"I...I don't think I should," Tara said softly, still staring at the ground in front of her.
Crystal jumped off her swing and started to walk away, shoving the bag into her pocket. "I thought you'd say that. So I guess you are a foo-foo chicken-shit," she tossed over her shoulder.
Tara had had enough. She jumped off her own swing, ran after her cousin and pushed her to the ground. She held her down by the shoulders and shouted into her face, "I am not a foo-foo chicken-shit. You got that?"
Crystal grinned into her face. "Then prove it," she demanded again.
Tara narrowed her eyes at Crystal. She hated being put on the spot like that. She hated being made to feel small and weak.
"All right. Give it to me," she demanded, reaching into Crystal's pocket and grabbing the bag of weed. Getting to her feet, she offered her hand to her older cousin and helped her up. "Where can we go to smoke it?" she asked.
Crystal looked around. "Well, we can't smoke it out here in the open," she said, stating the obvious. "Look. There's a gas station across the street. We'll use the bathroom," she suggested, grabbing Tara's hand and dragging her across the street.
Tara had visions of the senior at school, sitting in the principal's office while she waited for her parents to come after her. "What happens if we get caught?" she asked.
"We won't get caught," Crystal replied.
"How do you know that?" Tara questioned nervously as they reached the office of the gas station.
"Because, I never get caught. Look, all we're gonna do is borrow the bathroom key, go in, smoke a joint, then head home. If we lock the bathroom door behind us, no one will be the wiser," Crystal explained. "You wait here while I get the key."
Crystal entered the office and exited a few seconds later holding an extremely large key holder with a small key dangling from a chain beneath it. "Got it! Let's go," she said as she dragged Tara around the corner of the building to the rest rooms on the side.
Once inside, with the door locked, a very nervous Tara stood in the dim light of the fluorescent bulb, watching her cousin pull a package of cigarette papers from her back pocket and expertly roll a joint, squeezing both ends closed. "Here, take this one while I roll another for me," she said.
Tara looked at the object lying in the palm of her hand. "I thought we were going to share one," she said, never taking her eyes off the joint.
"Nah. To get a really good rush, you have to smoke a whole one," Crystal replied. "Okay, here we go," she added, shoving the remaining marijuana back into her pocket and bringing her own joint to her lips. Raising a lighter to Tara, she instructed her younger cousin to inhale deeply and to hold the smoke in her lungs for as long as possible before exhaling.
Crystal started to chuckle as she watched Tara choke, while she simultaneously took a long drag on her own joint. "Don't give up on it. Try it again," Crystal said as she continued to hold the smoke in her lungs.
Tara's second attempt was more successful, as was the third and forth. Soon, the bleary-eyed thirteen-year-old was struggling to hold onto what little remained of her joint, finally dropping it into the sink when it became too small to hold without burning her fingers. Both hands came to rest on the sides of the sink to hold herself erect.
"You okay?" Crystal asked, leaning against the wall, her legs crossed at the ankles as she finished her own joint.
Tara looked at her cousin and giggled. "I'm grrrrrrrreat!" she replied, sending herself into a fit of giggles once more.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Shit," Crystal exclaimed, pushing herself away from the wall and throwing the rest of her joint into the toilet. "There's someone in here," she called loudly, futilely trying to clear the smoke away with her hands.
"Will you be long?" the voice said from the other side.
"Yeah. We, I mean, I just got in here, and I'm taking a dump," she replied.
After a few minutes of silence, Crystal was satisfied the person had gone away. "Tara, we gotta get out of here. Can you walk?" she asked.
Tara tried to stand erect, but nearly toppled over backward. "Sure. I'm fine," she exclaimed, clinging to her.
"Damn it, Tara. How are we going to ride the bikes home with you in this state?" she growled.
"State? What state is this, anyway? Alaska, Hawaii??" Tara said, laughing uncontrollably at her own attempt at humor.
"Jesus Christ," Crystal swore through her own haze. "Come on. We need to get back to the park to sober up before going home."
Crystal wrapped her arm around Tara's waist and half dragged, half carried her across the street and laid her on the grass near the tree the bikes were locked to. Sitting down next to her, she pulled her into a seated position against the tree and started lightly tapping her face.
"Why are you hitting me?" Tara asked light-heartedly.
"I'm trying to wake you up," Crystal complained. "Now come on, open your eyes."
After several unsuccessful attempts to sober Tara up, she finally allowed her to fall asleep on the ground. With nothing to do while she waited for Tara to recover, she lay down beside her. Soon, both girls fell into a drug-induced sleep.
***
"Hi, Mom," Cat said into the receiver. "Is Tara there with Crystal?"
"No they're not, dear. Crystal went to your house earlier this morning. She said something about going somewhere with Tara," Ida replied.
"Well, they're not here, and Tara didn't leave me a note. That's not like her," Cat worried out loud.
"I'm sure they're fine, Caitlain. So, did you and Amy have a nice time today?" Ida asked.
Cat was caught off guard. "Amy? I didn't see Amy today," she said haltingly.
"Oh! I was sure she said…oh, well, never mind dear. It must have been my imagination," Ida explained.
No, mother, I don't think it was, Cat said to herself. To Ida, she said, "Okay, Mom. If the girls show up at your house, tell Tara to call me."
"I will sweetheart. Oh, by the way, will you and Billie be able to join Laurel and me for breakfast on Saturday morning? We thought it might be fun to have a mother/daughter shopping day," Ida asked hopefully.
"Sounds fun, Mom. I'm sure Billie would love to go," Yeah, right, Cat said. "All right Mom, I've got to get dinner started. I'll talk to you later. Love you," Cat finished before hanging up. Amy, what are you up to? she thought to herself as she turned her attention to dinner.
"Hi, love," Billie said as she entered the house through the kitchen door. Placing her laptop on the table as she passed by, she went directly to Cat and placed a solid kiss on her cheek.
Cat turned and wrapped her arms around Billie's neck, bringing their faces close together for a long and passionate kiss.
"Oh, God," Billie exclaimed, burying her face in Cat's neck, her mutinous knees refusing to hold her up as she leaned into her wife and pressed her back into the stove.
"Welcome home. How was your day?" Cat asked, accepting another kiss from Billie.
"My day was wonderful. Very busy, but very productive. I've got a few notes to transcribe later," she said, nodding her head toward her laptop on the table. "How was your day?" she asked, burying her nose in Cat's neck once more.
Cat tilted her head to one side to allow Billie better access. "Not bad. God, that feels good. I...I left early. My third surgery was...oh, Billie...rescheduled," she finally managed to get out before snaking her hands under Billie's shirt and allowing them to roam aimlessly across the expanse of skin covering her back.
Within seconds, Billie had Cat's shirttails pulled out of her slacks, her own hands quickly finding two full mounds to cup and knead.
Cat suddenly yelped as Billie pinched two sensitive nubs. "Oh, my God," she exclaimed, covering Billie's hands with her own and drawing them closer, clearly communicating her need.
Billie nibbled on Cat's collarbone. "Are the grandmothers home?"
"No. They're gone to Mom's for dinner," Cat replied.
Billie kissed her way up Cat's neck
to her ear. "Are the kids home?" she asked breathlessly.
"No. Seth is gone to the movies with Stevie. Sky is at Missy's house. And Tara...well, I'm not sure where Tara is...only that she's with Crystal," Cat explained.
Billie pulled her head back and looked at Cat, brow furrowed.
"Yeah, I know. I'm a little worried about her too, but I'm sure she's okay," Cat said, reading her wife's mind.
"I don't know about you, Cat, but Crystal makes me nervous. I mean, she just seems a little too old for her age, and I think Amy and Joe let her run a little wild," Billie commented.
Cat nodded. "Well, I guess it's kind of tough to discipline your kids when you're basically running wild yourself," she said. "I don't know what Amy's up to, but for some reason Mom thought she was with me all day today."
"I feel sorry for Joe," Billie said. "He really loves her, but I think he's afraid of losing her if he demands that she straightens out."
"I know she's my sister, but sometimes I wonder if Joe would be better off without her," Cat added.
"Well if they do break up, it will be Amy leaving Joe. Joe is so taken with her, he'll never leave," Billie said.
"If she's doing what I think she's doing, it might just push Joe over the edge," Cat remarked. "Billie, I think she's having an affair with Bob."
Billie shook her head. She pulled Cat close to her once more. "I am so glad that our lives are uncomplicated, at least for the moment," Billie added with a chuckle.
"Hmmmm. Now, where were we?" Cat replied, pulling Billie's head down to meet hers.
***
"Tara. Tara, wake up," Crystal urged, shaking her cousin.
"What?" Tara said groggily as she lifted her head.
"It's almost six o'clock. We've been sleeping for five hours. Our parents are gonna to call the cops if we don't get our asses home."
Tara rolled to her side then climbed to her hands and knees. Sitting back on her feet, she suddenly felt dizzy. "Oh, my God, I'm gonna be sick," she complained, clutching her stomach.
Crystal climbed to her feet and looked down at Tara in disgust. "Well if you're gonna blow, direct it that way," she said, pointing away from the bikes that were still chained to the tree.
"Oh, God," Tara shouted before she doubled over and emptied the contents of her stomach on the ground.
"Ewwwww! You're gross," Crystal exclaimed.
"I don't feel so good." Tara crawled to the tree and used it to slowly make her way to her feet. Five hours after smoking the joint, she was still unsteady on her feet.
Crystal stood with her hands on her hips, watching her cousin's misery. "You are such a newbie," she said. "I can tell this is your first time."
"And the last," Tara added. Finally dragging herself into an erect position, she held onto the tree with one hand while searching her pockets for the key to the lock holding the bikes. Finding it, she fumbled with the lock, dropping the key twice before finally fitting it into the slot.
"Come on, Tara, we haven't got all day," Crystal whined, making no effort to help her.
At last, the lock was undone and the chain tucked away in the small saddlebag hanging on the back of the seat. Pulling the bikes apart, Crystal grabbed one, and Tara the other. After several attempts to swing her leg over the bar, she finally lost her balance and toppled to the ground, pulling the bike down on top of her.
"Owwww! Crystal, help me. This really hurts," Tara said as Crystal worked to untangle Tara's legs from the bike. Finally she was free and standing on her feet again, favoring her right foot. "I think I twisted my ankle," she said.
"We’re not gonna be able to ride these home. We'll have to walk them," Crystal complained.
"I am never going to touch pot again," Tara mumbled under her breath as she limped behind her cousin to begin their long walk home.
***
"Billie. Billie, honey, I really need to start supper," Cat said.
"Just a while longer, Cat," Billie demanded, pulling Cat down under the blankets to snuggle.
Cat happily obliged, not really wanting to recover too quickly from the afterglow of their lovemaking. She and Billie had just spent long moments exploring each other's bodies and souls, savoring their love, figuratively and literally, neither one wanting to leave the comfort of warm loving arms.
Suddenly, Cat sat erect in bed, her mother hearing finely tuned to a noise downstairs.
"What is it Cat?" Billie asked, having learned long ago to trust Cat's instincts.
"I hear something down stairs. Listen," she whispered.
"Mom," called a voice from the kitchen.
Cat jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of gym shorts and T-shirt. "It's Tara," she said over her shoulder to Billie as she headed to the door.
Billie was right behind her, pulling her own T-shirt over her head as they made their way through the upstairs hall.
Moments later, they arrived in the kitchen to find Tara sitting at the table, her right foot propped up on a chair.
Cat immediately went into doctor mode. "Tara, what happened? Where does it hurt?" she questioned as she gently probed the swollen ankle. Before Tara could answer, Cat suddenly froze and looked her daughter in the eye. Moving in closer, she sniffed Tara's clothing, a frown growing increasingly deeper as the seconds passed.
Billie looked questioningly at her wife and daughter. She too moved in closer to check things out for herself. By the time she got within two feet of Tara, she knew exactly what Cat was frowning about.
Cat's gaze met Billie's, a knowing look passing between them. Obviously trying very hard to control her temper, Cat walked away from her daughter and started pacing the room, one hand on her hip, the other one worrying the bangs on her forehead.
As Cat paced, Billie confronted. She leaned over Tara, her nose within inches of her daughter's. "Where did you get it?" she asked firmly.
Tara looked at the floor.
"You better think about answering our questions, or you're going to spend a lot of time memorizing every inch of your bedroom," Billie warned.
Tara looked up. "Crystal," was all she said.
No sooner had her niece's name left Tara's lips, than Cat was on the phone. "Hi, Mom, this is Cat again. Is Amy or Joe there?" she asked.
“Well, yes, dear. Joe is here,” her mother said.
Cat chewed on her lip and looked nervously at her daughter as she waited for her brother-in-law to answer.
“Hi, Cat. What’s up?” Joe asked.
"Hi, Joe,” Cat replied. “It seems that we have a problem on our hands. Could you and Amy bring Crystal over here as soon as possible?”
“Amy just got home, so sure, we’ll be right over. Is everything all right, Cat?”
“We’ll talk about that when you get here.”
“All right, then. We'll see you in a few minutes,” Joe said.
Cat hung up the phone and turned back to her daughter. "You are in big trouble, young lady. Do you understand that what you did was illegal, never mind harmful? What were you thinking?" she asked.
"Crystal was calling me names," Tara said weakly.
"She was calling you names? You smoked pot because she was calling you names!" Cat shouted, her voice raising an octave with each word.
"And just what was she calling you that would cause you to take such drastic measures, Tara?" Billie asked.
"She called me a foo-foo chicken-shit. I had to prove to her that I wasn't, so she dared me to smoke a joint and I did," Tara confessed.
"Tara, I thought you were smarter than that. Didn't we talk about being strong in the face of adversity? Didn't we talk about how other people's opinions of you were less important than that of yourself?" Billie drilled.
Tara continued to look at the floor. "Yeah," she admitted.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Billie shouted, reaching forward to raise Tara's chin so that their eyes met. "Do you know how many kids I've seen sent to jail for doing drugs?" Billie asked, trying to put the fear of God into her
daughter.
"Crystal said we wouldn't get caught," Tara reasoned.
"Well Crystal was wrong. The smell of pot is very unique Tara. Your clothes reek of it. Just how stupid do you think your mother and I are?" Billie asked. "What were you thinking?"
Tears started to form in Tara's eyes. "I guess I wasn't," she replied sadly.
"No, I guess you weren't," Billie added, finally releasing Tara's chin and walking away, her own throat choked with emotion.
"And how did you sprain your ankle?" Cat intervened.
"We fell asleep in the park, and when we woke up, I got sick and puked, and then we tried to ride the bikes home and I fell over and twisted my legs in the bars," Tara explained.
Cat threw her hands up into the air. "This is incredible," she shouted. "You could have been attacked, raped, or even killed while you were sleeping, Tara! The park is not the safest place for two defenseless teenage girls."
"We weren't defenseless," Tara said in her own behalf.
Billie took Tara by the shoulders. "Two teenage girls who are passed out in a drug-induced sleep are absolutely defenseless. You are so lucky you are still here to tell us about it."
"Hello?" Amy's voice said from the doorway. "You summoned?"
"You're damned right I did," Cat said, marching over to her niece, who had come into the room behind her mother and followed by her father. Taking her by the hand, she led her to a chair next to Tara. "Sit down," she ordered, pushing Crystal into the chair.
Crystal looked at Tara through narrowed eyes.
"So what's the problem here?" Joe asked, not really sure if he should be humiliated or defensive.
"Joe, Amy, do you have any idea where our daughters were all afternoon?" Cat asked.
"At the movies?" Amy replied.
"Is that what Crystal told you?" Billie piped in.
"Where do you think they were?" Joe asked.
"Passed out in the park from smoking pot, that's where," Cat replied harshly.
Joe turned to his daughter. "Crystal, is that true?" he asked.
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