"I just meant maybe I could've helped."
"Sure." Chilled by the air conditioning, she wrapped herself in the towel. "Where's Tanya?"
"I think she's in her room studying."
Julie left the den and went to Tanya's bedroom. She found the older girl at the desk, bent over her big volume of Shakespeare. "How do you feel?"
"Not bad."
Tanya shook her head. "Can't believe it. Both legs seized up on you?"
"Dad says I was pushing it."
"Benny thinks it's the curse."
"What else is new?"
"He's in there, boning up on remedies."
"Looking for a hex remover?"
"Something like that."
"It's just a lot of bull."
"You still think so?" Tanya asked.
"Hell, I've had leg cramps before. But since there does seem to be an epidemic of accident proneness going around, I was just wondering…" She sighed, wondering how to proceed. Tanya waited, eyebrows raised. "Nick's coming over pretty soon, and I've gotta get cleaned up. I need to take a quick shower. Did you hear about Karen falling in her tub last night?"
"You're kidding."
"No, she almost drowned, but her roommate got to her just in time." "There is an epidemic."
"I'll say. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd mind taking a little break from your Shakespeare and kind of keeping an eye on me while I shower."
Tanya frowned up at her. "You really are worried."
"Well, I'm still a little shaky on my feet. I guess it's kind of ridiculous. I mean, I'm not spooked or anything. I just thought, to be on the safe side…" She stopped fumbling with words as Tanya set her pen down on the open book and pushed her chair back. "I'll be quick, I promise."
"No, that's all right. You can take your time. I'm pretty Shakespeared out."
"I really appreciate it." With a grin, she added, "I'll do the same for you sometime."
"Hey, forget it. There's no curse on me." She made a playful scowl. "You don't suppose it's contagious?"
"You'd have to ask Benny about that."
In her own bedroom, Julie tossed her damp pool towel onto her bed. She grabbed her robe, and hurried down the hallway to the bathroom. Tanya was already there, waiting on the toilet seat. "Maybe you've had your run of bad luck for the day."
"I sure hope so," Julie said. She crouched and ran water into the tub. When it felt right, she turned the shower on and slid the glass door shut. She took off her bikini, blushing slightly as Tanya watched.
"Think you got enough sun today?"
"Too much, probably. Hope I don't peel."
"Put some lotion on, afterward."
She nodded. She pulled the door partway open, tested the water with her hand, then carefully stepped into the tub. A foot slipped. She clung to the door.
"Christ, be careful!"
"I'm all right." Then she was standing in the tub with the door shut, the spray hot on her back. Through the frosted glass, Tanya was a vague, blurred shape. "Hope you know CPR," Julie called.
She couldn't quite hear Tanya's reply over the noise of the shower.
"You know, maybe I'd better take a fall, just to make this look good. I'm gonna feel like a jerk if nothing happens."
She turned slowly, enjoying the feel of the water as it splashed her body and streamed down. There was no stinging sensation, so she knew she wasn't badly sunburned. Her tanned skin had a glossy look, a slight reddish hue. Even her breasts looked rosy, but that was from the shower, not the sun. If she could, find more time to sunbathe naked… In a way, though, she rather liked the contrast, the white places surrounded by bronze skin.
Remembering her promise to be quick, she ducked her head under the nozzle. When her hair was soaked, she shampooed it. She rinsed out the suds, then used a soapy washcloth on her face and ears. "So far so good," she called.
Hearing no answer, she peered through the glass. Her heart suddenly thumped hard. Her stomach knotted. She tugged open the door. Blinking water from her eyes, she stared through the stream at the vacant seat of the toilet.
"What's wrong?" Tanya asked.
Through the thick drifting steam, she saw her cousin near the closed bathroom door. Naked. Standing on her head.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Relaxing."
"Good Christ."
"It's very pleasant. You should try it sometime."
Julie laughed. "Sure thing," she said, and shut the door. She soaped herself down, rinsed, and turned off the water. As she stepped onto the bathmat, Tanya's legs dropped forward. She landed lightly on the balls of her feet and stood up. Julie reached for her towel. "Gee, I always knew you were level-headed. I guess that comes from standing on it."
Tanya came forward, feeling the top of her head with both hands. Her body was slim, like Julie's, but her breasts were much larger and swayed slightly as she walked. "It's not flat," she said.
"Level. Nothing about you is flat."
"Let me by, smart-ass."
Julie shuffled sideways to make room, and Tanya knelt by the tub. She turned the faucets on.
"You're gonna take a shower?"
"A bath actually."
"Gee, I thought you just stripped to show off your boobs."
"Magnificent, huh?"
"Want to trade?"
Tanya stoppered the drain, then looked over her shoulder. Her eyes settled on Julie's breasts. Julie resisted an urge to hide them behind the towel. "As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind. I'd throw all my bras away."
"Come on, mine aren't that bad."
Tanya laughed. "What do you want? I told you I'd trade."
"I wear bras."
"Ah, but that's for decorum, not necessity."
"I don't know about that."
"If I had a set like yours, you wouldn't catch me dead in a bra. Especially in summer. And on dates. I tell you, you wouldn't believe the troubles I've had on dates. The thing's always in the way. Guys get frustrated fooling with the hooks and I have to unfasten it. It takes a Houdini to get out of the shoulder straps without taking off your blouse, which you might not want to do if you're messing around at a drive-in or something, so you end up half the time with the cups in your face. It's a colossal drag."
Smiling, Julie said, "I wouldn't know about that."
"Really? You mean you've never — "
"Never. You're looking at pristine tits." Except for. She suddenly saw the man on top of her, felt the tight squeeze of his hand. The memory of it made a cold, hard place in her stomach. She realized, vaguely, that Tanya was laughing at her quip.
"Untouched by human hands, huh? Well, a bra can do that for you, if that's what you want."
"I've just never gone out with a guy I cared enough about."
"That'll change. Let me tell you."
"I guess."
"You can bet on it," Tanya said, and climbed into the tub.
Still upset by the shock of remembering the attack, Julie quickly finished drying herself. She put on her robe. "Thanks for, you know, sticking around."
"Any time. It was a kick. Pristine tits."
Julie left the hot, steamy bathroom. The corridor felt cool. In her bedroom, she shut the door. She opened her robe. Stepping close to the full-length mirror, she stared at her left breast. The pale skin was stippled with goosebumps; the darker flesh was puckered around the jut of her nipple. It looked little different from her right breast. She stroked them both. The touch of her fingers felt the same on each. She remembered the burning hurt. There might even have been a bruise, though she hadn't noticed one before. Her breast looked fine now.
Hardly pristine, though.