PrologueΒ |Β 1Β |Β 2Β |Β 3Β |Β 4Β |Β 5Β |Β 6Β |Β 7Β |Β 8Β |Β 9Β |Β 10Β |Β 11Β |Β 12Β |Β 13Β |Β 14Β |Β 15Β |Β 16Β |Β 17Β |Β 18Β |Β 19Β |Β 20AΒ |Β 20BΒ |Β 21Β |Β 22Β |Β 23Β |Β 24Β |Β 25-26Β |Β 27Β |Β 28-29Β |Β 30Β |Β 31Β |Β 32Β |Β 33Β |Β 34Β |Β 35-36Β |Β 37Β |Β 38AΒ |Β 38BΒ |Β 38CΒ |Β 38DΒ |Β 39Β |Β 40Β |Β 41Β |Β 42-43Β |Β 44-45Β |Β 46Β |Β 47Β |Β 48-49AΒ |Β 49BΒ |Β 50Β |Β 51Β |Β 52Β |Β 53Β |Β 54Β |Β 55Β |Β 56Β |Β 57AΒ |Β 57BΒ |Β 58-59|Β 60Β |Β 61Β |Β 62Β |Β 63Β |Β 64Β |Β 65Β |Β 66 | 67 | 68-69 | 70A
PART II
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS
70B
She was lying in the swing bed almost asleep when Treyβs car puttered into its spot and died. βSugga?β he called softly. βYou awake?β
βYes.β
βIβll be right there. Donβt go to sleep on me, hear?β
Marina said nothing. It took forever for him to return, damp, pajama bottoms on at least, and push the mosquito netting aside so he could climb in beside her.
βYou mad at me?β
βYes.β
He sighed. βWhatever you make of it, she came in reading me the riot act for all that βloose womenβ business.β
Marinaβs mouth twisted. The crickets called, the leaves rustled, the breeze found its way through the netting. She really, really liked this bed.
βYou want toΒ β¦Β ?β
βNo.β Yes.
βAllrightythen.β
βNotΒ β¦Β unless you bring me something to drink.β
βIβm not going to drug you up when youβre in a snit like this. You let me know when you want to do it, Iβll spike your NuGrape for you. Donβt trust you not to overdose on accident.β
βHow do I know when I want to do it?β
βThatβs up to you. I reckon youβll feel some feelings and I wonβt be around and then youβll be thinking about it and Iβll come home and youβll ask me, real shy-like, if I have any sweet tea.β
Marina looked up at the stars through the leaves and thought about that. βBut why will I want to? I still donβt understand.β
βAh, Sugar. All you have to do is think about it. Remember the feelings. Your bodyβll decide thinking about itβs not enough. God knows you damn near come every time you ride that fucking rollercoaster.β
She gasped. βYou knew?β
ββCourse I did. I can tell when a womanβs about to have an orgasm. Why do you think I take you there all the time? You asked me what I do to seduce you when you donβt know. Thatβs one of βem. Tell you what. Next time, Iβll help you sneeze right after we get off that thing.β
Her between tingled. βWhere?!β
βIn the back seat of the car. Not gonna risk that wearing off before we get home.β
βTrey!β she squeaked. βWhere anybody could see?β
βNot necessarily. There are ways to make it so nobody looks twice.β
βHow?β
He paused. βI could show you now.β
Marina gulped, but her between was still tingling, thinking about last night and the rollercoaster, just over the crest, floating out of her seat a littleΒ β¦
βBe right back.β
He rolled off the bed, which set it swinging, which only made the tingling continue. He was back in a heartbeat with a bottle of NuGrape, a bottle opener, and a little packet he rattled. βSay the word, Marina.β
She couldnβt speak to save her life. βMmm hm.β
The bottle top clicked, the pop fizzed, then fizzed some more when he poured the sweet tea into it and handed it to her.
She hesitated, but then reached for it and drank it down. It was noticeably sweeter than usual. She grimaced. βWell, I guess I know why itβs called sweet tea,β she quipped weakly, handing it back to him.
He chuckled. βIβll take this back, let that work on you a little. Go get in the back seat of the Tin Lizzie.β
The tingling was almost unbearable by the time she climbed in, the night air caressing her bare legs and arms, sending her soft nightgown swirling against the skin it covered. It was so dark back there she started when Trey got in the front seat.
βThis is gonna be a tight squeeze, though so you sit on back there, good, open your legs like last night, and I willΒ β¦Β Oof.β
He grunted as he climbed over the front seat to crouch on the floor between her legs.
βWhatβ Why are you still dressed?β
βDonβt need to be undressed for this,β he said warmly, before working his way to his knees in the space. βDamn,β he muttered. βMay not be able to do this after all.β
Marina was oddly disappointed, but that was the sweet tea making her feel like that.
The car bounced around while Trey found a comfortable position, then he pulled the hem of her nightgown up a little. He grasped her hips and pulled her forward.
βNow,β he murmured silkily. βPretend we just got off that rollercoaster for the fourteenth time and your betweenβs a little tingly and your body hasnβt sneezed yet. You know that feeling, donβt you?β
Just thinking about it made Marina whimper.
Then his big, rough hands were caressing between her thighs lightly, so lightly she shivered, and where his fingers werenβt, the breeze was. He pressed his mouth lightly to the inside of her knee, then touched his tongue to her skin.
βJust over the rise,β he whispered, his breath silky against her skin. βOn the way down. Fast, floating in the air like you can flyΒ β¦Β β
Yes, she could picture it, feel it. She might have been embarrassed that he had known what she was feeling, but the sweet tea wouldnβt let her.
βPut your hands in my hair, Sugga.β
βI donβtΒ β¦Β I donβt understand.β
ββMember I told you about what women do together.β
She didnβt want to remember, but she couldnβt get rid of the knowledge. At the next tingle that shot through her between and up the inside of her belly, she gasped and grasped his coarse blond hair in her fists.
βLike that,β he whispered, still kissing and stroking the inside of her thighs.
βTreyΒ β¦Β β
βDonβt think. Just let me do what Iβm going do and think about how much you love riding that coaster.β
She did and heaven help her, she wasnβt even embarrassed when she finally realized what he was going to do. She spread her legs wider to accommodate his broad shoulders, whimpering because her between was clenching and she couldnβt keep it from doing that, and thenΒ β¦
Her entire body tightened up when his mouth went to the spot his fingertip had touched last night. Her head dropped back and she nearly cried when her lower body tried to buck, wanting him inside her, but she was at the crest of the rollercoaster and then she was going sixty miles an hour over bumps and she clenched Treyβs hair and pulled him into her because she wanted more than whatever he was doing, but her body sneezed anyway and she barely bit back a cry because they were outside and their neighbors were closeΒ β¦
She panted and practically collapsed against the seat as Trey pulled away a little, still kissing the inside of her thigh, then the other, going back and forth.
βYouβre right,β he said as if from far away. βCanβt do this in the Fairyland parking lot. Gonna have to wait to get home.β
Marina said nothing as she tried to catch her breath, one hand flopped on her heaving chest, the other on the leather seat.
βYou okay, Sugar?β he asked as he squirmed out of his position, rocking the car. He practically pushed her over and flopped down beside her, dropped his arm across her shoulders, and pulled her into his body, pressing a kiss to her temple.
βFine,β she slurred, her eyes unable to stay open.
When she awoke she was in the swing bed, Trey beside her, his back to her. The neighborhood rang with children out running around and screaming, women hollering at them and laughing with each other. The sun was high, but barely made a dent through the thick leaves of the giant oak tree and the pink mosquito netting.
Surely that had been a dream, hadnβt it? The Tin Lizzie didnβt look any different. Marina wasnβt sore the way she had been the previous morning. She still had her nightgown on. Trey still had his pajamas on. She did not remember getting from the car to the bed, but that was the sweet tea.
It was earlier than she usually awoke, but she was used to sleeping in a darkened room that faced west. She always woke up early when she slept in the swing bed. She was also always more tired and ended up taking a nap after the sun had passed over the house.
Marina feltΒ β¦Β not herself. She feltΒ β¦Β wicked. Not bad, precisely, butΒ β¦Β Sister Albright had told her many times that a husband should make her feel good and that it was no sin for a wife to be so free and open with her husband, then Alice had told her what a lucky wife Marina was to have a considerate husband. Nothing special. Her brow wrinkled.
She didnβt know how it couldnβt be special, when it was only to be between a husband and wife, and she had a husband who was actively competing to be her best pal.
Clearly it wasnβt special for Father and his many women, but that didnβt apply to Marina. It was special for Bishop and Sister Albright. But Sister Albright had also told her what it felt like to be with men who didnβt want it to be special. It was awful, she said. Horrible. It made her cry. She had tried to lie to herself that it wasnβt special for her, either, but she didnβt believe that. Not really. Then sheβd met Bishop and it became special.
Her memory flashed to the day Treyβs men had marched Mother and Father into Treyβs lawyerβs office to make them sign the affidavits as to Marinaβs identity. The notary had needed to see the note pinned to Marinaβs baby blanket and she remembered how utterly unwanted she felt. Her parents hadnβt wanted her. Her grandparents hadnβt wanted her. Dot wanted her, but would be leaving to go a thousand miles away and she was excited about it.
Thatβll be me in forty years, so you anβ me can be fatβnβhappy together.
Trey was the only person in her life who seemed to want her.
Nothing special.
βHow do your girls do this every night?β
βMmmm?β
She didnβt realize sheβd spoken, but she wanted to know the answer. βHow can your girls be indecent every night with a bunch of men they donβt know and donβt care about?β
He groaned and moved, setting the bed to rocking a little. He flopped over on his back and the branch rustled its leaves in protest. He threw his arm over his face and croaked, βDonβt rightly know.β He smacked his lips. βI couldnβt do it.β
βWould you if that was the only way you could make money?β
βIβd starve first.β
βBut Gio andΒ β¦Β β
βGio was raised to be good for only one thing. Whoring was a step up for him, but it didnβt take long for him to hate it and he didnβt think he was good for anything but what heβd been trained to do, which he refused to do.β
βOh.β Her brow wrinkled. βThatβs really sad.β
βYeh. Everybodyβs got a sob story. Youβve got one. Iβve got one. Dotβ Well, sheβs getting hers now. But Gio met Dot and suddenly he figured out he was better than that, or at least that he wanted to try to be better than that. She made him want to be a better man.β
Marina sighed.
βAlice, now, she likes it. I donβt know if she likes the job because sheβs lazy and she makes a lot of money not doing much, or if she really likes having sex that much and sheβs not picky about who gets her off. Probably both.β He paused. βA few women can do that, have sex without needing to be special.β
βCan you?β
βMost men can.β
Marina closed her eyes and thought about what Alice had said. He said nothing for quite a while. Marina thought about getting up and going about her day, but she was tired and confused.
βMarina,β he said low, patting the mattress before finding her hand and threading his fingers through hers, βthe first woman I was ever withΒ β¦Β well. With her, it was special.β
Marina dreaded whatever he was going to tell her.
βBut she broke my heart because for her it wasnβt special, but I didnβt know that till she threw me over. So I know how it feels when one person thinks itβs special and the other one doesnβt. I didnβt want to do that to you. One reason. And I didnβt want that to happen to me again, either.β
He said nothing else and let Marina contemplate that, looking up through the netting and the leaves as the sun inched across the sky. Here they were holding hands and he was telling herΒ β¦
βThen why did you tell me it was nothing special?β Marina murmured.
βBecause I thought that was what you needed to hear right then.β
βYou didnβt mean it?β
βNo.β
Marina simply didnβt know what to think about that.
βCβmere,β he muttered, pulling her to him as he had the first Sunday after they were married. She lay against him and looked across the yard to see her neighbor having a tea party with her little girl. She was casting furtive glances at them, but Marina was too tired to be embarrassed. She listened to his heart beat against her ear and felt his fingers caressing her arm. It was all still too new, too sudden, too overwhelming to settle properly into, well, anything about her life. She could enjoy it, but it didnβt feel real. At any moment, sheβd wake up in the parsonage vaguely remembering the feeling of being disoriented and frightened, but dismiss it and go about a normal summer Monday. First Fatherβs study, which she cleaned every day, top to bottom. Then the upstairsΒ β¦
βTrey,β she said softly.
βMmm?β
βThis isnβt just a bad dream?β
βNope. And if it were a dream, whatβs bad about it?β
βThat itβs not bad.β
βCome again?β
βWhen IΒ β¦Β Before I met you, IΒ β¦Β nothing ever changed. I didnβt feel anything and I didnβt miss anything. And then I met you and I was happy and thenΒ β¦Β Then things started to hurt.β
She felt his throat bob. βDid you have any joy?β
βNo. I know I was supposed to feel Godβs joy and love, but I didnβt feel that, either. When Iβ When youβ Augh! What am I trying to say. When you do things that make me happy, it scares me because I donβt know if Iβm allowed to be.β
βThat is the saddest thing I have ever heard.β
She sighed. βI donβt know what being allowed feels like, so I get confused and mad and it feels like Iβm mad all the time except when Iβm not but I donβt know when Iβm not and so even if I can feel allowed, being happy feels like a bad dream because something will make me mad or hurt me that makes the happy part not even worth it. Iβm always going to be punished for whatever happiness I feel because something will come along to make me hurt just as much. I donβt want to be unhappy, but Iβd rather beΒ β¦Β not-happy and not-mad and not-scared. Maybe thatβs why my real motherΒ β¦Β Maybe something happened that made her so happy she couldnβt bear it.β
βItβs been thirteen years since my mama and brothers died,β he said hoarsely, rubbing her arm. βTwelve years since my daddy died and I was turned out of my home. Sometimes, it still seems like a nightmare. One thing Iβve learned is, life never gets any easier. If youβre lucky, it doesnβt get harder. But since nobody is that lucky and it does get harder, the best you can hope for is to have a best pal with you every step of the way.β
70B
If you donβt want to wait 2 years to get to the end, you can buy itΒ here.
Donations can be madeΒ here, if you so desire.
Hey there.
How YOU doin’ ?
Vince McMahon Firsted on that girls face and she misunderstood the honor.
How embarrassing.
Six hours of classic Art Bell to listen to.
Unless he is broadcasting from beyond the grave, no. It was bullshit while he was alive. It’s bullshit now that he’s dead.
You must be fun at parties.
And I’m going to bet that more of what he covered was true than you’d be willing to believe.
I know how to get a party started.
https://youtu.be/cABZfkRcQ6A?si=MHFcYn3d4vCrw94Y
Where is MikeS when I need him?
[Bro cries like a badly off-key Lesley Gore]
I donβt know if Iβm allowed to be
The prisons we build for ourselves.
Yeah, yikes. Trey has got a lot of work ahead of him
Trey – https://youtu.be/t6iNbigm3X4?t=5
Sorry about the advert. Tried to edit that part. No joy.
Β‘Festus!
Howdy Festus
What’s up man!?
Not much since our last convo. We are not having a winter here and we’ve been in drought conditions since last spring. Got one cold snap and then two feet of snow but it is raining now and will continue for a few days. This is unprecedented in my lifetime and I’m loving it! Bring on the global warming!
I’ll watch that after I get off the Zooms.
I might have heard that tune maybe a couple of times when I was very wee. Strange how the memory works.
LOL
I’m not like teDS with the olden tunage but I can hold my own amongst the civilian population.
grasped his coarse blond hair in her fists.
Huh. I never noticed this. I always pictures Trey as dark haired.
He practically pushed her over and flopped down beside her, dropped his arm across her shoulders, and pulled her into his body, pressing a kiss to her temple.
What car does she have? A Model T? I’m not sure they’re that big.
Caught me. They’re not. That was a bit of artistic license on my part.
On the other hand, where there is a will, there is a way.
Yes, embrace the dark side. Make up shit without fear. It’s your world.
Shush you. I did the best I could within the boundaries I had set for myself.
Hand-wave
Leave the doors open. Unless you’re in MN in the summer and the mosquitoes will be in full attack mode.
Not sure how tall Trey is though, in a few months Marina won’t fit easily either. At least it’s not like today’s cars with a center console.
Thanks, Moj,
Trey is 6’1″. I honestly knew that wasn’t possible but I wrote it anyway.
#metoo but there is photographic evidence otherwise.
Sigh. I keep posting comments that disappear.
Anyway there is a link at the bottom with photographic evidence otherwise.
Huh.
I never looked closely at the pictures of the guys.
I didn’t know Nick Nolte was ever that young.
Shhhhh.I was hoping nobody noticed who it actually was.
Y my PP get hard when I read dis?
π
Thinking of firsting on Brochetta?
Lol
thinking about Marina’s enthusiasm.
It’s the “drugs.” She’s not responsible.
Today is the second anniversary of my divorce. It might be the most ballsy (and risky) move I have made in my life. We dated for 7 years. We were married for 26 years. A lot of them were fun. The last few were not fun. We birthed 2 children and adopted a third. I still think she is a wonderful mother, I still feel she is not a great wife.
I am happy with my current life. I gave up a lot of wealth. Whatever! i CAN MAKE MORE MONEY.
Push on, Keep on trucking, my friends
Congratulations? I find it sad you were with someone so long who was not good for you.
Absolutely PON. My divorce wrapped up last year. Not coincidentally it was the second best financial year I ever had.
π» π₯
Brochetta is the one who Firsts.
Just finished my sunrise swim and coffee.
Hopefully breakfast comes soon.
You’re in Somalia?
I’m told it’s a libertarian paradise.
Lack’s living the dream.
No, I’m living the dream.
I played https://squaredle.com 01/26:
61/61 words (+19 bonus words)
π In the top 23% by bonus words
π₯ Solve streak: 14
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 01/26:
24/24 words (+5 bonus words)
π In the top 14% by bonus words
Let’s hope he is well armed while he is doing it.
TIL: the Frankfurt School still exists. π€―
It’s Fronkfurt School.
Applause
Mornin’ all!
Good morning, Beau! Got up and prepped my chai latte just in time to catch the beginning of my now-Saturday-morning early music show on SiriusXM’s classical channel! βπΆ
Huzzah!
How’s the weather up yonder?
33, fog & mist. Headed to 40 for a high. How’s yours?
41 and cloudy now, high of 45, and showers this afternoon and evening.
I always knew you were a prepper.
suh’ fam
whats goody yo
TALLL WEEKEND CANS!
(after Tres V2.0 and I get breakfast)
Good morning, homey and Ted’S.!
For some reason that I cant understand (likely cause I cant hear it) but Marta has taken to howling.
This induces the others to join in.
Truly a cacophonic chorus of canines.
ππππ
Morning!
Stripped down version of a good song:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQmyQqbQlFA
πΆπΆ π
Good morning, Sean!