

“You just go have some fun and don’t worry about me.” she replied.

I didn’t like the idea of leaving her, but we left anyhow. As we started down the street we saw Anita’s car go by us. “Good at least she’ll be there in a couple minutes.” I said. “So where are we headed?” I asked.

“I figured we’d head over to Murph’s to start. Pat’s gonna be there with her date and wanted us to stop by and meet him.”

Confused, I asked “Why would Pat want us to stop by and meet her date?”

“In case she needs an out, silly. You’re really dense sometimes ya know.” Kim answered.

“Ah!” I replied as if her answer made all the sense in the world.

Murph’s (Murphy’s Irish Pub actually.) was a favorite hang out of Kim’s in South Boston, just a stone's throw away from Castle Island. I had gone there few times when I was married to Mandy. It was a small hole in the wall kinda place, where the bartenders spoke with a real Irish brogue and the music was always from the “old country”.
The place was hopping for 9 pm on a Saturday. While I went to the bar, Kim looked for Pat. As I stood there waiting for my chance to order, two guys came over to talk to me. (It was going to be a long night.) I gently rebuffed them. (I even told one of them I was a lesbian. Which may actually be pretty close to the truth…I hope.) Anyway I got our drinks (Beer if you must know.) and headed off into the crowd to find Kim.

After deflecting a few more dance requests I found her talking with Pat and what I could only assume was her date. Pat saw me coming through the crowd, beers held high, and screamed “MANDY!!!” as she came over and gave me a hug.

I handed Kim her beer as Pat started talking. “Mandy, this is my date Greg. Greg this is one of my best gal pals Mandy.”

My god he was homely. Pat could surely do better for herself than that. I put out my hand and gave a polite hand shake. “Nice to meet you," I said.

He said something in reply but I couldn’t hear what it was. Turning to Kim I asked to use her cell phone to check in on Rita. “You're not gonna be calling and checking on the kids all night are you?” She joked as she handed it to me.

I went off to call, finding a reasonably quiet spot near the girl’s bathroom. As expected everything was fine at home. I told Anita where I was and gave her Kim’s cell number incase I was needed. “Look you just have yourself a good time tonight. Okay? I’m going to stay here with her until she’s ready for bed. So have fun and don’t come home till you're ready.” Anita said as she hung up.

I emerged from my hidey-hole and once again started searching the crowd for my mates. As I wondered through, once again rebuffing would be suitors, I literally stumbled on Jen. (One of the nurses from my time in the hospital, for those of you suffering from CRS.) We hugged and made small talk. She introduced me to her husband Steve. (Who I, unfortunately, found to be VERY attractive. I’m gonna need a shrink very soon if this stuff keeps up.)

There seemed to be a small ruckus behind me as we talked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pat waving for me. Apparently they had found a table. I invited Jen and Steve to join us but they declined saying that they were meeting friends also. Before heading off I gave Jen my number and told her to call me so we could go out to lunch sometime in the next couple of weeks. She agreed it was a good idea. We hugged one more time and I was off to rejoin Kim, Pat and…Pat’s date? (Still couldn’t figure that one out.)

On my way over I flagged down a waitress and after showing her where we were sitting, I ordered us another round. When I finally got to the table the two girls were in hysterics. “What are they laughing at?” I asked Gary or Greg or what ever his name was.

Before he could say anything Pat jumped in. “We’re laughing at you” She giggled.

“At me?” I queried. “What’s so funny about me?” I demanded in my best Joe Pesci voice. (Which quite honestly wasn’t very good.)

Trying to catch her breath Kim said “It’s not you really. It was the guy following you, the one trying to get your attention.”

"What guy are you talking about? I didn’t see any guy.” I said confused.

“He followed you out of the restroom area and looked to be staring at your ass.” I turned and tried to see my behind wondering what he had done that was so amusing. I didn’t see anything, but my checking myself over created another round of giggles from Hum and Strum.

A few moments later, when the two of them had regained some semblance of control, Pat continued. “He didn’t do anything to you. But you sure as hell wrecked his night. Ya see when you saw your friend over there and whipped around to give her a hug, Mr. stalker over there was so intent on your ass he wasn’t paying attention. So when you turned he didn’t stop and you purse clocked him right in the side of the head.” Laughter erupted again.

Breathlessly Kim croaked. “You knocked him right on his ass.”

“Then to make matters worse for him, one of the bouncers must have caught part of what happened and thought you did it on propose. Cause when the guy got to his feet, the bouncer grabbed him and dragged him out.” Pat concluded with another burst of laughter. Just as the two of them were regaining their composure, the waitress came over with our drinks. I tried to pay but Gar…err…Greg insisted, so who was I to argue. I sat down and we all started shooting the shit.

Not long into our conversation I noticed Grant (Oh shit! I mean Greg.) wasn’t saying anything. As Kim rambled on about some guy she had met the other day, I asked Pat what was up with him. “Don’t worry about him.” she said. “We got set up on this date by a friend of mine from work. She told me he was handsome, charming and talkative. As you can see, he’s actually none of the above. So if he wants to sit there all night and be a bump on a log…fuck it, let him.” she said some what drunkenly.

I was about to point out to her that Gordon probably have been happier if Kim and I hadn’t come, when some one put a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a rather striking guy with long sandy blonde hair smiling at me.

“Excuse me.” I said. “But could you please get your hand off me?”

He looked offended and said angrily “Mandy, what the hell is your problem? I know it’s been a while, but don’t try to pretend you don’t know me.” I looked over at Kim for help. She mouthed the name Sam to me. (As in the one that got Mandy pregnant? Wonderful! Just what I needed.)

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you. You look so different. How have you been?” I said hoping I sounded sincere.

“I look different? How have I been? Is that all you have to say to me? Nine months ago I thought we were gonna get married. Then you up and break up with me with no explanation. Then I don’t see or hear from you for at least six months and how have you been is all you can say? Come here I want to talk to you somewhere more private.” He yelled as he pulled me up from my chair. (Uh Oh!)

Before I could do anything Greg (Ah ha! I got it right this time!) jumped up and got right in Sam’s face. “You better get your hand off the lady right now!” He demanded. Sam towered over him, but Greg was a lot bulkier. Sam seemed to size Greg up. With a look of contempt he turned to me and screamed

“Bitch!” Sam swung his hand like he was going to hit me, but a bouncer grabbed his arm and in one swift motion pinned it behind Sam’s back, at that same instant Greg punched Sam square in the nose.

“Are you alright?” the bouncer asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I replied some what dazed.

To me he said “Good.” To Sam he said “So you like to slap women around, do ya? Well let me show you how we treat your kind around here.” With that he let go of Sam’s arm, spun him around and grabbed Sam’s crotch in his fist. Sam’s eyes got as big as saucers. Then he proceeded to lead Sam to the door while still holding it. (And in the bottom of the third the score is Mandy: 2 obsessive and overly aggressive men: 0. If I keep this up I’ll have the whole bar to myself soon.)

I turned to George and thanked him. Pat jumped at him and squealed “That was awesome!” She grabbed him and planted a big kiss on him. (His night sure changed in a hurry.)

“Jeesh, Amanda you’re a trouble magnet tonight, aren’t ya?” Kim giggled.

“I guess I am.” I replied still somewhat dazed.

“Ya know what we need?” Pat asked. “We need more drinks!” She answered as she grabbed Gary’s hand and headed towards the bar. (Yeah, more alcohol is just what we need right now.)

A short time later Pat returned with our beer but without Gordon. When Kim asked, she explained the he was giving a statement to the police about Sam. Apparently once outside and sufficiently recovered, he had decided to start a fight with the door man. So not only did he get his ass kicked again, now he was going to spend the night in jail for his efforts.

“Do they want to talk to me too?” I asked.

“I don’t think so but if they do you’ll be easy to find. Just look for the bouncers getting ready to haul someone else’s ass out the door and you should be right there.” She joked.

“HA Ha! Very funny.” I replied and stuck my tongue out at her.

“OH Baby! I love it when you give me tongue!” Pat retorted and started laughing again.

The rest of the night went quickly. We drank, talked and laughed. Greg came out of his shell and joined the conversation. He and Pat got along better the more they drank. At one point, Kim and I got up and drunkenly tried to dance to the Irish music the band was playing. We were just being goofy and having fun. But of course a couple of guys had to come over and try to but in. (Ya know it would have been a perfect evening if it wasn’t for being hit on all night long.) So once again it was time to blow them off. Only one problem, Kim was enjoying the attention. Now as Jake playing wing man to a buddy was expected. As Mandy…Well… Let’s just say I wasn’t all that inclined. However for Kim’s sake I sucked it up and tried to play nice.

Their names were Tony and Rick. Tony, the one that Kim was interested in was 5’ 10”, dark hair, thin, with light coffee colored skin and mustache. Rick was about 6’, brown hair, freckles, a little bit heavy and a rather large nose. They both seemed nice enough. When we done dancing they came back to our table with us. We introduced them to Pat and George and then ordered another round of drinks.

As we all sat there drinking and chatting, I started to feel like the proverbial fifth wheel. Pat and Grant were into each other and Kim, who was obviously drunk, was flirting with Tony almost nonstop. The irony of the situation stuck me as kind of funny, here I was taking one for the team, by hanging out with the less attractive one, Rick, so Kim could have a shot at Tony. But from his perspective, I’m sure Tony felt he was doing the same for Rick.

Either way that left me stuck with Rick who spent as much time looking at my breasts than he did trying to get me to let him grope them. He was real “smooth”, trying to make his lame ass attempts at seduction seem like innocent chatter. I wanted to ask him how many girls he’d managed to bed with these tactics, but I was afraid that would make him think it was working. I was trying to be a good sport for Kim, so I did my best to ignore his advances and staring, but there was there was only so much oogleing I could take. Finally I just couldn’t take it anymore so I excused myself and bolted off to ladies' room. (Hey, it’s better than poking his eyes out with a bar straw.) Pat must noticed my displeasure and came scurrying after me.

She caught up me just before I went in and said “That guy is a dork.”

“Uggg! I’m trying to play nice for Kim’s sake but if he touches my leg one more time, I’m gonna break his hand!” I ranted.

Pat asked “Do you want me to have Greg tell him to smarten up?”

“No, I can handle it.” I replied. My eyes wandered by the clock as I contemplated what I could do to get rid of Rick without screwing things up for Kim. I noticed it was almost 12:30am and I hadn’t called home in quite a while. Anita was probably going to be pissed at me for leaving her there for so long. “Pat, can I borrow your phone?” I asked. She nodded and handed it to me. I called Anita’s cell number in an attempt to not wake Rita up.

On the fourth ring Anita answered groggily. “Were you sleeping?” I asked stupidly. “I’m sorry I figured you’d still be awake, pissed off and waiting for me to get home.” I babbled.

“Waiting for you?” she asked sleepily. “No, I wasn’t waiting for you. Mom went to bed about ten and I came home”

“You left her there by herself? I hollered. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve seen how depressed she’s been. That’s why I wanted you to hang out with her. How could you leave her? If I known you were gonna split a half an hour after you got there I never would have gone out!” I roared.

“Whoa!” Anita, now fully awake, yelled right back at me. “If you were that concerned why did you go out in the first place? Where do you get off bitching at me anyhow. With all the shit you’ve pulled through the years. I’ve been the one watching out for her and Dad, while you’ve been off getting into all kinds of shit! So don’t you dare come off all holier than thou on me!”

“But Anita…” I started.

“But nothing!” she interrupted. “If you’re so worried, go home and check on her! When I think of all those times you wouldn’t even take a night off from your precious partying and spend it with her! And now you give me shit?” (Now she was really pissing me off!)

“A night off from partying? A night off? I have been out of the house without Mom exactly three times in the whole time since I got out of the hospital! If I had known you didn’t want to stay with her I never would have gone out. So you can climb down off your high horse and kiss my ass!” I hollered as I hung up on her.

I was so mad I just stood there shaking. Pat cautiously asked “What was that all about?”

“Nothing!” I replied tersely “I need to go. I have to check on my mother. Anita left her there by herself.”

“You want me and Greg to give you a lift?” she asked.

“Naaa. You guys stay and have fun. I’ll call a cab. Just do me one favor though, make sure Kim gets home okay, please? She’s pretty drunk and I wouldn’t want to see her drive herself home.”

“Not a problem. I’ll make sure she gets home. If she goes home that is.” Pat said with a smirk. I gave her a hug and then used her phone to call a cab.

We went back to the table so I could grab the rest of my stuff and say goodbye to Kim and Gabe. Rick offered to give me a ride, but I told him no thank you. Then he offered to wait outside with me for the cab and once again I declined. Then asked me for my number so he could call me sometime and once again I said no. I didn’t want a guy I just met calling my house. Then he offered me his number. Just shut him up I said fine. He wrote it on a napkin and handed it to me. I thanked him and as soon as I got out the door I threw it in a waste barrel.

As soon as I got out of the cab, I knew something wasn’t right. Paul’s car was in the driveway, all the lights in the house were on, and I could hear yelling. I paid the cabbie and ran towards the house. When I entered, the living room was in shambles and I could hear Paul yelling. It sounded like it was coming from Rita’s bed room. I ran upstairs to find him pounding on the door to her room. “Open the fuckin’ door you fuckin’ bitch!” he was screaming.

“Dad what the hell are you doing?” I yelled. He turned towards me and I could tell he was out of his mind drunk. “Leave her alone!” I demanded. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”

“You little bitch!” he slurred. “How dare you talk to me like that!” He lurched towards me and swung his fist. He was so out of it he missed me by about three feet. Had his haymaker connected though it would have probably taken me out so I was careful to not get too close.

“Mom! Call the police!” I yelled. While I couldn’t tell if she heard me, I was sure he did and it really pissed him off. He lunged at me and once again came up short as he landed on his face. Taking advantage of his prone position, I grabbed the vase that was on the hallway table and dropped it on his head. It shattered into a million pieces when it connected and he went out like a light.

I could hear sirens in the distance as I bent down to make sure I hadn’t killed him. He seemed to be reasonably okay, but he was gonna wind up with one hell of a headache when he woke up. I got up and ran to Rita’s door. “Mom?” I cried. “Are you alright? You can come out now, he’s unconscious on the floor.” I tried the knob but it wouldn’t budge. Just then I heard from downstairs “This is the police! Anyone in here, show yourself now!”

“We’re up here.” I yelled.

They stormed up the stairs, guns drawn. Upon arriving in the hall and seeing Paul lying on the floor, the one in the lead asked the obvious question “What’s going on here?” Where to begin? I gave them a quick description of what had happened to this point, ending with the fact I couldn’t get Rita to open her door.

One of them called for an ambulance for Paul while the other worked with me trying to get Rita out of her room. After several unsuccessful minutes, we decided it was time to break the door in. “I can’t figure out why she won’t answer, since she's the one that called you guys.” I said to the one I was working with. “We received a call from a cab driver, not your mother.” he replied.

He moved me out of the way and gave the door a thunderous kick. It gave way on the second try. Once inside we found Rita curled up in a ball next to the bed. I ran to her. She just laid there shaking. She looked like she had had the shit beat out of her. Her nose appeared to be broken and she had a nasty looking cut on her forehead. The cop came over and checked her out. “We better take her to the hospital and get her checked out.” he said as he called for a second ambulance.

I nodded in agreement. He got up and walked into the hall to talk to his partner. I slumped down next to Rita and started to cry. “I’m so sorry mom. I never should have left you here alone.” I moaned.

“Not your fault.” she whispered back. Hearing that only made me cry more.

“They want to take you to the hospital.” I told her. She didn’t reply. “I’ll go with you and have Anita meet us there. Okay?” I whispered. She nodded.

Not long afterward the paramedics arrived to take us. As they loaded Rita into the ambulance, I called Anita. Though I wanted nothing more than to rub it in her face about leaving Rita alone, I realized there was nothing to be gained by that right now. I simply told her what had happened and which hospital we were going to and for her to meet us there. Before she could start with her recriminations, I hung up. There would be plenty of time for blame later. Right now the important thing was Rita.

When we got to the hospital the doctor wanted to check Rita out alone. Against her wishes, he sent me out to the waiting room. He explained that the police would want to talk to her alone when he finished so I wouldn’t be able to stay anyway. I reluctantly headed out to the waiting room.

I wasn’t alone for long. Anita and Jack came in shortly after I sat down. Anita was a mess. “Oh Amanda” she cried “I’m so sorry I left her! You were right to be angry with me! I’m so sorry for those terrible things I said to you.”

I pulled her close and said “SHHH. It’s okay. She’s going to be fine.” She cried on my shoulder for a long time.

When she had regained some control of herself, I told her “When they let us back in to see Mom, I don’t want you to say anything about feeling guilty. Understand?” She nodded. “Good.” I finished. Then Jack asked what exactly has happened. I took a deep breath and for what was not the last time, told them what I knew.

When I finished Anita asked “Is Dad alright?”

“I don’t know. And to be honest, I don’t really care right now.” I replied tersely.

“Why don’t you two wait here and I’ll go check on him.” Jack said.

“Thank you honey.” Anita said to him.
Once he was gone, Anita said “Amanda, I really am sorry…”

“Look!” I said sharply. “I’m not interested in your apologies. I understand you feel terrible. And you should. But right now the only thing that matters is Mom. If you want me to bitch you out later, I will be glad to, but right now I’m just glad you’re here.” Once again I pulled her close and this time we both cried.

Not long afterward Jack returned with some news about Paul. “The nurse told me he was awake and getting stitched up at the moment. She also told me that he had a concussion and that he would be spending the night for observation. Provided he is alright in the morning, the police will be arresting him and he’ll spend the rest of the weekend in jail.” he relayed.

“Good enough!” I thought to myself.

We waited the better part of another hour before the doctor came out to talk to us. “Your mother is doing fine.” he said. “ Her nose was broken and we think she may have a concussion so we’re going to keep her overnight tonight. It’s going to be a bit before they can get her up to a room so if you want to see her you can go in one at a time.”

“Thank you doctor.” Anita said. To Anita I said

“Why don’t you go in first.” She nodded and hugged me. Then she hurried off with the doctor.

After she was gone Jack said “Thank you.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For not being hard on her. When you called and told her what happened, she went to pieces. She told me about the argument the two of you had earlier and that you had told her not to leave your mother alone. She was so afraid to see you. She thought for sure you blamed her for what happened. But when we got here you did your best to make her feel better. So once again, thank you.” He concluded and then hugged me.

“Jack” I replied, “if she had been there when he got there, then we’d be here hoping that both of them would be alright. As drunk as my father was, he’d have probably gone after Anita too. And if she were hurt too, that would be more than I could bear. So while I am pissed at her for leaving Mom alone, I’m also happy she wasn’t hurt too.”

A short while later Anita came out with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jack got up quickly and went over to her. As he led her to a seat, she told me that Rita wanted to see me now. I got up and hugged the both of them and then headed into the E.R. to see Rita.

When I got into her room, Rita looked so pathetic it was all I could do to keep from crying. Not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was, I quickly put a fake smile on my face. “Hey Mom. How are you feeling?” I said shakily.
She looked up at me and gave me a brief smile. “I’m doing better now.” she answered. “I want to thank you for not being hard on your sister. What happened isn’t her fault.”

“I know.” I whispered trying to hold back the tears. “I also wanted to thank you for whatever it was you did to stop your father. I don’t know what would have happened to me if he had gotten through the door. I’m so lucky to have you.” She cried.

“I love you too mom.” I whispered “I’m so glad you're okay. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t around.” I reached over and hugged her as best I could.

From behind us I heard the sound of someone clearing their voice. We both turned to see a nurse standing in the door way. “I’m sorry to intrude.” She said “But your room is ready Mrs. David. So we’re going to bring you up there in a couple of minutes.”

Understanding her unspoken hint, I said “Alright Mom. I have to go now but I’ll be back with Anita first thing tomorrow to get you.” I leaned over and kissed her goodbye.

It took me a couple of minutes to collect myself before I could see Anita and not freak out on her. Once I was back in control I went out to talk to her. “They’ve taken mom up to her room, so I guess we can get out of here.” I told her.

She nodded. “We’ll give you a ride home.” Jack offered.

"Thanks.” I said. “Is there any way I can crash on your couch or something tonight? I just don’t want to be alone in that house tonight.” I asked.

“Absolutely you can.” Anita replied.

“Thank you.” I replied. With that decided we headed out. (None of us got much sleep that night, but at least we were together.)

Notes:

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Comments

From what I remember, ...

Jezzi Stewart's picture

Paul's behavior is 180 degrees different than the way you wrote him in the beginning. I'm surprised that Jake/Mandy in his/her unique situation and with his/her experiences hasn't wondered about supernatural interference. If there are good guys like the ones who are providing Jake with this second chance, it's a good guess there are bad guys too. So far, BTW, I don't see this as being a really big punishment for Jake, more like redemption and rehabilitation, and he/she seems to be moving in the right lesson-learning direction. Keep up the good work!

"All the world really is a stage, darlings, so strut your stuff, have fun, and give the public a good show!" Miss Jezzi Belle at the end of each show

BE a lady!

Pauls behavior

Jezzi
I'm glad your enjoying the story. As far as Mandy wondering about Paul being manipulated by other forces, in part 5 she clearly wonders about that after her meeting with him at his office.

Karma 6

I think that too much time was spent in the spa section of this chapter, it slowed down the pace of the story. The bar section of the story was good and it certainly picked up at the end!

Thanks again!

Mr. Ram