She Was a Small-Town Girl

Story Submitted by John:

I was reading in a hotel bar on a business trip in a small town when I noticed an attractive woman sitting by herself nearby.  I approached her and struck up a conversation.  She introduced herself as Isabella, mentioned that she worked in town at a printing shop, and that the bartender was a good friend of hers.

The hotel was right on a boardwalk by a bay, and I asked her if she wanted to take a walk outside in the night air, which she did.  During our stroll, she confessed that she had grown up in the town, and as the only daughter in a family of boys, was expected to remain behind to take care of her parents and run the printing shop while her brothers all went and did their own things.

"I want to get out of here," she said, "But money's tight and I have no idea where I'd go."

I said, "You can probably find a cheap place and at least retail employment almost anywhere you go, if you really wanted to leave."

"But I don't even have the money to leave," she said.  We stopped walking and leaned on a guardrail at the boardwalk's edge.  She turned to me and asked, "Will you give me some money?"

I said, "I don't think so."

She said, "I just need a thousand dollars.  I'll come back to your room with you.  Anything except sex.  Just a thousand dollars."

"No."

She went on, "My friend's the bartender inside.  He'll give you any drinks you want for free.  Just a thousand dollars, come on."

I said, "I'm sorry, Isabella.  The answer's no."

She said, "I guess I have no choice, then," and climbed over the guardrail.

I went to grab her and she said, "One move and I jump."

The distance from the boardwalk to the water below wasn't really far, maybe about 10 feet.  Still, the water had to have been freezing.  I said, "Isabella, let's go back inside."

She replied, "Are you going to give me that thousand dollars?  You owe it to me."

"I what?  I owe it to you?"

She nodded.  "This walk, this talk, it's not for free.  You give me that money or I jump."

I called her bluff, backed away, and said, "I'll meet you back inside."

I went inside and called the police about a potential jumper at the boardwalk.  I don't know if they showed up, if Isabella ended up jumping, or what happened after that, because I went straight up to my room, locked the door, went to bed, and was off to the airport the next morning.