In the Family Way
Venus Van Dam was ready to call it a day.
She stood up from the front desk at Diosa Norte, and made her way to the restroom.
Surveying herself in the mirror, she pulled out a cosmetic bag from her purse and set to work, quickly touching up the 5'o clock shadow starting to peek out with a few passes of a razor and a coating of foundation.
Next up, her lips. Rifling through her back of tricks, she selected the perfect shade of pink, and slicked it over her mouth, pulling her finger in and out to catch any strays that might have landed on her blindingly white teeth.
A few passes of the teasing comb and sprays of Ellnet resurrected the droopy curls that had wilted in the heat during the day.
Lastly, a few spritzes of her favorite scent. One last look, and she was ready to go.
She passed through the halls, saying good night to the girls waiting around for their next client and when she made it to the double doors to exit, one of Alvarez's men who was working the door that day, called out to her, "Looking good, Mami." She gave him a wink, and a flash of her brilliant smile, and said "Thanks, Sugar", and headed out into the early evening, and home.
She was grateful to be out of the game. She didn't miss it. She belonged to Tig now. He was her only "regular".
Her days were spent as a Consultant of sorts at Diosa. She helped the girls who hadn't quite refined their look, morph into viable money makers. She interviewed the prospective talent. She had the innate ability to see who could make it "in the life", having been close to, or part of it for most of hers.
The girls loved her, and saw her as a wiser older sister, one who had done and seen most everything.
They sought her out for advice on everything, from where to get their hair done to which Doctor in town was the best, Venus knew it all. She saw the work she did there as an aid to the bottom line of the business, and that translated to money in the club,'s and therefore, Tig's pocket.
Her kindness toward her these girls was due, in no small part to the time she spent under Nero's wing. He was there for her, always. Even though he was settled down in Norco with Wendy Case and Jax Teller's two little boys, she knew she could call him any time, and he'd be there for her as he had been ever since he took her in at age 15, an unsure, scared boy, who knew he was meant to be a woman.
Her nights were reserved for her and her Alexander. She looked forward to coming home to him. He made her feel safe, and she never felt more herself than she did when they were together.
As she pulled into the driveway, alongside Tig's bike, and turned off the ignition, she sat for a moment, looking at the tidy craftsman house the two of them shared, a purchase made after a particularly successful Red Woody title topped the adult film charts. There were rosebushes in the front bed, the lawn was neatly mown. It was the picture of domesticity.
The scene before her eyes reminded her of when she was little, and presented as male, secretly playing house and pretending to be a doting wife and mother rocking the pretend babies in her arm, making imaginary meals for a husband she never thought she'd have, quickly hiding her props when she'd hear her mother, Alice, come home with whatever john she'd picked up that day. For Venus, then known as Vincent, these little moments got her through the pain and horror that was her childhood.
Now, as a beautiful woman whose made up eyes stared back in the rearview, the picture in front of her was real. It was tangible. She had her man, her dream house. Her son, Joey, was safe in the care of her friends up in Seattle, so that part of the picture was missing, but she knew that he was well taken care of. She wiped a stray tear that had managed to fall from her eye, took a deep breath and walked toward the house, smiling, and feeling grateful for all of the good things that had finally started happening in her life.
As she opened the front door, she was greeted by Gertie, a black and white rather large and slobbery pit bull who shared the house with them.
Tig and Gertie were a package deal. He rescued the dog after she lost in a dog fight, and was set to be destroyed. Venus, fearful at first of the dog, quickly realized that she had nothing to fear, that the dog was as gentle on the inside, as she was tough looking on the outside. The same could be said for Tig. Underneath the piercing blue eyes and tough exterior, beat a heart of gold.
"Hey Gertie girl", she said to the dog whose tail wagged furiously, happy to see her. She gave the dog a couple of quick scratches behind the ears, took off her heels and padded down the hall.
"Alexander?" she called out. "You home, angel?"
" In here, beautiful", called Tig from the living room. She made her way into the immaculately decorated living room, not a piece of furniture or knick-knack out of place, where she found Tig sitting on the couch, watching television.
"How was your day, Baby?" he asked as he rose up from the couch to greet her and pulled her close to him.
" Busy, Baby. I'm so glad to be home now with you' ", she whispered, punctuating each word with a quick peck on his lips.
"What do you say we order in tonight, and make it movie night?" he said nuzzling up against her neck, breathing in her scent, a mix of gardenias, soap and sweat.
"Baby, if you behave, we could even make some movies of our own", she replied, nibbling on his ear and neck. "I'm going change into something a little more comfortable".
"Don't take too long, doll." I'll order us a pizza. 30 minutes or less, and then we can get down to business," he chuckled letting her go from his embrace.
"You know I'm worth the wait, Tiger", she teased as she lovingly poked a long, manicured finger to his chin, turned on her heel, and sauntered down the hallway, leaving him wanting more as always.
For Venus, "More Comfortable" was not to be confused with "Sloppy". She walked into the bedroom, and took off the emerald green wrap dress, and the large gold earrings she wore that day, slid off the stockings attached to their garters, and finally took off her bra, releasing her ample breasts, which Tig often joked, entered the room a full 10 seconds before she did.
She pulled on a pair of leopard print sweatpants, and a black v neck tunic, which, of course showed off her best assets, fluffed her hair and walked back into the living room where Tig was on the phone, ordering their dinner.
" Yeah, pepperoni and mushroom" "See you soon" "Thanks". He hung up the phone and turned his attentions toward his love.
"Damn, Baby, let me feast my eyes", he growled, drawing her in for a kiss.
"Oh, Alex- Alexander" she purred, looking forward to every single touch, every caress she knew would follow, and did.
Tig led her back to the couch. As they both sunk into the plush cushions, He held her face in his hands, and started in, kissing her, his tongue hitting all the sweet spots of her mouth, she readily accepting.
Their reverie was interrupted by the doorbell, and Gertie's loud barks.
"Damn, they weren't kidding with this 30 minutes or less crap. I feel like I just hung up the phone" Tig said, breathless.
He got up from the couch, where Venus remained, adjusting her top and hair, and walked to the front door. He took a quick peek out of the window and muttered, " Oh, Jesus Fucking Christ", and opened the door to find Sherriff Althea Jarry in all of her repressed glory standing before him.
"Sherrif."
"Mr . Trager."
"Let's cut the shit, Sherriff. What do you want?", he snarled.
" Oh, I'm not here for you or your club, this time. I'm here to see your girl friend , she sneered, drawing out the word 'girlfriend' like it was the worst insult someone could hurl.
"Let me go get her, doll" he said, not caring if he was disrespectful, and headed back into the living room.
"Venus, Baby, Sherriff's here to see you" he called into the room. "Any idea of what this about, honey?"
"No, Alexander, I don't." she said, shaking her head. A look of concern swept over her face. She always prided herself on not getting in trouble with the law. Nero taught her to be careful, on account of her complicated identity.
He always told Venus that if she were picked by the police it meant she'd end up in gen pop. Male gen pop.
They walked to the entry way where Jarry was waiting, all buttoned up and all business.
Venus, in an effort to calm herself, mentally made her over , " Take the hair out of that bun, in a more flattering outfit, she'd almost look human", she thought to herself.
" Good Evening Miss Van Dam"
"Sherriff Jarry",
" I'm here tonight to ask you a couple of questions about a former employee of Diosa, Candice Dahl? I believe she went by Candy?"
Venus took a deep breath in. Sure, she remembered Candy Dahl. She was a pretty girl, very All-American. Guileless. She didn't last very long at Diosa, she up and left one day without a word, left no forwarding information. Venus figured she was moving on to try and get her shit together. It wouldn't be the first time. That was well over a year ago. She could confirm it by looking at the books kept at Diosa to be sure.
After telling all of this to Sherriff Jarry, she finally asked, "Why?" " Is she in some sort of trouble?"
" I think we all better sit down", Jarry replied
Tig, Venus and Jarry all moved back into the living room, and the doorbell rang again, this time with the Pizza delivery. Tig quickly paid the delivery guy, dropped the pizzas off in the kitchen and returned to the two women. Jarry spoke first,
"Earlier today, Candice Dahl showed up at the Charming Police Station, with two small children in tow, a little girl, 2 or 3 years old, and a newborn, also a girl, and never returned. We found two notes in the infant's baby carrier, one addressed to you, Ms. Van Dam, the other a suicide note" Jarry handed the envelope to Venus, who reached out for it with shaky hands.
"About an hour ago," Jarry continued, "a call came in from one of the hot sheet joints on the highway, where her body was found. Looks like an overdose"
After a minute or so of stunned silence, Tig finally spoke up, " And the kids, where are they?"
"At St. Thomas, getting checked out. Child Services was called, apparently she had no family, and it's likely these kids are the result of a professional rather than personal relationship"
" Miss Van Dam, I think you need to read this letter, and then make your way to St. Thomas. Mr. Verde from CPS is expecting you. Please call the station if you need anything. I'll see myself
out, and give you your privacy. Good night."
"Good Night, Sherriff"
The door slammed and Venus looked down at the letter in her hands, and then at Tig, tears welling in her eyes.
" Ohhh Baby, I'm afraid to read this", she whimpered. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze.
"Doll, whatever this is, we'll figure it out. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere"
"O-Ok. Let's see what this says, then." She took a deep breath, opened the envelope, and started to read.