The three of them sat at the kitchen table in the nude and ate. Heather didn't feel the least bit self-conscious. She liked to go naked at home. It was fun to be able to do it with friends. And she enjoyed the way Jake's eyes ogled her tits from time to time.
"You sure are a good-looking woman, Heather," he told her, and she blushed with pleasure.
The redhead was feeling free of the frustrating isolation of her marriage. She hated the thought of going back to her ivory tower, shut off from people and events. She told her friends this.
"Maybe you should get a job," Linda suggested. "Working has its advantages. It's a way to meet people."
"Maybe you're right. But what could I do? I married Tom right out of school. The only job I've ever had was one summer when I worked as a waitress down at the Jake."
"Maybe I can help you with that, Heather." Jake had been thoughtful for some time, now he seemed enthusiastic. "A buddy of mine runs a real nice restaurant downtown. Steak and lobster and all that. He's been looking for a new hostess. A good-looking girl with some real class, you know? Well, I think you'd fit the bill perfectly."
Heather felt elated. It seemed that in one short day, whole new vistas had opened in her life. She toyed with the idea of getting out of the house and going to work… and the snore she thought, the more she liked it.
She wanted more out of life than four walls and a horny cunt.
Heather didn't think about working any more than afternoon. She was too busy playing with her friends.
"No! Absolutely not! No wife of mine is going to go out to work!"
Tom was circling the breakfast table like a caged lion. His meal sat cold and untouched in his place. He was pounding his palm with his fist, his face beet-red.
Heather remained unshaken.
"Tom, darling, you don't understand. I wasn't asking your permission. I was simply stating a fact. I'm going to work, and I start today."
He leaned his arms on the table and stared at her, flabbergasted. She was sipping at her coffee, looking unperturbed. Linda had coached her concerning how to handle Tom if he objected to her working. Just be calm and determined, she had said. It's your life, not his. Don't let him push you around.
Heather's Irish heritage, which included red hair and a temper, helped her keep her resolve. The more Tom threatened her, the more determined she became.
Tom was looking at her suspiciously. "You mean you went right ahead and applied for the job and went for the interview and accepted it, without telling me a Goddamned thing about it?!" His voice rose to a sharp crescendo. "Who the fuck's the head of his house anyway?"