by K L Finalley
He knocked his knuckle against her forehead. "There's nothing to talk about. You ask. She says yes. That's the whole thing. Then, you wait on her to tell you the terms of the deal."
"What are you two doin'," Misty asked as she came outside. She had changed from the bodysuit and stilettos into a black and white plaid one-piece swimsuit with a sheer black cover. The cover-up was either too big or was not being worn correctly. It hung loosely about her frame, revealing her bronze shoulders. "I asked this one," she said pointing at Mallory who was behind her. "If she wanted to take a swim with me, she refused. I guess I'll have to swim alone. Unless one of you wants to join me." The accent had returned. It lingered in the air. Her sentences swayed about their ears and gracefully landed in their thoughts like a song.
Jacqueline tried to resist the siren's song. She reached out for Mallory, hoping that her resolve would keep her steady. "Unfortunately, we can't tonight. We need to head out soon. We still have to pick up Zoe and get her off to bed." That was another lie. Zoe was spending the night with Abbie.
"That's too bad. Jackie heated the pool up just for us." Misty let the wrap that never quite covered her fall to the ground. She stepped over the fabric heap it left. Jack was at the bar. Focused on his drink, he was oblivious to all of this. Mallory was busy watching Jacqueline watch Misty dive into the pool. She glided deeper and deeper into the lit, parakeet-colored pool. Just when it appeared she may reach the bottom, she ascended to the top, folded her arms and rested on the pool's edge. Batting her full eyelashes while water streamed down her back, Misty remarked, "The water's magnificent. Y'all don't know what you're missin'."
Jacqueline was mesmerized by the dive, the beads of water, and the night air. She could not respond. However, Mallory said, "And, she won't tonight," and led Jacqueline to the car.
Chapter 12
Having a conversation with Elet dressed in a red and white striped long sleeve shirt and the matching knit beanie was difficult for Jacqueline. She was unaware that it was equally difficult for Elet to talk to her as she wore a jagged orange and black shirt that was designed to look like animal skin. "Fred didn't wear khaki shorts," he teased.
"I'm sure he had something on under the tiger skin."
"It was prehistoric times."
"Yes, it was, but they had technology. I think he probably had short shorts or something on under there. And, that's what I'm representing. It's the spirit of the show," she replied
"Uh huh. Well, I call bullshit. I need you to pull off those shorts and be pure prehistoric," he tugged on her shorts.
"Not gonna happen, but I will slip outta my shoes and be barefoot." The two laughed. As they stood in the backyard drinking ciders, they were surrounded by a collection of costume covered children playing on the swing set. Raggedy Ann, Kelsey, was swinging without her wig on. It had come off in the windstorm the swinging had caused. Snow White, Destiny, had recovered the wig and held onto to it for Ann. Raggedy Andy, Bryce, no longer had rosy cheeks. The sweat and the grubby hands of a five-year-old had caused them to smudge about his face. Brett, Frankenstein, had tried to clean Raggedy Andy's face on a number of occasions, but he had only made matters worse. His green make-up had mixed with Raggedy Andy's red make-up. Now, Andy looked like he had been in a bar room fight. Andy was climbing up the end of the slide towards Thing 3, Jess, who was waiting to slide down. Thing 3 was arguing with Thing 2, Jeremy, who was eager to slide and thought that the others were being unfair.
"This is a nice turn out. I can't believe that we never came to these before." Jacqueline said as she checked on Wonder Woman, Abbie. Wonder Woman had convinced Frankenstein that she was old enough and capable of making s'mores over the firepit. Frankenstein had been overseeing the gooey debacle but had stepped away to check on Raggedy Andy. When Jacqueline realized that an adult should probably be present, she and Waldo edged towards the children. Standing near the open fire, Wonder Woman roasted the s'mores as the assembly line, made up of Zoe as Pebbles and Levi as Batman made the tiny sandwiches. In the absence of Frankenstein, no one noticed that Thing 4, Jarret, Olive's youngest son, had eaten most of the supply. Upon arrival, Jacqueline lifted Thing 4 into the air. Recognizing that he had been caught, he squirmed in her arms and yelled as he tried to bury his face in her shoulder. His oldest sibling, Thing 1, Jason, never looked up from the iPad, the Angel, Drew, had bought him for his birthday. He was too involved in the game he was playing against the leader of the SWAT team, Isiah. The Things had learned to ignore the squeals of three-year-old, Thing 4, but Zoe looked up.
"What's wrong, baby?" Zoe asked.
"Get me a wet washcloth,” Jacqueline directed her.
In her green and black tank top and blue shorts, she ran to the sliding glass door. She pounded her chocolate covered hands against it rather than opening it.
As Elet yelled for her to open the door, Paige, her Fairy Godmother, pulled the door back, "What's wrong, honey?"
"Jax needs wet napkins for the baby," Zoe announced.
Leaving the door open, Paige went to the kitchen and wet a dishcloth. The noise from the inside of the house flooded outside. The ears of adults perked up as they tried to guess the name of the song playing indoors. Before they could decipher the tune, Paige reappeared to the door and handed Zoe the wet rag. As Zoe ran back to Jacqueline who was certain chocolate had been smeared on her neck and shirt, Paige closed the door.
"Here you go, Jax."
"Thanks, little one."
Jacqueline began cleaning up Jarret. He had stopped wiggling in her arms and was allowing the adult that he barely knew to clean him. "Jarrett, I think you've ruined your shirt."
Having watched all of this, Elet said, "I never would have thought."
Not looking at him, she said, "Thought what?"
Brett had returned to his post. "Thought you would be cleaning someone's face."
"Oh, I'm sure that there have been plenty of nights that I've wiped your face," she teased Elet. Having cleaned as much as she could of Jarrett's face, hands, and shirt, she swatted him on the butt and sent him off in the direction of the swing set. At only three, his run was not very certain. But, they watched as he waddled quickly off towards the corner of the yard.
"I don't think anyone ever sees kids coming," Brett replied.
"She did," Elet pointed to Jacqueline with his index finger as he continued to nurse his beer. "She chose a woman with a kid. She knew what she was getting herself into."
"Trust me, you never know what you're getting into with kids. Even when you think you know, you don't know," Brett said.
"No, I'm not downing it. I support the new and improved Jacqueline. She's less introverted. She's at friendly get-togethers. She's sleeping and eating. This life's good for her," Elet placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You know, I can hear all of this," she said. "Listen, I've picked up a few things. There's no denying it. But, life is good. All is well."
Brett asked, "Well, what's the plan?"
"The plan?" Jacqueline questioned.
"Yeah, next steps. Marriage? Officially moving in together? It's been like six months. It's time for a new phase."
Mumbling, Elet said, "Here comes the bullshit," and took a swig of beer.
"It's not bullshit. We're happy. We're enjoying each other's company. We're having a great time together. We haven't talked about what's next. I guess we'll just wait and see."
"That really is bullshit," Elet muttered.
"No, it's not."
Twisting open his own beer, Brett said, "Look, you may really believe that, but I'm pretty sure that she's inside talking about what she wants to happen," and he pointed inside.
"She hasn't mentioned it to me."
"You really might be a dude," Elet said as he leaned down and got a s'more. She hit him in the stomach as he chewed.
"She's not gonna mention it to you. She thinks you will disappear if she pressures you. She's gonna ride the roller coaster and have mini breakdowns until she know
s what the hell you're thinking."
"Nah, she's not like that."
"Really? Really? Um, from what I understand, she's had a breakdown over the arch."
Jacqueline scratched the front of her hair. Sighing, she said, "Yeah, I didn't see that one coming. We have to go in a couple of days and I don't even want to talk to her about it. It was so bad and I have no idea what even caused it."
"Hey, dumbass, you ordered a super expensive gift without even talking to her about it. She was right there. In the bed beside you."
"She was in the shower and she didn't have to pay for it."
"You didn't talk to her about it?" Brett asked. "You just did it?" Brett chuckled. "You are a dude. Girls want to talk about things. Acting like a unit reassures them."
Jacqueline didn't respond. She saw Zoe walking towards her with a s'more in her hand. "I made this one for you, Jax." Jacqueline handed her beer to Elet and bent down. As she lifted Zoe in her arms, she stared into the bold blue sea that surrounded her pupils. Proudly, Zoe smiled and affectionately, Jacqueline beamed.
~~~~~~~~
Inside the house, soft classics provided a background for the mixed crowd. Paige and her dress drifted through her living room and dining room checking on guests.
Dressed in a sleeveless, white dress, Mallory was Wilma Flintstone. She had placed a bun at the back of her head and pulled strands forward that she curled and plastered to the best of her Wilma impersonation. She had circulated around the room and talked to work colleagues, Guy and Bob, made quick appearances to the party. Neither were in costume, but having received invitations, they found it important to come. Upon their arrival, Mallory located them in the dining room. Along with Paige, they chatted for a while. The conversation lagged as each discovered that there was little commonality outside of work. After an awkward half hour, during which time, they did not engage any of the other guests, they left and headed to a sports bar.
"Did you get the chance to say hello to Guy and Bob?" Mallory asked Alex after the guys had left.
"Yes, the two pervs caught me on their way out. I swear they were staring at my chest more than talking to me," Alex complained.
"Well, in their defense, this costume doesn't give the mind much to wonder about." Alex was dressed as a genie. She stood in the living room in sheer, turquoise pants and a top. All of her would have been visible had she not worn her two-piece turquoise bathing suit. "I can't believe you aren't cold."
"Hell yeah, I'm cold. That's why I didn't go outside and say hello to Jacqueline. It's cold in here. It has to be freezing out there." As they spoke, she felt a tug to her hair. She turned around to yell at the person. Only to discover, her brother in law, Dominic, and her sister, Josephine. "Hey, Jo," she said as she hugged her sister. "That's cute. Where'd you get that?"
"I had it from a school party, I think. I was gonna go buy one, but everything was either skin tight or all slutty." In a black dress wearing black tights and black shoes, Josephine stood in the living room with one arm at her side and the other on her hip. The arm on her hip had fabric attached from her wrist to her back. With only one arm up, the visual was missed, but when she raised her arms to hug her sister, it was obvious that she was a butterfly.
"Yeah, no joke. I went looking for costumes as well. I couldn't find anything that wasn't over the top, so I decided to make us all something." Mallory said.
"Don't worry, Jo. The costume doesn't make sense until you see them all together."
"It's the Flintstones. I get it. It's cute."
"I didn't," Alex admitted. Dominic had wandered into the kitchen to talk to Drew and Paige. "I see Dom didn't wear a costume. Party pooper." The women stood in a circle in the middle of the room talking and laughing. They were standing there when the doorbell rang.
"Mallory, will you get that please?" Paige yelled from the kitchen.
"Sure,” Mallory excused herself and walked to the door. As she was turning the knob to open it, it was being turned. Fearful that the door was going to be opened into her face, Mallory stepped back. Just as she did, the door opened. It was Clementine. She was in a black leather cat suit. In her other hand, she held her Cat Woman mask and the hand of a tall brunette who was also wearing a black pleather outfit except Clementine's guest was not Cat Woman. Her guest's pleather jumpsuit was outlined with the human skeleton. They entered the house in an uproar. The date was falling forward over Clementine as they barreled into the foyer. All the people in Paige's living room stared at the ruckus.
Noticing Mallory in the foyer, Clementine gave her a hug and said, "Hey, Mallory. What's going on? I hope you aren't leaving,"
Already irritated by her presence, Mallory responded, "I had come to open the door for you."
"Oh."
The guest spoke, "I told her not to open the door. I told her that she can't just walk in everywhere she goes."
Mallory had disregarded them already. She mumbled a "Um Hmm" and turned to walk back into the house.
Clementine and her date passed her. Clementine headed into the kitchen. She greeted Paige with a hug and said, "Hey, I'm sorry we're late. I stopped to pick her up and then, we had to pick up something to bring. We went to this gourmet place that Jacqueline always talks about, but I couldn't find anything there. So, we went to the liquor store. And, I think we had such a good time wandering around that we forgot that we needed to grab something and make our way here. I'm so sorry, but I'm so stoked that you invited me." She hugged Paige, again.
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Paige said wrapped tighter than a burrito in Clementine's arms. In the midst of the embrace, she reached out to shake hands to Clementine's date, "It's nice to meet you, too. Make yourself at home."
Abruptly, Clementine released Paige, "Is that Jacqueline outside?" She was pointing out the kitchen window.
"Yes, she, my husband, Brett, Alex's fiancé, Elet, and all the ki....." Before Paige finished speaking, Clementine had snatched her date out of the kitchen and headed into the backyard.
Mallory, Alex, and Jo moved into the dining room for a better look. Olive had left Drew and met them there.
~~~~~~~~
Jacqueline had not heard Clementine from outside the house. She had Zoe in her arms and was chewing the special s'more that Zoe had made for her.
In mid-chew, she heard Clementine bellow, "Hey, there."
She turned to face the door. She had wondered about the interaction with her and Clementine outside of work. In fact, she had given it a lot of thought. She was hoping to have time to discuss her concerns with Elet before Clementine arrived, but the night had gotten away from them. Now, Clementine was standing in Paige and Brett's backyard. She was dressed as Cat Woman and she was dragging some woman behind her. As they approached, Jacqueline lowered Zoe on the ground beside her. She placed her hand against the girl's back as if to keep her close, out of harm's way. "Hello, Clementine. I'm glad you could make it. This is Elet and Brett. And, this is Zoe."
"Well, hello everyone. How's it going?" The guys muttered inarticulate responses that Clementine ignored. "For those of you who don't know, this is Tabatha. But, you can call her Tabs."
Jacqueline knew her. And, she had a feeling that Clementine knew that Jacqueline knew her. Pretending as though she didn't, she extended her hand. Through her gritted teeth, she said, "It's nice to meet you."
In a hushed arrogance, Tabatha responded, "It was always a pleasure."
While Jacqueline was greeting Tabatha, Zoe pulled on Clementine's pants and asked, "Are those real?"
Sharply, Clementine replied, "Real what?" and started to laugh.
Jacqueline sharply turned and glared. Gnashing her teeth, she snarled, "Don't!"
"Okay. Okay. Are they real what?" Clementine asked Zoe politely.
"Real leather?" Zoe asked.
"For the shit ton of money, I spent they better be."
Jacqueline leaned down to Zoe thanked her for her s'more and asked her to play with the other children. Once Zoe had scurried awa
y, she took Clementine by the arm and headed to a different part of the yard. When Tabatha attempted to follow, Jacqueline commanded, "Stay there with Elet." When they were at a distance from everyone else, Jacqueline released her arm, "What the hell are you doing? I've had to put up with your shit for a while. But, what the hell is the point of all of this? Did I do something to you in my past that I don't remember? Do you want payback for it? That's fine. But, at least, remind me." Jacqueline was angry. She stood in the back of the yard flailing her arms around and talking to Clementine in very close proximity. She was completely unaware that she was being watched by Elet who was supposed to be talking to Tabatha, but he had left that duty to Brett.
Rubbing her arm, Clementine said, "No. We never crossed paths in the past."
"So, what the fuck is your deal?"
"I don't have a deal. I'm trying to be your friend."
"How? How in the hell are you trying to be my friend?"
"I'm trying to keep you honest. I know what you've done. I know who you really are."
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"I moved to Tampa to take the job. I scouted out the scene here. And, as luck would have it, I became a regular at Livewire. You remember the place, don't you?" Jacqueline didn't answer. "So, I went in there. Met some people. Got to talking. Made some friends. What's the first thing people ask the new person?" Again, no answer from Jacqueline. "Where do you work? So, I told them. People roared. Guess who they all talked about? Oh, I bet you don't wanna guess."
"Okay. So, you're here to remind me of my old life? That's your fucking deal. Do you think that I forgot?"
"No, I think you know. That's why you want to get rid of me. You used to be just like me. Young, brash, full of life. I've heard all the stories."
Jacqueline jeered, "You've heard some stories about me. Now, you think you know me. Interesting."
"I know enough of them to know that what you're doing right now doesn't match up."
"So, you show up with some girl I used to know..."
