The Mafia's Rose

If I had ever thought things would turn out for my mom this way maybe I would have tried and worked harder to have good savings at least to cater for her needs.

About six years back when my dad was still with us and the goings were good, life was sweet then, I had what I could call the perfect family, we aren't much... just a family of four my mom,dad and older brother wayde but then my father was involved in a ghastly car accident and all effort to save him proved abortive.

The medic-aid covered the bills to some extent and when the money was finished we moved on to spending from the family savings we had and then after four surgical operations and eighteen hours the surgery room he died.

It all started when mom was in the kitchen making lunch and then she started coughing thinking it was the smoke choking her but as it went on she felt dizzy and began bleeding through the nose right before she passed out, the smoke alarm went off this alerted our neighbor, Mrs clayton. She came over to check what was wrong, she found my mom on the ground and rushed her to the hospital, I was called on from work and had to rush down there to speak with the doctor, He had already done some tests and scans on her.

"Doctor what is wrong with her, I hope it's not so serious though" I asked as I fixed my gaze on the tall man. He is a middle aged man with brown eyes covered with big glasses, was neatly dressed from head to toe.

"Uhm miss Jenna" He said as he cleared his throat. "l hate to break it to you this way but your mom has stage four leukemia which is cancer of the blood " He said.

This is the biggest shock of my entire life, the only person who I took most important that I loved so much was dying of cancer and there's not much that I can do.

" What, how, and why cancer doctor, why in the world cancer?" I asked as tears began to roll freely down my cheeks.

" I'm really sorry but I don t know how, but the good thing is that you have me here I'm one hundred and ten percent sure your mom will be alright as soon as we start her treatment"the doctor says.

I couldn't think of the fact that mum has leukemia I was still in deep thought brooding over the news , the doctor called out and that was when I jerked back from my thoughts.

" so sorry please what the way forward" I said my voice was shaky as I spoke.

"well at stage four I can only advise that she should be hospitalized, we need to to start working on her we need to put her on some medication and also start her chemotherapy " He said ,and paused for a minute to continue "But I'm sure you know that treating cancer comes with great bills?does she has insurance or medicaid or anything to help cover the expenses or to relieve the bill a bit "He said.

But this threw me back to when my mom stopped working just when dad died ,we practically lived on her money from the insurance for the three years and then I and my brother wayde had to drop out of school to get a job ,since feeding became so hard and we had nothing again to live on,paying bills.

Realizing all this made me burst out in tears, the doctor was so surprised as I cried.

He let out sad smile and rubbed his forehead " I'm really sorry you have to go through all these but be hopeful because this is not my first time treating this cancer, I've had patients who were believed to only have two months left to live ,but stayed and enjoyed their life till about five to ten years and from the scan I did to your mom's organ is weak ,because the cancer cells has eaten up most of it but thankfully it hasn't gotten to her kidney, if it had then the chances would be very slim and I won't be able to assure you about she surviving it " He said these words just to give me hope or to cheer me up but it wasn't working as I sobbed even more.

"How much time does she has left doc"... I said as the last word choked my throat,"two to three months but hopefully as we start treatment she could stay longer,it is all to help her enjoy her life,for a longer period", he said.

As he said all these I felt the urge to see my mom,I wanted to see how she was doing . Though,Mrs clayton was with her when I got here and she was still asleep then.

"Okay doctor,I and my sibling will begin making preparation for the money,in the meantime I'd like to go see her before I leave for work "I said as I stood up.

I didn't wait for him to bid me goodbye but I could hear him say in the background. When I got to her ward Mrs clayton was still there and a nurse was there too,but she was still asleep.

"Oh jenna I'm so sorry for your mom, but I'm sure she will be alright ",she said.

And I looked over at her to fake a smile, my eyes were red from crying in the doctor's office which she also noticed, I walked over to the bedside to sit by my mom,her face was pale and clear like she was out of blood and her untied hair was all over which made her appear like she only had few days left.

My mom is only the same age as Mrs clayton, but with what she has been through ,these past few years made her appear like she was old enough to mother our neighbor's wife,they were both light skinned but my mom had the dark hair ,while Mrs clayton is blonde, but now Mrs Clayton's is all round beauty queen, when compared to my mom probably because she has little or no worries, she has a complete family already.

I looked at the time and I was already running late for work, now that I have a big responsibility to sort I really don't want to lose this job, I work on two shifts ,meaning I have two jobs,I work as a librarian in the morning and end my shift 2pm, then resume as a waiter in Gray's diner till 10pm.

"Uh,Mrs Clayton I'm about going back to work at the diner ,and I'm sure you know how Mr Gray's is about punctuality ,and I really don't want to lose the job at least ,pending the time I get one that can pay me at an higher price ".I said while picking up my phone and purse and stood up to leave

" Oh ,okay please take care of yourself, I'll hang around for sometime to see if she comes up and I'll leave, okay goodbye "she said as I made my way out the door.

"Goodbye " I answered back.

At the diner I couldn't just get my mind off my mom,how was she doing , is she awake already, has she had something to eat already these thoughts kept running through my head as I tried to focus .

Anne had noticed my sober mood since when I resumed work and she walked up to me while I was getting a customer's order.

"Hey babe what's up, I have been noticing you for some minutes now, and you don't seem happy like you always do ,and your eyes are swollen, have you been crying?"she said as she chewed the gum in her mouth.

Anne was the only friend I had and I was close to ,she had hair twisted like noodles which fall around her ,she is also taller than I am and has a slender body like that of a model . she was just perfect and always flirts with everyone around her, I watched her chew her gum for a moment before I answered.

"Oh ,Anne ,I'm in the deepest shit of my whole life ,I said as I let out a sigh "tell me baby girl what happened, "she said as she walked closer to me looking more concerned.

"Well my mom was just diagnosed of stage four leukemia and the worse of it all is that I don't have enough savings to cover any of the bills, neither does wayde, and you know this job pays me nine bucks per hour also the same goes for withe library, where do I start from , my life is a mess".I said as tears began to roll freely down my cheeks,and then she pulls me in for a warm hug,

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry that this had to happen to your mom now,but you know you've always got me and I'll always be there for you now ok" she said ,and I nodded in her arms.

Her hug seem to be the warm soothing type that made everything seize for a moment, more like that of mom to a sad child .

"So what's the way forward, do you have someone you can call for help financially, or you just wanna work harder to make money "she said as I pulled away and cleaned my face ".

" I'll be right back, let me go drop this order ,I don't want any customer complaints that could lead to the manager deducting my pay " I said as I quickly walked away with the tray in my hands .

I felt even the customers noticed that something was off with me cause of the way they stared at me and tipped me, after I served them I went into the washroom to clean up and came out a few minutes later to meet Anne taking order from a group of girls.

I walked over to the back of the counter to wait for Anne to finish with their order and serve ,she came over to meet me when she was done .

"So what to do now babe about the situation at hand I mean" she asked as her look was concentrated on my face.

"Well only thing i can do is to probably get a better paying job and while at it I will work harder here and at the library ".I answered as I sighed.

"Well babe know of something you can do and can also fetch you cash totake care of your mom, but I don't know if you will buy my idea or get angry at it ".She said as she looked away, at this very point I was very desperate and could do anything to make money

"Anne if there's really anything I could do to make some quick cash and it doesn't involve holding a gun to rob a bank or killing someone I'm ready for it seriously ".

I said as my eyes widened and my palms began to sweat.

" Okay, this isn't a robbery business nor is it an assassination, what made you think of that though ,she asked as she burst into a little laughter and then covered her mouth to keep her voice low.

"well it's the fact that you could be a lot crazy at times and you tend to say and do crazy things too " I replied confidently.

"Well just so you know it doesn't involve any sort of crime okay, it's a strip business you'll work as a stripper, pole dancing and all to those top class business men, believe me they've got a lot to spend just to please themselves"

she said as she kept her gaze on me " ohh Anne I just knew you'd come up with something crazy, but I don't know what to say this means I'd be exposing my body I'd be literally naked,but it pays well you say? "

I said looking concerned " yeah it does, you have a friend who works in the US too and she get heavily paid every night and just so you know I've also been giving it a lot of thought lately, and I know you are fit for the job, you just need a push up bra a sexy lingerie and mice panties then you're good to go

she said as she puckered her lips " but I don't know anything about pole dancing "

she burst into laughter again" baby girl I could hook you up with my friend Susie this evening and I'm sure she would work some magic on you don't worry and I remember you once told me you did gymnastics in school so I'm sure you would do well at it "

she said and I just gave a heavy sigh but u was beginning to think about it how would I be in a lingerie on stage with lights and audience to perform with my body literally opens for the men to see and just then my mind went back to my mom but this time I didn't cry I was hopefully as i began to pick up courage and also be confident in myself

It was late in the evening at fifteen minutes past 7 o'clock, I and Anne had finished work and were getting ready to leave the diner, Anne had put a call to her friend Susie earlier and informed her about me, and also told her we would be coming over, we made our way out of the diner and was waiting for a taxi, I was feeling a bit nervous, I could hear my heart thump loudly, my palm were sweating again ,I just breathe in and tried to reassure myself, I'm doing thus for mom to cater for her and have enough savings to start up something.

We got a cab,I was just quiet although the ride thinking about how I was going to begin this strip thing ,even if I wasn't ready, but my mind was made up already, no going back or rethinking this is all I could do to make quick cash.

I looked over at Anne who was already chewing gum loudly and concentrated on her phone,she was watching videos and I tried to look into the phone. "Anne" I yelled out "why are you watching this, why this ? ", I asked and she looked over at me to giggle.

she was watching stripping tutorial videos "ohh , baby girl,it's nothing bad and come to think of it you should watch too , so you could know what it is you're gonna do,uhh" .

she said as she brought the phone closer to me and gave me a wink , I was speechless and just joined her in watching it , maybe to get more knowledge of it ,minutes later when I watched about three videos the car stopped.

I looked outside the window ,we were in the front of a gigantic house,it was lit up in and out it looked like a house a rich man would live in ,flowers of different colors made the surrounding beautiful and you could smell them from afar .

" We've arrived at your destination ma'am ".the driver said and Anne picked up her purse and paid him,we got down and I got a clearer view of the place .

The house stood tall a storey building, glass covered the upper part of the house and the lower was painted white and gold lights lit it up ,"is this the place Anne",I asked with my eyes wide open " lol yeah ,look what Susie just bought with money you know what " ,she said putting a stress on those last three words.

I guess she doesn't want to say it but I understood anyway ,we walked up to the porch and Anne rung the bell and about a minute later a lady opens the door for us "Anne" the lady called out "Susie ,how are you "Anne said "oh, I'm good how about you " ,Susie answered back as they both hug each other,"well here's my friend that I told you about over the phone", Anne said pointing over to me .

"And we both are here for a quick class because she has to go see her mom back in the hospital , were you able to get what I asked you to get what I asked you to ? " .

Anne asked , and I just stood there looking numb , " yeah I did , as soon as I got off the phone with you I went out to get it and I got the perfect one,"I'm sure she would like it",Susie said .

" oh that's great , so let's get downtown business ",Anne said and Susie led us up stairs to a room, as we entered into it I noticed the iron pole standing in the middle of it with chairs round it ,I sat down and Anne sat right next to me ,Susie came in after us "so down to what you come here for , I heard you did gymnastics in school , so this shouldn't be hard for you ".

Susie said while staring at me I just nodded and smiled she pulled off her lingerie letting out her sexy body ,she had a tattoo in her waist, wrist and the middle of her backall the way to her butt , a sexy figure eight and her heights just seem like the perfect goodness of nudity , she moved close to the pole and held it ,"I'm gonna show you the steps of doing a pole dance" , " this is called a pirouette " , she said as she stood on her toes few inches away from the pole before spinning with her hold remaining on the metal stick then, she leaned back against it with her foot against the knee.

I watched every move carefully and I was sure I could do it , my body shouldn't be that cranked up,she got off, so I repeated exactly as she did.

I had to do it about five times , to get a hand and perfect it , once I did , Susie and Anne were stunned " wow , I'm impressed, you're a fast learner , and I'm sure the other moves won't be that hard for you " she said with a big smile . Time passed from seconds to minutes and I was watching and learning every move.

She had taught me everything I needed to know,but who would have thought that pole dancing is more harder than it looks . Now Susie thought it would be great to do an assessment before letting me go .

" Do a fireman spin " she said I did the outside step before clamping my knees on the pole as I dragged myself down while keeping the spin " she asked.

I grabbed the pole before spinning my body around while sitting in the air " A back hook spin" she said and I was trying to catch my breathe .

Doing the " back hook spin was really hard I thought she would skip that,but I just have to so I can clear her doubt .

I held onto the pole before spinning around and hooking my right leg around the pole just as my body slide down it while keeping the position and the spin " wow wow , I'm really Impressed jenna, now you're done but don't forget the other moves and also try to maintain contact" , she said with a smile and I just smiled back .

" And I'm gonna try fix you a appointment with Jake on Thursday uhh" she said .

I looked over at Anne who was staring at me wowed by what I did " but for now you're free to go to your mom but I'd like for you to be here on Wednesday evening , I have something for you " she said " ok ,Susie thanks for what you're doing for me ,though it's our first time meeting but still thanks, I'll be here Wednesday " I answered back.