This might seem like a bit of a jump, espesically since you'll meet 3 new characters that I've yet to intro, but hopefully it still makes sense. I can only imagine how weird it would be to read it out of order (even though I'm writing it out of order, I still know the characters so it's less awkward for me). Bear with me. Hopefully I'll have all of chapter 1 done this week (in addition to later chapters) so you'll get to go back and read about Aileen's 1st encounter with Christian, Tiny, and Alex (the new characters... and did you know my main character's name is Aileen? You do now!)
Enjoy!
A
small child in a dirty peasants costume ran up to Christian.
“It’s
time! It’s time!” she yelled excitedly.
I
looked at him, confused.
“Time
for what?”
“Closing
parade,” he replied, “most of us circle through the site, sheepherding patrons
to the exits. Then the real fun begins.” He winked.
“Well,
if it’s closing time I’d better haul her to the car.” I pointed at Jeanie who
was passed out, her head on Tiny’s lap. “She’s going to be unpleasant tomorrow
and if I have to deal with her hangover I should get a decent nights sleep.”
I
turned to walk towards sleeping Jeanie when Christian caught my arm.
“You
don’t have to leave, we have plenty of extra air mattresses for Jeanie. She can
sleep it off in one of the tents. I can take her home tomorrow if you want to
leave later tonight or you guys can go home in the morning. You’re one of us
now.”
“Thanks,
but if I have to stay in this get-up for one more minute I think my ribs will
stay this way.”
“Hey
Alieen, I have some extra stuff if you want it,” Alex piped up. “It might be a
little big in places, but I can guarantee you it’ll be more comfortable than
what you have on.” Her eyes twinkled, “plus, I have an amazing bottle of Chenin
Blanc in my tent.”
I
sighed. She knew my weakness.
“Fine,
we’ll stay. But can someone help me drag Ms. Winehouse to a tent?”
“I’ll
take care of it,” Tiny stood and cradled Jeanie like she was a sweet sleeping
child instead of a stone-drunk 28 year old.
“Thanks
Tiny, and if she pukes on you I promise to pay the dry cleaning bills.” I said,
relieved, as he walked off towards Tent City. It was nice to have others around
to help me take care of Jeanie. She was my best friend, but lately I felt more
like her mother than her friend. I wasn’t sure if it I was just loosing
patience with her Peter Pan syndrome, or if she really was getting worse.
Christian
smiled at me, “you really do take good care of her, don’t you?”
“Someone
has to,” I replied, “she doesn’t.” I sighed. “Sorry, that was mean. I’m just
cranky from being squeezed into this damn thing all day. No wonder Queen Mary
went bat-shit crazy, she was just pissed she had to wear a damn corset.”
Alex
and Christian laughed.
“Come
on Aileen,” Alex said, taking my arm, “let’s get you out of that thing.” She
winked at Christian and turned me toward Tent City.
We
walked in silence to her tent. I was lost in thoughts about Jeanie’s drinking.
She had always been a bit of a lush, but I’d never seen her this drunk before.
It was one thing to have a couple glasses of wine as a social lubricant, but it
was quite another to get so drunk you passed out. Had I missed some clues
somewhere? Was something going on in her life that I didn’t know about?
“You
look worried,” Alex broke the silence.
“Oh,
sorry,” I replied, “I’m just thinking about Jeanie. She’s not usually so…”
“Wasted?”
Alex offered.
“Yeah,
I mean she likes to party. And she parties a bit harder than I do, but I’ve
never seen her like this.” I bit my lip. “I mean, she’s 28 for goodness sake,
not 21.”
Alex
squeezed my arm reassuringly, “I’m sure she’s fine. She was probably just
nervous having you meet everyone. She really looks up to you, you know.”
“Really?”
I asked, surprised. “I always figured she thought of me as her sheltered baby
sister.”
“Sheltered
yes, baby sister, no,” Alex said. “She told me she wished she could be more
like you.”
This
had me confused. Be more like me? Thirty and single? I guess I did have a job I
loved and could afford to pay my rent each month, but I didn’t exactly live the
high life. People don’t become
teachers for the money. I didn’t
know how to respond, but by this time we had reached her tent. It was massive;
three separate rooms you could stand up in, each with zip up door.
“I
think this is almost the size of my apartment,” I joked as we went inside.
Alex
laughed.
“I
love this thing,” she said. “I need room to spread out.” She opened one of the
bedroom “doors” and pulled a sundress from out of a suitcase. “Try this, it
should fit.”
“Wonderful,
thank you,” I replied as I slipped off my shoes, “can you reach back and unzip
me?”
“Sure.”
She
unzipped the back and I shrugged out of the over dress. Now for the corset.
Alex undid the double knot and began to loosen the laces. I felt an immediate
sense of relief. It was almost as if my torso had been asleep for 5 hours and
was waking up again. My skin tingled and ribs sang with joy as I took my first
deep breath since the morning.
“Oh
good gracious, that feels amazing,” I gushed.
“Almost
better than sex, isn’t it?” Alex grinned.
“Well,
almost,” I laughed. “It’s certainly close.”
Alex
helped me peel of the corset and herded me into one of the other rooms. I
pulled the undershift over my head and as I did my ID and cash dropped to the
ground.
“Ah
ha!” I cried. “There’s my cash, I owe Christian some for lunch.”
“Owe
me what?” Christians voice floated in from outside the tent. I pulled my
undershift around me and yelled back, “get out of here, I’m not decent!”
He
and Alex laughed.
“No
one is ever decent after hours Aileen!” he called back.
“Well
I am, so shove off… Please?” I pleaded. I was not ready to be naked in front of
these people. I liked them, but nudity wasn’t something I shared with most
people – with any people really. The one time Jeanie had convinced me to go
skinny dipping we were house sitting for my parents. It was just the two of us,
and I refused to turn the pool light on. I certainly don’t mind nudity, I just
don’t want to be the one who’s naked.
“Alright,”
Christian laughed, “you win. I’ll be by the bonfire when you and Alex are done.
Jeanie is in Tiny’s tent, still dead to the world. I think she’ll stay that way
for awhile.”
I
dressed quickly. The dress wasn’t a perfect fit, but the soft cotton felt
wonderful on my skin after a day in the torture devise that was the corset. The
built-in bra didn’t do much to actually hold anything in, but as I peeked out
to see where Alex was I realized that what I was wearing was the Renaissance
Faire version of a burka. Alex had put on fishnet thigh highs, a short pleated
shirt, and a tube top… with suspenders. This was going to be an interesting
night.
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