This is veeeeeeeery long, sorry. We moved into this block of flats a few months ago. I quickly made friends with the woman who lives next door (actually opposite me - our doors face each other off a corridor) and we've become quite close. She has a DS aged 4 who is a lovely boy, and she's really easy to chat to. We're both at home through the day so have taken to popping into each others flats for a cuppa and a natter. My friend is a lovely, sweet, witty woman with a heart of gold.
She's late 20s, has never worked and has no qualifications. As I say she's lovely and I think the world of her, but she's a bit chaotic. Her timekeeping is woeful (her DS always late for school, if she says she'll come by at 11, it'll be 12 before you see her) and her organisation skills are fairly rubbish - she doesn't manage money well (so is in debt/always borrowing money for the meter) and can never find where she's put things. I mention all this not to slag her off but just to explain that in a city with high unemployment, she's not exactly very employable. I'm a bit older than her and feel quite maternal towards her.
So I was a bit (pleasantly) surprised when she told me she had a job, working in a bar (though another time she said it was a club) from 10-2, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. She asked me if i would sit with her DS while she works those hours, and I said yes because I'm happy to help, my DH is at home then so can be with our DCs and her DS and i know each other and get on well. Basically I come round in my PJs and i just lie on her couch with a fleece blanket on me and snooze until she comes home, then i just go straight to my own bed. It works well, her DS sleeps through & it's no trouble for me to do it.
Still with me? Basically I've started to wonder if this bar/club exists. My friend has said contradictory things about it and has even said it's called different things. If you ever mention the workplace, she's very keen to change the subject. Also, the way she dresses to go to work (very very short tight skirts and long high heel boots and loads of make up) and the fact that she'll come home and straight away empty cash out of her handbag makes me wonder if she might actually be doing sex work?
So, do you think I'm being ridiculous? I don't think how she earns money is any of my business but I don't like to think of her being in danger, especially since her DS doesn't have any other relation on the scene. If I mention my suspicions and I'm wrong, she could be really insulted? Would she just deny it even if I'm right?
The short version is that I'm worried about a friend I feel protective of, but it's a very awkward situation. WIBU to say something to her?