Grumpy Old Ladies

That was what they were calling it. The play room, because it was full of toys. That made her giggle as she brushed her teeth, just as it always made her giggle, and she had a big smile on her face for the first time in hours as she came back out to bed...

...and noticed that the light was off. It had taken her no more than a couple minutes to get through her nightly routine. What were the odds that she would catch the tail end of Magda getting her money's worth on that fuck machine?

"The world just keeps getting smaller," she said to herself, as she shed the light shawl she'd worn to stay warm while out on the porch.

Then she froze. There had been a flash in the corner of her eye. The kind of trick of the light that could mean she had a tear there, a bubble of moisture bending the light just a little, or that a car had pulled into the Donnelly's driveway two doors down and caught her little glass unicorn figurine, on the windowsill, with its headlights for a moment...

...or it was Magda, and those binoculars she'd seen once upon a dream. Had they really been binoculars? Did Magda really need something so elaborate to see her from so close?

Did Magda really want to see her in that much detail?

All these thoughts swirled in her head very quickly, and her skin flushed with color at the thought that her friend might be watching her.

Another beat. She was tired, and had been planning to just put something on TV to fall asleep to. It would have been uneventful, but she had an audience now. Should she put on a show? Could she?

It was the longest heartbeat of her life between that pinprick of light in the very corner of her eye and the decision to sit down, very purposefully, on the side of her bed, and pull her nightie over her head. Exposing herself. Carefully not looking up or out the window, or giving away the knowledge that she knew. She didn't know, not really, but maybe...

...maybe Magda was watching. Maybe Magda wanted to watch. Maybe Magda wanted to see her pleasure herself. That thought drove her wild, making her heart race, and she reached down to probe herself with the pad of her middle finger.

Just the beginnings of moisture, but more was coming. Especially once she started teasing the very tip of her clit. Her head rolled back, neck sinking into her shoulders, and she did something she had never done before, something she had never even considered doing; she raised her wetted fingertip to her lips, and tasted herself.

It was wild. She couldn't believe herself. All this showy, flashy, porno-style exhibitionism on the ridiculous, flimsy chance that her lifelong frenemy was next door watching her, and yet the chance that it might be true, that Magda might be watching and touching herself, was so wild and uninhibiting a thought that she couldn't stop herself.

She planted one arm behind herself, for support, and spread her legs. Feet arching, so that just the tips of her toes were touching the floor, with her knees forming perfect ninety degree angles. Shaping her calves, which were just as curvy as the rest of her.

Donna had never been so aware of herself as a sexual creature, but something about what Magda had said to her, about how Magda saw her body, had emboldened her. Made her feel a little more confident. Made her feel a little more at home in her own skin.

Quietly, whispering, but with an exaggerated lip movement bordering on pantomime, she said, "Magda," and touched herself again. It was ecstasy. Sheer joy spreading outward from her core as she played with her clit. On a whim, she pulled her finger back and traced it gently over her nipple, leaving a trail of fluid behind that quickly cooled in the night air. She drew a sharp breath as her nipple hardened, visibly, under the sensation, and it was like the pull of gravity that she fell backward onto the bed to use both hands. One to play with her clit, the other to pinch and squeeze her left nipple. The sensitive one. The responsive one.

The simultaneous sensations played a sweet harmony within her, and she was barely aware of what she was doing with her legs. When she realized she'd pulled them up in the air, her toes pointed, she almost put them back down. It was so unnecessary, so superfluous to her own pleasure, that it seemed almost absurd, but then she remembered the way Magda had gotten out of the tub, with such grace and poise, and those very long legs, and it began to dawn on her that she might very well be a leg woman.

The orgasm washed over her, making her shiver and rock, and she tried to push through it to see if she could pull off one of those really zany multiple orgasms that porn actresses always managed, but her nerve endings were quite fried, thank you very much, and Donna slumped in delirious exhaustion. It was, by far, one of the most exhilarating orgasms of her life.

Again, she found herself saying, "Magda," out loud, to an empty house, in the unlikely scenario in which the woman herself was still watching. In her head, it was seeing her lips form that word again that finally pushed Magda herself to orgasm, not fifty feet away. Sitting in her little chair, with her perfect little tits and her perfectly trimmed—

"What the hell am I doing?" she gasped, and pulled a pillow over her face to scream.

When she sat up, the light in the play room was still off. No sign of anything. No telltale splash of clear fluid on the window where Magda had ejaculated, which was by far the most absurd fantasy in the whole bunch. Donna caught her breath, slid under the sheets, turned on the TV, and sleep came quickly.

***

"I was thinking about last night," Donna said, very carefully looking down at her hands.

Magda had just taken a sip of her coffee, and barely got the mug back up to her lips to catch what she spit back out. This wasn't an explicit admission that Magda might have spied on her, but Donna felt comfortable upping her estimation of having been watched from slim to possible.

"Yes?" Magda said, eventually, after catching her breath.

"Ollie loved this house. We were gonna live here forever, no matter what, but... you know, Christina is three hours away. Lennox is an hour, and he's the closest one. They all stayed in motels last night, because they've all got boyfriends and girlfriends, and we've still just got their childhood bedrooms still." She paused for a moment, catching her breath, and said, "Why are you still here? Why didn't you... move closer? Or farther, I don't know."

Magda's eyes got wider as she listened, but by the time Donna was done talking she was staring into the distance. Past Donna. Through the yard. "You know," she said, slowly, dragging out the o's, "I thought about that, after you mentioned it. And I thought I have my work here, and my husband is buried here, and my kids grew up in this house, but... none of that is it. Not really. I think that I would have left if you weren't here. I don't think I'd have wanted to get used to another new neighbor." She cut off abruptly, lips still open like she was going to say more, but no more came.

This seemed like at least part of an answer, but Donna was afraid to push it much further. She didn't worry about pissing Magda off anymore, but she had a feeling of being on thinner ice than she'd realized. Or maybe it was that Magda was the one on thin ice, and she didn't want to see her friend fall under. Instead of asking a follow-up, she said, "Only another couple weeks."

Magda blinked, and focused on her again for a moment before her eyes widened dramatically. "Oh. Right. Has it been a year already? What day was it?"

"March third." She took a sip, and added, "It's a Tuesday this year," as if that was an important detail that added context. It didn't. Then she frowned. "Isn't Leo's coming up soon too?"

"It's, um... it's the week after. The ninth."

Donna squinted, except that she was trying to look into the past rather than off the distance. "It was the day of the wake, wasn't it?"

Magda licked her lips, and then smiled. It wasn't her normal smile, though; the one she'd make when she had something to smile about. It was different. "Not my best salvo in the great prank war."

Donna put down her mug and reached across the kitchen table to lay her hand on top of Magda's. Magda, for her part, made her hand into a loose fist and squeezed the tips of Donna's fingers.

"I'm sorry," Magda said, looking down.

Donna opened her mouth to say you don't have anything to be sorry for, and then almost said don't be, but instead she took a breath and said, "Me too."

***

Three weeks later, Donna stood next to Magda, with her hands in the pockets of her puffy, sleeveless jacket, and looked around. "It's really pretty back here."

Magda didn't look up. "He was one of the first when they opened up this part of the cemetery. Leo always wanted to be around trees."

There was a big maple tree that was close enough that it would probably cast some shade there in the afternoons, and the edge of the space was lined with big pine trees.

Donna said, "He used to go on all those camping trips. So many times, I'd see the roof rack on that old Cherokee of his all loaded up with a canoe and that big orange tent. He'd love it out here."

At this, a smile finally broke across Magda's face. "I hated going on those trips, but he was always so excited to show me all these weird, out of the way waterfalls, or a little pond that was off the normal trail."

"The kids used to love going on those. He was such a good dad."

Magda nodded slowly. "And a good husband."

Donna had never felt she was a very intuitive person. It felt like a lot of her life, for a very long time, consisted of a series of lists she'd been keeping, some on paper and some in her head. Things she had to do for Ollie, or the kids. Things she had to do for the HOA. Clothes she had to buy. Feelings she was allowed to feel, or express. Being a woman means I have to... Being a mom means I have to... She couldn't feel her way through the things she needed to do, so she kept lists.

On a whim, she put her arm around Magda's waist, from the side, pulled her in close, and leaned her head against the taller woman's shoulder.

"Thank you for coming," Magda said, softly, leaning her head over so that her temple rested on the top of Donna's head and wrapping her arm around Donna's shoulder.

"I'm sorry it took me this long for me to come back."

"You're here now," she replied, easily.

That made Donna smile. "I'm here now."

They stayed like that for a while before Magda planted a quick kiss on top of her head, and then they started back toward her car.

Magda sat in the driver's seat, with her hand on the key, and turned to face Donna. "You know, about that work trip next week. The one that stretches over the weekend."

"Yes? Oh, you want me to take Peanut?"

"What? No," Magda said. Then she paused before adding, "You'd watch Peanut? I thought you hated him."

"Well, I... I guess he's grown on me," Donna admitted.

"I have a kennel I always... he loves it there. No."

Donna had a fleeting feeling of disappointment that this was not about Magda needing her help, which was tantamount to needing her. "So, what about the trip?"

"Well, I thought I'd ask if you wanted to join me."

Donna blinked. "Join you?"

"Yes, come along. I thought it might cheer you up a bit. We could meet the kids on the way, some of them at least. And you'd be able to hang out with Laurie and Rhea in Chicago while I work, well if they can spare the time, that is. I haven't asked them. I thought I'd ask you first. And if you want, you could come to that company event with me and be my plus one. On Saturday night?"

Donna bounced a little on her seat. "I could go?"

Magda smiled at her. Immediately, in her head, she went over the following week, already thinking of what to pack, and uninvited came a thought of how she had planned on using Magda's toy room while she was gone. The disappointment that came with that, though, was outweighed by the excitement over imagining their road trip to Chicago, and suddenly she was anxious to go.

"I could go!"

Magda laughed and started the car.

"Oh but, next week... there's that church fundraising event."

"Yeah?" Magda's voice didn't give out what she thought about it.

Donna went through the event in her mind. She had promised to sew ornamental pillows for the drawing, but they were almost done. When she thought about it, her presence was not actually required. This time around she didn't even have an allotted sales turn at the cafeteria. She just needed to supply the pillows, which were already mostly embroidered.

"I can go. I can skip the fundraiser. They don't need me there on the night."

Magda flashed her a smile before turning back to the road again. Donna looked at her silhouette, how she frowned a little when she concentrated on the driving, and felt more excited than she had in months.

***

Christina laughed. "Mom, slow down, or you're going to burst!"

"Oh, I know! Look, yellow or purple?" Donna held two scarves on either side of her face.

Chrissy leaned closer to the camera and said, "Yellow."

Donna nodded happily and started to fold the yellow one to pack it in her suitcase. She was so excited about Magda's business trip she had packed and repacked two times already, but she wasn't about to tell that to her nosy eldest daughter.

"I heard you're going to hang out with Rhea."

"Yeah, how amazing is that? She took time off work just to spend a couple days with us! Me!"

"Yeah, she and Laurie are really keen to get closer to you now."

"I know, and I appreciate it, but I have to say, I still don't really understand why Laurie didn't tell me. I mean, I understand that this place is not the most open minded, but I'm a little hurt that she didn't know me any better than this."

Chrissy bit her lip. "Umm... yeah."

Donna picked up a beige blouse, looked at it evaluatively, and decided it should remain in the closet. It was slightly the wrong shade for the yellow scarf. She thought she should ask Magda what she was going to wear for the company event, so that she could pick her own outfit to compliment that. "Umm yeah what?"

"Well, we... told her not to tell you. I mean, almost all of us."

"You did what?" Donna's attention snapped back to her pad, propped against a pillow on her bed. She forgot all about packing. "You all thought I was some kind of homophobic backwards prissy jerk?"

Chrissy exposed her teeth. It wasn't a smile. "Yeah... I mean, Dad was, you know."

"No, he wasn't! Ollie didn't have a hateful bone in his body!"

"He was good to all of us, true, and don't tell Janet I said this but... don't you remember all the gay jokes he used to tell? How he would comment on the gay characters on tv shows and movies?"

Donna sat down on the edge of her bed. "Yeah, but that was just joking. His sense of humor was a little... immature at times. He didn't mean it like that."

"Maybe, maybe not," Chrissy said. "All I'm saying is that Laurie isn't even his daughter, and she felt better not risking it. Sometimes, you know, it's more complicated than just saying 'Dad didn't hate anyone'. If there was even a chance he might disapprove, or take it badly, that's a hard conversation. And you... you always agreed with him. You were kind of in his shadow, so we didn't really know which way you would go. In the end, she was scared, and felt better not to risk it."

Donna drew a breath to talk, then let it out. Then again. She had a lot of thoughts in her head, but somehow they didn't morph into words. "But... now... I'm not in his shadow anymore, because he's dead?"

"There's that," Chrissy said, "and the fact that you're packing to go on a road trip with your girlfriend."

"Magda is not my girlfriend!"

"Whatever you say," Chrissy said, rolling her eyes like only Chrissy could. "Anyway, I have to go. See you in a few days then!"

Donna huffed and tapped to end the call. She looked at her half-packed suitcase, and then towards Magda's house. Her eyes were drawn towards the playroom window. Magda wouldn't be home for hours. Picking a dress for a company get together was not important enough to call her and interrupt her work. In fact, Donna had decided it wasn't important enough to check at all, that she should just pack a dress and trust that it would be appropriate for the occasion, and not worry what Magda would wear or if they would match. She had made that same decision more than once before. Somehow it didn't seem to stick, because she kept returning to it. She wanted to look her best, however meager that might be. She wanted to look good for Magda.

Donna pursed her lips and continued packing the rest of her gear. Sensible shoes for sightseeing, a sensible coat in case it would be cold, and the lighter one she could wear when they drove. Sunglasses, just in case. The weather forecast had said it would be overcast for almost the entire trip, but it was still so far away they weren't entirely reliable. Her beauty bag and makeup, because they were going to that semi-formal occasion, and while she knew she wasn't actually Magda's date she didn't want to embarrass her. She paused again to ponder this. Magda thought enough of her to take her along to this kind of a party, and it felt somehow really significant.

But... they would be gone for almost a week, and... it had been a while...

Donna looked towards Magda's house again. Christina said she was my girlfriend, she thought and rolled her eyes. The rest of what Chrissy had said was still rolling around in her head. Had she really been that much of a nonperson when she'd been with Ollie? Hadn't she always been herself? She thought about their lives together, their routines, and yes... she could see how it could be seen that way. She had gotten so used to Ollie's stupid jokes she had learned to filter them out, not pay attention to them. She hadn't considered how they might sound to someone else. Someone who was the target of those jokes.

They would be sharing hotel rooms. And they would be gone for almost a week. And it had been a while.

Donna made up her mind and left for Magda's. She would have plenty of time to have a go at the sex machine, and that may or may not last her until they got back.

***

Big Tits At Work 11 was Donna's favorite. The whole series appealed to her more than most she'd watched because they featured very busty women being praised for their large boobs, but 11 was her favorite. The star was a gorgeous little brunette with boobs even larger than her own, and unlike most of the stars of the series hers were natural. She was short, like Donna, and she was shy, like Donna, and the plot (such as it was) was about a woman getting her first office job. There was a naiveté to her that resonated with Donna, even though the whole thing was ridiculous.

Preposterous, even. She had sex with three different male coworkers in the span of a couple hours, on her first day, and when Donna had the time she often just watched the whole thing and let the machine slow down during the talky parts. At that moment, though, Donna was very focused on getting in as many orgasms as she could manage in a short period of time. She still needed to research the directions they'd be taking when they left the next morning, and she wanted to bake them some road trip snacks, and...

Donna shivered, shook her head, and tried to focus. Those were thoughts for later. On the screen in front of her, the woman, Gibby, was being called into her boss's office. Gibby's boss was a stern woman who'd been frustrated by Gibby's first day escapades, and her lack of focus. At first glance, the movie played it off as frustration with unprofessionalism, but by the end of the movie it came out that her boss just really wanted to worship Gibby's big, bouncing boobs. At the end of the day, Gibby ended up on her back, on her boss's desk, getting the most sensual oil massage Donna had ever seen, and Donna could reliably orgasm three times just from that scene alone.