Tie
< < Friday morning. It had been almost a week since the Alluring Enduring Party, the climactic end to a gut-wrenching ordeal. Noel had spent the last several days filing reports and addressing so many dark rooms full of stern-faced men that it left him wondering just how many agencies existed to pull just how many strings in this world. Strangely, none of those men wanted real answers. They merely wanted an indication of compliance, which Noel was more than happy to give.
No sir, I didn't see it happen. No sir, I don't know who they were working for. No sir, I don't have any idea who she was. No sir, my son has no special knowledge of any of the events leading up to the explosion. No sir, I am not aware of any such Internet website. Yes sir, I agree that it was a hoax. No sir, I have no knowledge of any technology which may have been employed in this incident other than that detailed in your analysis. Yes sir, very glad to put it all behind me. I look forward to continuing to serve my community and my country, sir.
Ricky and Angela had come back from the cabin last night. It was an unspoken assumption that Angela would stay with them until she could get back on her feet -- an assumption made easier by the fact that Angela owned literally nothing. Her house and everything in it had been reduced to rubble, and even the singed and tattered dress she'd worn to the party had disintegrated by the time they'd reached the cabin that first night. Ricky had given her the shirt off his back, and several more articles of clothing since then.
Though Noel worried in retrospect that perhaps the young lovebirds had spent most of their time at the cabin wearing nothing at all.
Not that Angela was wearing much of anything this morning. A thin underoos top that Ricky hadn't worn since he was nine was stretched almost to translucence over her perky orbs -- "but Spiderman is my favorite!" -- and corresponding tighty whiteys. Or in this case blueys, also stretched thinner than they should be across her backside.
"Ricky, don't you have anything else she can wear?" Surely the boy had an old baggy sweatshirt. Or maybe a burlap sack... though knowing Angela, she'd find a way to make even that look enticing.
"Nope!" Angela answered cheerily. "Don't worry, I'll be doing laundry today. Wouldn't want to have to run around the house naked!" She giggled.
Noel had to wonder if the cognitive effect of children's underwear on a young woman's body was entirely psychosomatic.
Their physical effects certainly weren't lost on Ricky, whose eyes kept darting back to the fetching houseguest making breakfast and doing her best to set the house on fire.
"Oh, shoot! The toast!" The smoke alarm went off as Angela jumped back and forth in front of the toaster, frantically waving one hand over it as she gingerly picked at the blackened bread stuck in the jaws of the machine. Ricky's gaze was transfixed to either side of the faded spiderman logo on his new girlfriend's chest.
The alarm continued to blare. As Noel was usually the one doing the cooking, Ricky was usually the one to get up on the chair and remove the alarm battery. Noel shot Ricky a look. Ricky suddenly looked very sheepish. "Um, could you get it this time, Dad? I always get it."
Noel had to chuckle as he pulled the chair underneath the ceiling-mounted alarm. Ricky didn't want to get up from the table -- obviously Angela's gyrations had not gone unappreciated.
As Noel fished out the battery, he looked down. Angela was stirring a pan of scrambled eggs, humming and grooving to some tune only she could hear. Her breasts gently jiggled round and round in circles; from this elevated angle Noel could quite plainly make out her perky little nipples. Behind her, the oven door reflected her cute butt as it drew circles in the air in time with her breasts.
Noel quickly got down from the chair, clearing his throat as he did so. Angela looked up. Yes?
"Almost ready? I've got to get to work soon."
"Almost! Just let me get the sausage!"
Noel had to adjust himself when he sat down.
A moment later, breakfast was before them, and Noel was trying to focus on the food.
Angela's chest was distracting. If Noel couldn't break its spell soon he was afraid his son would notice his undershot gaze. "Aren't you cold?" he asked her. Could any woman be so completely unaware of her own charms?
Apparently, this one could.
"Cold? Not after slaving over a hot stove," she grinned impishly. "Why, are you cold? Maybe we should switch seats. I'm getting the sun on my back here. Mmmm!" She emphasized the point by stretching and arching her back. Noel averted his gaze by looking at Ricky.
The boy's eyes were coming out of their sockets.
Hadn't he just spent three or four days locked in a remote cabin with this girl? Noel figured the lad would have had her anatomy memorized by now. Then again, Noel hadn't gained control of his gawk reflex until he was almost twenty-one, and at Ricky's age, it generally didn't matter if you'd seen it before -- every time was like the first time.
Noel realized Angela was waiting for a reply; he declined her offer. "I'm fine sitting here."
"Eggs good?" she asked.
Noel looked at Ricky, who wore the embarassed expression of a man choking on his girlfriend's lousy cooking. "They're fine," Noel answered.
"They're a little dry," she self-critiqued. "My stove is different." She suddenly looked sad. Was different, she silently corrected. But her sorrow didn't last. "The burner was too hot. I'll get 'em right next time!"
"Do you eat scrambled eggs often?"
"Not really. But my mom really likes 'em. When she comes home from work sometimes I'll whip up a couple for her. I figure she serves people all day, she should get a little service too!"
There was a moment of awkward silence as everyone realized Angela had just referred to her late mother in the present tense.
"I'm sorry," Noel apologized. "I didn't mean to..." He didn't know how to finish.
"That's okay," she said a little wistfully. Clearly the girl had lots of fond memories. The pain they now brought was only temporary. In time they would be her allies in a life of happiness.
Angela's perkiness quickly returned. "Anyway, I usually make good scrambled eggs. I can make a lot of stuff. Tonight I was thinking maybe chicken kiev."
"Why don't you break us in slowly. How about just the laundry for today."
"You don't like my eggs," Angela pouted. "I told you it's just the stove."
"It's not that. It's just that... Ricky and I have our routines, our own way of doing things, and though I'm glad to have you staying here with us, I'd rather not turn everything upside-down on the first day."
"Well, okay, but you gotta let me pitch in. I don't wanna be a freeloader."
"Fine."
Noel again looked at his son, whose expression seemed to say he was willing to redistribute chores immediately if it would make Angela happy...
Angela was humming again. Noel remembered the shattered shell of a girl he'd left in the cabin a few days earlier. The "vacation" had worked wonders.
Or maybe his son had worked wonders.
Maybe she'd worked wonders on his son.
Noel tried to empty his mind of such disturbing thoughts. But doing so only made it easier to get lost in the present. And it was a distractingly pleasent present.
Noel caught his eyes wandering the curves of her chest again.
If she's going to be living here, you better get a hold of yourself.
Noel had a Butt-head moment. Get a *hold* of yourself... huh-huh.
No, get *control* of yourself.
"Oh! You're out of juice. I'll get you some more." In a flash, Angela was bouncing over to the refrigerator, and bouncing back with the carton.
Noel's eyes defied their owner again and took a trip down the girl's legs.
If she's going to be living here, you better get her some clothes.
Angela sat back down. Noel cleared his throat, more to get his own attention than anyone else's.
"So have you figured out what you're going to do yet?"
"You mean about the house?"
"Yes, but I meant in general. Like work. And clothes."
"Yeah, I guess I can't wear Ricky's old clothes forever." Her hand reached out and squeezed Ricky's arm affectionately.
"I imagine he comes up a bit short in the underwear department."
"Ricky's tighty whiteys aren't that bad."
Actually Noel had been thinking of bras more than panties. Were they considered underwear?
Ricky's face had turned beet red. Apparently his drawers weren't a comfortable topic of discussion in mixed company.
Noel clarified. "I meant up top." Not to put too fine a point on it. Or two fine points on it...
"Dad!" Ricky said through gritted teeth. He gave his father a "how rude!" eyebrow shrug.
"Oh," Angela said slowly. "Oh! Yeah. Well, I'll be all right for a while, until I get some money saved up to go shopping. I don't get paid until Wednesday, and even then it's not gonna be much with all the hours I've missed."
"Not to mention the hours you're going to miss if you can't go to work because you don't have any clothes."
"Oh, they don't really care what I wear. As long as I'm decent."
Decent according to who? "Look, Angela, I've been thinking. Why don't I lend you some money to go shopping, and you can pay me back later. Just take Ricky to the mall with you; he can use the emergency credit card. Otherwise you're going to stretch out all of Ricky's shirts," he smiled, looking at his son as he said it.
Angela looked down. "Mr. Aquino!" she gasped. "You men are all alike," she said in mock disgust as she stood up to clear the dishes from the table.
"Oh, look at the time. I've gotta go or I'll miss Briefing. Ricky, don't be late for school." As if he'd ever been late; then again, with Angela here... best not to think about it.
"Hold on!" Angela called out, stopping Noel at the door.
"What?"
She quickly padded around the corner to meet him at the door, rubbing her hands clean on her T-shirt as she did so, which only served to stretch the material that much more. The half-dressed girl stepped right up to him. *Right* up to him.
"What?" Noel said, looking down at her nervously. Her hands reached up -- Noel backed up slightly -- Angela paused.
"Relax," she said. "I noticed your tie is crooked." Noel watched as her small hands grabbed and tugged at the knot, pulling it tighter. "There."
"Thanks," Noel managed. Whew.
As he turned to open the door, she suddenly darted up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Noel was too stunned to react.
"Have a good day at work!" she smiled, then bounded back into the kitchen.