by Robin Roseau
"You wouldn't, if I started with it. But I had you so deep in sub space, you would have said 'yes' to almost anything. But Blythe, will you shut up for a minute?"
She waited until I nodded before she continued.
"I didn't answer the question you asked. No, I will not ask you on future dates to fill your service hours to me. That was a one-time deal. No, I do not want a steady girlfriend, but if I did, I'd want one closer to my own age. And that's nothing about you. It's because I wouldn't do that to you. I wouldn't let you fall in love with someone who is going to die at least two decades ahead of you."
"That should be my choice."
"Then you can make that choice with someone else," she said. "Is that what you want?"
"No, but I don't want you to get into the habit of making my choices for me, either."
"Fair enough," she said.
"I'm not looking for a girlfriend. I'm certainly not looking for commitment. Not from you. Not from anyone. I have enough on my plate. I only wanted to know if it was safe to think about next time. I wasn't asking when that might be. Maybe tonight I'll open my mailbox and find your collar waiting for me with a note. Maybe I won't hear from you for six months. I was just wondering if there was going to be a next time. You answered. It's fine. I'll treasure last night."
"Yes."
"Excuse me? Yes, what?"
"Yes, it's safe to think about next time. It won't be tonight. And it won't be often. It won't ever be steady. Can you handle that?"
I smiled. "Yes, I can handle that."
"Good." She caressed my cheek. "Good," she repeated.
"Sit here," I said, patting the bed. "I want to ask you about something completely different."
"All right." She took the seat. I actually edged away from her a little but then drew one leg up, my knee bent, the foot still hanging off the side, and turned to face her. "Hazing."
"What about it."
"I have been advised to invite it approximately weekly. I have both Kiki and Mrs. Franklin in the queue. Mrs. Franklin seems to be taking her sweet time, but I suspect Kiki will get me this weekend sometime."
"All right," she said carefully.
"I would welcome your advice. Am I letting myself be manipulated?"
"And you'd trust me to tell you 'no'?"
"Well, at least it would be an answer."
"You're being manipulated, but you knew that when you began accepting the advice. My advice is to continue doing what you're doing." She paused, and she looked uncomfortable. It didn't seem to be a look that saw much experience on her.
"Just say it."
"I'm trying to say it without saying things I shouldn't."
"Then take your time."
She looked away, and I waited patiently. Finally she nodded and turned back to me. "Occasionally the pranks can go too far."
"If I comment on the ones so far, is it just between us? If you're going to repeat it, I'm not saying a word."
"You can trust promises between any of us," she said. "That's an important part of who we are. I won't breathe a word to anyone."
"I thought Raquel Boone's prank was too far. It lasted too long, and I lost an evening and the entire next day to it. I can't afford that. I'm swamped with my current commitments."
"I understand the evening but why the next day?"
"First, they kept me up until practically dawn, and then..."
"You were still upset."
"Yeah. I got crap for sleep, and then I couldn't work. Kiki rescued me." I told her the story.
"You were fine by yesterday."
"Yeah. That was thanks to Kiki. She was sweet. I wouldn't have expected it. We never really spent time together."
"I want you to consider something."
"All right."
"You now have a relationship with Kiki you wouldn't otherwise have had."
"Was that an intentional byproduct? Do you think Raquel -- Ms. Boone -- thought about that?"
"Oh, I doubt it. But we've all been there. We all got pushed too far, most of us more than once. We all accepted help recovering from it."
"Claudine."
"Excuse me?"
"Claudine's stunt went too far, too. I could have had frostbite. Making me go barefoot was too much."
"I won't comment on any specific prank," Opal said.
"She stayed after. I was so cold. She put me in the hot tub and stayed with me. I was feeling petty vulnerable afterwards, and we had a little slumber party, just the two of us."
"Is that a euphemism?"
"No."
"So you're closer to two of the women as byproducts of the hazing."
"Yes."
"And you and I are friends now, as a direct result of your service hours to me."
"And Mary Ellen Hankins," I added, "although not remotely the same way."
"Good. She can do more for your career than any of the rest of us."
"You don't really think that's why-"
She set fingers on my lips. "No. I'm sorry. Bad habit." I nodded, and she released my lips, but I grabbed her wrist and kissed the fingers briefly. She smiled and withdrew her hand.
"I didn't finish what I wanted to say," Opal explained. "Sometimes the pranks go too far. A few have gone way too far. Yours haven't gone way too far. You lost a day of work, but you gained a friend. I think that's worth it. And you made a great many points with the lawyers and judge, none of whom are regularly invited to play this way."
And so, I nodded.
"But chances are very good someone is going to go too far. I couldn't guess whom. You won't get hurt, but you're not going to come away from it feeling gracious, either."
"It took me two days before I could write my thank you notes to Ms. Boone and the others."
She smiled. "I've never heard of anyone writing thank you notes for this. Good for you! Don't stop." She paused. "I think I lost my point."
"Someone's going to go too far," I said. "I figured."
"The question is this: will you be able to forgive her?"
I stared into Opal's eyes. I stared for a long time. "I don't know," I said simply. "Am I expected to forgive even if there isn't an apology?"
"The alacrity at which you do so might vary based on the quality and duration of any attendant apology."
I laughed. "Fair enough."
"But we can't have bad blood between us. So whether you get the apology or not, you ultimately have to move past it, or this organization is not for you."
"I don't hold grudges," I said.
"You have to be able to hug and kiss her on the cheek, smile while you do so, and mean it."
"The next day?"
"Six months. Six months from whatever happens, can you do it?"
"Six months. Yes. That I can do."
"All right. Good. Did you have more?"
"Yeah. I really only wanted to know if I should continue with the once a week thing, and to ask you one more thing."
"No."
"You don't know what I'm about to ask."
"You're about to ask me to haze you."
I sighed. "And you won't?"
"Okay, I again answered poorly. Not yet."
"Not yet."
"Ask me again in six weeks, if you want, but I'm going to tell you something, and if I scare you off, I understand."
"All right."
"You will be mortified. I already know what I'm going to do to you, and you will be absolutely, totally, entirely mortified. If you knew what I was going to do, you'd be running across three state lines to avoid it."
"Have you done it to anyone else?"
"No. Nothing remotely like it."
"Why did you tell me that?"
"So there's a chance you'll forgive me afterwards."
"Only a chance?"
She didn't respond to that.
"Six weeks. That means the week before the monthly meeting, next month."
"Yes. I'll tell you two more things. I will have a small amount of assistance, but you
will only get a guaranteed blue marble from me for it. My assistants will not be so obligated."
"And?"
"You will almost certainly get blue marbles from people who had intended red, especially if you are gracious afterwards."
"Is being gracious going to be hard for me?"
"Exceedingly."
"Wow." I paused.
"Don't even ask today. Ask me in six weeks, or so. And ask someone else the same week, and make sure I know whom you have asked."
"Going to do a double?"
"I'm going to make sure we don't collide."
I nodded. "All right. Six weeks. If I don't get an entire glass of blue marbles in three."
She laughed. "Yeah, let's worry about that happening."
* * * *
She drove me home. I asked her to walk me in, and once inside, I set my things aside, took off my boots, and turned to her. "I want a kiss to remember."
"As do I," she said.
It was definitely a kiss to remember, and I clung to her afterwards. "Thank you," I whispered. "I couldn't have had a nicer time."
"Neither could I," she replied. "It won't be often, Blythe. And it won't be monogamous, either."
"I know." I stepped away and smiled. "I'll try not to be jealous."
She smiled, caressed my cheek once more, and then she was gone. I watched her on the monitor, then closed the gate behind her. I collected my things and headed for the stairs. I got partway up and froze.
My foot was wet. I had stepped in something wet. On my stairs.
"Oh fuck," I said. "Oh fuck, oh fuck."
I ran to the front door, fumbling in my purse. I pulled out my phone and found Opal's number. She answered on the second ring. "Miss me already."
"Someone's been in my house. Oh god, someone's been in my house."
"Open the gate. I'm turning around. I'll be there in 30 seconds. Wait outside for me."
I hit the panel, watched the gate long enough to see it open, then said into the phone, "Hurry! Please hurry!" But Opal had already clicked off.
I didn't bother with my boots. I stepped outside, and if I hadn't been barefoot in winter, I would have run down to her car. Instead, I waited for her, and she arrived at a pace far less decorous than Grandmother Cadence would ever have allowed. She spun around in the circle and came to a stop in front of me. I dashed to her car and threw myself into the front seat. "Go! Go!"
"Calm down," she said. "Shhh." She took my hand, and I clamped both of mine in hers.
"Go! He might still be here."
"Shhh. It's fine."
"You don't know that. Someone has been in the house. I stepped in a puddle. It wasn't there when I came down the stairs yesterday."
"It was Kiki."
"Kiki?"
"She left a present of some sort with you. No, I won't tell you what it is. But there should be a note for you somewhere, too."
"What if it was someone else?"
"We can check the security system," Opal said. "It will register the doors opening and closing."
"Oh."
"We'll let your heart calm down, then I'll go in with you. We can check, and if you want me to search the house with you, I will."
"What if you find Kiki's surprise?"
"I might find Kiki's note, but it's just a note. And I won't find Kiki's surprise."
"You know what it is! Tell me."
"Funny."
We sat quietly. I clutched her hand for another minute or two, then finally nodded. "I can't believe I ran outside in bare feet again. These pranks are bad on my feet."
Opal laughed, but I refused to get out of the car until she was standing beside the door, ready to go inside with me.
We stepped in together. Opal looked around and found the touch pad near the door. "You can check from there."
"How do you know?"
"We all have the same model. Do you know how to use it?"
"I guess. I guess I don't know all the features though."
She made me run the tablet, but she navigated for me, and soon we were looking at the logs of doors opening and closing. Someone had been last night, while we were on our date. Someone else had been here again this morning.
"Two people!" I said.
"Whoever it was left."
"We don't know that."
She pulled out her phone and made a call. I couldn't see whom she called, but she relayed the information we found. There was a pause, and then she nodded. "I'll tell her." She hung up. "Both Kiki."
"You're sure?"
"I'll search with you."
And so we did, and it wasn't separately, either. I even grabbed a poker from the fireplace. Opal saw it and laughed.
"Shut up," I said. "I'm scared."
"Just don't bean me with that thing," she said.
We searched the entire house, every last corner, even the closets, under the beds, and the basement.
Kiki's note was on the kitchen counter. I would have found it if I'd entered the house that way.
It's temporary. I promise. Kiki.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I'm sure you'll find out," Opal said with a laugh. "I'd stay and watch, but I need to be at my sister's in another hour. Are you okay now?"
"I guess. I'm sorry for being an alarmist."
"No," she said. "You did the right thing. Don't apologize." I got a hug, but no kiss, and then she was gone.
We didn't find Kiki's surprise.
* * * *
I eyed the bed, but I felt like used sex, and when I gave myself a sniff, I smelled like it, too. I vaguely remembered Opal doing things to encourage that scent, and it was her I was smelling at least as much as myself.
I headed for the shower, stripping on the way. I turned the water on, let it warm up, and finished stripping. Then I stepped in, closed my eyes, and let the water beat down on my head for a long, long time, easing away the remaining stress from my scare, then easing some of the leftover aches from last night.
I felt good though. I really felt good. I couldn't have had a better time with Opal. I wasn't looking for a relationship for all the reasons we discussed, but I'd established something with her. And I was sure it wasn't the last time I'd feel her breath against my skin, her hand against my bottom, her fingers....
I shook myself and sighed.
She'd been good, damned good. She'd striped me down to my most basics, all in a few hours in her basement, and when I came back together, I felt so good. I felt strong and self-assured.
I felt things about myself I hadn't felt before.
And that, above the joy of some good, kinky sex itself, that was a true gift.
I smiled. I decided I owed her flowers and a note. I'd take care of that. Later. Maybe Monday. I could send them to her office. Maybe they'd sit at the receptionist's desk for a while, and everyone passing by could wonder whom they were for.
They could wonder what Opal had done that was so good she was the one getting the flowers. I laughed at that thought.
I was too tired, too happy, to bother opening my eyes more than necessary. I washed my hair. I washed everywhere else. I rinsed for a long time.
I thanked Grandmother Cadence for continuous hot water.
Eventually I shut off the water, offered a happy sigh, then collected a towel for my hair and another for my body. I dried slowly, then wrapped the towel around me, grabbed my hair dryer, faced the mirror, and pulled off the towel around my hair.
And screamed.
I spun around, and no one was there. But when I looked in the mirror... I sighed. It was me. My hair... It was blue. Bright, bright blue. My eyebrows were blue. I thought maybe even my eyelashes were blue. And if I looked closely, I thought there was just the slightest blue tint to my skin.
I began laughing and remembered her note.
It's temporary. I promise. Kiki.
I turned to the shower. There was no sign of blue anywhere. I turned on the water and watched it. No blue.
Then I stare
d at the shampoo.
I sighed, dried my hair, and headed for the bedroom. I pulled on a tee shirt and undies then sat down on the bed. I dialed Kiki. She was already laughing when she answered.
"How?"
"Oh, please. I'm not going to answer that."
"I already know it's in the shampoo," I said. "But I've dyed my hair before. It takes forever."
"Judging by the color, I'd say you used a lot of shampoo and took a really long shower."
"What?" I looked around.
She laughed again. "I'm sorry I scared you. I left a note. I wasn't sure you'd be able to tell I'd been there. I should have left one at both doors. I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine," I said. "How do you know what color my hair is?"
"We'll play a game," she said, "if you promise to invite me to haze you again in a couple of months."
"This isn't going to last that long."
"Then if not, you're off the hook."
"Fine, but I'm not playing any games."
"Hot or cold," she said. "Or you can wonder."
"There's a camera in here somewhere."
"More than one. That's what I was doing last night. You will invite one hazing per camera I help you find, every two months until you're a junior member with the rest of us."
"All right." I stood up.
"Cold," she said. I moved towards the doorway, and she gave me hints. In all, there were three cameras, all in my bedroom. She assured me there weren't any others. I would have found them, probably, but they were small and hidden amongst all my grandmother's weird things. Who knows how long it would have been before I noticed them.
"You promise there aren't any more?"
"None of mine," she said. "I don't promise no one else has any."
"I'm keeping these."
"Know how to access the video?"
I sighed.
"You can keep the cameras," she said. "But there's a price for that information."
"What price?"
"I don't know yet. I'll think of something. On a separate note, would you like to come for dinner tonight?"
"I'm going to nap."
"It's the five of us. You'd be six. We'd like you to come."
"Is it safe?"
She laughed. "Mrs. Franklin isn't invited, so as long as you don't invite any new hazing in the next six hours, it's safe."
"What can I bring?"
"Just yourself. It's a simple dinner and friendship."