My Journey From Being His Stripper To Being His Wife

I was a "dancer" on the day shift in a very upscale gentlemen's club downtown. Because we weren't there for the rowdy friends, bikers, or eerie wandering perverts, the daytime gals were different from the midnight ones. We were the sweethearts of America, the sophisticated and feisty females who lived next door. Throughout the day, a variety of males entered via the door. Strip clubs were written off as a business expenditure by residents, lobbyists, politicians, lawyers, tourists, and businesses. [caption id="attachment_73549" align="aligncenter" width="360"] Image: freepik[/caption] One Friday, a group of around twenty men invited a couple of us to assist with a bachelor party that would take place that evening. The boys were wonderful fun, total gentlemen, and pure sweethearts. I was confident that I would be protected, treated with respect at work, and not required to do anything other than turn up, stand at a table, and put up a performance. We became really close friends since one of the bachelor party guests turned out to be incredibly charming. He said he was in his second marriage when I asked him about it. He admitted that he wasn't sure whether getting married a second time was a smart idea, but his wife had set him a deadline.

I had a crush on him immediately.

[caption id="attachment_73550" align="aligncenter" width="360"] Image: freepik[/caption] I attempted to come up with a reason to spend time with him each time he came in, but he was never interested. My other strippers and I worked behind his back to find methods to get him alone with me because we found it amusing how obtuse he could be. Just after midnight, when the music and moonlight had finished their magic, I was able to catch him in the guest bathroom. And the rest is history, as they say. While we were dating, I continued to work at the club for almost another year until I completely left the industry. Because I was still their favorite dancer, his buddies, who occasionally went to the club, couldn't have been more nice and charming about it. (Plus, my future husband wasn't the type of guy you wanted to get into a fight with in a bar, so they never spoke badly of me.) I'm glad to announce that I have been his wife for the past thirty years and that we have a total of five great children together. We made it all the way to the altar with grace, dignity, and good wishes.

And someday, who knows, we just might tell them how we met.