Pearl 1/? {Redman}
(c) December 2000
Comments welcomed at redman@seductive.com.
Pearl - Part One
by Redman
Bobbi Sue's ached ... still. Ever since right
before she had turned fourteen her body ached more and
more. Every day the ache grew worse and seemed to
settle in some other part of her body.
At first, it had started at her nipples. The bare buds
of her began to itch. They were so sensitive
against the flannel shirts Pappy insisted she wear.
Then it had settled further downward, causing her to
cramp, causing her to ache.
But the ache wasn't just her body growing, wasn't just
her womanhood developing. There was something more to
it than that, something that Bobbi Sue couldn't quite
get her fingers on.
To begin with, there were the thoughts. She had
strange thoughts. It started in her dreams. She
dreamed of people, strange faceless people, touching
her; running their faceless hands over her body, over
her breasts, between her legs.
Bobbi Sue would wake up, sweating and short of breath.
That's when her body would ache the most. Right after
the dreams.
Soon she began to have the same kind of thoughts all
day long. Her body ached as though it wanted to be
touched, as though it needed to be touched.
But there was no one here to touch her. On the
there was only Pappy and Miss Bertle and neither one
of them were big on touching. And that wasn't the kind
of touching that Bobbie Sue's body seemed to crave.
Pappy hardly said anything to her now. There was a
time when she remembered sitting on his lap. Pappy
would read to her and teach her to read from the big
King James Bible that he was always studying. Pappy
should have been a preacher 'cause he knew everything
there was to know about the Bible and never missed a
Sunday service.
Bobbie Sue had never been to the Sunday service but
she knew that it was important to Pappy. It was the
only time she was left alone. Miss Bertle was still
there, but as Pappy said Miss Bertle was "touched in
the head." Miss Bertle could cook and clean. She could
do the laundry and sweep the floor. But Miss Bertle
couldn't really look after a frisky like Bobbie
Sue.
One Sunday morning, while Pappy was away at Sunday
service, Bobbie Sue was bored and had gotten down the
big King James Bible and decided to have her own
Sunday service. Just like Pappy used to do, she let
the big book fall open anywhere it chose to and then
put her finger down in it's yellowing pages and began
to read.
"My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten
thousand..."
Pappy had never read from this part of the Bible.
After just a bit, Bobbie Sue started at the beginning
of this new part of the Bible, the Song of Solomon.
Whoever Solomon was he could sure sing and he was sure
in love with his "beloved."
And she was sure in love with him. "Let him kiss me
with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more
delightful than wine."
But Pappy came home and heard Bobbi Sue reading the
Song of Solomon out loud and got sore angry with her.
He grabbed up the big book and that was the last time
Bobbie Sue ever saw it.
"Cast not thy pearls before swine!" Pappy kept saying
over and over.
Bobbi Sue had no idea what that meant though. Pappy
raised swine but he didn't have any pearls to be
giving them. The only pearls Bobbi Sue had ever seen
were on Miss Gloria Love when she visited every month.
Miss Gloria Love arrived every month and paid a short
visit to Pappy. There didn't seem to be much "love"
between the two of them though. Bobbie Sue never had
figured out why Miss Love came every month even though
she suspected that it had something to do with her.
Some months Miss Love would question Bobbi Sue about
all kinds of strange things. "Does Pappy ever touch
you? Have there been any strangers on the farm? What
kind of clothes do you like to wear? Do you ever take
care of the animals?"
But Miss Love was always in a hurry to leave. She
would always arrive in a big car and there were always
different people waiting for her there. She always
seemed in a hurry to get back in the car and be with
those people.
Especially when she was younger, Miss Love used to hug
her before she left. It always made Bobbi Sue queasy
when Miss Love would hug her so fiercely. Miss Love
put her whole body into a hug, like she couldn't help
but throw her whole heart into it. Bobbi Sue would
feel Miss Love's heart start to race and her breath
come in quick, short gasps and then the woman
would have to hurry out of the room.
Lately, Miss Love had quit hugging her though. But
once, two months ago, before she left, Miss Love had
kissed her. It was almost as though Miss Love just
couldn't help herself. As she was leaving the room
after another questioning, Miss Love had practically
pulled Bobbie Sue out of her seat and kissed her just
like a might kiss a woman. It had been so quick,
so spontaneous. Her tongue had danced within Bobbie
Sue's mouth and it had felt so wonderful. Bobbi Sue's
body had ached for hours after that, almost as though
she were a string of a guitar, plucked and vibrating.
Then came the day that she was in the bathroom, doing
her business. When she went to wipe herself, the whole
tissue came back with blood. At first she had
panicked, but after cleaning herself up, the bleeding
seemed to stop as mysteriously as it had started.
Eventually though, as much as Bobbi Sue wanted to deny
it, she knew what it was. She had been dreading this
day ever since Pappy had told her it would happen.
Bobbi Sue had been afflicted with the curse of Eve.
Pappy had told her all about it. Eve was an evil
woman; the first of many evil women. Because of Eve's
sin, all evil women after her had been cursed with
their monthly flow of blood that Pappy said was God's
way of flushing the sin out of a woman's body.
Pappy had said the most evil thing about Eve was that
she never felt sorry for what she had done.
Bobbi Sue had told Miss Bertle about the curse coming
on her. She had to tell someone and she certainly
couldn't tell Pappy. Miss Bertle had given her some
pads and showed her how to use them. It's possible
that if she hid the used pads and buried them out back
that Pappy might never know.
But Pappy did find out. Miss Love showed up the very
next day and somehow she knew all about it. Bobbi Sue
heard Miss Love and Pappy yelling about her. She had
been in her room and Pappy hadn't even told her that
Miss Love was coming to visit today like he usually
did.
"You know our agreement, man. The time has come.
Now she has to come with me," Bobbi Sue heard Miss
Love say.
"Don't take her, Sally Jane. There's still hope for
the poor child yet. Leave her here with me. Let me
raise her proper."
"I know how you want to raise her, man. Do you
think I've forgotten so soon? Now you let her come
with me or I'll let everyone at that Holy Roller
church of yours know who she is."
"Sally Jane, there's no call for that."
"Don't 'Sally Jane' me. It's Gloria Love now, Daddy.
And she's coming with me!"
"Take her then, and good riddance to you both. I'll
shake the dust of you off my feet, just like the good
Lord told me to."
"Does that mean you don't want your share of the
money, man?"
"A deal's a deal, Sally Jane. I didn't raise her all
these years for nuthin."
"Yea, I thought so, you hypocrite. Now go get the
girl."
When Pappy had told her to come see Miss Love, she
almost didn't follow him. If he had ever showed her
any kindness at all, she wouldn't have gone so
willingly. As it was, she realized that there was
really nothing on the that she could call her
own. The really wasn't her home. It had just been
a place she was being raised.
So she had gone to see Miss Gloria Love knowing that
wherever she was going had to be better than this
place. Miss Love had held her and kissed away her
tears and told her not to worry about a thing.
"What should I pack, Miss Love?" Bobbi Sue had asked.
"Not a thing, dear. At your new home you're gonna have
new clothes and new friends. There's nothing that you
need to bring unless there's something you want."
"There's only one thing I want to take with me," Bobbi
Sue said, looking straight at Pappy. "I wanna take
that big King James Bible with me."
"She cain't have that, 'Gloria.' That's the
Bible."
"Oh, you still have that Bible, man," Miss Love
hissed contemptuously. "Shouldn't it really be hers
anyway, as her inheritance, so to speak?"
"She cain't have it, I said," Pappy screeched. "That
wasn't part of the deal. She don't need it where she's
goin'."
"Aren't you the charitable one, man?" Miss Love
said harshly.
"'Cast not thy pearls before swine!' the good book
says. 'Cast not thy pearls before swine!'" Pappy
squealed.
"Don't worry, man. We're not gonna take your damn
book. But you better rethink your parable, 'Pappy.'
Only one of us here got caught rootin' around where he
ought not to have been. There's only one swine here
and he shouldn't go around casting the first stone, if
you know what I mean."
Pappy grew all and stormed out of the room. Bobbi
Sue was amazed. Pappy had never backed down to anyone
before. Certainly not to anyone quoting scriptures to
him.
Miss Love had stood right in front of Bobbi Sue, close
enough to smell and touch. She smoothed the girl's
blonde hair and looked into her blue eyes like she was
searching for something there.
"You're a beautiful girl, child. Your life is gonna be
different now. It's time to leave this no-account
and begin a new life. Are you ready for that, Bobbi
Sue?"
"Oh yes, Miss Love. I'm ready to leave right now."
"Where we're going, your gonna need a different name,
Sugar. 'Bobbi Sue' is okay for a country girl, but
we're going to a better life now. Would you let me
pick out something for you, darlin'? Something that
fits better with what you look like?"
"I don't know. I've never had another name before,
Miss Love."
"I've had plenty, dear. Why don't you let me try?
You're so pretty, Sugar, that everyone's gonna go wild
over you. I think we ought to name you after something
precious that everyone wants. I think we ought to name
you 'Pearl.'"
Standing so close to Miss Love, Bobbi Sue's body was
aching. She wanted to hold the woman, to hug her
close and touch her all over. The girl's ached
and her palms itched all over. She'd do anything to
please Miss Love. Anything!
"That sounds lovely, Miss Love. Call me Pearl from now
on. Pearl."
You're changing person here. Up to this point, it's been first person: Bobbi Sue. Now it's
third person. Is this what you want to do?
|
|
