Inspired by Sue Grafton's alphabetical series.
Nipples.
Say it with me. Nipples. Those mysterious plump pillows of flesh that cap breast flesh. Pink, rosy, large, small, soft, hard. Nipples.
I guess you could say that I'm obsessed with nipples. Why? Because I don't have any.
You heard me. I am one of the nippleless few people who walk this Earth in search of acceptance and rarely find any. That was, in fact, why I had returned to my father's orange grove farm in sunny central Florida. I figured that Florida was the farthest I could get from Chicago and my
ex
-boyfriend, John.
I spent the first few days wandering in the groves. I love this time of year in the groves. The trees are alive with scented orange blossoms and the hum of bees at work. The air is clean and sweet and I could be alone. Or so I thought.
"Mia!"
I hadn't expected to see my brother, Joey. Last I'd heard, he was in Europe somewhere, doing something top secret for the government. He had joined the CIA after a stint in the Green Berets and had been hard at work for some years now. But at 35, he still looked like a high school kid. Wish I could say the same for myself. He grabbed me in a tight hug, whirling my laughing body around.
"Hey, bro!"
He set me down, giving me a once over. I could see that he didn't like what he saw and did his level best to hide it. "You look well, Mia."
"No, I don't. Don't bullshit me." I knew what he was seeing. His once skinny sister now overweight by 30 pounds, dull eyes and even duller hair. "What are you doing home?"
"I might ask the same of you."
"Bored with life, I guess."
He perked up at my statement. "Not thinking of doing something stupid, are you?"
The old Mia would have cussed him out. I just crumpled. "No."
"Come on. Let's go to Sharky's and get drunk."
I looked into Joey's warm eyes and for the first time in a long time, I felt happy. "Okay."
We went back up to the house and he waited patiently while I changed into khaki pants and a shirt. I pulled my hair back and attempted to put some makeup on. I didn't want to scare away any prospects he might get. Dad gave me a kiss on the cheek and said that he was happy to see me getting out, even if it was with my crazy brother. He also said that if we got too drunk, we could leave the car at Sharky's and walk home. Joey just laughed.
On the drive over, Joey talked and I listened. He was the same big brother I'd always had with some subtle changes. His electric brown eyes had crow's feet and his sandy hair was dusted with grey. His body was the same. He always worked out and kept himself fit, especially when he was in the service and his big hands reminded me of our father. He talked about having been in the Slovak region and hinted at some work in Iraq but wouldn't elaborate. I knew better than to ask. He was also still single.
Like brother, like sister.
We took a table near the big back window to see the sunset and he ordered two Heineken's and crab cakes. I drank part of my beer, staring out the window and watching the girls on the manmade beach. They had nipples, I guessed. Perfect, nubby, puffy ...
"Earth to Mia."
I suddenly realized that I'd drifted off into Nippleland and laughed shakily. "Sorry."
"Where were you?"
"In a galaxy far, far away."
"With Han Solo or Luke Skywalker?"
"Han Solo, most definitely." I laughed again, this time, with true mirth. It felt strange.
His eyes met mine. I looked away, but he brought them back by putting his hand over mine. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"I don't believe that."
"Well, it's true. Nothing is going on. That's the problem."
Joey stared at me thoughtfully. "Tell me."
And so I did. I told him about my secretarial job and being laid off. I told him about John and our breakup. By the time I'd finished spouting my vitriol, five empty green bottles sat before me. Only two were in front of Joey. "You never said why you and John broke up."