Jason Cannon - The farmer_s daughter

As she pulled her robe off and slipped into her bed she knew, in her heart, that there was a difference; at least she, Alma Mae, thought about what she had done after she had done it. And, she knew, there would be things that she wouldn't do again.

She decided that there was no time like the present to tell Rosebud.

"Rosebud," she called in the darkness. "Rosebud… are you awake?"

There was no answer. She flicked on the lamp beside her bed and looked across the room.

Rosebud's bed was empty. The covers were turned down but there was no one there.

Thinking that her sister was probably in the bathroom, Alma turned the light off and in no time at all she was sound asleep. Total fatigue did its work and, even though there was much for her to dream about, she barely moved the entire night.

Dawn was just breaking when she thought she heard something; a door opening, a rustle of quietly padding feet across the floor. One eye fluttered open to see Rosebud's naked body just disappearing beneath the covers.

She thought nothing of it and, within seconds, was again sound asleep.

That morning her father was more quarrelsome than ever. He barely listened to any conversation over breakfast that was directed his way. And when he did, it was answered with barely audible grunts and accusing glances. He also seemed, to Alma Mae, to be operating in some near dreamlike state that had eliminated everyone in his family from his consciousness.

To top it all off, he insisted that he couldn't stay home from work after all that day, as originally planned.

Everyone accepted his decision without any undue comment, except Rosebud. "Why not? You promised. You said you were going to stay home all day today."

"Because I can't, that's all. Don't you understand, Goddammit, I can't any more!" he roared, and stomped from the kitchen.

"Fuck him," hissed Rosebud. "Fuck you!" she cursed his retreating back.

"Rosebud," Alma said, "you got no reason to talk like that."

"The shit I haven't," said Rosebud, and turned to Able as if to say that she wanted no more said about the incident. "Able, honey… when you finish eatin' why don't you come on upstairs and help me pack the rest of my clothes to take back to Memphis."

"Okay," Able said, smiling after his sister as she left the kitchen. The exchange of looks between them left no doubt in Alma Mae's mind as to what would be expected of Able once he reached the bedroom and Rosebud's waiting body.

"Well, I'll go into town and get the rest of the stuff for the shindig tomorrow," Gussie said, also leaving the room, but pausing at the screen door. "You wanna come with me, Alma Mae, honey?"

"No… I'd better stay here and start fixin' the things we already got."

"Suit yourself. Shit, it's already hotter 'n… probably be a hundred or better before the day's out." She let the screen door slam loudly behind her.

Able waited until Aunt Gussie was out of earshot and then he spoke with more animation than Alma had ever seen in him. "Alma… Alma, I got somethin' I just got to talk to ya about!"

"What?"

"Betcha don't know what I did last night."

"Whatta ya mean?"

"I fucked Aunt Gussie."

Alma Mae almost told him that she already knew it all but decided against the bother when he launched into the whole night's story in lurid detail before leaving her an opening to speak.

She listened with half an ear as she cleared the table and did the dishes. But hearing just that much of Able's tale did strange things to her. She became both revolted and excited by his detailed account of Aunt Gussie's body and the wondrous things they did together.

"You ain't hearin' a thing I'm sayin'," Able pouted, at last noticing her preoccupation with the dishes.

"Yes, I am. With all the good time you had with Aunt Gussie I'm surprised you had anything left for Rosebud when she sneaked downstairs."

"I didn't."

"Oh," Alma said, "then you disappointed her?"

"Nab," Able replied. "She never came downstairs all night. I ain't done nothin' with Rosebud since she got here. But I'm goin' to now," he said, pushing himself away from the table.

Alma's brows knitted in perplexity. If Rosebud hadn't joined Able and Gussie downstairs the previous night, then where in the world had she been? Could she have been just running around the house naked all that time? In her mind, Alma tried to remember the time and the look on Rosebud's face just before she slipped beneath the covers, but Able's insistent yammering broke into her concentration.

"… and Aunt Gussie says she wants me to come up to Memphis an' live with them. She says I can do most anything I want to. I can have all the new clothes I want, a car as soon's I'm old enough, and best of all, I can sleep and fuck most every night, right out in the open, with her an' Rosebud. An' that ain't all, Alma Mae, she says them women that work for her are just like she is… they only fuck them men for money so's they can live good. What they really like to do is fuck young ones like me. Just think a that, Alma Mae… older women wantin' me to diddle 'em all the time! Sheeeeeit!"

Alma Mae's mind and body surged with instant anger. How dare he, she thought. How could he just go away and leave their father just when he was at the lowest ebb in his life?

She turned on him, fully intending to rip him apart with fury. His eyes were glazed, misty with some faraway look. Alma remembered that look.

She had seen it in his face when he was fucking her and had just reached the peak of his orgasm.

She remained silent.

"They want you to come too, Alma Mae. You can make a lot of money."

"No, Able… I couldn't do that."

"Well… suit yourself," he said, and bounced from the room.

Alma couldn't help but think how close his tone and wards had been to Aunt Gussie's as she had left. As she went on with her household duties for the remainder of the morning, she thought more and more about Able and Memphis. By noon she had accepted it. She realized that, for a sexually minded boy of Able's age, the lure of older women throwing themselves into bed with him would be much too much to resist.

The day dragged by filled with cleaning, making sandwiches, and doing the other million-and-one things that had to be done for the next day's picnic.

Able and Rosebud went down to the river for a swim. By the time they returned, Alma had nearly finished her work and it was approaching six o'clock.

"We're goin' back upstairs an'… play," Rosebud said, leaning casually against the kitchen doorjamb, rubbing her hands up and down her body. "Wanna… come?"

"I gotta little more to do," Alma replied.

"Suit yourself," Rosebud said, and left.

There it was again, Alma thought. That was what everyone was doing around here: suiting themselves without thinking about anyone else.

She finished what needed to be done and climbed the stabs. Her mind was tired from the mental anguish of the day and her body wasn't ready for anything other than rest and a bath. Still, she found it hard to resist going into the bedroom where she could hear Able and Rosebud. From the screams and groans of ecstatic passion coming from the room Alma could almost see the wild sexual games taking place behind the door.

She moved on down the hall to her father's room and closed the door behind her. Carelessly she flopped on the bed. She could still hear the sounds coming from the next room. It unnerved her, but the thought of fucking with anyone but Rafer at that moment was repulsive to her for some reason.

She thought of calling Rafer but she didn't know where they could go. Somehow she didn't want to make love to him alongside, or even in the same house, with Able and Rosebud. She forced her mind away from any sexual feelings or emotions and eventually dropped off to sleep.