by Hart, Poppy
Cindy laughed. “What, now you’re buying us lunch?”
Elaine looked back, her cheeks turning red. She was trying to make a good first impression, not offend Becca’s aunt. She should’ve been aware that Cindy would see buying the tickets and lunch sort of a dig. What an idiot Elaine felt she was for a moment. Then Becca squeezed her hand. “No, I just really like tacos. Ten for me, ten for Becca.”
“You’re going to eat ten tacos in one sitting?” Cindy said, stunned.
“No, I figured I’d throw them in my purse and eat them through the day.”
“Um! Momma says you can’t eat IN the aquarium,” Denise piped up.
Elaine laughed. “She’s right. It’s against the rules.”
“Mom sneaks candy and popcorn from home into the movies,” Gary told his sister. “It’s okay to bend the rules sometimes, right mom?” he asked his mother.
“I guess you’re right, son,” Cindy sighed. “I guess we’ll all sneak tacos in.” When she got to the register, Cindy ordered 15 tacos. “These better be good for five bucks a pop,” she told Gary.
“They’re the best,” Elaine said confidently. “If you don’t like them, I’ll take them home myself.”
Becca was being quiet but not still. She was shifting on her feet, a little knot formed between her eyebrows as she watched her aunt Cindy shuffle with her wallet. She passed her aunt a twenty from her pocket.
“What’s this for, bun?”
“Gas money for coming to get me and bringing me here,” Becca acknowledged with a nod.
Cindy smiled and agreed to take the twenty. “I’ll just spend it on your Christmas present.”
Becca groaned, “Please… no more cookbooks. I got the hint last year.”
“Hm. Alright,” Cindy grudged. She looked up at Elaine. “Do you cook?”
Elaine nodded, “I do. I enjoy it quite a bit.” The tacos came in a box, she took them and started walking toward a table. Cindy and the children’s box came immediately after. Forty tacos in three minutes – it was impressive, but not unheard of.
“She’s a wonderful cook, Aunt Cindy. She made me dinner last night when I got back from work.” Becca sat down at a table with the aquarium logo stenciled in.
“Sounds like a keeper to me, Bex,” Cindy said, smiling. She sat down at one end, placing Denise in a chair beside her. Denise was six but she seemed to be the baby of the family. Even Gary babied her as he offered to open her taco wrapping for her.
Elaine took a cue from him and offered to open the first taco for Becca. Becca played along, her lips curling into a smile as she watched the older woman unveil the golden corn hard shell and pass it over.
“May I have a napkin, please?” Becca asked. Her voice was frail and polite.
Elaine once again remembered their little game and let out a sigh of amusement. “Yes, you may.” She handed one over and dug into her own taco. In earshot, she listened to the complaints of actual children toward Becca’s aunt Cindy. It reminded her of the niece she’d carried for her sister, years ago. Emily was just a little younger than Gary and the main reason Elaine had a season pass to the aquarium though Emily was on a forest kick lately.
“Is everything okay, Miss Elaine?” Becca asked.
“Yes, I was just thinking about my niece Emily. She used to like the aquarium a lot, but she hasn’t joined me in a while. She’s all about the girl scouts right now,” Elaine told her. “It’s been a while since we went all as a family,” Elaine said, then took a bite.
“How old is she?” Cindy asked.
“She’s turning eleven soon. I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like – her parents moved away a few years ago and it’s difficult to get time off,” Elaine explained.
“You must have a busy job if you can’t even go visit your family,” Gary said. “We spend too much time together.”
“Oh, it’s not on my end. My brother in law is a cop and my sister’s a doctor. I’ve got a pretty flexible schedule. Granted, sometimes my hours get really really hectic, but I’m not a stranger to vacation,” Elaine said.
“Sorry,” Becca’s aunt said. “He can be a little rude sometimes.”
“It’s okay,” Elaine assured Cindy. She looked down at her black dress and the golden locket she wore with Emily’s portrait inside. Though Emily wasn’t her child, she was her god-daughter and her niece and she’d move heaven and earth for the little girl. She opened the locket and leaned over so she could show the picture of Emily at six to Becca. “This is my niece.”
“She’s adorable,” Becca said.
Elaine smiled. “Thank you. Another taco?”
∞∞∞
Gary ended up eating the most tacos of anyone, which Elaine was grateful for. She hadn’t planned on carrying ten tacos around in her purse but through the aquarium visit, he’d finished his and his mother’s and sister’s tacos.
Elaine heard Becca arguing with him about taking some from Elaine’s bag.
“You should share, Becca,” Elaine chimed in. “It’s what a good girl would do, don’t you think?”
Becca, apparently used to arguing with her cousin, even at age 22, stopped playing keep-away with a taco beneath the arched hallway and handed it over. He took it and ran back to his mom.
“Playing dirty,” Becca sighed.
“Not dirty. You said you’d behave,” Elaine pointed out. “Do you call arguing with a child over tacos we’ll never be able to finish ourselves behaving?”
“No, Miss Elaine,” Becca admitted. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. What’s up with that, though?”
“When I lived with them… Gary was like a vacuum cleaner. All the leftovers would disappear. If I brought home half a sandwich from lunch, it was gone the next morning,” Becca said.
“So food is a pretty big deal for you?” Elaine asked.
“We didn’t go hungry or anything,” Becca said. “It’s just I don’t eat out often. When I go home, I usually just eat oatmeal or a sandwich. Or beans and rice. That’s what they eat, mostly.”
“Nothing wrong with beans and rice,” Elaine said. “We lived on that growing up too.”
“Right? It’s delicious and cheap to make. But dammit if the last night I was there, Gary didn’t get my last zebra cake,” Becca fumed.
“Language!” Elaine scolded Becca.
The young woman clutched her mouth and laughed. “Oops. Sorry, Miss Elaine.”
“Not easy being a perfectly good girl, is it?” Elaine wondered.
“No… I guess not,” Becca admitted. “I’m not perfect.”
“You shouldn’t have to be, Becca. This is just a game,” Elaine said, reaching out to touch her elbow. “Do you want to quit playing?”
Becca shook her head, “No! Please, no. I want that stuffed octopus.”
Elaine grinned. “And I want to put you over my knee.”
“Maybe we could both get what we want,” Becca suggested.
“You’ve mostly been a good girl, I’d say. But I wouldn’t say you’ve been bad enough to warrant a spanking…yet,” Elaine shook her head.
“I can be bad,” Becca said. Her eyes sparkled when Elaine met them. She ran her tongue over her lips, for what seemed to be the millionth time, in remembrance of Becca’s spicy taste the night before.
“Be yourself, Becca. That’s the person I want to spend time with,” Elaine said. She watched Becca step forward, felt her hands grip Elaine’s waist.
Becca pressed herself against the older woman, her teeth revealed in a slow smile. “I am, Miss Elaine. I want to spend time with you, too.”
“You sure about that?” Elaine wondered. “I can be strict.”
“Can you give me an example?” Becca wondered, her head tilting.
“For instance… if you were my little girl, you wouldn’t be wearing that crop top. It’s too grown-up for you. I’d want you to be wearing a dress with a bow. A ribbon in your hair, showing off that beautiful babyface of yours,” Elaine said. “It’s no
t that I don’t like your outfit right now. But if things go how I’d like them to go, and how I think you want them to go, between us… I can get very particular.”
Becca blushed. “I wouldn’t mind wearing things you picked out for me. I’ve never dressed that way before but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to. I’d like to feel girly.”
Elaine nodded, leaned down and kissed the top of Becca’s forehead. “That’s nice to hear. We should catch up with your cousins.”
Reluctantly, Becca pulled away from Elaine – stepping back. She turned to lead the way, but Elaine caught her hand. She held it the way Becca had held her hand before lunch. Becca looked back at her, her eyes widened.
“Little girls should hold the hands of their chaperones,” Elaine said in a haunt-like whisper.
“Yes, Miss Elaine,” Becca agreed, pink creeping up her cheeks.
“What are your plans tonight, Becca?” Elaine asked as they walked in step.
“Go home, eat dinner, do laundry,” Becca listed.
“You’ve got work tomorrow?” Elaine asked.
Becca nodded, “Yes. But on Wednesdays and Sundays, the shop is always closed. Family days.”
“What about Saturdays?” Elaine probed.
“On a rotating schedule,” Becca said. “But this one is mine off.”
“Well… how about we get together on Friday night?” Elaine offered.
“I’d like that.”
“I’ve got a beach house. We can drive down Saturday afternoon and come back Sunday night,” Elaine went on.
“Would we back by four?” Becca asked suddenly.
“We could be, why?” Elaine wondered.
“Sunday dinner. It’s tradition,” Becca said quietly, as though she were apologizing.
Elaine shook her head. “That’s not a problem, Becca. I’ll have you back in time for your family dinner.”
“Oh, Elaine. Cindy already asked me to invite you,” Becca said, looking up.
Though Elaine was pleased with the invitation, she caught Becca’s slip up. “Then we’ll be back in time.”
“How am I being scored, Miss Elaine?” Becca asked.
“Three strike system,” Elaine answered.
“And I’ve had my third strikeout, haven’t I?” Becca asked.
“The first one was free, Becca. So you’ve got one more,” Elaine allowed. Becca grew quiet as they approached her family and they all sat and listened to a presentation about cephalopods. Denise and Gary seemed to share Becca’s enthusiasm for octopus.
Denise was getting tired, it was clear though. She kept falling asleep in the crook of her mother’s arm. Cindy looked over at Becca. “I’ve got to get her home soon and get dinner started.”
“Okay,” Becca said, her voice breaking with disappointment. “I was hoping to stay to see the jellyfish show.”
“I can take Becca back to her place,” Elaine offered. “We are neighbors.”
Relief flashed over Cindy’s face. “Would you? That would be great, it shaves like thirty minutes off my drive home. One day you’ll have to explain to me how the two of you live in the same building.”
“Of course,” Elaine said. “It was nice to meet you, again, Cindy.”
“Likewise, Elaine. See you tomorrow, Becca,” Cindy said.
Becca hugged her cousins and gave Gary her last taco for the trip home. Denise was fast asleep, arms hung around her mother’s neck as they walked back toward the parking lot.
“We should get going, too, Becca,” Elaine said.
“What? I thought we were going to stay longer,” Becca said, exasperated. Her eyes flashed with hurt at Elaine.
“We are, Becca. I meant to the jellyfish show,” Elaine said. “But maybe we should go. You don’t seem to be in a good mood. Maybe you need a nap, like Denise.”
Becca pressed her lips together, her face red. She looked away from Elaine and down at her feet. She shook her head. “I don’t need a nap, Miss Elaine.”
“Good girls don’t lie about being tired, Becca,” Elaine cautioned her. “Do you want to waste your last strike on a lie?”
“It’s not a lie!” Becca cried out. “I’m not tired.”
“Ok,” Elaine said, unconvinced. She started heading to the jellyfish viewing room. A few minutes later, Becca joined her.
“I’m sorry, Elaine. I don’t know what came over me,” Becca said as the lights were dimming.
“It was a little outburst. Typical for littles who aren’t getting their way. I’m glad you recognized that you should apologize, Becca. But you know it was your last strike, don’t you?” Elaine said calmly, turning her head to look Becca in the eye. Her cheeks glowed green and blue.
Becca nodded and let out a soft sigh. “I know, Miss Elaine. I lost the game. I’m not a good girl.”
“That’s a matter of opinion, Becca. It just means you’re not perfect, but I told you… I’m not interested in perfection. I’m interested in you. If you want to, we can forget about the game.”
“No, ma’am. The fair is fair. I’m willing to take my spanking.”
“I’m very pleased to hear that, little girl,” Elaine said, meaning it. “I do have one request, though.”
“Anything,” Becca said.
“If I buy you that octopus stuffed animal before we leave, will you sleep with it for tonight?” Elaine said.
“For always,” Becca professed.
Chapter 3: Becca
T rue to her word, Elaine bought Becca an adorable grey and purple octopus stuffed toy to bring home. Becca named declared that it was named Velvet to match the texture of its tentacles. Elaine told Becca that it was a good name for a stuffy and before they left the aquarium, they stopped to take pictures in the photobooth. Elaine paid for two sets. Surely it was inevitable that Becca would end up in Elaine’s lap, she’d already agreed as much for that evening, but it happened sooner and more naturally in the photobooth.
Elaine had wrapped her arm around Becca’s waist and as Becca leaned in against her, Elaine’s fingers had skimmed her thigh. She drew her closer, and closer until Becca’s bottom was in her lap. Becca felt Elaine’s fingers skim her hair, pulling it away from her neck, and Elaine’s chin softly pressed against the top of Becca’s shoulder.
“Ready, little one?” Elaine asked her. The older woman’s breath skimmed Becca’s nape and tickled her ear in a way that made butterflies flutter in her tummy.
She nodded, her heart racing. “I’m ready, Miss Elaine."
Each snap of the camera flashed and they smiled, adjusting poses. In one of them, Becca turned to face Elaine and kiss her cheek. In another, Elaine did the same. In the third one, though, Becca took initiative and pulled Elaine’s lips to hers, kissing her and stunning them both. The fourth photo was of Elaine stroking Becca’s face and kissing her forehead, Becca looking down at her lap.
“What was that for?” Elaine asked her.
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for days,” Becca admitted.
Elaine let her breath out and said emphatically, “Little one, I’ve felt the same way.”
“But you kissed me last night,” Becca protested.
“I suppose I did, but believe it or not… that was me trying to take things slow,” Elaine said, her eyes glittering.
“Well… now our first real kiss is caught on camera, Miss Elaine. How do you feel about that?” Becca asked.
“I feel good about it. But it’s time to go, Becca,” Elaine said firmly. Her eyes seemed sad to Becca. Becca didn’t understand why. Why was Elaine always holding her off?
Becca knew Elaine wasn’t ashamed of her. It had to be something else. I have to earn it, Becca remembered Elaine saying. It had seemed like a flirtation before but maybe there was more truth in it than Becca realized.
As Becca followed Elaine’s floating stride out of the aquarium, a sadness overcame her. She knew she’d never, never, be able to earn the love of someone like Elaine. As experience told her, all anyone ever wanted her for was se
x. She wasn’t the sort of woman people fell for. She carried her quiet mood with her into Elaine’s fancy black sedan. The leather seats were cold even as Becca prepared herself to a scalding hot experience. She realized quickly that Elaine had turned the car on before they’d even reached the parking lot.
She looked over at the woman about to drive her home and watched her buckle up and check her mirrors. Elaine turned on the stereo and the voice of an angel came floating out, singing about new found love. It made Becca’s hurt a little rawer as she proceeded to wallow internally in her inferiority.
“Becca,” a voice said. Becca looked up, caught in her own misery.
“I’m sorry, Miss Elaine. What did you say?”
“I told you to buckle up,” Elaine replied in her soft sultry tone. Becca swallowed and pulled the seatbelt across her chest. “What’s wrong, Becca? You haven’t said a word since we left the photobooth.”
“Nothing,” Becca said, her eyes flooding with tears even as she lied.
“Something’s clearly wrong, little girl. Tell me what it is when you’re ready. I’ll listen without judgment, okay? I hope you can tell me by the time we get home or I’ll have to put you to bed,” Elaine said, her voice sounding worried. The bed comment wasn’t a threat, Becca knew. It was for her own wellbeing, and that even more-so, stung.
She started crying, her head leaning against the passenger door, as Elaine drove. The older woman frequently looked over at her in concern and reached out to give Becca a reassuring stroke on her shoulder, but every caress just made Becca sadder. Becca wished with all her heart she could have Elaine’s love – not just her passing interest or pity.
Becca watched the scenery, the music slowly distracting her from her own misery as it switched to an audiobook narration of Charlotte’s Web. Becca fell asleep in the passenger seat. She only woke up when the car turned into the parking garage of their apartments. Elaine parked and looked over at Becca.