Courtesan Ch. 27

Tonya smiled at her. "Mandy, when was the last time you went out on a date?"

Mandy thought for a moment and then she shook her head and said, "All right, I understand; but that's partly because of our schedule."

"I would agree with that. Our busy evening schedule is a factor, but it's only part of the problem." Tonya paused. She was obviously thinking. Finally she said, "Mandy you and I have similar backgrounds. Like you, I started stripping when I was eighteen. Lots of guys want to date a stripper. I had a very active social life." She smiled. "I don't think many of those guys were actually looking for a serious relationship, but I did get asked out all the time."

Mandy nodded. "That is the truth. Guys love to date strippers."

Tonya stared at the floor for a moment and then she continued. "I started escorting when I was twenty. By the time I was twenty-two, an hour with me cost five hundred dollars. I worked six days a week and I was entertaining four or five men a day. I actually had a full time appointment secretary who answered my telephone and set up my dates. I didn't have much of a real social life, but it didn't matter. I was having fun and making a pile of money."

She paused again and then she took a deep breath and said; "For the next eight years everything was wonderful. I was still having fun and I'd managed to save over a million dollars. Then it all fell apart for a little while."

Keisha looked at her. "What happened Tonnie?"

"I met a guy in local bookstore. We were both shopping for mysteries." She smiled at Keisha."You know how much I love to read."

Keisha nodded.

"We started talking about books. He offered to buy me a cup of coffee. I accepted. He was an accountant. I lied and told him that I worked as a secretary during the day and took classes at a local community college in the evenings. I couldn't bear to tell him that I was an escort."

Tonya smiled at all of us. "His name was Ben. He was a very sweet guy. We started dating. After a month I actually cut my work schedule back to four nights a week so that I could spend more time with him. We fell in love. Six months after we met Ben asked me to marry him." She shook her head. "I wanted to say yes so badly, but how could I? Everything he knew about me was a lie."

Mandy quietly asked, "What did you do?"

"I told him that I had to think about it for a night. He was disappointed that I didn't immediately say yes, but he reluctantly agreed to wait a day for my answer. We made a dinner date for the next evening. I actually had to have my secretary call and cancel my dates. For the rest of that night and the entire next day I agonized over what I should do, but there was never any real doubt. I knew that a marriage based on a lie could never work. By the end of the day I was forced to accept the fact that my only choice was to tell him the truth."

Keisha looked at Tonya. "What happened?"

Tonya sighed. "It didn't go well at all. The truth hurt him badly. We argued. He called me some hurtful names. The discussion ended with him storming out of the restaurant."

I turned to her. "Did you ever hear from him again?"

"Yes he called me two days later. We had a long telephone conversation. He started by apologizing for calling me names. I told him that I understood and then I apologized for not telling him the truth right away. He told me that he understood why I didn't. He asked me a few questions about my life as an escort. I answered them honestly. I began to hope that he might possibly be able to accept what I did for a living. He couldn't. After a long discussion we both agreed that it would be better if we never saw each other again."

Tonya shook her head. "And we never did. I was heartbroken. I think I really did love him. For the next three years I coped by throwing myself into my work. I became a great escort. I made a fortune, but I was so lonely. I think I would have worked myself to death if Martin Jackson hadn't come along."

Mandy stared at her. "Martin?"

"Yes, I was working in St. Louis at the time. He was looking for several girls to entertain a group of business clients. One of my regular customers gave him my telephone number. He called me. I took the job. Everything worked out well and he apparently liked me because the following week he called me again. He wanted to know if I'd be willing to entertain a guy in Chicago for him. He told me that he'd pay double my regular fee for a full evening and all my expenses. It seemed like a good deal to me so I told him that I'd do it. After that he started calling me two or sometimes even three times a week to entertain clients for him. It was exciting. I flew all over the country. About three months later he approached me about working exclusively for JTandR. He offered me a very generous regular salary plus benefits. I probably could have made more money by staying as an independent, but I liked Martin and I was lonely. He was offering me an opportunity to work with a group of people. I jumped at his offer.

Tonya smiled at all of us. "It was a good decision. I've enjoyed being a hostess and I've made some wonderful friends."

Her voice got very quiet. "But I do worry."

Keisha looked at her. "Why? Everything seems to be coming together right now."

"I know, but I still worry. Keish, I'm a forty-two year old whore."

Shaking her head, Kelly said; "That's a very harsh word."

"All right, substitute any other term you want, but it still comes down to one thing. We get paid to have sex with men." Tonya paused for a moment and then she said, "I'm getting older and eventually I know that I'll get so old that men won't be willing to pay to have sex with me anymore."

Mandy shrugged. "Tonnie, that's called retirement. I'm sure you've put away plenty of money. You're going to have a wonderful time. You can travel, take college classes, maybe even do some volunteer work."

Tonya nodded. "But it would be so much better if I had someone to do all of that with me."

Mandy looked at her. "You mean a man?"

"Yes."

Keisha smiled at her. "That shouldn't be so difficult. You're a beautiful and intelligent woman."

Shaking her head in frustration, Tonya said; "Keish, didn't you listen to my story about Ben. I'm a prostitute. I have a history that's going to scare away most of the good men."

Keisha shrugged. "Don't tell them."

"No! I won't try to live with a man under false pretenses. Look at the problems that caused for Kelly and Timmy and Timmy is a prince."

Tonya looked at all of us. "I want a man who is kind, considerate, intelligent and responsible; but most of all I want a man who is going to be able to accept me for who I am and what I've been."

I smiled at Tonya. "And you think Kirby might be that kind of man."

"I think it's very possible."

Slowly nodding my head, I said; "I think you may be right."

In the front seat Mandy quietly said, "I have to find a way to get my mom and dad back together."

Kelly glanced over at Mandy. "What makes you say that right now Mandy?"

She smiled. "Listening to Tonnie made me realize how important it is for everyone to have someone to grow old with them. I don't want my mom and dad to be lonely." She sighed. "I think my dad's lonely right now and all my mom really has are her boyfriends."

Mandy looked at Kelly. "I want my dad to meet Timmy. I want him to hear from at least one man who doesn't mind that his wife fools around a little bit."

Tonya laughed. "A little bit? Kelly fools around a whole lot."

Shrugging, Mandy said; "Okay, so does my mom. I was just trying to be delicate."

My wife giggled. "Thank you Mandy, I appreciate your tact."

Mandy turned to me. "Will you talk to my dad Timmy? Maybe you could have lunch with him."

"Of course I will, I'd be glad to do it."

"Could you do it next week?"

I smiled. "Yes, I'll have lunch with your dad next week. Will you call him and set it up?"

"Yes, I will. Thank you Timmy; thank you very much."

Next to me Keisha said; "Tonnie, I have a question."

"What is it Keish?"

"If you go after Kirby, won't you be stealing him from Elvira? It doesn't seem to me like that would be an okay thing to do."

Tonya was quiet for a moment. Finally she sighed and said, "Yes Keish, that is a problem."

I looked at Tonya. "No it's not."

"What do you mean Timmy?"

"Elvira really is concerned about the difference in their ages."

Keisha shook her head. "Yes, but that all changed today? We all heard her tell Kirby that she wants to give him a blow job every morning when she gets to work."

"That's right, but she also said that he wasn't going to replace Wolfgang as her lover. She really wants a man her own age."

Kelly took a quick glance over her shoulder. "Elvira is seventy-two, right?"

"That's what she told me."

"How old is Kirby?"

I paused to think. After a moment I said, "He told me that he enlisted in the navy when he was eighteen. He served for thirty years and got out four years ago. That makes him fifty-two."

Kelly thought about this for a moment and then she said, "So he's twenty years younger than Elvira, but he's also ten years older than Tonnie."

"Yes, but I think Elvira would tell you that the extra ten years is significant. Right now she's an old lady. Her skin is wrinkled and her boobs sag, but she's still vibrant and healthy. Ten years from now she's going to be eighty-two. At that age serious health issues can start to appear. I'm certain that she's afraid that she could become a burden to Kirby. Elvira wants a man, but she wants a man who's closer to her own age so that they can weather the ravages of time together. I think Elvira would be very happy if Kirby found a girlfriend."

Kelly giggled. "The ravages of time, I like that. Timmy, I get to weather the ravages of time with you."

I laughed. "Yes you do."

Tonya sighed. "That's what I want, someone who will weather the ravages of time with me."

Keisha shook her head. "But Kirby is ten years older than you are."

"Yes Keish, you're right, but that would still give us twenty-five or maybe even thirty good years together. I have a lot of money saved up. Kirby and I could have a wonderful time."

I laughed. "If Kirby only knew."

Tonya looked at me. "What do mean Timmy?"

"A beautiful and intelligent blond with a sweet disposition, big tits and a huge bank account is concocting a plot to lure him into spending the rest of his life with her."

Mandy giggled. "Oh the poor dear, whatever will he do?"