The Birds and The Bees: Part Two

Cherie Deville moves through the house, calm, carrying the soft weight of her own good day. Upstairs she catches the sound of Allie Ray sobbing behind a closed door. She steps inside and finds the girl curled tight on the bed. Cherie sits, draws her close, asks gently what happened. Allie fights to speak; shame sticks in her throat. Cherie waits without pressing until the words spill out. Allie’s date had gone cold the moment she let slip about sleeping with her step-mother. The girl recoiled, left her standing. Cherie listens until the story drains, then tells her nothing is wrong with any of it. A woman’s body wants what it wants. Allie is not broken or dirty. She’s young and beautiful and there will be others who see her clearly. Comforting hands smooth down Allie’s back, then Cherie slips the girl’s shirt off, skin to skin. Allie sinks into that warmth until the hurt ebbs. The mother’s fingers trace slow circles until Allie lifts her head and decides the day is hers to take. She tells Cherie to stand and strip. Fabric drops at the older woman’s ankles. Allie pushes her face between the parted thighs, tasting the salt she already knows. Cherie lets her head fall back, fingers curled in Allie’s hair, breath breaking, the soft wet sounds of tongue on wet flesh filling the quiet room.