What Goes Around Comes Around

His Wife

"Gage, have you met my wife?"
A cigar was hanging from his mouth and he was driving with only one hand on the wheel, his other was hanging out of the car window.

Of course I knew who his wife was. The boss' wife works for Nuka Cola, and despite all of his fancy cars and the empire he's built, she's his favourite trophy. A special kinda woman she is; people are either scared of her, want her or want to be her, and besides all that, she's a cracking coverup for all the dodgy shit he's into.

But had I met her? No. Boss tends to keep her away from business. Probably for the best. She's too soft for this life. Leave her to the cameras and paparazzis and film crews.

I shake my head and he flicks his cigar out the window, "well you're gonna today."

Nathaniel's alright as far as bosses go. I'm paid well, he listens to me, trusts me, leaves me in charge. But damn if he ain't unpredictable. I can't lie, it makes me a little fucking nervous. I don't like when I can't tell what he's thinking 'cause from experience... it ends with someone dead. I'm just hoping that someone ain't gonna be me.

"How comes?" He glances in my direction, and his face is unreadable, as usual. "Why not?" An expected unreasonable answer. "Well I been workin' for you for a while now, boss, just seems a bit out of nowhere." "Well she is my wife, Gage. You were bound to meet her sometime." Makes sense I guess. Probably as much sense as he's gonna make so I just agree and go back to being quiet. Less likely to get myself in trouble that way.

We're driving from the city, I already knew where the boss lived, but I ain't never been inside. And I usually pick him up from outside the Red Rocket when I drive. It's in a small, shitty little residential area called Sanctuary Hills. I know they can afford bigger like, I'm sure their house is nice and all but it's not exactly what you'd expect from them. I know how much money our little business venture rakes in, and I can imagine his wife is way overpaid for what she actually does.

He's a completely different guy around the neighbours. "Hey Ms. Rosa! You and your boy still building that old Corvega? You let me know if you need a hand, alright?" You can tell they obviously don't know what he's actually up to. Probably believe that he really is some upper-city boy running his own office company or whatever bullshit story he spins to people. They blatantly ain't used to seeing people like me in these parts either, maybe it's the eyepatch but Ms. Rosa seems awful startled by me.

The house is nice enough, his apartment in the city is more fancy-like. But the house is something out of a magazine honestly. Picture perfect suburbia. Can't even imagine that wife of his living somewhere like this. She's the yuppy city type you'd expect to be living in some big house with tiny bathrooms on all the bedrooms, or a penthouse apartment. Not a small, one floor house in a picket fence community.

I follow the boss into his house and honestly I didn't know what I was expecting, like I said I knew who his wife was, but it weren't this. "Vanessa. We've got a guest. Come out."

Out of the bedroom she trots. All shiny red lipstick and long blonde curls. And I don't even think I can begin to describe what she was wearing. It was like a long sheer dress thing, with baggy sleeves with fur on and along the trim. I ain't no spring chicken, okay, and in all my years I've learnt no woman actually looks like this. Not in real life anyway. In pictures and movies and shit, yeah.

"This is Gage. Gage this is my wife, Vanessa." I hold out my hand to her and she giggles as she shakes it, like she weren't expecting it. "Porter Gage, nice to meet you ma'am." I think I was supposed to kiss her hand or something. "It's a pleasure, Porter," "It's just Gage, Vanessa." She's watching me closely and it makes me nervous. "Hey, the boss-lady can call me whatever the fuck she wants. She's in charge after all."