Strelnikov
4th Level Red Feather
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,812
- Points
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by Strelnikov
Copyright 2008 by the author
Author’s Note:
This story takes place in Tieson City, but it’s not really a Tickle Street story. Instead, it’s a character study of Sara Rosen and Emily MacDonald.
I like all of my characters, and Emily better than most. But Sara has always been the one I’ve liked the least. That’s because I know her sort: bright and bored, self-centered and willful, Trouble looking for a place to happen. Some of them crash and burn spectacularly. Others lead charmed lives, but the people around them get hammered flat.
But for a few, the Stars align...
***1***
The Saturday tickle-gathering in the meadow broke up gradually. Anne Kincaid, Melissa Gabreski and Angie Fontana left first – they worked at Anne’s family business, the old riverboat Proud Mary, and they would be working a dinner cruise in just a few hours. Brittany Righetti and her cousin Joanna Shaw left soon afterward, with Ashley Curtis, Kelly McGuire and Stephanie Miklajcyk – Brittany had invited everyone to go swimming after the gathering, and the others had agreed to help her with the setup. By rights, Brittany’s sisters Vicky and Veronica should have gone too, but they were... otherwise occupied.
The twins were Mediterranean beauties with very trim and fit bodies, brown eyes, shoulder-length dark hair and dark brows and lashes. As usual, they were in matching outfits – summer tops with spaghetti straps, loose gym shorts and bare feet, the uniform-of-the-day for today’s gathering. They were with Morgan Ernst – she was a work in progress, slender, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. In a few years, Sara judged, she would be a rare beauty.
She had a beautiful tickle laugh already. Sara Rosen grinned. Morgan was about to be tickled senseless.
Sara was a risk-taker – even the guys thought she was over-the-top. She was built like Dolly Parton, a small girl with a slender waist and amazing upper body development. She had long dark brown hair, beautiful green eyes, and a fit, toned body. She was bright and restless, willful and a little self-centered, often bored with her mundane middle-class life. Her personality had a bit of an edge, and she delighted in tickle-torturing her friends.
She drifted over toward the three girls – it ought to be fun to watch. Instructive, too, because the twins were Jedi masters of tickling. There was the risk of being tickled herself, of course – she liked that a lot less, but it was OK if it happened to work out that way.
“ –been playing with Brittany and Joanna lately,” Morgan was saying.
“We know,” one twin (Vicky?) said.
“Well, I’m lots more ticklish than they are,” Morgan said. “I could use some help to get ready for the next time.”
“Seems to me you did your share of laughing today,” the other twin (Veronica?) observed.
“No, I mean as a tickler,” Morgan said.
The twins looked at each other, and a silent message passed between them. “We can do that, but it’ll cost you,” Vicky said for both.
“Do I get three guesses what it’s gonna cost?” Morgan asked.
“And the first two don’t count,” Vicky agreed. She laid down on her back and raised both legs, feet upturned. “Grab a foot.”
Morgan took hold of a foot, Veronica took the other. “First thing we’re gonna do is explore,” Veronica said. “Be systematic. You probably know by now what works best on Brittany and Joanna, but there’s a chance you missed a spot. That’s what you’re looking for – most people try to control it, so you have to pay attention.” She held back her twin’s toes and flicked her nail tips on the soft skin underneath. Vicky squirmed like a worm and howled with forced mirth.
“Not bad,” Morgan said, copying Veronica. “She’s pretty ticklish, isn’t she?”
“Yup, just like me,” Veronica said, speeding up – Vicky laughed helplessly, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Now try this,” she instructed, scratching between the little toe and its neighbor. Morgan copied her, and Vicky laughed louder still. “And this.” She slipped her fingers between all of Vicky’s toes, tickling fiendishly – again, Morgan copied her, making Vicky laugh like crazy.
“This is good too,” Veronica said, flicking along the crease in the middle of the sole with a single nail. Morgan did likewise, and got on a place in the arch just behind the sole crease – Vicky went wild, laughing her head off, trying desperately to pull loose.
“How about this?” Morgan said happily, circling her nail tip in the ticklish spot.
“Good for you!” Veronica said, and copied Morgan this time – helpless laughter poured out in a flood.
“Tickling tutorial?” Sara asked.
The ticklers paused, giving Vicky a much-needed break. “Right the first time,” Morgan said. “I’ll pay for it next time Vicky tickles me, but– ”
Vicky bucked violently and tried to kick. “None of that, now!” Veronica scolded, and zig-zagged her nails from the back of the arch onto the heel. Vicky quit struggling and laughed at the top of her lungs, completely overcome by the tickling sensation. “That’s what you do when they try to get loose,” she lectured.
Morgan copied her. “Tickle the sweet spot?” she asked over Vicky’s laughter.
“Yah, assuming you’ve found it,” Veronica said, tickling faster. “That’s why it pays to explore. Right, sis?”
But Vicky was laughing much too hard to answer.
“Now what?” Morgan asked, tickling the sweet spot mercilessly – Vicky laughed with wild abandon.
“Try different patterns,” Veronica answered, switching her tickle target to Vicky’s sole. “This isn’t the best spot, but I like to see her toes twitch.”
“This works pretty good on me,” Morgan said, and circled two nail tips around and on the ball of the foot. Vicky’s laughter went down a notch, but she was still laughing pretty hard. Morgan expanded the circles along the sole crease and across the arch spot, and Vicky laughed her head off.
“There’s nothing to see here,” Emily MacDonald said behind Sara. “Move along.” She was a petite girl with bright coppery red hair done up in little-girl pigtails, jade-green eyes, and very fair skin with a dusting of freckles. She had graduated high school with Sara a few months ago, but she looked all of about 16 yrs old.
“They’re gonna grab you next,” Emily continued. “And you can dish it out, but you can’t take it. Don’t you have any sense?” Dissing me again, Sara thought. Her relationship with Emily – it couldn’t really be called a friendship – was correct and generally cordial but not close. Of all the girls on Tickle Street, Sara knew that Emily liked her the least.
“You gonna let her talk to you like that?” Veronica asked, raising her voice over Vicky’s helpless laughter.
“Not hardly,” Sara said – she pounced on Emily, took her down and sat on her facing aft. She grabbed Emily’s ankles and pulled, wrapped her right leg around Emily’s shins in the figure-four leg lock.
“Hey!” Emily yelled. She squirmed and tried to buck Sara off. “Get OFF me!”
Sara grinned ear to ear. “You need a good tickling,” she said. “And here it comes!” She used a single fingernail to trace a circle around the ball of Emily’s right foot.
“Eep! Hehe! Sta– haha! –ap!” Emily giggled and begged. “HAHAHA-HAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!”
Emily laughed helplessly as Sara’s tickling fingernails explored her sensitive soles. Emily howled with forced mirth as Sara held her toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath. Sara tickled the stretched out soles next, side to side, then released the toes and covered Emily’s arches with tiny nail flicks. Emily laughed her head off, helpless to resist the fiendish and well techniqued tickling.
Sara grabbed Emily’s left foot and made a claw of her free hand. Emily laughed at the top of her lungs as Sara raked her nails down the foot, drawing four parallel zig-zag lines and applying just enough pressure to tickle unbearably. Sara repeated the tickle half a dozen times or so, then did the same to Emily’s right foot, forcing wave after wave of helpless laughter. Emily’s fair skin was pink from laughing, tears of laughter ran down her cheeks as she struggled and squirmed. Then two-handed tickling on both soles – Emily’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed. Sara speeded up, tickling in Emily’s arches, and tickled Emily’s breath away.
Sara dismounted and stood up. “That was fun. Did you enjoy it as much as I did?” she asked sweetly. She glanced over at the other three girls –Morgan was finishing a hogtie on Veronica while Vicky watched.
“As... you... said... ” Emily said breathlessly. She took a deep breath. “Not hardly.”
“Now show me what you’ve learned,” Veronica said to Morgan. “AH-HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Morgan tickled between both little toes and their neighbors. Morgan speeded up, tickling the soles two-handed, and Veronica laughed like mad, squirming and trying to pull her feet away.
Amanda Mason came over with Rachel Griffin. “Got Emily again, I see,” Amanda said – she was a little cutie with dark hair, brown eyes and long, dark lashes, an inch or so over 5 ft tall. Rachel was 25 or so, with a crooked grin, fit body, and the same coloring as Emily. Odd how much alike they looked, thought Sara – they couldn’t possibly be related, yet Emily looked like Rachel’s kid sister.
“She had it coming, for dissing me,” Sara said.
“Probably talking sense to you, but you wouldn’t know the difference,” Rachel said. She offered Emily a hand-up. “C’mon, Emily, let’s go.”
Sara scanned the meadow. Nearby, Veronica was laughing wildly, helplessly, the happy result of tickling fingernails on ticklish feet. Vicky stood by, giving Morgan helpful suggestions – Morgan spider-walked her nail tips in Veronica’s back arches, flicking onto the heels behind, and Veronica’s laughter went off the charts.
Across the meadow, Candice Wade had her sister Nicole hogtied, tickling the upturned soles with verve and gusto. There could be no doubt they were sisters – Candice was a little shorter than Nicole, and her hair was ash blonde instead of Nicole’s golden hue, but they shared the same bright blue eyes and delicate features. Nicole’s tickle laugh even sounded like Candice’s – Sara had tickled both of them often enough to know.
Further off, under a big willow beside the stream, Tiffany Kilpatrick was on her tummy, hands tied behind her back – Meghan Meyer had her ankles trapped in a leg lock, well-manicured nails roaming Tiffany’s ticklish soles. Meghan was a tiny girl, just 4 ft 11 in tall in her bare feet, with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and freckled fair skin – Tiffany was a cute blue-eyed brunette with a great figure, a summer tan and a mezzo tickle laugh that harmonized sweetly with Veronica’s contralto and Nicole’s sweet soprano.
But that was it – the rest were gone.
“Looks like everybody’s leaving, not just those two,” Sara said.
“Maybe we should, too,” Amanda said. “Gonna come swimming?”
Sara grinned wickedly. “All those ticklish feet? Of course I am!”
Amanda grinned back. “Me too. You can start by tickling mine.”
They crossed the meadow to Owl Creek. Tiffany was laughing harder now, red-faced and sweaty. “Poor Tiffany!” Sara said insincerely as they passed by. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, Meghan?”
“She’s not complaining,” Meghan said. Of course not – Tiffany was helpless, all she could do was laugh.
“GET HER!” Sara yelled, and jumped Meghan. Amanda piled on – they wrestled Meghan onto her tummy. Sara sat on her and tied her hands behind her back, Amanda tied her ankles together. Sara dismounted and completed the hogtie, while Amanda did the same to Tiffany.
“What... now... ” Tiffany said breathlessly, though she knew the answer.
“Second verse – same as the first!” Amanda said, and kneeled near Tiffany’s trapped feet.
“And as for you,” Sara said, kneeling by Meghan’s. “You get to sing a duet with Tiffany.” She made a Peace sign and scratched zig-zag lines down the creases in the middle of Meghan’s soles. Meghan arched her back and laughed like a madwoman. Sara drew fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of Meghan’s feet, tickling like crazy. The loops got smaller, faster, covering every square inch of ticklish flesh. Meghan laughed her head off, tickled pink, completely overcome by the fiendish tickling.
Sara glanced over at Amanda and Tiffany. Amanda tickled side to side under Tiffany’s toes while helpless laughter streamed from her victim. She released Tiffany’s toes to tickle her arches and heels. Then holding the toes back again, she tickled the stretched out soles mercilessly. Tiffany laughed with wild abandon, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks.
Sara guitar-chorded Meghan’s arches, getting great reactions and a flood of helpless laughter. She tickled Meghan’s arches and heels two handed, then held back her toes and tickled the soft skin underneath. Still holding the toes back, she tickled both stretched out soles, left-right-and-repeat, lingering on the soles and balls of Meghan’s feet where it tickled unbearably. Meghan wasn’t pink any more, her face had turned red from laughing.
“Nice color,” Amanda said approvingly. “Let’s see if I can do the same to Tiffany.” She picked up the pace, tickling the back arches and heels and driving Tiffany to the edge of madness.
Both ticklees laughed at the top of their lungs, sweaty and red-faced. Tiffany lost it first and laughed herself breathless. Meghan laughed like a crazy woman, filling the air with her sweet ticklish laughter. Sara covered both soles with tiny nail flicks, and tickled Meghan into gasping, red-faced silent laughter.
“I enjoyed that a lot,” Sara said, flexing her fingers. “Hey Meghan, does this tickle?” She guitar-chorded Meghan’s soles.
“HAHAHA-HAHAHA!” Meghan laughed. “Like you... wouldn’t... believe... ”
“How about this, Tiffany?” Amanda asked, giving her the same treatment.
“AH-HAHAHAHAHA! Oh ghod... please... gimme more... ” Tiffany laughed and begged.
“Jeez, don’t you ever get enough?” Sara asked. “Let’s untie ‘em, Amanda.”
“Woo! Good thing... you quit... ” Meghan said. She took a deep breath. “Got... to pee... ”
“Want us to wait for you?” Sara asked, untying Meghan.
Meghan rolled over and sat up. “Nah, go ahead. I’ll come back with Candice and Nicole.”
Tiffany stood up and shuffled her feet to get the tickle off. “I’ll come,” she said. “See you later, Meghan.”
The girls waded into the water. The creek was wide and shallow here – the stream bottom was mixed sand and pebbles, easy on the feet. It got deeper and narrower as they waded upstream, chatting as they went. Up ahead, through the trees, Sara spotted an old iron railway bridge across the creek – after another 50 yards or so, they came to a pool, scoured out by spring snow melt channeled between the bridge abutments. On one side of the pool was a big flat rock that hung out over the stream. A rope hung from a tree branch – this place had been a swimming hole for generations.
They waded around the edge of the pool to the rock and climbed out. The bank had an easy slope here – the girls climbed it to an abandoned railroad grade and crossed the bridge. The trains hadn’t run in their lifetime, or their parents’ – the stone ballast had long ago returned to the soil, so the grade was smooth and hard-packed, easy on bare feet.
They followed it a short distance to an intersecting trail. Half a mile along the trail, they came to where it branched, and branched again. The right forks led to another clearing – they bore left instead, continuing along the bank of the creek. The creekside trail intersected another that ran east-and-west behind the subdivision – they turned right, then left onto a narrow path. It brought them out right behind Brittany’s house.
“Whew! I’m glad I had a Native Guide,” Amanda said. “One missed turn, and years from now some hunter would be finding my bleached bones under a tree somewhere.”
“Just follow your nose,” Tiffany said. “Smell that? Somebody’s smoking weed.”
Two bikini-clad girls were sitting in plastic chairs by the poolside. Kelly McGuire had fiery red hair, blue eyes so dark they seemed almost indigo, and that perfect skin only redheads have. Stephanie Miklajcyk had fair skin, green eyes and light brown hair. Both were tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with silky long hair, great shapes and long lovely legs.
Stephanie stood up and moved around behind Kelly. She picked up a round, donut-style pool float and slipped up behind Kelly on silent bare feet. Suddenly, she jammed the float down over Kelly’s shoulders and the chair back, pinning her in place.
“Hey!” Kelly protested. “What’re you doing?”
“Guess,” Stephanie said. Both girls thought that was hilarious – they were pretty stoned, it seemed.
The giggles wound down. Stephanie shifted her chair in front of Kelly and sat. “Give ‘em here.”
“Ya got me,” Kelly said, not the least bit upset. She put her feet in Stephanie’s lap.
Stephanie trapped the ankles in a leg lock. “Tickle tickle!” she said – she dug in, tickling Kelly’s trapped feet with skill and enthusiasm. Kelly threw back her head and laughed with wild abandon. Her fair skin colored – tickled pink.
“Wish I’d thought to do that,” Brittany called out from the pool. Like her sisters, she was Mediterranean-looking, with long dark hair, brown eyes and a life guard tan. Her eyes were dilated and a little bloodshot – I know what you’ve been doing, thought Sara.
Joanna surfaced beside Brittany. The family resemblance was strong, though Joanna took after the Celtic side of her bloodline – dark hair, blue eyes and tanned, freckled fair skin. “Like music, isn’t it?” she asked, and giggled. She was as trashed as Brittany.
Kelly’s laughter got louder, wilder – Stephanie had hold of both big toes, tickling the balls of both feet mercilessly. Rachel and Emily came out of the pool house – their bikinis were in colors only redheads could wear. “You again,” Emily said.
“The very same,” Sara said, unabashed. “Ready to laugh some more, like Kelly over there?”
Emily made a rude noise and cannon-balled into the pool. She was too small to make much splash – it missed Sara completely.
Ashley came into the yard – she was blonde and blue-eyed, tall and tanned, with the same beauty-queen look as Kelly and Stephanie. She walked over to the tickling duo, bent down and tickled Kelly’s heels – Kelly’s laughter went up a notch. “This is good too,” she said helpfully.
Stephanie quit – Kelly sat there gasping. “Y’know, I sure am hungry all of a sudden for some reason,” Stephanie said. “Why don’t you tickle her for a while?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Ashley said happily, and took Stephanie’s place. “Well, looky-here,” she said playfully. “Some feet that need tickling.”
“That’s... Morgan’s... line... ” Kelly said. “WAH-HAHAHA! AH-HAHA! HAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Ashley dug in, well-manicured nails roaming the ticklish soles.
“Let’s get into our swim suits, Sara,” Amanda said, and Sara went with her to the pool house to change.
Morgan and the twins walked into the pool house just as they were leaving it. “Learn anything new, Morgan?” Sara asked.
Morgan grinned. “Sure did! Didn’t I, Veronica?”
“That you did,” Veronica said – her voice was a little rough from laughing. “Hey, it smells like weed in here!”
Sara and Amanda joined the three girls in the pool. A few minutes later, the twins dived in – Morgan sat on the side of the pool, feet in the water. Stephanie was sitting in a chair, chowing down on potato chips. Brittany and Joanna had the munchies too, it seemed – they got out and joined Stephanie. Amanda laid on her tummy on a pool float and drifted. Rachel paddled over and tickled her feet.
“Hehehe!” Amanda giggled. “You can do better than that!”
Rachel stood up and gathered up Amanda’s ankles in an arm lock. “Of course I can,” she said – she made a Peace sign and scratched the balls of Amanda’s feet, just behind the big toes. Amanda squirmed and laughed like a madwoman. Rachel drew fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of Amanda’s feet, tickling like crazy. The loops got smaller, faster, covering every square inch of ticklish flesh – Amanda laughed her head off, loving every bit of it.
Kelly was still laughing, eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks as Ashley flicked and scratched her soft pink soles. “Mmf... Better give her a break, Ashley,” Brittany said around a mouthful of chips. Her legs were crossed, left thigh over right, bare foot dangling.
“Spoilsport!” Ashley said. “Oh, all right!” She quit tickling, and considerately rubbed Kelly’s feet to get the tickle off.
“Th... thanks... ” Kelly got out. To Stephanie: “Save some of those chips for me, will ya?”
Morgan reached out and tickled Brittany’s dangling foot. Brittany giggled and pulled away. “Tryin’ to start something?” she asked.
Morgan tickled the foot again – Brittany giggled again and put it flat on the ground. “That answer your question?” Morgan asked.
“Death Match?” Brittany asked.
“Tickling Square!” Joanna said, and belched. “Oops! Sorry!”
“I need a partner,” Morgan said, looking around. Rachel was tickling side to side on Amanda’s soles – Amanda’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed. “Those two are busy– ” Morgan continued.
“No thanks,” Emily said.
“I’m way too ticklish, and Kelly’s tickled out,” Ashley added.
“We’re a team,” the twins said in chorus.
“I’ll go for it,” Sara said. She got out of the pool and dried off. “I’ll tickle Brittany.”
The four girls sat on the ground in a square – Sara put her feet in Joanna’s lap and took Brittany’s in her own. Morgan completed the square, feet in Brittany’s lap and Joanna’s in hers. Each girl tied her ticklee’s ankles together and tied them to her own thigh – they had both hands free to tickle that way.
Brittany flexed her fingers. “Ready?”
“GO!” Ashley yelled.
Sara burst into ticklish laughter as Joanna covered the balls of both feet with tickling nail flicks. Joanna was laughing just as hard, Morgan was guitar-chording her back arches and onto the heels. Brittany drew tickling zig-zags up and down Morgan’s sole creases. Back to Sara – she spider-walked her nails on Brittany’s heels, tickling at warp speed. All four girls laughed and laughed, tickling and getting tickled, fingernails flying on ticklish flesh.
Joanna was good – Sara laughed her head off, red faced and sweaty. She was losing her coordination – her nail strokes were slower and sloppier, Brittany’s laughter was mixed with giggles. Sara switched to nail flicks, tickling Brittany two-handed with just her nail tips, and Brittany’s giggles morphed into flat-out laughter. But Brittany speeded up, fingernails flying on Morgan’s sensitive soles – Morgan missed a few strokes, and Joanna took full advantage, tickling Sara fiendishly. Sara’s laughter poured out in a flood.
Gotta hang on, thought Sara through her ticklish agony – she concentrated on Brittany’s sweet spots, laughing like a madwoman, flicking her nails from back arches onto the heels behind. Brittany laughed harder, but she grabbed Morgan’s big toes and spider-walked her nail tips on the balls of Morgan’s feet. Morgan’s face was red, her laughter was off the charts, but she hung on and tickled Joanna even harder.
Suddenly, Sara realized that it didn’t tickle near as bad. “HAHAHA! Hang– hehehe-HAHA! –in– haha! –there– AH-HAHA! –Morgan– hehe-HAHAHA-haha!” she said and giggled and laughed, drawing tickling shapes in Brittany’s back arches and driving Brittany wild.
Morgan was laughing much too hard to speak – she nodded with a jerky motion. Her coordination was shot, but she could still manage a foot rake. She made claws of her hands and zig-zagged the nails on Joanna’s heels and back arches, and Joanna lost it. She sat there swaying, laughing helplessly, then made a grab for Morgan’s hands – Morgan switched to a spider-walk, and Joanna fell over backward, completely overcome by the tickling.
“Hehehehe! Hang... it up... Brittany... ” Sara said breathlessly, blinking away tears. She took a deep breath and tickled Brittany’s arches and heels two-handed, forcing a flood of ticklish laughter. Brittany had skill and endurance – her tickling fingernails flew on Morgan’s soles, tickling Morgan to the edge of madness. But Morgan never let up – Joanna laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more, lost in ticklish delirium.
Brittany suddenly quit – her fingers didn’t work any more. She was laughing her head off – Sara knew better than to let up. Morgan giggled as the sensation faded – she guitar-chorded Joanna’s soles, and was rewarded with an especially loud burst of laughter. “We... did... it... ” she said triumphantly.
“We taught you well, Grasshopper,” Veronica said in a bad fake-Korean accent.
“Get ready to laugh some more, Little Sis,” Vicky added over the sounds of Brittany and Joanna’s laughter.
Sara quit tickling – Brittany gasped for air. Morgan gave Joanna one final flurry of nail flicks and tickled her breath away. “And now, for your forfeit,” she said gleefully.
The girls untangled themselves. “More like... “four-feet”... if I know... you two... ” Joanna said breathlessly.
“Scusi,” Brittany said. “I need a bathroom first.”
The twins went back to the pool. Joanna got a lot of good-natured kidding from Sara and Morgan while they waited. Brittany reappeared momentarily, with an unopened pack of cards in her hand. “Care to try for double-or-nothing?” she asked.
“My mother didn’t raise any foolish children,” Sara said. “You’re stalling.”
“Joanna needs a rest,” Brittany said – Joanna looked indignant. “Oh, nuts! This is a pinochle deck! Hmm... Well then, why don’t I tell your fortunes?”
“Madam Brittany sees all, knows all,” Joanna scoffed.
“I’ll give it a try,” Kelly said.
Brittany grinned, cracked open the cards and sat at a poolside table. “Have a seat, Kelly,” she said, shuffling the cards. “OK, cut the cards three times. To your left, with your left hand.” Kelly reached out, and Sara turned away. Her cultural identity was Jewish, though she wasn’t very observant. Still, the Torah had a prohibition against consulting diviners and astrologers – Brittany’s little game made her uneasy. She dived into the pool and surfaced, her long dark hair trailing behind her.
“Hard to overcome the way you’re raised, isn’t it?” Emily said knowingly, floating nearby.
“Is it that obvious?” Sara asked.
“It’s just another con, you know,” Emily said. “Works like they all do. A good grifter reads the mark, then tells them what they want to hear. The mark believes because they want to. This is easy, because Brittany knows the mark already. And she’s good – watch her.”
Sara did. She was too far away to hear the fortune, but Kelly’s surprised reactions were clear enough. Stoned though she was, Brittany delivered it with flawless false sincerity, and Kelly believed. Kelly stood up, shaking her head.
“Who’s next?” Brittany called, shuffling the cards together again.
“Me,” Stephanie called back –she sat down opposite Brittany. Sara got out of the pool and went looking for some plumbing. Brittany was finishing up when she returned.
“ –and the summation of your life,” Brittany intoned, turning over a pair of cards – two Tens, Clubs and Hearts. “Wands and Cups – Earth and Water. Hearth and home, long life and many children.”
“Wow!” Stephanie said. “How’d you know all that about me?”
Google-up “devout Catholic”, and your picture would be there, thought Sara. That’s how Brittany pushed your buttons...
“I have the Sight, like my grandmother before me,” Brittany said instead. She looked up and saw Sara. “You’re next, my friend.”
“I don’t think– ” Sara started.
“Remember what I told you,” Emily interrupted, putting a hand on Sara’s shoulder.
Against her better judgement, Sara sat. Stephanie had stayed to watch – Morgan and Joanna joined her.
Brittany shuffled three times, then laid the cards in front of Sara. “Cut the cards three times,” Brittany said. “To your left, with your left hand.”
Sara did so, and Brittany gathered them up again. She dealt a card off the top, face-up – the Jack of Diamonds. “The Knave of Stars – Hector, defender of Ilium. An odd choice for you, Sara.” She held the remaining cards to her forehead, eyes closed, then dealt a pair of cards face-down to the left of the Jack. Three more face-down pairs followed, going counter-clockwise to 6:00 position, then 3:00 and finally 12:00. She laid the extra cards aside.
“Imprimis,” Brittany said, flipping over the first pair – the King of Spades and an upside-down Nine of Clubs. “Your past. King of Swords – King David, who slew Goliath. And Wands reversed – you’re far from your ancient home, but you’ve found another.”
I’m Jewish, thought Sara. She knows that.
“Secundus,” Brittany said, flipping over the second pair – two Tens, Diamonds and Hearts. “Your present. Stars and Cups, Fire and Water. Opposing signs. Restlessness.”
Big surprise to anyone who knows me, Sara thought.
“Tertius,” Brittany said, flipping over the third pair – the Ace of Clubs and Queen of Spades. “In times to come. The Staff of Life, and Athena the Huntress, Queen of Swords. Earth and Air. Opposing signs again – a desperate adventure.”
That’s more like it, Sara thought, starting to get interested.
“Ultimo,” Brittany said, and flipped over the last pair – the King of Hearts and the Ten of Spades. She met Sara’s gaze – her dark eyes and dilated pupils looked like bottomless wells. “The summation of your life. Charlemagne, King of Cups, with Swords. Protector. Defender of innocent life.”
It could be, Sara thought. The Summation was a plausible direction her life might take. Was she starting to believe?
“Last part doesen’t sound much like you, Sara,” Joanna said, bringing Sara back down to earth with a bang.
“Yah, The Chariot would be more like it,” Morgan added. “Ego and Impulsivity.”
“That’s the Tarot,” Stephanie objected. She looked at Brittany uneasily. “This is... something else.”
Brittany shuffled her cards and looked up. “You’re next, Emily.” The weed must have hit her harder, or she had smoked more of it than the others – she seemed adrift, almost in a trance.
“That’s a very bad idea,” Emily said quietly.
“Oh, go ahead, Emily,” Sara said. “Like you said, it’s just a game.”
“Life is a game,” Brittany said. “Sit.” She shuffled three times, laid the cards in front of Emily. “Cut the cards three times. To your left, with your left hand.”
The first card Brittany dealt was the Queen of Spades, inverted. “Athena the Wise, Queen of Swords, reversed. A seeker, unfulfilled.”
Brittany dealt out the four face-down pairs, counter-clockwise from 9:00, and laid the extra cards aside. “Imprimis,” she said, flipping the first pair – the Ten of Hearts and an upside-down Ace of Spades. “Your past. Cups and Swords – Water and Air. A long journey. Long life, and Death denied.”
“Where did she get that?” Stephanie whispered.
“Shut up,” Sara whispered back. “I want to hear this.”
“Secundus,” Brittany said, flipping over the second pair – the Jack and Ten of Clubs, with the Ten inverted. “Your present. The Knave of Wands, Lancelot the Deceiver, and Wands reversed. Falsehood and rootlessness. You are far more than you appear to be. And far less – you have no home, no roots, here or anywhere.”
“Don’t you think– ” Stephanie persisted, beginning to look alarmed.
“NO!” Sara hissed. “Hush!”
“Tertius,” Brittany said, flipping over the third pair – the Ten of Hearts, inverted, and the Queen of Clubs. She turned pale under her lifeguard tan, crossed herself, then continued in a husky voice. “In times to come. Cups reversed, a life’s blood shed. Lilith, Queen of Wands, bringer of Death. Blood and wounds. Sudden death.”
“All right, that’s it!” Morgan said, moving toward Brittany. “Brittany! Stop it!”
Brittany waved her off, with a motion like swatting at a wasp. “Ultimo,” she said, and flipped the last pair – the Ace of Hearts, straight up, and the second Ace of Spades, inverted. Her voice was a whisper. “The summation of your life. The Chalice, and Death again denied. Life eternal... ” She looked up at Emily with those bottomless eyes. “I know you now,” she said in a stronger voice. “Many lives, many names, but all the same. Maiden, Mother and Crone, all in one... ” She closed her eyes and scattered the cards with a swipe of her hand. “I don’t want to play this game any more,” she said in a hurt little-girl voice.
Emily stood up, put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. “Vicky! Veronica! Front and center!” she commanded.
Morgan put a hand on Brittany’s shoulder. “Brittany– ”
Brittany shook off the touch – she stood up so fast that her chair overturned. Her eyes had the thousand-mile stare of one who has seen too much. “We have made a covenant with Death, and with Hell are we at agreement,” she quoted, eyes unseeing. “We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves... ” She dropped to her knees and burst into tears. Morgan kneeled and put her arm around the crying girl.
“What’s the problem?” Vicky asked. She stood there with her twin, dripping wet.
“Take care of your sister,” Emily said, nodding toward Brittany. “She’s fucked up, and she just crashed and burned.”
The twins looked at each other and nodded. “C’mon, Little Sis,” Veronica said, taking Brittany’s hands. “Alley-oop! Time for bed.”
Vicky turned to Sara. “You have anything to do with this?”
“Not this time,” Sara said. “Ask some of the others.”
“It was just weed, Vicky!” Joanna said nervously. “Stephanie, Kelly and me – we all smoked it too. I can’t– ”
“Any of it left?” Vicky interrupted.
Joanna hesitated, then nodded. “In the pool house.”
“Bring it to me.” Joanna opened her mouth to protest, but Vicky cut her off. “Right fucking now, or I’ll hurt you.” She noticed the others standing by. “This has nothing to do with you – it’s family business. Enjoy the party.”
Emily began gathering up the scattered cards. “I told Brittany it was a bad idea,” she said.
“That last part was from Isaiah, wasn’t it?” Sara asked. “Our version’s a little different, but the sense of it’s the same.”
“You mean... she saw the truth?” Stephanie asked, looking frightened. The Catholic Church didn’t encourage mysticism, especially with a relentlessly rational German theologian at its head. Still, the mystic thread was there. Stephanie sometimes succumbed, and besides, she was stoned and maybe a little paranoid.
“Do I look like the Wicked Witch of the West to you?” Emily asked sharply. “Brittany was hallucinating. She was already on the ragged edge when she told Sara’s fortune. She might have been all right if she’d quit then– ”
“But telling yours tipped her over the edge,” Morgan interrupted.
“Belike.” The odd old-fashioned word was the only sign that Emily was rattled. Perhaps, Sara translated mentally – the Yiddish equivalent fileicht was a cognate.
Emily laid the cards on the table. “C’mon, let’s find some feet to tickle.”
Copyright 2008 by the author
Author’s Note:
This story takes place in Tieson City, but it’s not really a Tickle Street story. Instead, it’s a character study of Sara Rosen and Emily MacDonald.
I like all of my characters, and Emily better than most. But Sara has always been the one I’ve liked the least. That’s because I know her sort: bright and bored, self-centered and willful, Trouble looking for a place to happen. Some of them crash and burn spectacularly. Others lead charmed lives, but the people around them get hammered flat.
But for a few, the Stars align...
***1***
The Saturday tickle-gathering in the meadow broke up gradually. Anne Kincaid, Melissa Gabreski and Angie Fontana left first – they worked at Anne’s family business, the old riverboat Proud Mary, and they would be working a dinner cruise in just a few hours. Brittany Righetti and her cousin Joanna Shaw left soon afterward, with Ashley Curtis, Kelly McGuire and Stephanie Miklajcyk – Brittany had invited everyone to go swimming after the gathering, and the others had agreed to help her with the setup. By rights, Brittany’s sisters Vicky and Veronica should have gone too, but they were... otherwise occupied.
The twins were Mediterranean beauties with very trim and fit bodies, brown eyes, shoulder-length dark hair and dark brows and lashes. As usual, they were in matching outfits – summer tops with spaghetti straps, loose gym shorts and bare feet, the uniform-of-the-day for today’s gathering. They were with Morgan Ernst – she was a work in progress, slender, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. In a few years, Sara judged, she would be a rare beauty.
She had a beautiful tickle laugh already. Sara Rosen grinned. Morgan was about to be tickled senseless.
Sara was a risk-taker – even the guys thought she was over-the-top. She was built like Dolly Parton, a small girl with a slender waist and amazing upper body development. She had long dark brown hair, beautiful green eyes, and a fit, toned body. She was bright and restless, willful and a little self-centered, often bored with her mundane middle-class life. Her personality had a bit of an edge, and she delighted in tickle-torturing her friends.
She drifted over toward the three girls – it ought to be fun to watch. Instructive, too, because the twins were Jedi masters of tickling. There was the risk of being tickled herself, of course – she liked that a lot less, but it was OK if it happened to work out that way.
“ –been playing with Brittany and Joanna lately,” Morgan was saying.
“We know,” one twin (Vicky?) said.
“Well, I’m lots more ticklish than they are,” Morgan said. “I could use some help to get ready for the next time.”
“Seems to me you did your share of laughing today,” the other twin (Veronica?) observed.
“No, I mean as a tickler,” Morgan said.
The twins looked at each other, and a silent message passed between them. “We can do that, but it’ll cost you,” Vicky said for both.
“Do I get three guesses what it’s gonna cost?” Morgan asked.
“And the first two don’t count,” Vicky agreed. She laid down on her back and raised both legs, feet upturned. “Grab a foot.”
Morgan took hold of a foot, Veronica took the other. “First thing we’re gonna do is explore,” Veronica said. “Be systematic. You probably know by now what works best on Brittany and Joanna, but there’s a chance you missed a spot. That’s what you’re looking for – most people try to control it, so you have to pay attention.” She held back her twin’s toes and flicked her nail tips on the soft skin underneath. Vicky squirmed like a worm and howled with forced mirth.
“Not bad,” Morgan said, copying Veronica. “She’s pretty ticklish, isn’t she?”
“Yup, just like me,” Veronica said, speeding up – Vicky laughed helplessly, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Now try this,” she instructed, scratching between the little toe and its neighbor. Morgan copied her, and Vicky laughed louder still. “And this.” She slipped her fingers between all of Vicky’s toes, tickling fiendishly – again, Morgan copied her, making Vicky laugh like crazy.
“This is good too,” Veronica said, flicking along the crease in the middle of the sole with a single nail. Morgan did likewise, and got on a place in the arch just behind the sole crease – Vicky went wild, laughing her head off, trying desperately to pull loose.
“How about this?” Morgan said happily, circling her nail tip in the ticklish spot.
“Good for you!” Veronica said, and copied Morgan this time – helpless laughter poured out in a flood.
“Tickling tutorial?” Sara asked.
The ticklers paused, giving Vicky a much-needed break. “Right the first time,” Morgan said. “I’ll pay for it next time Vicky tickles me, but– ”
Vicky bucked violently and tried to kick. “None of that, now!” Veronica scolded, and zig-zagged her nails from the back of the arch onto the heel. Vicky quit struggling and laughed at the top of her lungs, completely overcome by the tickling sensation. “That’s what you do when they try to get loose,” she lectured.
Morgan copied her. “Tickle the sweet spot?” she asked over Vicky’s laughter.
“Yah, assuming you’ve found it,” Veronica said, tickling faster. “That’s why it pays to explore. Right, sis?”
But Vicky was laughing much too hard to answer.
“Now what?” Morgan asked, tickling the sweet spot mercilessly – Vicky laughed with wild abandon.
“Try different patterns,” Veronica answered, switching her tickle target to Vicky’s sole. “This isn’t the best spot, but I like to see her toes twitch.”
“This works pretty good on me,” Morgan said, and circled two nail tips around and on the ball of the foot. Vicky’s laughter went down a notch, but she was still laughing pretty hard. Morgan expanded the circles along the sole crease and across the arch spot, and Vicky laughed her head off.
“There’s nothing to see here,” Emily MacDonald said behind Sara. “Move along.” She was a petite girl with bright coppery red hair done up in little-girl pigtails, jade-green eyes, and very fair skin with a dusting of freckles. She had graduated high school with Sara a few months ago, but she looked all of about 16 yrs old.
“They’re gonna grab you next,” Emily continued. “And you can dish it out, but you can’t take it. Don’t you have any sense?” Dissing me again, Sara thought. Her relationship with Emily – it couldn’t really be called a friendship – was correct and generally cordial but not close. Of all the girls on Tickle Street, Sara knew that Emily liked her the least.
“You gonna let her talk to you like that?” Veronica asked, raising her voice over Vicky’s helpless laughter.
“Not hardly,” Sara said – she pounced on Emily, took her down and sat on her facing aft. She grabbed Emily’s ankles and pulled, wrapped her right leg around Emily’s shins in the figure-four leg lock.
“Hey!” Emily yelled. She squirmed and tried to buck Sara off. “Get OFF me!”
Sara grinned ear to ear. “You need a good tickling,” she said. “And here it comes!” She used a single fingernail to trace a circle around the ball of Emily’s right foot.
“Eep! Hehe! Sta– haha! –ap!” Emily giggled and begged. “HAHAHA-HAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!”
Emily laughed helplessly as Sara’s tickling fingernails explored her sensitive soles. Emily howled with forced mirth as Sara held her toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath. Sara tickled the stretched out soles next, side to side, then released the toes and covered Emily’s arches with tiny nail flicks. Emily laughed her head off, helpless to resist the fiendish and well techniqued tickling.
Sara grabbed Emily’s left foot and made a claw of her free hand. Emily laughed at the top of her lungs as Sara raked her nails down the foot, drawing four parallel zig-zag lines and applying just enough pressure to tickle unbearably. Sara repeated the tickle half a dozen times or so, then did the same to Emily’s right foot, forcing wave after wave of helpless laughter. Emily’s fair skin was pink from laughing, tears of laughter ran down her cheeks as she struggled and squirmed. Then two-handed tickling on both soles – Emily’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed. Sara speeded up, tickling in Emily’s arches, and tickled Emily’s breath away.
Sara dismounted and stood up. “That was fun. Did you enjoy it as much as I did?” she asked sweetly. She glanced over at the other three girls –Morgan was finishing a hogtie on Veronica while Vicky watched.
“As... you... said... ” Emily said breathlessly. She took a deep breath. “Not hardly.”
“Now show me what you’ve learned,” Veronica said to Morgan. “AH-HAHAHA! HAHA-HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Morgan tickled between both little toes and their neighbors. Morgan speeded up, tickling the soles two-handed, and Veronica laughed like mad, squirming and trying to pull her feet away.
Amanda Mason came over with Rachel Griffin. “Got Emily again, I see,” Amanda said – she was a little cutie with dark hair, brown eyes and long, dark lashes, an inch or so over 5 ft tall. Rachel was 25 or so, with a crooked grin, fit body, and the same coloring as Emily. Odd how much alike they looked, thought Sara – they couldn’t possibly be related, yet Emily looked like Rachel’s kid sister.
“She had it coming, for dissing me,” Sara said.
“Probably talking sense to you, but you wouldn’t know the difference,” Rachel said. She offered Emily a hand-up. “C’mon, Emily, let’s go.”
Sara scanned the meadow. Nearby, Veronica was laughing wildly, helplessly, the happy result of tickling fingernails on ticklish feet. Vicky stood by, giving Morgan helpful suggestions – Morgan spider-walked her nail tips in Veronica’s back arches, flicking onto the heels behind, and Veronica’s laughter went off the charts.
Across the meadow, Candice Wade had her sister Nicole hogtied, tickling the upturned soles with verve and gusto. There could be no doubt they were sisters – Candice was a little shorter than Nicole, and her hair was ash blonde instead of Nicole’s golden hue, but they shared the same bright blue eyes and delicate features. Nicole’s tickle laugh even sounded like Candice’s – Sara had tickled both of them often enough to know.
Further off, under a big willow beside the stream, Tiffany Kilpatrick was on her tummy, hands tied behind her back – Meghan Meyer had her ankles trapped in a leg lock, well-manicured nails roaming Tiffany’s ticklish soles. Meghan was a tiny girl, just 4 ft 11 in tall in her bare feet, with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and freckled fair skin – Tiffany was a cute blue-eyed brunette with a great figure, a summer tan and a mezzo tickle laugh that harmonized sweetly with Veronica’s contralto and Nicole’s sweet soprano.
But that was it – the rest were gone.
“Looks like everybody’s leaving, not just those two,” Sara said.
“Maybe we should, too,” Amanda said. “Gonna come swimming?”
Sara grinned wickedly. “All those ticklish feet? Of course I am!”
Amanda grinned back. “Me too. You can start by tickling mine.”
They crossed the meadow to Owl Creek. Tiffany was laughing harder now, red-faced and sweaty. “Poor Tiffany!” Sara said insincerely as they passed by. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, Meghan?”
“She’s not complaining,” Meghan said. Of course not – Tiffany was helpless, all she could do was laugh.
“GET HER!” Sara yelled, and jumped Meghan. Amanda piled on – they wrestled Meghan onto her tummy. Sara sat on her and tied her hands behind her back, Amanda tied her ankles together. Sara dismounted and completed the hogtie, while Amanda did the same to Tiffany.
“What... now... ” Tiffany said breathlessly, though she knew the answer.
“Second verse – same as the first!” Amanda said, and kneeled near Tiffany’s trapped feet.
“And as for you,” Sara said, kneeling by Meghan’s. “You get to sing a duet with Tiffany.” She made a Peace sign and scratched zig-zag lines down the creases in the middle of Meghan’s soles. Meghan arched her back and laughed like a madwoman. Sara drew fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of Meghan’s feet, tickling like crazy. The loops got smaller, faster, covering every square inch of ticklish flesh. Meghan laughed her head off, tickled pink, completely overcome by the fiendish tickling.
Sara glanced over at Amanda and Tiffany. Amanda tickled side to side under Tiffany’s toes while helpless laughter streamed from her victim. She released Tiffany’s toes to tickle her arches and heels. Then holding the toes back again, she tickled the stretched out soles mercilessly. Tiffany laughed with wild abandon, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks.
Sara guitar-chorded Meghan’s arches, getting great reactions and a flood of helpless laughter. She tickled Meghan’s arches and heels two handed, then held back her toes and tickled the soft skin underneath. Still holding the toes back, she tickled both stretched out soles, left-right-and-repeat, lingering on the soles and balls of Meghan’s feet where it tickled unbearably. Meghan wasn’t pink any more, her face had turned red from laughing.
“Nice color,” Amanda said approvingly. “Let’s see if I can do the same to Tiffany.” She picked up the pace, tickling the back arches and heels and driving Tiffany to the edge of madness.
Both ticklees laughed at the top of their lungs, sweaty and red-faced. Tiffany lost it first and laughed herself breathless. Meghan laughed like a crazy woman, filling the air with her sweet ticklish laughter. Sara covered both soles with tiny nail flicks, and tickled Meghan into gasping, red-faced silent laughter.
“I enjoyed that a lot,” Sara said, flexing her fingers. “Hey Meghan, does this tickle?” She guitar-chorded Meghan’s soles.
“HAHAHA-HAHAHA!” Meghan laughed. “Like you... wouldn’t... believe... ”
“How about this, Tiffany?” Amanda asked, giving her the same treatment.
“AH-HAHAHAHAHA! Oh ghod... please... gimme more... ” Tiffany laughed and begged.
“Jeez, don’t you ever get enough?” Sara asked. “Let’s untie ‘em, Amanda.”
“Woo! Good thing... you quit... ” Meghan said. She took a deep breath. “Got... to pee... ”
“Want us to wait for you?” Sara asked, untying Meghan.
Meghan rolled over and sat up. “Nah, go ahead. I’ll come back with Candice and Nicole.”
Tiffany stood up and shuffled her feet to get the tickle off. “I’ll come,” she said. “See you later, Meghan.”
The girls waded into the water. The creek was wide and shallow here – the stream bottom was mixed sand and pebbles, easy on the feet. It got deeper and narrower as they waded upstream, chatting as they went. Up ahead, through the trees, Sara spotted an old iron railway bridge across the creek – after another 50 yards or so, they came to a pool, scoured out by spring snow melt channeled between the bridge abutments. On one side of the pool was a big flat rock that hung out over the stream. A rope hung from a tree branch – this place had been a swimming hole for generations.
They waded around the edge of the pool to the rock and climbed out. The bank had an easy slope here – the girls climbed it to an abandoned railroad grade and crossed the bridge. The trains hadn’t run in their lifetime, or their parents’ – the stone ballast had long ago returned to the soil, so the grade was smooth and hard-packed, easy on bare feet.
They followed it a short distance to an intersecting trail. Half a mile along the trail, they came to where it branched, and branched again. The right forks led to another clearing – they bore left instead, continuing along the bank of the creek. The creekside trail intersected another that ran east-and-west behind the subdivision – they turned right, then left onto a narrow path. It brought them out right behind Brittany’s house.
“Whew! I’m glad I had a Native Guide,” Amanda said. “One missed turn, and years from now some hunter would be finding my bleached bones under a tree somewhere.”
“Just follow your nose,” Tiffany said. “Smell that? Somebody’s smoking weed.”
Two bikini-clad girls were sitting in plastic chairs by the poolside. Kelly McGuire had fiery red hair, blue eyes so dark they seemed almost indigo, and that perfect skin only redheads have. Stephanie Miklajcyk had fair skin, green eyes and light brown hair. Both were tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with silky long hair, great shapes and long lovely legs.
Stephanie stood up and moved around behind Kelly. She picked up a round, donut-style pool float and slipped up behind Kelly on silent bare feet. Suddenly, she jammed the float down over Kelly’s shoulders and the chair back, pinning her in place.
“Hey!” Kelly protested. “What’re you doing?”
“Guess,” Stephanie said. Both girls thought that was hilarious – they were pretty stoned, it seemed.
The giggles wound down. Stephanie shifted her chair in front of Kelly and sat. “Give ‘em here.”
“Ya got me,” Kelly said, not the least bit upset. She put her feet in Stephanie’s lap.
Stephanie trapped the ankles in a leg lock. “Tickle tickle!” she said – she dug in, tickling Kelly’s trapped feet with skill and enthusiasm. Kelly threw back her head and laughed with wild abandon. Her fair skin colored – tickled pink.
“Wish I’d thought to do that,” Brittany called out from the pool. Like her sisters, she was Mediterranean-looking, with long dark hair, brown eyes and a life guard tan. Her eyes were dilated and a little bloodshot – I know what you’ve been doing, thought Sara.
Joanna surfaced beside Brittany. The family resemblance was strong, though Joanna took after the Celtic side of her bloodline – dark hair, blue eyes and tanned, freckled fair skin. “Like music, isn’t it?” she asked, and giggled. She was as trashed as Brittany.
Kelly’s laughter got louder, wilder – Stephanie had hold of both big toes, tickling the balls of both feet mercilessly. Rachel and Emily came out of the pool house – their bikinis were in colors only redheads could wear. “You again,” Emily said.
“The very same,” Sara said, unabashed. “Ready to laugh some more, like Kelly over there?”
Emily made a rude noise and cannon-balled into the pool. She was too small to make much splash – it missed Sara completely.
Ashley came into the yard – she was blonde and blue-eyed, tall and tanned, with the same beauty-queen look as Kelly and Stephanie. She walked over to the tickling duo, bent down and tickled Kelly’s heels – Kelly’s laughter went up a notch. “This is good too,” she said helpfully.
Stephanie quit – Kelly sat there gasping. “Y’know, I sure am hungry all of a sudden for some reason,” Stephanie said. “Why don’t you tickle her for a while?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Ashley said happily, and took Stephanie’s place. “Well, looky-here,” she said playfully. “Some feet that need tickling.”
“That’s... Morgan’s... line... ” Kelly said. “WAH-HAHAHA! AH-HAHA! HAHAHAHA!” she laughed as Ashley dug in, well-manicured nails roaming the ticklish soles.
“Let’s get into our swim suits, Sara,” Amanda said, and Sara went with her to the pool house to change.
Morgan and the twins walked into the pool house just as they were leaving it. “Learn anything new, Morgan?” Sara asked.
Morgan grinned. “Sure did! Didn’t I, Veronica?”
“That you did,” Veronica said – her voice was a little rough from laughing. “Hey, it smells like weed in here!”
Sara and Amanda joined the three girls in the pool. A few minutes later, the twins dived in – Morgan sat on the side of the pool, feet in the water. Stephanie was sitting in a chair, chowing down on potato chips. Brittany and Joanna had the munchies too, it seemed – they got out and joined Stephanie. Amanda laid on her tummy on a pool float and drifted. Rachel paddled over and tickled her feet.
“Hehehe!” Amanda giggled. “You can do better than that!”
Rachel stood up and gathered up Amanda’s ankles in an arm lock. “Of course I can,” she said – she made a Peace sign and scratched the balls of Amanda’s feet, just behind the big toes. Amanda squirmed and laughed like a madwoman. Rachel drew fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of Amanda’s feet, tickling like crazy. The loops got smaller, faster, covering every square inch of ticklish flesh – Amanda laughed her head off, loving every bit of it.
Kelly was still laughing, eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks as Ashley flicked and scratched her soft pink soles. “Mmf... Better give her a break, Ashley,” Brittany said around a mouthful of chips. Her legs were crossed, left thigh over right, bare foot dangling.
“Spoilsport!” Ashley said. “Oh, all right!” She quit tickling, and considerately rubbed Kelly’s feet to get the tickle off.
“Th... thanks... ” Kelly got out. To Stephanie: “Save some of those chips for me, will ya?”
Morgan reached out and tickled Brittany’s dangling foot. Brittany giggled and pulled away. “Tryin’ to start something?” she asked.
Morgan tickled the foot again – Brittany giggled again and put it flat on the ground. “That answer your question?” Morgan asked.
“Death Match?” Brittany asked.
“Tickling Square!” Joanna said, and belched. “Oops! Sorry!”
“I need a partner,” Morgan said, looking around. Rachel was tickling side to side on Amanda’s soles – Amanda’s toes twitched and curled as she laughed and laughed. “Those two are busy– ” Morgan continued.
“No thanks,” Emily said.
“I’m way too ticklish, and Kelly’s tickled out,” Ashley added.
“We’re a team,” the twins said in chorus.
“I’ll go for it,” Sara said. She got out of the pool and dried off. “I’ll tickle Brittany.”
The four girls sat on the ground in a square – Sara put her feet in Joanna’s lap and took Brittany’s in her own. Morgan completed the square, feet in Brittany’s lap and Joanna’s in hers. Each girl tied her ticklee’s ankles together and tied them to her own thigh – they had both hands free to tickle that way.
Brittany flexed her fingers. “Ready?”
“GO!” Ashley yelled.
Sara burst into ticklish laughter as Joanna covered the balls of both feet with tickling nail flicks. Joanna was laughing just as hard, Morgan was guitar-chording her back arches and onto the heels. Brittany drew tickling zig-zags up and down Morgan’s sole creases. Back to Sara – she spider-walked her nails on Brittany’s heels, tickling at warp speed. All four girls laughed and laughed, tickling and getting tickled, fingernails flying on ticklish flesh.
Joanna was good – Sara laughed her head off, red faced and sweaty. She was losing her coordination – her nail strokes were slower and sloppier, Brittany’s laughter was mixed with giggles. Sara switched to nail flicks, tickling Brittany two-handed with just her nail tips, and Brittany’s giggles morphed into flat-out laughter. But Brittany speeded up, fingernails flying on Morgan’s sensitive soles – Morgan missed a few strokes, and Joanna took full advantage, tickling Sara fiendishly. Sara’s laughter poured out in a flood.
Gotta hang on, thought Sara through her ticklish agony – she concentrated on Brittany’s sweet spots, laughing like a madwoman, flicking her nails from back arches onto the heels behind. Brittany laughed harder, but she grabbed Morgan’s big toes and spider-walked her nail tips on the balls of Morgan’s feet. Morgan’s face was red, her laughter was off the charts, but she hung on and tickled Joanna even harder.
Suddenly, Sara realized that it didn’t tickle near as bad. “HAHAHA! Hang– hehehe-HAHA! –in– haha! –there– AH-HAHA! –Morgan– hehe-HAHAHA-haha!” she said and giggled and laughed, drawing tickling shapes in Brittany’s back arches and driving Brittany wild.
Morgan was laughing much too hard to speak – she nodded with a jerky motion. Her coordination was shot, but she could still manage a foot rake. She made claws of her hands and zig-zagged the nails on Joanna’s heels and back arches, and Joanna lost it. She sat there swaying, laughing helplessly, then made a grab for Morgan’s hands – Morgan switched to a spider-walk, and Joanna fell over backward, completely overcome by the tickling.
“Hehehehe! Hang... it up... Brittany... ” Sara said breathlessly, blinking away tears. She took a deep breath and tickled Brittany’s arches and heels two-handed, forcing a flood of ticklish laughter. Brittany had skill and endurance – her tickling fingernails flew on Morgan’s soles, tickling Morgan to the edge of madness. But Morgan never let up – Joanna laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more, lost in ticklish delirium.
Brittany suddenly quit – her fingers didn’t work any more. She was laughing her head off – Sara knew better than to let up. Morgan giggled as the sensation faded – she guitar-chorded Joanna’s soles, and was rewarded with an especially loud burst of laughter. “We... did... it... ” she said triumphantly.
“We taught you well, Grasshopper,” Veronica said in a bad fake-Korean accent.
“Get ready to laugh some more, Little Sis,” Vicky added over the sounds of Brittany and Joanna’s laughter.
Sara quit tickling – Brittany gasped for air. Morgan gave Joanna one final flurry of nail flicks and tickled her breath away. “And now, for your forfeit,” she said gleefully.
The girls untangled themselves. “More like... “four-feet”... if I know... you two... ” Joanna said breathlessly.
“Scusi,” Brittany said. “I need a bathroom first.”
The twins went back to the pool. Joanna got a lot of good-natured kidding from Sara and Morgan while they waited. Brittany reappeared momentarily, with an unopened pack of cards in her hand. “Care to try for double-or-nothing?” she asked.
“My mother didn’t raise any foolish children,” Sara said. “You’re stalling.”
“Joanna needs a rest,” Brittany said – Joanna looked indignant. “Oh, nuts! This is a pinochle deck! Hmm... Well then, why don’t I tell your fortunes?”
“Madam Brittany sees all, knows all,” Joanna scoffed.
“I’ll give it a try,” Kelly said.
Brittany grinned, cracked open the cards and sat at a poolside table. “Have a seat, Kelly,” she said, shuffling the cards. “OK, cut the cards three times. To your left, with your left hand.” Kelly reached out, and Sara turned away. Her cultural identity was Jewish, though she wasn’t very observant. Still, the Torah had a prohibition against consulting diviners and astrologers – Brittany’s little game made her uneasy. She dived into the pool and surfaced, her long dark hair trailing behind her.
“Hard to overcome the way you’re raised, isn’t it?” Emily said knowingly, floating nearby.
“Is it that obvious?” Sara asked.
“It’s just another con, you know,” Emily said. “Works like they all do. A good grifter reads the mark, then tells them what they want to hear. The mark believes because they want to. This is easy, because Brittany knows the mark already. And she’s good – watch her.”
Sara did. She was too far away to hear the fortune, but Kelly’s surprised reactions were clear enough. Stoned though she was, Brittany delivered it with flawless false sincerity, and Kelly believed. Kelly stood up, shaking her head.
“Who’s next?” Brittany called, shuffling the cards together again.
“Me,” Stephanie called back –she sat down opposite Brittany. Sara got out of the pool and went looking for some plumbing. Brittany was finishing up when she returned.
“ –and the summation of your life,” Brittany intoned, turning over a pair of cards – two Tens, Clubs and Hearts. “Wands and Cups – Earth and Water. Hearth and home, long life and many children.”
“Wow!” Stephanie said. “How’d you know all that about me?”
Google-up “devout Catholic”, and your picture would be there, thought Sara. That’s how Brittany pushed your buttons...
“I have the Sight, like my grandmother before me,” Brittany said instead. She looked up and saw Sara. “You’re next, my friend.”
“I don’t think– ” Sara started.
“Remember what I told you,” Emily interrupted, putting a hand on Sara’s shoulder.
Against her better judgement, Sara sat. Stephanie had stayed to watch – Morgan and Joanna joined her.
Brittany shuffled three times, then laid the cards in front of Sara. “Cut the cards three times,” Brittany said. “To your left, with your left hand.”
Sara did so, and Brittany gathered them up again. She dealt a card off the top, face-up – the Jack of Diamonds. “The Knave of Stars – Hector, defender of Ilium. An odd choice for you, Sara.” She held the remaining cards to her forehead, eyes closed, then dealt a pair of cards face-down to the left of the Jack. Three more face-down pairs followed, going counter-clockwise to 6:00 position, then 3:00 and finally 12:00. She laid the extra cards aside.
“Imprimis,” Brittany said, flipping over the first pair – the King of Spades and an upside-down Nine of Clubs. “Your past. King of Swords – King David, who slew Goliath. And Wands reversed – you’re far from your ancient home, but you’ve found another.”
I’m Jewish, thought Sara. She knows that.
“Secundus,” Brittany said, flipping over the second pair – two Tens, Diamonds and Hearts. “Your present. Stars and Cups, Fire and Water. Opposing signs. Restlessness.”
Big surprise to anyone who knows me, Sara thought.
“Tertius,” Brittany said, flipping over the third pair – the Ace of Clubs and Queen of Spades. “In times to come. The Staff of Life, and Athena the Huntress, Queen of Swords. Earth and Air. Opposing signs again – a desperate adventure.”
That’s more like it, Sara thought, starting to get interested.
“Ultimo,” Brittany said, and flipped over the last pair – the King of Hearts and the Ten of Spades. She met Sara’s gaze – her dark eyes and dilated pupils looked like bottomless wells. “The summation of your life. Charlemagne, King of Cups, with Swords. Protector. Defender of innocent life.”
It could be, Sara thought. The Summation was a plausible direction her life might take. Was she starting to believe?
“Last part doesen’t sound much like you, Sara,” Joanna said, bringing Sara back down to earth with a bang.
“Yah, The Chariot would be more like it,” Morgan added. “Ego and Impulsivity.”
“That’s the Tarot,” Stephanie objected. She looked at Brittany uneasily. “This is... something else.”
Brittany shuffled her cards and looked up. “You’re next, Emily.” The weed must have hit her harder, or she had smoked more of it than the others – she seemed adrift, almost in a trance.
“That’s a very bad idea,” Emily said quietly.
“Oh, go ahead, Emily,” Sara said. “Like you said, it’s just a game.”
“Life is a game,” Brittany said. “Sit.” She shuffled three times, laid the cards in front of Emily. “Cut the cards three times. To your left, with your left hand.”
The first card Brittany dealt was the Queen of Spades, inverted. “Athena the Wise, Queen of Swords, reversed. A seeker, unfulfilled.”
Brittany dealt out the four face-down pairs, counter-clockwise from 9:00, and laid the extra cards aside. “Imprimis,” she said, flipping the first pair – the Ten of Hearts and an upside-down Ace of Spades. “Your past. Cups and Swords – Water and Air. A long journey. Long life, and Death denied.”
“Where did she get that?” Stephanie whispered.
“Shut up,” Sara whispered back. “I want to hear this.”
“Secundus,” Brittany said, flipping over the second pair – the Jack and Ten of Clubs, with the Ten inverted. “Your present. The Knave of Wands, Lancelot the Deceiver, and Wands reversed. Falsehood and rootlessness. You are far more than you appear to be. And far less – you have no home, no roots, here or anywhere.”
“Don’t you think– ” Stephanie persisted, beginning to look alarmed.
“NO!” Sara hissed. “Hush!”
“Tertius,” Brittany said, flipping over the third pair – the Ten of Hearts, inverted, and the Queen of Clubs. She turned pale under her lifeguard tan, crossed herself, then continued in a husky voice. “In times to come. Cups reversed, a life’s blood shed. Lilith, Queen of Wands, bringer of Death. Blood and wounds. Sudden death.”
“All right, that’s it!” Morgan said, moving toward Brittany. “Brittany! Stop it!”
Brittany waved her off, with a motion like swatting at a wasp. “Ultimo,” she said, and flipped the last pair – the Ace of Hearts, straight up, and the second Ace of Spades, inverted. Her voice was a whisper. “The summation of your life. The Chalice, and Death again denied. Life eternal... ” She looked up at Emily with those bottomless eyes. “I know you now,” she said in a stronger voice. “Many lives, many names, but all the same. Maiden, Mother and Crone, all in one... ” She closed her eyes and scattered the cards with a swipe of her hand. “I don’t want to play this game any more,” she said in a hurt little-girl voice.
Emily stood up, put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. “Vicky! Veronica! Front and center!” she commanded.
Morgan put a hand on Brittany’s shoulder. “Brittany– ”
Brittany shook off the touch – she stood up so fast that her chair overturned. Her eyes had the thousand-mile stare of one who has seen too much. “We have made a covenant with Death, and with Hell are we at agreement,” she quoted, eyes unseeing. “We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves... ” She dropped to her knees and burst into tears. Morgan kneeled and put her arm around the crying girl.
“What’s the problem?” Vicky asked. She stood there with her twin, dripping wet.
“Take care of your sister,” Emily said, nodding toward Brittany. “She’s fucked up, and she just crashed and burned.”
The twins looked at each other and nodded. “C’mon, Little Sis,” Veronica said, taking Brittany’s hands. “Alley-oop! Time for bed.”
Vicky turned to Sara. “You have anything to do with this?”
“Not this time,” Sara said. “Ask some of the others.”
“It was just weed, Vicky!” Joanna said nervously. “Stephanie, Kelly and me – we all smoked it too. I can’t– ”
“Any of it left?” Vicky interrupted.
Joanna hesitated, then nodded. “In the pool house.”
“Bring it to me.” Joanna opened her mouth to protest, but Vicky cut her off. “Right fucking now, or I’ll hurt you.” She noticed the others standing by. “This has nothing to do with you – it’s family business. Enjoy the party.”
Emily began gathering up the scattered cards. “I told Brittany it was a bad idea,” she said.
“That last part was from Isaiah, wasn’t it?” Sara asked. “Our version’s a little different, but the sense of it’s the same.”
“You mean... she saw the truth?” Stephanie asked, looking frightened. The Catholic Church didn’t encourage mysticism, especially with a relentlessly rational German theologian at its head. Still, the mystic thread was there. Stephanie sometimes succumbed, and besides, she was stoned and maybe a little paranoid.
“Do I look like the Wicked Witch of the West to you?” Emily asked sharply. “Brittany was hallucinating. She was already on the ragged edge when she told Sara’s fortune. She might have been all right if she’d quit then– ”
“But telling yours tipped her over the edge,” Morgan interrupted.
“Belike.” The odd old-fashioned word was the only sign that Emily was rattled. Perhaps, Sara translated mentally – the Yiddish equivalent fileicht was a cognate.
Emily laid the cards on the table. “C’mon, let’s find some feet to tickle.”
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