"I didn't know you spoke Czech." Jane paced on the deck as Maura rooted through her purse looking for the house key.
"It's an easy language. Once you've mastered the Slavic matrix, it's only a matter of nuance."
"I'm sure you've mastered all the mattresses. One day you'll probably burst out in Zulu."
Maura pushed the door open, turning to Jane with a triumphant smile. She opened her mouth and let out a rapid series of clicks.
"The fuck is that? You got something caught in your throat?"
"That was Zulu. I asked if you'd like to have a drink first or immediately have intercourse."
"Ka ka ka ka ka ka goo goo woof." Jane replied.
"That's not Zulu."
"It's a related language, part of the matrix. I just said that you should go upstairs and get naked. I'll let the dog out and be up in five minutes with a snifter of Grand Marnier."
Maura poked her in the ribs. "Fine."
Jane tiptoed up the stairs, mindful of their sleeping guests. Jo scampered behind her, less mindful.
"Babe?" She whispered.
Maura emerged from the bathroom, undressed save an empty harness strapped across her hips, the black leather a stark contrast to the pale ivory of her body. She swayed in the doorway, intoxicated by the flush of arousal that washed over Jane's chest and neck. Her own nipples hardened when Jane ran her tongue across her chapped lips.
Jane approached, taking a deep drink of cognac and holding it in her mouth. She bent her neck and captured Maura's lips with her own. Turning her mouth into a chalice, she drizzled the orangey liquor onto her lover's tongue.
Maura swallowed, feeling the burn race to her belly and coil around her mounting desire. "There's a bag of toys under the bed. Choose your weapon, detective."
"So…you're going to…"
"Yes. I told you I like a woman in a dress. I'm going to show you how much."
Jane knelt next to the bed and shoved her hand into the open purple knapsack, grabbing a toy at random. Maura, in contrast, would ponder over her choices; running the pads of her fingers over ridges and bumps, mentally calculating angles of entrance before settling on the right tool for the position she had in mind.
Jane's hand had settled upon a plain black phallus, smooth from end to end and slightly broader at its base. She offered it shyly to Maura who hovered above her next to the bed.
"You do it, Jane."
She shifted in closer, reaching for the silvery O-ring at the apex of Maura's thighs. She could smell her lover's arousal, earthy and primal under the smoky scent of the leather.
"Oh…" The phallus dropped from her hand as she pushed aside the flap of leather covering the tawny down of Maura's mons. She pressed her face in and inhaled deeply.
When Maura trembled above her, she allowed her hungry lips to move lower, kissing their way to the warm cleft of Maura's sex.
Maura bent her knees, allowing Jane better access, her hands resting lightly on the crown of Jane's head. Jane's hair was so soft, so silky against her thighs and under her fingertips, a glossy ebony cascade. She watched the dark head move against her through half-lidded eyes, feasting on the sight of Jane's firm ass silhouetted under the tightened fabric of her own black cocktail dress. Her fingers grasped tighter, short nails scraping at Jane's scalp…so close, so…
Maura tightened her jaw, fighting against the fluttery sensation in her lower abdomen. She stepped back pushing Jane's head away.
"Maura?"
She looked down into espresso-colored eyes, noting the fully-dilated pupils. Jane was deeply aroused. Her own wetness glistened on the detective's lips and cheek. The sight of it nearly sent her over the precipice.
"Jane, I want to…" Her erudite vocabulary was lost to her at times like this; she became carnal and primitive. "…I want to fuck you. I want to come inside you."
Jane nodded, her eye's locked to Maura's, entranced.
Maura bent and picked up the discarded toy, easily sliding it into its ring. Jane stood, towering a full five inches above her lover. It didn't matter; Maura was in control. She reached for Jane's neck, pulling her down for a crushing kiss. Her tongue swirled around Jane's mouth, reclaiming her own taste which coated Jane's teeth and tongue. She pulled back, sucking softer at her fianceé's swollen lips.
Jane's blood drummed through her body, her rapid heartbeat pulsing in the taut veins of her neck. Maura's mouth found them and suckled, her sure hands bunching up the black fabric of Jane's dress and tearing at a pair of her own bikini panties, fitting loosely over her lover's narrow hips.
Jane stepped out of the panties and kicked them aside. "Dress on or off?"
Maura's eyes narrowed, gold and green, catlike.
"Off." She decided.
Jane clawed at the tight bow above her left hip. Her damaged hands became clumsy when she was stressed or aroused. "Goddamn it." She hissed.
Maura reached down and easily freed the tie, the dress opening up and sliding from Jane's tan shoulders, pooling at her feet. She bent to pick it up, knowing how careful Maura was with her clothing.
"Leave it." Maura husked.
She followed her lover to the bed and eased her long body onto the mattress, spreading her thighs in welcome.
Maura knelt between them, noting the dew that glistened on the dark hair of Jane's sex. She bent her head and kissed the opening, her tongue danced briefly over Jane's erect clitoris, eliciting a rumbling moan. She was ready.
Maura pushed into her slowly, feeling resistance and then none. She lowered her body onto Jane's, carefully aligning herself so their nipples touched. Jane's eyelashes fluttered at the exquisite contact. Bracing herself against the mattress, Maura began to move, slowly at first and then more rapidly, thrusting harder.
The ancient bed frame squeaked and groaned in protest beneath them. Maura's eyes shot open and she chewed on her lower lip, a nervous gesture. She had seamlessly moved from geeky Maura to dominant Maura back to geeky Maura in a matter of 10 minutes.
Jane laughed. "I love you so much. You are so damn sexy."
Dominant Maura was back. "Shush. We have to be quiet." She clasped her hand over Jane's laughing mouth and pressed their foreheads together. She continued to thrust, harder, but slower, willing the bed to be as silent as Jane.
The harness drew tight between Maura's legs, rubbing deliciously against her own swollen clit on every upthrust. She no longer cared about the noise; she was immersed in Jane, lost in her.
Jane began to move against her from below, propelling her body up using her heels for leverage. Maura removed her hand from Jane's mouth and brought it between them, her thumb just able to stroke Jane's clitoris. It was enough. Jane lifted her hips from the bed, wrapping her legs around Maura's waist. She swallowed her usual exultant roar, but it played across her face nonetheless; the muscles in her cheeks twitched, her lips trembled and then her face went slack, peaceful.
Maura watched as her own orgasm hit her, pulling like a tight band from her sex through the base of her skull, then releasing, diffusing warm heat through every muscle. She collapsed against Jane with a soft sigh.
"Think we woke them?"
"I can't imagine anyone could sleep through all that squeaking and rattling."
Jane laughed. "Tomorrow. I will tighten the bed frame tomorrow. I promise."
"Mmm." Maura grunted, not believing her.
"Good thing we're not a pair of 300-pound men."
"Good thing." Maura agreed, remembering the beefy trio in Girl Scout uniforms at the disco. "What did they call themselves? Bulls?"
"Bears." Jane murmured into her hair. "Grrrrr."
Maura rolled to her side, the bed frame protested even this slight movement. "Tomorrow, Jane. We may as well be bears with the damage we did to this bed."
"Yes, my love."
Jo Friday timidly approached, standing on her hind legs to peep over the edge of the mattress.
"Look, Maur, our little cub wants to snuggle in our den." She patted the sheet next to her. "C'mon, girl, the excitement is over. Let's all hibernate until tomorrow."
Jo leapt onto the mattress, cast a wary eye at her mommies and settled herself into a tan ball at the foot of the bed.
"Jane, get up. We're all having breakfast together." Maura called from the bottom of the stairs.
Jane groaned and buried her face deeper into the pillows, pulling an especially soft one close to her face. Jo Friday yelped and gave her an indignant look before rolling toward Maura's side of the bed and continuing to snore.
"Jane." Maura climbed the stairs and stood at the entrance to their bedroom. "I'm frying bacon."
Both detective and dog peeped an eye open at the sound of that magic word. Two noses tested the air, found it lacking and snuggled back into their blankets.
"Bacon, coffee, eggs with cheese, English muffins dripping with butter." Maura slowly recited the words in her sexiest bedroom voice, enticing her lover away from sleep as surely as if she were purring, "sex, tongue, breasts with nipples, vagina dripping with wetness."
Jane stretched and opened her eyes again. "It's gotta be freakin' early, Maur. The sun isn't even blinding me yet."
"It's just past six. Faye and Kaye want to talk to us. I think they're leaving, Jane."
"What?"
Jane sprung from the bed. "No fucking way. I'll put a stop to that."
"Diplomacy, Jane." Maura rested a hand on her bare chest. "Diplomacy and clothes."
Five minutes later Jane pounded down the stairs in her salt-stiff jean shorts and purple tee.
Maura met her with a cup of coffee and a kiss. "You smell like a mermaid."
"Yeah. This outfit had a good washing in the Atlantic last night."
"Maybe so, but I'm tired of looking at it. I'll go through my wardrobe later. I'm sure I can find a few suitable items for you to wear. If not, I may relent and allow you a supervised trip across the bay to purchase some appropriate attire."
"Walmart, here I come." Jane clapped her hands.
Maura shook her head. "Nassau and Suffolk Counties are numbers 13 and 22 respectively on the list of highest per capita income in the entire country. I'm sure there are other places to shop besides Walmart."
"The dollar store?" Jane asked.
Maura ignored her and returned her attention to the sizzling bacon on the stove top.
"Where are the girls?"
"Having coffee on the back deck."
"C'mon, Jo. Let's be diplomats." Jane slid the door open and Jo Friday dashed out, racing down the stairs to the sandy patch of yard to relieve her bladder.
Faye and Kaye were seated at the plastic patio table, nursing coffees in matching Cherry Grove is for Lovers mugs.
"Morning, gals."
"Whoa, Jane. I didn't expect to see you before noon. Maura said you two got in well after midnight."
"I hope we didn't wake you." Jane flashed to the squeaky bed frame and their futile attempts at silent sex.
"Nah. I have the sleep apnea; I don't hear anything with that Darth Vader mask over my face, and Faye wears earplugs on account of my snoring."
Jane relaxed. She could put off tightening the bed frame for another day. She pulled a plastic chair into the sun and stretched her long legs out in front of her.
"What's on our agenda today? Wanna hit the mainland and chaperone my shopping spree at Walmart? Maura's embarrassed to be seen with me in these same clothes. Maybe we could take the squirt to lunch at Taco Bell or even better, White Castle. Maura won't step foot in either of my favorite eateries, and I could sure go for a volcano taco with macho nachos or a sack of greasy sliders."
Kaye closed her eyes, a dreamy look settling over her features. "I haven't had White Castle since we moved to Vermont. Very tempting, Jane, but we promised Annaliese a day at the beach."
"There will plenty of beach days. The forecast is sunny and mid 80s all through next week." Jane opened the door, now it was up to her friends to walk through it.
Faye rested her hand on her wife's arm and gave a gentle squeeze. "We're leaving tomorrow, Jane."
"What? Why?"
Faye sighed. "Annaliese is in a strange environment and she's acting out. Cherry Grove may not be the best place for her."
As if her Nana's words had summoned her, the skinny redhead appeared on the other side of the patio door, her nose pressed against the glass forming a pig snout.
"I'm boooorrrred." She whined.
Kaye gestured for her to join them. "Wanna play a game of Hide and Seek?"
"Fuck no. I want to play with some toys."
"Your toys are at home. You had the choice to bring one item and you chose your Kindle. Why don't you read for half an hour before breakfast?"
"Okay." The child was surprisingly compliant. "Can I read to Jo Friday?"
"Sure." Jane whistled and the little dog trotted up the stairs and sat beside her. "Jo, Annaliese is going to read you a story. Pay attention. There may be a pop quiz after."
Dog and girl disappeared into the house. Jane followed her inside where Maura was squeezing oranges into juice using a metal strainer. "Save me some pulp, babe."
"I will, if I can. This is hard work without the right equipment."
"You didn't pack the juicer?" Jane asked in mock incredulity. "And you accused me of under packing."
Maura smirked. "That was sarcasm, right?"
"Yes!" Jane pumped her fist. "You're catching on. Let me help. I don't want you to strain your fingers; I may need them later."
She kissed the top of a perfectly coiffed blonde head. "Let's do this outside. Faye and Kaye are serious about leaving."
"Oh, Jane." Maura looked crestfallen.
"C'mon, baby, let's see if we can't convince them to stay." Jane picked up the bag of oranges and the strainer and nudged the tearful doctor toward the door.
A moment later, Annaliese was back with her face pressed against the glass.
"What is it, sweetheart? You couldn't have read an entire story in just a few minutes."
She pushed the glass open and stuck her head through the gap. "I told Jo a story from my mind."
"A creative mind. Brava!" Maura smiled. "What was it about?"
"It's about a girl from Vermont who gets a letter in the mail saying she is really a magician. She goes to Hogwarts and learns how to turn animals into other animals."
"Like Harry Potter." Jane nodded.
"No. Harry Potter sucks ass. My story is better."
"I'm sure it is, Pumpkin." Kaye beamed at her granddaughter.
"We decided to act it out." The girl continued, stepping through the door. "I am the best fucking magician in the world, the magnificent Annaliese Capasso!"
She twirled in a circle, her magician's cape, made of a white bed sheet tied around her neck trailed along the sandy deck behind her.
"Very nice." Kaye clapped, explaining to her wife. "She made a cape, babe."
Faye smiled and clapped as well. "Do you know any tricks, oh wise magician?"
"Yes. I turned Jo Friday into a unicorn with my magic wand."
She reached under her cape and pulled out a pink and purple swirled vibrator.
Maura gasped.
"Wait, here's the best part." She twisted the base and it began to buzz. "Abracadabra! Jo Friday, come show everyone."
The little dog poked her nose through the open door, then quickly scampered through and ran to her mother's side.
"Oh, shit!" Kaye blanched.
Jane groaned and Maura covered her face with both hands.
"What is it, love? What's wrong?" Faye turned her sightless gaze from woman to woman, willing someone to tell her what had happened.
"J-Jo is wearing a…a strap-on." Kaye stuttered.
"Ours?" Her wife asked.
"No! I didn't bring that. Did you?"
"No. I thought about it, but decided it was best left at home as we might be sharing a room with Annaliese."
Kaye pulled her embarrassed eyes away from her wife and back to the little dog who was now lying on the deck, swatting with her small paws at the black dildo standing erect between her ears. The phallus quivered and slid a bit with each smack only to right itself again.
The four adults sat in stunned silence for a full minute while the child ran around the table, swinging the still buzzing vibrator. "Hocus pocus! Catch my magic!"
Finally Jane squatted next to her distressed pet and gently unclasped the straps of the harness which Annaliese had wrapped twice around the dog's mid-section. The contraption fell away and the relieved animal licked her hand in gratitude then jumped into Maura's lap.
"Hey! You ruined my unicorn. That's shitty!"
"Annaliese…" Faye quietly addressed her granddaughter. "Give Jane your magic wand."
"No! It's mine!"
"It is not yours. Where did you find those…items?"
"In a bag under Jane's bed. I heard Maura tell her there was a bag of toys under there and I remembered seeing it when I had to crawl under to get Jane's phone. I wanted to play with the toys." She started to cry.
Kaye sat very still, staring at her hands, allowing her wife to handle the situation. "Annaliese, give Jane her wand. Those are adult toys, not for children."
The girl flung the vibrator in Jane's general direction, then threw herself onto the ground where she continued to howl.
Jane picked it up and turned it off, passing it, along with the strap-on to Maura. "Put these someplace…um, safe."
Maura nodded. "I have a cabinet that locks in the examination room." She kissed Jo's head and placed her back on the deck. "Good girl, Jo Friday. I have a slice of bacon for you in the kitchen."
Jane flopped back into her chair, grateful for her fianceé's neurotic cleanliness, which caused her to completely sterilize every toy after it was used. "Well, that was awkward, but I'm sure we will laugh about this down the road."
"Sorry, Jane." Kaye's cheeks were still flushed pink with embarrassment.
"Nah, it is kind of funny." She chuckled, imagining retelling the story to…Frost and Korsak? No, maybe just Frost. Yeah, definitely Frost.
"Hey, Kiddo, I got something for you, a toy that you can play with and keep." Jane attempted an indulgent smile.
"What is it?" The red-head was still sniffling, but her mood brightened considerably at the thought of a gift.
She held up a finger as she took a deep swallow of hot coffee. "I won a prize at the disco last night. I think you might like it." She dashed back into the house and rooted through the kitchen cabinets. "Maur, where did you put that…never mind, here it is."
She grinned at the solemn-faced wooden doll. Volga and Olga had managed to capture their own essence in the wide eyes and solemn demeanor.
"What the fuck is it?" The girl's demand brought Jane out of her reverie.
"It's a set of Russian nesting dolls." Jane passed the prize over. "Enjoy."
"Ah, Matryoskas!" Faye smiled, relief flooding her system. "I had a set as a girl. Each had the face of a different Orthodox saint. They were lovely."
Annaliese made short work of pulling the dolls apart and tossing their separate halves over the railing into the dirt. "These all have the same face and they're as ugly as a…" She scrunched her brows together in thought. "…as ugly as a pile of dog shit. I hate dolls."
She pouted and kicked at the deck planks. "Can you get that midget Honey Doo Doo to come play with me? We could be bridezilla beauty pageant contestants."
"Certainly not." Faye admonished.
"This is the suckiest, suck-ass vacation ever."
"We'll go to the beach later, sweetheart. We can build sandcastles and collect shells."
"Bullshit! I don't want to go to the crappy beach." Her face had turned as red as her hair and fat tears ran down her freckled cheeks. "I hate Fire Island and I hate you too!"
Faye and Kaye sat quietly, enduring the tirade. When it was over, Annaliese propped herself against the deck railing and sniffled in silence.
Jane wanted to throttle her, but followed her friends' lead. She said nothing. The three adults fidgeted awkwardly with their coffee mugs until Maura tapped on the glass. "Who needs another coffee?"
Everyone rose at once and shuffled into the house, eager to leave the unpleasant scene behind. The child remained on the deck, pouting. Kaye pulled the door shut with a snick, then reopened it and stuck her head out. "Go pick up your dollies, Pumpkin, then come back up here where I can see you. Stay on the deck."
Jane dropped into a kitchen chair and snagged a strip of bacon. "Picture it, Boston 1979; my Zia Franca, my Nonna's older sister, had flown all the way from Palermo for my First Holy Communion. Ma stuffed me into my little white bride dress and pinned the veil over my face. She sat on my bed and we practiced my greeting one last time. 'When you see your Zia, you tell her; Ciao, Zia Franca. Benvenuto a Boston. Ti amo.Don't fuck this up, Jane. Your Zia is very superstitious. You get one word wrong and she'll think you have malocchio, that someone cursed you.'"
Maura piped in. "Jane was an adorable communicant, so chubby, with a sad, lost look on her face. Angela has the communion photo on her mantel."
Jane snorted in disgust. "I was a fat tomboy with a unibrow, stuffed into a cheap taffeta dress passed down from my cousin Cookie who was half my size. Nothing cute about that."
Maura shrugged.
Faye patted her hand. "You're looking through the eyes of love, my dear."
"Anyway…" Jane continued. "I waddled downstairs and kissed Zia in the Italian way, on both cheeks and I stepped back to give my little speech, only I couldn't remember a damn thing. My mind was completely empty. I struggled to come up with some phrase in Italian, anything…macaroni, arrivederci, buongiorno, cannoli, anything. Zia Franca was looking at me like I was an idiot, her eyes got all small and hard. Finally I opened my mouth and said, 'vaffanculo.'"
"No!" Kaye slapped her hand on the table. "As an Italian girl from Brooklyn, I can attest to our two WASP doctors, that is the absolute worst thing you could have said. That's beyond malocchio, Jane. She must have thought you were posseduto dal diavolo!"
"I don't know what she thought, but she started screaming in Sicilian, which not even my mother understood. My Nonna grabbed me by my hair and dragged me into the basement to the laundry room. Nonna never used the washing machine. She scrubbed all of her clothes and Nonno's when he was alive, by hand with a bar of Kirkman's brown soap. I don't know how she did it, but she lifted my fat ass up and over her shoulder and jammed the entire bar of soap into my mouth. Then she scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. The soap grated against my teeth making little strips so my tongue was completely coated. I was hysterical; snot and tears mixed in making a nasty froth."
"Oh, poor Jane." Faye shook her head sadly.
"Yeah, poor me. To this day, whenever I take communion I taste Kirkman's soap. Maybe it's why I never developed a taste for red wine."
"That could be." Maura raised her lecture finger. "Studies have shown that if the sensory properties of foods are linked to a traumatic event, one can develop an aversion. There was an article in the last issue of The Journal of Psychological Oncology linking food patients ate during chemotherapy to lifelong distaste for those items. Some patients even developed allergies to their favorite meals because the association with their illness was so strong."
"Fascinating; subconscious aversion therapy." Faye nodded.
Jane reached for another piece of bacon, but Maura picked up the plate and moved it to the counter. "Well, my point is…"
Kaye interrupted. "You think that we should wash Annaliese's mouth out with soap to improve her vocabulary."
Jane blushed, preparing to backpeddle. She didn't want to insult their friends. "Well, it worked for me. I know I have a foul mouth now, but that comes from 20 years of being a cop. That kid is a lot smarter than I ever was, but she's, um…she needs…I don't know."
Kaye chuckled. "I had my mouth washed out with soap twice as a child. Once I called my Nonna an old witch and the second time I spilled Sunday sauce on my Easter dress and said 'shit.' It didn't do me any lasting damage and I probably learned something from it, but…"
She reached for Faye's hand. "Annaliese is a special case."
She glanced toward her wife who nodded once and closed her eyes.
Kaye drew in a deep breath and released it. "We had a sweet little grandson, Andy, just the best kid you could imagine, a goofy smile that made you grin even when you felt like crap. He was…damn, just the best kid ever. Annaliese was so good with him. Tom and April, our daughter-in-law, prepared her to be a big sister. 'You look after Andy, he's your baby brother. He looks up to you.' And she did. She's 14 months older. They never fought, always shared toys. Then he…"
Kaye took off her glasses and wiped them on her T-shirt.
"Leukemia." Faye stated plainly.
"Oh." Maura turned off the stove and took a seat next to Faye, resting a gentle hand on her arm.
"Tom and April took him to New York, to Sloan Kettering, naturally. They rented an apartment on the Upper East Side to be near the hospital. Annaliese stayed with us in Vermont. Her behavior changed gradually. She missed her parents. She would say or do anything to gain their attention, but they were focused on Andy."
"The little guy went through eight months of chemo and he almost made it." Kaye added.
"He did well with chemotherapy." Faye continued. "Annaliese was a close enough match to try an allogeneic transplant of bone marrow. We brought her to New York for the procedure…"
Jane felt terrible. She wished she could stuff all of her words back into her big fat mouth like a pile of cheap hot dogs. Both of their friends were crying and Kaye's hand was white where Faye clutched at it.
"We all told Annaliese what a good big sister she was, that she was going to save her little brother with cells from her own body. We…" Kaye sobbed.
Faye took up the narrative. "We thought he was out from the forest…"
"Out of the woods, babe." Kaye smiled through her tears. "You never get that one right."
"I'm also bad with idioms, Faye." Maura rubbed her arm.
The older doctor nodded. "Then I'm in fine company, Maura."
She felt for her coffee mug and her wife placed it in her hand. She took a small sip and continued. "I read every report myself. He was in remission, but needed a transplant to fight the effects of so many rounds of strong chemotherapy. April had his umbilical cord stored in a bank, so he could have used his own stem cells, but they lost it."
"No!"
"That's unconscionable."
"It is, but it happens more often than you would think."
Jane glanced out of the sliding glass door to the back porch where the little redhead was rebuilding the Matryoshka dolls, oblivious to the emotional turmoil of the adults inside.
"Did they do the transplant?" Maura asked.
"Yes. Annaliese was very brave. Although I explained the procedure to her as thoroughly as possible, she misunderstood. She thought she was going to donate all of her bone marrow to her brother and that she would die. Despite that belief, she agreed."
"When she woke up, she thought she was in heaven." Kaye added.
"He developed GVHD and it…it was fatal." Faye released her wife's hand and folded her own on the table before her.
"Graft versus Host Disease." Maura explained to Jane. "When the recipient's body fights against the donated tissue as if it were an invading virus or bacteria."
Kaye stood and poured herself another coffee. "You want a hotter, babe?"
"Yes, please."
She filled Faye's cup and added a dash of milk, testing the temperature with her lips before placing it into her wife's hands.
"So our granddaughter thinks she killed her brother."
"Wow." Jane pulled her fingers through her hair, unsure what else to say. "How long is he gone?"
"Eight months." Kaye replied.
"Eight months and three days." Faye quietly amended.
"Is she seeing a therapist?" Maura asked.
"Yes. We all are. Dr. Betten says it is important to build up her self-esteem. She needs an outlet for her anger lest she turn it inward. We correct her in moderation, encourage her to write in her journal, try to fill her days with positive experiences, but…"
"It sucks." Kaye summed up the entire situation in two words.
"So you can understand that Cherry Grove, with its clothing-optional beach, cemetery of decapitated dolls, and men named Butthole who sing about dildos, is not the optimal environment for a child with…with emotional issues."
Kaye grimaced. "And now with Ming on the island…you know how she can be; batshit crazy with a vocabulary that makes me blush, even after 31 years as a cop in New York City."
"You should have heard her last night, Kaye. She was in rare form." Jane risked a smile across the table.
Her smile was answered with a grin and a hearty laugh. "I wish I had. Ming is a pisser. I hope we get to see her, even briefly before we leave."
"Maur and I can watch the little one if you two want to stop over at Swings Both Ways. Maybe you'll get to meet Waffles, um, Martina Navratilova as well. We'll be sorry to see you leave." Jane wiped a tear from her own eye. "We don't have too many friends. It's basically just us and a few guys from work."
"We don't either." Faye frowned. "Moving to Vermont seemed like a wonderful idea when Kaye retired, but we left our entire lives behind in New York and so many in our circle have passed. Maura, thank you for making me feel useful again. I haven't doctored since I lost my sight."
"Useful? You're my lifeline, Faye. I don't know if I can manage without you."
"You'll be fine. You're an excellent doctor, Maura. I'm only a phone call away if you need me, but I suspect you will manage brilliantly on your own."
Kaye pushed away from the table. "It's a little too quiet out there. I'm going to check on the rugrat."
Jane followed her outside, aching to say something comforting to her friend, but she didn't know where to begin.
Annaliese was not on the deck. Jane panicked, leaping over the wooden railing to the sandy patch of ground below in one athletic bound. She looked left and right, no child. Shit, shit, shit. Visions of a pair of red braids disappearing below the turbulent gray waters of the Atlantic filled Jane's mind; she began to sweat. She glanced over her shoulder. Kaye was making her way slowly down the steps from the deck. There was no time to wait. Jane kicked the stockade gate and it flew open. In three steps she was down the ramp and on the boardwalk, sprinting toward the ocean.
"Hey, Doody-ball, you got ants in your pants?"
Jane skidded to a stop. If she were a cartoon woman, sparks would have shot from under her heels.
"Annaliese? What are you doing out here? Your Gran told you not to leave the deck."
The child shrugged. "I made you and Maura a present. Look."
The Matryoshka dolls had been reopened and separated into their six individual selves. Three stood, impaled on sticks just to the left of the garden gate. The other three were smashed to bits and lay half buried in the sand, their round blue eyes peeping up as if from a desecrated grave.
"Now you have your own dolly cemetery."
"Wow. That's great, Kiddo. I love it." Jane closed the distance between them and wrapped the skinny child in her arms, peppering the top of her head with kisses.
"Eww, you're gonna give me cooties. Put me down, you fucking weirdo."
Jane held her tighter, planting loud, smacking kisses on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she carried her back up the walk and into the yard where Kaye was waiting. Annaliese continued to protest, but by the time she was deposited into her Gran's arms, she was laughing and snorting.
"You hungry, lovebug?" Kaye asked.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a bag of frozen diarrhea." The child answered.
"I'm afraid we're out of that." Jane answered, ruffling her hair. "You'll have to make due with bacon and scrambled eggs."
When they entered the kitchen, Maura was talking on her cellphone while Faye painstakingly separated English muffins with a fork, feeling along the edges for the seam, then gently prodding at it with the tines. She turned her head when the trio entered.
"Is that you, Annaliese?"
"Yes, Nana."
"Go upstairs and wash your hands. Remember to sing the alphabet song twice to ensure you've properly sanitized them. Then write two sentences in your journal; what you did this morning and one goal for the day."
"Fine." The red-head stomped up the wooden stairs, muttering under her breath. "Fucking journal can kiss my ass."
Maura put her finger in her left ear and pulled her cell closer to her right, glaring at Jane. "I can't hear," she mouthed.
"I didn't say a word." Jane touched her chest, wide eyes protesting her innocence.
"Yes. I'm still here." Maura resumed her conversation. "That would be ideal… go ahead…no, I don't need to grab a pen; I have an eidetic memory…thank you, Tenisha. I will phone back within the hour."
Maura tapped her phone to end the call. She pulled out a chair and sat beside Faye, taking the older physician's hand in her own.
"Tell Kaye." Faye urged.
"The Isles Foundation sponsors a host of programs for children."
"P.U.K.E." Jane interrupted. "Maura and I mentor a group of shelter kids every third Saturday. Bad name, great program."
"This isn't P.U.K.E., Jane. This is Girl Power Camp."
"I guess you didn't name that one cause it's kind of cool."
"I didn't. Girl Power Camp is a sleep-away camp for girls who are struggling with a myriad of issues; some have poor self-esteem or have been bullied, others have lost a parent, some are homeless or have been abused. I spent a weekend at the New Hampshire camp last summer teaching a science module; every girl learned how to use a microscope and basic lab equipment. They typed their own blood."
"Oh." Faye perked up. "I would have loved that as a child."
"I would have hated it." Jane groaned. "Like being in school for the summer."
"It's not just science, there are team-building exercises and sports, music and drama. There's something for every girl to excel at and the counselors are not a group of bored teenagers, they are experts in their fields; players from the WNBA coach basketball modules, Maya Angelou volunteered every summer to teach poetry, Margaret Cho runs a comedy workshop. Tenisha Jones, the director of Girl Power, just told me that someone named Lita Ford will be teaching the girls to 'shred guitar.' Is that the right term, Jane?"
"Yes it is. You remembered an idiom, babe. Lita Ford, damn! I think I'd like to go to this camp. She's a hottie."
Maura swatted affectionately at her fianceé. "Tenisha is holding a spot for Annaliese at the New York camp in Bridgehampton."
"What do you think, Kaye?" Faye rested a hand on her wife's thigh.
"Leave her for a week on her own? I don't know. They may throw her out…like at school."
"The staff at Girl Power are experienced with all sorts of children. There are psychologists and social workers on staff."
Kaye ran her hand through her spiky grey hair, massaging her scalp as if she could collect her thoughts with her fingertips. "Bridgehampton's only about an hour away. We can try it for one night. If she's miserable, we'll pick her up tomorrow and take her home to Vermont."
Maura smiled. "I'll call Tenisha and tell her the good news. Would you like me to have someone meet her at the ferry?"
"No. We'll take her, Maura." Faye replied. "I'd like to see the camp with my own eyes…figuratively speaking."
"We'll take her after breakfast." Kaye agreed.
Jane's phone belched. She pulled it from her jean pocket and swiped at the screen. "If you make it back by 2:00, we can all go to the V.U.L.V.A. meeting together."
"You heard back from the Facebook group?" Kaye asked.
"Yup. Meeting this afternoon at Hold Her Liquor."
Annaliese appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "What's a vulva?" She asked.
"A luxury sedan from Sweden." Jane answered.