"Bunny!" Her mother was shocked. "He has only been away for 16 months. Why haven't you went and visited him?"
Silence.
"Bunny! Please, don't shut me out. I am your mother. I demand to know why you will not see your father."
She rolled her eyes at her mother's dramatics, but told her anyway, "The last time I saw dad it didn't go very well. I asked him some tough questions."
"Questions? Oh, honey ! What did you do?" Her mother was fretting now.
That further annoyed Bunny because even behind bars her father was controlling her mother.
"Mom ! What did I do? I didn't do anything wrong! I'm not the one in jail, remember!"
"That's not what I meant." She countered.
She folded her arms in front of her chest. "It never is mom. This is going to be hard for you to hear. Since you want to play naive. You have left me with no choice. Dad is a monster. He was stealing from widows and orphans. He had a mistress and me and my sisters possibly have a little bastard brother."
"Watch your mouth!" Her mother growled.
"It's true ! Mom, please, stop pretending he was ever nice to you. He was anything but that. He controlled you and me. He told us how to act, how to dress, and what to say. He practically planned my high school and college years. He had arranged a marriage for me by the time I was 13. It wasn't my life. I just had to show up. He did the same with you, but much worse. He would publicly humiliate you. Always acting like you were ignorant to it."
"I let him..." Tears fell down her mother's cheeks.
Bunny tried to wipe hers before they fell, but she wasn't quick enough. She kept talking. " I remember..." She inhaled and exhaled deeply. She stopped talking, not wanting to shatter the little semblance of pride her mother had left.
"What do you remember, sweety?" Her mother asked. "Go on. It's alright."
"One night- I was no more than eight or nine years old. I was frightened. I wanted to be with you and dad. I opened the door. Ddaddy was hitting you. You were on your knees begging him to stop. The more you begged him, the angrier he got. I just stood there watching my daddy do and say horrible things to you. "
Her mother crumpled down on the asphalt as if her strings had been cut. She let out a mournful sob and spoke. "You are right. Your father was often times a bit more critical of me. He had high expectations of his family. That helped me be my best. Yes, he pushed me around, but I knew what I signed up for. He was a man who adored us both. I wanted that. You know his trial is coming up very soon."
"And?"
"He will expect us both to be there."
"What! Mom! No." The last thing Bunny wanted was her face splashed all over the newspapers and gossip columns. She knew that would happen. Of course one of them would do some digging and find out her current profession. Yea, that wouldn't go over well.
"Yes! Yes, you must. It's your father! He will have no one on his side." She got up from the asphalt wiping her leggings off.
"Mom, he doesn't need anyone on his side! He lost that privilege when he went to jail and left us penniless!" Bunny argued.
Her mother's thin hand slapped her hard across the face. She stumbled back. Cupping her cheek. It stung from the blow. She couldn't believe she had been slapped by her mother.
Her mother clutched her invisible pearls. Her eyes glistened with tears. She seemed shocked at her own actions.
"I'm sorry, but you can not talk about your father like that. Not after everything."
There was a long pause of silence. They were still standing in the same spot. Their walk was totally abandoned.
"Your father will be sent away for the rest of his natural-born life. If he ever gets out he will be a very old man. This is the last time we get to see him. He needs our support. We lived a lavish, privileged lifestyle because of him. You got everything you wanted. You owe him this and to take care of me as well as your sisters." She argued.
"I gotta go," Bunny answered.
Her mother had turned back into the Stepford wife she had always been for her father. She was blind to his many faults because she loved the creature's comforts it offered.
"Bunny!" Her mother called after her.
She wiped away her tears and kept walking. She got back into her car and drove off. She had planned on giving her mother money, but since they fought she decided to spend it on a new dress. She didn't want to look out of place tonight. She drove back to her side of town, stopping at a quaint shop.
It was a small dress shop named Delta's. She found a cream maxi dress, and gold heels under $100. Thirty minutes later, she arrived back at her room. She needed to decompress before she met Baxter.
Tonight Bunny wore a satin, cream maxi dress with gold heels and a pearl clutch. Her dress was long and flowy. It hugged her curves in all of the right places. She wore her hair in a chignon with gold hairpins lining the sides. She looked expensive tonight, even if she was poor.
She admired herself in the mirror once more. At 6:45 P.M. there was a limo waiting out front of the lobby for her. She became nervous. She felt silly. It was Baxter's party. She was essentially his girlfriend.
She walked to the car and got inside. She didn't know what to expect tonight. 20 minutes later the limo arrived at Baxter's bachelor pad. He had told her it was his home away from home. Of course, Baxter was very wealthy and owned six homes.
She saw candles lining the entrance. A red carpet led to the home's entrance.
It looked decadent. The car stopped at the carpet. A valet opened the car door for her. She got out of the car and realized that someone was waiting by the entrance.
It was Baxter.
She let him hug her intimately. He was grinning at her like his usual dorky self. He was happy to see her. She didn't smile back. It would give him too much pleasure. She liked to keep him on a tight leash.
"You look amazing tonight." He complimented her as he looked her up and down.
"Thank you." She said, smiling at his compliment.
"I can't wait until..." He trailed off, then licked his lips.
"Baxter? Is all you can think about is screwing me?" She asked him in a playful tone. Already knowing the answer.
He smiled with a devilish grin. "Yes. Since our little arrangement, it is all I think about," he admitted.
She had to appreciate his honesty. Even if he was a complete creep.
"What am I doing here, Baxter?" She asked him, already beginning to have second thoughts. She should not have come.
"This is a special party." He informed her as they began to walk into his home.
"What do you mean by 'special'?" She asked him. Her interest had been piqued.
"It's by invitation only and the guests must have certain requirements." He vaguely answered.
"Like?" She urged him on.
"Like, either having or being a mistress." He furnished for her.
"Oh." She said as the realization of what kind of party he had invited her to sink in. She took a deep sigh of relief.
She had been dreading running into some of the old, mean elites she had run with just a few years ago, but they wouldn't be here tonight because this party was for men and their mistresses.
This was a party exclusively for her 'kind'. Baxter knew better than to invite her into polite society parties. She wanted to be resolved to it but somehow she just couldn't get over being reduced to being a call girl.
It wasn't her fault.
"Any special little rules for me tonight at this party?" She asked.
She knew Baxter and his kind. The rich, and elite always had rules to their games. She was viewing him in a different light. She wondered how intense all of the things Baxter was offering could get.
"You're mine. Act like it." His tone held.
No humor was detected in his voice. Gone was his dorky demeanor. He had lost that light, a friendly edge he had always used with her. Who was this Baxter? She wondered.
"Of course, Baxter." She agreed.
Taking his cue, she slid her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, then kissed him on his lips.
Bunny hated every insufferable moment. Baxter reacted and kissed her back. His hands found her tight, firm buttocks. She wasn't wearing panties. He could feel it through the material of her dress. He got excited at the thought and gave her a squeeze...