'No, I never noticed it! We don't typically see each other naked at work.'
'Now Paige I have heard the best place to get laid is by working in the food industry, it's common knowledge. Don't tell me you've never dipped the pen in company ink before? Or should I say, 'had the pen dipped'?'
Paige blushed again, for about the tenth time in an hour, 'Geezus what is with you? The world is going to hell and you are trying to hook up with a seventeen year old? I mean, that's, that's illegal!'
'Not in Kansas dear the age of consent is sixteen, I just can't take pictures of him or it would be child porn.'
'Really? Don't you have to be like within two years of his age or something if he is under eighteen?'
'Not in this state, sweet thing.'
'How do you know stuff like that? I mean who knows stuff like that?'
'It was the line that got used on me when my older brother came home from college and brought his twenty year old friend who stayed with us for a month one summer. I was sixteen. I even checked into it after he told me that. Let's just say the last two weeks of his stay were quite remarkable for both of us. You know that really does look good on you, is it comfortable?'
'Actually yeah, it is a little loose, but feels nice. Your mother in law bought good clothing at least.'
'You should wear looser stuff, in that outfit you look, well, honestly a lot thinner and far more attractive. The tight clothing just emphasized the muffin top, you know what I mean?'
'God you are so annoying! Mother in law….so you're married? Wouldn't doing Mike be cheating on your husband? Oh wait, let me guess, you're swingers too?'
'Well one of us was. And it wasn't me. I've had my thoughts over the past couple of years, doubts about Roger, but he always brought home the sausage, still some nights I couldn't entice him and he works awful long hours sometimes.' Dora paused, 'This morning I found out he was cheating on me with my best friend.'
'What? How?'
'He left early, as usual and I called her up and heard him in the background. It was earlier than I normally get up, so I think I surprised them and her maid brought the phone in, the maid knew who I was, knew Roger was my husband, so in a way I owe her one. Probably I will have to hire her on as no doubt that bitch Marge will fire her if she figures out the maid did it on purpose.' Dora paused again, her voice got hard, 'There is no doubt in my mind the maid did it on purpose, either to hurt me or Marge I am sure, but it didn't hurt me. It freed me. Infidelity means I get half of everything Roger owns, it's in my prenuptial agreement. That maid and Marge just made me a wealthy woman.'
'If you can collect. Things are going to hell out here now. Uh, I don't want to ruin this or anything, you have a good thought going, but wouldn't it be bad if you cheated too? Like with Mike?'
'Oh who would tell?' she eyed Paige, 'You wouldn't! You would! Why? It would serve him right?'
'Mike or your Roger? You'd be using Mike to make yourself feel better, not to mean anything to Mike.'
'You think Mike would care? Men don't mind being used in that manner, trust me.'
Paige shrugged her shoulders to concede the point, 'Most women don't either, when you come down to it, but it doesn't make it right.'
Dora had undressed to her bra and panties, she reached around and undid her bra, which caused Paige to turn away.
'Jesus! You can't win the argument by getting naked!'
'We're fighting? We're not fighting Paige! We are talking about things. And the human body is a wonderful thing, not something to be hidden away and repressed. Plus you've seen it all before.'
'No, I haven't seen yours before and I'd like to keep it that way!'
'Prude!' Dora teased, now nude she brushed past Paige went down the hall and into the master bedroom. 'We can talk while I shower if you come sit in the bathroom with me. The door is frosted so you won't see anything you don't want to see.'
Paige went, wondering how this insane woman kept getting her to follow wherever she went.
Chapter 9
Later the two women came downstairs together, not quite at peace, but to Mike's eye they had settled something between themselves. Paige was not so pissy about everything and even laughed while Dora made them all coffee. Looking through the refrigerator Paige said, 'Dora you don't have much to eat in here.' Grabbing some yogurt at random she looked at it and said, 'And it looks like a lot of it has expired.'
'I don't cook much. Usually I eat out.'
'I thought you said you had food?'
'I believe I said I had wine and organic eggs. The eggs are good, I had one this morning. Plus the tortillas and cheese are probably safe. Leave the other stuff there in case we get so hungry we want to eat it anyway. I could order in.'
Mike and Paige just looked at her and laughed, 'Yeah right!'
'What? Oh this problem going on out there? I wouldn't worry about it, people still want to make money and I know this fabulous Chinese place that delivers, they will bring us food if I ask, it's less than a mile away.'
Shaking her head Paige said, 'We'll see, but I bet you find out that no money in the world will bring them here today.'
'It's a bet then, let's see shall we bet Mike's virtue on it?'
Mike and Paige both said, 'No!' in unison, but only Mike blushed.
'What? What happened, Mike? You seemed pretty keen before the shower. Oh, the shower? You had some 'gentleman' time didn't you? Nothing to be ashamed of, but still you should be recovered by tonight.'
'Could we talk about…and bet, something else?' said Paige with a warning tone to her voice.
Sighing wearily Dora said with ill grace, 'Oh alright! How about five hundred on the delivery?'
'We don't have that much and you know it!' said Paige, 'We work at McDonalds.'
'You said they won't deliver, don't you believe that? If you believe what you said it's easy money for you. Plus if I win I will just take it out in work. You can be my cook Paige and I will keep Mike around as my pool boy. Oh yes that would work out just fine.' said Dora with an evil glint in her eye.
'You have a pool?' asked Mike.
'Of course, open the blinds and take a look. So do we have a bet or not?' Dora held out her hand to shake on it. With some reluctance the other two shook her hand one at a time. Mike went to the blinds shutting out the light from outside and looked out.
'I don't see a pool, just a deck and built in grill. It's like looking into another room with that overhang and stuff out there.'
'Well come on then, let me give you the grand tour of Roger's folly!'
'Roger, your husband, right? Why'd you call it that? His folly?' asked Mike.
'This place is semi-awesome I admit, but between the cost for the house and the cost for the community dues we've had to cut back on things. You know, going places and stuff. I thought his salary could cover everything, and he has money from his parents, but Roger likes to live within his means, so his inheritance accumulates interest and we make do with what he brings home. My allowance is a pittance of what it was before we moved in here. Of course, before we were living in the sticks in a crappy four bedroom without a pool and no boat or suburban.'
Mike and Paige glanced at each other as they followed Dora out the back door. The wealthy woman showed them around the spacious back yard, the house was built on about half an acre of land and had an eight foot tall privacy wall to keep out the neighbors on either side and at the back. The trees and shrubs planted around the edges were only partially grown, only about twenty feet high, however the flowers were in full bloom.
The deck stepped gracefully down on to a patio, and the built in grill Mike had seen from the window was brick and boasted as much cooking space as the main kitchen. The pool had an additional fence around it, not fully
