The Million Dollar Question

With the kids safely tucked up in bed and the dinner plates all stacked in the dishwasher, Susan sat on the battered couch with her feet tucked up under herself. She thoughtfully sipped her cheap white wine from the wine box in the fridge as she watched the meaningless quiz show on the television while her husband Martin had his head buried in his Fishing magazine, a hobby he seemed to take a greater interest in these days than anything else Susan reflected. The contestant had reached the final round and now faced one more question to get the £10,000 prize and Susan said out loud, “We could do with that… in fact we could do with ten times that at least.” Martin just grunted as she went on, “The kids need new shoes, the rent is in arrears, we need a new three-piece suite and the washing machine is on its last legs.”

Martin sighed under his breath as he had heard it all before but since losing his job at the local factory, the meagre redundancy pay had gone in the blink of an eye, he had been unable to get another job so all they had was income support and the few quid that his wife earned in the local pub, cash in hand doing the odd shift behind the bar. He would like to say they were making ends meet but he knew he would be lying as they were slipping deeper and deeper into debt.

“Well I got a chance at making some extra money today,” Susan blurted out, “but I wasn’t sure how you would feel about it.” Martin lowered his magazine and looked at his wife, saying nothing but raised an eyebrow in a questioning way. “A man came into the pub this afternoon while it was quiet and we got chatting and he offered me some cash if I would perform a task for him.”

Martin laughed inside, not daring to openly and wondered if this was his wife saying she would go on the game, though looking at her she wasn’t going to earn a fortune. It’s not that she was ugly just the pounds had piled on over the years and her hips were very round to say the least and her breasts were so full they sagged when she removed her bra. She had a pretty face beneath the extra fat, curly dark hair cut shot and big brown eyes that use to twinkle, though of late had taken on a duller lustre as things had got tighter and tighter. Martin knew that she put out for others in the past and had suspected it had been for money though had never questioned he on it. “What did he want?” Martin asked and then went on slyly, “and how much did he offer?” ready to keep a straight face but his wife’s reply stunned him into silence.

“He wants me to fuck a dog for a million dollars.” Susan said then looked at her husband and as she waited for a response she reflected back on the conversation that afternoon with ‘Chuck.”.

*****

Susan was polishing the glasses to make them shine before hanging them on the rack. After the glasses she thought to herself I will take all the bottle off the shelf and clean their, anything to pass the time. It was 4 o’clock on a Sunday and the pub was deserted, the lunchtime drinkers had all gone home to stuff their faces and then fall asleep full of beer and Sunday roast. It was too early for evening drinkers to come in for their usual session and passing trade was almost non-existent, who the hell would want to come to this grotty run down pub in a shitty Manchester council estate Susan thought to herself. “I suppose I shouldn’t grumble,” thought Susan to herself, if the landlord was thick enough to pay her instead of closing up for a few hours it was her gain and to be honest she didn’t mind that much giving him a weekly blow job as part of the deal to get the job in the first place. At that moment the doors opened and in walked a man who clearly wasn’t local and when he walked up to the bar and ordered a cold beer Susan knew he was American though goodness knows where from.

Over the next hour the pair chatted and Susan learnt his name was Chuck, divorced, a self-made man and from what he said very rich. Susan found herself telling him about herself and her life and how times were hard, she thought to herself that perhaps the sob story might gain her a tip though that was rare as hen’s teeth in here.