Dance of Death (15 page)

Renee said she still didn't feel well, but Brent wouldn't take no for an answer. When she finally came walking out the door, he told her to close her eyes and he got down on one knee, with a single yellow rose in his hand, and proposed. “Kimberly Renee Poole, would you marry me?” he said romantically. She started crying, but somehow managed to squeeze out an acceptance. After he handed her the yellow rose, she saw the diamond, fastened onto one of the leaves, sparkling in the light.

Brent had always been careful to use a condom when he and Renee were having sex. He knew if he got her pregnant, abortion would not be an option. But now that they were engaged, why worry? They had already decided to get married and knew they were going to be together for a lifetime, so what difference did it make?

But in the spring of 1995, Renee began craving pickles and other odd assortments of foods. A home pregnancy test confirmed she was pregnant, and when she called Brent to tell him, he said he had already figured it out. He told her it didn't matter; she was seventeen and he was twenty. He had already completed diesel school and was working for Mack Truck sales in Kernersville. She was working at Home Depot. If they needed any further help financially, he knew both their parents would help out.

Renee wanted to have this baby for Brent, but she found it difficult to concentrate at home. When she and her mother argued about her not following the rules of the house, she started spending nights over at her friend April's house. That didn't help to resolve the situation, and as a final ultimatum, Marie packed her daughter's stuff and left it outside on the porch.

With the usual obstinacy of an ox, Renee picked up her things, drove back to April's house and moved in with her. April was only sixteen and living with her older sister, who ironically was one of Brent's ex-girlfriends. Her sister was working as an exotic dancer at a gentleman's club in Winston-Salem and making good enough money to let them stay as long as they liked. After a few phone calls, Renee's parents learned she was staying with April and that April had started dancing in the club as well. They were afraid Renee would follow suit.

Renee assured her parents that April's choices didn't really affect her either way. It was her life after all, and she had a right to live it as she pleased. She then revealed to them she was pregnant and that Brent was the father. With a baby on the way, there was no way she was going to be dancing naked.

Renee's parents always liked Brent. They thought of him as the son they never had. All they wanted for their daughter was to be happy. She didn't have to marry Brent, but if that was what she wanted, then they would accept her decision. They asked Renee to move back home.

Jack and Marie Summey found out they weren't the first parents—nor would they be the last—to hold their tongues and their breath over decisions their children had made. Renee and Brent had been together for seven years, and in spite of all the odds against them, they seemed to love each other. Brent assured Renee's parents that he loved Renee more than life itself, but he wasn't so sure how his parents would respond to the news of her being pregnant.

Brent told his future in-laws that his dad would probably take it okay, but it was his mother he was concerned about. Said she'd worry the warts off a toad over the smallest things. And he knew she wasn't going to like them having a baby out of wedlock. She'd be terrified of what the people in the church and the community were going to say. Lord how people love to talk.

Brent was right. His parents were upset when he first told them about the pregnancy, but eventually they got over it. One night, Bill brought out a jar of pickles and told Renee she would probably be wanting them soon and officially welcomed her into his family. Brent said his mother had finally accepted it, too, but was still worried about saving face with their friends. His mother insisted they get married before Renee started showing.

Renee's parents had wanted her to wait until she had gotten her GED and had saved enough money to have a decent wedding. But out of respect for the Pooles, they started planning and throwing things together as quickly as possible. They would have the wedding at their home and ask their friends to help prepare food and refreshments. Jack made a phone call to the minister who married him and Marie eighteen years ago and the reverend agreed to perform the ceremony.

On June 9, 1995, a perfect sunny day, Renee's and Brent's family and friends gathered at the Summey home in Clemmons to help them celebrate their wedding. Renee was beautiful in her long white gown. Her dark hair had been pulled up into a cascade of curls, laced with a matching white floral band, and she wore a corsage of her favorite flower, three yellow roses.

In front of the Summeys' gray stone fireplace, Brent turned to his bride for the first time in her wedding dress and a smile lit up his face. The minister read from the Bible, then asked if Brent took Renee to be his lawful and wedded wife until death did they part. He smiled at her nervously before replying, “I do.” Renee had no problems with her vows, and after the minister asked for rings, she placed a small gold wedding band on his ring finger and pledged her love forever.

It was all over in about ten minutes. Renee and Brent were now husband and wife. Everyone raised a glass of apple cider—Brent's family had asked that no alcoholic beverages be at the wedding—toasted the bride and groom and wished them well on their honeymoon in the mountains at Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Six months later, Renee gave birth to Katie Lynn Poole at Forsyth Memorial Hospital, in Winston-Salem. Brent's brother, Craig, and his wife, Amy, were also at the same hospital with their newborn. Bill and Agnes Poole were elated to have two little granddaughters at the hospital. It was probably the most special day of Agnes's life; that is, until she walked in Renee's room and saw a strange man standing by her bed. She noticed the suspicious red-faced man couldn't get out of the room fast enough after she had walked in. But Renee claimed Danny was just a coworker from Home Depot, somebody who just happened to be at the hospital and had stopped by to congratulate her.

“But from now on,” Renee advised Agnes, “you need to call ahead before you make a surprise visit to my room.”

The idea for Renee to become an exotic dancer probably originated with her friend April Eason. In the fall of 1995, April dropped by to visit Renee at her mom's house. Renee was seven months pregnant at the time and she and Brent were sitting at the kitchen table talking with April when she started telling them about how much money she was making as a dancer in a topless club.

Renee's mouth dropped open. She found it strange having a friend in that type of business. She didn't know a lot about what all went on at the clubs, but what she had heard sounded like some weird stuff. But it didn't really affect her either way. She was just happy to hear April was doing well and making so much money.

Brent, on the other hand, thought it was awesome. He looked at Renee and told her after she had the baby, she could start dancing and making big money like April.

Renee couldn't believe her husband had said that. Her mom was standing behind her and she couldn't believe it, either. Marie kind of huffed and went on about her business, knowing that Renee would never do anything like that. But there was a lot going on in Renee's life that she never had told her mother.

From Renee and Brent's earlier days in high school, they had always been sexually attracted to each other. But for some reason, after Katie was born, Brent didn't want to have sexual relations with Renee. Renee was too ashamed to talk with anyone about it, but she believed the real reason their relationship had taken a nosedive was because Brent had gotten hooked on Internet porno sites. She said at first they would sit down and look through the sites together, hoping that it would add some spark to their spiraling sex life. But she soon got tired of that and wanted to do other things. She said she liked doing things with her daughter, like taking her to the park or visiting her or Brent's parents. Brent worked second shift, so they didn't see a lot of each other at night. And when he wasn't working, he was either riding four-wheelers, hanging out with his friends or on the computer pulling up more porno sites.

As long as Renee had known Brent, he had indulged in pornography. At home, he would hide his magazines in the drop-ceiling tiles of his room so his mom wouldn't find them. When they were dating, she said, he kept his magazines stashed under the driver's seat of his truck. And after they were married, he would hide them in their home under their water bed so that Katie wouldn't find them accidentally. Brent also kept other magazines under the driver's seat of his car and would look at them in the parking lot after he got off work.

What Brent didn't seem to understand was that Renee's appetite for sex easily equaled his. She wanted him to know that all the while she, too, craved the same sexual attention and pleasure he wanted for himself. She tried initiating sex with him several times, but each time he turned her down flat. Yet, in the early-morning hours, she would watch him from her empty bed go into the next room and masturbate while watching porno films. She couldn't understand Brent's logic. She was more than willing to please him and instead he chose to do that. For a while, she tried to satisfy herself by masturbating with a vibrator, until he asked to borrow it to pleasure himself. She told him he could have it, that she didn't want it anymore. After that incident, she vowed she would find herself someone who would spend time with her gladly.

Renee guessed she may have had that in the back of her mind when she agreed with Brent to apply at the Silver Fox Gentleman's Club in Winston-Salem. She had always been an attractive woman and had gotten her share of hits from men, but she was a little apprehensive about competing with professional dancers for attention.

Brent was confident she could make as much money as any of those other dancers. One night, he had talked her into wearing a white patent-leather outfit. The costume consisted of a skirt and a jacket—all of twelve inches—that zipped up the front and only came down to the middle of her back, and she wore six-inch-heeled knee-high boots to match. Brent was standing behind the curtain, watching the delivery boy's face when Renee answered the door in her skimpy outfit, and nearly fell through the window laughing so hard.

Renee looked like a Playboy foldout. She had those large Bambi eyes and long, black-colored lashes that would mesmerize any man. As she prepared herself for her new career, she realized this was her strongest feature and would spend a lot of time searching for the perfect shades of eyeliner and mascara. She started experimenting with different brands of shadows, lipsticks and makeup. She had been wearing makeup since she was about fourteen, but she was going after a much different look and it took a different approach. Sultry, sweltering and sizzling was more the look she was now seeking.

Renee found she didn't need anything to highlight her lips. Just a little lipstick would always accent her pouting lips. She normally wore her hair pulled up in a ponytail or completely down. A bad hair day for her was any day when the humidity was high. Her hair was naturally curly and frizzed when there was moisture in the air. But now that she was making the transition from teenager to woman, she'd have to find a new hairdo. The big-hair thing was definitely out. She needed to let her hair grow to one length and straighten it a bit, start wearing barrettes and swing it across her face and shoulders.

All of Renee's old clothes would have to go, too. She told Brent she'd have to expand her closet and update the outfits she had. She started looking in fashion magazines and buying clothes with colors that would complement her hair, eyes, and skin tone. She tried different styles and wore things she had never thought of wearing before, like sandals, open-toed shoes and ankle-length dresses in reds, browns, slivers and greens. The more she worked at it, the more sophisticated she got. She knew she had finally arrived when total strangers would stop her in the street to tell her she looked like Ashley Judd, Jennifer Love Hewitt or Alyssa Milano.

Renee got hired as a dancer and she went to work right away. She hadn't ever taken any dance lessons, but she quickly picked up little moves from the other girls and incorporated them into her routine. She became more limber and, at times, even felt sexy. As she became less conscious of her nudity, it made things easier for her to adopt a sultry look and concentrate on making the customer feel as if he/she were the only person in the room. Before long, the money came in like it was falling from the sky.

At first, Brent was more interested in Renee making money. But he, too, became infatuated with the new Renee and began to show her some attention. He liked it when the green in her eyes was more predominant than the brown. He liked it when she started wearing her hair down and across her face. And he liked for her to wear short skirts, tight dresses and low-rise, tight jeans that showed off her stomach. Belly-baring jeans was his particular favorite, but for some reason, he still wouldn't allow her to wear them around his family. It didn't matter to Renee, for she was more comfortable in T-shirts, tank tops or sweaters, and loose-fitting jeans. When she dressed in ankle-length dresses, Brent said, she looked more like a schoolteacher and he didn't want her to wear them around him. She never protested to Brent about it, though, and did whatever he wanted just to avoid an argument.

What Renee did enjoy was their lovemaking. Brent was probably turned on to the fact that she was now willing to do whatever he wanted her to and was as vocal as he was about sex. Working at the club had given her the confidence she was seeking and allowed her to be more experimental at home.

Renee's dancing at the Silver Fox had definitely livened up their sex life at home. Brent would ask her to dance for him as foreplay, and she'd dress up in one of her sexy outfits and perform. She always had been shy growing up, not real sure of herself, and had struggled with low self-esteem. She still wrestled with it, but all the attention she had gotten from men at the club, the many compliments they paid her, helped to boost her confidence and reconstruct her ego. How could she not think she was anything but lavishly gorgeous when she was repeatedly told she was too beautiful to be working there. Deep down inside, she didn't believe it was true. But it sure helped to hear it and at least pretend it was true.

If Brent was intimidated by other men watching his wife dance naked and lusting after her, he didn't show it. He never complained about her closet expanding with the many show time outfits Renee had purchased specially from stores in Greensboro and Charlotte. There was also a seamstress who made outfits and came to the club to sell them, and Renee was soon designing her own clothing.

One of Renee's favorite outfits was a man's white, solid and button-down shirt, with a white satiny bra and thong underneath. The thigh-highs were white with lace at the tops of them. The shirt was oversize for Renee and was buttoned with one button about halfway down. She had bought the shirt after having seen one of the girls wear the button-down over a teddy and thought it'd look better with a simple bra and a standard thong.

Brent found it hard to believe his wife was making as much money dancing two nights a week as he was for working forty hours per week. He started inviting all his friends to visit the club and encouraging them to ask his wife to do a table dance for them. Some found it a little bizarre to see him sitting in the club and watching his wife dance naked. They knew his family and that his parents were very religious. Now they only could wonder what his parents must be thinking.

Renee admitted she had found it a little uncomfortable dancing naked at first, then didn't see what all the fuss was about. None of what she wore was any more revealing than what had been seen at the beach, except for her cheeks hanging out from the thong. She didn't have all the slick moves of the other dancers, but it was easy to close her eyes and get into the music. Fantasy names also weren't one of her strong points, but she remembered April had once used the stage name “Carlee” at a club where she was dancing and it had seemed to work for her. Renee adopted “Carlee” as her stage name. April had also gotten a theatrical mask tattooed on her shoulder blade and had talked Renee into getting one tattooed on her thigh.

One thing Renee hadn't thought about before working at the club was the large number of women who came into the club, usually with their boyfriends or husbands, who would pay the dancers to perform for them. She would soon learn from performing in the club that two women being intimate wasn't as big a deal as everyone made it out to be. There were ways women could pleasure other women that men knew absolutely nothing about and discovered from experience that women were much more patient and sensual than men. She realized women knew what felt good to a woman because they shared the same anatomy. Women took their time and did not focus on their own pleasure, as most men did.

As far as she knew, Brent had never actually seen her being sexual with another woman—other than kissing. He may have been looking through the crack in the door at the club, assuming every man she had ever known had a fantasy of making love to two women. Brent had tons of magazines and movies at home portraying this same subject.

Brent appreciated the fringe benefits that came with his wife's new job as much as she did. He loved for Renee to bring women home with her after work. He would purse his lips, pout like a baby and get mad at her for days until she finally agreed to his requests. Because she hated Brent being mad at her, she would usually give in and promise she'd try to talk one of the girls into coming home with her.

Two girls from the Silver Fox did come home with her on two separate occasions. It was late, around three or four in the morning, but Brent didn't mind. He said he felt like he had died and gone to heaven. He cooked for everyone and they all sat around, watched television and talked for a while, then went to bed. They had a spare bedroom upstairs, but Renee saw to it that the girls slept in the bed with her. While Brent slept on the couch downstairs, she and her friends were upstairs having more than a pajama party. They were intimate in every way—kissing, touching, tasting and exploring—but all she allowed her husband to do was fantasize about it.

Brent had always encouraged Renee to bring other women into their marriage. With his fetish for pornography, she believed he was one of those people that psychologists called “voyeurs.” But, he told her, it went deeper than that. He begged Renee to let him join in, but she just couldn't bring herself to watch him be intimate with another woman. What he did away from her, she didn't know, but she wasn't going to sit back and watch him do it in her own home. He, on the other hand, wanted more than anything to watch Renee make love with another woman, but she just didn't feel comfortable with that, either. The next day, he'd always ask for details, but she kept them to herself. He had told her that just the thought of his wife being with another woman turned him on, so she thought it best to leave this to his imagination.

There was one certain waitress at the club who once spent the night with Renee that Brent had hoped he could turn into a threesome, but nothing ever transpired. She was very beautiful and Brent desperately wanted her, but she said she was not interested in any of his sex games. They all went out with her on a few occasions; then she quit the club and they never heard from her again.

Renee started to enjoy her liaisons with the women she brought home, but she never told Brent that. She didn't want him to feel inadequate as a lover. Renee knew a lot of people who preached that homosexual relationships were wrong, but since Brent had encouraged her to indulge and she had experimented with it, she didn't feel there was anything more wrong with that than the porn films people watched, the magazines they masturbated to or the premarital sex they engaged in.

Renee was particularly attracted to another dancer she had met at the club, Cynthia Hanson. They quickly became friends and after hours would go out dancing at regular clubs or she'd cook and they'd hang out at her apartment watching Walt Disney movies with Katie. When they went out to regular clubs, they'd dance together, feed each other and do all the things that “girlfriends” would do. They would even kiss, but that was about it. Cynthia had a boyfriend, so they never had sex. She had already told Renee she had never indulged before and Renee didn't want to pressure her into it. Whenever she was ready, she said, she'd let Renee know.