Postby KP Presents » Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:16 am
As we drove up the road that led to Heather’s farm, my mind went back to the last time I visited here, just over a year ago before the christening. That had been the last time I had met the girls as well – and I was sure we had a lot to talk about.
“I see it hasn’t changed much,” Angela said as she looked out.
“When were you here,” I said as I looked at her.
“When Gran and I came over that time,” she said quietly, and I knew that was going to be the end of that conversation for a while. As we stopped in the main yard, Heather came out, wearing a long denim skirt and a sleeveless blouse, her bare feet clearly visible.
“Hey there,” she said as we got out, “welcome back.” Although we had been to church, we’d all dressed in polo shirts and shorts, given it was a warm day.
“Good to be back,” Angela said as she hugged Heather. “I can see you’ve both grown a bit as well,” she said as she looked at us. “So come in, come in – the girls are in the front room Alicia, and we’ll eat some lunch in a little while. I hope you don’t mind some salad just now – I thought we’d eat properly later once it’s cooled down.”
“Fine by me,” I said as we came in, and took our shoes off – Heather has a strict no shoes in the house policy, and I suspect if she really could do it, she’d have a strict no shoes on her land policy instead. I then opened the door to her front room and went in, while Angela went with the others.
“There you are,” Heidi said as she jumped up and embraced me, “how are you?”
“Better when I can breathe,” I gasped as she let go and looked at me, her blonde hair down to her shoulders as Cindy and Natalie looked over. “It’s good to see all three of you though – where’s Alice and Jannifer?”
“Alice had to go somewhere with her parents, worst luck,” Nats said as she put her book down. She was wearing a long patterned skirt with her rope bracelets on her ankles, and a v-necked top, while both Cindy and Heidi seemed to have adopted the informal dress code for the day of polo shirts and shorts. “As for Jannifer...”
“Watching over Bobby.”
“Bobby?”
“Oh that’s right – we never told you,” Heidi said quietly. “When we got back from our spring break visit, Jannifer was whisked off by her dad. Her mom was in labour – Bobby’s three and a half months old now.”
“Must be the season for babies – don’t tell your mums I told you, but Freddie’s mum is expecting a baby at the end of the year.”
“Wow,” Cindy said as she stood up, “what else are you going to tell us about?”
“Lots of things,” I said with a smile, “but is there any danger of getting a drink first? I’d forgotten how hot it gets round here?”
“Oh we can soon get you cooled off,” Natalie said with a laugh, “after lunch though. Come on – we can join the others for a while. I think we’re eating outside.”
As we went through the kitchen and into the back yard, we saw Angela sitting with the other mums in the back yard. Amy and Dorothy were sitting next to each other, while Veronica and Katherine, Natalie’s biological and adopted mums, were helping themselves to some salad.
“Hi Alicia,” Veronica said as she looked over, “we were just going to call you girls out to eat.”
“Good timing then,” Heidi said as we grabbed some plates, put food on them and sat down. “Listen Aunt Heather – if we’re having a meal later, is it all right if we go down to the watering hole for the afternoon?”
“So long as you get back before we eat, then yes,” Heather said. “In fact – give Alicia the full treatment?”
“With extreme pleasure,” Heidi said with a grin, “with extreme pleasure...”
“Well, she did say to give you the full treatment,” Natalie said as I felt my arms being pulled into my sides by the rope around my chest.
“You girls know how this feels, right?”
“Oh yeah – but nobody else is going to see you, and our mums won’t say anything,” Cindy said as she held the sponge ball in front of my mouth. I opened wide and felt it press my tongue down, before they smoothed a length of white medical tape over my lips, and then put the sleep mask over my eyes.
I walked with them, my feet on the wooden floor and then the warm ground as I heard Heidi say “We’ll be back in a little while.”
“Have fun,” Angela called over as I felt the grass under my feet, while the sound of the chatter died away, replaced by the sounds of birds in the trees, and our feet on the ground.
“Whtrthsbrds,” I said, unable to see what they were.
“Mainly local birds – but they sure sound good today,” Natalie said as they walked along, and then they suddenly stopped. “Whttsswrng,” I said as I listened to the soft sound of something moving.
“Possum – let it go past,” Heidi said, as I listened for a few minutes, and then we started to move again. The summer air was considerably cooler under what I presumed was the tree canopy, until I was made to sit down on the cool grass, and I felt some sort of tree behind me as more rope was tied around my stomach and waist, holding me in place.
The feel of rope around my bare ankles as they were brought together, and then the rope around my legs, told me I wasn’t going anywhere before there was another sensation – one of the fingers of six hands starting to tickle my feet, legs and sides.
“Hmgddddntdthssss,” I said as I wriggled round, but come on – how on earth was I going to stop them from doing this?
“Admit it Ali – you would do the same to each of us in a heartbeat!”
I nodded as the sleep mask came off, and I found myself in the clearing by the watering hole, sat against a tree to which I had been tied.
“So,” Cindy said as she removed the tape and I pushed the sponge out, “How’s the rest of the family?”
“Probably having their evening meal,” I said with a grin. “Seriously, Andrew’s walking now, and starting to string a few words together. As for Suzie – she’s completely besotted with Lucy.”
“Oh yeah – got any pictures?”
“Not on me, doofus,” I said as I wriggled round, “but Angie’s probably showing them to the others as we speak, so you’ll get to see them later.”
“Okay – extra tickle for the doofus remark,” Heidi said as she tickled my sides, and then said “What about you and Martin?”
“We’re good – so are Jenny and Colin, and as for Cassie and Bobby, I think the odds on them being a permanent item have shortened considerably.”
“Ah l’amour, tojours l’amore,” Natalie said as she lay on her back, looking up at the sky. I looked at Cindy and Heidi, who laughed as she said “she’s missing Alice, that’s all.”
“Oh? OH – you mean?”
“Hmmm,” Cindy said as she sat next to me, “they’re trying to keep it quiet, but we all know.”
“Know what,” Nats said with her eyes closed.
“About what Fi’s grandmother did for you and Alice when we spent spring break down there,” Heidi said as she sat on the other side of me, and put a straw to my mouth to allow me to take a drink of water.
“Oh – that,” Natalie said as a smile played on her lips.
“Fi? Where do her grandparents live?”
“Outside San Antonio – we all went down for Spring break. Learnt to ride a horse, saw ranchers at work, visited The Alamo, all that sort of thing,” Cindy said as she looked out over the water. “Big place they had as well.”
“Anyway, what about you two,” I said as I looked at them, “how are your boys?”
“They’re good – In fact, you’re both invited to our place Tuesday to append the night, if you’re up for it,” Heidi said.
“Jo’s anxious to meet up with your sister again,” Cindy said with a smile, “you know she and Alexa have decided to make a full commitment of it?”
“Yeah - is there a wedding in the air there as well?”
“Who knows – about as likely as Anne and Kayla,” Heidi said with a smile. “What about the Craigs?”
“Well, Connie and Dave have the two kids now – and the twins are almost as mobile as Andrew and Dan now. Sometimes, we look at them all playing together, and we wonder what’s going through their heads as well.”
“Think they’ll play the games as well?”
“Who can say for certain?” I closed my eyes as the sun shone down on my face, and felt the warmth on my skin.
“So, what is this I hear about a certain weekend recently?”
“Hmm – oh lord, how did you hear about that?”
“Your grandmother, my mother – they do talk you know, and I heard about what happened. Seriously – do you girls have this large neon sign that says “JAY EDWARDS WE’RE HERE?”
“It feels that way at times,” I said with a laugh, “but yeah – we spent the entire weekend as Victorian hostages.”
“Bad enough that day we spent as fifties girl detectives,” Natalie said, “but a whole weekend in long skirts, nobody able to see if you have anything on your feet or not...”
She then opened her eyes and looked at us, as she said “I like the sound of that.”
“See if you say that after wearing a whalebone corset,” I say with a smile as I wriggle round, the ropes rubbing on me. “I will say this – tied and gagged full job like that feels very, very different.”
“I can imagine,” Cindy said as she wriggled on the ground, “Oh damn it – who’s up for a dip?”
“We haven’t got any costumes,” I said.
“Who needs them,” Heidi said as she took off her top, Cindy doing the same, and then ran to the water, jumping in and swimming round in the clear water.
“They have a point,” Natalie said as she got up, and came over to the tree, untying me and helping me to stand up. “Come on.”
“Hey – aren’t you going to untie me,” I said as I jumped across the grass, the ropes rubbing on me as I did so. “I mean, you can’t swim when you’re tied up, can you?”
“Who says,” Nats said as we started to jump along the little jetty, my feet hitting the wood with each hop.
“Nats – seriously, what are you doing?”
“Showing you how much fun it can be – when you take the next jump, make it a big one and then float on your back.”
“The next jump? What do you mean the next HEY!”
I felt Natalie’s hand on my bottom as she smacked me, making me jump forward and off the pier, and then the cool water as I fell into the watering hole. The water covered me for a moment, before I push myself back up, using my bound legs like a flipper and then lie on my back after I break the surface.
“See,” Heidi said as she swam over and joined me, “easy, isn’t it?”
“How often have you done this?”
“Often enough – do a butterfly kick and you’ll be fine...”