Hello! Welcome to my first story, Deception. Will contain suggestive themes such as language, sexual occurrences, and drug use. For now, though, this first chapter is mainly an introduction to Muffy and the other important side characters. Thank you for reading!
1: Birthday Girl
The soft chirping of birds and the scent of the crisp ocean breeze emerging from the bay make Muffy's usually tense muscles relax. Her and Gustafa lay sprawled out on the floor of Gustafa's yurt, trying to stay shaded from the menacingly bright sun outside. Both Muffy's long golden hair and her lover's fluffy brunette beard are greasy from the sticky summer air. Muffy rolls over on her side to stare at Gustafa's pale face. As usual, he wears his dark shades and a pointed green hat, a yellow flower blossoming from the front.
"I always get such romantic ideas on hot summer evenings," she says quietly, and then reaches out to stroke his cheek.
The corners of his lips crease upwards as she leans closer to wrap her arms around his neck and lay on his upper torso. She closes her emerald green eyes as she listens to the heart beating inside his rising-and-falling chest.
Gustafa lays in awe and wonders how he, the town's broke hippie with a poor reputation of being a stoner, could ever get Muffy, clearly the most beautiful woman in Forget-Me-Not. He breathes in the scent of her hair, a light lilac perfume, and then gently rubs up and down the side of her soft red dress. Everything about her is pretty. Her face, with her captivating smile and button-nose; her clothes, a well-tailored dress with seductive black lace trimming and a light blue cotton sweater. But most of all he loves her personality; she seems like such a charming and easy-going girl, the type that just breathes off an innocent aura.
He cannot help but shake his head in disbelief, as he always does every time him and Muffy spend alone time together. "How in the world did I end up winning you?" he mutters out loud.
Muffy's head pops up and she stares into Gufstafa's brown eyes, barely visible behind his dark glasses. "You don't need to always ask me that, you know," she says calmly with a grin.
He sighs. "You're a princess. I'm the town's dwarf. I'll never understand how you could love me."
"But you know I love you, right?"
He raises his head from the floor and kisses her forehead. "Yes. I'll just never get why or how."
"Shh," Muffy whispers. "Don't question it. Just accept it."
And with that, they cuddle closer and fall asleep listening to the hum of the birds and the bugs and the leafs rustling faintly outside.
Muffy groans as she feels her senses coming to life. Her back is sore and sweaty from laying on the ground. Beside her she hears Gustafa breathing peacefully, but she cannot see him.
"Oh gosh," she whispers frantically as she realizes how dark it is.
She nearly shakes Gustafa to ask him what time it is, but remembers he has neither a watch or a clock; nothing that needs an electric power source, to tell her. No light shines through the canopy of the yurt, and she quickly crawls around the floor and out of the wooden door without waking Gustafa to say goodbye.
Lights shining from Daryl's laboratory guide Muffy up the hill and into the much more populated part of town. She hurries as fast as possible along the cobblestone road in her black heels until she reaches the small building with the words Blue Bar hanging from a sign. With a gulp, she pushes open the heavy door and enters her work place.
Two adults sit at the counter, chatting and sipping from bottles of beer. Griffin's back is turned away from them as he rearranges drinks on the large shelf. Muffy scrambles nervously beside him after glancing at the wall clock. A whole hour late.
"Griffin, I know I'm late and I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry-"
Griffin sighs, but does not turn to look at her. He picks up a bottle of red whine and shifts it to a higher shelf. "Don't let it happen again."
Muffy nods gratefully. "I won't, I promise-"
"Go to the kitchen and whip these folks up a batch of nachos. They've been waiting and I can't leave the front unattended."
"Of course," Muffy says, and rushes through a door to enter the kitchen.
She rifles through cabinets and pulls out various ingredients. She arranges a mound of tortilla chips on a metal baking sheet as she waits for the oven to preheat. After sprinkling them with a generous amount of cheese, she pops the sheet into the oven until the cheese is melted and the chips are warm. In a rush, she drops a jar of salsa and moans pathetically as she watches the glass and dip splatter all over the floor. The smell of tomatoes and gooey cheese fill the kitchen as she opens a new jar of salsa to top off the nachos with.
"Here you go," Muffy greets the customers as she hands an appetizer plate to them. "Enjoy."
The couple leave the bar just before three am, closing time. After locking the front door and leaving a Closed sign hanging, Griffin walks into the back to find Muffy sweeping up shattered bits of glass. His thick eyebrows furrow in distress.
"What has gotten into you?" he asks loudly.
"Huh?"
"You've been breaking a lot of things lately. And you were late to work. Again. Where were you?"
Muffy hangs her head and pours the shards into a trash can. She then gets on her knees, paper towel in hand, to scoop up the wasted salsa. "I tend to break things when I have a lot on my mind. And I fell asleep at the beach. I'm sorry."
Griffin shakes his head in disapproval, but Muffy does not look. "Well, I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning." With that, he climbs up the puny flight of creaky stairs leading from the kitchen to his bedroom, leaving Muffy alone to scrub a dimly lit, horrendously messy kitchen.
After leaving the floor spotless, Muffy heads up the stairs and enters the door with a sign that reads Girls Only! Griffin made her hang it, and she thought it was cute at first, but when she tried to take it down to throw away, he insisted she put it back up. There was no way Muffy could deny listening to her boss, the man who pays her and puts a roof over her head, even if she does not exactly enjoy living inside a bar.
At noon the next day the sun is up and shining forcefully as Muffy and her best friend Lumina share a beach towel on the sand. The waves lap softly before them, wafting off the scent of sea and salt. Muffy lay sprawled in a baby blue bikini, soaking up the rays, while Lumina sits fully clothed in her usual white t-shirt with an orange sailor-style collar and jeans. Her short, light brown hair is secured with a yellow headband. Compared to Muffy's fashion sense, Lumina looks much more immature and child-like.
They had just finished a picnic that Lumina created for them, fruit salad and sandwiches on white bread. Muffy sits up in surprise as Lumina exclaims, "There's one more thing to eat..." and pulls out two pieces of strawberry cheesecake wrapped in plastic from the basket.
"Oh, Lumina, you didn't have too," Muffy gapes.
"Yes, I did. Who doesn't want cake on their birthday?" her friend replies with a smile.
"Thank you so much," Muffy ushers, flashing her pearly white teeth. She takes the slice and is pleased at how adorable it is. A perfectly ripe strawberry sits upon a creamy slice of sour and whipped cream. The graham cracker crust at the bottom is deliciously golden brown and baked to perfection. Lumina has quite a few talents, baking being one of them.
"But that's not all," Lumina says as Muffy takes a bite of heaven. Lumina pulls out a small, wrapped box from the basket, about two inches in height and width.
Lumina's cheeks glow pink as Muffy excitedly unwraps the paper to reveal a black box. She flips it open and murmurs giddily in absolute delight.
"I don't really know fashion, clearly, but uh, I think it suits you. At least I hope you think it does," Lumina whines bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Of course it does," Muffy grins, not taking her eyes off the ring. "It's beautiful."
She pulls it out and slides it on her finger. The large, blue sapphire and the smaller diamonds, one on each side of the huge gem, shimmer magically in the sunlight. Encrusted on the inside part of the silver band reads Muffy's name.
"Thank you so much, Lumina." Muffy grabs her best friend and hugs her tightly. "Really, thank you. For everything. The lunch, the cake, the ring-"
"Don't mention it, birthday girl," smiles Lumina, parting from Muffy's grasp.
"This must have cost so much," Muffy mumbles, twirling her hand.
"It's really not a big deal."
Muffy does not even try to say it actually is a big deal, that this gift must have cost thousands, because she knows Lumina is right. Lumina can afford nearly anything. Most townsfolk have always been envious of Lumina's wealth, Muffy included. She often falls asleep at night, dreaming of waking up in Lumina's mansion, with Sebastian the butler coming in to her luxurious bedroom to bring her a glass of fine wine. But no. She's the one in the pair that wakes up in a claustrophobic, poorly lit bedroom that reeks of alcohol from the bar downstairs.
"Happy birthday, best friend," Lumina giggles.
After spending time with Lumina, and then Griffin at the Blue Bar, Muffy heads to the only mansion in town. She's showered, applied a fresh coat of mascara, and changed into her just-washed red dress. A trail of flowery perfume lingers off of her body. Her heels make a click-clack sound as she travels up the paved rock street and gains sight of the Villa.
She knows Sebastian left the front door unlocked for her, and that at this time every day Lumina is required to practice painting in her room. Romana, Lumina's grandmother, sits in the rocking chair in her bedroom and reads in the evening, so Muffy knows she is safe from her presence as well.
The monstrous door is pushed open to reveal the extravagant red staircase, grand piano, and priceless decor. No noise is head throughout the overly large room. Muffy silently wades up the stairs and past Lumina's closed door. She feels slightly guilty about the secret she is keeping from her very best friend; especially since it involves Muffy doing said secret in Lumina's house, but she moves onward.
She turns the gold knob to enter the butler's bedroom and locks the door. The framed photo of a young Romana sitting atop Sebastian's dresser always makes Muffy uncomfortable. It is almost like Romana is watching her every move.
Sebastian, old and gray with stiff posture and a vomit-green sweater vest, groans as he tries to sit up from his position on the bed.
"Don't worry, sit down, I'll just settle down by you," Muffy assures him and plops down beside him on the fluffy bed.
"Happy birthday, Muffs," Sebastian's voice croaks. "How old are you now? Twenty?"
Muffy chuckles. "Thirty."
"Thirty. Wow. So young." Then he laughs. "Much too young for me."
"That's okay. I enjoy my men older."
Sebastian grabs her tiny, smooth hand in his trembling one. Blue streaks of vein bulge out of his crevices and wrinkles. "Oh, that's a very nice ring. That's the one Lumina got you."
"Yes," Muffy nods.
"Hopefully my gift to you can buy you yet another piece of jewelry." Muffy looks at him hopefully, but he starts coughing violently.
"Maybe you should lay down."
He unclenches her hand as she scoots off the bed to make room for him to sprawl out. Muffy forces herself not to grimace at the sound of him wheezing.
"Your present," he pants, and then points to his dresser. "It's in the second drawer."
With high expectations, Muffy struts to the piece of expensive furniture and pulls open the drawer. A glittery gold bag with a tag written in beautiful cursive says To my one true love, Muffy. She takes a seat at the plush lounge chair, and pretends to adore the long, dramatic card he wrote for her in impressive calligraphy. She then folds the card back up and places it beside her, eager to get to the real gift.
"Do you love the card?" Sebastian asks hopefully.
"I love it, just like I love you."
"I love you too, Muffs. But you already know that from what you just read."
She squirms and doesn't reply to the comment. Instead, her fingers shuffle through tissue paper until she finds an envelope. Opening it, she is not let down. The biggest stack of cash she has ever seen up-close-and-personal waits in her own palms.
Sebastian winks at her. "You know how close me and Romana are. We've been friends for far too many years. She pays me very well, as you can tell."
"Thank you so much, I am speechless." Muffy gets up to give Sebastian a deserved kiss on his chapped lips. "You really are so great to me."
"Anything for you, my dear. I am so grateful to spend this quality time with you. Unfortunately, I never really get a break around here. Excuse me to go check on Romana and Lumina." He forces himself off of the bed and plants a wet smooch on Muffy's cheek before she slides out the door, dangling a bag full of cash from her arm.
Gustafa: the last person to celebrate her birthday with. Muffy knows she could not have a real party. Both her relationships with Gustafa and Sebastian are kept a secret; plus Griffin, the father-figure in Muffy's life, does not approve of her hanging around men. He knows of all the heartbreaks she faced back in her old city. Lumina is the only true girl friend she has, so Muffy must spend time with each of her people separately.
An oil lamp is burning off a flickery orange light on the table. Inside the yurt smells like marijuana and roses. Gustafa rises from his sitting position on his bed and hugs Muffy as she enters.
"Congratulations on your birthday, princess," he greets.
She thanks him and leans in for a kiss. Her glossed lips collide with his dry ones, causing her heart to shoot off like a rocket. The sound of frogs croaking from the pond aways outside and the few crackles the flame of the lamp gives off cause Muffy to feel complete peacefulness.
Gustafa steps back and picks up a bouquet of roses from the stumpy table. "For you."
Muffy releases of a breath of happiness and pulls the flowers up to her nose, taking in the divine scent of her gift. The flowers are brilliantly crimson. Gustafa, being the plant expert he is, knows just where to pick the perfect batch of blossoms.
"That's not all I have for you," Gustafa speaks, his voice sweet like honey, and takes the string instrument leaning against the wall. He sits on the edge of his bed and begins to strum a melody on his lute. It is a soft and harmonious tune, and Muffy takes a seat before him, entranced by his talent. "I wrote this one just for you. Titled: For my Princess."
He begins to sing quietly, and suddenly Muffy remembers why she fell in love in with this man.
"For days and nights I traveled, looking for a song, a muse. Crossed bridges, mountains, and valleys, yet nothing was of use. Forget-Me-Not felt boring, till I met the most beautiful view. Not sunset, ocean, or meadow, it was you, Muffy, it was you..."