“No thank you, ma’am, I’m fine.” John didn’t like owing people things. Especially when he knew he had no means of paying one back.
“Oh, OK. Well, Bill should be finishing up the morning chores shortly. When he’s done, he’ll be able to give you a lift into the city.” Tammy said.
“Oh… OK.” John said, glancing at Marie.
“In the meantime, if you want to say your goodbyes, Bill put your horses in the barn.” Tammy said as she got to work cleaning the dishes in the sink.
John was so confused, but he went along with it because Marie seemed to understand what was going on. Marie smiled, thanked Tammy and put her coffee cup in the sink before going outside. John followed her and the two walked under the sunny sky to the barn.
“What’s going on? A ride into the city? Saying our goodbyes?” John asked.
And “you slept hard through the morning, I didn’t wanna wake you,” Marie said. “I’ve been talking to Bill and Tammy throughout the morning. They said they’re in the market for a couple of work horses around the farm. They said they would buy Marley and Jonah. The price seems fair. I figured we could go get dropped off in the city. There we both would find jobs and we can start anything in life.”
“Just like that, just leave it all behind and get a new job…” John side as I enter the barn. John immediately found Jonah and gave the horse a good scrub along the snout. Marley was in the stall next to Jonah and Marie did the same. “It means giving up everything that we know, everything that’s familiar. We’d be starting over.”
“Doesn’t that sound nice?” Marie asked.
John remained silent. He didn’t want to admit his fears in front of his stepsister.
Marie was always an adventure at heart. She was built for a world different from us. John wondered if he was not. Maybe the simple life, the small life that he lived, was the one he was meant for. Maybe the beatings, the chores, and the sadness were the best that John could hope for. Perhaps he was not meant for all this, but John told himself he would face his fears quietly like a man. From what he heard, the city was no place for a lady and she would need protection. John refused to allow anyone to harm her.
Some time passed before Bill drove up and his pickup truck. After a round of thank yous and goodbyes, John and Marie enter the pickup truck and began the 2 hour drive. Into the city. Bill talked and talked for the entire drive, which John didn’t mind. It was like a preview of what the city was going to be like. Bill said that his brother was a floor manager at a vehicle manufacturer factory. Bill said his brother was looking for another employee and John could take the job if he was a hard worker.
Bill didn’t seem too happy just dropping the pair of them off on the street corner, but that’s all they had. They arrived in Salt Lake City and immediately John was feeling overwhelmed by the number of people he saw, the traffic, and the noises. It was just after rush hour, but traffic was still clogging the roads.
“Oh, man…” John mumbled to himself. He felt Marie’s hand slip into his and give a reassuring squeeze.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Bill said as he pulled to the side of the road. “You’ll get used to it. Come on, I’ll do a quick introduction with my brother.”
The factory was called Daventech. Marie waited outside in the truck, but while on the way, John couldn’t help but admire the simplest things of the building. The structure, the enormous ceilings. Large mechanical arms moving parts this way and that. He did his best to keep his nervousness to himself.
Bill introduced his brother, Tom, to John in the back office. They looked alike, though Tom had a bit of a gut from sitting down all day it seemed. They got along well enough. While Tom was more accustomed to the city life, he came from the same salt of the earth farmer’s mold that John did.
“We pay every Friday and it’s a week delayed. So you won’t get your first check until next week,” Tom said.
“Yes, sir,” John said. And with that, they shook hands and John had a job.
“Come in tomorrow and we’ll throw you into rotation,” Tom said.
They returned to the truck and John couldn’t help but smile, feeling as if he had accomplished something just by getting a job. Bill placed an envelope in John’s hand with payment for the horses. They didn’t count it and they wouldn’t find out until later that there was three hundred dollars more than what they had agreed upon inside. He told the two of them that there was a hotel up the road and the first thing they should buy was a prepaid phone.
“You know where to find us if you need us,” Bill said, shaking both of their hands. “Good luck to you both.”
“Thank you,” Marie said. And with that, they were left on their own. Having lived their entire lives as if it was the 1700s they now were walking in the 21st century. It wasn’t like they were completely oblivious to technology. The little they saw of it when passing through town, they soaked it up and thought about it constantly.
They checked into an extended stay hotel. A place where they could stay for a week at a time. Even so, the payment for that week took a sizable chunk out of their money on hand. John felt Marie’s eyes boring into the back of his head when John requested a room with two beds.
In their room, they sat on their two separate queen beds in silence. They didn’t even consider turning on the TV. Marie was reading a piece of paper she had taken from the lobby. Her silence was obvious and cold. John knew she was upset.
“There’s something… I don’t know if it’s right, you know?” John finally said after some time passed. “We’re brother and sister, technically.”
“Technically, we’re stepbrother and stepsister,” Marie retorted.
“I just… we have enough going on right now without strange looks from others and… maybe we should keep our distance for now.”
Marie was silent for a minute before responding with a quiet and simple, “okay.” She cleared her throat and stood walking around the hotel room as if exploring. Raising the paper in her hands, she continued. “This restaurant down the road is looking for servers at night. The flyer says ‘especially attractive women.’ I may not be your type but maybe I’m theirs.”
John released a long sigh. “I didn’t say…”
“I’m going to go see about my job, then,” she said.
“I’ll go with you,” John stood, but Marie was already opening the door.
“I don’t need a chaperone any more than you do.” She snapped before the door latched behind her.
John released a long sigh. “Great job John.”
Chapter Four
Marie
Mărie cursed her step brother out verbally the entire walk to what she thought was the restaurant and continued cursing him in her head during their informal interview. It wasn’t like she was stupid. She knew her brother was an attractive and older man. He could have any of the girls in the city he wanted.
Marie couldn’t stop looking at the buffet of women around her as she spoke to the shift manager about the serving job. It turns out the place she interviewed at Serenity was an ‘adult entertainment club.’ It was still the afternoon, so the dark club was mostly empty, but the women on stage and behind the bar serving were gorgeous. Compared to the long dress Marie wore, the other women were barely dressed–or in the dancer’s case–not dressed at all.
They hired her on the spot and she even made friends with the other servers and allowed Marie to wear some of their clothes. A short black skirt. A tight red top that nearly had her bare breasts spilling out of the neck of her shirt. The bouncers who did security were nice enough. They said they’d protect her and just to let them know if anyone caused any problems. They were big guys but Marie couldn’t help but think John could toss them both around like dolls if he wanted.
As night came, more customers arrived and more cash was slid in her pockets. She didn’t know the food or drinks being ordered, but she had a splendid memory and excellent penmanship. She could get the orders to the people who knew.
Her shift was done before the night got rowdy. Marie made it back to the hotel by 9pm with $128 in her pocket.
“Where have you been?” John greeted her at the door. His hands cupping her shoulders and guiding her inside. “I went out twice looking for you. I was worried.”
Marie hid her smile. She loved that he cared for her so. “I got a job.”
“You did? The interview took 8 hours?” John asked, then paused as if he just realized what she was wearing. “What are you–are those your clothes?”
“No, I beat up a homeless person and stole their clothes,” Marie scoffed. “A friend let me borrow them. I worked my first shift serving tonight.” Marie saw the thirst in his eyes as he devoured her long legs and busty cleavage. She smiled and bent over purposely as she set the money on the counter beside their money. “And made $128 for us.”
“What kind of service job requires you to dress like that?” John questioned.
“The kind that’s at a gentlemen’s club…”
“Gentlemen’s club?”
Marie rolled her eyes as she sat on her bed. “A strip club… like where guys pay girls to take off their clothes.” Marie held up her hands as she saw the worry and anger forming in her brother’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I just serve drinks and food. I didn’t strip… although… it did look like a fun job…”
Marie giggled as she laid back on her bed, rubbing her body. John struggled to not look. He pointed at the mini fridge.
“I got you some food if you’re hungry,” he said.
“They fed me at work. It’s a pretty nice place. You should check it out.” Marie looked over at John and they both laughed for a moment at her words. They laughed at the absurdity of it all, too. Where they were… what they were doing… the life they lived now…
Leave a Reply