[hbdy] [2002-10-22] Her Birthday [FF(M)]

     Her Birthday, by Rajah Dodger <rdodger@hotmail.com>, 
Copyright (c) 2002.  All rights reserved, except that electronic 
not-for-profit reproduction rights only are explicitly granted 
with the stipulation that this authorship and permission note 
must remain attached.
     
     Word Count: 1200

     She sips her tepid coffee and reads the newspaper, trying to 
decide what to do after the bills are paid and some sort of 
dinner is prepared.  The house echoes heavily with memories of 
past birthdays, some bright, some dark, all sharing the presence 
of other people.  Making a face, she takes a marking pen and 
circles a movie as the best alternative to a solo evening of 
television or mingling with anonymous strangers at a bar.

     As she sits up and sighs, the quiet is broken by the abrupt 
ringing of the telephone.  The voice at the other end is 
familiar, one of her office colleagues, a friend if not a close 
friend, for she has not allowed herself the danger of close 
friends since he left.

     "What are you doing tonight?"  Her normally attractive face 
creases into a frown, the question an unwanted reminder of the 
malaise and anomie assailing her.  "I was going to catch that new 
Adam Sandler movie..." she begins, but her colleague dismisses 
her plans with unexpected enthusiasm.  "Oh forget *that*, there's 
always a new Adam Sandler movie.  I'm having a little get-
together tonight, and you simply *must* come!"

     The phrase "simply must", echoing as it does the image of 
blonde debutantes and Junior League members, would normally 
elicit a polite but firm dismissal.  On the other hand, there 
*is* always another Adam Sandler movie, and the tone of 
excitement in the other woman's voice is at least intriguing.  
Her attempts to clarify the nature of the get-together are 
politely but effectively sidestepped, and directions are given 
with a target of eight o'clock.

     She hangs up the phone, wondering briefly at the unexpected 
gesture of friendship, then shakes off most of her mood and heads 
to the study to take care of the household finances.

     Dinner, when the time comes, is a diet tray from the frozen 
food section of the grocery store.  The microwave, she sometimes 
thinks, is the recluse's best friend.  Once the table is cleared, 
the question now arises, what to wear?  The simple housedress 
that suffices during the day indoors is of course out of the 
question, even had the invitation specified "come as you are."  
Lacking any helpful suggestions, she rummages through her closet 
and puts together a simple ensemble, comfortable pants with a 
blue-and-purple shaded pattern blouse, one that neither hides nor 
accentuates her figure.  She checks her watch; yes, on schedule.  
A visit to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and she picks up 
purse and keys for her first outing in quite some time.

     Her destination is a simple ranch-style home in one of the 
better-off neighborhoods.  She brings her car to a stop a half-
block away from the address, idling, a sudden hesitance about 
dealing with people in a social setting giving her pause.  But an 
accepted invitation is a social contract, so she puts the gear 
back into Drive and pulls up to park.   For a moment she wonders 
where the other guests have parked, then shrugs and opens her 
door to stretch her legs.  Clicking the car alarm behind her, she 
walks up the paved stones to the front door, initial hesitance 
quickly covered with an assumed facade of pleasant anticipation.

     "Marge, I'm so glad you could make it.  Come in, come in!"  
Her hostess flutters around her, pointing out a place to lay her 
purse, asking after her day, all of the niceties of a standard 
party greeting.   They leave the entryway and move deeper into 
the house, arriving at a small dining alcove where a birthday 
cake, a glass of champagne and two crystal glasses sit beneath 
dimmed lights.

     Unexpected is an inadequate word.

     She could turn and run home.  She briefly wants to cry.  The 
touch of her colleague's hand on her back urges her forward, 
helping her sit down at the table.

     "Surprised?  Well, I have a friend in Personnel, and when I 
found out that it was your birthday, I said to myself, April, you 
can't let that nice Marge go without someone remembering her."  A 
knife appears, two slices of the cake are cut, and the champagne 
is poured, all without disrupting the flow of words.  "Now I do 
apologize for not having a whole group here, but I'm afraid it's 
a little difficult to get a group together from our office, you 
know how everyone has their other commitments."

     She finds a fork in her hand, and automatically inserts it 
into the cake.  The piece she brings to her mouth tastes of 
vanilla and amaretto.  April lifts a glass, and so she must also, 
hearing a cheery "Happy Birthday" toast.  April eats her slice of 
cake with the grace of a social director, timing her last bite to 
finish with Marge.  "Now, dear, for your birthday present!"

     Marge finds volition returning to her, as she begins to 
demur.  "Oh please, April, this was a lovely surprise, but I 
couldn't possibly..."

     It is as if she has not even spoken.  April takes her hand 
in a warm but insistent grip and leads her away from the table, 
through the elegant living room, and down a hall to a room with a 
closed door.

     The door is opened...

     "Oh.  My.  God."

     The boy -- no, not a boy, but certainly a young man -- on 
the bed lays nude, hands tied over his head, a pair of stereo 
headphones covering his ears and a pair of leather pads covering 
his eyes.  The hair on his head is fair and full, that on his 
chest is downy, and further down...

     She blushes, staring at his semi-aroused state.  What can 
she do?  Her legs are shaky, rooted to the spot.  And her body 
generates its own messages, nipples brushing against her thin 
bra, a heat building inside.  It's been so long, after all...

     Somewhere outside she half-hears words, like a radio 
broadcast in bad weather.  "... woman like you needs ... didn't 
know until my friend told me ... you've been so nice around the 
office, not like those other ... longest time to find just the 
right ..."

     A tug at the back of her neck, and the cool air in the room 
washes over her suddenly warm neck.  Another tug, and the buttons 
down the back of her blouse give up their attachments.  Hands 
slide the garment forward over unresisting arms, and those same 
hands slide the zipper of her slacks down to push it to the 
floor.  Her mouth gapes, breath echoing loudly inside her head, 
eyes looking hungrily between the young man's legs, watching the 
member pulse on his stomach.  A pat on her bare bottom rouses her 
to step forward, leaving her clothing behind, stopping just a 
handsbreadth away from the bed.

     "Go ahead," comes the voice at her ear.   "Touch it."

     She reaches out as if in a dream, laying her hand along its 
length, feeling the heat and the sudden answering growth.  Her 
tongue peeks out to dab at her lips, and she knows what she 
wants.

     As the door behind her draws closed, one last comment enters 
her consciousness.  "And just wait until you see what he can do 
with his tongue!"

     *****

///// Completed 10-22-2002 by Rajah Dodger rdodger@hotmail.com

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rd_Her_Birthday