Dealer, I Am All In by cmsix

Chapter 4

They had enjoyed their time together so much while I'd been out there last time that they had moved in together. They had also both found a new boyfriend shortly after I left. Unbeknownst to the two of them, it was the same guy.

After the terrible discovery, they were both crushed, and illogically they each felt like they'd been slipping around behind the other ones back. Of course nothing of the sort had happened. Nevertheless, they were devastated because they felt they'd each hurt their best friend. To top it all off, they had also happened to be working in the same show, and it ran out, so they needed to look for a new job too.

"That's it, Jackie, Jerrilyn, pack your things," I said.

"Pack which things, Tommy?" they asked in unison.

"All things. Pack up everything you own, every dress, every blouse, every pair of panties; all of it. Cooking pots and pans, dishes, sheets, towels, pictures, everything. I'll be out there in two days with my trailer and I'll be bringing both of you home with me."

"But what will we do about jobs?" Jackie asked.

"You don't need jobs, I'm rich and I own a big home. You'll move in with me and forget about finding sleazy boyfriends in Las Vegas," I said.

"Oh," Jerrilyn said.

"Are we gona be, like, kept women?" Jackie asked, "Not that I'd mind that you understand."

"No, you're going to be, like, my wives. Only I'll have two. We can even get married before we leave if you'd like. We'll just have to use a different chapel for each of you."

"I won't really need to have a ceremony to feel like I'm your wife if you say I am," Jackie said.

"Me neither," Jerrilyn said.

"I can just convince myself you're my husband," Jackie said.

"Me too," Jerrilyn said.

"Good, then it's settled," I said.

"Uh, Jake, are we going to have a honeymoon?" Jerrilyn asked.

"Of course we can," I said.

"Where are we going for it?" Jackie asked.

"Anywhere you'd like."

"I don't want to fly anywhere," Jerrilyn said.

"Me neither," Jackie said.

"We don't have to fly if you don't want to," I said.

"Un, Jake, can we go camping for our honeymoon?" Jerrilyn asked.

"Yeh, Jake, can we go camping?" Jackie asked.

"Can we ever!"

Hoping to make the best of my time on this trip, I called the horse trailer sales lot in Shreveport, the one I'd bought the ten-horse trailer from. They didn't have a larger trailer but they told me that the same company that made my trailer had models like it that could haul up to sixteen horses.

After a little checking with the manufacturer, which happened to be located in Amarillo Texas, everyone agreed that it would be just dandy if I stopped by on my way to Las Vegas to pick up my brand new trailer, and I did.

In Amarillo, while picking up my new trailer, there was a slight snafu when I tried to connect my light pigtail and found that the company was now using a new style of receptacle. They were kind enough to offer to make me a conversion cord that could receive my old style connection and plug into their new style unit.

I thought about it for a minute or two and couldn't help understanding that this jury-rig would offer approximately sixty percent more chances to fuck itself up somehow. So I was kind enough to offer to buy my trailer elsewhere if they didn't get the new style receptacle changed out for the old style in the next hour.

I'm often surprised by how quickly small details can be ironed out when a forty-five thousand dollar sale is about to get into his Silverado and drive off into the sunset. It actually took them an extra thirty minutes to make absolutely certain everything was up to their exacting standards, but I can be flexible when I'm getting my way.

It was a tearful reunion when I knocked on Jerrilyn's and Jackie's door and no doubt it would have turned into a sexual one, but I was double parked, what with the long trailer. After a few minutes I suggested that we start moving their possessions.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about there. We've already called the movers and they have almost everything stored and waiting for you to come over and pick up," Jackie said.

"Movers?" I asked.

"Sure, we've both always used the same one, to move from one apartment to another," Jerrilyn said.

Come to think of it, I could remember visiting Jerrilyn in several different apartments over the years.

"They have all our stuff in their boxes. We only have a suitcase each here. And our car, of course," Jackie said.

"Car?" I asked.

Neither of them had owned a car the last time I was out here. They always went to work in a cab, as best I could remember.

"Yeh, since we moved in together we bought a car," Jerrilyn said.

"What kind of car?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just the cutest little thing you ever saw," Jackie said, "It's a Triumph TR-3."

Visions of repair bills danced in my head and I wondered how the two of them could afford to keep it running. I knew that showgirls made fairly good money, but good God.

"I don't mean to pry, but isn't it a little expensive to keep it running?" I asked.

"It was for about the first two weeks, until we stopped driving it. It seemed like it needed a tune-up every time we went to the store in it, so we waited until a good parking spot in front of our door was vacant, and parked it there. Now we just wash it once a week and spend a little time sitting in it every day or so to keep it from being too lonely," Jerrilyn said.

"Do you think it will start?" I asked.

"It always has, every time we tried," Jackie said.

"Starting doesn't seem to be the problem. It will start up fine, but it usually doesn't sound like it's running right when we drive it," Jerrilyn said.

"Why don't we go down and look at it then," I said.

As advertised, it was parked right in front of their door. In fact, I'd taken a glance at it on the way in and thought that it was in excellent condition for such an old classic. You rarely saw one that looked that good out on the streets.

Jackie handed me the keys and after unlocking it I got into the driver's seat. I turned the key and it fired right up to a fast idle. As the engine warmed and the choke opened fully the idle dropped, and in minutes it was loping like a champ from what couldn't possibly be the standard camshaft. I shut it off.

"Has anyone ever mentioned anything about the engine to either of you?" I asked.

"Yes. It has a racing engine, at least that's what the cute guy that sold it to us said. Since then we've thought that might be why it has to have so much attention," Jackie said.

"It probably doesn't actually have to have all the attention you've been giving it. What are the main symptoms that have been giving you trouble?" I asked.

"Couldn't you hear how rough it was running after it warmed up?" Jerrilyn asked.

"And it clatters when we drive it," Jackie said, complaining.

"Believe it or not, it is supposed to sound rough like that when it's idling. Did the clattering just happen to start after you filled it up with gas the first time?" I asked.

"Maybe just a little with the first tank. It really got bad after the second one though. But it can't be the gas, we always put premium in it?" Jerrilyn said.

"Premium ain't what it used to be dear. When we get this little gem home, I'll make arrangements for you to buy Avgas at the airstrip we have just west of town. They no longer make gasoline for normal use that has a high enough octane rating for your baby," I said.

"Oh," they said in unison.

"If you'd like, we can even have the camshaft changed so its idle will be smoother, but it doesn't really hurt anything the way it is now. Doesn't it always smooth out when you give it some gas?" I asked.

"I'll say. You have to be careful to keep it from spinning the tires every time you take off from a red light," Jackie said.

"That's right, moving is not one of its problems," Jerrilyn said, agreeing.

"But how will we drive it all the way to Texas if we can't use normal gas? Jackie asked.

"It will have to ride to Texas, just like we will. Of course, it can't get in the truck with us. I'll have to put it in the trailer," I said.

"What trailer?" Jackie asked.

"That one," I said, pointing to my new sixteen-horse trailer.

"I wondered who had brought a bunch of horses to the apartments," Jerrilyn said.

I was pretty sure that the let-down ramp would take the weight of the TR-3, but I pulled out my cell phone and called the trailer's manufacturer anyway. When I identified myself to the receptionist who answered, she connected me with the sales manager right away.

When he realized that I was the crazy man who'd pitched a bitch about the pigtail's receptacle, he was on his guard at once, and extremely polite. I asked him about using the loading ramp to put a car into the trailer and he put me on hold so he could talk to an engineer. At least that's what he told me.

He was back after five minutes.

"The engineers feel that the current loading ramp will do fine, a time or two. I spoke to the president of the company and he said that if you'd come by on your trip back, he'd have a stronger ramp installed, free of charge. We're hoping you won't mind our examining the condition of the original one," he said, still being sure to be perfectly polite.

"Excellent, I should be there in a day, or two. Since your company obviously pays attention to customer service, please build me another trailer exactly like the one I just bought. With the old style pigtail receptacle and the new type rear ramp, please," I said.

I could practically feel that spoonful of sugar making the medicine of the old style receptacle and the new ramp go down easy, if not in a most delightful way, even over the phone. I nearly had to cut him off to keep him from thanking me to death.

I pulled my truck and trailer forward a few feet, since I was blocking Chester, the name they'd given their little monster, from backing out of his parking space.

I let down the ramp and glanced up into the trailer, even happier that I'd had sense enough to have them remove the removable partitions that usually ran down the middle of the trailer to keep the horses separated. Jackie backed Chester out of his space and lined him right up with the ramp, and then she turned him off and got out, even though I was waving for her to drive him into the trailer.

"Not a chance, Tommy, I'm not doing that. You do it," she said.

I did, and Chester fit easily with no troubles. I even managed to tie him down with the use of the flush mounted flip-up rings made into the trailer's floor for people that sometimes used them to haul things other than horses. Chester was as snug as a bug in no time.

After Jerrilyn and Jackie got their bags, emergency makeup kits, and their four pillows, we were set to go and since it was still fairly early in the day we went over to the moving and storage place for the rest of their things.

The guys there were happy to put their possessions into the trailer for us and they were especially thorough about tying them down to make sure they wouldn't be tossed about during our trip. I got the feeling that the owner was sad to see the two of them leaving Las Vegas. No doubt he was losing a steady source of income.

Since I hadn't spent a night in Las Vegas, I was a little tired by the time we were approaching Flagstaff on the way back. When I suggested we get a motel room the girls rebelled.

"I've been waiting patiently for my chance to drive this thing and you can't cheat me out of it by stopping at a motel," Jerrilyn said.

"Me neither," Jackie said, agreeing.

"I didn't know you wanted a turn, I'll pull over at the next exit and we can switch drivers," I said.

"No need, Kathy, she's a waitress friend of ours, was a truck driver for a year before she came to Vegas, if you can believe that - anyway, she told us that when she was driving team with her boyfriend of the moment, she and he could swap drivers going down the road. All you need to do is move the seat back far enough to let me sit in your lap. She said that's how they did it until she got used to changing that way," Jackie said.

I might have mentioned before that Jackie and Jerrilyn were both six feet tall. Petite was a word that did not refer to either of them. For a few seconds I wondered if the seat would move back far enough to do this. What the hell, I hit the button and rolled the seat rearward as far as it would go. Jackie sat between my legs, took the wheel, and then I slipped out from behind her. It went off without a bobble.

"Now, climb into the back seat and take a nap. You'll be almost like a real truck driver," Jerrilyn said.

"Fine. Just be sure to wake me when we get to Amarillo," I said, not even really believing I could fall asleep with the truck moving.

You can imagine my surprise when they did wake me and we really were in Amarillo. It wasn't morning yet, but what the hell. In fact we were at a Holiday Inn, in the parking lot.

"You should go in and get us a room. We all need to take a shower before we go out to the trailer place," Jackie said.

"And we might need to go shopping first too. I think I want some boots and bluejeans, and I might even try on a cowboy hat. After all, we'll be living in Texas now and showgirl casual wear just won't do," Jerrilyn said.

"That's right," Jackie said, agreeing.

"That's fine with me, but do you realize that real cowgirls wear either Wranglers or Levis?" I asked.

"Of course, even showgirls know that designer jeans are reserved for formal wear in Texas."

I checked us into the best room they had and was glad to see that it had both a tub and a real shower, not that crappy thing with a curtain around the tub. It was even big enough for all three of us to get into at the same time and we did.

You might be surprised but I wasn't. Even though I was in the shower with two beautiful naked women, no hanky panky came about. It wasn't that either of them were disinclined. I'd often had deliciously naughty showers with each, and even twice with both.

One thing showgirls know how to do is shower and change, in a hurry. We were going to the trailer place for business purposes and they knew how to be all business, even when naked. Of course a lot of their work in Vegas had been done while they were naked, or nearly so, and they were accustomed to it. And, we were going shopping; that's almost always very serious business with any woman.

After we were dry and dressed, I dropped the trailer on the back side of the parking lot. We headed toward downtown and I was hoping we could find and old fashioned small store or shop. That hope went out the window when we passed a Super Wal-Mart. I tried to dissuade them but it was no use.

"I know perfectly well that they have both Levis and Wranglers in Wal-Mart, and probably thousands of pairs of boots," Jerrilyn said.

I didn't even put up the good fight, I pulled in and made four circuits before I found a parking spot near enough to the door to suit me.

Even in non-revealing casual clothes, Jerrilyn and Jackie couldn't go anywhere without attracting attention. They were tall, beautiful, and astonishingly well built. Men looked at them wherever they went, and Wal-Mart was no different. I'm pretty sure they even raised the flag for the seventy plus year old man that was acting as the door greeter - you know, the one that always wants to give you a buggy as you come in.

The girls were used to things like that though and they mostly ignored it. It was a little harder to ignore once they started trying on jeans, since some men couldn't seem to get over the fact that those women were now in that room, not ten feet away, and taking off their clothes.

It was almost funny, and it upset the poor woman that was supposed to be providing a pleasant shopping experience for the women in this section of Wal-Mart. Or at least as pleasant as Wal-Mart could be. By the time there were a dozen men standing around and obviously not shopping, she called someone on the phone and had a vigorous conversation.

Soon enough there were six more women in Wal-Mart smocks for reinforcement. They began asking every man in the area if they could help them. When one of them approached me I told her that I was with the two women that seemed to be drawing the crowd and none of them bothered me again.

They didn't let up on the others though, and I noticed that if a man brushed one of them off, another was right in his face wanting to help him thirty seconds later. Soon enough the area was mostly free of unescorted men.

I thought things would go smoothly after that but it wasn't to be.

Jackie came out of the dressing room that they were both using, holding her finger to her lips for all that could see. It was the universal sign for quiet and no one misunderstood. Then she pointed to one of the reinforcements the beleaguered clerk had summoned, crooked her finger, and the woman came toward her.

Jackie led her around behind the dressing cubicles and through the small obstacle course of clothing racks that was obviously there to keep people from wandering through. I was curious so I followed in the red smocked supervisor's wake.

When we rounded a last corner we saw a young man in the familiar Wal-Mart blue smock, bent at the waist and peering through what had to be a peep hole he'd installed, no doubt without authorization.

"Bobby Johnson, what do you think you're doing?" the red smocked woman asked, or should I say screamed at the top of her lungs.

Needless to say, Bobby Johnson was mortified, so much so that the lump that had been visible in the area of his zipper disappeared almost at once. Unfortunately for Bobby Johnson, he wasn't quick enough to get away. Mrs Festerson, the red smocked woman whose name I learned later, latched onto Bobby Johnson's ear and began dragging him out the way we'd come.

By the time she had him into the normal shopping area of the store again, she was berating him soundly and she wasn't shy about what anyone else heard.

She wasn't very creative about it, and I distinctly remember her saying things about peeping on customers while they were changing, several times as she pulled him to the offices at the front of the store. I wondered idly if she would release his ear when they finally made it to the front.

The main significance of her actions was to dissipate the remaining male hangers on that had resisted previous attempts to disband them. There were none in sight now, as if after the dreaded ear hold had been broken out, it might be used on others.

The manager of the store was back to visit about ten minutes after Bobby Johnson was led away in disgrace. The girls were both safely in the dressing room again by this time and I was left to deal with him. He began apologizing at once and wasn't in the least deterred when I told him to think nothing of it. He wouldn't shut up about the whole thing.

"Sir, Mr Morgan, please. Don't worry about it. Go back to your office and write out the text of the letter you'd like me to send to your superiors. I'll pick it up on the way out, write it out long hand, and mention the fine services you and whomever that woman in the red smock was, provided in apprehending the culprit. Be sure to include both your name, and her name, and give me the name and address of the person you'd like for me to send it to," I said.

He couldn't believe his luck and he left to get started on his letter right away. Mrs Festerson, the red smocked dynamo that had towed Bobby Johnson to the front offices came back shortly and before she could start apologizing I thanked her profusely for her help.

I think she felt slightly cheated to be preempted like that, but she didn't bother me anymore. She did stand guard over the area as long as we were there though, and she glared savagely at two men who looked like they might approach. Her territory had been invaded once and she wasn't about to let it happen again.

Luckily there weren't any men who wanted to peep at Jackie's or Jerrilyn's feet while they tried on cowboy boots. They asked me for advice but I told them to just get several pairs that seemed to fit right, since I'd be getting some boots custom made for them later.

They were still interested in cowboy hats but I talked them out of trying any.

"Just wait a couple of days. We'll go to Texas Hatters and have a few made for you when we leave here," I said.

"Where is Texas Hatters?" Jerrilyn asked.

"It's almost on the way home, in Buda, that's near Austin," I said.

"I know where your home is and Austin is not on the way," Jackie said.

"It is if we go that way," I said, and that satisfied them.

We went by the office after we'd checked out and happened to see a policeman leading a handcuffed Bobby Johnson away. Bobby Johnson was no longer having a good day.

"Poor kid, I didn't realize he'd get into so much trouble," Jackie said.

"Nonsense, there's no telling how many women the little pervert has been peeping on. No doubt he's an up and coming sex offender," Jerrilyn said.

"You may be right, I hadn't thought of that," Jackie said.

In fact, I hadn't thought of it that way either, but it did make sense.

Of course we couldn't go directly to the trailer place, the girls hadn't had time to change and in fact, they intended to wash the jeans before wearing them. Besides, they hadn't found any acceptable rodeo shirts in Wal-Mart.

They had discovered where to look for them though. One of the many women who had come over to defend them had let them know where to find the type of shirt they wanted. It was a smallish shop, compared to Wal-Mart; but I guess everything is smallish when compared to Wal-Mart.

It was downtown and we went there next.

The place was larger than I'd expected and they had plenty of shirts. The girls found a dozen each that they liked and they even picked out eight for me. Of course they all had to be tried but it didn't take as long as you'd think.

The clerk in the shirt place also sold us some really nice hangers and directed us to a coin operated laundry. It was located right next to a Mom and Pop grocery where we bought detergent and fabric softener. After only another hour and a half, all the jeans and shirts had been washed, dried and hung up on a clothes rod they'd been smart enough to think ahead for, in Wal-Mart.

We went back to the motel, changed, and still had time to make it to the trailer place.

It wasn't two minutes after I went in and announced my presence to the receptionist until the sales manager came out to greet me. He directed me around to a repair entrance and when I got there the shop foreman had me back my trailer into an open bay. Some men let the ramp down and two of their engineers showed up to examine the damage from loading the TR-3.

They seemed pleased that there didn't really seem to be any damage. No matter, after they left, other men began removing my old loading ramp and replacing it with one that looked the same to me. The shop foreman came over and pointed out the extra bracing and thicker material to me later.

Since he told me that they would be finished by tomorrow, before noon, I dropped the trailer and the girls and I went back to the office. I was going to pay for the new trailer but I couldn't.

They explained that the sale had to go through their dealer in Shreveport and also pointed out that since I was an out of state buyer in Louisiana, I wouldn't be responsible for sales tax there. And since I would be paying cash, the responsibility for reporting the out of state purchase and paying the sales tax in Texas was mine. In other words, forget it.

Back at the motel, after eating at a TexMex restaurant that the shop foreman had recommended, the girls began quizzing me about the new trailer, and as the story unfolded they also asked about the old trailer and about the other pickup, and on and on until they dug the whole camping thing out of me.

To my astonishment they didn't see anything wrong with what I'd done so far. But what was I going to pull the other new trailer with, and had I ordered new packsaddles for the upcoming mules? Didn't I need an extra mount for serious camping, in case the one I was riding came up lame, and wouldn't they also need extra mounts? Shouldn't we look around at the dealerships in Amarillo to see if we could find another one ton Silverado for the other trailer? Should we make sure to get the same color for the new truck? Important questions like that.

"It depends," I said.

"It depends on whatever you two think is best," I said, showing them right away that I was probably the smartest husband they could have hoped to find, even if I was only one for the two of them.

Before they could think that through I had another question for them, "Should we go on to Dallas to pick out your engagement and wedding rings or do you think we can find something you'd like in Austin?"

I could tell that this raised my stock even higher in their estimation. I'm sure they were thrilled to find that their new husband could think ahead about the important things.

We had our wedding night that night and it's a wonder I could drive the next morning.

It was a little strange after breakfast the next day, since we left the motel with considerably more clothes than we'd had when we checked in. We weren't able to go directly to the trailer place because the girls decided that it was silly for me to be driving around in Texas without sunglasses, and even if I didn't want any, they did.

We located a Mall that had a kiosk with innumerable styles and it only took an hour for us all to be fitted. While we were there, I got a wild hair in my ass and told them I wanted to have one of my ears pierced.

"You are not going to get one of those ignorant gold hoops for it, are you?" Jackie asked.

"No."

"And I hope you aren't thinking about a diamond, they look ridiculous on men," Jerrilyn said.

"No, not that either," I said.

"Well what are you planning to put in it?" they asked, in unison.

"I'll just get a plain gold stud for now and pick up what I want back home. If you don't approve I'll just take it out and let the hole grow back," I said, and they made me promise.

When we got to the ear piercing kiosk, neither Jackie nor Jerrilyn trusted the young female attendant to do the job, so they borrowed the tool and Jackie did it herself. With my new gold stud in place, we paid and left.

I'll admit that the sunglasses made life easier, even if I had never considered them before. Even with the darkest lenses, the ones that had real gold mixed into the tinting, they were only two hundred dollars a pair. What a bargain we'd found!

The trailer was ready when we got to the trailer place and we hooked it and left without incident. Jackie and Jerrilyn had decided that we might just as well look around in Dallas for diamonds, since there were probably many more jewelers there than in Austin.

It was nearly sunset when we pulled into the entrance of The Adolphus in downtown Dallas. Jackie and Jerrilyn went to the front desk with me while I asked for the best suite they had available.

The clerk looked especially snooty for Texas, and he informed me that they didn't have any vacancies. I understood at once that he was not accustomed to letting rooms to people dressed in bluejeans and so I demanded to see the manager on duty.

The clerk gave a little sniff and went into a door, headed for an office no doubt. While he was gone I pulled a bank-banded package of hundred dollar bills out of my pocket - ten thousand dollars - and lay it on the counter. Of course it was the first thing the manager saw when he came to talk to us.