--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_y..., "jmhcustomart" <jmhcustomart_at_y...> wrote:
>snip<
> The girls looked at each other. Their faces were lined with
worry.
> "Oh fuck. We did it this time. Now we got 'em both mad at us,"
> sighed Lori nervously.
> "Whaddaya think Des is gonna do?" asked Onyx.
> "I dunno. And that's the part that scares me."
Jim was seated at the kitchen bar, the contents of the box spread
out before him. Fragments of what was once a ceramic figurine were
organized in a haphazard manner, waiting to (hopefully) be
reassembled. He let out a frustrated sigh and reached for the
ceramic glue.
"Fucking polecats, I swear," he muttered, "I can't believe Val
actually raised them. There's just no way. Unless she kept them in
the basement or something."
He applied a small bead of adhesive to one edge of a fragment and
gently placed it against its counterpart. It fit nicely, with very
little evidence it had ever broken.
He had purchased the figurine for Desiree a few weeks earlier
through the mail. It was a highly detailed sculpture of a dragon,
curled around an egg. He had seen her looking at the figurine
several times in the past, and had decided to buy it for her as a
surprise. It was either that, or another sex toy. And Lord knows,
she definitely had enough of THOSE.
The door opened slowly, and the three skunks stepped into the
house. Onyx and Natasha had grass stains on their clothes, and Lori
was rubbing the back of her head.
Jim sighed again. It was going to be another week before the
girls' mother returned from a business deal in New York, and Jim was
the unlucky soul who had been assigned to watch them. He had argued
with Val that the girls were far too old to be baby-sat, and she
answered him with a stern look. "But they like to be with you," she
had answered. Jim answered, "Yeah, like fleas like to be with a
dog." That comment earned him an icy stare from Val, who then
proceeded to finish packing her stuff for the trip as if the
conversation had never occurred. She wsa a hard one to argue with,
and Jim simply resigned himself to being the target of a limitless
horde of pranks and jokes for the next week and a half.
"What'cha got there?" asked Lori, standing beside Jim.
"It WAS a figurine I bought for Des, but as you can see, it's now a
puzzle, thanks to you three."
"We're really sorry, Jim," answered Natasha, brushing a few stray
pieces of grass from her shirt.
"Yeah, well, sorry isn't gonna get this thing fixed."
The girls were silent for a moment. The ticking from the kitchen
wall clock seemed too loud.
"I don't know what to do with you three," spoke Jim suddenly, "I
mean, you constantly get into trouble, you're always pulling jokes
and shit, many of which I end up getting blamed for or involved in,
and you think nothing of it."
Onyx spoke, "Des had a little talk with us, Jim."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah," answered Lori, "she said we're in deep shit."
"And that's why you came in to apologize, huh?"
"Sorta," answered Onyx.
"She told us to go to our room because she would be by later on.
She was really pissed," said Natasha.
"Do tell."
"So, um, we just wanted to apologize and, uh, then I guess we'll go
to our room."
Jim laughed.
"You're serious?", he asked, "You're really just gonna go to your
room and wait for her?" He couldn't believe they were actually
following an order.
"Yeah. She said we'd be dead meat if we didn't."
Jim tried to stifle another laugh. This was just too good to be
true. He still didn't know if Des had been joking or not when she
had her conversation with the sisters. It was hard to tell sometimes.
"Well, I guess you three better get your furry butts in your room,
then. How'd Des look when you had your talk?"
"She was pitch black," answered Natasha.
"Ooh. Not good. But hey, you gotta reap what you sow." He turned
back to the figurine.
The girls stood there a moment longer. They slowly looked at one
another, then turned and began heading towards their room at the rear
of the house. Jim watched them go from the corner of his eye, and
smiled to himself. Des's idea was working. Now he just had to wait
for her to show up.
Less than an hour had passed when there was a sharp knock at the
door. Jim stood up and walked towards the front of the house. He
opened the door, and was greeted by Desiree. She had a large duffel
bag sitting on the ground beside her. He cracked a smile and
asked, "You got everything?"
"Of course," she answered quietly, in case the skunks were trying
to eavesdrop.
"Good. I'll be in the kitchen finishing up some stuff. You want a
drink?"
"Sure. Make it a soda. One with caffeine in it."
Des looked down at the bag, then back up at Jim. A smile crept
across her face.
"It's gonna be a LONG night, y'know."
--Jim Hardiman, who is actually having fun writing this. Haven't
written a story in about 9 years. Got through a bunch of e-mail the
other night, but still got a long way to go. I gotta do this in
stages so I don't strain my eyes and get another headache. Anyone
mind if I do more work on this story?
Received on Mon Apr 29 2002 - 12:52:04 CDT