Queen of the Night
By Otto Fussby
Becky watched the young men from the pantry window. They were shirtless in the hot sun, wrestling and horse playing. The thin but strong young man who worked in town, she didn't know his name, was especially beautiful. She could see perpetration shining on his tan skin. She was just 19 and he was years older but she still liked to think of him.
She first saw him working at the grocery store. He was unloading crates from the back of a wagon. She was impressed by how little effort he needed, how capable he was, and how handsome.
She closed the door with the toe of her boot to make the pantry darker, and harder to see in, and also in case ma came in.
Her hero picked up Jacob Morton like he was a doll and dropped him in the dust, just as easily. Jacob, the braggart, always tried to impress with words but never with deeds. Unfortunately, he lived closest and consequently was often at their farm.
She sat on a wooden crate, leaned against the shelves and pulled her skirt up out of the way. She compared them as she circled a finger around in her curly blond hair. She tried to picture them without britches; she tried to see their budging thighs and muscular buttocks. What would it feel like to be picked up and handled, pressed against the wall? Hands so strong... Her finger slid along the warm wet split between her legs. She knew boys sometimes licked girls there. She thought of her hero down there. She closed her eyes to see him better. The pantry was so hot, so hot. With her feet now up on the opposite wall she went to work with an ear of dried corn. Faster and faster and faster. But before she could find satisfaction the crate tipped throwing her like a bad tempered mule, she went sprawling out of the pantry and onto the cold kitchen floor, slick ear of corn in her hand. She made so much noise that buster started barking and ma opened the back door. Becky just had time to cover up before ma came in.
Ma looked perplexed seeing Becky on the floor in the center of a pile of potatoes, and assorted items. Her eyes went from floor to pantry, to pantry window, and through to the boys outside. There was an odor floating that Becky hoped ma didn't notice. And though Becky now had the corn deeply hidden, she knew ma knew.
"You clean up that mess right now and then come out back and help me with laundry."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And you bes' hurry up."
"Yes, ma'am."
But Becky didn't want to stand up, less the corn would fall out from under her skirt, then there would be no pretending that she might be innocent. But ma waited expectantly to see get to work.
"Hurry up now."
"Yes, ma."
She stood slowly.
"Is you hurt?"
"Oh, no ma. I'm just as fine as ever." She kept her knees pressed together.
"Well, then?"
She felt the corn slip a bit.
"I'll get it cleaned up in no time."
The corn slipped more.
She turned so that her legs crossed and started to pick things up. She knew she couldn't do this and look natural. When, she heard the backdoor open and close, she looked over her shoulder to see that ma had returned to work. With a sigh of relief, she reached up and pulled out the well-greased corn. She held it up, smiling at her butter sauce dribbling down the side. She had made a mess of it. But just then movement caught her eye. Jacob was looking through the pantry window. He saw her remove the corn!
***
They had guests that evening for dinner, her hero and Jacob and his nasty grin. Of course she was uncomfortable, worse, ma fixed corn (but not the same ear). Jacob made pleasantries about ma's cooking and how much he liked buttered corn. Then Ma, meaning to be modest, said Becky helped. She could feel her cheeks flush. Jacob licked his lips. If Jacob knew exactly how she felt about him right then, he would run screaming.
"Would you care for more corn, Morley?" ma asked.
Morley, her hero was named Morley.
"Yes, ma'am, if I may."
Becky watched him eat the corn. She had been deprived earlier in the pantry, unable to satisfy her craving which lingered even stronger now. What would Morley think if he knew how she felt about him? Would he run screaming? She didn't think so but if he did, she'd run him down and butter his corn cob for him.
She knew he was too old for her but he was exactly what she wanted. But she was invisible to him, even now that he was across the table. Morley's eyes were on her older sister Catherine or more specifically on her big utters. Between the two sisters, Becky considered herself the better looking, overall, but her boobs never developed like her sisters. She wasn't flat-chested. She had her share. She looked okay... just not attention grabbing.
What did Morley see in her sister's twin watermelons? When she was undressed they hung from her and wobbled around knocking things over, they'd probably knock her out if she tried to ride a horse like that. She looked like her sister in all other regards, blond fly-away hair, blue eyes, and freckles but not in the part boys noticed. Becky's were kind of pointy.