my car, parked in a darkened area he knew about and kissed like teenagers. One thing led to another and suddenly my blouse was off and my bra was open. His mouth was on me and he was whispering, ‘Babs, sweetie, oh, Babs.’ Suddenly Walt pulled the car door open and snapped a flash picture of me, naked from the waist up.
“ You win, Carl baby,’ Walt said. ‘I can’t deny it when I have the proof and a great shot of Babs’ tits right here.’ I watched the picture spit out of the front of the camera and slowly appear before my eyes.”
“Win what?” Maggie asked, annoyed by the pain inflicted by something that to those two probably amounted to nothing more than a prank.
“They had made a bet that Carl couldn’t get my upper body exposed on the first date. Right there in the car Walt counted out a hundred dollars and handed it to Carl. Walt said that he didn’t think anyone could get the ice bitch out of her clothes in under six months. They laughed, pounded each other on the back, then the two of them walked to Walt’s car, and took off.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh.”
“Well that wasn’t the end of the world, was it?”
Barbara just stared at the ceiling. “I never told anyone about that night and, I guess, Walt never did either. I spent the next few weeks waiting for the picture or the story to circulate, but for some unknown reason, nothing happened.”
“Did you ever see them again?”
“I never saw Carl again. He must have been ‘imported talent.’” She said the phrase with a sneer. “I see Walt once in a while, but he’s not a church type and I stick almost completely to church gatherings.”
“Safe stuff. No risk of anyone getting sexual.” Maggie took Barbara’s hand. “Wouldn’t you like to get him back sometime?”
Barbara smiled. “I’d love to, but there’s no hope of that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. It just gives us another reason to make you over and get you some experience.” She paused. “Are you a virgin?”
Barbara sat upright. “What a question.”
“Well…”
“No. I’ve had relationships.” She slumped back down onto her back. “But not recently.”
“And Steve? Wouldn’t you like him to notice you?”
“Of course.”
“So you’ll let me help you? For your mom and Steve and maybe even Walt and Carl.”
Barbara sighed. She wanted to let Maggie help. It was all so bizarre but it was a chance to get some of the things she wanted. It might be her only chance. “I guess.”
“Good,” Maggie said. “First, call in sick tomorrow and we’ll get your hair done, get someone to help you with your makeup and see what we can do about some clothes for you. I need to know something that’s a bit embarrassing. Is money a problem? I’m a bit short of funds, you realize.”
Barbara laughed out loud for the first time since Maggie had appeared the previous evening. “No. My job pays well and I don’t spend much. I’m not Saks Fifth Avenue-well off, but we could certainly go to the mall and dent my credit card.”
“Great.”
“You know, it sounds like fun.”
“It does, doesn’t it.”
“Will you be able to be here? I mean how do you just appear and disappear the way you do?”
Maggie thought, then answered, “I don’t know how.” She told Barbara about the revolving door. “I seem to be able to set some kind of clock, so I just come out of the door here at the right time.”
“Do you have powers? Like moving stuff with your mind or walking through walls?”
“I don’t think so, but Lucy and Angela seem to be in charge of that. They said I’d have what I needed when I needed it, so I’ll just have to trust them.” She stood up. “I’ve got to be going now.” She cocked her head to one side. “I don’t know how I know that, but I do.” She walked toward the bedroom door, then turned. “Tomorrow. Ninish.”
Barbara raised her hand and waved as Maggie walked through the bedroom door and vanished.
Barbara’s dreams were troubled for the first part of the night. She was in the car with Walt and Carl, but the car was really the gaping jaws of a giant mythical beast and, as the two men jumped out, the jaws began to close on her naked, immobile body. Then she was walking down the aisle in church dressed in a bridal gown, with her mother holding her arm, ready to give her away to the man who stood beside the priest, his back turned to her. When she reached his side, he turned, but he had no face. She looked down and saw that he was a tuxedoed store mannequin with two poles holding him up where his legs should have been.
The following morning, Barbara called her office and told the woman who answered the phone that she had urgent personal business and wouldn’t be in the office until the following day. She dressed in a man-tailored shirt and jeans, white socks and sneakers, grabbed a denim jacket and bounced down to the kitchen. Bounced, she thought, was a good word for the way she felt. Light. Elastic. Good!
She made a pot of strong coffee and toasted a bagel. She sat at the table munching and thinking about the day’s activities. “Good morning,” Maggie said from the doorway.
“Hi. Maggie,” Barbara responded. “Coffee?”
“I guess. This time warp thing I’m in is still very confusing. It seems like only a moment ago I left you last evening.”
“Nice outfit,” Barbara said.
Maggie looked down, puzzled. “I didn’t change clothes,” she whispered. Last evening she had had on an outfit similar to the clothes Barbara was wearing this morning. But now Maggie was wearing a pair of wide-legged black rayon pants and a soft gray silk blouse. “Very disconcerting,” she mumbled.
Barbara poured Maggie a mug of coffee and set it down beside a pitcher of milk and the sugar bowl. “Maggie,” she asked as her friend dropped into a chair. “How did you become a…I mean…?”
“Hooker?”
“Yeah. Well…”
“You mean how did a nice girl like me end up entertaining men for money.”
“You can’t blame me for being curious.”
Maggie grinned. “Of course not. And let’s get this settled right now. I’ve said it before. I am proud of what I do, er…did. I had my own rules and I stuck by them at all times. My customers and I had fun. We were careful and honest.”
“It’s just difficult for me to believe in the hooker with the heart of gold. It’s so clichéd.”
“Heart of gold. I like that. I like that a lot. Anyway, you asked how I got started in my business. It began with my first divorce.”
