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Things moved quickly toward the holidays. Since I'd taken over the finances, we'd saved enough to buy Christmas gifts for our short lists, even without the income from my waitress job. I bought a medium-priced collectable figurine for Mom and a new set of leather gardening gloves and a magazine subscription for Dad. I got some sexy lingerie for Candy, some whiskey and a barbeque set for her parents, and a bottle of nice wine for Carole. Craig bought for his sister and widowed mother, who lived together in Skokie.
I was especially anxious to visit Carole. She'd been living in the city for years, and I couldn't put off a visit any longer. Next to Candy, Carole was my oldest friend. She'd been a senior in Bitumen High when I was only a gawky freshman, embarrassed by my height. Carole was tall, too, but carried it off with grace and confidence, and she never lacked for boyfriends.
Although I was forever entangling myself in my growing limbs, the coaches almost twisted my arm to get me to play women's basketball, and they assigned Carole to be my mentor. I was barely competent at the game, but Carole and I became good friends on and off the court. We remained friends even after she went off to Northwestern University and came home only every second or third weekend. While I'd rotted in the trailer park, Carole had married, graduated from college, and had a five-year old son. As if that weren't enough, she was able to move on in her life plan, thanks to her husband. He came from serious money, and had been able to ensure they could both attend medical school together.
*quot;Am I going with you?*quot; Craig asked.
I was occupied trying to decide which dress to wear. *quot;No. Carole and I will have a lot of catching up to do, and her husband is on shift at the hospital. You'd be bored. Anyway, the holiday's coming and this place needs a thorough cleaning.*quot;
*quot;I just cleaned two days ago.*quot;
*quot;Under the sink? The refrigerator shelves? Behind the toilet? The radiators? Really?*quot;
*quot;Well...*quot;
*quot;As I thought. What's clean to a man is usually filthy to a woman. I want to come home to see the place looking like new.*quot;
*quot;Can I put some clothes on while I work?*quot;
*quot;No. I need to know you're obedient even when you're out of my sight. Turn up the heat if Tekirdağ Escort you need to.*quot;
The Red Line took me north to within two blocks of the Croft home, a three-story mansion in the moneyed part of Evanston. In summer, a street like this would be quiet and lushly overhung with trees. You could forget you were in the middle of a huge, noisy metropolis. Their apartment was the third floor of her in-laws' home, with a separate entrance and driveway. It pays to marry a little money, I thought. From Baltic Avenue to Park Place in one move.
During those high school years, I'd continued to grow until I was inches taller than Carole. Now when she hugged me hello, she reached around my waist rather than over a shoulder. *quot;It's been such a long time,*quot; she said. *quot;It's a shame we can't get together a few times a week, like the old days.*quot;
I laughed. *quot;I guess one of the great things about life is you get to eat dessert first. You get to be the carefree kids and teenagers, but now we have to buckle down and work and worry like our own parents.*quot; I handed the gift bag to her. *quot;Merry Christmas, girl.*quot;
As Carole took my coat, a little face peered around a doorway behind her.
*quot;And who is this little man sneaking up on us?*quot; I asked.
*quot;Barry, come out here and meet your Aunt RoseAnn.*quot;
*quot;So I'm an aunt now? I'm very honored. Come here, nephew.*quot;
He hesitated and stood looking at me with his mother's dark brown eyes. *quot;You're a handsome young man,*quot; I said. *quot;Someday, you'll have all the ladies chasing you.*quot;
He came forward, blushing, and offered me his hand. *quot;I'm pleased to meet you, Miss RoseAnn,*quot; he said, in a small voice. I shook his hand.
*quot;Aunt RoseAnn,*quot; said Carole. She looked at me, grinning. *quot;Now you're trapped. If you're his aunt, even an honorary one, you'll have to come and visit often. Friends are one thing. You can ignore a friend for years and it's okay, but no aunt can leave her nephew neglected for long.*quot; She waved me to a sofa and disappeared into the kitchen.
I raised my voice so she could hear. *quot;I caught your hint. I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner. But I didn't have much of a life until a few months ago.*quot;
Barry stood watching me. *quot;You're pretty.*quot;
*quot;Why, thank you, Barry,*quot; I said.
*quot;Are Tekirdağ Escort Bayan you married?*quot;
*quot;I, ah, was... No, I'm not married.*quot;
'Then why are you wearing a ring?*quot;
Carole came back just then with a tray with biscuits and two cups of coffee. *quot;Now, Barry, that's an impertinent question to ask a lady.*quot;
I replied anyway. *quot;You're very observant. I wear this ring so men will think I'm married and won't be bothering me all the time. But you're special. You can talk to me anytime.*quot;
*quot;Go to you your room and read, Barry,*quot; said Carole firmly. *quot;We ladies have to talk privately.*quot; The boy retreated somewhere deeper in the apartment, and a door closed.
She fixed her serious 'I'm your best friend, and I want answers' look on me. *quot;He wanted to know why you're wearing a ring. I want to know, too. What's up? I thought you unloaded macho boy from your life over a year ago.*quot;
*quot;I did, but I'm living with a nice man now, over near Belmont Harbor. Building rules say no unmarried couples, so I wear the ring as a disguise.*quot;
*quot;He's not another Mike, is he?*quot;
I shook my head. *quot;Not at all. The opposite, actually. He's a professor of psychology at Circle. He's good to me, and he looks after me and supports me. He couldn't be more different.*quot;
*quot;Do you plan to marry him?*quot;
*quot;Way too soon for that. Our understanding is that I'll live with him, and he'll support me while I'm going through college.*quot;
*quot;You're working your way through college on your back?*quot;
Of all the people in the world, only Candy or Carole could have gotten away with that remark, and our friendship demanded an honest answer. *quot;Not exactly. He helped me discover that I need to be the boss, in and out of bed, if you know what I mean.*quot; I smirked at her. *quot;So I'm only on my back when I want it that way.*quot;
*quot;Good for you, girl.*quot; She grinned widely. *quot;I guess that infamous date with Don Whitten really woke something up in you, eh? Paul and I have more of an egalitarian relationship--in and out of bed, if you know what I mean. Sometimes I'm on top, sometimes he's on top. Life as an intern is tough, and being the submissive partner is great for relieving the pressure. But we can't both be submissive at once. We kind of 'read' one another Escort Tekirdağ so we know without discussion who should be on top and who's going to be bottom.*quot;
It had been years since I'd had such a frank talk with Carole, and I felt my face flush. *quot;I guess I'm different. Being the boss is good for my confidence. And I think Craig couldn't survive without being a servant to a woman.*quot; I stopped abruptly. *quot;Am I talking too much?*quot;
She barked a laugh. *quot;Probably. But it's turning me on. I think it's time I topped my handsome husband. He's getting off his thirty-six hour shift this evening. We'll have a few hours together, then we both have to work Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. I think I'll demand he cook dinner, then give me a nice, long backrub. And I'll make him go down on me before we sleep.*quot;
Carole listened intently to my tale of ditching Mike, moving to Chicago, and slinging hash at Bernie's. The meeting with Craig fascinated her most of all. *quot;Sort of 'lust at first sight', then? It's good to hear another happy love story. Sometimes I think Paul and I are the only ones who got it right.*quot;
I told her about the Labor Day debacle and how I'd fixed it with Craig afterward.
She laughed. *quot;You're a quick study, girl. I'd never have thought of that. But how come you can't just cut Mike loose and be done with him.*quot;
*quot;I thought I had,*quot; I said. *quot;I'll be more careful next time. In fact, Craig and I are going out to Bitumen on Christmas Day, and I wouldn't be surprised if my mother hasn't engineered something with Mike as a Christmas surprise.*quot;
Carole had prepared a light supper and afterward we opened our gifts. She gave me a set of pajamas, extra tall, with lace and other feminine decoration so no one would mistake them for men's. *quot;Sorry,*quot; she said. *quot;If I'd known about Craig, I would have got something extra sexy. You know, there's a store on North Clark that specializes in clothes for tall people. You can return them if you want.*quot;
She liked the wine I brought and insisted we open it. *quot;Paul and I will be working Christmas, so this is the only chance we'll get. I'll make sure I save enough to share with him.*quot;
I gave Barry a book on chemistry. *quot;After I bought it, I saw that it was meant for kids eight years and older. I hope you can read it.*quot;
He looked at me seriously, with an almost adult expression. *quot;My kindergarten teacher leaves me alone to read. She says I'm already at a Grade Three level.*quot;
I looked at Carole in surprise. She shrugged. *quot;What can I tell you? Genius runs in families.*quot;