Panties for Sale (42 page)

“So, why so many appointments, girlfriend?
 
A pretty girl like you shouldn’t have to work
so hard.
 
I’m sure you are making enough
money, just on tips.”
 
Chieko smiled at
Ahmed, and took out her compact mirror to check her makeup.
 
“Ok, but to be serious, what is going on?”

“Nothing.
 
Just I
want more money.”

“Oh.
 
That’s it?
 
Nothing else?
 
That is not exciting.”

“Yes, that’s it,” Chieko pursed her lips as she applied her
favorite bright red lipstick.

“Ok, ok,” Ahmed shrugged his shoulders. “So, did you hear
the latest?”
 
Ahmed put the car into
drive and pulled away from the curb.

“I don’t know.
 
What?”

“Alex, she quit.
 
Did
you know?”

“What?” Chieko snapped her compact shut.
 
“No I didn’t hear that.
 
Why?
 
When?”

“Oh,” Ahmed savored the thrill of fresh gossip, “she got
that big rich client of hers to set her up.
 
Just a few days ago.”

“Really?”
 

“Oh yes.
 
And Angela
is not happy at all.”

“Wow.
 
That is good
for her,” Chieko looked out the window.

“Good?
 
You are
joking,” laughed Ahmed, “you know that crap never works out.”

“Don’t say that,” Chieko snapped, feeling guilty that she
was thinking the exact same thing.
 
“Maybe they are in love.
 
You
don’t know.”

“Yeah, this week.
 
Next
week, he will get bored and chase another escort.
 
Or find someone cheaper.
 
I’ve seen it all before.”

“I don’t know, I hope it works for her, she deserves
it.”
 

“I never did understand what Alex was doing, trying to be
an escort, anyways.
 
She was too stuck up
for me.
 
I wouldn’t have hired her.
 
I guess that’s why the rich guy liked her,
eh?
 
You know,” Ahmed laughed, “she never
did it for me, you know?
 
I prefer you
know, more exotic girls,” he flashed Chieko a smile, his white teeth glowing in
the late afternoon sun.

Chieko rolled her eyes.
 
She had too many men in her life to deal with already.
 
Closing her eyes, she sighed and leaned back
in the seat, relaxing to the rhythm of the traffic.
 
Today she was on her way to her last
appointment for two whole days and it was with Carl Roberts.
 
And she didn’t have to worry about
anything.
 
Today there would be no
sex.
 

Carl had devised a new schedule for their
appointments.
 
Since his trip to London,
Carl and his wife were trying to work on their marriage.
 
And he didn’t want his wife to get suspicious
of Chieko, so he saved himself for his wife every other week.
 
But Carl also didn’t want to give up Chieko.
 
She was much too precious to him.
 
That’s what he said.
 
Seems that Carl believed it was all due to
Chieko that things were working out with his wife so well, and the reason his
blood pressure had dropped.
 
So, today
Carl and Chieko were just going to talk and make out.
 
“Like high school,” he had joked.

“Hello?”
 
Ahmed poked
Chieko in the shoulder.

“Sorry?”
 
Chieko
slowly opened her eyes.

“I asked you a question.
 
What, you too tired?
 
Falling
asleep after so many appointments? You know what they say about too much
sex?
 
You better be careful of your
eyes.” Ahmed laughed.

“Shut up Ahmed,” Chieko yawned.

“So,” Ahmed snapped his fingers at Chieko, “you never told
me.
 
What about you?
 
Why did you become an escort?
 
I mean you are pretty hot. You couldn’t find
a rich boyfriend to take care of you?”

Chieko shook her head.
 
“Don’t ask.”

“Ah ha!
 
You have a
story.
 
I knew it!” Ahmed slammed on the
brakes barely avoiding the stopped car in front of him.
 
“Bitch,” he cursed at the driver, “why you
stop in the middle of the street? Come on, crazy woman, learn how to
drive!
  
So,” he turned back to Chieko,
“I know you’re not a student.
 
You’re not
the type.
 
What, are you an undercover
cop?
 
No?
 
Your parents arranged a marriage for you that you hate?
 
What?
 
Come on, you can tell me.”

“It’s not that exciting.”

“Sure it is, come on.”

“Ok, fine, I’ll tell you.
 
I followed a boy here from Japan.
 
He turned out to be an asshole. We finished but then I didn’t have any
money and I needed a job.
 
Angela helped
me out.”

“That’s it?
 
Why did
you leave Japan?
 
Were you married?”

“No.
 
I don’t
know.
 
I wasn’t happy.”

“What does that mean?”

Chieko sighed.
 
“I
was a maiko, you know, studying to be a geisha in Japan.”
 

“That sounds ok.
 
Geisha’s are sexy”

“I hated it.
 
My
parents made me do it.
 
My grandmother
was a geisha and she arranged it for me and paid for it.
 
It was really hard work.
 
And boring.
 
And very strict.
 
There were so
many rules.
 
I couldn’t even go to
regular high school.
 
Oh, and no
boyfriends.”

“So, how then did you meet this boy that you followed
here?”

 
“Well,” Chieko
lowered her head. “I lived a double life.
 
I was a very good at studying during the day, but I played in the
night.”

“Play?” Ahmed laughed,
 
“That sounds more like it.
 
Play
what?”

“You know, play sex.
 
That’s how come I know so much about the love hotels in Japan.
 
I told you already.
 
How can you forget?
 
Remember?
 
I sold my panties for $100?”

“Oh yeah,” Ahmed chuckled.
 
“I remember now, you naughty girl.”

“Not naughty, but it’s true.
 
I only had to wear them one day, and then I
gave them to the store.
 
They took my
picture and put it in a plastic bag and sold them to old men.
 
The old men are the naughty ones.”
 

“So this guy,” Ahmed asked, “what, was he Japanese
too?
 
Did he buy your underwear?”

“No,” Chieko shook her head, “not Japanese.
 
He was from Canada.
 
He wouldn’t buy my underwear,” She was
horrified at the thought.
 
“The underwear
was just for old men.
 
You want to know
the whole story?
 
Fine.
 
One night, I was waiting outside one of the
love hotels and he walked by.
 
He was
lost.
 
He couldn’t speak Japanese so I
helped him.
 
He was an English
teacher.
 
The first night we met, he
bought me coffee and we sat in Starbucks in Shibuya and talked for hours.
 
He was so different from any man I had met
before.
 
He asked me questions.
 
And then he listened to my answers.
 
He was really interesting.”

“And so you fell in love with this guy?”
 

“Ok, yes.
 
I guess
so.
 
I thought I was.
 
He said he was in love with me.
 
He had to leave his job.
 
His company wasn’t very nice to him and so he
had to come back to Canada.
 
I didn’t
want him to leave me alone.
 
And so when
he asked me to come to Canada with him, I came.
 
At that time, it sounded like a big adventure.
 
I didn’t tell my parents.
 
They would not understand.
 
I wasn’t allowed to have a boyfriend.
 
When I finished the Academy I was supposed to
go to Tokyo University.
 
It was all
planned.
 
My test scores were very
high.
 
I got accepted early.
 
You probably don’t know but that’s really
important in Japan.”
 

“But you didn’t stay?
 
Right?
 
You came here with this
guy, right?”

“Yes, John.
 
That’s
his name.
 
I came with him.
 
I climbed out of my bedroom window at
night.
 
John bought me a ticket on the
airplane and we came here together.”

“So, what happened?
 
Where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” Chieko shrugged and looked out of the window.
 
“He changed when he came back to Canada.
 
He got weird.
 
And rude.
 
One night he got angry
at me.
 
I wanted him to stop his
drugs.
 
We didn’t have any money and he
didn’t have a job.
 
So why do the
drugs?
 
We had a big fight,” she paused,
“I just had to get out of there.”

“What do you mean?
 
Did he kick you out?
 
He left you
all alone with no money?”
 

Chieko stared out of the window.

“Bastard,” Ahmed muttered.
 
He screeched the tires as he pulled around to the front entrance of the
hotel, then slammed on the brakes.
 
“Now,
just wait a minute,” Ahmed leaned over and grabbed Chieko’s arm as she opened
the door.
 
“Look at me.
 
You are beautiful.
 
Just because one guy is a complete asshole
and too stupid to know any better.
 
Forget about him.
 
He is not worth
the dirt on this street.
 
You are
gold.
 
Really.
 
And now, look at how strong you are.
 
Making your own money.
 
I wish my wife was like you.
 
I’d be a very happy man.
 
Seriously.”
 
Ahmed let her arm go and winked at her. “Now go up there and have some fun!”
 

“Thank you,” Chieko bowed her head as she closed the car
door. She pulled out a tissue and blotted under her eyes and then walked into
the hotel.

“Good morning, my darling,” Joseph placed a steaming mug on
the bedside table.

Alex yawned and stretched out like a cat in the early
morning sunshine, “Is it morning already?”
 

“Yes it is and I have to talk to you, before I go,” He sat
down on the edge of the bed and nudged her gently.
 

“Ok, ok,” Alex rolled over and rested her sleepy head on his
lap, “Last night was incredible.”

Joseph straightened his back and looked straight ahead,
taking a sip of his coffee.
 
Not getting
the response she was hoping for, Alex rubbed her eyes and sat up, “Ok, I’m
awake.
 
What is so important?”
 

“I wanted to tell you last night,” Joseph began slowly,
“but I didn’t, I couldn’t.
 
I, how you
say, chickened out.
 
You were so
beautiful, and last night, it was so romantic,”
 
He twirled a strand of her hair around on his fingers. “You are so
beautiful, so special to me.
 
You can’t
imagine.”

Alex smiled up at him, “You are special to me too,”

“Yes,” Joseph cleared his throat, “well, you see, the
reason I got so upset when you asked to see my family was because, well”, he
looked up at the ceiling, “I’m actually, well, I am married.”

Alex sat up and stared at him.

“Yes, I know, I should have told you sooner.”

Alex inched away from Joseph, until she felt the head board
flat and hard against her back.
 

“It’s not so happy a marriage.
 
Of course, you know, I am here.
 
She is in Tunisia.
 
It was what you call an arranged
marriage.
 
But, I will not divorce.
 
That would go against my family.”

“Do you have kids?”

“I have two boys.”

“When do you see them?”
 

“I visit them, sometimes, they visit me,” he shrugged.
 
“Now my children are older, they go to
boarding school in Paris,
so I go there to see them too.
 
And they
visit me here.”
 

“Why don’t you like your wife?”

Joseph sat in silence for a while and then sighed.
 
“She doesn’t understand me, she doesn’t
listen.”
 
He stared at the coffee cup in
his hands.
 
“She is beautiful. Oh, so
beautiful.
 
At first we were so
happy.
 
I tried very hard to give her
everything she wanted and we had two children.
 
Two beautiful children.”
  
Joseph
looked up.
 
“But then, she didn’t want to
stay home and look after the children and the house.
 
You know, in Tunisia, I told you already, the
women are meant to keep the house and look after the children.
 
Not like here. I explained this to you,
yes?
 
It’s different, so this is what is
expected.
 
But, my wife, she wouldn’t
listen to me.
 
She kept leaving the
house, joining clubs and trying to get jobs.
 
I told her she was making a fool of me.
 
I worked hard to give her enough money.
 
We had enough money.
 
She didn’t
have to work.
 
But she wouldn’t listen.”

He paused and straightened the sheet beside him. “I tried
to fix it.
 
I talked to my mother about
it and my mother talked to my wife’s mother.
 
This made it worse.
 
My wife was
angry at me and then she became cold.
 
Sometimes, she wouldn’t even let me touch her.
 
She said she wouldn’t give me any more
children, until I gave her freedom.
 
Can
you believe it?”

Alex didn’t know what to say.

“Oh, Alex,” Joseph dropped his head onto his hands, “you
can’t imagine, it was so difficult.”
 

Alex watched as Joseph ran his fingers through his hair
still disheveled from the night before.
 
He was wearing a crisp white Oxford shirt, but he hadn’t tucked it in
yet.
 
He looked like he was dressed for
work, but he hadn’t shaved or done his hair.
 
She had never seen him look so undone.

“Freedom?” Joseph put the coffee cup down and walked
towards the window.
 
“What did she know
about freedom?
 
It’s the women’s job to
look after me” He slammed his fist into his hand.
 
“Why?
 
Why didn’t she understand that?”
 
He looked back at Alex, “She called me awful names, you know, even in
front of the children.
 
But she is their
mother,” Joseph shrugged, “so what can I do?
 
Finally, I had to leave. I couldn’t stay in Tunis.
 
All my friends and my family, they knew what happened.
 
They laughed at me.
 
They said I was not strong enough, I cannot
control my wife.”

Joseph looked back at Alex, “I know, what you will
say.
 
You will say try again.
 
Give her the freedom.
 
I know,” he laughed.
 
“Last year, I went home to visit again.
 
It was very nice.
 
She was very nice. And we had a good
talk.
 
We tried to, what you say,
reunite?
 
She is still very beautiful,”
he looked wistfully out the window to the clear morning sky.
 
“But we have different ideas; her and
me.
 
It is better, at least for now, I
stay here and only visit her a few times a year,” Joseph paused and looked at
Alex. “I must try.
 
She is mine.
 
My wife. My property.
 
But, I do not think I will ever be able to
love her again.”

Alex looked down at her hands, trying to focus her eyes on
something, but she could feel her eyes begin to well up.
 
She blinked and looked up, swallowing hard.
She did not want him to see her cry.
 

Joseph stepped away from the window and cleared his throat.
“Maybe now, I realize I was stupid.
 
I
was young and stubborn and thought that was the way things were done.
 
I know it’s different now.
 
You, Alex,” Joseph sat down on the bed and
reached out for her hand, “You taught me so much.
 
I can understand what my wife is thinking
now.
 
I do not think I can fix what
happened but I can still support her.
 
I
will always support her.
 
I know you
would want me to.
 
Because of the way you
think.
 
But, now you see, that is why we
can never go to Tunisia.
 
It is not fair
to her, to my family.
 
It would cause too
much trouble.”

Alex kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling and furiously
chewed on her thumb nail.
 
She could feel
Joseph watching her, wanting her to turn to him and tell him it was ok, that
she understood.
 
Her cheeks flushed and
her body trembled, but she refused to look at him.
 
Finally, Joseph leaned over and kissed her on
the top of her head, then he stood up.
 
“I will call you later, my beautiful Alexandria.”
 
He traced the curve of her face, the warmth
of his touch making Alex’s bottom lip tremble.
 
She leaned her cheek into his warm palm.
 
It was so soft and gentle.
 
Finally Joseph took his hand away and Alex dropped her head to her
knees, her blonde hair cascading down to hide her face.

Alex wasn’t sure how long Joseph stood and waited by the
side of the bed, but finally she heard his footsteps recede.
 
At the door, he stopped, and turned back
around.
  
“You know, I don’t understand,
why are you so upset?
 
I mean, what can
you be thinking?
 
Did you think I would
marry you?
 
That I would fall in love
with you?
 
How could I?
 
I paid for you.”