Homeless – CHAPTER 13

“If your cars are so bad, maybe I should be shopping elsewhere. What do you think, Doug?”

“I think you’re right. One other thing—neither of us is signing an agreement to use arbitration if there’s a problem. We’re not giving up our constitutional rights and don’t try to tell us that these people are impartial because they’re not. They rely on cases from dealers for a living. They could deal with a single dealership dozens of times, but a consumer only once. Too many rulings against dealerships and they’re out of business and their kids become carpenters instead of dentists. Forget it!” They took the check and we took the cars.

I can’t say that we raced home, but we were there in bed less than an hour later. It was time for a celebration. I lay next to Jennie kissing and touching her when I asked, “When did you come up with this idea?”

“When you told me you wouldn’t take the money back; that’s when I knew I had to give you a big present.” I just shook my head. I’d been absolutely clueless. “Remember Doug, that I love you so much…certainly more than I can find words to tell you. You’ve been totally unselfish with me. You’ve given me more than I could have ever hoped to have and, most importantly, you’ve given me a child to love and help grow to be the kind of person you are. Do you understand a little better now?”

I did and I showed Jennie that I did by making the most beautiful love to her all afternoon. I began by kissing my way down her body until my tongue found her slit. Jennie still kept it clean shaven and I loved kissing and tonguing her, rubbing her G-spot and causing her entire body to shudder in ecstasy. I had given her two orgasms by the time she screamed for me to fuck her. I did, ramming my organ into her in a single massive thrust. Jennie moved her legs over my shoulders and I bent her in two as I pounded her relentlessly until we came together—Jennie convulsing wildly and me pumping her full of my seed until we collapsed together into a heap on the bed.

I could barely move when we were done and I could see that my wife was nearly asleep from her exhaustion beneath me. I tried to move off, but she held me tightly. “I love my new car,” I whispered, “but I love you more.” The last thing I remembered before closing my eyes was Jennie’s lips lightly on mine.

It was the following morning when I asked Jennie about where she had lived in Iowa. “We lived just outside Waterloo in Black Hawk County. The county courthouse is in Waterloo so we should probably try to stay somewhere near there.”

“What about an airport? Is there one nearby?”

“Yeah, right outside the city, but I have no idea what airlines fly there.”

“I think we’ll charter again. It’s a lot easier than flying commercial, but we have a lot to do before we go.” I explained that we needed our marriage certificate in order to legally change her name. She laughed at that. It was kind of funny in as much as we’d changed her name illegally only a few months ago. We agreed to fly to Waterloo on the tenth and leave on the fourteenth after her stepfather had been sentenced. We saw no need to stick around any longer than that. Other than her friend Amber there was not a single soul she wanted to see.

Our marriage certificate arrived in the mail the following day so we went up to the local DMV in Shallotte. From there we went to my insurance agent to change my individual health insurance to a family plan. Thanks to Obama Care her pregnancy would be covered. The following day we drove to Conway, to the nearest Social Security office for a name change there. When that was done I took Jennie to see my lawyer, changing my will so she would get enough in a trust to provide for her forever. Much of my estate would go to Harvard and MIT to thank them for the opportunities they’d given me.

We had a few days before our trip to Iowa so we went fishing and to the beach one day and played golf together on the others. I also had my stitches removed. The scar was ugly, but hopefully it would be covered eventually by the hair on my arm. Of course, we also made love every single day and a lot of nights and some mornings, too. We flew as scheduled on the morning of the tenth and arrived in Waterloo mid-afternoon, driving a rental Toyota to the Isle Casino Hotel. We had what they called a junior suite, but it was really just a big room with a sitting area and a king bed, quite a come down from the Plaza, but this was Iowa, and a small city in Iowa, after all.

Using my laptop and their free wi-fi, we called her friend Amber, making reservations for dinner—Olive Garden. I may be rich, but I still appreciate moderately priced food, especially with unlimited salad and bread sticks. Jennie (now Jessie again for our stay in Iowa) and I were already seated when Amber walked in. She and Jessie hugged and Jessie introduced us.
I hugged Amber and, as I did, I told her how much I appreciated everything she had done for Jessie. “You’re a true friend. They’re hard to find—almost impossible, in fact. I’m sure there was some risk involved, too.”

“Unfortunately, there was. Jess’s stepfather is obsessed with her. Jess, you’re taking a huge risk coming here. I think he’ll come after you as soon as he’s released from prison. That’s how bad it is with him. He must have asked me at least once a month if I’d heard from you. Of course, I told him I never had.”

“Thank you for telling us. I think I’ll have to go to Plan B. That’s all I can tell you now, but I can just about guarantee Jessie’s safety. Why don’t we eat? Want a drink first?”

Apparently not—we all had iced tea, Jessie because she was pregnant, me because I wasn’t that keen on drinking to begin with. I mostly sat back, listening to Jessie catch up with Amber. I enjoyed listening, but I had little to contribute until Jessie explained to Amber how we had met. Then the conversation was punctuated by Amber’s gasps. We finished our dinner and walked together into the night, promising Amber that we’d get together again the following afternoon.

We had breakfast in one of the casino restaurants and I had to admit it was pretty good. I suggested to Jennie that we might try the buffet tomorrow. After breakfast I asked Jennie to show me around. I wanted to see where she had lived and gone to school. She slowed as she passed her mother’s house and I had my first glimpse of the ogre who had been her stepfather. He was tall, well over six feet in my estimation, but grossly obese. His belly was so big I doubted he could mate with even the most willing woman. His hair was cut in a military-style buzz cut that only served to make his gut appear even bigger. Jennie was shaking when I covered her hand with mine. “You need to leave him to me. I have contacts who owe me favors and they’ll gladly deal with him. You have nothing to fear. He’s not the sheriff now and he never will be again. Trust me, darling; you have nothing to fear, but I want you to keep Lady near you while we’re here.”

We skipped lunch and joined Amber at the casino around two that afternoon. I gave each of them $200, telling them to have fun. Jessie took Lady with her. She and Amber played the slots while I tried my luck at blackjack. They returned three hours later laughing, but broke. I was down, too. I’d lost $50 which wasn’t bad considering how much I was betting–$100 a hand. Blackjack is a game of probabilities and as long as everyone played according to the book, the odds were only slightly in the house’s favor. You might have a run and win, but over the long haul those odds would wear you down.

I joined my love and her one true friend for a dinner on the house at Otis and Henry’s—my reward for having gambled more than ten thousand dollars this afternoon. Apparently they thought I was a wealthy high roller; if they only knew.

With an attractive woman on each arm I strode into the hotel’s high end steak house. This time Amber did have a drink and I joined her. Poor Jennie was still restricted to iced tea. Both women had what looked to be an excellent 10-ounce filet while I had the cowboy cut ribeye, saving much of the fat for Lady to enjoy with her dinner later. After dinner we walked to the bakery where I had two cream puffs while Jessie and Amber had crème brulee. I thought the prices were very reasonable—one of the benefits of being in Iowa where the cost of living was much lower than on the east coast.

We retired to our suite to feed Lady then returned to the casino for more action. This time I did hit a lucky streak, walking out with just over $900 which was enough to cover the day’s earlier loses. We said good-bye to Amber and walked up to our room where Jennie thanked me repeatedly into the wee hours of the morning when we fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

We drove the following day up to Cedar Falls, spending several hours at the Museum of Art. The displays were interesting, but after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City it was hard to be too impressed. All the same, we had a very enjoyable day before returning to Waterloo for dinner, again with Amber. Tonight we dined in the casino hotel’s buffet, overeating as always at a buffet.

We returned to the casino after feeding Lady, spending an enjoyable three hours just about breaking even. It would be our final evening in Iowa. Jonathan Harper’s sentencing was scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten.

Our rental Toyota was packed, bags securely in the trunk, when we walked into the court room at 9:25. I sent Jennie into the row first, followed by Lady, with me on the aisle. Jennie wanted to be seen by her stepfather and mother, but I insisted that Lady and I act as a buffer between them. “He’s such an asshole, Doug. He always insists on shaking hands with the people in court or in church and I’m sure he’ll do it this morning in spite of the circumstances.” Jennie was right. He strode in like the cock of the walk instead of the felon he was about to become. He took one look at me and his eyes shifted down the row, stopping when they reached Jennie.