I shifted slightly in bed, barely moving. It was neither the dream nor the breeze flowing over my body that tugged at my sleep. It was a distant sound like an echo. A voice... or something else? I tried to focus. No... multiple voices, vague and indistinct. My mind scrambled to process meaning as these voices pulled me slowly, inexorably toward consciousness.
I rolled onto my back and was greeted by familiar objects. Ceiling, walls, bookcase, pictures, posters, even the sunlight streaming though the open window were all reassuring. I was home again. Time away in college had not changed a thing. I had changed, but my room remained the same.
The window curtains rose and fell gently in response to unseen currents of outside air. Light ebbed and flowed into the room with each tiny gust and the rhythmic movement of the cloth fabric was almost hypnotic. I sensed that it was a beautiful, warm afternoon beyond the curtains. Yawning, I turned and glanced at the clock. It was already past noon.
Loud laughter followed by two muted voices drifted down the hall from my sister's bedroom. I strained to recognize the second, soft and feminine. Its familiar tone clearly belonged to my cousin, Lisa. Jennifer and Lisa were together again. Generally, they were always together. Being born within a week of each other, living in the same town, attending the same schools, they grew up treating one another more like twin sisters than cousins. Everyone in our family treated Lisa like a sister.
Jennifer and Lisa's conversation quickened and became more animated. I heard them giggling hysterically. Their voices emerged from Jennifer's bedroom, and then faded, moving far away toward the front of the house. Each spoken word seemed to elicit renewed laughter from the two girls. I heard the front door open and close, followed quickly by the solid thump of the storm door. Their chatter evaporated and the house was still and silent.
Fully awake now, I contemplated what remained of the day. I didn't have anything important scheduled until a series of job interviews set for the following week. I had submitted resumes to numerous large companies before graduating and those submissions were beginning to pay dividends. Today, however, was mine... and I had no immediate plans.
I reached down and plucked one of my stroke magazines from under the bed and sat against the headboard. The cover displayed a totally naked, stunning blonde with a seductive smile. Also, on the cover was a listing of articles found within the issue. I rarely read the articles, but the photos were first class! I perused the menu of leading stories before choosing Sorority Girls of the Southeast.
Thumbing through pages of southern beauties, my eyes fell upon a group photo of coeds from Florida. The next few pages included individual shots of each girl and short biographies. One characteristic they all shared was a rich golden tan. Two were brunettes while the others sported long, blond hair. I flipped to the next page and found that the girls were miraculously beginning to lose their clothing. I knew exactly how this particular summer day was going to begin and turned the page.
"Hey, sleepyhead!" A voice shattered the silence.
My eyes darted up from the magazine and toward the voice. Lisa stood perfectly framed in the doorway. My cousin's unexpected appearance shocked my ability to respond. Lisa immediately read my surprise, smiled broadly, and leaned against the door frame.
"Gotcha, didn't I, Jason?" Lisa was amused that she had startled me.
I was finally able to answer, "Dammit, you almost gave me a heart attack. I thought I heard you and Jennifer leave."
"Well, everybody's gone... except me." Lisa took a small step inside the doorway while glancing curiously at the open magazine on my lap. "Jennifer had to go down to the college bookstore and buy a textbook for the summer session. Can you believe it? She failed Psych 102 last semester and now she has to make it up!"
"She failed? You mean totally failed, like with an F?" This was a revelation. My sister never failed a single class in her life. She always took great pleasure in pompously announcing her A's and B's. Now, it seemed, she had finally met her match in college.
"Oh, yeah, a big-time F." Lisa seemed to take a perverse delight in Jennifer's fall from grace. "And, your parents were really pissed."
"Well, what happened? Did she blow the final?"
"She blew off everything, Jason. She submitted a sorry research paper, skipped lectures, just plain didn't study. She knew the final exam was a lost cause and didn't even show up. I don't know why she didn't drop the class earlier."
"That would have been the smartest thing to do." I quickly closed the open magazine. "What was she thinking?"
Lisa noticed my unusual movement and gazed suspiciously at the magazine. She fell silent and began to survey the bedroom. A puzzled expression transformed her face and she turned her attention to a cluster of pictures on the dresser. I took the opportunity to surreptitiously place the magazine face down on the bed beside me. I watched as Lisa silently toured the perimeter of my room. Stopping to touch and examine various items, she seemed preoccupied...consumed in thought.
My cousin was a beautiful young woman. Gorgeous, according to most, would be a better description. She was casually dressed in a pair of bright red summer shorts and a contrasting snow white top. The top was brief enough to reveal several inches of golden tanned skin on her flat stomach as she moved about the room. I considered her slender, athletic build to be one of pure perfection. Lisa paused for a moment in front of the open window and concentrated on something far away. A brief gust of summer breeze gently lifted the curtains and her blond hair as she continued to stare straight ahead. A few seconds passed before she turned in my direction and spoke.
"It's nice to have you home again, Jason." I could see her smile return and her deep blue eyes brighten.
"So, I haven't seen you since Christmas break. What's new besides your diploma?" Lisa moved to the side of my bed and playfully slapped my leg. "Scoot over and give me some space. I want to hear what you've been up to lately. Have you landed a job yet?"
I shifted my sitting position toward the middle of the bed. Lisa sat down on the edge, leaving one foot on the floor.
"No, but I have prospects" I gave Lisa a rundown of the upcoming interview schedule.
As I recounted the mundane details of the past few months I noticed Lisa began to mindlessly finger the edge of the magazine at my side. All the while she looked into my eyes, rarely blinking. Her blue eyes seemed to search my face for some reaction that never came.
"So, here I am." I concluded. "Back home for a couple of weeks."
"It should be fun." said Lisa. "We always had fun didn't we? I mean...you, me, and Jennifer. We did a lot of things together."
I nodded in agreement and watched Lisa look directly at the magazine and deliberately pull it toward her.
"And what's this?" Lisa flipped the magazine upright and scanned the cover. She looked up with a devilish gleam in her eyes. "Oh, I see... now you're working on a graduate degree in anatomy?"
She began to thumb through a few pages while perusing the photos. I stretched, leaned back, and used the moment to visually rediscover my cousin. The undulating curtains allowed sunlit patterns to wash over the room and highlight Lisa's golden hair. She continued to study the pages with more than passing interest.
"These girls are really beautiful." Lisa abruptly closed the magazine and broke the stillness.
"Yeah, they are." I remained stationary, not really knowing how to take her comment.
"Do you have more of these?"
What was this question all about? I casually leaned toward the edge of the bed and motioned toward the floor. Lisa bent at the waist, and peered under my bed.
