A Study In Scarlett
by Ann Douglas
- Yesterday -
Rich California countryside raced by the large glass window
as the Southern Pacific's Coastline Express headed towards Los
Angeles. The young, beautiful twenty-year-old in the window seat
tried to lose herself in the ever changing tapestry, but try as she
could, the redhead couldn't shut out the droning voice of the
woman sitting next to her.
For the tenth time in the last hour since she'd boarded the
train at San Jose, the blue-dressed girl regretted taking this seat.
She had been traveling cross-country for over a week now. Every
time she changed trains, she'd made it a point to find a nice quiet
woman to sit next to. This time she had chosen so very badly.
For over an hour the woman who'd introduced herself as
Veronica Wilder had gone on and on about every subject
imaginable. From how badly President Truman was going to lose to
Governor Dewey in the fall elections, to what a wonderful
performance Jane Wyman had given in "Johnny Belinda". She
seemed especially fascinated by the winner of the best actress
Oscar.
"Isn't it a shame," Veronica had said, "that she divorced
her husband just when her career reached the top."
"Yes, it is a shame," The young woman had replied when she
was still trying to stay interested in the conversation. It didn't
take her long to realize that Veronica didn't need an appreciative
audience to keep talking.
"Well it's his loss, believe you me," she went on. "And trust
me, fifty years from now people will still talk about what a great
actress Jane Wyman was and no one will ever remember Ronald
Reagan."
So it had went on, covering other subjects including the
Summer Olympics in London to Dinah Shore and Perry Como's
latest hits. Even hiding her head in the Saturday Evening Post did
little to discourage the older woman. Finally the younger woman
just gave up and began to stare out the window.
"Dear Cousin, there you are," said a strong voice from the
aisle. "I've been looking for you all over the train. I thought we
were going to meet in the dining car?"
That finally ended Veronica's monologue as both women
looked up to see a tall woman in her mid-twenties with black hair.
She was dressed in the uniform of an Army Nurse.
The redhead didn't recognize the woman, but realized this
was an opportune moment to rid herself of Veronica. Quickly she
decided to go along with what had to be the Army Officer's
mistake.
"Where is my head at today?" she asked herself aloud.
"Here I am enjoying our little conversation so much that I totally
forgot. I do hope you haven't been looking for me long, dear
cousin."
"Not too long," the dark-haired woman smiled. "After all, I
only came aboard the train at the last stop."
"Veronica, you must excuse me," the young redhead said to
her seatmate.
"Oh of course," the older woman said as she made room for
the younger woman to pass. "I totally understand."
With a warm smile goodbye, the young woman left Veronica
behind and followed the Army Lieutenant down the aisle.
As they moved into the next car and out of earshot, the
redhead reached out and touched the shoulder of the woman in
front of her. A brief touch, just enough to get her attention as
she paused in her step and turned around.
"I have to apologize," the redhead said in a quiet voice. "I
think I've taken advantage of your error."
"You mean we're not cousins?" the brunette said in mock
surprise.
"Then it wasn't a mistake?" the younger woman asked
cautiously.
"You just looked like you needed help," the Nurse smiled.
"I've had my share of bad company."
"I did. I guess I owe you my thanks then."
"Well since we were supposed to meet in the dining car, why
don't we have a cup of tea?"
"I think that's an excellent suggestion," came the reply.
"We can catch up on old times," she laughed.
"I guess I should introduce myself then," the Army Nurse
said as she extended her hand. "Alice Caldwell."
"Scarlett," the redhead beamed as she reached out with
her own hand. "Scarlett McMurphy."
Even this late in the afternoon, the dining car was still
surprisingly full. Two young men in front of them in line graciously
offered to share their table. Both Scarlett and Alice were quick to
decline their offer, saying they had no problem waiting for the
next free table.
The suggestion was one that both women encountered daily.
Alice was tall with a graceful athletic build, suggestive of a dancer.
Her small firm breasts were visible enough beneath her uniform
jacket so that no one was ever going to mistake her for anything
but a young woman. Her face was more suggestive of the term
cute than beautiful, but she had the kind of looks that would follow
her far into middle age. Her black hair was cut just short enough
to fulfill army regulations, then tied up in a bun.
Scarlett, on the other hand, had never been described as
anything but stunning. Only an inch shorter than Alice at five ten,
she had a build that seemed copied from a statue of Aphrodite.
Her bust, concealed beneath her simple traveling dress, was larger
than Alice's but just as firm. The only makeup she wore was simple
dark red lipstick, which served to accent the natural beauty of her
features. Rich flowing red hair, which would've stretched down
her back if undone, was instead held in place by an elaborate
hairstyle.
By the time they were led to their table five minutes later
by a white-jacketed steward, they could tell they were already on
the way to becoming fast friends.
As her uniform attested, Alice was an Army Nurse and had
been for eighteen months. Twenty-six years old, she was traveling
to Los Angeles on leave before reporting to San Diego for her first
overseas assignment. She had joined the Army in order, as she put
it, to see something besides the twenty square miles that
comprised Ethan Falls, California. Both her mother and father had
been born there, and neither had ever ventured more than fifty
miles from the center of town their whole lives.
"So what strange and exotic place is the Army sending you?"
Scarlett asked as they picked up their small menus.
"Seoul, Korea," Alice said as she laid down her menu, making
a quick choice. "I'm going to be assigned to the new hospital they
just built there."
Sounds exciting," the younger redhead said as she also put
down her menu. "Although I only have a general idea where Korea
even is."
"Don't feel bad," Alice replied as she signaled the waiter
that they were ready to order. "I don't think many people do,
myself included. I had to go and look it up on a map."
In response to Alice's inquiries, Scarlett explained that she
was going to school at a small private college called Ravenwood just
outside of Los Angeles. She had been back east visiting her family
during the summer break.
"You came all the way across country by train?" a surprised
Alice asked. "Most people these days would've flown. It's a lot
faster and definitely a lot more comfortable."
"My brother was a pilot in the Navy," Scarlett said in way
of explanation. "Actually I should say he was a Naval Aviator, he
was always correcting me on that. That was back when I was just
hitting my teens. Sean was on the Yorktown at Midway and ..."
Scarlett paused, unable to finish her sentence. Alice
reached out and took the younger woman's hand in support, telling
her there was no need to explain further. She didn't have to hear
the words to know that Sean was one of those brave young men
who didn't come back to enjoy the fruits of the still recent
victory.
"We'll just say that you don't like to fly and leave it at
that," she said as she squeezed her hand. "I'm not too crazy
about it myself. That's why I'm glad I'm going to Korea by boat,"
she added, changing the subject.
Over their tea and the small sandwiches they'd ordered, the
two women found that despite the wide difference in their
backgrounds they had a lot in common. Enough for both of them to
feel a certain measure of regret that their association would be a
brief one.
Underneath the surface of their animated conversation,
there seemed to be a secondary level of attraction as well. It
wasn't really anything that could be called tangible, or even
something that would be recognizable to either of them. Unless of
course they wanted to perceive it.
Finishing their small snack, Alice suggested that it might be
a good idea to try to find some seats on the other end of the train
as not to run back into Veronica. Scarlett agreed with the
thought.
Luck was with them as many seats had emptied out at Santa
Barbara. There were only two more stops left before Los Angeles
and the train was already a third empty.
"So what are your plans when we get to the city?" Scarlett
asked.
"Well, I guess the first thing to do would be to find a nice
hotel to stay at," Alice answered. "Something not too expensive.
Any place you might suggest?"
Scarlett seemed to look beyond Alice for a moment, lost in a
thought. Then a big smile filled her face and an answer gushed
forth.
"I know a great place," she said in an excited voice. "And
not expensive at all. In fact, it wouldn't cost you a cent."
"I don't understand," Alice said.
"My Grandmother has a small place by the water," Scarlett
explained. "I sometimes go up there on weekends. She's in Europe
right now, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I used it, or if I
invited a guest."
"Oh I couldn't," Alice said. "Please don't think that I was
suggesting that you find me a place to stay."
"If I thought that I wouldn't have offered it," Scarlett
replied. "The house is just sitting there empty and all. Besides, it
would give us the chance to become the best of friends before you
leave."
"I still don't know," Alice said, thinking over the proposal.
"Please," Scarlett intoned. "You might not think it, but I
really don't have a lot of friends. Most people find me a little too
... how would I describe it ... too unladylike at times."
"I've been accused of that a time or too myself," Alice
laughed. "I guess you've got yourself a houseguest."
"Wonderful!" Scarlett beamed as she took both of Alice's
hands in her own and held them tight.
Despite the crowd that exited the train station, the two
women had no trouble finding a taxi to take them to Scarlett's
Grandmother's. In fact, they were almost bowled over by the
three young men who surged forward from the waiting cars to help
them with their luggage.
By the time the winning car pulled away from the curb, they
were already again lost in their spirited conversation. They made
their way out of the city in good time and were soon zooming up
the coast highway, retracing some of the ground they'd passed a
short time before on the train.
"Is it much further?" Alice asked as she realized they had
been riding for almost an hour and hadn't seen another house in
ten minutes.
"Just around the next bend," Scarlett smiled.
Sure enough, just as they rounded the next curve,
Grandmother's little place on the water came into view. It was not
what Alice expected.
Instead of the small bungalow the Army Nurse expected,
she found herself being dropped off in front of a tri level,
twelve-room summer house, complete with a large patio overlooking
the Pacific beach beneath it.
"This is what you call your Grandmother's little place on the
water?" she asked Scarlett as the cabby unloaded their luggage.
"It is when you compare it to her place in the city,"
Scarlett smiled. "I thought if I told you what it really was, you
wouldn't want to come."
"Maybe so," Alice replied, thinking that self-conscious as
she sometimes was about her background, she might just well have
declined the invitation.
A smile on his face from the generous tip Scarlett had given
him, the cab driver left their bags at the front door and headed
back to the city.
"Buenas tardes, Maria," Scarlett said to the middle aged
Mexican woman who answered the door. "Es tan agradable verle
otra vez."
"Senorita Scarlett," the gray-haired housekeeper beamed
back. "Me complace tanto verle."
"This is my friend, Alice," Scarlett said switching back to
English as they stepped inside. "She will be staying with us for a
few days. Would you be so kind as to make up one of the guest
rooms for her?"
"Of course, Senorita," came the reply in English as well as
she quickly moved to do just that.
"You speak Spanish?" Alice asked.
"Yes, and French too," Scarlett replied as they walked into
the living room.
"You're kidding?"
"Ce bruit comme je badine?" the redhead said.
"I don't have any idea what you said, but I'm impressed,"
Alice said as she looked about the beautifully decorated room. "I
couldn't manage bilingual, much less trilingual. That must be some
college you're going to."
"My family has extensive business holdings on the island of
San Cristobal in the Caribbean," Scarlett explained. "More people
there speak Spanish or French than English. It's become a sort of
family requirement."
"Your Grandmother has a television?" Alice asked, changing
the subject as she saw the cabinet with the small screen in the
corner. "I've never actually seen one before."
"She's always had a fascination for the latest gadgets," the
younger woman laughed as she watched Alice examine the small
set. "Personally I don't see the attraction, sitting around staring
at a bunch of snowy images on a little screen. I'd rather be
listening to Burns and Allen on the radio any day."
"I don't know," Alice said as she finished her look at the
Philco brand receiver. "Maybe it's a little crude now, but who
knows what it's going to be like in the future. I think it's going to
be something really big."
"Sure, and maybe someday we'll see television pictures from
the Moon."
"Well I wouldn't go that far," Alice laughed.
Alice's attention was then drawn to a large oil portrait
hanging over the fireplace. It was a painting of a young woman in
her late teens. With fiery red hair and sparking green eyes, she
bore a striking resemblance to Scarlett.
"Is that you?" Alice asked.
"That," Scarlett smiled, "is my Grandmother, Celeste. My
Grandfather, Sean, had that painted as a wedding gift for her
back in 1893. She was only nineteen when she married him. He
was twenty-nine."
"She's beautiful," Alice commented. "And she looks so much
like you."
"I've been told that many times," Scarlett said. "She wants
me to have my own portrait done but I think it's kind of silly."
"Oh you should do it," Alice quickly said. "It's something
you'll cherish when you're older."
"Maybe." came Scarlett's noncommittal answer.
"Is your Grandfather still alive?" Alice asked out of
curiosity.
"Eighty-four and still the Chairman of McMurphy
Industries," Scarlett said. "My father is the President and
basically runs the day to day operations. Grandfather just sort of
likes to drop in now and then to make sure things are going right."
"Is he in Europe with your Grandmother?"
"No, he spends most of the year in San Cristobal," Scarlett
explained. "He had this big house built there in a place he called
Scarlett's Cove. It's really beautiful. Someday, when I'm as old
as he is, I'd like to live there as well."
"They don't live together?" Alice asked, then quickly
realized she might have overstepped her bounds. "I'm sorry, I
shouldn't have asked that."
"No, it's okay," Scarlett assured her. "After being married
for over fifty years, they sort of developed separate lives. They
still love each other, but they don't have to always be with each
other to know that. I envy them actually, to have a love so strong
that time and distance can't effect it."
"That is very rare." Alice agreed.
"Let me show you the rest of the house," Scarlett said,
changing the subject. "We'll see what other toys we can find for
you to play with."
The tour ended with the verandah, a wide expanse that
stretched the length of the house and overlooked the beach. The
sand below was a soft golden brown, unmarked except by the
breeze.
"This is my favorite part of the house," Scarlett explained.
"When I was a little girl and came to stay with my Grandmother,
I'd sit out here for hours and just watch the waves. At night, I'd
lay here and count the stars."
"It is beautiful," Alice agreed as she looked out into the
blue ocean.
"Would the Senorita and her guest like some refreshments?"
Maria said as she stepped out of the house holding a large tray,
filled with a tea service and some small sandwiches. She placed
the tray on the center of the large circular table in the middle of
the deck.
"Thank you, Maria," Scarlett said as she led Alice to one of
the empty seats.
"Will the Senorita be needing anything else before I leave?"
Maria said. "The deliveryman was here yesterday and both the
refrigerator and the pantry are full."
"I'll be fine," Scarlett replied. "You just go and enjoy your
time off."
"Thank you, Senorita Scarlett," she said as she turned and
headed back into the house.
Less than a minute later, the sound of the front door closing
could be heard through the patio doors.
"Well now it’s just us," Scarlett said as she took a sip of her
tea.
"Just us?" Alice repeated.
"Well I thought it rather silly to have both me and Maria
both spend the week house-sitting," Scarlett said. "So I told her
to take an extra week's vacation."
Scarlett, whom it was now obvious, came from money, really
didn't act like rich people were supposed to act. At least not how
Alice always imagined they did.
"It's just you and me, kid," Scarlett said, doing her best
Humphry Bogart imitation, having just loved him in the Treasure Of
The Sierra Madre. "We'll just have to rough it."
"I love your idea of roughing it," Alice laughed as she
reached for one of the small sandwiches.
Scarlett and Alice took the rest of the evening just to
settle in. After Maria's snack and what they had earlier on the
train, neither of them really had any appetite for dinner. Instead,
they decided just to relax on the verandah and enjoy the sunset.
"Care for some wine?" Scarlett asked as she appeared from
the kitchen holding an open bottle and two glasses.
"Sure, why not?" Alice replied as she reached up and took
one of the glasses from her hostess.
Alice had exchanged her army uniform for a pair of white
shorts and a sky blue short-sleeved blouse. Relaxing in a reclining
lawn chair, she had been reading a hardcover book with a
concealing cloth cover.
Scarlett had changed into a soft white sundress with light
yellow flowers. Neither woman had bothered with footwear,
deciding to instead go barefoot on the smooth, polished deck.
"What are you reading?" Scarlett asked as she poured wine
into her new friend's glass.
"Nothing you'd find that interesting," Alice said as she took
a slip of the wine and expressed her approval. "Just some medical
research, pretty dry stuff. Mostly technical stuff."
"Oh," Scarlett said as she filled her own glass and then took
her seat. "You know, you're supposed to be on a vacation. That's a
funny way to relax."
"Well we each have our own little quirks." Alice smiled.
"That we do," Scarlett agreed as she flipped through a pile
of magazines on the table, finally selecting a copy of Life with
Marlene Dietrich on the cover.
They sat there for a while, reading and slowly sipping their
wine, all the while watching the sun drop lower and lower on the
horizon. It was only when Scarlett noticed Alice trying to
suppress a giggle over something she had just read that she put
down her magazine.
"What in a textbook could be so funny?" she asked out of
curiosity.
"Not really funny," Alice said, a slight look of
embarrassment on her face. "Just a little ..."
"Now you have to share," Scarlett said as she jumped out of
her seat and reached for the book Alice had been reading.
Her face red, the dark-haired woman surrendered the tome.
Scarlett quickly turned to the title page to see what the book was.
"Sexual Behavior In The Human Male," she read aloud. "The
Kinsey Report."
"Well I am a nurse," Alice said in way of explanation.
"I heard there are places in this country where they actually
banned this when it came out earlier in the year," Scarlett noted.
"Well now that you've seen it," Alice said. "I'd be happy to
lend it to you to look over. It's the least I could do."
"No thanks," Scarlett said as she handed the book back.
"It really doesn't interest me."
"You're kidding?" Alice said in surprise. "Based on what my
friend in the book store told me, they can't keep the book in stock.
Of course no one wants to be seen buying it or admit they're
reading it."
"Maybe so," Scarlett said as she dropped back in her chair.
"But I really have no interest in reading it. Maybe if they get
around to writing Sexual Behavior In The Human Female I might
find it interesting."
"I don't think you'd find enough women to admit to the
things they write about in here," Alice said, tapping her fingers
against the book cover.
"I don't know," Scarlett smiled. "After all, it is 1948, not
1908. You might be surprised what some women might be willing to
admit to."
Not sure were she should to go with a statement like that,
Alice decided to stay on safer ground.
"A lot of women have read this to find out about their
husbands and boyfriends," Alice said.
"Well, last time I looked, I didn't have either one of those."
Scarlett replied as she refilled her glass.
"You mean a beautiful girl like you doesn't have a whole
fraternity breaking down the door trying to date her?" Alice
asked.
"Ravenwood is an all-girl college, there are no frats,"
Scarlett laughed.
"I didn't know that," Alice said, noting that most women
this day and age wouldn't be so happy to be going to an all girl
college.
Their conversation was abruptly cut short as the bright red
orb of the sun began to dip beneath the horizon. They turned
their attention to the spectacle spread out across their vista,
watching in silence until it faded from sight.
"It's been a real long day," Alice said as she drained the
last of her glass. "I think I'm going to turn in."
"Have a good night's sleep," Scarlett said as she poured the
last of the bottle into her own glass. "I'm going to stay up a little
longer."
Alice got up to leave and began to clean up after herself.
Scarlett told her to just leave everything where it was and she'd
take care of it later. After all, she was her guest.
Over the next six days, Alice was treated to a vacation far
beyond she could have ever imaged. Scarlett showed her Los
Angeles like few tourists ever saw it.
They rode the new green and yellow electric trolley back and
forth across the city. The two of them explored the Memorial
Coliseum and Grauman's Chinese Theater. Scarlett took her to
Universal Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Paramount, where
her family name seemed to open all doors.
The Griffith Park Zoo was a delight and when they went to
dinner in Chinatown, Scarlett took her to a restaurant where the
owners led them to their private dining room and treated them like
family. A courtesy Alice was certain they extended to few other
patrons.
The nights were even more marvelous. Be it a concert at the
Hollywood Bowl or a chance to spend half the night peering
through the lens at Griffith Observatory. There were quiet nights
as well, building a fire on the beach and counting the stars. Or
actually sitting in front of the television and watching an evening's
programs, much to Alice's delight and Scarlett's sufferance.
By the end of they week, they were almost as close as the
cousins they'd pretended to be on the train. It was hard to tell
which of them was going to be sorrier to see it end.
"I think these two are my favorites," Alice said as she held
up two small black and white photographs.
Scarlett looked over Alice's shoulder at her choices. She
agreed with her choices.
The first showed the two of them on a small observation
deck near the top of the new City Hall. It was the tallest building
in the city and the view had been spectacular.
The second was an even better shot, because it contained an
element of the magic the whole vacation seemed to be made of. It
was a picture of them in the hills outside of the city, with the
battered Hollywoodland sign spread out behind them.
"Even this camera is amazing," Alice said as she picked up
the Polaroid Camera off the table to look at it again. "Imagine
being able to take a photograph and have it develop right there and
then. No waiting a week or more for it to come back from the drug
store."
Well I told you my Grandmother loved all the latest
gadgets," Scarlett said. "They only came out with those this
year."
"It really is nice," Alice said. "I loved using it."
"I know, that’s why I got one for you to take with you when
you leave for Korea," the redhead grinned.
"What?" a surprised Alice exclaimed. "Scarlett, I can't
take a gift like that. It's too expensive. I saw in a magazine that
these cost almost a hundred dollars."
"Yes you can," Scarlett insisted as she rested her hands on
Alice's shoulders and gave her a sisterly kiss on the cheek.
"You've made this week the most fun I've had since I was a little
kid. I'm really going to miss you."
"That's such a sweet thing to say," Alice said in return as
she gave Scarlett a friendly kiss of her own. "I'll take it only if
you let me cook you dinner tonight. It's the only gift I can really
afford to give you."
"Seeing as my cooking skills aren't worth a damn," Scarlett
laughed, "I'll accept."
"It's nice to see that you're not perfect after all," Alice
replied with a grin. "After the last week, I was beginning to
wonder."
"Oh I'm far from perfect," Scarlett quickly responded, a
touch of sudden sadness in both her tone and her eyes. "But I'd
settle for just being happy for a while."
"I hope I've made you happy for a while." Alice said.
"That you have," Scarlett said in reply. "Which is why I'm
going to miss you so much."
"Well you're not going to have to miss me for another day
and a half. So in the meantime, how bout you let me check out that
pantry and see what I can come up with for dinner."
Leaving the younger woman behind as she headed for the
kitchen, Alice didn't notice the single tear running down Scarlett's
cheek. If she had, she might have wondered if it was a tear of
happiness or sadness. At that moment, not even Scarlett was sure.
After only a few hours of sleep, Alice found herself awake
and staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. Despite the long day,
she found herself fully awake. Dinner had been wonderful, they had
talked and laughed late into the night.
She lay there for a few minutes, listening to the sound of
the soft crash of the waves against the sands beneath her window.
Finally, Alice decided she had to get up.
The tall brunette sat up in her bed, dropping her feet over
the side of the classic four-poster. Alice was wearing a full-length
sheer black nightgown that she had been given at her wedding
shower two years before. Her sister Donna had sent all the way to
Hollywood for it so that Alice might have something really sexy to
wear on her wedding night. A night that had never come about.
Conventional mores stated that a girl was supposed to go to
her wedding bed a virgin. The reality was that having the ring on
her finger was enough to open most girls’ legs. Especially as was
the case with Alice and the groom to be, who was nine years older
and had seen military service during the war. Few men like that
came home virgins and didn't want to wait until the wedding night.
Alice wasn't too disappointed when she lost her maidenhood
in a wholly unsatisfying act. Both her mother and older sister had
warned her previously that it would most likely happen like that.
Both of their husbands had deflowered them in rushed, unfulfilling
love making sessions. They did, however, assure her that it would
get better with time.
By the second month of their intimacy however, Alice had
concluded that it wasn't ever going to be any better than that
first time. It wasn't that her intended was a bad or even an
inconsiderate lover. Quite the contrary. Based on what she heard
from other women, Jack was a most thoughtful and caring lover.
And it wasn't as if she wasn't trying as hard as she could either.
While in the Army, Jack had been introduced to the delights of
oral sex by a Parisian whore. Unlike some of her more timid
girlfriends, Alice didn't consider fellatio or anything else that
brought someone you cared about pleasure an unnatural act and
willing engaged in it. Jack enjoyed her efforts immensely, but it
still left her feeling as hollow and unfulfilled as intercourse had.
Three weeks before the wedding, Alice had abruptly
announced she was breaking off the engagement and joining the
Army. She had enrolled in a program that would send her to
nursing school in exchange for military service. Neither her
fiancee, nor her family, ever really got an explanation for her
sudden decision. The twenty-four-year-old had just packed
everything she owned into two bags and left a week later. Alice
liked to wear the nightgown while on leave since it didn't exactly
fit into Army life.
Through the open window, Alice could see the reflection of
the full moon on the water, but not the moon itself. No longer
tired, she decided to step outside to have a good look at it.
The house was as quiet as could be and Alice measured her
steps carefully as not to disturb Scarlett. The two small guest
bedrooms they occupied were next to each other on the main floor.
Passing through the kitchen, Alice was surprised to see small
illuminations from out on the patio deck. Moving closer to the
sliding glass door, Alice could see a half dozen lit candles spread
around the verandah.
Gently sliding open the door, Alice stepped outside and could
see a figure sitting near the edge in one of the recliners. Without
being able to see her face, she knew it was Scarlett.
The redhead was wearing light magenta colored pajamas,
embroidered with flowers and birds. Her rich red hair hung its full
length, stretched behind her chair. She was staring out onto the
horizon and as the taller woman moved closer, Alice could see that
all of the buttons of the pajama top had been undone. It was also
clear that Scarlett had one hand beneath the waistband of her
bottoms.
Realizing that her younger hostess was energetically
engaged in what her mother had described endless times as
self-abuse, Alice told herself that she should just quietly back up
the way she had come. She was too educated a young woman to
believe her mother's description of the act she was witnessing. In
fact, she really hadn't believed it when she'd discovered the act
herself when she was thirteen. It was impossible for her to
believe that something that felt so good could be bad.
Truth be told, the scene unfolding in front of her fascinated
Alice. The first time she had ever watched a girl pleasure herself
had been when she shared a room with her sister, Donna. She
never really saw much, and definitely never had the nerve to ask
her about it. Still it always enthralled her.
In the almost two years since she'd joined the Army, Alice
had the opportunity to see several other women pleasure
themselves as well. When you shared quarters like they did, it was
impossible not to be aware of those late night acts. The unwritten,
unspoken rule was that even if it was happening in the next bed,
you turned a blind eye to it. Alice sometimes wondered if it was
the same way with men. That had been one of the reasons she was
so anxious to read the Kinsey Report.
Even more unspoken than the precept that you ignored
another woman touching herself in a sexual way was the even more
prohibited act of having another woman do it for her. Back when
she was in nursing school, it had been rumored that two of the
students had been guilty of just that. No one would actually talk
about it, but everyone seemed to know.
The two girls involved had just failed to show up at morning
assembly one day. No announcement was made of their status, but
the word quickly got out that it was in your best interest not to
ask. The one result that Alice remembered from the incident was
that it was a long time after that before she heard the quiet
sounds of self-pleasure from one of her bunkmates.
Another memory quickly reasserted itself as she watched
Scarlett. The remembrance of the warm tingling between Alice's
legs that watching and listening to those other young women had
always produced.
It was the doubts produced by those feelings that had
caused her to cancel her engagement at the last moment. The lack
of those feelings in encounters with her boyfriend had sent Alice
on her journey of discovery, without even knowing what it was that
she was searching for. She just knew she wasn't going to find it in
Ethan Falls or as Mrs. Jack Fisher.
"I hope you're not too shocked."
Alice's head snapped back at the sound of Scarlett's voice.
It took her a moment to realize that the younger girl had been
aware of her presence all along.
Scarlett turned to face her, the folds of her pajama top
opening even more, giving Alice a clear view of her candle
illuminated breasts. The sight sent a strong flush through the
older girl. As a nurse, she had seen countless naked breasts, but
none in such a sexual setting.
"Are you shocked?" Scarlett asked again.
"Was I supposed to be?" Alice asked in turn.
"I was hoping you wouldn't be," Scarlett said. "I was
hoping that instead you might be ..."
Scarlett didn't finish. Instead, Alice watched as the look of
self confidence that she had associated with her new friend faded
from her face. The expression that replaced it was that of a
frightened young woman.
"Oh God, what am I doing?" she asked herself aloud as a
tear formed in the corner of her eye. "I can't believed I really
thought this might happen."
"That what might happen?" Alice asked as she tried to
control the beat of her racing heart.
"When I saw you come out here," she stammered, the tears
becoming more visible. "I somehow thought that you could sense
what I wanted. What I've been dreaming about since I met you.
Somehow, I thought ... I mean I felt ... oh I don't know how to
describe it. That you felt the same things that I was feeling."
The now crying young woman pulled the top of her pajamas
closed as she bent her head down in embarrassment.
"How could I even think such a thing," she went on. "How
could I have gotten it so wrong."
Scarlett hadn't noticed that Alice was now kneeling next to
her chair. Or that the brunette was gently stroking her long red
hair, brushing the strands away from her tear stained face.
"Scarlett," she whispered as she wiped away a tear with her
finger.
The brief touch of flesh against flesh finally alerted
Scarlett to the older woman's presence.
"Scarlett," Alice repeated. "You weren't wrong."
"What ... ?" Scarlett asked as she stopped her tears and
looked up into the face of her friend.
"I don't know how you would describe it either," Alice
whispered. "But all those things you thought I might be feeling as
well, I do feel them. I know that women aren't supposed to feel
such things for each other, or so we're told, but some of us do.
Somehow I think we were able to see that in each other."
"I've never tried to do anything like this before," Scarlett
admitted.
"Neither have I," Alice said. "But if I'm going to explore
those feelings that have been inside of me, I've always hoped I'd
have someone like you to explore them with."
"Oh Alice, I was so afraid that you'd think I was some kind
of ..." Scarlett confessed.
"Never," Alice smiled, no longer wanting to contain the
thumping within her breast.
As if to reinforce her statement, Alice leaned over and
pressed her lips against Scarlett's. The warmth she found there
spread to her very soul. A second kiss followed, this time initiated
by Scarlett. Alice responded with all the fires within her, sliding
her hand beneath the folds of Scarlett's pajama top to gently cup
her ample breast.
"Oh Alice," Scarlett gasped as she felt the strength of her
hand pressed against her mound.
Alice then took Scarlett's hand and pressed it against the
softness of her own lace-covered bosom. An action that brought
an even brighter light to Scarlett's emerald eyes.
Both young women stood and held each other hand in hand,
gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Scarlett could see her own
emerald orbs reflected in the deep blue of Alice's, as so many
other things were reflected within the taller girl's body. She
pulled her body against her own and held it as tight as she could,
drawing on both the warmth and strength she found in it.
"I think I've fallen in love with you," Scarlett said as she
held the taller woman.
"I feel the same way," Alice replied as she brushed
Scarlett's long hair.
"What are we going to do?" Scarlett asked. "You leave in
two days."
"We live those two days and not worry about what happens
after that." Alice answered.
"Oh Alice," Scarlett said as she kissed her new found love
once more.
The two women continued to kiss and fondle each other,
removing bits of clothing as they went. Scarlett took hold of the
straps of Alice's nightgown and slid them down her arms, until the
sheer black lace was bunched around the brunette's waist. Her
small rounded breasts stood exposed in the moonlight, the quarter
dollar sized dark areola drawing the attention of Scarlett's eyes.
In the center of each circle stood small erect tips the size of
erasers. Fingers outstretched, the redheaded woman rubbed the
tips of her fingers against the small stubs, delighting in both their
hardness and the electric excitement just touching them produced.
"Oh yes," Alice said breathlessly as she felt Scarlett press
her fingers against her nipples.
In turn, Alice ran her hand up along the sides of Scarlett's
chest, pulling back the still open fold of the pajama tops.
Scarlett's breasts were almost twice the size of Alice's, with
bright pink areola and thick nipples. Alice pushed back on the
magenta shirt until it fell back and down to the floor. Before the
material hit the wooden deck, her hands were cradling the soft yet
heavy globes.
The older woman bent over and planted a kiss on each nipple,
rubbing her lips against the warm, excited flesh and then her
tongue against the thick hardness. The action caused Scarlett to
call out with joy.
As a nurse, Alice was well aware of the female body, and the
sensitive spots it contained. This was her first chance to explore
those spots and she approached the chance with unbridled
enthusiasm. She continued to kiss Scarlett's rich mounds, running
her hands all over the rest of her exposed body as she did.
Scarlett lifted Alice's face from her breasts, letting her
lips replace her nipples. She kissed her new love twice more on her
lips, then dropped to her smaller mounds. She found them no less
delightful than her own.
Scarlett continued to lovingly kiss her way downward, pulling
Alice's nightgown all the way down. When she reached the plain
white panties beneath it, she kissed the damp center, before
pulling them down as well.
Alice's mound was large and very bushy, the hair of which
was as dark as that on her head. With two outstretched fingers,
Scarlett parted the hair and pressed her lips against the
brunette's womanhood. Her tongue pressed forward with an
almost religious fervor, sampling that which she had only imagined
on a hundred empty nights.
Alice opened her lips to respond to the warm wet embrace
of her sexuality, but could only managed an exhaled breath of
approval. Despite her previous sexual experience, it was the first
time she had ever been touched in quite that way. Jack Fisher's
interest in oral sex hadn't extended to cunnilingus.
Scarlett continued to gently explore Alice's womanhood,
alternating her explorations between her tongue and her finger.
She slid her index finger deep within the woman before her, both
stimulating the walls of her pussy and coating her probe with the
juices of her efforts. Removing it, she slid both her finger and the
honey that covered it to inside her own mouth.
"Mmmmm." Scarlett purred happily as she savored the taste
of another woman. A kitten presented with a saucer of warm milk
couldn't have expressed more satisfaction.
The long haired redhead continued to lap at her new
ambrosial treat, as her hand slid up and down Alice's legs and
caressed the cheeks of her ass. She wanted to explore every inch
of the woman's body.
Despite all of the quite expensive schooling her family had
arranged for her in her life, none of those Institutions had a
course in lesbian lovemaking. At least not an official one anyway.
Following her eighteenth birthday, Scarlett had sought to rectify
that discrepancy.
In order to further improve her fluency in the French
language, her father had arranged for Scarlett to accompany him
on a government trip to Paris back in '46. She hadn't been able to
rid herself of her embassy assigned chaperone long enough to
sample some of the unadvertised attractions that had flourished in
that city throughout war, occupation and later liberation, but she
had managed to visit some of the more interesting book stores.
There, hidden among a score of French language books, she
had purchased what could only be described as a very graphically
illustrated guide to the secrets of lesbian love.
Scarlett had been very careful to hide the forbidden book
when they got back to their hotel. She was sure her father would
never understand. How could he, when she herself didn't.
Michael McMurphy loved his three children as much as any
man could, and only wanted the very best for them. But he was ill
equipped to deal with a daughter who began to develop into a
woman at a rate he found disconcerting.
His wife, Diane, had died in childbirth, giving him their third
child, Mary. An old-fashioned man in many ways, he tried to shield his
oldest daughter from what he believed would only be premature
male attention by enrolling her in one of the finest all girl schools
in the country.
In was ironic that the absence of boys in their everyday
lives had the opposite effect on many of the girls in the school,
creating the very situations "Big Mike" McMurphy was trying to
avoid. What self-control they might have on those occasions when
they got to be with young men was quickly lost as long suppressed
hormones took control.
Following a dance or sporting event that usually involved one
of the associated all boys academies, many a normally reserved
young lady found herself in the Dean's office come Monday
morning, trying to explain how she came to be discovered in a
compromising position.
It was during one of those weekend events that Scarlett
had made an astonishing discovery about herself. She had known
for quite some time that unlike most of her schoolmates, the
sixteen year old had no interest in the numerous young men who
vied for her attentions.
Nor did she enjoy the rather graphic late night discussions
of individual male anatomy that usually followed each of those
social events. To her bewilderment, Scarlett realized that she did
however have an ever-increasing interest in certain of her
girlfriends and their own maturing anatomy.
The book, now safety hidden away in her luggage, had been
her first chance to put names to many of the things she thought
about.
On the way home, the hidden book had caused her a few
moments of apprehension when a curious customs agent opened it
when they went through Idlewild International Airport in New
York. The strange foreign text might have been incomprehensible
to the middle-aged woman, but the meaning of the numerous
drawings and photographs were unmistakable. To the young
woman's relief, the gray-haired officer closed the book without
comment, except to say "Enjoy it honey." as she handed back her
travel case.
Scarlett had spent countless secret hours pouring over that
book in the last two years, to the point where her near
photographic memory could recall every page in depth. Now that
the opportunity had finally presented itself, the twenty-year-old
promised herself that she would sample every lesson.
Rising back to her feet, Scarlett wiggled her way out of her
pajama bottoms, adding them to the pile of clothing now on the
deck. To Alice's surprise and enjoyment, Scarlett wore no
underwear. Unlike Alice's mound, the younger woman's was almost
bare, except for a small red triangle of hair at the top. Scarlett
had never been particularly hairy on any part of her body, and what
there was of it, she kept neatly trimmed.
Scarlett and Alice stood naked in the moonlight, the warm
breeze off the water caressing their skin. Scarlett reached up
and stroked the side of Alice's face with her fingers, a look of
pure joy on her face.
"I wish this moment could last forever," Alice said, her
heart lost in the endless depths of Scarlett's eyes.
"We'll make it last forever," Scarlett said with all the
intensity that young love could bring.
Hand in hand, the two naked young women raced through the
house, up the stairs to the master bedroom on the second floor.
Scarlett threw open the large double windows, filling the room
with the light of the moon and stars beyond. Then she took Alice's
hand and drew her to the large antique bed that dominated the
room. An heirloom had been in her family over a hundred years. It
only seemed fitting that it be the site of her most sought after
happiness.
The carefully set sheets on the old bed were quickly tossed
aside as Scarlett and Alice held each other tightly, rocking back
and forth with abandon. Eager hands and soft lips explored the
other's body as no one had ever done before. A passion born of
love's fire burned in both of their hearts.
"Alice, I love you so," Scarlett gasped as she pressed her
body on top the older woman and buried her face between her
breasts.
One after the other, the crimson tressed fury took Alice's
mounds into her mouth, lavishing on them all the loving attention
she was capable of. Scarlett reveled in their softness, in the
hardness of her nipples. Her tongue caressing them again and
again, each touch bringing endless bliss.
Alice ran her fingers through the long stands of Scarlett's
hair, guiding her to the most sensitive parts of her body. She now
fully understood the depths of the emptiness she'd felt when she
had laid with Jack. A void now filled by Scarlett's love.
Scarlett took her mounds in hand and pressed them against
Alice's, rubbing their nipples together. The dark-haired girl took
Scarlett's larger globes in her own hands and lifted them to her
mouth, sampling her lover's charms as she had just sampled hers.
Now it was Scarlett's turn to close her eyes and enjoy the pleasing
sensations.
They rolled over in the bed, bringing Alice to the top and
allowing her greater access to the body now beneath her. Quickly
she spread Scarlett's smooth legs and brought her mouth to the
small red trimmed mound found there. She kissed the center, then
each of the sides. Finally, she reached out with her tongue, driving
it deep within.
"Ooooo," Scarlett moaned with excitement. "I always knew
it would be like this."
Spreading Scarlett's legs even further apart, Alice began to
bring even greater pleasure to the beautiful young woman before
her. She didn't need her nursing skills to locate her prize, the
small clitoris beneath the folds. Alice found it repeatedly, each
time sending surges of orgasmic ecstasy through Scarlett.
"Yes, oh dear God, yes!" Scarlett cried out to the night sky,
losing herself to a building eruption that she had only felt before
by the touch of her own hands. Hands now gripping the bed sheet
with all of her might.
Alice pressed harder, driving Scarlett deeper and deeper
into the abyss. A chasm she couldn't wait to plunge into.
She didn't have long to wait as the demons of desire took
hold of Scarlett's quaking body and hurled her over the precipice.
She grabbed the back of Alice's head and wrapped her legs around
the brunette's back. The explosion between those legs left its
residue across Alice's face.
Finally, Scarlett released her tight hold on Alice, allowing
her to roll off and drop down alongside her. She closed her eyes as
she lay there, savoring a moment that she wanted to remember
forever.
"The book," Scarlett said, not realizing she was speaking
out loud, "didn't come anywhere near describing how wonderful
that was going to be."
"What?" Alice said, not quite hearing what her lover had
said.
"I love you," Scarlett said instead, realizing her error. "And
now I want to show you how much."
In less time than it took to say it, Scarlett found herself
between Alice's legs, duplicating the actions she had just enjoyed
the benefit of. Her earlier brief taste of womanhood spurred her
on as she remembered the many nights she had done this in her
dreams.
Scarlett could hear the laboring of Alice's breath and feel
the racing of her heart. The softness of her skin against her cheek
was an aphrodisiac, causing her own heart to race as well.
Remembering her lessons well, Scarlett began with a touch,
then a long loving caress. Finally, she continued with a hard,
repetitive thrust. Soon Alice's body began to react to each loving
stroke.
Alice buckled and spasmed as Scarlett increased the
intensity of her attack. Sweat ran down her body as the brunette
shook with each new ecstatic jolt. She could feel the rising crest
of her own orgasm building within her.
Scarlett darted her tongue in and out of Alice, causing the
waves of pleasure cascading up and down her to double. The harder
and faster Scarlett moved her tongue, the more intense the waves
grew.
Faster and faster Scarlett went, each move bringing Alice
closer to climax. Tears ran down the nurse's cheeks as she tried
to delay the fire within her.
In all her encounters with Jack Fisher, Alice had only been
to the mountaintop twice. On both occasions, she had fallen
short of the summit. This time, as Scarlett had before her, the
twenty-six-year-old spread her arms and leapt into the darkness,
embracing its euphoric embrace.
Scarlett and Alice lay locked in each other's embrace as the
morning sun filled the room. They had made love twice more during
the night, each time more intense than the last. As they pressed
against each other, their hearts now beating in unison, they knew
they would be forever joined. No matter the distance between
them, no matter the years, they would always share a connection.
Regardless who else ever came into their lives, each would always
forever occupy a special place in the other's soul.
- Today -
Two hundred eager young faces filled the front rows of the
auditorium as the graduating class of the Nursing Academy
awaited the keynote speaker. Normally, the speaker would be an
alumni of the school, or someone from the medical community who
would comment on the career on which they were about to embark.
This time, in honor of the school's 25th anniversary, the
speaker was going to be someone associated with the founding of
the school back in 1975. The recently announced appearance of
this particular commencement guest had filled the hall to standing
room only.
At the time the school had been founded, she had been the
CEO and principal owner of the far-reaching McMurphy Industries.
Although long since retired from that long held position, she still
sat in the lead chair of the McMurphy Foundation. An
organization, which, among other concerns, regularly awarded
scholarships in the memory of the woman whose name rested on
the academy's letterhead.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, students and honored guests," the
tall Dean of Nursing said as he stepped up the podium. "It is my
great honor to introduce a woman, who by the life she's led needs
no introduction. Her career and accomplishments as a captain of
industry are only exceeded by her work in the humanities
and the arts. Please join me in welcome Ms. Scarlett McMurphy."
A thunderous ovation filled the large hall as a tall white
haired woman appeared from behind the curtains and quickly moved
to the rostrum. Seventy-two years old, she moved with a grace and
ease that defied her years. Her soft, short white hair rested in a
carefully crafted style and her face still reflected the intelligence
and drive that had been the hallmarks of her long life. To those
close enough to see, her most noticeable features were bright
emerald eyes that peered out from behind round gold-rimmed
glasses. Eyes that still sparked with fire and zeal.
Scarlett paused until the applause died down, then thanked
everyone for their reception. Once the sounds of welcome
subsided, the keynote speaker talked for a few minutes about the
school and their careers, exactly the sort of speech most people
expected.
The white haired woman had been speaking for a few
minutes when she suddenly paused. She seemed to be thinking
about something for a few seconds, then seemed to change her
mind about her speech.
"If you'll forgive an old woman," she said with a touch of
humor in her smile, "I think I'd rather not give the speech I just
started. It's nothing you haven't heard before, and I'm sure it's
nothing that you'll miss."
A mixed chorus of laughter from the graduates replied to
her words. In truth, they had hoped to hear something more than
the same old speech.
Scarlett turned to one of the two young assistants who
seemed to follow her everywhere. In response to her whispered
request, the young blond haired woman reached into her attache
case and handed her boss a thin manila folder. Scarlett thanked
her and then turned back to the audience.
"What I'd really like to tell you about," The elegant woman
continued in a strong clear voice, "is a woman whose name you see
on all the walls around the school. Her portrait hangs by the main
entrance and I'm sure most of you pass it at least once a day."
Scarlett paused for a moment and took a sip from the glass
of cold water her other assistant, a short haired Asian girl, had
put there for her.
"She started her career as an Army Nurse, in a place few
people had ever heard of, at least until war broke out there a few
years after she arrived. Aside from her duties in the military, she
also spent those years carrying for the children of Korea, the
innocents who are the most tragic victims in any conflict. It was a
passion that consumed her long after both the fighting and her
Army career were behind her. I'm proud to say that in her later
years, I was in a position to help with those efforts. "
Scarlett paused again, wanting to see if she had the
audience's attention. It only took a brief moment to see that she
did.
"But even those deeds can be as easily looked up as the
dates of her life that are carved beneath that portrait." she went
on. "No, what I want to tell you about is the woman behind those
deeds. The woman who, for twenty-six years, was simply the most
gracious lady it was ever my honor to know. A woman who knew
how to smile, and how to make others laugh. And a woman who
taught me a definition of love that few ever come to understand."
Scarlett paused for a second drink, giving this speech was
harder than she had thought it would be. That was why she had
originally started with the more conventional one. However, there
was no going back now, not with every seat in the house riveted to
her every word.
"I like to tell you about Alice Ann Caldwell", she said as she
seemed to look beyond the crowd. "And a life that embodied the
goals and aspirations that everyone in this school should strive for.
She was more than a name carved in stone over the entranceway.
She was a living, breathing human being, who devoted her life to
others. She was my very best friend."
Looking down at her folder, Scarlett beamed as she looked
once more at the small black and white photograph sealed in plastic
that was clipped to her notes. It was a very old photograph,
showing two young women in front of an old battered sign. Of all
her considerable possessions, and among all her varied memories,
that simple faded image was Scarlett's most treasured keepsake.
It was a brief moment, frozen forever in time. A remembrance of
love that had never faded with age.
END
(c) Ann Douglas 2000
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