KIMBERLY

(from the Gynophagia Chronicles)

By Luis Cypher

/files/Authors/LuisCypher/

Part 1

Kimberly Abrams surrendered the shopping cart to the embarrassment next to her. The man, Cid, with his three day growth of beard, his un-kept hair, his dingy t-shirt and frayed jeans was none other than Kimberly’s younger brother. Of course, instead of pushing the cart like a normal person, he leaned on the handle bar like a twelve year old, supporting most if not all his weight upon it as his legs lazily dragged, pushing the cart.

“I can’t take you anywhere,” said Kimberly.

“You don’t need me here at all!” Cid complained for the umpteenth time.

“You’re right!” said Kim. “And I need you even less in my house rummaging through our stuff!” She regarded his unshaven face with those puppy dog blue eyes that had… she so wanted to slap him.

“You wound me!” Cid pouted.

“That works for your girlfriends,” said Kim. “You keep forgetting I know you!”

And I wish I didn’t, thought Kimberly as she turned away from this leech that had shown up only last night with empty pockets, those tattered jeans and one suitcase full of dirty underwear.

“Don’t tell me,” she’d remarked as she opened the door. “Your latest scheme went bust!”

He didn’t need to answer, and she had no desire to listen to the details of his latest failure. Fortunately, Cid had offered none. Of course she’d let him in. Not because he was her brother, or even because he was family. The whole “blood is thicker than water” would simply not fly in his case. She let him in because Clive Abrams, Kimberly’s beloved husband, loved Cid. Clive would be furious if he found out she’d turned this miscreant away. Spit me now! Kim thought.

“You’ve lost weight,” Cid observed as he lazily lean-pushed the cart behind her.

Kimberly ignored him, or tried to.

“So why are you shopping? The kids don’t even come home till tomorrow night.”

“We have a business function on Saturday,” said Kimberly. “I want to be prepared with my part of the potluck.”

Cid seemed disinterested in what Kimberly was saying suddenly, and they moseyed about the store collecting bread crumbs, vegetables, etc, in silence.

“You’re butt’s still big,” he said lazily.

It was all Kimberly could do not to hit him.

“Well, I think she looks fabulous!” said a lilting voice. It came from a petite brunette in black Lycra shorts a thin halter over perky round breasts, flip flops flip flopping as she walked.

“Hi, June!” Kimberly said thanking her lucky stars someone she liked was nearby. She and June frequently ran into each other here at the supermarket and almost always spent too much time chatting in the isles when they did.

“Hello, Kim!” said June in a chipper voice. The woman was a full head shorter than Kimberly’s 5’11” and smaller in every way. “Who’s this?”

“Oh,” Kimberly said. “That’s my brother, Cid. He’s the one we wished we’d locked in the basement and forgot about.”

“Oh,” said June, looking perturbed. “So this is Cid!” She offered her hand which Cid took a bit taken aback.

“I see my beloved sister has been telling tales…” he glared at Kimberly, who gave him a wry smile back. But he smiled at June. “Do they make all Arizona girls as pretty as you?”

June blushed. “Kim told me you were a very charming cad…”

“Oh,” Kimberly said. “He is that. But he doesn’t lie about beauty.”

“It’s my thing…” said Cid, with a Cheshire grin.

“We’re getting some cuts for dinner tonight. Clive is coming home and I want to give him a good welcome back,” Kim said, noticing that June had no cart, and no purse either.

“So am I,” said June.

Kim lead, admiring June’s body, not for the first time, and wishing her own had not been so ruined by nine children. June, like many people in this gated community, had only three children, a boy and two girls. How many concubines did Carl, June’s husband have in Phoenix? But with even only three, how June could have carried even one at a time in that tiny body, Kimberly could not fathom.

Cid, Kim noticed, was fixated on June’s rump. It was small but round and perfect, and it jiggled seductively in her Lycra shorts as her feet flip flopped along.

June noticed where her companions were looking with an uncomfortable look on her face.

“Cid," Kim said. “Go find us a good barb-b-cue sauce.”

“But…”

“Go!”

“Oh, all right!”

“He’s cute,” said June.

“Don’t be fooled. He’s full of promises but never delivers a damn thing, except you as dinner.”

“Yeah, you told me he was a funboy.”

“Exactly.”

“You taking him to the company picnic this weekend?”

Kim nodded. “I’m afraid Clive will insist. You know how the Davis clan is about family. He’ll use that excuse, of course. But he loves Cid, for some gawd awful reason.”

“Interesting… I don’t see them getting along at all…”

“You’d be surprised. I think he admires Cid’s ability to charm women onto a stick. I told you about that friend of mine, Kylee Chesler?”

“That was Cid?”

“Yep!”

“At least she went out in style,” observed June. “Some of us aren’t so lucky.”

“Well, you’ll see us all there, with Cid in tow…”

“Probably not,” June said.

“Why not?”

“I won’t be there.”

“I thought it was mandatory.”

“It is,” June said. “Except I have an exemption because of a prior engagement that takes precedence,” said June. “So your baby brother wont’ see me get culled there.”

“Weren’t you one of the finalists last year?” Kimberly asked, probingly.

“I was,” June hugged herself against the overzealous air-conditioning.

“How was it?”

June stopped midstride.

“It was scary! It was humiliating. But it was sexy as hell!” June looked Kim in the eye. “And Carl couldn’t get enough of me for two weeks after… oh… I get it, you’re fishing!”

“Well,” smiled Kim. “Can you blame me?”

“No,” said June. “But I won’t spoil it for you.”

Kim started them moving again.

“It’s not like I’m guaranteed to get picked as a finalist, June!”

“True… but I don’t think it would have been the same if I’d known in advance.”

The air had become progressively colder as the two women approached the butcher’s island in the extreme back corner of the store.

“Hullo, Ladies,” said the rotund and balding man behind the counter. He was clad head to toe in immaculate white linen. “Could I interest you in some ribs?”

Kim saw that there all was were ribs. The meat display was otherwise empty.

“Oh…” said Kimberly. “I was hoping for a nice rump. My husband is coming home tonight and I wanted to have something special for him.”

“Yeah,” said the butcher. “Well, my brother’s running a little late with the farm does, that’s why we’re empty right now. He won’t be here for an hour. But I do have a free range doe coming in any time now if you have some time to wait for her.”

“That would be me, Mr. Mendel,” said June.

“Oh!” exclaimed Kimberly.

“Well, I’ll be,” said Mr. Mendel as he took June’s offered cull order. “I gotta say, Mrs. Harker, I thought for sure you’d be a live roaster. But I’m honored you chose to come to us to render you.”

June smiled weakly at him and Kimberly could see her hands shaking and soft fleshy parts quivering on her small form.

“What happened?” asked Kimberly.

“It’s… oh god, it’s embarrassing,” said June, her eyes wet.

“It’s Okay, June. If you’d rather not.”

“You’re going to find out anyway. It’s my son. He was caught at school….” June choked a sob. “He was caught at school having sex.”

“Having sex?” Kim said incredulously. “That’s all? He’s fifteen, June. That’s all boys live for at that age!”

“With another boy!”

“Oh my god!”

“I know,” said June. “It’s so humiliating.”

“Who was the other boy?”

“I don’t know,” said June. “Anyway, Carl and I had a huge fight. He told me that if I was at home when he got back with Robbie, he’d drive me to some second rate catering outfit in Phoenix himself.”

“But why?” asked Kimberly. “You did nothing wrong!”

“I produced a gay son!” June sobbed, and Kimberly gathered her into her arms and held June as she wept.