“No, it’s not anything like that. The point is that she’s wanting me to talk with Antonio about giving her more time to pay him off on her husband’s gambling debt.”

“Don’t you dare do something like that! Antonio’s an evil man.” Her alarm at my danger felt reassuring. It also told me I was on the right track about avoiding Sally’s problem.

“I know you’ve shut me out for a while now,” she continued. “I’m worried about what happened the other day. Seriously, don’t put yourself in danger like this. I’ve heard that people disappear after they meet with Antonio. Don’t get involved.”

I pulled her close and gave her a reassuring kiss.

“Don’t worry, I’m not letting you become a widow. I’m not the type to jump into a hornet’s nest like that.”

“You better not,” Adele told him as she put her head on his chest. “You owe a lot more time together than we’ve had so far.”

I softly stroked her head as I chuckled. Was it unreasonable for her to worry so much about me? If the roles were reversed, wouldn’t I worry about her? If I didn’t worry, then why am I here?

The questions gave me a chill. I keep telling myself that I’m leaving. But earlier, I said I wanted Adele to be with me and leave this town. I debated if I was just a coward at heart, unwilling to go it alone.

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I believed in heroes. Growing up on cartoons, it wasn’t hard to become a superhero by putting on a costume, then running around the house and yard with my imaginary superpowers. Fortunately, I grew out of such notions. There’s only pain and heartache if I get involved. I was sure of that much. Besides, Sally wasn’t part of my future.

As I lay there thinking, Adele got up and put her clothes on. I watched her and did the same. While I sat on the edge of the bed putting on my shirt, Adele slipped on her dress and leaned over. I looked up and her worried face confused me.

“Don’t take that case,” she said. “I don’t want to become a widow. I want this to work.” She forced a smile. “I need to wash the dishes.”

After putting on my pants, it reminded me that the clothes I wore didn’t fit me well. I went to the closet and found several other suits which I tried on. Surprisingly, the clothing was slightly different sizes as well. A couple of shirts had sleeves which were too long for me. Same for the pants and coats. Not a sizeable difference, but enough to make me think about it.

I found the closest fit and decided that I would buy more clothing the next day. While I put on the clothes, I looked back into the hallway and considered the idea that the clothing came from her boyfriend. However, that didn’t make sense as I only found one set of clothes at the office. I couldn’t believe Adele would have some other guy’s clothes in her bedroom.

Coming up with no rational reason for the inconsistency in clothing, I shrugged, ticking off another strange part of the new world. I decided to ask Adele about it in the future. For the moment, I had another problem which needed an answer.

I walked into the kitchen when I finished and told Adele that I planned on purchasing more clothes. I offered to help her with dishes, but apparently the kitchen remained her domain.

“Go find something to do in your office,” she advised, after flipping suds on me.

I guess this is what married life is supposed to be!

I realized the whole situation was ironic, since my relationship with my last girlfriend, Samantha, held nothing like what I found with Adele. My days with Samantha primarily consisted of two people who barely interacted outside of the bedroom. We stared at our smartphones or tablets while conversing with text messages for simple things, like deciding on getting dinner brought to us. It’s kind of hard to be intimate through a computer chip.

When I got to the door leading into the library area of the house, I noticed the day’s newspaper sitting on top of the hallway table. Picking it up, I remembered that two people said they didn’t know a famous actress. Wondering if something in the timeline of this world changed, looked through the back sections of the paper. I found the ads for the movies running at the local theater. After scanning through the ads, I didn’t see the name. Maybe there is no Veronica Lake in this place.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The phone rang right next to me, startling me. I picked up the receiver on the second ring and answered. The caller immediately hung up. As I thought about it, I decided I knew who called.

Well, I need to focus on removing that pain in the ass before I worry about Sally’s problems.

~~~

Sally Vaugh walked to her car near her company’s building. The small parking lot held only a few cars since darkness fell an hour earlier. As she opened the driver’s side door, her pressed lips showed her worry and frustration. The woman didn’t hear footsteps until a hand firmly grabbed her shoulder and pushed her inside the car. With a yelp, she tried crawling through the car, but the other door opened, and a well-dressed man wearing a homburg hat slid in next to her.

“Hello Sally. Do you have my money?” Freddie Antonio asked while his bodyguard placed himself in the driver’s side seat.

The small women sat trapped between them.

“I’ve still got another day,” Sally tried to remain steadfast.

The doors opened to the backseat of the car and two more of Antonio’s men got into the car.

“Let’s go for a drive and discuss the matter. Hand him the keys,” Antonio told her.

Sally looked around the parking lot and, seeing that she had no choice, handed the keyring to the large man to her left, who looked her over with a malicious grin.

Antonio remained quiet until they left the parking lot before he spoke. She glanced at him, hating his bland expression and thin mustache. The woman saw his blue eyes sparkle when he turned to her. He had a handsome tan oval face, and he handled himself as a gentleman, but she knew it was only an act.

“One day to get twenty k is difficult for a woman with no friends,” he stated with a knowing smile. “I’m afraid that your husband left you in a bind.”

“Give me a week,” Sally suddenly told him.

Antonio looked over with a frown.

“I’m afraid you don’t understand interest charges. You really are a dumb blonde. I hold a note that your husband signed for twenty thousand. Now, another week puts the total to thirty k.”

“It’s an illegal debt. We don’t have to pay.” Sally knew that fact didn’t matter, but she kept looking for a way out of the trap.

“Ah, playing a stupid bitch now. Those signed notes don’t mention gambling, so it will be difficult for the courts to say otherwise. And does it really matter if the boys decide to cut fingers off your husband’s hand. Or should we work on your pretty face?”

His tone turned harsh.

“You’re boxed in with nowhere to turn. And I’m not giving you more time. Tomorrow, you’ll hand me twenty grand or bad things happen to you and that drunk. It’s that simple. Are you clear?”

Sally looked away, unwilling to concede her loss. She recognized there was nowhere to turn. Joe left her with no options but pain and humiliation.

“Alright, I get it,” she finally told him.

“But how? According to my sources, your company is already heavily in debt, so no more loans are coming. Plus, you can’t sell your house to pay me. You really have little left to offer me.”

His hard eyes traced her body as he spoke, and she inwardly shivered at the expression. Sally looked to the road, desperately trying to think of something. The car turned onto a dark road that led to the outskirts of the city. She tried to suppress her trembling hands.

“What else do you want? You can’t bleed me anymore if you kill me.”

The man replied with an unpleasant laugh.

“Oh, you still have a value. At one point, I might have removed some of your husband’s gambling debt if you played nice with me, but after you slapped me, I had no choice but to take a personal interest in your downfall.”

About thirty minutes later, Sally’s car pulled into a dusty parking area outside of a two-story house. There were a few cars already there, and she saw two men enter the front door.

“Come on,” Antonio said as he opened the door.

Sally remained in the car until the thug next to her pushed her out the open door. Antonio took her hand and squeezed hard.

“It’s in your interest to follow me,” he explained coldly.

He led her to the house while two of his men followed closely behind. When they stepped onto the porch, a skinny woman with too much makeup and wearing a worn dress opened the door. The smell of burned tobacco and booze drifted through the entrance.

“Oh, Mr. Antonio, it’s good to see you. Do you have a new girl for us?”

Antonio didn’t respond, only waved the woman away as he stepped inside the parlor area. Half a dozen women sat on two couches, each of them staring daggers at Sally. The women ranged in age, looks, and body types. All of them wore robes with their undergarments exposed underneath. Antonio took Sally by the arm and led them into the hallway and into a small room next to the kitchen. In the room was a leather day couch, cracked from age and use, sitting near one wall. Across from the couch, a desk filled with papers and empty gin and whiskey bottles sat in front of a window. Red velvet curtains, partially gray with dust, covered the window.

“This might become your new home when you cannot pay me tomorrow,” he pushed her to the couch before going to the desk chair.

The thugs following him closed the door, leaving Sally alone with their boss.

“As you can see, this is one of several brothels that I own. One of my options is to put your ass in this house and put you to work upstairs. Unfortunately, you’ll run out of looks long before you can repay what you owe me. Do I have your full attention?”

Sally nodded, her face pale at the implications of his threat. However, she realized that the man had something else in mind.

“Then you have another idea,” she replied. “Are you telling me this is the worst thing waiting for me?”

He frowned.

“No, your death is the worst thing waiting for you. Whoring a minimum of twenty clients a night is just a step above. I believe you won’t like either option unless you get smart.”

The woman realized that he wanted something from her, and she suddenly grew terrified of the price.