Chapter 1
She came in through the barroom window. Rachel, three beers down and feeling mellow, turned around on her bar stool at the sound of somebody or something jumping in.
The first thing Rachel noticed about the woman was the bright red shirt with the buttons at the top unbuttoned showing off quite a bit of cleavage. Rachel tried not to stare at the woman’s breasts. The woman had her hands inserted into her blue shorts. She was tall and her hair was like an unkempt bird’s nest, which made her look taller. There was a large suitcase next to the woman, on the floor like she had just walked out of jail or something.
When she smiled at Rachel, her fleshy cheeks creased into dimples. She was full-bodied, a detail barely hidden by her somewhat loose and untucked shirt.
Her tight denim shorts were hunched up against her thighs which were milky white and fleshy. Rachel thought the woman looked downright sleazy and vulgar except for her smile which was quite winsome.
“Hello. Sorry I had to jump in through the window. I tried the door, but it was locked”, said the woman in a soft and uncertain voice. She was right. Rachel had locked the door herself a few moments ago because it was closing time. The bar shut down at ten in Penny (Population: 720).
“What can I do for you?”, asked Rachel, taking her in. And then she noticed something else. The woman’s unruly hair, that had all the signs of a long and rough journey, was a dark shade of red.
“I am Raquel. I was told to meet Rachel, the housekeeping in charge of this motel. I was interviewed by Mrs. Marvin earlier this week for a job in the housekeeping department.”
“Oh yes. Mrs. Marvin had phoned me about you. I am Rachel, by the way”.
Rachel extended her arm, the woman walked awkwardly towards the bar, and they shook hands.
Her hands were soft and covered with sweat. It was hot outside.
“I was looking forward to your arrival”, said Rachel. She was lying. There was barely any work to do at the motel, which was unoccupied for a large part of the year. Rachel had been sweating about her job ever since Mrs Marvin had told her that she was going to hire a new worker. Rachel had a hunch that Mrs. Marvin wanted to let her go because she had been working at the motel for five years now and she had asked for and got a raise every year. A new housekeeper might agree to work for a dirt-cheap salary. This woman Raquel was competition as far as Rachel was concerned.
“I hope I can be of help”, said Raquel, tucking her hands back into her pockets. She looked awkward, standing there in her big red shirt that might have been her father’s, barely able to hide her shyness. As if she seldom revealed herself to human society. Her shyness was at odds with the way she was dressed which made her look like a demure slut. Those were the most dangerous kind of sluts, thought Rachel.
Myra, the bartender came around from the back. Rachel introduced them.
Myra was known around town for her sharp tongue, and she nodded without smiling at Raquel, staring at her as if she owed Myra money.
“Beer?”, Rachel asked Raquel.
“Yeah sure”, Raquel said rather hurriedly and sat down on the bar stool beside Rachel.
“What have we got here? Another redhead. Two redheaded housekeepers. That’s a bad omen”, said Myra, addressing them both.
Rachel looked awkwardly at Raquel.
“And you both look so alike. Rachel, she looks like your twin sister. I kid you not”, said Myra animatedly.
“Yeah, sure Myra. Now can she get a beer?”, said Rachel, a bit annoyed at Myra comparing her to the new arrival.
“The bar shuts in ten. You both need to hurry up”, said Myra, placing a beer on the bar top. She went back into the kitchen.
Rachel raised her eyebrows and winked at Raquel.
“Are you from around here? I have never seen you before,” asked Rachel. The mellow high she had been enjoying was lost after the arrival of this woman.
“I am from Muleskinner. It’s fifty miles from here”, said Raquel, taking a sip of the beer, looking around the bar like a wife at her new husband’s house.
“Muleskinner huh. You got a place to stay?”, asked Rachel.
“Mrs. Marvin has agreed to put me up for now. I might move out if I find a place of my own”, said Raquel.
Raquel took a long gulp of the beer.
“That’s pretty darn refreshing. It was hot in the bus”, said Raquel as if she had just walked out in from a country where beer was prohibited.
A very slight smell of sweat emanated from Raquel. It was not unpleasant or anything. The fact that she was such a pretty woman, more than made up for it, thought Rachel.
“I could drop you off at Mrs. Marvin’s,” offered Rachel. She didn’t want to. But she would see how it went with Raquel.
“Thanks. That would be nice”, said Raquel demurely.
They finished their beers and walked out of the bar. It was windy outside and there was the smell of rain in the air.
Rachel helped Raquel load her suitcase into her Gremlin.
As they were about to enter the car, it started to rain. They jumped into the car together, both slightly drenched.
The bright orange sign saying “Little Creek Motel” shined down on them as they drove away.
Both women were silent in the car. Rachel waited for Raquel to start a conversation. But she did not.
By the time Rachel drove up the pebble driveway to Mrs. Marvin’s stucco house, it had stopped raining.
They carried the suitcase together to the doorstep. Rachel rang the bell.
Mrs. Marvin opened the door. She invited Rachel in for some hot soup. The three of them sat at the table in Mrs. Marvin’s large kitchen. Mrs. Marvin had a stroke last fall and when she spoke, one side of her face did not agree with the other.
“I’m sure you two will get along just fine. You are both the same age. You girls could become thick friends”, said Mrs. Marvin.
Rachel and Raquel looked at each other, slightly embarrassed.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Raquel?” asked Mrs. Marvin.
“No, Mrs. Marvin” said Raquel shyly.
“Well, well. I don’t think Rachel here has one either,” said Mrs. Marvin addressing Rachel.
“No, I don’t, Mrs. Marvin”, said Rachel. She was not too pleased with Mrs. Marvin revealing this personal detail to Raquel.
Rachel looked towards Raquel and their eyes met. Raquel looked away.
“You girls lead such boring lives. Did free love leave the shores of this town?”, Mrs. Marvin joked.
When they finished the soup, Rachel got up to leave and Raquel walked her to the car.
“Pick you up at 9 in the then? I’ll show you around the motel,” said Rachel.
“Looking forward to working with you”, said Raquel softly. She said it like she meant it.
There was a slight wind and Rachel’s attention was arrested by Raquel’s red hair blowing around wildly as if it had a life of its own.
“Me too”, said Rachel after a moment.
They shook hands again.
Raquel’s hands were still sweaty.
Chapter 2
In the morning, Rachel scrambled some eggs, washed them down with black coffee and drove down to Mrs. Marvin’s.
Raquel was already out on the porch, waiting for her. She looked fresh and scrubbed, her red hair wet, a thin film of sweat on her forehead.
She wore a short skirt.
Not many tourists headed to the small town of Penny (population 459). The Little Creek motel had been empty all summer, except for truckers or passing tourists who stopped at the motel’s restaurant for cherry pies, sandwiches, and beer. But Mrs. Marvin, who owned the property, liked to keep the twenty rooms on the first floor, above the restaurant, tidy and clean in the rare case somebody – a tourist or a trucker stopped in Penny for the night.
The restaurant, which also had a bar, was on the ground floor. It had two employees.
Rachel had the first floor to herself. The rooms had to be dusted nearly every day. The baths had to be cleaned of dead insects that intruded in the absence of guests. Rachel did a good job.
Rachel showed Raquel around. They went to work. Raquel was quiet. Rachel did not mind. She wasn’t much of a talker herself. There they were, sharing the narrow space, trying not to bump into each other in the corridor, moving from room to room, dusting, and cleaning.
When you have just one co-worker you notice a lot about that person. When the co-workers are women, they start with the clothes.
Raquel’s clothes were old. Maybe she didn’t have much money, thought Rachel. Not that Rachel’s were brand new or anything. They were housekeepers. Not wedding planners.
Raquel brought coffee and food for Rachel the next day. Coffee and bacon sandwiches on the second day. Coffee and lettuce and cheese sandwiches on the third day. Coffee and roast beef sandwiches on the fourth. The sandwiches kept coming.
Rachel wondered how Raquel could afford it. Maybe Mrs. Marvin made lunch for her. Rachel was grateful for the food. They sat side by side on the table in one of the guest bedrooms, sharing the coffee and the sandwiches.
Rachel could smell the mild odor of sweat coming off Raquel’s clothes. Maybe she didn’t have enough clothes to change every day.
Raquel was a reluctant talker. Sometimes they would go many minutes without talking to each other.
There they would be, Rachel and Raquel, one of them mopping the floor, another one washing a window, not talking at all, working together.
Rachel made it a point to show that she was grateful, “This is really good coffee”, Rachel would say.
“I am glad you like it. It’s half water and half milk”, Raquel would respond, dimples forming on her cheeks.
Every day, when Rachel drove down to Mrs. Marvin’s house, Raquel would be waiting on the road for her, holding a duffel bag that with the coffee in a flask and sandwiches.
Raquel was a willing listener and did not have trouble taking orders. Not that Rachel was used to giving orders.
Raquel liked to touch.
When she wanted to ask her something and if Rachel was close by, Raquel would touch her on the shoulder.
Once when they nearly bumped into each other in the corridor, Raquel placed her hand on Rachel’s arm as they made way for each other to pass by.
Rachel found it strange but did not protest.
A couple of weeks after working together, they began to talk. They talked in stops and starts.
“How’s the stay with Mrs. Marvin?”, Rachel would ask.
“It’s a cozy house. I have a room for myself”, said Raquel.
That would be it. Rachel would pick her up in the morning and drop her off in the evening.
Raquel opened a little to Rachel after a few days.
“I feel kinda bad at times, staying with Mrs. Marvin. But I just can’t seem to find any affordable housing”, she said.
“Mrs. Marvin is a good soul. Don’t worry about it”, Rachel consoled her.
“Yeah, but still”, said Raquel.
“I have stayed with Mrs. Marvin, a few years ago, when I first started working at Little Creek.”
“Have you?”
“Yeah. Just like you. I stayed there until I had a tidy sum saved up to buy the house I now live in,” said Rachel.
But mostly they did not talk much.
Neither of them seemed to want to reveal anything.
It is a strange situation when you have just one co-worker and both are shy.
Chapter 3
Once when the day ended, Raquel asked Rachel to the Little Creek’s restaurant for a beer. The restaurant was empty early in the evening. They took their beers from Myra to a table where they sat facing each other.
They sat in silence for a few moments. Rachel took a sip of beer. Raquel simply held hers.
“You live by yourself?”, asked Raquel, breaking the silence.
“Yes. Been living alone since I was twenty-two.”
“How old are you now?”
“I’m twenty-seven.”
“That’s a long time. Your family not around?”
“My father moved to Singapore after my mother’s death. He married somebody there. I was eighteen when my mother died. The church supported me after my father left”, said Rachel.
They were silent for a moment.
“Sorry if I got too personal,” said Raquel, quite sincerely.
“No, not at all,” Rachel said with certainty.
That encouraged Raquel.
“You got any siblings?”
“None.”
“Saints be praised! You are an only child? So am I.” Raquel said excitedly.
“Hallelujah! We have two onelings in the house,” Rachel said, sharing Raquel’s excitement.
“Let’s drink to that”, said Raquel and she drank her beer down. Rachel laughed at that and drank down her beer quickly. They smiled at each other.
“Your family?” asked Rachel as if she had known Raquel her whole life.
“My parents died in a car crash when I was seventeen. I was attached to my church from a very young age. Just like you, Rachel”, said Raquel in a somber voice.
As if on an impulse or as an acknowledgement of a shared suffering Raquel took Rachel’s hands in hers. Rachel was surprised, but let her hands be taken, Raquel’s hands felt tender but her grip on Rachel’s hands were firm. The two women gazed into each other’s eyes, as they held hands.
“I’m sorry if I bought back some bad memories, Raquel”, said Rachel.
“No, it’s all right. I am over all that now”, said Raquel, unconvincingly.
Over at the bar, Jill the waitress was watching them. She whispered to Myra and pointed to Rachel and Raquel sitting together at the table.
Myra told Jill to mind her own business, but then Myra looked over at the two women and saw them holding hands. She thought it was strange and she and Jill kept looking over at Rachel and Raquel holding hands at the table.
The power of the jealous gazes must have made Rachel turn around to see the two waitresses watching her and Raquel. She disentangled her hands from Raquel’s grip. Raquel followed Rachel’s stare and understood that they were being watched.
“So, you up for Sunday church tomorrow morning?”, asked Rachel, regaining her poise. She had to say something.
“Would you take me?”, said Raquel.
“Yeah”, said Rachel.
“Really?”, said Raquel.
“Pick you up at 8 and we drive to the church. We have to be here at the motel by 9”, said Rachel.
The two of them rose from their seats and headed out to the car. Jill and Myra stared at them. But Rachel and Raquel did not look back. They drove away.
After she dropped Raquel at Mrs. Marvin’s, Rachel drove back to her house and played a tape on her VCR. Charley Varrick. A small-town heist film. Rachel thought Sheree North looked real cute in the film, walking around in her pink shorts. She remembered Raquel arriving in her denim shorts in the bar through the window. Raquel was bigger and fleshier and more beautiful than Sheree North.
Her dinner of cornflakes and milk was dismal. But Rachel felt good that she had shared something of her life with Raquel. She looked forward to the next day at work.
Chapter 4
Rachel drove Raquel to the pristine St. Andrews Church the next morning. Rachel introduced Raquel to the chaplain and got her registered in the Penny chapter.
Raquel was wearing the bright red top which she had on the day she climbed in through the barroom window. Rachel was wearing the yellow top she usually wore to church.
Some heads turned and whispers were exchanged about the redhead newcomer.
They sat side by side during mass with fifty other church goers. Their visit to the church must have invoked feelings of Christian charity, for Rachel whispered to Raquel “You look gorgeous today. Do you know that?”, said Rachel.
“So, do you. That is a really bright shade of yellow you’re wearing”, said Raquel.
In the car, Rachel couldn’t help herself, “It feels nice to have you around, Raquel”, she almost blurted out.
“I feel the same way about you, Rachel”, said Raquel, in a sincere voice.
They smiled at each other. Raquel looked pleased.
At the Little Creek, Rachel parked the car in the restaurant’s parking lot. As they walked towards the motel, Raquel, who was wearing sandals, scratched her feet on a thorn bush. She let out a little cry.
“You, OK?”, asked Rachel.
“It’s nothing. Looks like I scratched myself on something.”
A thin line of blood formed where the thorn had scratched Raquel’s lower limb, just above her Achilles tendon.
“You’re bleeding. I have a band aid upstairs. Come on.”
The women went upstairs. There was quite a large patch of blood trickling out of the small scratch wound by the time they reached the first floor.
“That looks gruesome. Let me wash it for you”, said Rachel.
“Oh no, it’s OK. I’ll do it myself”, protested Raquel.
“I insist that you let me wash your wound”, said Rachel.
“That’s very nice of you”, said Raquel shyly.
“Well, what are co-workers for? Follow me”, said Rachel quite confidently.
She led Raquel to the lavatory. The shower and tub were side by side, separated by a glass partition.
“Take off your sandals and step inside the tub.”, Rachel ordered as she took off her shoes.
Raquel took off her sandals and stepped into the tub. Rachel also got in behind her and sat on the rim of the tub. Then she lifted her skirt to reveal shapely and fleshy limbs. Rachel rolled her skirt up to her knees. Then she turned on the hand shower.
“Place your foot on my knee. Let me clean it up.”, said Rachel.
Raquel smiled and the dimples appeared, as she rolled her skirt up to her knees. Rachel glanced for a second at Raquel’s beautiful calves and lower thighs. Then Raquel slowly lifted her foot and placed it on Rachel’s knee. She placed it reluctantly, as if too much weight on Rachel’s knee might hurt her. Rachel took Raquel’s foot in her hands and ran the shower up and down the foot to get rid of the blood. Rachel stared at Raquel’s rather large feet. The skin was clear, white and fleshy with just a dash of beautiful red. The nails were well cut and maintained. With her skirt bunched up to her knees, Rachel could see a bit of Raquel’s lower thighs. They looked soft and fleshy.
“You are so nice to me”, said Raquel, almost swooning.
“It’s nothing. You have beautiful feet. You take good care of them”, said Rachel.
“I was just looking at your feet. And you take good care of them too. They are large and beautiful”, Raquel returned the compliment.
“Thank you”, said Rachel.
After washing away the blood, Rachel let Raquel’s feet rest on her knee once again. She opened a cupboard next to the hand shower and took out a bottle of Dettol. She applied Dettol with her fingers to the scratch wound. She did this tenderly, slowly massaging the Dettol into the wound.
“Does it hurt?”, asked Rachel.
“Not at all. Your touch is so tender”, said Raquel. They smiled at each other.
The scratch wound had stopped bleeding and Rachel put the Dettol down and took a band aid out of a box. She stuck the band aid carefully on top of the scratch wound. Then she toweled Raquel’s wet foot. She noticed the goosebumps across the flesh of Racquel’s lower limbs.
“That’s done”, said Rachel, looking up at Raquel. Raquel stepped back as Rachel got up. They stood facing each other in the tub. Both women a little awkward.
“Do you want to see whose feet are bigger?”, asked Raquel in a friendly tone, but a naughty expression appearing on her face.
“Ha! Why not? Sure, let’s compare feet”, agreed Rachel.
They stood side by side and extended one foot forward until their feet were lined up next to each other. Rachel felt a bolt of electricity surge through her body when the sides of their feet touched. So did Raquel. In fact, both women could sense the other woman shiver when the sides of their feet rubbed.
“They’re almost the same size”, said Raquel.
“Yes, they are”, said Rachel.
Then Rachel moved her foot towards Raquel’s and their feet touched each other. Raquel also pressed the side of her foot against the side of Rachel’s foot.
“They are equal in size”, said Rachel excitedly.
“Yes, they are almost like duplicates”, said Raquel, equally excited.
They looked up at each other and smiled shyly. They let the sides of their feet press together for some more time because they were both overwhelmed by the rub of skin against skin, after which they reluctantly pulled back their legs.
“Shall we start work?”, asked Rachel, blushing.
“Yes, do lets. We have wasted enough time already”, said Raquel. Raquel’s face was also red.
They climbed out of the tub. Raquel poured coffee for them in the messroom. They quickly drank their coffees and started with the cleaning.
They talked easily as they worked.
“Is there a lot to do in Penny?”, asked Raquel as she dusted a table lamp.
“Well ….. it ain’t New York city”, Rachel winked at Raquel. “But there are creeks and lakes nearby. I drive down to some of them on the weekends. There is a drive-in theater, a little out of town ….. a few bars and a mall near the drive in …... Lake Serene is a five-hour drive from here ….. and you are employed at the most happening place in Penny, the Little Creek motel. Yes ma’am”, said Rachel.
Raquel laughed.
“Do you like working at Little Creek?”, asked Raquel.
“Can’t complain. I probably have the best job in town.”, said Rachel, leaning on her mop.
Raquel giggled again.
“Do you like living in Penny?”, asked Raquel.
“I was born here. I wouldn’t know how to live anywhere else. The farthest I have ever been in my life is Seattle. Now that’s just four-hundred miles from here”, said Rachel.
“That’s more than I have ever travelled. This is the first time I have ever been out of Muleskinner ….. and that’s just 50 miles from here”, said Raquel.
Rachel rolled her eyes.
“Frankly, Penny isn’t such a bad place to live. But the people here are old. There aren’t that many people my age”, Rachel continued.
“It’s certainly better off than Muleskinner. That is almost a ghost town now. The church that I was attached to, moved into a smaller building because there weren’t more than five people who turned up on Sunday. It doesn’t even have a motel”, said Raquel.
“Is that why you left?”, asked Rachel.
“Yup”, said Raquel, hesitantly.
“Did you have any friends there?”, asked Rachel.
“None at all. Everyone I knew when I was in school moved out of that hick town”, said Raquel. It seemed to Rachel that Raquel was trying to hide a hint of forlornness in her voice.
“I understand. I don’t have any friends myself. A lot of people I knew moved out to Seattle over the last few years. I stayed back of course”, Rachel said honestly.
The admission made Raquel feel like she knew Rachel well. She felt like there was some sort of strange chemistry between them.
“Did you work somewhere when you lived in Muleskinner?”, asked Rachel.
“I used to work in the church bakery. That’s where I learned to make coffee and sandwiches. But they shut it down because there was nobody to buy the food that we put out. Then I sold lemonade at prayer meetings. But that didn’t pay all that much”, said Raquel.
Usually when somebody asked her about her career, she would become reticent. But with Rachel, she spoke unashamedly.
“I know how it is”, said Rachel and she sounded genuine. “You don’t have to worry about your job here. The Little Creek is doing quite well. The restaurant downstairs gets a fair number of customers. And it is busy on the weekends. The rooms up here may not be occupied now. But trust me, it can get quite busy during the end of the year”, said Rachel. Rachel knew this was only half true. She wasn’t even sure about her own job. She did not want Raquel to know that she was insecure about her job, now that Raquel had also been hired.
But she felt like a weight had lifted off her chest. She was glad that she was getting along with Raquel. There was no acrimony or competition between them at the workplace like it could happen with two women who were competing for a job.
“So, you think Penny ain’t so bad?”, said Raquel.
“I think so”, said Rachel. “I think you made a great choice moving here”, she said assuring Raquel and then smiled.
She went back to mopping. Raquel finished dusting the table lamp and placed it on the floor. She began to dust the wooden teapoy beside the bed.
“You like swimming, Raquel?”, asked Rachel, reviving the conversation.
“Yes. I used to go swimming on the weekends in Muleskinner ….. yeah I did quite a bit of swimming ….. by myself of course”, said Raquel.
“Cool. I do a lot of swimming myself. Trust me there are some beautiful creeks a few miles from here”, Then she seemed to hesitate and almost blurted out – “I could take you to some of them ….. if you’re interested”, Raquel thought Rachel was hesitant making the offer.
“Why not? I would love to go with you. It’s always nice to have someone to show you around when you move someplace new”, said Raquel, happy to be mentored by Rachel.
“It’s a deal then. We’ll plan something soon”, said Rachel.
She put her mop down to open the window ledge. Perhaps it was the excitement at the thought of going swimming with Raquel, she inadvertently cut her thumb against a sharp protruding end of the ledge that she would normally have avoided.
Blood began to flow out of her thumb in a small but urgent trickle.
“Looks like this is a getting injured day”, said Rachel, holding up her bleeding thumb for Raquel to see.
“Oh dear, are you OK?”, asked Raquel sounding genuinely concerned. She put the duster on the teapoy and walked up to Rachel and took Rachel’s hand in hers.
Rachel’s body tingled at Raquel’s touch. The blood from her thumb trickled onto Raquel’s fingers.
“It is my turn now to wash you”, said Raquel.
“Oh no, Raquel, it’s just a small cut. It will dry up real soon”, Rachel protested.
“I won’t hear of it”, said Raquel and pulled Rachel along to the bathroom.
This time they stood by the wash basin. Raquel filled the basin with water and washed Rachel’s thumb with soap. She carefully massaged the wound on Rachel’s thumb until the blood stopped trickling out. Rachel’s felt her nipples harden at the prolonged touch of Raquel’s fingers with her own.
“You have beautiful fingers Rachel”, said Raquel.
“I was just about to say the same thing about your fingers. They are long and beautiful. You have nice skin too”, said Rachel in mesmerized tone.
“Want to compare fingers and hands?”, asked Raquel, a naughty expression on her face.
“We might as well”, said Rachel, as if Raquel had suggested something that was inevitable.
Rachel raised her palm towards Raquel. Raquel met Rachel’s palm with her own. They looked into each other’s eyes even as their sweaty hand palms met each other. Both women shivered and gulped when their hands were plastered together.
Like their feet, their fingers and hands were almost identical. Both women had beautiful long and fleshy fingers.
After a moment, as if by unspoken mutual consent, they interlocked their fingers tightly. They smiled at each other, enamored by the interlocking of their fingers.
They stood there with their interlocked fingers for a few seconds.
“Are we going to stand here all-day comparing hands?”, asked Raquel.
“It was your idea”, mocked Rachel.
They giggled into each other’s faces. The only sound around them was the trickle of water into the wash basin. Neither woman seemed particularly eager to let go of each other’s interlocked fingers.
“I guess we better get back to work, then”, whispered Raquel after what seemed like hours of mutual finger interlocking.
“I guess we better”, agreed Rachel.
Both women reluctantly disentangled their fingers from each other and walked out of the lavatory.
They finished the day without any more injuries.
They did not go down to the bar for a beer that evening after work.
Instead, they drove across the backwoods roads. Both sides of the roads were dense with tall shagbark hickory trees. The yellow leaves were in full bloom.
Rachel had the car windows open. The air smelled of hickory nuts.
“I am so glad to have you as a co-worker, Raquel”, said Rachel.
“I feel the same way about you, Rachel”, said Raquel.
“I feel like we’re becoming thick friends”, said Rachel.
“Yes, yes. That’s one department where I have never had any luck. Make me your friend, please”, said Raquel wryly.
Rachel smiled.
“Were you lonely out there in Muleskinner?”, asked Rachel, tenderly.
Raquel just looked ahead. Rachel thought she hadn’t heard her. But then she spoke.
“Yeah. There was nothing out there. One by one, the neighbors moved out. My nearest neighbors were five miles away from where I lived, and they were an old couple”, said Raquel.
“That sucks I guess”, said Rachel.
“In the night, I would lay in bed and hear the coyotes howling. After the church bakery shut down, I would have to walk three miles to the nearest bus stop every weekend and take a bus to the nearest town for supplies. Sometimes I wouldn’t bother and would stay home even if I was hungry. I couldn’t afford a car either. Not with what I made smelling lemonade. It was like the end of civilization”, said Raquel in a rather grave tone.
They were both silent for a few moments. Then Rachel spoke.
“Even I have felt lonely out here. On weekends, when I finish early, I usually drive around or go for a swim. I know these parts really well. I’ve been everywhere. But yeah, it does get terribly lonely. There were times when I have longed for companionship”, said Rachel.
“It’s the same in every American small town. They are all dying out”, said Raquel.
“Have you thought about getting married? The chaplain at the church has been after me. He has tried to set me up with a few men in the church for an arranged marriage. But I have always felt shy. After a point, he stopped asking me. I think he might have given up on me”, said Rachel.
“I have had that in Muleskinner. Maybe not as much as you. I am really not in a position to settle down now. I don’t have much money. And I guess I’m kinda shy”, said Raquel.
Rachel looked at Raquel.
“We should go swimming, go on picnics, drink beer and do stuff together”, said Rachel.
“I can’t wait.”, said Raquel excitedly.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Raquel seemed to be lost in her own world. They cleaned three rooms together, hardly talking to each other. Rachel would try to start a conversation, but Raquel would not respond beyond making inconsequential remarks.
After an hour of relative quietness between them, Rachel decided to speak up.
“Is something bothering you, Raquel? You are awfully quiet today”.
“It’s nothing. I am just irritated about something. I don’t think there is much you can do about it”, said Raquel.
“What is it? You can tell me”, said Rachel, sounding concerned.
Raquel hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I have this terrible bloody patch across my inner thigh. It’s just that my thighs have been rubbing together lately when I walk. It’s gotten really terrible today morning. I could hardly walk up here from the car park today. It hurts real bad”, said Raquel looking down onto the ground, sounding ashamed of herself.
“I know how much that must hurt ….. I have had the same problem for a while now ….. and I have just the remedy for you. It’s this ointment I bought in the drugstore. But let me see the bloody patch first.”, said Rachel.
“Should we go to the bathroom?”, asked Raquel, sounding eager and relieved.
“Yes. Let me get the ointment. It’s in my handbag.”, said Rachel.
They went into the bathroom with the ointment. Raquel climbed into the tub followed by Rachel.
“You better take off your skirt, Raquel. It could get wet because I might have to use the hand shower”, said Rachel.
“I think you better take yours off too, Rachel”, suggested Raquel.
Their eyes met. Both women’s faces were red.
The women slowly removed their skirts, folded them and placed them, one on top of the other on a rack near the cupboard by the shower. Then they turned towards each other with just their shirts and panties on.
“Let me see your bloody patches”, said Rachel. She had the ointment in her hand.
Raquel placed one shapely leg on the rim of the tub so that Rachel could see her inner thighs. There was a pink pallor over Raquel’s inner thighs populated with small spots of red. Rachel squeezed the ointment out and got some on her fingers. Then she knelt down and rubbed the ointment slowly over the affected areas on both of Raquel’s inner thighs.
Raquel gasped and shivered at Rachel’s touch. Rachel could not take her eyes off Raquel’s inner thighs, and she tried to not gulp as she gently rubbed the ointment across the soft flesh.
Rachel thought she saw a small wet patch across Raquel’s light pink cotton pantie. Was Raquel’s vagina leaking, she wondered as she rubbed the ointment. Rachel thought she could smell the slightest odor of vaginal fluids.
While Rachel rubbed the ointment across her inner highs, Raquel placed an arm on Rachel’s shoulder for support. Rachel squeezed some more ointment out of the tube and spread the ointment over the pallor across Raquel’s inner thighs.
“You know you have beautiful legs”, said Rachel, looking up at Raquel.
“Thank you”, said Rachel shyly, looking down at Rachel.
“This should make you feel a whole lot better. I will put this tube of ointment in the cupboard by the shower so that we both can use it when we need it”, said Rachel, as she stood up from her kneeling position.
Rachel and Raquel’s eyes met. Both women knew there was sex and lust between them. They were a couple of adults and both women knew things were escalating between them.
“Rachel, should I apply some on your thighs as well?”, asked Raquel.
Rachel seemed to be taken aback by the offer.
“Well …..”
“Let me return the favor to you”, said Raquel eagerly. She almost grabbed the tube of ointment from Rachel and poured some onto her fingers, silently urging Rachel to place her leg on the tub’s rim. Rachel obliged. She lifted one leg and placed it on the rim.
Raquel admired Rachel’s bare well-endowed legs for a moment.
“I am going to have to return another one of your complements. You really do have long beautiful legs, Rachel”, said Raquel.
Their eyes met again.
Rachel blushed as Raquel knelt down. She slowly applied the ointment to the pink patches on Rachel’s inner thighs. A pleasant smell of soap emanated from Rachel’s thighs. Raquel felt Rachel place a hand on her shoulder for balance.
Rachel gasped and moaned as Raquel applied the ointment on her ample and fleshy inner thighs.
After rubbing the ointment across both of Rachel’s soft thighs, Raquel slowly stood up.
They stood facing each other for a moment, in their panties, lusty smiles on their faces.
“Is that the end of your physical maladies?”, asked Rachel.
“You mean OUR physical maladies”, corrected Raquel, laughing. Rachel laughed with her.
But Rachel’s face suddenly turned pale, and Raquel sensed the change immediately.
“What happened? You don’t look so good.”, said Raquel.
“I just remembered something”, said Rachel.
“What is it?”, asked Raquel, a bit concerned.
“I’ve been getting these small bumps around my nipples. I didn’t know whom to ask about them. I was quite shy to visit the local dermatologist. He is a guy.”, said Rachel.
“Let me see them”, said Raquel eagerly and excitedly.
“Are you sure?”, asked Rachel.
“Yes”, said Raquel urgently, eager to help her co-worker.
“Then let’s get into the shower over there. It has a better light”, said Rachel pointing to a door next to the large bathtub.
The women climbed out of the tub, still in their panties and shirts. Rachel opened the door to the shower and stepped inside. Raquel followed her in. Inside the shower, there wooden ledges built into the walls for people to sit on. Rachel pressed on a switch and a bright yellow light came on.
Then she turned around to face Raquel, her face still red with excitement. She removed her shirt to reveal a pink brassiere that housed her ample breasts. She placed the shirt on the wooden ledge.
“I think you should get the brassiere off as well, so that I can get a good look at the bumps around your nipples”, said Raquel, in a mesmerized voice.
Without a word, Rachel unhooked her brassiere easily. The large breasts heaved with relief. Raquel stepped forward slowly to examine Rachel’s nipples. Rachel’s nipples were not the protruding kind. They almost seemed like a dark red extension out of her beautiful pink-white breasts. Sure enough, there were tiny bumps around the outskirts of the nipples.
“I know what these bumps are. They are just the glands beneath your breasts acting up. They usually become active during the summer and secrete fluids which turn into these bumps. It is just the heat. Nothing to worry about. I have them too.”, said Raquel.
“Really?”, asked Rachel, quite surprised by Raquel’s admission.
“Yeah, really. Would you like to see them?”, asked Raquel, playfully.
“I would love to”, said Rachel excitedly.
Their eyes met. Both women were enjoying and prolonging this slow foreplay of sorts.
Raquel took off her shirt as if in a hurry and placed it on the wooden ledge. She also had on a pink brassiere, which she unhooked as quickly as she unhooked her top. Rachel took a step towards Raquel. Their breasts were inches apart now. She examined Raquel’s nipples carefully and saw the red bumps like the ones that surrounded her own nipples. Rachel also noticed that like her own nipples, Raquel’s were not the protruding kind.
“We both have virgin’s nipples”, said Rachel in a tone without any emotion.
“What do you mean?”, asked Raquel, taken aback.
Rachel explained.
“A woman who has had a lover or a few lovers would have a protruding nipple. But both of us have nipples that are embedded in the breast. It means we haven’t had any lovers”, said Rachel, boldly.
Raquel giggled.
“Really? I didn’t know about this. That’s some deduction on your part”, said Raquel.
“Is my deduction, right?”, asked Rachel curiously.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Raquel whispered proudly “Yes!”.
They looked into each other’s eyes. Neither woman looked away.
“What about you?”, asked Raquel curiously. Her heart was beating fast. Things were getting intense between her and Rachel.
“I’m a virgin. Just like you”, conceded Rachel after pausing for a moment.
They smiled awkwardly at each other. Their faces were red with excitement at these rather private admissions.
Their eyes met. And then without a warning Raquel closed the space between them and threw her arms around Rachel in a hug.
“Oh Rachel. I like you so much. You are such a nice person”, said Raquel as she hugged Rachel tightly.
Rachel was taken aback for a moment. But a second later she threw her own arms around Raquel’s body in a tight mutual hug.
“I like you too Raquel. You are so good hearted”.
Their breasts bunched up together, flesh rubbing against flesh. Their hands caressed each other’s bare backs. Their stomachs were plastered together. The fronts of their thighs rubbed, and their toes touched. The two women stood like that for a few moments, clad only in their panties, enjoying the intimate contact between their semi-naked bodies.
They disentangled after a few moments, and eyed each other intensely, their faces red with lust.
“I think we better get back to work, Raquel”, said Rachel even though she did not want to.
“Yes, I agree, Rachel”, said Raquel, half-heartedly.
They put their clothes back on quickly and went back to work.
It was only after she dropped Raquel at Mrs. Marvin’s and reached home that Rachel realized that they had worn each other’s clothes by accident. She could smell Raquel on the shirt.
She took it off and smelled the shirt. She liked Raquel’s smell.
That night, Rachel could not concentrate on the tape which she played on her VCR. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
Rachel wanted to ask Raquel if she would share her house with her. But Rachel felt shy. How would she approach Raquel with the offer? They had been working together for nearly three months now. What if Raquel said no? That might affect their relationship.
Maybe she could bring the topic up somehow and Raquel might ask her if she could move in with her. Rachel lay in bed thinking about how nice it would be if she and Raquel could live together in the same house.
