“They’re much too large. Maybe I can whittle away at them with my tongue.”
“We’re gonna have fun, aren’t we, Kimmie?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I’ll do anything you want. You know that, don’t you?”
“Same for me.”
“God, this traffic! But there’s something nice about having to wait, you know?”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“You know what I did? I cooked dinner, isn’t that nuts? It’s a casserole, it’s in the oven keeping warm.”
“I figured you would. I brought the wine.”
“Really? Is it that kind I can’t pronounce?”
“Nuits-Saint-Georges. No, but it’s like that. Another hearty red burgundy, according to the wine store guy in Salem, and I decided to take his word for it. This one’s a Pommard.”
“Poh-mahr.”
“Right.”
“I don’t know, Kimmie. I’m not sure how comfortable I feel with a wine I can actually pronounce.”
“There’s a D on the end, but it’s silent.”
“Well, that’s something. I feel better already.”
A cloth and candles on the table. Good food, good wine. As hungry as she was, all she wanted was to be in bed with Ree. But it was nice to postpone it for a little while. The anticipation was as savory as the meal, as tantalizing as the wine.
Dare I say plangent?
“Kimmie? You want to know a secret? I’m wearing the butt plug.”
“Really?”
“I’ve been wearing it all day. Sometimes I’ll do that. I like how it feels. The fullness, you know? And the idea that nobody knows. Of course there are times when I have to take it out.”
“No kidding.”
“And you gave it to me. That adds to it.”
“I brought you another present.”
“You did?”
“Well, sort of. I picked it up this morning, before I went to the wine store.”
“A sex toy?”
“No, I don’t even know if they sell sex toys in Salem. Well, they must, but I didn’t really go looking for them. And this isn’t a thing. It’s more of a surprise. But it’s for you. Ree, you look completely lost.”
“Well, what do you expect? You’re talking in riddles. Am I supposed to guess? Give me a hint.”
“I went to Brazil for it.”
“You went to Brazil?”
“In a manner of speaking. I got a Brazilian.” She got to her feet. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you.”
Lying on her back, with Ree’s head on her shoulder. The bedroom in shadows, with a table lamp in the hallway the only source of light. Ree’s taste in her mouth, Ree’s scent and her own scent permeating the room.
This was how it was supposed to be.
“Yes, Kimmie. It’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”
“Did I say it out loud? I thought I was just thinking it.”
“Maybe that’s all you did and I picked the thought out of the air.”
“Can you do that?”
“I never could before, but everything’s different, so who knows what I can do?”
“Isn’t that the truth? That bowling ball trick—”
“A guy did that to me once. Just one finger, plus the thumb. I thought two fingers would be better.”
“Definitely.”
“Did it hurt?”
“The two fingers? No, it felt nice.”
“The Brazilian, silly. What did they use, hot wax?
“Yeah, but it wasn’t so bad. And I thought it would be worth it. Do you like me without any pubic hair? It’s not unnatural, is it? Or just plain dopey?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Or all little-girly? All pedophilia-creepy?”
“Daddy’s little soldier.”
“I swear I never even thought of that. Is it like that?”
“Kimmie, I love it. There’s no hair, everything’s all sweet and smooth and silky, I can just kiss and lick everything. I’m a whole forest down there. You must have been disgusted.”
“Yeah, right. I had to force myself to get anywhere near you.”
“But wouldn’t you want me to get it done?”
“For your sake, Ree. Everything’s more intense.”
“Really? I don’t know if I can stand that. But I have to get it done. God, yours is so smooth, I can’t keep my hands off it. Give me a kiss. You know what’s remarkable? Your mouth tastes like a pussy.”
“Here’s a coincidence — so does yours.”
“Kimmie, this is all so easy! I had no idea.”
“Me neither.”
“I think there’s some more wine left. You want some?”
“Not particularly.”
“Some Poh-mahr. It was nice, but I had enough. The only thing I haven’t had enough of is you.”
“Ah, baby. Let’s see what we can do about that.”
And, a little later:
“Kimmie? I guess we’re lesbians, huh?”
“I suppose so.”
“But we’re still us, right?”
“Well, we don’t have to learn the secret handshake. Or deepen our voices.”
“Do we have to wear those plaid shirts from L. L. Bean?”
“No way. We don’t have to get a cat, either.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Or adopt a Chinese baby.”
“Kimmie? You’ll move in, won’t you?”
“If you can stand it.”
“You can have your old room back. But we’ll sleep here. Unless we try your room occasionally as a change of pace.”
“To ward off boredom.”
“You think we’ll get bored?”
“No.”
“Me neither. I want us to do everything.”
“We will. And Ree? There’s no reason you can’t have a guy anytime you want.”
“Really? You wouldn’t be jealous?”
“Why should I? I’m not jealous of the ones you’ve been with. You’re not jealous of my lovers, are you?”
“Kimmie, they’re all dead.”
“That’s a point.”
“But if they weren’t? No, I wouldn’t be jealous.”
“Because it doesn’t subtract from what we’ve got.”
“No, it adds to it. Right now I don’t want anything but you and me in bed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want us to tell each other stories. And sooner or later we might want to have new stories to tell each other.”
“Right.”
“And I’ve always liked fucking guys, Kimmie.”
“Me too.”
“And now I’m thinking about doing some new guy and then telling you about it, and I don’t know what’s getting me hotter, the idea of doing him or the idea of telling you.”
“Over the phone?”
“Silly. Lying in bed, and feeling your breasts against mine, and looking into your eyes—”
“Like you’re doing right now.”
‘Like I’m doing right now. And telling you all about it.”
“I suppose you realize that you’re sopping wet.”
“Like I’m the only one? And I am definitely getting a Brazilian.”
“But not right this minute.”
“No. Right this minute I’m busy.”
She spent the next several days settling in, and by Friday she had a working set of ID in the name of Kimberly Austin. She liked Austin for a last name, but she wasn’t crazy about the Kimberly part. Names had never mattered much to her, she rarely kept them any length of time, but maybe that was going to change, maybe she’d take a shot at being the same person with the same name for, well, as long as she could.
No problem. Kimberly could turn into Kim, and she’d fill out her kit with a library card and some generic Student ID cards as Kim Austin, and by the time she picked up a Washington State driver’s license, she’d be able to shrink Kimberly to Kim once and for all. And then maybe get a lawyer to have her name changed by court order? If she did that, she’d be able to get a passport. Not that she had any urge to leave the country, but suppose Ree wanted to see Paris?