Serendipity Sex
So I'm in TJ's standing next to the cheese bin, trying to decide between an Irish cheddar and a French Gruyère when my old man's tinnitus is overwhelmed by some
rather loud
yelling over in the restroom alcove. It's Shawna, my favorite clerk and TJ helper. She looks a lot like Alecia Keys, maybe a slightly darker tan, and hair that always is going in all directions at once. She usually has the
best
smile and is my go to for all things TJ. But there is no sweetness and light today. She is facing away from the main room, but her expletives are bouncing off walls; and any folks in the john must be getting the full treat.
"You
fucking
beyoch, you've got some
humping
nerve calling me at work, in the middle of my shift, no less, to tell me we're over. No, no, no, no excuses. Besides, I know that cunt Aline is hanging on your left tit, telling you everything what to say. You tell that ass-sucker to go fuck herself for me. Okay...okay, we're done and I want
all
your shit out of my place within the hour...or less. Don't you dare snatch the Indigo Girls mix disc. I know you made it but you gave it to me for our third. No, I don't give a rat's ass where you go. Yes, I know Aline lives with her
mother....you..."
A formidable woman in denim overalls and a TJ's sweatshirt materialized and had Shawna by the shoulder.
"Ms. Jackson! Take it outside! Now! We have
customers!'
Shawna turned and met my eyes. Hers got big. She glanced at the people frozen in the wine section and the bread bin and her face crumbled. The next thing I knew she is sobbing loudly on my shoulder. The next after that she is dragging me toward the front of the store, wailing. I'm still holding the cheese and hope the store cop in the Hawaiian shirt doesn't think I stole it, even though, technically, I did.
Shawna drags me around the side of the building to the tiny park where they have their lunch. Pushes me down on the bench of the picnic table.
She is pacing in front of me, back and forth, back and forth, pounding her fist into her palm. Angry. Crying. Angry. Crying. Suddenly she stops and looks right at me.
"Mister....?"
"Rowland?"
"Okay...Mr. Rowland...You've been coming to the store for...like...ever...right? You've seen me a bunch of times, dressed a bunch of ways... I think you even saw me in my
dancing dress
one night when you came in late and I was leaving for that...anyway...anyway, I've seen you look at me. I mean, I know you're old, but you're not
dead."
"
Thank you."
"Sure.
And I'm pretty sure I've caught you scoping my...ass once or twice..."
"Guilty as charged."
"...So...tell me the truth, as raw as you can. Am I fuckable? Really, am I fuckable? Please...Susan says I'm not. "
"Shawna...."
"Please...."
"Oh, Shawna, you know I'm of an age where if it's breathing and it isn't covered with scales, it looks pretty good. Besides...yes... I like
women."
"
So do I."
"Yes...and I...maybe have to guess as to whether they think I think they are fuckable. "Technically, you're fuckable if you have the right gear in the right places, and even then one can get imaginative...wait...this isn't the point. Take a selfie and look at yourself, Shawna. You have all the god-given equipment and then some. Under that capacious fake Hawaiian shirt I know you have a pretty nice rack, and like you say, you have a high onion in back worth gazing at. You have big, soft eyes to look into and a generous mouth one can imagine having lots of fun with. On the surface it's all there. It's obvious; man or woman looking at you; there is plenty to play with. So here's the real question: What does
Susan
mean if she says you're not fuckable? I mean...."
Shawna was sitting next to me on the bench now, kind of leaning up against my shoulder. It was nice, cozy, even if she was growling from time to time.
"Susan...what? Oh, yeah. Well, the easy thing would be to say that she got into bed with Aline and Aline just lit her up...rang bells I don't even know where the clapper is. But, damn it, I think it's more than that. Sure, Aline is tall like she is and stuff probably matches up nice. And they both like sports. But maybe it's simpler than that. I say 'no.' I say 'I'm too tired, or busy, or feeling funky.' Oh, don't get me wrong, making love to Susan is a
trip
, but sometimes you have to know what to
pack
. I mean, you've seen Susan, right? She's
big.
Not
fat
big, so much as tall and strong big, I mean, sometimes it takes
work
to get all that crankin'. Oh, the reward is amazing; to see
all that
just
lift off.
But she's not so great the other way. And I like the delicate stuff. Huh. 'Fuckable.'
"Fuckable."
"So...do you want to fuck me?"
I looked her up and down as a courtesy.
"I'm sure, if I were your flavor, it would be a great pleasure, but...."
She put a hand on my arm and looked me in the face.
"No, I'm not asking if you
would
fuck me in a different world. I'm asking if you
will
fuck me...now."
"Really?"
"Really."
"But you don't fuck men, do you? I mean, when was the last time you fucked a guy?"
"Um, never."
"Never."
"I knew girls were for me before I even knew what that meant."
"So you never even 'tried a guy on'?"
"N'really. Oh, I gave Michael Adreeson a hand job once in a movie. But he was gay and it was a gay movie and he...and I...ended up finishing ourselves. So, no. No actual penis inside me, though a bunch of plastic imitations."
"And you're asking me."
"Yup."
"But I'm a senior citizen and you know nothing of my sexual history or proclivities."
"Um, yeah. But the thing is, that seems to be just what I want. And what I want is important right this moment. Oh I could troll off to a gay bar or two and pick up a jaded dyke or a wannabe lezzie and get kind of drunk and rub a lot of stuff together. But I don't want to feel cheap like that. Besides. I like you. I want to talk to you....."