Free Twelve Nights by Carole Remy

want you to listen
to the end.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Okay.” Angela’s chest swelled as she took a deep breath.
She stood up and walked into the hallway. When she returned, she held a scrap
of paper in her hand. “A few weeks ago a man put this ad in the New York
Times.”
    Aggie took the ad from her sister’s outstretched hand. She
read the simple words and immediately thought of herself. She was exactly what
the man was looking for. Angela wanted her to prostitute herself for this man
and then share the money.
    “I won’t do it.” Aggie thrust the paper back at her sister.
    Angela sat in an armchair. “You don’t know what I’m going to
ask you. Aggie,…”
    “No!” Aggie interrupted.
    “No, Aggie!” Angela interrupted back. “I said you had to
listen to the whole explanation before you decided. Now you’re jumping to
conclusions and I haven’t even started explaining.”
    Aggie recognized the justice of her sister’s words, though
she couldn’t image another more acceptable explanation. She nodded for Angela
to continue.
    “I answered the ad. I used your name and circumstances.”
Aggie nodded tightlipped and Angela carried on. “About a week later I got a
letter asking me a bunch of questions. Everything was getting too complicated
already and I sent back the letter with kind of a nasty note.”
    Aggie could imagine her sister’s words. Though Aggie had the
hotter temper, once Angela was angry, she was deadly. She smiled and her sister
continued, her voice more optimistic.
    “A few days later a man called me.”
    “You have an unlisted phone. I couldn’t even find you.”
    “This man must be really wealthy to offer $120,000. I used a
box number. I guess he bribed somebody. I don’t know.”
    “Keep going,” Aggie prodded.
    “Okay.” Angela took a deep breath. “The man on the phone was
Danny, the brother of the man who advertised. He said the lawyer was suspicious
of me and had rejected my letter when I wouldn’t answer his questions. Do you
follow me?”
    “So far.”
    “Danny said he knew I was the right one for his brother. He
didn’t say ‘thought’. He said ‘knew’.”
    “And…”
    “So here we are in Vancouver. The man lives here.”
    “And you want me prostitute myself for twelve nights and
then share the money with you so you can get out of prostitution.” Aggie couldn’t
suppress her anger. She stood and paced the short length of the room.
    “NO!”
    The horror in Angela’s voice couldn’t have been faked. Aggie
stopped and turned to her sister, her eyebrows raised.
    “All I want you to do is go to the initial interview with the
lawyer, convince him you’re on the level. Then I’ll do the nights. I can fake
innocent in bed. I just don’t think I can fool a lawyer.”
    The proposition was so much simpler, so much less painful
than Aggie had imagined, she almost laughed in relief. Her sister didn’t want
her to sell her body. She just wanted her to pull another twin stunt. No wonder
she had cut her hair to match Aggie’s. No wonder she had tried to fool their
father and Mary. All the pieces dropped into place and Aggie laughed.
    “You’re too much, Boo.” Aggie held out her arms to her
sister. Angela rushed into her embrace and knocked them both back onto the
sofa. Angela was crying in loud gusts.
    “I knew,” she sobbed. “I knew when you understood… that you
would understand.”
    Aggie squeezed her tight.
    “Stop crying, Boo,” she advised her older sibling. “You’re
not making any sense.”
    Angela sat up.
    “You’ll help me, won’t you?”
    “Are you sure you want to do this, Angela? This man may be
as bad as the last one. He could be worse.”
    “I can handle anything for twelve nights. Hell, pregnancy
lasts nine months. This has to be easier than throwing up every morning.”
    “You don’t throw up for nine months,” Aggie reminded her.
    “You know what I mean. I have a goal, Aggie. I really,
really need to get out of prostitution.