The Date

"I could loan you a little," offered Bob.

"Thanks, old buddy, I appreciate it but I think I'm just going to stand my ground and not let her do it. I know she's disappointed but I told her we'd find some other way to contribute. I'll find something that she and I can do together."

"Okay," Bob said as he rose to his feet, "but the offer stands."

"Thanks, pal."

Bob walked to the doorway then stopped and turned back toward Jerry. "What if she went out with someone you could trust?"

"What do you mean...who?"

"Susie has a cousin; I don't think you've ever met him. He's in a higher tax bracket than we are," Bob said with a chuckle. "Every time I see him, he reminds me of that by telling me how much he's always donating to some charity. I guaranty Marcy would have no trouble with him. He's so pussy whipped he wouldn't dare look at another woman."

"You think he'd do it? You think his wife would let him do it?" Jerry asked as an afterthought.

"I can ask."

"Yeah, if he's willing to do it, I'd be okay with it. Make sure you let him know though, it could cost him a couple of grand, maybe more."

"I will, but that's really no problem for him. I think he'd jump at the chance. I'll have Susie talk to his wife. They get along pretty good with each other."

"Thanks, pal," Jerry acknowledged. "If this works, I owe you big time."

"Nah," he responded. "What are friends for?"

Marcy had given up and said no more about it. Two days after their conversation, Bob triumphantly strolled into Jerry's office. "It's all set," he announced. "Jack said that auction thing sounded like fun; he's in."

Jerry's eyes brightened and a broad smile reached across his face. He really had been feeling guilty. Truly, he was concerned with his wife's safety, but in reality, thought the chances of her getting raped or beat up were very, very slim. No, he felt guilty because, even though she'd never given him cause, he was still worried about her cheating on him. Of course he couldn't tell his wife that, so he emphasized his concern for her safety, but he knew the truth. He also knew how much she wanted to do her part. Thank God for his friend; Bob to the rescue!

"Bob, that's great! I'll tell Marcy tonight. I might even get lucky," he joked.

"Glad I could help, good buddy. I'll need info on this thing; how he signs up, where it's going to be held, all that. I'll also need a good head shot of Marcy so he knows who to bid on."

"Yeah, that would help, wouldn't it," chuckled Jerry. "I have a brochure at home. Everything's in there. I'll bring it in tomorrow. He can have that. I'll also bring a good head shot of Marcy."

Jerry stopped to think for a moment. "Maybe I'd better wait before telling Marcy. They do a background check on the bidders. I have no idea how long that takes. It might actually be too late for him to register. It's only three weeks away."

"Okay," Bob countered. "I'll run over to Jack's place tomorrow night and give him the brochure. I'll tell him he needs to register right away. It might be a good idea to hold off before telling Marcy. You don't want tell her she can go and then have to back out. She'd really be pissed. It'd be months before you got any nooky," he laughed.

The next night Bob made a detour on the way home and stopped off at his wife's cousin's house. He sat and had a cup of coffee while they discussed all the details on the charity event. He saw Jack's eyes widen when he gave him the picture of Marcy. Between her strawberry blond hair, green eyes and sharp features, she really was a stunning looking woman.

The following Monday, Bob had more good news for Jerry. "You can tell Marcy she can go to the auction, when you get home tonight."

"Already? That didn't take long."

"No; to tell you the truth, I don't know how much they actually check everybody out. I think all they really do is run a credit check on everybody...just to make sure their checks don't bounce."

It felt like a fifty pound weight had been lifted from Jerry's shoulders. Now he could let his wife feel good about her contribution to Cancer research, and he could rest easy. "Man, I'll tell you what, one of these days I'm going to take you and Susie's cousin out for a steak dinner," he told Bob. "I thank you so much. Marcy's going to be thrilled."

"No problem, good buddy. Now there's a, ah...like a mixer where the girls and bidders can socialize a little, for an hour or so before the auction starts; make sure you get her there in plenty of time for that. I really doubt that Jack would have any trouble picking out your wife but he wants to meet her beforehand, just to make sure he bids on the right woman."

"Will do," replied an elated and relieved husband.

For the rest of the day, Jerry couldn't wait to get home and tell his lovely wife. She had gotten home just minutes before he did and was changing clothes when he walked into the bedroom, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her.

She noticed the grin on his face as their lips parted. "Wow, you're in good mood," she acknowledged.

"Yup," he replied without losing his grin. "I've been thinking, you still want to go to that charity auction?"

Marcy couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes sparkled with delight. "Yes, of course. Have you changed you mind?" she asked, her voice filled with optimism.

"Yeah, I thought more about it today and decided I was being silly. I want you to go and have a good time."

Marcy turned slightly to one side but never lost him with her eyes. "What are up to?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, honey. I know how much you want to do this and I don't think I should stand in your way, that's all."

"MMMMwah," she said verbally as she put her hands to the side of his cheeks and kissed him. She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth so she decided on no more questions. She didn't care what his reasons were as long as she could go. "I love you."

"Does this mean I might get lucky tonight?" he asked with a smile.

"No question about it."

That night, Jerry was treated like the Prince of Wales. He felt good that he was able to give his wife what she wanted so badly and not have to worry about her safety...OR, about her cheating on him.

Over the next three weeks things couldn't have been better. Marcy's gratitude was on display as she made passionate love to her adored husband, almost nightly.

On the day of the auction, since their boss knew of their involved with what he considered a great cause, both Emmy and Marcy were able to get off from work a couple hours early.

On the way home, Marcy stopped in at her favorite beauty salon to see if they could quickly work her in. At first they said no, but when she explained what she was doing later that evening they showed her to a chair right away. By the time Jerry came home, she was just stepping out of the tube.

"Wow," he said having to catch his breath, "you look amazing. New hair style?"

"Yeah, you like it?" she beamed. "They let Emmy and me off early, today, so we could get ready for the auction. I stopped at Toni's on the way home."

"Well you look fantastic, honey."

"Thank you," she said walking over and giving him a peck on the lips. "I didn't have time to cook, honey. Would you mind if we just ordered a pizza tonight?"

"No, not at all," he replied. "I'll call right now." He did a little quick figuring; forty-five minutes for the pizza, twenty minutes to eat...yeah, that gives us plenty of time.

Jerry wanted to make sure his lovely wife got there in time for Susie's cousin to identify her. As gorgeous as she looked, he knew there would be several guys bidding on her and he didn't want to take any chances of something going wrong.

She was all ready when Jerry called her down to eat. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs when she started her decent. Marcy's long, shapely legs came into view first. His eyes continued to travel upwards until he finally found the hem of her tiny, black cocktail dress. That was new, too. It had been a while since he'd seen his wife so dressed up. He had almost forgotten how beautiful she really was.

"What do you think?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"I think you and I need to go out more often, so I can show the world what a lucky man I am," he boasted.

She smiled and thanked him with another kiss, making sure she didn't smear her lipstick.

Jerry felt a little silly walking through the plush lobby of the down town hotel. He was dressed in casual slacks and shirt while the creature on his arm looked like she had a date with a king. When they reached the banquet hall where the auction was to take place they were stopped by a young, good-looking gentleman in a tux.

"Good evening," he greeted. "Sir, may I see you invitation?"

"Invitation?"

"Yes, sir. Are you a registered bidder? If so, you should have received an invitation," he explained.

"Oh. No I'm not one of the bidders. This is my wife; she's going to be one of the girls to be auctioned." As he said the words, he didn't like the sound of what he was saying. He was thankful for his ace in the hole. Without it, he'd never let her do this.

"I see," responded Mr. tuxedo. "I'm sorry, sir, but only those with invitations are allowed inside. Rick," he called out to another young man just inside the doorway. "Would you escort this lovely lady inside, please."

Marcy turned to face her husband.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she replied with half a smile.

"You have your cell?"

"Yes. It's in my purse."

"If you're not comfortable for any reason, you give me a call, hear me?"

"I will," she said, feeling not quite so nervous. She carefully kissed Jerry again, then took the arm of the young man who was waiting to escort her into the banquet room. She looked back at her husband as they walked through the door and into the mingling crowd of supporters and philanthropists.

As soon as he got back into his car, Jerry felt doubt creeping into his psyche, once again. He just couldn't help it. The memory of his girlfriend's betrayal was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. Maybe it was because she was his first love; in any event, it taught him a lesson. Now, no matter how hard he fought it, that lingering insecurity was buried deep inside of him.

There's nothing I can do about it now, he told himself; might as well go home and find something to keep my mind off it.

***

Once inside, the young gentleman walked her over to the sign-in table. After Marcy introduced herself, a young female volunteer wrote a number next to her name then gave her a stick-on badge with only the corresponding number printed on the front.

"During the social period, we'd appreciate it you just introduced yourself by your number instead of using names," said one of the volunteer workers in a pleasant voice. "That's the way you'll be introduced on stage...by your number."

Marcy nodded her head in agreement and made sure she was all registered, then immediately started looking around for Emmy.

"Wow, competition."

Marcy looked over to see if someone was talking to her. It was a very pretty, young woman.

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" Marcy asked.

"Yeah, you're a knockout. My name is Cathy," she said holding out her hand. "I had the highest bid last year; twenty-two hundred bucks."

"Wow, congratulations," replied Marcy while shaking the pretty woman's hand.

"Listen, if you want to drive the bidding up, do some flirting. You know, bat your eyes, touch their arm, laugh at their jokes. Tease them a little. I guarantee you'll bring in more money. Some of these guys will naturally assume that you'll put out. Of course you don't have to if you don't want, but they don't know that.

Marcy was a little shocked at the woman's 'helpful hint.' She wanted to make as much for charity as she could but she had no intention of given some guy the idea she was going to have sex with him.

"Hi."

She turned and saw a nice looking man who looked to be in his early sixties. "Hello," she answered.

"My name is Talmidge, Barry Talmidge. Are you going to be one of the prizes tonight?"

"One of the prizes?" she questioned. She hadn't really thought of herself as a prize.

"Yeah, you know, one of the ladies we'll be bidding for."

"Oh, Yes," responded Marcy, suddenly feeling a little cheap. "I'm number twenty-three," she said, pointing to her badge.

"Twenty-three, I'll remember that," he said stepping back and blatantly scanning her with his eyes. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Ah, well actually I'm looking for someone," she told him. "Will you excuse me?"

Jack had found a spot by the bar where he could see most of the area. He spotted Marcy cutting through the crowd, looking as if she was in search of someone. Just to make sure it was her, he pulled the picture Bob had given him, from his pocket and examined it one more time. Yup, he thought, it's definitely her and she looks even better in person. He started moving in her direction. He wanted to get her number before the bidding started.

Just about the time he caught up with her, Marcy spotted Emmy. "Hi girl," she blurted out, being relieved to be with a friend. "There's more people here than I thought there'd be. It's kind of a madhouse, isn't it."

"Yeah," responded Emmy. "There's a lot more here than there was last year.

"Hello ladies," said Jack as he approached and interjected himself into the conversation. "I'm Jack," he told them as he first shook Emmy's hand and then Marcy's. "You're both very lovely. I..."

Before Jack could finish his statement, they were joined by a tall, good-looking man who appeared to be in his early thirties; considerably younger than most of the other men. "Well, it looks like I found my date for tonight," he said as he stood next to Marcy and put his arm around her waist.

Both Emmy and Marcy were immediately put-off by his brashness but neither wanted to offend one of the bidders so they kept quiet.

Jack was even slightly intimidated by the guy's cocky attitude.

"What's your name, sweetie?" he asked pulling her a little tighter against his body.

"Twenty-three," she responded with an uncomfortable smile.

Emmy saw her friend trying to wiggle loose from the man's grip and decided to come to her rescue. "Oh, honey," she said holding out her hand toward Marcy, "come with me. I want to introduce you to someone."

Marcy took her hand and was literally pulled from the man's grasp.

"Boy," Marcy commented during their escape, "he's a jerk. I hope I don't wind up with him."

"Well if you do, make sure you lay down the law from the start. You're here to give your date some pleasant conversation during dinner, nothing more."

They still had some time to kill so the girls got their free drink at the bar and started to circulate. Together they talked to about twenty guys, including Jack again. Everyone they met was nice and polite. A couple times, one or the other would spot the tall, good-looking jackass and start moving in the opposite direction. They hoped he got the hint.

"Ladies and gentleman, our charity auction will be starting soon," announced the master of ceremonies. "So, would all our lovely ladies find their way behind the stage, please."

"Well, this is it," Marcy said, suddenly getting nervous.

"Don't worry, hon, the way you look tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if you broke some kind of record," Emmy told her with a calming smile.

Together they walked back stage and found two chairs. They sat and talked for over an hour before Emmy was called. Marcy listened to the bidding and was proud of her friend when she heard the auctioneer accept the final offer of fifteen hundred dollars. "Good for you," she said under her breath. Since the girls were paraded out on stage in the order of their assigned numbers, that left Marcy alone to anticipate her fate for a good twenty minutes.

"Twenty-three, you're on deck," proclaimed another tuxedo clad young man, poking his head through the curtains that separated the stage from the back.

Now she really had butterflies. Marcy stood and smoothed the short dress down her legs and wondered for the first time, if she had made a wise wardrobe decision.

Hearing her number announced, she took a deep breath, held her head high, and strutted out to the front of the stage.

"Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to number twenty-three," declared the auctioneer, "and as you can see, she is stunning. Who will start the bidding?"

Jack was about to open with five-hundred dollars but before he could even open his mouth he heard someone in the crowd.

"One thousand dollars!"

"I have one thou..."

"Twelve hundred," was heard from someone else.

"Thirteen hundred," yelled Jack, finally getting his voice heard.

"Fifteen," came from yet another voice.

"Sixteen," Jack responded.

"Two thousand," arose a new voice from the crowd.

Again..."Twenty-five," someone called before Jack got his bid in.

Quickly he countered, "Twenty-seven."

"Twenty-nine."

"Three thousand," barked Jack.

"Thirty-five hundred..."

***

At home, Jerry still felt slightly nervous, but not nearly as much had he not known his bride was in good hands. Still, he needed something to keep his mind off of the night's events. He strolled in the kitchen and twisted the top from a cold one then looked around for the Louis L'Amour book he'd bought the previous week.

As he stretched out in his favorite recliner, he noticed the wall clock; not even nine-thirty yet, he said to himself. I wonder how late he'll keep her out. I hope she's home by midnight.

Jerry opened the adventuresome paperback to the first page and started to read. He hadn't quite made it to page five yet when he heard his cell phone ring. Who the hell could that be, he wondered. He knew it wasn't Marcy, she'd call the house phone. The display said it was an unknown caller. He paused for a second, figuring it was a telemarketer, but then decided to take it so he could tell whoever it was to take his number off their calling list.

"Hello."

"Hello, Jerry?"

"Yes, who is this, please?"

"It's Jack, Susie Knoll's cousin."

"Yeah." Jerry felt a sense of relief. He thought it was nice of him to report in. "How's it going? Are you guys at a restaurant yet?"

"Ah, well there's a little problem. I was outbid."

Jerry felt a sudden knot in the pit of his stomach. He could feel his blood pressure starting to rise. "What do you mean, you were out bid? You were supposed to go as high as it took!"

"Yeah, but Bob said it might cost me a couple of grand or so. I know he thinks I'm made of money but I have a wife and kids too, Jerry. I was prepared to go as high as three thousand dollars but when the bidding got up that high, some other guy raised it by five-hundred bucks. I just can't go that high, man; and even if I had, this other guy would have upped it again. He wanted your wife, man, and he was going to pay whatever it took."

"Shit!" cursed Jerry. Just then the house phone rang. Without so much of a, 'fuck-off,' he disconnected from Jack and grabbed the receiver. "Hello, Marcy?"

"No, Jerry, it's Emmy. Jerry, listen, Marcy's in trouble. Oh God, this is all my fault..."

"Emmy," he broke in anxiously, "what do you mean she's in trouble?"

"Well, she wound up with this real asshole. He spotted her before the auction even started and came over acting like he owned her or something; putting his arm around her, calling her his date...crap like that.

"Anyway, when everyone was getting ready to leave after the auction, I saw Marcy on the other side of the banquet room with a bottle of water in her hand. I saw him put something in the bottle when she wasn't looking. I'm worried he might have slipped her some kind of date rape drug or something. I tried yelling at her but with everybody talking at once, she couldn't hear me. I took my own date by the hand and tried to get over there to her but there were too many people. We didn't catch up to them until he had her in the car and was pulling out of the lot. We pulled out right behind them. We're following them right now."