Fictober Prompt 8: "This is it, isn't it?"

Clean Mischief

In the safety of her home at Green Needle Gulch, Lucrecia stared at the water surrounding them. The liquid that circulated through the ravine was like an old acquaintance. She felt it flow, the lily pads riding on short waves, and if she wished, then she could have directed it elsewhere.

She decided against that. She allowed the water to move freely, her skin warm as the sunlight hit the water. Closing her eyes, she listened to the bubbles rise and pop in the gully as if she had never left. Lucrecia tapped her weathered, oak cane against the rickety floorboards and felt the water part beneath them. Glancing at the crack in the flooring, she smiled, observing the waves crashing together without a sound.

"Ah, right here! Unexpired! We got a good one, Lucy!"

The excitable shout from her Crully broke through her concentration. Lifting her head, she slowly pivoted around to face him. As he levitated, Ford pulled his hand out from one of the highest wooden shelves and landed next to her. When he opened his palm, Lucrecia giggled in devilish delight and plucked the small pouch of chewing tobacco right out of his hand. The dark grains shifted in the faded bag that bordered on a yellow hue, and she popped it in her mouth. She sighed, rolling the bag over her tongue before setting it to her cheek and drawing out a rich flavor that reminded her of coffee.

"Oh, thank you, Crully. You know, I haven't had my fix since, well, little Dion was starting to get curious about my bad habits. His mother made me toss out my stash," she lamented, smacking her thin lips together. "She said that she needed him healthy as a horse to do some heavy lifting."

"Well, the boy can smoke and lift at the same time, can't he? And it's not like he was learning to smoke real cigarettes," Ford replied, leaning into the counter.

"Exactly, exactly. I tried to explain myself, but she wouldn't have it!" She shrugged, which was barely noticeable underneath her thick clothing. "Eh, but I still snuck a few baggies here and there from little convenience stores. The cashiers were none the wiser."

Ford chuckled, music to her ears. She sucked on her tobacco and shifted her gaze to the spiderwebs lining the walls and in-between the shelves. The wood seemed rotted in some areas. They threatened to break away with a simple rap from her knuckles. Dust accumulated in the air off the countertop and from the open cabinets, the particles carried by the wind, and she clicked her tongue.

"We'll have to do a little cleaning if you want me to stay here. Even the caravan was never this much of a dump," she said, waving her cane at the arched entrance where the highest cobweb clung to the roof. "Look at that! Those spiders are mating right in front of us. Can't they get a real room or am I going to have to start charging them rent?"

Ford's telekinetic hand emerged above his head. He scooped up the web and spiders and tossed them out. "Ya got a point there. I should've brought my mop from camp. Would've made cleaning a whole lot easier," he said, gathering the spiderwebs.

Lucrecia snickered, throaty and hearty. She watched him maneuver around the room, his gait still strong despite everything that had happened. He had lost some squareness in his shoulders and his hair faded to a stark white, but overall, he was still her Crully.

An idea struck her. Devious and mischievous, a fleeting memory from her youth, it was a scheme that she certainly couldn't ignore. She had done it many times when they were alone. And she had done it whenever the eyes of their fellow psychics weren't looking. When her eyes lowered to a certain part of Ford's body, a gummy smile broke out on her face.

Lucrecia tapped his bottom with her cane. Ford yipped like a pup, launching the spiders and their homes into the gulch. He whirled around, hands clasping his backside, his eyes appearing ready to bulge out of his head. Lucrecia cackled, aiming her cane at him, the bandages on her hands shaking as her entire body rocked with her laughter.

"Oh, Crully, you still have the same embarrassed look on your face!" she exclaimed, her cheeks darkening as she caught her breath.

A surprised chortle escaped Ford. He shook his head, his cheeks as rosy as Lucrecia remembered. "You sly girl!" he shouted, laughing as well. "I can't believe I fell for that again after all these years!"

"Well, you never knew when I was going to give you a little love tap," she crooned, winking at him.

His grin seemed painted on his face. Ford approached her with his arms wide open, and she shuffled into them. As he wrapped them around her rounder frame, he whispered, "Lucy, you still got it goin' on."

She closed her eyes and let her cane fall away. She curled her fingers into the warm fabric of his uniform. An array of smells hit her. Aerosol spray and vanilla cologne, the damp earth and the salty sea, they all swirled around her. She felt like she could have begun floating, guiding him with her across the gulch to lands unknown, exploring new dating spots just like they had done decades ago.

But she remained tethered to the floorboards with him. There was nowhere else she wanted to be in the world. Safe in his arms, breathing him in, Lucrecia was at peace.

"Oh, Crully, this is it, isn't it? We came back right where we started," she murmured into his uniform. She caressed his cheek, unsure if her gritty bandages scratched him.

He cupped her hand and kept it placed on his face. "We sure did, Lucy. Now, we got all the time in the world to do whatever we want."

She raised her eyebrows, giggling. "I remember you mentioning a canoe ride at Whispering Rock. I'd be more than happy to let you serenade me."

Someone cleared their throat.

Ford jumped. She rolled her eyes at him. It hadn't been the first time someone interrupted them, but she supposed he had gotten a bit understandably skittish over the years.

Turning to face the interloper, her grin only widened as Raz stared at them with unblinking eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Oh, Pootie! Hello! Have you come to check in on us? Crully and I were just making arrangements for our first real date in so long," she said, raising her cane off the ground and leaning into Ford. She wreathed her arm around his waist and kept him close. "Hey, do you know any other hot spots at camp? Maybe a place for some…necking?"

As Raz blanched and Ford tugged at his high collar, Lucrecia laughed at the top of her lungs, the water pleasantly stirring underneath her.