Re: Elise
[Her tone is harsher now] It is. You're not a man, you have emotional control. Men can't control themselves, women can think things through. You know what you're missing, you know who you want it from, so woman up and tell him about your feelings. If you miss him and want him around more, tell him or he'll never know and this will keep escalating.
If you have to hide it, you already know it's wrong. Steve trusts you to be his happy place.
[She sighs, trying a softer approach] Men with a lot of pressure need outlets. [She places a reassuring hand on Dawn's arm] I'm only telling you because I've seen it so often and I know you're new to this lifestyle. His wife gets the good, the bad, and the ugly. You're second, you're his happy place, keep it happy. He wants you to be the happy piece of his life and you doing things like this behind his back is going to taint it. Be grateful you're not his third. Guys with as much pressure as Steve or my Dad or Deni's ex usually need a punching bag too.
My Dad used to use my mom as a punching bag for a while until he met N[slur]r Nancy. He'd bring her over about once a week and let loose on her all that "masculine energy" [Finger quotes] right there in the parlor. Once he started seeing her, things got a lot better for my mom and my Nana- Nana's what we called his whore- but N[slur]r Nancy got the short end of the stick because she was third and my Dad didn't see girls like her as real women. I do, I always felt really bad for her because she always got it the worst, but... she did also save my mom. N[slur] Nancy was actually really nice. Nana hired her as a maid after things got started because she saved our family. Hired, I say loosely, because things worked different back home. You could hire someone to do stuff in exchange for room and board and not worry about paying any salary or anything. God, that sounds so awful, but honestly we were all pretty young when it started and she didn't have anything to spend it on. She was only two years older than me so she must have been almost 18 or something.
[She stares off for a moment, lost in her memories. She remembers N[slur] Nancy staying up in her room helping her and Deni sew their debutante dresses while her Dad was out drinking with her Nana. She was so nice. She snaps back out of it and smiles at Dawn] Every role has it's upsides and downsides. Sure, you'll never be a part of the family he shows the world, but you're a part of his heart that protects a man who doesn't think he needs protection. And hey, [She pats her arm] at least you're not third.