Chapter 2
Three days later, on a Thursday night (or was it technically Friday morning) at a time when they hoped few people would be around, Darek and Pavel sat in a car outside of the house in which Darek hoped to find a prostitute who would change his life. Rain mixed with snow fell and made slushy patterns on the windshield. Pavel wore a stocking cap pulled far down over his face. He raised the collar of his coat and wrapped his scarf around his chin and mouth to the point where almost no part of his face was visible. He wanted to be completely sure that, during their short walk to the front door, no one would recognize him. However, as it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. The streets were completely empty.
Oddly enough, a red light burned dimly above the door. Darek had thought this was only a stereotype for such places, but, there it was, subtly advertising the services within. In fact, other than the light, the house looked no different from any other in the neighborhood. As they approached the front door, Darek could see a camera aimed at them and, what to him seemed amusing, on the door, pictures of the credit cards that were accepted. Clearly, they had come to the right place.
They rang the bell and were soon greeted by a somewhat plump, rather attractive, middle-aged woman who introduced herself as Maria and welcomed them inside. She took them to what looked like a living room and had them sit down. Everything looked remarkably normal. She asked them if they would like some tea or coffee, which they both declined. She then handed them what looked like a menu. In fact, it was a sort of menu, but for the various services offered and their prices. The descriptions of the services were to the point in everyday language. You knew exactly what you would be paying for.
Darek was seated comfortably on a couch beside Pavel. The furniture lacked class, but was not as garish as either of them had expected. They, of course, did not know if this was the way most brothels looked or whether it was a style peculiar to this one. Darek did not feel as nervous as he thought he would. Pavel felt the same and removed his hat and scarf, but was not comfortable enough to remove his coat.
"So, gentlemen", Maria began, "what is it we can do for you tonight?"
"Well", Darek began, somewhat tenuously, "nothing that is on your list here. I'm here to negotiate the use of one of your women for a special service."
"You mean like for a private party?" Maria asked, apparently used to such requests.
"Not exactly. If you don't mind, I'd like to explain."
"Please do."
Darek briefly explained the situation he was in. "So I concluded that if I could get her husband to cheat on her again, she would see what kind of guy she was married to."
"And she would, then, come to you", Maria observed.
"Well, yeah, that's what I'd like. Anyway, I've paid a detective to follow her husband around for about a month. I was hoping he'd find that her husband already had a girlfriend but, if he has, the detective hasn't found that out. He did learn that the guy goes out with the people he works with on Friday's after work. I'm not sure if his wife knows this or not. Anyway, sometimes there are women in the group. The detective told me that the guy is quite a flirt, but he can't say there is anything special going on between him and any of these women. When there are no women in the group, he will flirt with just about any woman who happens to be in the bar at the time. Still, there's no law against flirting. If there were, most of the people here in Poland would be in prison."
"So what exactly do you want this girl to do?"
"I want her to befriend him, to have an affair with him."
"Do you want her to have sex with him?"
"It doesn't matter as long as she brings out the kind of person I know he really is." Darek replied.
"Well, it may matter on how we negotiate a price. Of course, you'll have to make some contract with one of the girls. I can't agree to anything for her. Naturally, I'll receive some compensation for making the arrangements, if you know what I mean." Maria explained.
"So should I pay you in advance?" Darek asked, somewhat confused.
"Why? Do you want to have sex with me? No, you pay the girl for whatever you agree upon. Any agreement she has with me after that is no concern of yours." Maria suddenly spoke in the objective tone of a businesswoman. "Now, I would suggest that you meet a few of our girls and decide if any of them suits you. I can see you've never been in such a situation as this before, so let me explain how it will go. You will see each girl individually. After you see them, and after they have left, you can tell me which one you prefer. You don't have to say yes or no directly to any of the girls, understand? All negotiations will be through me. Of course, we don't have as many girls to choose from tonight, so, if you don't find any you like, I suggest you come back on Saturday when I'll have more girls here."
"And what about you, sir?" She suddenly addressed Pavel who had been sitting quietly, fascinated by the proceedings. "Is there something you're interested in?"
"No, no, I just came to give my friend here some moral support, er, I mean support", Pavel said in alarm.
"Well, if you change your mind after seeing the girls, just let me know."
Pavel smiled weakly and nodded. He would be happy when he was out of here and he could return to his normal life. Ever since he had agreed to help Darek, this night had been hovering over him like an upcoming dental appointment. It would be a great relief when it was over. Still, he was oddly fascinated about how business was conducted here.
"I'll go get the girls", said Maria, suddenly standing up.
"Is it okay to talk to them and ask them some questions?" Asked Darek.
"Sure, if you don't take up too much of their time." Maria answered.
One by one, the girls entered the room. Darek knew what he was looking for. It wasn't so much her physical appearance that he was interested in, although that had to meet some minimal standards, he needed a special look that he would know when he saw it. The first few girls were more or less what he expected to find. They were not especially attractive despite the elaborate makeup that they used. The fourth girl was more interesting, but, perhaps, a bit too tall. He had pictures of Helen's husband that the detective had given him and he could see he was short. All of the girls were dressed so that you could see their bodies. They wanted you to know all of their most saleable features. The fifth girl who came into the room had a different quality that Darek noted at once. He liked her. But as she approached them she suddenly stopped and looked at Pavel.
"Mr. Baranski?" She suddenly exclaimed.
"Oh, my God!" Pavel blurted out. "Iza, I…I … it's not what you think. I'm just here to help my friend. I mean, …
She smiled at him. "And it's not what you think either. Do you see that sign?" She pointed to a plaque beside the door. "It says, 'escort service'. I'm an escort. Do you understand?"
Pavel was speechless which gave Darek a chance to enter the conversation. This was the girl he thought he wanted. "No, actually, I don't understand. Would you mind explaining what you do?"
"I provide companionship for men, usually for an evening. This does not mean I have sex with them. I suppose, if they were the right sort of person, I may do that. But, you should know up front that it's not what I'm paid for." She said almost defiantly.
"What do you mean by 'companionship'?" Darek asked. He was intrigued by the girl's attitude.
"Some guys want to be seen in the company of an attractive woman. It's good for their image. It boosts their prestige among their peers. Maybe it helps them look better in the eyes of some company executives. Maybe they are gay and need to look like they're not. Maybe they're from out of town and just need someone to have dinner with. There could be a number of reasons for them to need an escort."
"So would you consider yourself a bit of an actress?" Darek asked.
She seemed surprised by the question and gave Darek a wry smile. "In some ways, I suppose I am", she replied. "I try to be what they expect me to be. I'm well-educated, as Mr. Barans
ki will tell you, so I can converse on almost any topic." Darek was vaguely aware of Pavel's uneasiness and, through his peripheral vision, he saw that Pavel was now looking down at the floor. He felt bad for him, but there was nothing he could do now. The girl continued, apparently little affected by Pavel's presence. "But if you want me to have sex with you, well, you may want to pick a different girl."
Darek looked over at Maria. "I'd like to talk to her for a while, if that's okay."
Maria spoke to the girl. "Iza, this man has a certain proposition for you. He'll explain it to you and if you accept it, we'll talk later."
"I'm listening", is all that Iza said, and Darek told her his story. After he finished Iza asked, "so you want me to try to pick him up at a bar?"
"I think what I want is for you to give him the chance. Smile at him, show him you're interested, and see what happens." Darek answered.
"But what if it doesn't work. What if he only smiles back and nothing more? I mean, what if he really has changed his ways?" Iza persisted.
It was something that had always worried Darek. What if Helen were right? What if her husband had truly become the ideal father and husband? Then, who was he to try to interfere with them? Wasn't he, then, the one who was being immoral? Did being in love give him the right to do whatever he wanted? He had to consider the possibility that he was wrong.
"We'll take it slow", Darek responded. "It may take more than one day to do this. I don't want you to force the situation. You set it up, but he has to take advantage of it. I'll let you decide how to work it."