Disclaimer: This story contains explicit sexual content of a Sapphic disposition, as well clever stunt work. Do not proceed to read any further if either could

a) Cause alarm.

b) Be illegal in your hometown.

3) You are too, too young (see b).

Warning: This story may contain characters who are not six foot brunettes with blue eyes and who are not five foot four blondes with green eyes.

You can rant at the author at mailto:msprism@btinternet.com

Two Weeks at Wandanna Beach.

Part One: Week One

Sunday.

     Solley Rayner paused her SUV at the crest of Wandanna Rise. The solitude of the private residential road allowed the vehicle to idle for a few moments while the driver sat and simply gazed down into the secluded bay, watching the white surf break onto the sun-drenched beach. Gulls swooped and soared idly in the lazy heat of the late afternoon, their haunting cries carried away on the wind. The overall feeling of peace and tranquillity raised Solley’s hopes for the quiet respite she so desperately needed.

     “Why are we waiting Mommy?” Jed piped up from the back seat. He sat up on his knees, intently peering down the winding lane that descended into the small cluster of beachside residences. His younger siblings still fast asleep beside him, draped like little rag-dolls over their seat restraints.

     “Which one’s Aunt Janie’s house?” he continued impatiently.

     “The white one, right by the water” Solley pointed in the direction of an impressive villa with a vast decked area pushing out from a wide veranda into the waters of the bay.

     “Cool, breathed her eldest son, Aunt Marsha said she’s going to teach me how to surf!” he blurted excitedly.

    “I’m sure she will.” his mother smiled back at him in the rear-view mirror as she changed gears and rolled gently forward to complete their long journey.

     “And Ju-jitsu, and Karate,” he continued, his hero-worship for his natural aunts partner clearly apparent” and they’ve got a new puppy!”

     The sound of his excited voice woke his younger brother Will.

“Puppy? Where’s the puppy?” he tried to focus through his grogginess, small fists rubbing at his eyes, his white blonde hair tousled from sleep.

      Solley glanced at both her boys through the rear view mirror, and a happy smile spread across her usually serious, freckled face. “He’s at Aunt Janie and Aunt Marsha’s house, just down the hill by the sea. Look, can you see it, the big white house by the water.” She pointed.

     “Are we there yet? He inevitably asked.

     “Three more minutes” came her standard response with a grin. Already she felt better as the SUV wound its way down the hillside road into Wandanna Beach. Just looking at her sons faces confirmed this was the right thing to do this particular summer. She was glad she’s listened to her sister and brought her young family away from the stress currently running through their home-life; a parental split was harsh, no matter what age the children were.

     Sadness clouded her eyes as she thought of her small family parcelled up in the back of her car.

     Jed, at eight years was outgoing and boisterous. Excelling at sports brought him popularity at school so he had no shortage of friends and activities, and yet always had time for and was fiercely protective of his little brother and sister. He had a genuine kindness and compassion towards others that seemed to exceed his young years, and this emotional maturity added to his confidence and easy successes.

     Will was six and much quieter than his older sibling. He may have been shyer socially but was just as gifted at sports as his brother. Especially swimming, where from any age he could move through the water like a baby otter. He too was very loving but being naturally reserved he seemed to spend much of his time quietly observing the interactions of his family than taking centre stage. That role unquestionably belonged to his twin sister, Della, who still slept on through the last leg of the long journey. Bright and artistic by nature, and currently passionate about anything pink, she had Will and Jed wrapped around her little finger like a thin string of Barbie plasticine. She was a baby diva waiting to explode, and Solley privately felt sorry for the objects of her daughter’s future affections. Having Della’s attention was like being hit by a truck, then reversed over and hit again, only more merciless.

     Solley frowned deep in thought; she hated the emotional mugging her kids were going through, but was powerless to change the chain of events that had led them all here, to this stretch of beautiful coastline. She only hoped a summer vacation at Janie and Marsha’s home would give the children a summer to remember for other happier reasons than their parents splitting up.

     Parking the vehicle before her sister’s front door, she had no sooner pulled on the handbrake when her only daughter awoke with uncanny timing and joined her brothers in a loud and excited cacophony of arrival yelling. The door flew open and Janie, followed by her partner Marsha ran down the steps laughing at the cries and squawks coming from the vehicle.

     “What you got there Sis, Janie chuckled, a trunk full of parakeets?”

     The car doors flung open and she swooped to swing her youngest nephew up into a massive hug. Marsha meanwhile had Della clinging to her neck like a little chimp, her other arm wrapped warmly round Jed’s shoulders.

“How-ya doing there buddy?” she grinned, all set for the surf?”

Jed grinned warmly back. He appreciated the way Marsha treated him more grown up than the others. “You bet…can we surf tonight?” 

“Sure, lessons start after dinner. Your aunts got the barbeque going out back, so no reason you can’t get into your swimmies now and hit the beach for a quick splash before tofu burgers!”

“Tofu burgers!” chimed Della, “Yuck.”

“Yay tofu!” sang Marsha smiling, determined that her adoptive niece and nephews eat healthily “Last one in gets two! Now who wants to meet Nelson?”

“Who’s Nelson?” asked Will.

“That would be our new pup. And he’s dying to meet you guys. Come on, he’s out on the back deck.”

“Maybe he’ll have eaten all the tofu burgers”, Della concluded hopefully as she and her brothers scampered through the house followed by Marsha to see the latest addition to their family.

     Helping unpack the luggage Janie noticed how tired and drained her sister looked. “Not surprising considering what that asshole was putting her through”, she thought angrily. Both laden down with bags she gently nudged her big sis’s shoulder as they moved towards the house.

     “I’m so glad you’re here Sol. It’s going be a great summer; the rug rats are loving it already. Wait till they see Nelson, he’s an Irish Red Setter and he loves the water almost as much as they do, and he has a brain the size of a pea. They’ll have a fantastic time together. Marsha’s gonna take them for a swim while we prepare supper and have a quiet chat.”

She was rewarded by a tired but grateful smile. “We’d better get their swim suits unpacked first.”  Solley answered. Loud splashing and laughter drew her gaze across the sand, “On second thoughts maybe we’ll save the suits for tomorrow.” she laughed indicating where her children ran in and out of the surf in their underwear with a frenzied bundle of barking red fur.

Marsha splashed with them, throwing sticks into the waves for the over-excited pup to chase, her tall, lanky frame shook with laughter as she gambolled about like a big kid herself.

     Smiling as they entered the house Solley relaxed in the thought that she had done the right thing by bringing them all here for a summer of fun and, hopefully, healing.

“Now there’s been a small change in plans, Janie announced as they moved through the light and airy villa. “One of Marsha’s friends is working in the area for a few weeks and she may be staying over for a night or two. I’ve put her in the ensuite at the front of the house. That means you get the larger back guestroom but have to share a bathroom with the kids. Is that alright?”

“Janie, you should have said you had other guests. We could have come anytime in the next few weeks. I feel terrible that we’re cramping you!”

“No you are not! We wanted you and the kids here more than ever. There’s plenty of room for all. Come on, let’s get you unpacked.”

     Too tired from the long journey and the sunset frolics on the beach, the kids barely noticed they were eating a healthy non-meat alternative.

“If you put ketchup on cod liver oil they’d take it”, murmured Marsha quietly to Solley as she flipped extra burgers at the grill.

“You’re a genius girl!” Solley laughed. ”Kids anybody want another burger?”

“Me.” Jed scrambled over with his empty plate.

“Me too.” his brother joined him.

“Della, do you want another? What happened to your first one, sweetie that went quick?” Solley noticed her daughter’s suspiciously empty dish. Being a notoriously slow eater something didn’t quite add up.

“Nelson ate it.” Della replied happily, “He’s a bad dog” giving him a look of utter devotion.

“Della you’ve got to eat something otherwise you’re tummy will growl like a bear all night and wake everyone up!” Janie exclaimed, “Personally I don’t want to be thinking there’s a big bear roaming round my house in the middle of the night! Come on, I’ll make you some toast and honey, that’s what bears eat.” She extended her hand to her niece and they headed off towards the kitchen together, followed closely by a scavenging Nelson.

“Nelson thinks he’s a bear too. Can he have some?”

“She’ll ruin that dog.” Solley shook her head. “Look what she’s done to her brothers!”

     Leaving the boys to their supper Solley and Marsha took their drinks further along the deck to sit and watch the night surf and feel the warm breeze.

“I love the sound of the sea”, mused Solley. “I swear I get the best sleep of my life when I visit you guys. I’m really looking forward to a peaceful few weeks here, just relaxing and unwinding.”

“Well, don’t hold your breath girl” Marsha took a guilty sip from her glass, blue eyes catching Solley’s. “Did Janie have a chance to tell you yet that a friend of mine might be staying with us for a few days?”

“This would be your friend who’s going to be working nearby?”

“Yeah, I know her from the studio.” Marsha was a personal trainer at one of the major film studios. She taught in-house martial arts and general fitness to an assortment of actors depending on the roles they had to prepare for. “Gin and I go way back, she’s an old friend from college, and that’s some time ago. “

“Gin, that’s an unusual name, is it Asian?”

“Yeah, she’s Japanese American. You must have heard of her…Gin Ito…the stuntwoman.”

     “Gin Ito!!” the words travelled across the decking as Jed flew over wide - eyed with excitement. “Aunt Marsha do you know Gin Ito?”

Will stood beside him equally dumbfounded, hanging on every word of the conversation. Solley was startled and bemused at her son’s ardent response to this woman’s name.

“Who’s Gin Ito?” she asked innocently.

“Only the most amazingly cool woman in the world Mom” Jed reacted with equal amounts of shock and scorn at her ignorance.

“Well duh!” his mother replied, still none the wiser.

“It’s so cool you know her Aunt Marsha” he turned his attention away from his imbecilic mother.

“Can we meet her?” Will, as usual got straight to the point.

“Boys, I’m hoping you’ll be sharing a roof with her.”

“No way!” they mouthed in astonished unison.

“Way! She’s my mate and she’s filming in this very bay for the next two weeks, and there’s no way I’m letting her stay in a trailer when my house is only half a mile away!” Marsha pronounced empathically.

Jed and Will stared at Marsha slack jawed. Gin Ito actually doing stunts right here, under their noses!

“Yup,” Marsha read their faces. “They’re filming Red Revenge 2 in this very bay! And I’ve got the job of doubling for Kelly Rose!” she produced the Ace card that would make her the coolest living family member ever in the small boys eyes. “Aaah, hero-worship, food of champions,” she thought.

“Kelly Rose!” Solley was beginning to catch up now. “I loved her in Polly’s Pyjamas.”  Both boys rolled their eyes at their mother’s mention of a particularly lame girlie actress and an especially lame chick flick. “Will she really be here?” Solley continued, failing to notice both her son’s critique.     

“Well, not actually in the flesh… but you’ll have a representation of her; namely me in a stuffed bra and big blonde wig leaping from a jet-ski.” Marsha offered in recompense. ”Kelly will be shooting down at the studios while we do all the aqua-stunts on location here at Wandanna Beach.”

“Cool” Jed breathed. “This is gonna be the best vacation ever!”

     And so the healing has begun, Solley mused to herself. So much for peace and quiet, but at least the kids will be kept entertained, even if it’s not in the way I imagined!

The excitement of the evening finally gave out as extreme fatigue engulfed the new arrivals and Solley managed to get herself and her brood into bed.

Monday.

      Early next morning the loud exertions of men and machinery woke her,   imagining in her sleepy state that a circus big top was being erected next door. Looking out the window of her bedroom she noted at least two dozen home trailers, a vast variety of vehicles and even a derrick crane had suddenly sprouted from out of the dunes near Janie and Marsha’s home.

     Amazed that her offspring could sleep on through the clatter, Solley decided to sneak to the kitchen and grab a coffee before the day began proper and her children awoke to appropriate her time and attention.

 She was pleased to see her little sister already settled at the kitchen table, a pot of aromatic coffee at her elbow.

 “Hey Sol,” Janie poured her sister a large cup. “Are the tadpoles still snoozing?”

 “Yea, bless ‘em each and every one.” she answered, enjoying her first sip. “That’s a hell of a neighbourhood that’s sprung up beside you. She nodded towards the beach. I take it Marsha has already gone down to meet and greet.”

 “Yeah, Jeff Noon, the director is down there already. He’s an old bud of hers. She’s so psyched at getting this job. Janie mused, Much as she loves the training it’s been yonks since she did any stunt work, and I know she misses the thrill of it all.”

 “So how come she’s back in the saddle, so to speak?”

 “Gin got her onboard. When Marsha proffered this place as a good locale for the open-shot stunt scenes I think she was kinda hoping she would pop into Jeff’s mind for a few of the aqua-stunts. When Gin landed the stunt directors job as well as stunt lead she didn’t hesitate to push Marsha forward for the jet-ski stuff. “

 “Do you think Marsha wants to get back into stunts full time?”

 “God, I hope not!” the blonde brows furrowed. “I used to hate her forever travelling all over the globe. I didn’t get to see her for months on end. And then she would suddenly appear black and blue and aching all over, looking for love and attention and endless massages! For the moment she enjoys the steady work at the studios, and long may it last. The money’s good, and we’re planning some changes, so I need her close by.”

 “What changes?” Solley fully expected her sister to reel of a list of home improvements to her already fabulous home. “A helipad, perhaps, or servants quarters, an east wing??” she sniggered. Although she jibed she was proud of the successes of her little sister. On seeing the pair people would not have believed they were sisters, Solley tall and flame-haired, Janie, a small but vibrant blonde. There common ground was their stunning green eyes, quick-fire temper, and the fact they both were attracted to tall, blue eyed six footers! 

      “Mmmm.” Janie’s eyes danced at her sisters gentle teasing, “More like a nursery.”

 Solley’s eyes locked with her little sisters. “You’re planning a baby.” She breathed, a slow smile of delight opening up her face.

      She’s so beautiful when she smiles, thought Janie, I wish she would do it more often. “Yes” she admitted somewhat shyly. “It’s something we both want, and it seems like the time is right. Well, as right as it can be, I suppose.”

 “Oh Janie I can’t think of a better home improvement.” Solley leaned into her sister and gave her a huge, warm hug. “I’m so happy for you both. You’ll be wonderful parents. And my kids will have a little cousin to grow up with!”

 “Well, with the studio deal for using our land for this movie we can afford for me to take a year out and get knocked up.” Janie smiled ruefully. “Of course my pay-off is that Marsha gets this last fling at throwing herself off stuff for loads of cash, bless her little breadwinning socks, before nesting with me for all eternity.”

 Janie owned a vast section of the bay-front, where the film makers were currently setting up camp. With Marsha’s connections at the studio the deal for land usage had been fairly straightforward as well as lucrative. Janie could afford to sit back from her IT Consultancy job and concentrate on motherhood for the immediate future.

     The pitter-patter of small bare-feet on the hallway announced the arrival of Della and the ever-present Nelson, who now seemed permanently attached to the little girl, his walking buffet bar. Together they burst into the kitchen in a flurry of red fur and cotton jimjams. Buoyant from a good nights sleep the youngster ran straight into the outstretched arms of her aunt.

 “Good morning sweet plums.” She was hoisted onto a lap and greeted with a huge hug. “What would madam like for breakfast? We have oatmeal.” Janie stopped and waited for a response.

 Della looked unimpressed. “And what?”

“Did I mention we have oatmeal?”

“Did I mention…and what?” Della answered with a scathing wisdom beyond her years.

Janie looked across at Solley with laughter in her eyes. “God, it’s like our mother has been directly reincarnated! Talk about out of the same mould.”

 “Well, it was a cracked mould to begin with. The fruit of my loins did not drop far from the matriarchal tree.” Solley grinned back.

 “Look young lady,” Janie turned her attention fully onto her erstwhile niece, “its oatmeal, okay? That’s your choice. It’ll keep you regular, and I promise to make it with hot milk and lots of honey. How does that sound.” She stood up and moved over to the stove.

 Della followed her aunt with more devotion that was ever openly displayed.  “I don’t want to be regular, I want to be special!”

      Giggling Solley left the pair in the kitchen and made her way down to the kid’s bedroom to gather up her other two rogues. It seemed the first day of their vacation at Wandanna Beach had begun bright and early. And if the noise outside was anything to go by, then they were all in for an exciting start.

      By early afternoon the seemingly ceaseless activity all along the sand dunes looked like it had finally tailed off.

 “Is this a lunch break, or siesta, or are they finally finished.” Solley mused out loud. She sat with her family on the veranda. The children were antsy as she had forbidden them going down to the dunes to see what was going on first hand. She had nearly to tether them once they found put that their aunt Marsha was already down there in among the clamour and glamorous activity.

      “Hey.” Marsha called out as she suddenly appeared from round the dunes and mounted the side steps onto the deck.  What’s for lunch?”

 “Tofu!” yelled Della.

 “I bet.” Marsha grinned as she drew level.

 “Mom wouldn’t let us go down and see you.” Jed moaned at his hoped for ally. “Can we go now?”

 “Well, let’s go after lunch. Everything’s set up now, so I can show you around properly and let you meet the cast and crew.”

 “Is Gin Ito here yet?” Will’s voice was full of awe.

“Not yet, kiddo.” Marsha grinned at his reverence. “Her first drop starts later this afternoon, and believe me you’ve got the best seat in the house! Now lets eat, I’m starving. It’s been yonks since I had breakfast.”

“Some of us only had oatmeal.” moaned Della.

“Excuse me young lady, but I have a suspicion that Nelson got most of that!” retorted her mother. “I think that animal thinks he’s your walking stomach rather than a dog.”

“Nelson’s my friend, he loves me,” Della answered nobly, “and he loves oatmeal.”

 “Well, then,” interrupted Aunt Janie, “lets hope he likes egg salad sandwiches too.”

 “No,” Della conceded at the mention of her current favourite food, “I think he doesn’t like those at all.”

  “Oh, I think he does.” mumbled Will, not at all impressed with the lunch menu. It seemed Nelson had found another bountiful provider.

      Not long after the sandwich platters had been reduced to crumbs and the coffee and juice jugs were drained dry, the sound of low flying helicopter engines slowly began to resonate across the limestone cliff-faces that surrounded the bay.

 The children looked up at the skies expectantly.

 “Is that choppers” asked Jed.

 “Uhuh,” nodded Marsha with an excited grin, “I think today’s work is finally about to start.”

      With that three helicopters burst into view around the western crest of the bay. Totally engaged with this majestic sight Solley noticed a roughly weaving formation, the two larger, more militaristic looking machines flanking the smaller civilian one.

 The small group all watched mesmerised from the deck as all three machines swayed and spun out across the bay. The noise from their engines reverberated in a low hum off the chalky cliffs behind them.

      This waspish dance went on for several minutes as the craft jockeyed for position, until unexpectedly the smaller craft suddenly swooped lower and a small dark figure dropped out of it and rapidly plummeted into the ocean below.

      Solley joined in the collective gasp. What had just happened? Had they all just witnessed a horrific accident? Solley grew concerned that her children had inadvertently experienced an awful, psychologically damaging event.

 She was still momentarily stunned when Janie and Marsha began to whoop and clap, and even more startled when Jed and Will joined them.

 “Mega” shouted Jed jumping up and down, “absolutely mega.”

 “Sweet!”  Will enthused, equally excited. Della squealed happily for no real reason except that everyone else seemed pleased to see a body drop out of an aircraft and splat into the ocean. And Nelson simply barked himself senseless.

      “Even the god-damn dog knows more than me”. Solley thought still anxious and confused.

 “You go girl!” Marsha cried even as the small figure currently swilling around the water reached up for the extended hoist lowered from the chopper above, and began to be slowly hauled upwards.

“You’re kidding me! That’s a stunt!” Solley finally caught on.

“That’s a water- bomb. Jed enthusiastically educated his mother. “You hit the water at upwards of forty five miles per vertical metre depending on the drop. If you don’t hit it just right it can break your back like a matchstick!” he concluded with relish.

 “Gosh.” Solley responded, thinking about upping the parental locks on the internet. Too much of the wrong sort of information seemed to be seeping into her sons head.

 “Is she going to do it again?” Will asked Marsha.

 “Again and again and again, she answered, until she’s happy it’s perfect. This could take all afternoon kids. I’ve even seen this type of thing carry over to the next day.”

 “That’s your friend out there!” again Solley felt painfully out of the loop.

 “Yup, that’s my Ginnie girl, taking the plunge over and over until Jeff tells her to towel her hair and come home for tea. God don’t you just miss it!”

 “No we damn well don’t, Ms Floats like a Butterfly, Drowns like a Bee!” Janie rejoined.

      For the rest of the early afternoon they watched the same scene being repeated. The small figure would bomb into the waves and then be hoisted upwards to reposition and do it all over again. It soon became apparent with Marsha’s insightful commentary, that there were not only camera crew in the larger accompanying helicopters, but also on the beach, atop the derrick crane Solley had seen erected earlier that morning.

      By late afternoon the choppers suddenly swayed out to the tip of the western crest again and began to move away from Wandanna Bay.

 “Is it over? Jed asked anxiously.

 “I’d say so, answered Marsha. “Come on, let’s go down and mix with the trailer trash and see what’s up. “She indicated the makeshift movie camp situated below.

 “When will Gin Ito come back?” Jed asked as the children followed Marsha off the decking and onto the sand-dunes leading down to movie town.

 “Later Alligator, they’ll have headed back to Wandanna airfield now, and then need to get a ride back here.”

 “But she is staying here, right?” Will asked anxiously.

 “That’s the arrangement. In fact she’ll be here for dinner, so y’all better behave and eat whatever deliciously healthy food your Aunt Janie sets down before you.” Looking at the stricken little faces she chuckled.  “But tonight I hear its shrimp skewers and salad, I’m sure you can cope with that, my little cholesterol farms.”

      Their voices drifted off as they moved further from the house. Solley felt momentarily miffed that she had been so readily abandoned by her troop of mini-me’s. She turned a rueful grin to her sister, feeling silly at her sudden flash of insecurity.

      “I still have no real idea who this woman is.” she admitted, “Does that make me as big a lame brain as Jed and Will seem to think?”

 “Nah,” answered her sister easily, “it’s staying all those years with Dan makes you the lame brain.”

 “Cheap shot”

 “Exactly what I said seven years when you two started dating. You really go all the way down when you go slumming, don’t you.”

 “Please, let’s not go there. I’m well aware of your opinion. Tell me about the miraculous Gin Ito.”, she tried to change the well worn subject.

 “Okay, but you’ll have to help me get dinner started. I’ll light the grill and then we can work on the salads.” Twenty minutes later the lesson began.

      “Gin is Marsha’s oldest and probably best friend. They go way, way back, almost Jurassic.” Janie talked as the two sisters sliced celery and cucumber into slivers. “They know each other from college, and studied martial arts at the same dojo together for years. And you’ve probably seen her in the movies more times that you’ve seen Kelly Rose believe it or not.”

Solley looked at her questioningly.

 “I know the name doesn’t mean anything to you, but nearly every female stunt scene you’ve witnessed on screen in the past ten years or so has either starred or been directed by Gin. She’s the hottest stunt practitioner and engineer around at the moment.”

 “God, what a strange career choice!”

 “No worse than my big beefcake. Marsha worked all over the world doing stunts and then she met me and came to her senses; under my subtle direction of course. Daft bitch would be a pancake at the bottom of a cliff by now if it wasn’t for me. Theoretically I saved her life…that’s why I own her!”

      Both women looked up at the crunch of tyres on the gravel driveway out front. A few seconds later and footsteps could be heard crossing the decking moving towards the kitchen door to the rear of the house.

      “Hey Janie” a warm voice carried through the open doorway into the shadowy kitchen. Solley looked up as the slim figure of a dark woman stood framed in the sunlight.

 “Talk of the sweet devil. You must’ve got here in double time! I think Marsha’s down at your trailer expecting you to arrive there first.”

 “The drivers taking my gear down there now, I got out here with my overnight bag. I really need a shower and if I go down there I’ll get caught up in conversation with the crew and never get away,” as she spoke she moved further into the kitchen to hug Janie, her eyes spilling shyly over towards Solley.

 “Just right, hon; those geeks would keep you up all night talking rubbish. Best you came here first. “She grabbed the smaller woman by the elbow and guided her across to Solley. “Let me introduce you to my sister Solley. Sol, this is Gin Ito whom you’ve been hearing so much about.”

     Gin Ito grinned shyly reaching out her hand and nodded slightly. Solley was surprised at the warm but solid handshake she received from the slender hand. “Nice to meet you, Solley.”

 “Nice to meet you, too.  My kids have been raving about you since we arrived and found out you’d be filming locally.” Solley smiled back. Gin Ito was not what she had expected of a famous stunt artist. Not that she was sure what to expect at all, even so the trim, tightly muscled woman standing in front of her still came as a total surprise. Smaller than Solley and but similar to her sister in height, with short inky black hair and almond eyes the colour of midnight, the well honed body vibrated with health and vitality. A positive energy seemed to flow off her in waves, promoting a corresponding positive attraction from Solley. She could have sworn she actually felt an electric tingle all over her body.

 “I must have some static in the attic.” she mused to herself, surprised at her physical reaction to the handshake. “My poor minds cracking up under all the stress, but it’s nice to feel alive from the neck down again.” Gin released her hand to hoist the heavy holdall onto her solid shoulder, muscles rippled up her arm and torso as she swung the weight in one easy move. “Oops, better make that from the waist down!” as the very pleasant tingle suddenly spiked in her lower belly.

      “Sol and the kids are here for a few weeks vacation” Janie explained, “and believe me you couldn’t have a more solid fan base than these little tykes. It’ll be like residing in a harem for the next few weeks, you’ll be so adored.”

 “A harem! Well I suppose at the moment I do smell like a camel. Sea salt and sweat, not the best of colognes”. Gin snorted. ”But I’d love to meet your kids.” Gin smiled directly at Solley her eyes sparkling in the dying sunlight.

 “You’re in the ensuite at the front. Why don’t you grab a quick shower before Marsha and the kids return and your understanding of peace and tranquillity is shattered for ever.” Janie instructed. “Oh, and to keep things really quiet and restful we’ve got a dog. A Red Setter called Nelson and he’s as dumb as driftwood.”

 “Sounds like you’ve got a full house.” Gin grinned at the two sisters once again as she moved towards the back stairwell, obviously very familiar with the layout of the house.

 “Just the way I like it. All aboard for Bedlam. Dinner should be ready in a half hour.” Janie called after her.

     She turned round to see her sister also watching her retreating guest. “You are totally checking out her butt!”

 “I am not!”

 “Are too, sleazo!”

      Their juvenile discussion was interrupted by running footsteps and excited voices announcing the return of the Gin Ito scout party. Jed burst into the kitchen first, “Is she here? A big limo brought all these bags to her trailer, the driver said Gin Ito got out further up the track. Did she come here?” Will, Della and eventually Marsha landed in behind him.

     Janie wagged her knife in the direction of the stairs “In the shower washing the plummet out of her hair.” She answered dryly without looking up from her food preparation. Jed and Will moved forward together towards the stairwell.

 “You can’t go up there now boys,” Solley said exasperatedly, “let the woman be. She’ll be down in a minute for dinner and then you can meet her.” They rolled their eyes at her with wonderful unrehearsed synchronization. “Sometimes I wonder which of you lot really are the twins.” she muttered turning back to the counter-top.

 “Is plummet a colour?” asked Della.

     Precise to the second that shrimp and snapper fish skewers were being served off the grill, a refreshed Gin Ito appeared downstairs. She stood quietly at the open veranda doors watching the family scene before her. Marsha was valiantly trying to heap a variety of salads onto the three young children’s plates. The little girl was already sneaking titbits of shrimp to the predatory pup that seemed glued to her side like some immense comfort blanket. Janie and her sister were fussing round the last morsels cooking on the barbeque. It was a happily contented scene, and she felt curiously relaxed just to stand still for a moment and contemplate it. Family bonds were a strong concept to her, and she could feel the happy energy that sprang from this little group.

      An audible gasp suddenly pulled everyone’s attention. “Gin Ito!” Jed breathed his eyes wide with wonder as he finally spied her. Gin moved out onto the deck, a shy smile warming her neat features. She nodded slightly in greeting to the boy, and then to his two siblings who were also regarding her equally dumbfounded.

 “Hey there,” she spoke in a gentle voice, “what’s for dinner? Something sure smells good.” was her simple introduction as her shy smile broadened into genuine friendliness.

       At that exact moment, when she moved out of the shadows of the overhead balcony and into full view, eight year old Jed Rayner fell in love for the very first time. A brand new emotion suddenly crystallised in his short life, and he literally felt his madly drumming heart burst from out of his chest in a flash of sparks and race up into the glorious night air like surface to air missile. An emotive memory he would never set aside, and which would become his personal blueprint for love.

      Della gazed in bewilderment at the woman all the fuss had been about. Her young but shrewd and disconcertingly worldly-wise eyes took in the beauty of Gin’s ethnicity, her strength and grace, the inner beauty of a truly gentle soul; and stoic little Della swooned head-first into her first and most formative same-sex crush.  Her hearts direction and sexual orientation immediately mapped for life in the time it took for her iris to expand. 

       A shy young Will gazed in awe at his idol, but hung back, sheltering behind his bolder siblings. And like his siblings he too had his epiphany, a barely perceptible but strangely simple click deep within himself. He would never be sure if it was in his heart or in his head, but somewhere a small cog or some other minutiae of emotional precision engineering simply fell into place, and from that moment on Will knew he wanted to be a woman, a beautiful Asian woman.

     Marsha abandoned the failing salad bar and moved to introduce her suddenly tongue-tied adoptive nephews and niece to her friend.

 “Gin, this is Jed, Will and Della, and I can guarantee that they are your biggest and best fans. In fact I’m so certain of this fact that I have promised them, each and everyone, that you will personally provide one of your stupendous goodie bags from your fan club and individually autograph every damn thing in it. Also I have hinted that you may even cough up a memento for each of them from the making of Red Revenge 2. Something they can take in to school as proof that they where actually here in Wandanna Bay for the stunt filming; and if this is not possible that you yourself, will personally appear at all Show and Tells in said schools as living proof!”

 “Wow!” Gin laughed, “I better see what I can do these guys sound like they mean business. I can definitely deliver the goodie bags, and I guess on the mementos too. Maybe I can also do a private Show and Tell tonight.” She went over to Solley and giving her a conspiring wink loaded a plate with salad.

      “What the hell has she done to my kids, they’re mute!” Solley smiled bemusedly back as she doled out the last of the skewers onto Gins plate. “In fact they’re so well behaved I should have got this woman to baby-sit years ago.  If we could have done more things as a couple maybe Dan would never have run off with that whore!”

      Moving back to sit down among the small cluster of children Gin felt immediately more comfortable now that their initial awe was being replaced with outright childish curiosity, and a barrage of questions soon followed.

 “What’s it like to jump out of a helicopter? Will you teach me? Aunt Marsha’s going to teach me to jet-ski. I want to be a stuntman when I grow up.”

 “Do you like dogs? I like dogs, I’m going to have six when I get my own house, and cats too. Do you like cats? I like Nelson, he’s my favourite. Mom says we can take him home.”

 “I did not!”

 “Do you wear wigs?”

      The swell of questioning grew to tsunami proportions, the children competing until the noise grew louder and louder and no-one seemed to notice that the questions were not, could not be answered.  “Boy, these kids sure can talk. It’s like a chimp stand-off in a forest canopy!!” Gin’s ears ricocheted, “They use words like bullets.”

      “What’s your most favourite stunt? I liked the one where you parachuted into the bear-pit in Russian Rebels. Were they real bears or circus bears? Could you beat up a bear if you had to? Would you, like, box with it or do karate or something? “

 “Give the lady a moment to draw breath and answer.”

 “Aw, Mom.”

 “Do you like sharks? I don’t like sharks. I don’t like shrimp, Nelson likes shrimp. Can you do karate on a shark?”

 “That’s a dumb question Del. How do you put on your make-up on? Does a movie lady do it for you? Do you do it yourself?”

 “Mine was a good question. Better than your dumb ass make -up question. Gin has no make-up…except for plummet hair.”

 “Plummet hair?” Gin lost all track about here.

 “Honey, plummet is not a colour. It means to fall”

 “Her hairs falling out?” Will and Della both chimed with alarm.

 “My hairs falling out?”

 Solley hung her head in her hands while Marsha and Janie sat back snorting with laughter at the stunned expression on Gins face.

      “Who wants some Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food ice-cream?” Janie’s question finally broke through the mayhem as the children bailed out to follow their aunt to the kitchen, instantly drawn to the cold sugary treat after all the healthy food they’d had to endure for two whole days. “Not you Della”, Janie called over her shoulder, “I know you don’t like fish, I’m sure I saw you slipping your shrimp to Nelson.”

 “I like phish if it’s spelt right.”

      “Are they always like that?” Gin looked a little frazzled, staring at Solley with awed regard.

 “Well, at least you now know you’d never survive a real Show and Tell in front of thirty of the little treasures.” Solley laughed.

 “God forbid!”

 Marsha scoffed, “Yeah, you’d be better off in the bear pit. Better be sure and get those movie mementos, girl.”

 “I’ll get them a helicopter each if it saves me going through that again!”

 “Don’t even breathe that, not even in jest.” Solley remonstrated as she joined the other two women on the soft seating the children had vacated. “You realise I’ll have to pull the car apart before we leave to make sure Nelson isn’t levered in somewhere. So please no mention of helicopters or I’ll never hear the end of it. Jed would refuse to understand why we couldn’t have just one sitting in the driveway at home.” 

 “Deal. I’ll look out for you if you look out for me!” Gin joked back.  “Those kids are a riot. And their mother’s really sweet.”

Tuesday.

      Next morning Solley again found her sister sitting alone in the kitchen. Drawn there by the aroma of fresh coffee she sat down and poured a cup.

 “Where are the kids? “She asked frowning. ”I checked their room and they’re all gone.”

 “Marsha got them up and out early. She and Gin have taken them down to the camp for a walkabout. I thought a lie-in would do you no harm, so they all snuck out quietly.”

 “Oh.” Solley wasn’t sure how to take this. It was a completely new experience to her, to have another adult take charge of her kids, and for her kids to go so readily.

      Seeing her sisters perplexed look Janie reached over for her hand. “It’s just to let you have a little time to yourself as well. You can’t always hide your emotions behind caring for your kids. You need your own space to deal with things. You need to survive this too, not just shepherd the kids through.”

 “Janie, I’m fine. I’ve been dealing with the fallout for nearly four years now. It’s not like it’s a sudden shock…well, the ‘other woman’ was a bit of a shock, but the slow meltdown of the relationship isn’t news to any of us, now is it? I just worry for the kids, I want this to be a special holiday where they lose themselves in fun and laughter and can forget all the crap their stupid, selfish parents have brought into their lives.”

 “They’re having an absolute ball with Gin. All three were positively vibrating with excitement at heading out with her.” Janie laughed, “Oh believe me they’re having fun alright!”

 “Yeah, but I wanted to be with me.” Solley felt ashamed that the thought had jumped into her head. “Maybe I’ll wander on down and catch up with them. Want to join me?”

 “Nah. I’m in the study researching AI clinics. Gotta pick the best gravy for this little pot-boiler. Marsha wants us to select a donor we know, but I want to check out alternatives before we decide.” Janie patted her flat belly and gave a crooked grin as she left the table, “See you later sis.”

      Solley ambled down the dunes and into the small village of trailers. As people   began to set about their appointed tasks the small area seemed to heave with frantic comings and goings. The seeming random confusion of noise and motion made Solley a little fretful that it might be a dangerous environment for the kids to hang out in without her supervision.

      “All I need to do is find out which is Gin Ito’s trailer. That would be the best starting point.” She thought as she investigated the layout which seemed more hap-hazard that she’s originally expected. “At least most of the trailers have a name plaque.” She passed several labelled with people’s names, and some others with details of they’re usage, like Make-Up, Communications and Wardrobe.

      Turning a corner she saw two young women, obviously part of the studio crew emerge from one of the larger mobiles. They walked past, ignoring her, deep in conversation.

 “Well she’s not at her ‘love-shack’.” “Apparently she’s staying at that big house along the beach with Marsha Bren and her lesbian lover. And apparently she’s a very frequent visitor!” smirked one. “You mean a threesome! Boy wouldn’t I love to help even out those odds! “sniggered her companion. “Yeah, she’s so fit I bet she can fuck for days without coming up for air!” “If she was fucking me for days I’d be coming up for an oxygen mask. Oh God I’m coming, I’m coming… would have a real literal meaning!” “Yeah, it wouldn’t be sex, it’d be murder.” “More like suicide cos you wanted it.” “It’d be a whole new category - Fucicide, cos you asked for it!” the other snorted. “Nah, it’d be Fucinasia, cos I begged for it!”

     Solley stood shocked at the conversation that had just drifted by her. “Good grief! She seems to have a fan-base for everything she does!”

     Moving forward she noted the trailer the young women had emerged from had Gin Ito’s name attached to the door. “Those little tarts were probably in there rubbing themselves across the fixtures and fittings like kittens in heat.”  While wondering whether to climb up the steps and have a quick peek into the ‘love-shack’ interior for herself Solley suddenly heard Jed’s voice calling her. She turned round to see all three children strolling towards her with Gin Ito tagging on behind, hand in hand with Della.

      “Hey guys.” She smiled, “You all got up and out early this morning. I missed you.”

 “Gin and Marsha took us to see all around the movie camp. And Aunt Marsha showed us the jet-skis she’s jumping off later.” Jed bounced up to her full of excited energy.

 “Where is Marsha?” asked Solley, conscious that Gin had sole adult responsibility for her kids.  “Brilliant, my kids are running wild around the Circus-Macabre with Ms Death-Fuck as a chaperone!” she thought sourly.

 “She’s over at the jetty with the technicians”, answered Gin easily. “She said she’s catch us up for lunch.”

 “Oh, well maybe I’ll just take the kids back to the house and let you get some work done.” She answered.

 “Aw, Mom! Gin was gonna show us round her trailer. Let us see all her neat gear and stuff.” wailed Jed.

  “Mmmm.” Solley’s thoughts were rather concerned at exactly what ‘neat gear and stuff’ might actually be lying around the ‘love-shack’.

  “It’s really no trouble,” answered Gin anxiously,” I enjoy the company. It’s fun showing them around.”

 “We were gonna see all Gins movie clothes and make-up and stuff.” Will piped up sounding desperately disappointed.

 “Pleeeze Mom, let us stay with Gin. We’ll be really, really good!” Del bleated alongside her brothers. Solley blinked at the mini mutiny before her, uncertain of this new situation.

 “Really, I’ll bring them up in half an hour. It’s no bother at all.” Gin added, misreading Solley’s hesitation.

      “Great, make me look like Attila the Mum!” Solley scowled inwardly. Outwardly she conceded, “Okay, half an hour then. And you guys be good”, wagging her finger at her kids. With that she swung round and slowly trudged back the way she’d come. “So what was that all about.” she thought glumly, “Seems I’ve been abandoned yet again for a slinkier sports model First Dan and now this?” Looking down at her curves she sighed, “And why not? Who am I kidding, after three kids I’m just a beat up old people carrier.”

      Later that afternoon Solley, Janie and the kids moved down to the old jetty to watch from a distance as Marsha went through her paces for the jet-ski scene.

 “So what’s going on here, then?” Solley thought it would be better to fess up to her ignorance now rather than later after the action started.

 “Apparently Dufus is going to dive off a hurtling jet-ski as a harpoon whizzes inches from her ears. Meanwhile, back at the studio Kelly Rose will be gently lowered into a tank of lovingly warmed water where she will wallow for the close-ups. I tell you, she’s no mug!” Janie retorted.

      Solley shielded her eyes and gazed across the water to where Marsha was crazily zipping about, her blonde wig whipping in the wind, the foamy spray splashing up around her hot-pink wet suit. A black speedboat buzzed around her loaded with three ominous figures, obviously the bad-guy actors in this scene, one was pointing a harpoon gun at the spinning jet-ski. Two other rescue speedboats stayed a decent distance to port and starboard of her, out of camera range.

      “They’re not actually going to shoot at her!” Sol squeaked with alarm. Two other larger vessels supposedly armed with cameras, adding to the crazed mix of zooming craft out in the bay. As she spoke the jet-ski soared upright into the air by about five feet, the pink figure jettisoned skyward even further, spinning into a roll around the flying harpoon, and diving down into the sea-foam.

 “Bleeding hell!” breathed Solley.

“Go, Aunt Marsha!”, “Whoohoo!” the kids yelled.

 “Is it safe to look?” Janie squinted from behind her hands.

      The scene was quickly re-assembled and the crazy wheeling started all over again. And so the afternoon wore on until on the fifth attempt the pattern suddenly changed. This time as the pink figure spun into the water they heard a sharp shout from one of the accompanying speedboats as it cut quickly across to the abandoned jet-ski.

 “What’s going on?” Solley asked her silent children as they gazed intently towards the unfolding scene. Janie stepped forward, her face waxen.

 “God, no” she muttered, “Something’s gone wrong.”

      As they watched a figure launched itself in a sharp dive from the speeding rescue boat as it ploughed swiftly through the water.

 “That’s Gin!” shouted Jed, “She’s in the rescue boat.” as the figure struck out boldly towards the stunned stuntwoman. They all stood frozen watching as another helper joined Gin as she valiantly held the upper body of a limp Marsha out of the water.

 “Jesus!” cried Janie as they watched Marsha being carefully handed up into the speedboat that quickly spun round and headed to shore.

     The jetty became a heaving mass of orchestrated activity. By the time the vessel reached the pier Marsha was upright, sitting beside a concerned Gin who had a comforting arm around her. The studio doctor and paramedics dashed onto the boat to begin attending to Marsha’s left ankle. Gin extracted herself from the crowded vessel and leapt up onto the jetty moving quickly towards Janie who was descending on the scene at a rapid pace, the rest of her family hot on her heels.

      “Janie,” she called to the troubled woman bearing down on her, “it’s okay she was only out for a split-second and didn’t inhale any water.  She’s snapped her ankle but it looks like a clean break. The paramedics will take her over to Central once they get her strapped up.”

 “I’ll break more than her bloody ankle! Let me through.” Janie snapped as she stepped gingerly into the boat where she reached for the hand of her extremely pale, pained girlfriend. “I’m here baby.”

      Solley threw together a light supper for herself and the kids and ushered them all to bed before Marsha and Janie returned from the hospital. Gin had followed the ambulance in a studio car so she could bring them back afterwards. At first the children were reluctant to go upstairs until they had seen Marsha return safely, but Solley persuaded them that it could take some time and they would always see her in the morning. Finally the house grew quiet and she sat down with a beer on the moon drenched back deck and waited.

      Nearly an hour later she heard a car quietly cruise around to the back of the house to where she was seated. Rising she saw Gin and Janie help their invalid out of the back of the vehicle. Sheepishly moving forward on her new crutches Marsha raised her face and threw a crooked grin up towards Solley where she hovered anxiously on the deck steps.

 “Please”, she called up, “no more help! I’m drowning in it!”

 “Well, sure.” drawled Solley as she moved back out of the way of the slowly ascending woman, “Knock yourself out!”

 “Hardee har!” Marsha drew level with her.

 “So, Long-John, what’s the verdict?”

 “Well, I broke my lucky ankle again. It’s always been weak from an earlier break years ago. I’m always spraining and straining it, so no biggie, just shit timing.”

 “And this would be the lucky ankle…why?”

 “Because it’s not my other ankle...it’s still good. Virgin bones!”

 Janie following behind her rolled her eyes at her lovers words of wisdom. “Virgin brain!” she muttered as she directed Marsha inside. “Come on you. Straight to bed while the drugs are still working, you’ll be a whining bitch when you wake up in the morning.”

      They limped inside leaving Solley and Gin alone in the warm breeze blowing in from the bay. Silently they took a seat and looked out across the water.

 “Would you like a cold beer?” Solley broke the companionable silence.

 “That would be lovely.” came the shy response.

  “It was a good job you were there today. “ Solley returned and passed Gin the opened bottle.

 “I could tell the minute she leapt from the jet-ski that she was not going to pull out of the angle of tilt correctly. It’s a hazard of aqua-stunts, the conditions have no consistency, each run re-writes the rules of the previous one.” She took a long draw from her bottle, and Solley watched the smooth throat working as the cool beer was swallowed down. She too found herself swallowing involuntarily as she observed the moonlight playing on the angular planes of the dark woman’s face and the strong muscles moving under the smooth skin of jaw and throat.

     “She is gorgeous. I can hardly blame the kids for wanting to run away with her at every opportunity. Shit, half the film crew wants to run away with her, if not commit fucicide in her bed!”

 “I like your kids.” Suddenly she was aware Gin had turned towards her and she was flustered at being caught red-handed examining the other woman’s profile. “They’re really great, and loads of fun. That Della has an answer for everything.”

 “Yea,” Solley smiled, “she is certainly the alpha bitch in that little cub-pack. I’m glad they seem to be having so much fun here. God knows things are hard enough at home for them. I think meeting you was the icing on a very big holiday cake. But please don’t let them run you ragged, we all know you’re here to work.”

 “I’m happy to see them in my free time. I’m sorry things are tough at home.” She added shyly.

       “How can someone so sweet burn holes in the sheets?” Solley cleared her throat, embarrassed at her sudden thoughts. “Well I better head on up. “She collected her empty bottle as she rose. “Thanks for the company. Goodnight.”

 “Goodnight.” Gin responded softly, she had taken Solley’s discomfort to be indicative of her awkward intrusion into her home situation and she mentally kicked herself for her rudeness. Marsha had mentioned that there was an acrimonious bust up going on in the background but had given no details in a show of frankly uncharacteristic thoughtfulness. Probably a side effect of living with Janie.

     Gin sat on a few moments musing about the battered little family she was just beginning to get to know. The kids were real gems, funny and intelligent and just great company to be around. It gave her such a well needed boost just being in their presence. Their mother was a very attractive woman, but plainly very tired and stressed and carrying a great deal of pain. Gins heart went out to her. Divorce was such a messy business she thought ruefully, with so many innocent victims. Marsha had, however, managed to drop mention of a third party, and Gin could only imagine what a fool this man was to walk away from his beautiful wife and fantastic kids for another woman. Sighing at the ignorance of strangers she finished her beer and rose tiredly to head to her own bed. It had been a long and eventful day.

Wednesday.

     Marsha’s woeful predicament became the children’s endless fixation the next morning.

 “Will you lose your toe?”

  “Did you actually see your own bone? Gross!”

 “I like the colour, purple is my new best favourite.”

 “Maybe you’ll get gangrene.”

 “If a rat ate your foot when you were asleep would you feel it?”

 Janie came to the rescue and dosed her girlfriend to the brim with the painkillers the hospital had attached to the patient.

 “Right my little ghouls, I’m off into town to collect Hop-Along’s next fix from the pharmacist. Who wants to come with me? Maybe we can stop at Toys R Us and get some of those massive water guns, now that Auntie Marsha’s a sitting duck?”

 Amid cheers from the kids as they scrambled off to the car there came a small and pathetic “Hey” from Marsha. Janie leant in to kiss her lover warmly before collecting the car keys and following the children. “Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll get you one of those little raincoats with the duckies on it.” Whistling she strolled out of the door.

      “I know you love her, but sometimes your sister’s a bastard.” Marsha growled huffily at Solley.

 “Funny enough, that’s what mother always used to say. Our baby sister is the real angel of the family.”  Solley rejoined.

 “How long has Grace left to do at Chichester Uni?”

 “One more year until she qualifies. Imagine a real live dentist in the Rayner family. Mother would be so proud.”

Marsha frowned, a dentist, with all the associated pain and discomfort of that profession did not sound at all an unusual career choice for a member of the Rayner clan in her opinion.

      “Hey Sol, if you’ve haven’t any plans for this morning would you like to help me down to the jetty? Gins replacing me for the last of the jet-ski shots and I’d really like to be there.” 

 “Sure” Solley was curiously pleased at the thought of seeing Gin in action again; now she had a rudimentary understanding of what exactly was going on.

      As they slowly approached the jetty they could see it was a heaving mass of activity. All the sea-going vessels including the numerous trashed upon jet-skis were moored alongside the weathered boards. A variety of sound, film and techno people rushed through their work in choreographed motion. As they progressed along the moorings the crowd parted and they beheld the wondrous sight of Gin on the water below them, astride a jet-ski and clad in a lurid pink wet suit and ridiculous blonde wig. Solley snorted down a laugh as she and Marsha drew near.

      “Oh my God you’re like a sliver surfer drag queen!”

 Gin glanced up at them through the long tendrils of her gaudy strawberry-blonde wig with a saucy smile her dark eyes sparkled with mischief.

 “And just where the hell did you get those from!” Marsha thrust a probing finger towards Gins suddenly ample chest.

 “Well, the truly scary thing about all this,” Gin replied, “is that I’m meant to look like you looking like Kelly Rose looking like Red Revenge! So don’t start on me about these tits. I take it you didn’t need a stuffed bra!”

 Solley giggled at the spectacle of the slim young woman bedecked with a garish blonde wig and a chest that would land her flat on her face if she were not already hanging onto the jet-ski throttles. “And there I was thinking they were buoyancy aids.”

 “Oh the world is so full of funny white women with big tits! Must be where you store all your humour!” Gin sniffed, revving up the engine and slowly pulling away from the pier.

     “Boob envy – so common, so sad.” Marsha sighed theatrically to Solley.

 “It must be an enormous obstacle to get over.”, her sister in law rejoined as they both collapsed in giggles at the sight of the buxom Gin bouncing out over the waves with as much dignity as she could muster.  They spent a further hour watching Gin go through the same procedure as Marsha did the previous day, until Marsha indicated that it was time to return the house.

      Slowly they headed back through the sand dunes, aware that Gin would be joining them soon after her wrap. They were about fifty yards from the deck and Marsha had just spied Janie’s car parked back at the house when war whoops suddenly broke out around them and they were ambushed from over the dunes by three small warriors armed with mega water cannons.

 “Little rat-bastards” Marsha howled as she was deluged with a series of direct hits. Unbalanced she sunk from her crutches into the sand to become even more of a target to her totally ruthless younger kin. Shrieking with laughter Solley made a sprint for the safety of the house, already sodden herself.

 “Man down, man down!” Marsha cried out to her fleeing back.

 “You’re on your own.” she called back over a fast retreating shoulder, “Think of it as a lesson in parenting.”

      Five minutes later Solley was towelling herself down in her sister’s kitchen.

 “I’ve told them, no water in the house, but they can cause whatever mayhem they want outside,” Janie explained the water fight rules to Sol.

     The door burst open and Gin flung herself through, a drowned Marsha hanging from her shoulder. They were both dripping water, their clothes thoroughly drenched. Outside the shrieks and victorious yells of the kids continued as long jets of water bounced harmlessly off the windowpanes of the kitchen door.

 “Incoming!” she cried dramatically. “We need a medic! We’re outnumbered and surrounded and we’re out of ammo!” dumping a sodden sand-encrusted Marsha on the kitchen floor.

 “Look at you!  You’re like a rag-worm. Stop dirtying the floor!” Janie shouted at her erstwhile lover.

 “Hey you’re the one got them the water guns! Wet sand sticks like glue. They trashed me, and that traitorous sister of yours ran away and left me. Good job my main man here came along and rescued me or I’d be lying in a pool of quicksand by now.”

 “Hey, I ran because I know them!”

      Marsha struggled up on her lone crutch; the other abandoned outside in no mans land. “I think we should reconsider this baby thing.” She addressed Janie levelly. Janie, holding her gaze reached over to the kitchen table and held up two extra brand new water cannons. “Nobody said it was gonna be easy!” she snarled, tossing one to Gin and the other to her partner. Nodding tersely towards the sink she snapped, “Now load up and head out!”

     As Marsha passed by to collect her weapon Janie suddenly grabbed her by the front of her limp and sandy T-shirt.  “Don’t put your ass on the line soldier. I’m gonna need it tonight!” and with that she laid a big wet kiss on her lovers lips before pushing her roughly away.

 “Movie folk, so clichéd!” Solley rolled her eyes. Her eyes met Gins and they both smirked at their companion’s silver screen moment.

       For the next better part of the afternoon Solley and her sister calmly prepared dinner in the kitchen while outside a gang war raged. Marsha, given her delicate condition had ensconced herself upstairs on her bedroom balcony and proceeded to wreak revenge on the junior members of her family in a sniper like fashion. Meanwhile Gin was leaping and diving across the sand-dunes leaving a trail of waterlogged devastation with a series of ruthlessly executed guerrilla tactics. The kids were in hysterics, running from haphazard ambush to gleeful full face confrontation. All were soaked beyond all hope, but in the hazy heat of the late afternoon sun the water was warm and their energy high. 

      Once dinner was ready Solley opened to kitchen door and moved on the soaked deck waving the white napkin of peace to holler for a truce while the meal was delivered. It was not to be; a strong and merciless arc of water whipped up from one of the sand-dunes and hit her squarely on the chest. Spluttering as the crescendo rose onto her face and mouth she heard Janie too howl as the water flew through the open door and into the interior of the kitchen.

 “Right, that’s it! Weapons down and get your squelchy asses onto this deck right now!” she demanded in her most enraged matriarchal tone. Recognising this voice as the ‘end of all good things’ the kids slowly trudged up to the deck, heads lowered, guns trailing and bottom lips extruded.

 “What were the rules!” she demanded as they lined up before her.

 “Gin did it.”

 “No excuses! Look at the kitchen, it’s soaked...” she began to scold when the kids suddenly went into fits of giggles. Frowning she noticed their eyes were focussed behind her. Turning round she could see nothing out on the bay that might amuse them. Swinging back round she continued, warming to her theme. “You have all the bay the play in, there was no need to aim at the house...” again she was greeted with giggles from the children. Glancing behind her she still could not see what was causing such mirth.

     For a third time and with much suspicion she turned to the kids, only to quickly swing back round to where their eyes were focussed. There, much to her surprise hung Gin Ito, upside down suspended from the balcony by her feet like a giant bat, and pulling faces at her behind her back much the snorting glee of her children.

      Eye to eye in a weird upside down way Solley continued to scold, “Oh and you must be the mature adult! I hear you’re the one responsible for this.” She indicated her soaked T-shirt. Gin’s eyes lowered following her accusing finger. Solley glanced down too, immediately blushing as she became aware of the thin semi translucent material that clung to her hardened nipples, clearly outlining them through the wet fabric. “Fuck, where did they come from!” she thought, horrified that she had drawn the other woman’s attention to ..well, her attention seeking nipples! “Christ, why don’t I just send her a pornographic picture of myself!”

     After a slight hesitation Gin tore her eyes from the wet T-shirt, and throwing an awkward glance towards the children suddenly drew herself back up onto the balcony and out of sight again with a humorous, guilty little squeak. The kids howled with laughter at the deliberate clowning. Footsteps could be heard scampering across the bedroom floor overhead. Joining in the fun as much to cover her embarrassment as to please the kids Solley yelled up towards the footsteps, “Come down here now you little squirt, I want a word with you!” and headed for the stairs. No sooner had she moved in that direction that Gin suddenly vaulted over the balcony railings onto the deck, landing lightly on her practised feet.

      Hearing the gentle thump along with the chortles of her children Solley turned to see Gin indicting with a finger to her lips for the kids to be quiet as she attempted to sneak up on Sol.  Spinning on her heels Solley levelled an accusing finger, “And don’t think I don’t see you!” with that she half-heartedly lunged at Gin to begin a quick farcical circuit by both women around the lounge settee to the kids delighted hoots of laughter.

      Their clowning continued until Solley caught her heel on the coffee table and lost balance. The back of her knees hit the armrest of the settee and in falling backwards she managed to snare the front of Gins top dragging the smaller woman down on top of her onto the soft cushions. They lay there, nose to nose for a short stunned moment. Solley found herself sucked into the glowing depths of the black enigmatic eyes hovering above hers; she could feel the hard length of Gins sinewy body pressing down on her, crushing her breasts, one steely thigh slowly pushing her softer ones apart. Gin, supporting what little of her weight she could on palms already sinking into the plump cushions, could feel herself slide closer and closer to the full petal lips that parted moistly below her. So close they could share air, and still she was slipping uncontrollably closer. She could feel the heat pulsing from Solley’s hips and thighs, smell the warm scent of her soft white throat, and feel the pebble hard nipples peaked upon soft abundant breasts scrape against her pounding chest… 

 “Are they having sex?” Della’s innocently perplexed voice cut through their overloaded senses.

Will shrugged disinterestedly, “Dunno.”

 “Puke! Girl stuff!” Jed wrinkled his nose in disgust.

      Suddenly horrified at their predicament the two women hastily scrabbled to their feet. “Right you lot, upstairs and wash before dinner.” Solley ordered brusquely, the afternoon’s fun far behind them now.

      Grumbling the children trudged off to do as they were told sensing that not only was the frolicking over but that they were suddenly very, very hungry. A muffled voice could be heard from upstairs now that the ruckus had died down, “I wouldn’t mind having a wash before dinner either, if someone would lift me off the floor!” Gin moved towards the stairwell, casting a shy grin towards Solley, “That’s Marsha, I forgot she was on the balcony. I’d better go and pick her up. Sorry about the T-shirt.”

 “You mean you did soak me? I thought the kids were telling stories.”

 With a sly grin, her eyes lingering again on the sodden, transparent cotton, Gin turned quickly and ducked out of the room.

      Solley flung herself back down onto the settee. “What the hell, God you’re one stupid horny bitch!” she remonstrated herself. A knowing smile suddenly carved her lips, “Stupid horny bitch…yes you are; and boy does it feel good! Welcome to the world, baby girl. ” she mentally patted her awakening libido.

Thursday.

      Mid morning Solley planted her daughter into the back of her car, sans Nelson, a chore in itself, and together they headed into town on a girls errand with a grocery list. The boys were back at the beach under the watchful eye of Janie. Marsha and Gin had disappeared early for location discussions with the director concerning a no-brainer cliff dangling scene, as Janie liked to describe it.

      “I feel like baking, what say we get the ingredients in for cupcakes and cookies?” Solley called back to her daughter in the rear.  Just them a mobile phone rang. Solley recognised the ring-tone as her own and began to frantically try and recall where she had last left her phone. “I thought it was in the dresser drawer, maybe I left it in the glove box.” she frowned.

 “Hello?” Gazing in the rear mirror she saw her daughter calmly answer into a petite cell phone, Solley’s phone; that she had pulled from her little pink backpack. “No, she’s busy at the moment. Can I take a message? Mmmm. Mmmm. I see. Yes, I’ll tell her.” She snapped the phone shut like a junior executive.

 “What are you doing with my phone, young lady?”

 “I was remembering it. You always forget, and it’s a good job cos that was an emergency.”

 Silence. “Well, hadn’t you better tell me what the emergency is about?”

 “Oh yeah, Aunt Marsha says Jed’s hurt and Aunt Janie and Gin Ito are taking him to Central and you have to go there too.” She rhymed off the message.

  “What!” Solley nearly swerved the SUV into the kerb. “Oh my God, bloody hell.”

 “Yes, bloody hell.” Della agreed stoically.

      Central Hospital was only a twenty minute detour away, and by the time Solley drew up into the parking lot outside and dragged Della into the building Janie and Gin had Jed already under the care of the Emergency Room staff.

 “He’s getting X-rays.” Janie flew over to her worried sister. “It looks like a fractured arm.”

 “How the hell did it happen?” Solley demanded full of worry.

 “Well, you see,” Janie looked a little guilty, “I’m afraid he kind of jumped off the balcony.”

 “Jumped off the balcony!” Solley nearly screeched.

 “Hmmm.” Janie nodded. “Leapt right off it, like a flying squirrel. Gin and Marsha had just returned so we bundled him up and got him straight here. Marsha’s at home with Will.”

       Solley turned her shocked eyes to Gin. “And I wonder where he got the idea to leap off a balcony from!” she demanded scathingly towards the worried woman.

 Gin sputtered apologetically, “I had no idea he would do that. I’d have explained; done the ‘Don’t try this at home’ spiel if…”

 “If you hadn’t already done it at home yourself!” Solley interrupted. “I suppose we can only be thankful that you didn’t decide to immolate yourself; or stick your head in a blender. Perhaps if you had merely gargled with bleach…”

 “Now Solley, that’s not fair.” Janie interjected. “We all know how mad Jed is about stunts, but none of us thought he’d play Tarzan without a vine. You can’t blame Gin for that. He could just as easily copied some of the mad stuff Marsha does.”

      Just then a nurse appeared and approached the small group. Solley identified herself as the patient’s mother and was lead off to meet her unfortunate son, leaving a relieved Gin and Janie to return home with Della.

      “Redheads really do have a bad temper.” Gin observed as she sat at the kitchen table having a light lunch with Janie, Marsha and the twins. She observed the two blonde mops of wind crazed hair sitting on the bench across from her. “It’s strange how all her children have incredibly blonde hair.”

 “Let me explain, first of all any mother would be a little temperamental at their child launching himself from an upstairs storey like an X-man without the X-factor. Secondly, believe me it’s through no fault of your own.” added Janie at Gins guilty look. “And last but not least, yes, she is an evil bad tempered bitch when she wants to be.”

  “Also,” she added as an after thought, “apparently redheads and brunettes always produce fair haired children. It’s a genetic thing.”

      Marsha and Gin both digested this interesting news while regarding the mop-heads opposite. “You mean someone dark like me would have blonde kids with Solley.” Gin mused out loud. Marsha obviously found the idea fascinating while Janie paused momentarily as she tallied up the many things that were wrong with that statement.

 “Again let me explain; first of all you are not a brunette…you have black hair. Secondly the genetic rule applies only to Caucasians, as far as I’m aware, and you are not Caucasian. And last but not least I don’t think you could get my sister knocked up no matter how hard you happily tried; and if you do have a secret please share it with Marsha as it would save us a small fortune and a lot of time!”

 Gin blushed, “That’s not what I meant.”

      Della looked up from her sandwich and piped, “Is that why you and Mommy were having sex on the settee last night? Do you want to give Mommy a baby?”

 “Will it be a boy or a girl?” Will asked with solemn concern. He didn’t want another sister.

 Marsha, in mid-swallow managed to shoot her OJ down her nose much to the   fascination and admiration of her nephew and niece. Janie gaped with dropped jaw from Della to Will to Gin and full circle again. Gin turned aubergine with embarrassment.

 “I fell on her…after I jumped from the balcony...” she sputtered in abject misery. Janie still couldn’t find a coherent sentence.

     “Oooh, I see. You really are a grand example to the kids.” Marsha drawled smugly, rising opportunistically to the occasion. “First of we’ve got Jed leaping about like a lemming…and God knows what weird shit these two will be up to in later years after what they’ve witnessed! And they’re at such a delicate age in their social and psychological development too!” she lamented, eyes raised to heaven.

 “It wasn’t like that!” Gin rose hurriedly from the table. “Appointment! Gotta go.” And practically ran from the room.

      Moments later the kids whooped out of the kitchen and onto the beach front with Nelson, leaving Marsha and Janie alone at the table.

 “Do you think Gin likes my sister that way?” asked Janie.

 “What do I know I’m goofed up on painkillers all day long.”

 “Well something around here is not adding up! And if there’s one thing I insist on it’s a balanced book.”

      Some time later Solley brought a very sleepy and sore Jed back from the hospital.

 “He’s got a very slight concussion too” she informed her sister. “The hospital said to get him to rest up for a bit. I’m just going to pack him off to bed. He’s so doped hopefully he’ll sleep most of the day.”

      A short while later she descended the stairs after tucking her son in. “Where are the other two; bungee jumping, hand-feeding sharks?”

 “Don’t get snippy with me. I’m not the one who makes a living by trying to fore-shorten it!” Janie barked back.

 “Ah yes, talking about reckless abandon, where is Danger Mouse anyway. I want a word with her!” Solley was still at boiling point and she knew just who she wanted to vent at. Marsha ducked her head and examined the table top with detailed interest, she could feel the blistering heat from where she sat and had nothing but grim sympathy for Gin when Solley finally located her. Janie however had grown up with her sister’s volcanic temper and was completely unmoved. Plus she had an agenda of her own.

      “Yes, talking about reckless abandon…what the hell were you and Gin Ito up to on my settee last night!  I want a word too!”

 Solley was completely flabbergasted, her temper deflating in zero seconds. “What…” she managed.

 “Yes, I heard all about it. Any wonder the kids do the things they do what with the two of you behaving like mating chimps!” Janie heaped on the scorn, but her eyes were twinkling with evil delight. Marsha chanced a small snicker too, still uncertain as to Solley’s mood.

 “It wasn’t like that! We just fell over. Oh for Gods sake!” and with that she flounced out of the house.

 “She’s on a high horse.” Marsha observed.

 “Well, as long as she can afford to feed it. High Horses are high maintenance.” Janie sniffed. “Myself, I’ve always preferred the Moral High Ground. There’s such a nice view.” She sat back down and primly poured herself more tea.

Friday.

      After breakfast Solley left the kids on the beach and set off on a mission. Della and Will now had their right arms in tea-towel slings copying their erstwhile brother; and all three were driving Nelson into a frenzy playing one-armed Frisbee. It seemed Jed was now a hero, right up there with his hop-along aunt and Gin Ito, and Solley was not amused. Heading over towards the trailer campsite she hoped to catch the stuntwoman before filming began for the day.

     Gin Ito had managed to duck and dive Solley all of Thursday afternoon like an infantryman coming over the top. Her luck ran out on Friday big time.

      “Gin Ito! I need to see you, come here” she heard the furious bellow halfway through her solitary early morning Thai Chi.  Peace, harmony and inner equilibrium shattered like glass as she stumbled and turned towards the tall, flame-haired Valkyrie striding purposely towards her across the sands.

 “What exactly did you tell my sister occurred on the settee the other night?”

 “Nothing! Nothing occurred. I said nothing. It was your children who squealed. They said things. Incorrect things.” Gin blabbed amazed at how her heartbeat could drum in her head, the wind could howl in her ears and her tongue could wag like a cat-flap, all because this very angry woman had descended on her lashing like a red sandstorm.

 “Let me get this right…my children squealed incorrect things?” Solley quoted eye to eye with her quarry.  Gin felt like a big fat stool pigeon, betraying the kids like that in her panic.

 “There is no possible way your sister could think anything else. The children simply misunderstood. They thought we were trying to make a baby.” Nevertheless Gin couldn’t stop her cat-flap syndrome.

 “Pardon? Would you care to elucidate.”

 “I can’t. I ran away.” Gin finally capitulated, her eyes full of forlorn apology.          

    Remembering her own quick flight from her conversation with Janie, Solley thought she could afford to sympathise.

 “Its okay.” she relaxed understanding a little better. ”Janie’s a bitch when she’s got one over on you. I take it she was mocking you cruelly. Been there, suffered that, forced to eat the T-shirt.”

      “This has been a very unfortunate week for your family. I understand that things are stressful.” Gin offered.

  “This is meant to be a relaxing family holiday. Dan is going to freak if I bring the kids back looking like they’ve done a tour of Iraq.”

 “Look, we’re doing some re-shoots this afternoon. Just low-key stuff; nothing extreme. What say Marsha and I take the kids with us and let you and Janie head into town for a few hours of shopping? It’s a kind of ‘I’m sorry I put the idea of leaping off a balcony into your son’s head’ type of apology. Please let me try and make it up to you.”

 Solley softened. “Okay, I guess I owe you a second chance. I’ve got to finish the errands I started on yesterday. It’s a deal. But be careful, okay!” her tone hardened. 

      By late afternoon Janie and Solley had returned from a really relaxing day in town. They picked up the groceries on the way back and were busy unpacking them into the kitchen cupboards when something caught Janie’s eye out of the kitchen window.

 “Oh my God” she breathed in alarm. “Sol, you better steel yourself, this is not going to be pretty.”

 “What is it?” Solley glanced over her sister’s shoulder, “What the fuck!”

      Coming over the dunes towards them was Gin Ito, holding hands with a dishevelled Will, an enormous black eye-patch covering his left eye. He looked merry enough, having quite taken to his new eye-wear; Gin Ito on the other hand looked decidedly twitchy, throwing anxious glances towards the house.

      Solley, quickly followed by Janie, was out the door in a flash and pounding across the sand towards the straggling couple. Spying her looming approach Gin paled visibly and swallowed hard.

 “Look at me Mum, I’m a pirate!” Will yelled happily, and letting go of Gins hand he scampered over to his mother.

 “What happened sweetie?” Solley gathered him into a hug.

 “I hurt my eye and the movie doctor put some cream in and a pirate patch on it. Della and Jed are really jealous.” He pulled away from her. “Did you get ice cream?”

 “In the freezer.” Solley answered distractedly. He flew past her and on towards the house, his aunt Janie deciding to retire with him. She could see the brooding storm in Solley’s eyes and thought it best to leave the explanations between Gin and Solley well alone.

 “Why is my child half-blinded?”

 “Well,” began Gin awkwardly, “it seems he was in my trailer… and somehow managed to stab himself with an eye-liner pencil.  I mean it’s a lot less than it looks. It stung a little bit, but the Doc washed it out and dressed it. The patch was more to placate him than anything really…”

 “An eye-liner pencil.” Solley repeated flatly.

 “I think he’s got a Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow thing going on or something. He really loves the patch.” Gin shrugged apologetically, “I’m sorry. I think I’m cursed around your kids.”

 “No, it seems I’m cursed with you around my kids. It seems you won’t be happy until we’re all flown out of here by air ambulance!” she snapped sarcastically.  “More fool me for trusting you! Thank you so much for the relaxing afternoon!”  With that she spun around and headed back to check on Will’s injuries for herself, leaving a dejected Gin Ito gazing after her.

     The evening meal took place on the deck as usual. Solley sat and gazed at her brood with defeated resignation, all three now sported eye-patches in solidarity with Will. Jed and Della’s were homemade from wads of tissues and sticky-tape. Will and Della still wore the tea-towel slings they’d assembled that morning in honour of Jed. In the middle of it all sat Marsha with her plastered foot elevated after a long day. “We looked like a triage station rather than a family barbeque”. Solley caught her sister’s rueful glance and merely rolled her eyes. “I’ll see if the cookies are ready.”

      She stood up and moved towards the kitchen. While in town with Janie earlier she had managed to buy the ingredients and was now baking a batch of the kid’s favourite treats.

      Gin Ito slowly mounted the veranda steps. She had worked late, consulting with Jeff over last minute rushes, glad of the diversion from the earlier catastrophe of the afternoon. She still felt incredibly bad that once again one of the kids had come off worse for wear, and this time she was supposed to be caring for him.  She had promised to look out for them so faithfully to Solley, and look what happened. She totally understood the young mother’s stress levels concerning her kids, especially if there was a nasty divorce and custody battle pending.

      Hearing the voices on the back deck she moved towards the rear of the house passing the open kitchen door on her way. A quick glance brought her to a halt, inside the cool interior Solley stood with her back to the door. She bent over the open oven inspecting what smelt like cookies. Her swimsuit was covered only by a T-Shirt that had ridden up over her buttocks her long bronzed legs were taut and stretched from her stoop. “Nice calves,” Gin stood silently, observing the musculature with a professional eye, “Nice hamstrings too. And gluts…”  Her gaze travelled up the toned skin to where it shadowed into the crevice of Solley’s sex. Gin swallowed hard, her head cocked, totally immersed in the contours of the shadowy nook, her features totally still as she drank in the intimate vision.  “Why does she captivate me? I know I could look at her forever. This woman makes me feel so stupid and awkward whenever I’m around her and here I am spying on her, eyes glued to her cunt. Oh god, I’m imagining my hand cupping it from behind.”

      She was so engrossed she didn’t notice the slow approach of Janie helping a stiff and sore Marsha along the veranda. Mystified they stopped to see what culinary spectacle had so mesmerised their guest. Shaking herself into awareness of the new arrivals Gin gave her hosts a tight polite smile, and with as much dignity as she could muster turned quickly and walked away towards the back deck and the children’s voices. Janie and Marsha looked questioningly into the kitchen at a blissfully unaware Solley, still bent over the cookie tray.

 “Was Gin Ito checking out my sister ass?” Janie murmured.

 “Please,” Marsha rolled her eyes, “even I check out you sister’s ass. “

     The cookies now a plate of crumbs, the kids decided on one last starlit splash in the sea before bedtime. Solley accompanied them down to the shore, mainly to ensure Jed did not wet his cast. Standing there casually watching the loves of her live bounding through the smaller waves, laughing and shrieking at the antics of Nelson Solley felt a great melancholy descend, “God knows the next time they’d all be able to do this again.”

 “Hey,” a warm voice sounded behind her. “I just wanted to apologise again, and again, and again…”

“Let it go. I know what the kids are like. I’m just strung out these days, and foul tempered most others. Everyone knows I’m a shrew.” She turned to find Gin standing silently watching the kids frolic with a hauntingly sad smile. Solley watched this gentle play of emotion wash across the darkly handsome features.

 “Have you any children of your own?” she asked quietly. Gin’s face suddenly stilled.

 “No.” she replied, then turned and walked quietly away. “Goodnight.” she murmured over her shoulder.

Saturday.

      Janie decided to take things into her own hands the next morning. No more beating round the bush, so to speak. There was lustiness in the air and she was going to get to the bottom of it, and only her sister was truly abreast of the situation. “No more thinking in puns either.” as she poured coffee and waited for the aroma to lure Solley into the kitchen. She had all of a four minute wait.

 “So what’s going on between you and Small, Dark and Plummeting? And don’t think I haven’t noticed!”

 “What the hell are you talking about?” Solley glared at her sister over the rim of her cup.

 “You’re hot for her. I recognise that ‘Chase Me Charlie’ look you have in your eyes! “

 “Bollocks! Where Gin Ito’s concerned it’s more like ‘Kill Me Charlie’.”

 “You’d jump off that balcony yourself if you thought you’d land on her!”

 “I’d rather land one of her goddamned helicopters on her at the moment. You are so off-line about this.”

 “I am never off-line about you, sister dear. I can read you like a book, and at the moment it’s a well thumbed Joy of Sex book! You are harbouring torrid thoughts and I think it’s for her and I think it’s great.”

 “Great?”

 “Definitely. You need to have a fling, move on and have yourself a little fun. You’ve been miserable for way too long.”

 “That may be so, but a quick screw on the eve of my divorce is not going to help me one little bit. It may be Dan’s reaction to not give a flying fuck, but it’s not mine! And please, no more of your love advice; it stinks!”

 “You haven’t been serviced in years, if you were a car you’d be illegal!” Janie blew back, “If anyone deserves a flying fuck it’s you. And believe me if anyone can give you one, it’s a stuntwoman.”

 “Well, excuse me!” Solley sprang up with what dignity she could bolt together. “I have no wish or need for a fuck, flying, stationary or otherwise. I am here with my children, or what’s left of them, for a family holiday of rest and recuperation and that is all I need! And I especially don’t need the lauded love attentions of LaLa the Lucky Lemming!”

 “Talk about the L word! All you need to do is fit ‘Lick me LaLa’ in there and you finally got a sensible sentence.”

 “Oh shut up. You’re wrong, so drop it!”, and with that she turned to humourlessly stomp out of the kitchen.

 “Oh wake up and smell your knickers!” her sisters parting shot scorched her ears.

     The lazy morning matured into a particularly hot afternoon and Solley slid into the veranda hammock where she swayed gently in the breeze observing the kids splashing in the surf with the big red pup.

She drifted off to sleep in the quiet lull of sea surf, gull cries and the happy voices of her children, and sometime later began to dream.

She was tending a vibrant window box, resplendent with rich coloured blossoms and strong green foliage, and she knew it was her job to care for the flowers. But even though she knew she loved this job she also knew she needed help with the watering. Someone had been sent to bring her water. Suddenly she looked down along her marvellously flat belly, she felt very good about this part of the dream, to see the person who had come to help her. A very dark head was buried between her thighs suckling on her clitoris, a thick tongue occasionally breaking away to lap between her lips at her freely flowing juices. It buried deep inside her to extract more and more of her flow, burrowing down into her folds like a vibrating honey bee. She moaned deeply, understanding in her dream that she was the water, and that her lover had created this abundant flow. The dark head raised, the mouth never leaving her sex, the tongue persistently stroking her in a hard fast rhythm, the lips settling again around her clitoris, pumping it persistently.  Suddenly her lover’s eyes opened and locked with hers. She found herself falling into the endless midnight of Gin Ito’s inky irises, they were pulling her down into an infinite black universe with every tugging suck; and then, with no warning, a million stars exploded in those eyes, like the primeval birth of worlds. Her body quivered, a deep growl built up in her throat. Instinctively she understood that she had put those stars into Gin Ito’s eyes, they had not been there before in those bottomless depths, they had only come into existence through her and her explosive orgasm. Again she moaned as her mind exploded with a festival of fireworks all reflected in her lovers dark eyes, and she heard voices, and music, and singing…Della’s singing??... Her eyes fluttered open to meet with Gin Ito’s curious gaze.

       She was sitting on the nearby swing chair with an arm wrapped around Della’s shoulder Nelson stretched snoring over both their laps. Della was singing a skipping song in her high lilting voice. “When Suzie was a little girl a little girl was she. And she sang Ooh Aay I’m six today. I’ve got a pony and he eats green hay.” She warbled to the blissfully snoozing dog.

      Gin smiled across the few yards to the hammock where Solley still blinked in shock, rolling gently back down to earth on the waves of a soft breeze and the physical immediacy of her wet dream.

“Are you okay? You were moaning a lot.”

 “Maybe Mommy has a sore tummy.” Della piped up, still humming a part of her refrain.

      Totally flustered Solley sat up her face burning, “What time is it.” She eased out of the hammock, painfully aware of Gins presence.

 “You’ve been sleeping for just over an hour.” Gin responded. “Is your stomach alright? You really were moaning quite loudly.” She sounded genuinely concerned. Solley searched her face but found no hidden laughter there, the question was innocent. Della continued with her second chorus.

 “When Suzie was a teenager a teenager was she. And she sang Ooh Aah I lost my bra, I left my knickers in my girlfriend’s car.”

Gin immediately stiffened and threw a panicked glance at Solley. “I didn’t teach her that!”

Solley grinned at her panic, “Relax, it’s an old bone of contention between us. Della you know that’s not a nice song.”

 “Nelson likes it.”

 “Nelson doesn’t skip, so he doesn’t need to hear it and neither do we, okay young lady. Or do you perhaps want to go to bed early?”

 “Okay, no more songs for poor sleepy Nelson.” Della grumbled compliance.

      However the strong heat of the afternoon and their exertions on the beach put all the children into bed early that evening.  So, suddenly, after a light supper Solley found herself alone, Marsha and Janie having retired early too. Gin Ito had chosen to eat in town with some crew members, and so Solley sat alone on the veranda sipping a cold brew and listening to the waves.

     Sometime after eleven o’clock the pad of quiet footsteps on the deck behind her announced Gin’s arrival back from town.

“Hey, there. Everyone gone to bed?”

“Yea, it’s been a long, hot day; unless you slept it away in a hammock it seems. Want a beer, there’s plenty in the fridge.”

Gin returned with a bottled beer for herself and a refresher for Solley and sat down beside her on the top step. “It’s a beautiful night.”

 “It is. I love it here. I’m so lucky Janie and Marsha have a home here; and an ever open door!”

 “The kids really seem to enjoy it; it’s a perfect place for them to run around.” Gin turned to face Solley, “Sol, I’m really, really sorry Jed and Will got hurt through anything I did or failed to do. I know I keep saying it, but I can’t apologise enough. Please believe me.”

 “I believe you. Please relax. To be honest it’s you that’s really made the summer for them. They just seem to hero-worship you and every unfortunate thing you do.”

 “Truth is I love being around them. To be honest I think your family has made my summer too.” She smiled back shyly.

      Their eyes locked and Solley felt the reverberation of her dream from deep inside her lower belly.  Wetness pooled immediately between her thighs and her breath tightened in her chest as she gazed into the same black depths that had so monopolized her afternoon reveries.  Mesmerised by those eyes she found herself drawn irresistibly towards them and the warm lips hovering below. Gins gaze encompassed hers silently and unwavering.

 “This is how she does it.”  Solley’s last coherent thought drifted through her head. “She hypnotises them into being sex slaves!”

      Then their lips touched, an involuntary gasp from Gin Ito opened hers and Solley, fuelled by years of lacklustre love and the throb of her recent dream drove her tongue forcefully into the depths of the smaller woman’s mouth. Her hot-headed temperament was not only used in anger, it was also the source of a volcanic passion and this she willingly and thoughtlessly unleashed on the strong but slight body she had manoeuvred underneath her own. Her teeth bit and sucked the captive lush lips, her tongue plundered deep into the soft hot mouth. Never had she felt so out of control, this was pure unadulterated lust. She couldn’t control her hands, white-light seemed to streak through her fevered mind as her fingers tore open the fine linen shirt to reveal small firm breasts topped with deliciously dark nipples. Her hurried, rough attentions hardened them, extending the nipples to long taut tips.  “God, she groaned to herself, how many years of worship got them to be so firm and long. They’re like cigar butts. I’m gonna work them so hard I’ll add another millimetre tonight.”   With that she pulled one into her mouth and pumped it with long hard strokes of her tongue, her fingers firmly milking the other one drawing a sharp cry from Gins lips. Solley’s sudden hunger made her hot and rough; she owned these breasts, she knew it, these were her babies, hers to devour. She heard Gin mutter her name, her hands squeezing hard on her shoulders.  “Yea you’re moaning now, but in five minutes you’ll be begging, and in another five you’ll be screaming, and five more after that you’ll be sobbing;  then you’ve five minutes rest and I’m starting all over again.”

      She stretched the nipple already in her mouth hard and taut and then snapped it free it glistened with her saliva in the cool night-air. Her free hand moved to wrestle with Gins belt as her mouth now sucked on the pulse wildly beating at the base of Gins throat. “Take off your pants,” she muttered hoarsely into the dark flesh, pulling roughly at the belt buckle, “I want to see your cunt. I want to be in you. Now!”

       “Solley, Sol…Sol” Gins words were cutting into her conscious, she became aware of frantic hands pulling at her shoulders. She glanced up hotly from her frustrating one-handed struggle with the buckle. Her other hand massaged Gins breast, squeezing the nipple between the ball of her thumb and the side of her forefinger, her other fingers pressing and pummelling the soft breast tissue.

 “Solley…what, what are you doing?” Gin managed to utter in a thick, throaty voice, her skin flushed and heated, her dark eyes glowing. “I’m… I’m not gay…”

      In the frozen silence that followed this announcement somewhere in the house a clock chimed midnight.

End of Week One…wonder what happens in Week Two?

©msprism 2006

Return to the Academy