“You got all this in two hours?” I asked.
“Two hours and an entire lifetime. We’re very similar.”
“I’m sorry, June. I’ve… I took advantage of her a year or so ago, and I don’t want to put myself into that situation again. I love her, I really do, but I don’t want to fuck up her life.”
“Popping in and out of her life is going to fuck her up worse.”
I realized that June was right, after all.
June changed the subject. “You won’t have your female mafia this year.”
“Huh?”
“Last year, there was Camille, Patty, Kristen, Sherry, and Lynette surrounding you whenever you moved. Camille, Patty, Kristen, and Lynette are gone this year. I can move into it, but that makes just Sherry and me, and Sherry has been very short with me since she found out we have a sexual relationship. Sherry has held a torch for you for years.”
“Sherry scares me.”
“Sherry’s feelings for you are identical to Lynette’s for Kristen. I’d say that Kristen handled it better, because Lynette has no jealousy. Watch Sherry the next time you see the two of us together.”
I sighed. I was trying to fix a potential problem with Merry and June keeps dumping more and more problems onto me. “I’m only human, June.”
“Despite our attempt at scandalizing your good name, very few people still, to this day, think you’re human.”
Chapter 26—More Pressure!
Kristen was in New England with Camille, helping Camille get settled in Providence. Most of Camille’s college expenses were paid by scholarships, and Kristen and Will helped her out as well. Will’s apartment was about an hour or so away and he made an offer to Camille that she could use his place to crash on long weekends if she just wanted to get away from school, or even if she just wanted to spend some quality time with Will.
I found myself missing Kristen for the two weeks she was gone. I turned down her invitation, since I was curious if Kristen would engage in a threesome with Will and Camille if I wasn’t around. According to Kristen, they hadn’t when I was there, and I wondered if I was sort of an anti-catalyst for that. If something happened, I knew that Kristen would tell me.
Even with Kristen gone, Lynette still was living at the apartment. Since I had never been happy with the whole “slave” thing, I didn’t give her any orders at all. Instead, I simply asked if she would like to hug and snuggle at night, which we both seemed to enjoy. I found that I hated sleeping alone, and having her warm body available—even without engaging in sex—was very therapeutic.
June was also spending more time with me as she sensed my melancholia. It wasn’t easy for her, since she was also spending time with Merry, getting her interested in being a cheerleader and helping her work out. While Kristen was gone, I asked both June and Lynette to wear clothes at the apartment, especially with Merry coming over so often. The two girls obliged me.
June found a practical solution to helping Merry: she invited Merry to spend nights together in the guest bedroom in the apartment. At first, my step-father wasn’t entirely happy with the situation, but my mother pointed out that June was spending a lot of quality time with Merry, trying to get her focused on something. He reluctantly agreed to allow Merry to sleep over.
Merry noticed Lynette sleeping with me most of the time. I didn’t comment on it, but June explained to Merry that Lynette was Kristen’s friend, and that we both missed Kristen, and spending time together was our way of remembering Kristen.
I took the three girls to Vaughn’s one night, using some of the house money as well as some money I received when I arranged a barter of a second electronic keyboard that Kristen picked up at the flea market for a multi-track TEAC open reel recorder and some extra cash.
For the first time ever in my memory, Merry refused the Belly Buster dessert at Vaughn’s. When I asked why, she said, “Cheerleaders don’t eat that shit.”
When Merry said that, Lynette nearly choked on her iced tea.
When Lynette learned of June’s attempt to help make Merry a cheerleader, Lynette got full on board as well. Merry would grow to hate Lynette, since Lynette wasn’t acting as a big sister as June was, but as a hard driving coach instead.
“Let Jim sleep with that bitch!” I overheard Merry say one night when I was going off to the master bedroom to sleep with Lynette.
A few days before Kristen was due back, Lynette and I were playing pool. We were about evenly matched, and we played a number of games.
I heard the sound of running water, but ignored it for a bit. When I heard squeals of laughter, however, both Lynette and I went next door to investigate what was going on. We found June and Merry, naked in the communal shower, the two girls soaping and splashing at each other.
When Merry noticed that I was there, she tried to cover herself as much as possible. Lynette read the situation, and quickly pulled me out of the room.
Back in the pool room, I was furious. “How could June do that to me?”
“Do what?” Lynette asked me, confused.
“Take advantage of Merry like that!”
“Take advantage? They were taking a shower!” Lynette said.
“You know what goes on in those showers, Lynette!”
“They are just two friends, a little sister and a big sister, having fun.”
“Sisters don’t do that!”
“How the fuck would you know? I have an older sister, and we DID do things like that, Jim. We grow up hating each other, and then, all of a sudden, we’re best friends.”
“June was taking advantage of Merry!” I repeated.
Lynette shook her head. “You’re the last person I would have figured for a prude, Jim.”
Lynette left the game room, her disgust at me hanging heavy in the air.
Was I a prude?
I was laying on my bed in my bedroom. I refused dinner; I wasn’t hungry. I was stewing about June and then how Lynette turned a blind eye to everything.
There was a knock on by bedroom door.
“Who is it?”
“June.”
“Go away.”
There was another knock.
“Go away.”
June opened the door. “Jim, you know that I love you very much. I’m willing to do anything for you.”
“Yeah? So what?” I said sullenly, still pissed as hell.
June sighed. “I’m giving you my notice. This is the last time you’re going to see me here. You don’t trust me, and you don’t seem to want me to be with your sister. This won’t be easy for me, but I’m leaving, effective now.”
“Huh?”
“I’m leaving. You asked me to do something, I did it, and you now hate me for it. I didn’t sign up for that.”
Wait a minute! I was pissed at June. Why was she pissed at me?
“Don’t go turning this around, June…”