Chapter 16

Flo was humming to herself as she pulled her car into the Cowie’s driveway. She rapped her fingers happily on the steering wheel. She hadn’t had this newly fucked feeling since her divorce proceedings had started. She didn’t put that on her son, but she wasn’t going to be celibate for three years ever again.

She stopped her car and all but skipped up the stairs to the front door. Mary opened the door before Flo could ring the doorbell.

“You look better,” Mary said, on opening the door.

“Just better? Did I at least make it to good?” Flo posed. The young mother was dressed in a skirt down below the tops of her knee-high leather boots. She had a light windbreaker over a body hugging sweater.

“Darling, if you need to fish for compliments after the smile he slapped on your face last night, go back for round two.”

“Round three.” Flo said, though, she tried not to count Richie’s rounds.

“Really?” Mary said. “Come in, come in. My friend Darlene’s playing with Trevor in the other room.”

Flo stepped in off the step. It was clear she was expected to take off her boots. She squatted down to unzip them. She followed Mary in through to the living room. Trevor was sitting in the living room stacking doll furniture precariously on top of a half turned dollhouse.

“Hey mom!” Trevor said, grinning. “We baked cookies!”

“Oh, really? I thought you had to run away from girl stuff?”

“Cookies are man stuff,” Trevor countered. Then he smirked, looking at the tower that he and Darlene bracketed. His toes swept left. He burst into excited giggling as everything tumbled down violently. Darlene shrieked and laughed.

“I knew that was coming and he still got me,” Darlene climbed up to her feet. She walked over to Flo.

“I know that smile,” Darlene said, insightfully.

Trevor walked over and found himself running straight into Mary’s hand. Mary interrupted Flo preening and wordlessly bragging to Darlene.

“Do you have time for this young man to clean up the toys?”

“Of course I do,” Flo said, squatting down and fluffing up Trevor’s hair. “He’s just like his dad, would never leave his mess for someone else.”

Trevor almost objected. He looked over at them. “It’s also Darlene’s mess.”

Darlene laughed. “More hands will go faster.”

Flo and Mary joined Darlene and Trevor in fitting the toys back into the box that normally sat forgotten in the basement. Flo was surprised to see a tear forming in Mary’s eye. Then she thought of having a kid play Trevor’s old forgotten toys ten years from now. She leaned over and wrapped an arm over Mary.

“You OK?”

“You never stop worrying about them,” Mary sighed. “I just didn’t expect when she moved out of the house she’d be impossible to call or text.”

“That is a nightmare.”

“Does Trevor fight back at every opportunity?” Mary asked.

“He lets one in five hundred go,” Flo laughed.

“That’s a window of hope then,” Mary said. “If you call Lilith to babysit again ... No, you’ve never met Harper to ask about her.”

“Yes I have, not enough to have had a conversation, but she’s visited Richie at the restaurant more than a few times.”

Mary saw the smile blooming on Flo’s face. She met someone at Burger King, huh? Mary hadn’t had the opportunity to consider another possibility. She took a moment to tamp down her judgment and make sure her words stayed to herself.

“Hey! I thought you said you were gonna help us!” Trevor complained as he shoved a pink car down into the corner of a box.

“Yeah, I should get home before Caitlin does,” Darlene said. “She and Lawrence have never enjoyed time alone together.”

“You let her out? With her arm like that?”

“She’s an adult,” Darlene said. “You know full well how little you can do, even if you weren’t a lawyer. Besides, she was out with Richie, and you called Lilith, she said Harper was there too. Your daughters make excellent friends.”

“They don’t pick the best boys...” Mary said.

“You want them to pick me?” Trevor interjected, cutting off his mother’s thought. He flexed and Superman posed.

“Oh, sweetheart, more than anything!”

And Flo kept her thoughts to herself.

Lilith moaned a thank you as Richie rubbed her back and held her hair back from her face. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“It’s OK, let it all out,” he said.

“I’m pretty sure I just did,” she said. She felt better, but hardly good.

“You sure? A few more deep breaths for safety, OK?” He urged her.

She nodded and tried her best. Her head was clearing. Except for the remnants of her eye makeup, the color was gone from her face.

“Don’t you have a girl for this?” Lilith moaned, as she reached for his hand and he helped her to her feet. She wobbled until she stood tall. She leaned over and hugged him.

“He’s got me,” Caitlin said. “But there’s no way in hell I’m lifting you up.”

Lilith frowned. She looked at Richie.

“Where’s Nat?”

“You need some water, electrolytes,” he said. Caitlin had set a glass of water and the bottle of Gatorade down next to the sink.

“Thank you,” she said, sipping the water lightly and rolling her cracked throat.

“She kept on, driving Zita home,” Richie said.

“And then she took Richie’s parents out for pancakes, to give us an hour or so.”

“She did?” Richie said surprised.

Caitlin tilted her head at Lilith. “You seemed to want to ask her some questions.”

“I’ve got another question,” Lilith said, her fingers slipping to get the plastic seal off the top of the Gatorade. Richie patiently took it from her hands, tore the plastic, uncapped the nipple, and unsealed the mouth. He handed it back to Lilith, ready to drink.

She sucked a blue mouthful and swished it around before swallowing. She moaned, but she was starting to feel human.

“Hey Lil,” Richie said. ‘What do you think about the sex from last night?”

She flicked her eyes at him, trying to consider how to answer him. She failed to push her thoughts sharply through her hangover, even as it slowly abated.

“I was drunk,” she said. “If you want tips on how to better pleasure a woman. Talk to the red cripple.”

“Not the superhero name I wanted,” Caitlin mumbled.

“I’m not worried about how well I did,” Richie said.

“Seriously?” Lilith asked. “I always feel like I should’ve done better.”

“Seriously?” Richie asked.

“Yeah,” Caitlin said. “Did I just lay there? Why didn’t I cum? All kinds of stuff eats you alive the next day. Guys don’t get that?”

“I didn’t know girls got that,” Richie said. “But the answer to that is more practice, right?”

“OK, stop smiling like an idiot,” Caitlin said.

“Why should he? You’re worse than he is,” Lilith said, putting down the water glass and picking up the Gatorade again. It didn’t look like she was drinking more than a few dribbles at a time.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t have to ask ‘Why didn’t I cum?’ since I started fucking Richie,” Caitlin said.

“There is that,” Lilith said.

“I don’t care about how well I did,” Richie said again. “I care about how you feel about having joined in last night and doing things again.”

“It was great,” Lilith said. “Totally do it again. I think Zita needs someone there to hold her hand. But ... What about Harper?”

“What about Harper?” Richie obviously dodged. Obvious to Caitlin. Lilith was still focused on recovery.

“You didn’t murder her right?” Lilith asked.

“Jesus Christ! Of course not!” Richie said.

“Good,” Lilith said. “It’s fun getting a little fun with Zita and even Caity–”

“Even Caity?” Caitlin growled.

“I’m not The Ox,” Lilith rolled her eyes. “I like dick. But it’s fun with cool girls.” She put her finger up begging for a second. She tucked her face into her shoulder and did her best to quietly belch out. She tasted her breath when she looked Richie in the face once again. “Sorry.”

“So, dick for Lilith, check,” Richie said. “I’m just doing my best to take care of my girls. Are you one of my girls?”

“Like Harper?”

“Harper was first,” Richie said. Lilith frowned and looked at Caitlin. Caitlin also heard the dodge and frowned behind Richie’s shoulder. She said nothing.

“Like Nat?”

“I don’t know what to do about Nat,” Richie said. “And I don’t think I can go ask someone who knows the answer.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a touchy subject,” Lilith said. “But I’m not Nat.”

“Oh,” Richie looked disappointed.

“I’ll throw some fun to Caity or preferably Zita.”

“I get it, I’m not the prettiest of us–”

“I don’t think that’s what she’s saying,” Richie said. Lilith punched him. “Ow, what?”

“When a hot chick is legit worried she’s not pretty, you don’t let her keep thinking that!”

Richie caught the next punch.

“There’s no way Caitlin doesn’t know how hot she is,” Richie said, “Right Cait?”

“It’s still nice of you to say it,” she said. “Oh my god! You always told Harper she was pretty! Was that because you had to lie to her to keep her happy?!”

Lilith caught the told. Her stomach twisted but that part of the hangover passed.

“You know what?” Lilith said. “Let’s do it.”

“Do what?” Richie said, caught between two women he wasn’t keeping up with.

“Me, you, Harper, threesome. Tonight. How many guys get to fuck sisters?”

“The way Nat’s sniffing around, I’d say Richie’s got that in the bag!” Caitlin laughed. Richie frowned at her. She took a moment and waved herself down but the laughter did come back a couple of times. “Sorry! Sorry!”

“Lil, you’re not at your sexiest.”

“Still, on the table. You and me and Harper...”

“He’s right,” Caitlin said. “I’m gonna take ... Shit, I can’t drive. Harper! No, I don’t think Mary’s in the car lending mood. Zita?”

“Doesn’t have her license,” Lilith said. “What are you on about?”

“First, we’re gonna get you feeling good inside, then we get you and Harper looking good outside. I haven’t had a girls’ day with Harper in forever! It’ll be the best. And then we can all come back here for Richie.”

“You’re just trying to muscle yourself into our threesome!”

“Yeah, of course I am. I had sex for a week over Christmas vacation and back in September. I’m not giving up getting laid ever again!”

“You’re saying you got Lilith,” Richie interjected. “Be careful with your arm.” He leaned in and gave Caitlin and Lilith quick kisses and fled the bathroom.

“Did he just ditch us?” Caitlin grumbled.

“Or you really need to pass me the mouthwash.”

Caitlin leaned in and sniffed. “For my own self esteem I want to believe you.” She picked up the bottle of Scope. “And your throat’s so fucking sour I can live with that.”

Zita lay on her bed, holding her pillow down on her face, and suffering through existential fear.

Lilith threw up her spiked drink!

Flo stole the spiked drink!