The Girls of Manchester Pt. 01

"You would do well, to remember that. Now, why haven't you visited? It has been months!" Juanita exclaimed.

"Mamá, it has only been two days." Hope replied, giggling.

"Long enough, mi corazoncita. A lot has happened since then, yes?"

"Yes, mamá." Hope smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Come over, then. I will tell my Katrina that you are visiting. Besides, I have so much food in this house that it is all going to waste! Nobody eats my food anymore, especially Katrina."

"She eats pretty well."

"That little girl? She is thin. Mi hija, she eats like a bird. She needs to put some meat on her bones or she will never get a good husband."

"She's fourteen, mamá!" Hope replied, incredulous.

"You need to put some meat on your bones too if you are going to get a good man. When I look at the both of you, hah! Los dos son prácticamente esqueletos, you two need to get fatter or you will never get good men."

"Um, yeah." Hope hesitated. "Actually, I was thinking of visiting anyways. I really need to talk to-."

"Of course! You come right over. We will talk, the three of us. I will have some cookies ready. Tell your mom I will cook your supper tonight and that you are staying over. I hardly get my Katrina out of her room to talk with me anymore. It is hard enough trying to convince you to walk across the street to keep an old woman company."

"Yes, mamá." Hope replied, wondering how she just got shanghaied into staying over on a school night. How was she going to explain this to her mother?

"Good. Pack some stuff and head over. You don't want to be outside at dark, too many crazy people hanging around here lately."

"Yes, mamá. I will be there in fifteen minutes or so."

Hope hung up the phone and began packing the things she would need for the night as well as school in the morning. She was a frequent overnighter at Kittie's house, so she really didn't need to pack much whatsoever. She frequently left clothes and a few toiletries there since she knew she would eventually stay the night at Kittie's again. Mostly she would just need to have her school books and supplies, but she had been dying to try on her new baby doll nightie that she had bought during the summer.

It was a lovely red silk number with a built-in bra. The silk loosely hugged the contours of her body so that it accented her shape without being uncomfortably tight. It continued down her body to her hips where it ended in a sheer mini-skirt that would leave nothing to the imagination, so she bought a matching red thong to keep things at least a little closer to PG-13 than they otherwise would have been. The nightie was not a problem since she and Kittie often just wandered around the house in t-shirts and panties anyways. She sometimes felt sorry for Kittie's younger brother who had to deal with the sight every time she came over.

Hope heard their telephone ringing, but ignored it. She knew it was just a matter of time.

*Knock, knock*

"Yes, mom?"

"I guess you already knew?" her mother asked amusedly.

"You know how Mrs. Gonzales is, mom."

"Yes, I do. Luckily, I am fond of her, or I'd be jealous of her stealing my daughter away every other night. Just make sure you make it to the bus stop on time."

"Yes, mom."

"And brush your teeth."

"Yes, mom."

"Also, make sure-"

"Mom!" Hope replied, giggling.

"Alright, alright. You can't blame a mother for worrying. I don't need my daughter going crazy her last year of high school only to end up a single mother working the cash register at a McDonald's."

"Yeah, then I would have both you and Mrs. Gonzales conspiring after my scalp. I'd like to keep my body intact and functional."

"Smart girl." her mother teased from the other side of the door, prompting a roll of the eyes from Hope. "Have a nice evening. Please tell Mrs. Gonzales hello for me, and she is welcome over any time she wishes."

"I will." Hope responded as she resumed packing.

Hope emerged from her room five minutes later with her book bag and an overnight bag. She walked past her parents, wishing them a good night and giving her sister, Lisa, ruffled hair. She walked out the front door into the cool evening air. The sun had nearly set and she could see Mrs. Gonzales waiting on her front porch with the front door wide open. Hope smiled and walked barefoot across the cool grass of her front lawn, enjoying the soft feel of the thousands of grass blades cushioning her feet. She walked across the street slowly, hoping to earn some sort of comment from Mrs. Gonzales as she reached their porch. Honestly, it was never that difficult. It was nearly a ritual now that Juanita Gonzales would find something to scold her about each time she visited.

"¡Chica loca!" she cried, looking down at Hope's bare feet. "Are you insane? You are going to catch a cold walking around barefoot like that!"

"Yes, mamá. Sorry, mamá." Hope replied, smiling as Mrs. Gonzales stepped up to her with wide-open arms and engulfed Hope in a crushing bear hug.

"Mamá," Hope choked out, "you're crushing me."

"It's nice to see you again, Hope. You don't come over as often. I sit here alone most of the day with no one to bake cookies for and talk to. It gets lonely." Mrs. Gonzales released Hope from the hug and smile broadly.

"My mom said you are welcome over any time you want." Hope offered.

"Ah, your mom is a good woman, but I'm always so busy. I have three men to clean up after, the only clean one is Katrina. None of them eat. They make a big mess, they don't eat, then I have to throw all of that food away and clean up the mess again. It never ends." Mrs. Gonzales said with sweeping arm gestures.

"More like you are trying to figure out if Doug and Julie will break up again?" Hope asked. Juanita was a big fan, however belated, of "Days of Our Lives".

"Oh, hush. Come inside before the food gets cold. Dinner is ready right now, so I am only in the middle of baking the cookies."

"It's okay, I'm starving!" Hope replied. Truthfully, she was very hungry. Usually stress caused her to want to eat. Hope guessed that is how Juanita always had the impression she was a good eater despite the fact Hope never really put on much weight. Usually her stays at Kittie's house were a way of trying to de-stress and figure things out. All of that was due to Kittie.

Kittie was a fourteen-year-old much like her mother in terms of personality. The similarities ended when their physique was called into question. Juanita was tall, but rotund. Kittie took slightly more after her father, being short and slightly curvy. Her dark brown skin was always a beautiful color in Hope's opinion, her almond-colored eyes intelligent and full of life framed by straight, jet black hair. Kittie had one trait that always threw everybody off guard, even her parents. Kittie possessed a depth of insight on people that was sometimes scary. After a few minutes of talking, even complete strangers would be thrown off by the perceptiveness of the young teen. That is the reason why Hope came this evening. She needed Kittie's help to resolve the issues of the past day.

"Hooooooope!" a screaming fourteen-year-old enthusiastically launched herself at Hope. She found herself wrapped in another bear hug. No need to wonder where she gets her strength, Hope mused to herself as she methodically disentangled herself from Kittie's grip.

"Let me guess," Kittie stated, "relationship trouble?"

Hope was floored. It must have showed because nearly everybody at the table started laughing.

"Come and eat!" Mrs. Gonzales said after Kittie sat back down at her customary chair.

"You might want to pick your jaw up off of the ground before you do, or you'll trip over it." Kittie joked.

Hope quickly realized her mouth was gaping wide open, and promptly shut it. Dinner as usual, was a loud and ruckus affair at the Gonzales residence. Between Mr. Gonzales trying to make Hope laugh with the newest set of lame jokes he would come up with, Mrs. Gonzales chiding him for rude language in front of the children, and the constant teasing between Kittie and her brother, Roberto, there was more than enough noise in the kitchen for the neighbors to file a noise complaint. This was all a normal day and routine at the Gonzales house, and Hope loved it. Dinners at her home were subdued, quiet affairs with everyone stuck with the thoughts in their own minds, or their faces glued to the television. Compared to the Gonzales family, her home was a veritable graveyard of silence, where words went to die.

Hope was beyond stuffed when dinner was over, and immediately regretted the decision to eat so much when the wonderful smell of cookies wafted from the tray Mrs. Gonzales pulled from the oven. She knew she should have left room, and she would be chided endlessly if she did not take at least a few. She glanced over at Kittie who wore an amused expression.

>" Of course, she knows." Hope thought to herself and rolled her eyes at Kittie.

Kittie stuck her tongue out at Hope and used her hands to mimic what she thought it would look like to see Hope's stomach explode. This brought the girls to giggles as Mr. Gonzales retired to the living room to watch whatever he found interesting, and Roberto disappeared to his room.

Mrs. Gonzales was quick to place a heaping plate of cookies in front of Hope and Kittie.

"Thanks, mamá!" Kittie said with more enthusiasm than was necessary. She was teasing Hope, and Hope narrowed her eyes at Kittie in response.

"Thanks, mamá." Hope pantomimed, trying her best to not let the sudden lurching in her stomach become too apparent. She decided it was best to wait a while. The only thing that would distract Mrs. Gonzales was conversation. Though Mrs. Gonzales was always ready with good advice, she seemed to fancy herself a sage of vast wisdom. She lacked, however, the one thing that Kittie possessed, her daughter's uncanny ability to read people. She loved to humor Mrs. Gonzales, but she was under no illusion that the serious conversation would be had later on, in Kittie's room.

"To answer your question, Kittie, yes. I am having some troubles, but not exactly the relationship kind." Hope started, knowing it would bring a halt to Mrs. Gonzales washing of the dishes, and monitoring of the progress the girls were making of ridding the plate of cookies. Hope saw Kittie was struggling to contain her laughter as the sink faucet was shut off and Mrs. Gonzales quickly waddled over to the table, intent on not missing a beat of the conversation.

"Kind of?" Mrs. Gonzales asked. Kittie snickered at the successful ploy prompting Mrs. Gonzales to roll up a nearby newspaper and swat Kittie's head.

"Ow!" Kittie complained, rubbing the sore spot on her head.

"Teach you to interrupt my second daughter when she is speaking." Mrs. Gonzales quipped, prompting a grumble from Kittie and another swat to the head.

"I don't need this." Kittie said, trying to stand up, but she was held up by the warning glare from Juanita and sat back down compliantly.

"What is this 'kind of' relationship?" Mrs. Gonzales asked.

Hope knew she was on thin ice. Despite Mrs. Gonzales' love for Hope, the woman was a devout Catholic and frowned upon homosexuality. She would have to get the pertinent details across without revealing just what gender her recent 'interest' was.

"Who is this boy? Is he nice?" Mrs. Gonzales asked.

"They are, um-" Hope started, glancing at Kittie," very nice so far."

Kittie was leaning forward in her chair now, looking absolutely intrigued.

"Do we know him?" Mrs. Gonzales asked, pressing for the details.

"Uh, no- what I mean is, they are new to the school and we just met today."

"So, what is the problem? You need a man, why not go get him?"

"Well, we kind of, um, kissed today." Hope replied, blushing.

"¡Dios mio!" Mrs. Gonzales shouted, raising her hands towards the sky. "Finally, one of my girls is ready to give me grandchildren!"

"Not- quite." Hope responded hesitatingly.

"You kissed him, you have to date him! Everyone will think mi princesa is a zorra. That would not do well for you to go around with that reputation. Too many girls these days go strutting around with loose morals. You are not one of those girls. You go to him and say you want him."

"Mamá, let her speak." Kittie interceded.

"She is not saying much. 'They' this, and 'we' that. This is like pulling teeth!" Mrs. Gonzales protested, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Well, stop pulling her teeth, then. She needs those to speak clearly with anyways."

"Hmph." Mrs. Gonzales grunted. "You are too sassy for your own good, girl."

"Is this person worth it to you?" Kittie asked Hope, drawing Mrs. Gonzales back into the conversation.

"I don't know yet. Also, 'we' didn't kiss. I kissed them, then I panicked. I didn't know what to think, so I ran away. It was so unexpected."

"Mi pobre niña." Mrs. Gonzales intoned sadly, shaking her head. "You kiss him, then run away? If you explain tomorrow, maybe he will give you another chance. Just say you were scared. The truth is the path of the righteous and will always win in the end. You need some rest. You have school tomorrow, and when you see him, explain it to him. First, you have yet to touch any of my cookies. Eat."

Hope picked up a cookie and started eating. She felt queasy shoving more food into her mouth, but she did not want to hurt Mrs. Gonzales. Satisfied, Mrs. Gonzales waddled off to finish the dinner dishes. Both girls ate in silence, Kittie becoming increasingly amused as Hope's skin tone got more and more pale. After some idle conversation with Kittie and nearly half a dozen reluctantly-consumed cookies, Mrs. Gonzales banished the girls to the bedroom to give Hope a chance to be ready to face her new lover.

Hope followed Kittie into the bedroom, dragging her bags with her. She knew Kittie was already brimming with enthusiasm for the upcoming conversation, but knew she was allowing her time to get changed. Hope pulled out the nightie and matching panty and stripped out of her clothes. When she slipped them on, she could not help but marvel at how cool and weightless the wonderful silk felt against her skin. She slipped on the thong and turned around to see Kittie watching her.

"Damn, Hope. I know you're pretty daring, but that is risqué, even for you."

"Does it look good?" Hope asked.

"Red may not be your best color. I think you should go with a blue or green." Kittie stated.

"Why is that?"

"To be honest, most white girls really can't pull off red that well. They try, but end up failing horribly. You need some pigment in your skin to get the full effect. You have just enough to make it workable, but not stunning. Blue or green would go best with your skin, as well as your eyes." Kittie drew in a breath, but hesitated.

Hope watched Kittie, knowing the pleasantries were over. Kittie was all business now.

"Who is she?" Kittie asked.

Hope was once more taken aback. How did she know?

"I never said it was a girl." Hope replied defensively.

"True," Kittie replied with a shake of her head," but I am not as thick as my mom can be, especially on homosexuality. You are coming out, right?"

"I-, I-" Hope stammered, prompting a laugh from Kittie.

"Sit on the bed, Hope, before you hurt yourself." Kittie chided.

Hope complied, her mind now completely blank. Her two best friends having the same conversation with her in the same day after she had just kissed a girl for the first time in her life was too coincidental to be real, or was it?

"Yes, he called me. He told me you were acting strange, so I had already warned mamá that you might be staying the night."

Hope swore to strangle Mark the next day at school, but put those thoughts off to the side as she caught Kittie looking at her with a questioning look.

"What?" Hope asked.

"Don't play innocent, who is she?" Kittie asked again.

"Her- her name is Samantha."

"Wait, Samantha Dawes, one of the twin girls?"

"You know her?" Hope asked, unable to conceal the shock in her voice.

"Yeah, she's in my first period P.E. Class. Brunette, cute as a button, doesn't speak much."

"Doesn't speak at all." Hope replied.

"Huh?" Kittie questioned.

"She's mute, Kittie. She cannot speak."

"Ohhhhhhh." Kittie intoned, her face showing sudden clarity. "She had a rough first period for nothing, then."

"What do you mean?" Hope asked.

"A couple of Jessica's tagalongs are also taking that class as elective, and they seem to have already made quite the target out of her when she refused to talk to them. Now I know why. She is in for a rough ride with that lot now that they have her in their sights. It's only a matter of time before the queen bitch herself takes notice, and-. Hope, relax. Why are you tensing up?"

"I've been- God, so emotional today. It is hard for me to explain."

"We've got all night long, chica." Kittie said, patting on the bed beside her.

Hope took the cue and practically glided towards the bed. The feel of the silk and lace number flowing around her was astonishing. It was weightless compared to the burdens she bore on her mind. Hope was so unsure of the whole situation that she had no clue as to how, exactly, she could explain her feelings in a way Kittie would be able to comprehend what Hope needed to get out into the open.

"Usually it all starts with sitting down, Hope." Kittie said, interrupting Hope's thoughts.

"I hate how you can do that sometimes." Hope said with a wan smile.

"You're pretty simple to read, actually. You're not that good at hiding your emotions."

"Oh, thanks a lot- friend." Hope retorted with all of the sarcasm she could muster.

"Any time." Kittie responded with a wink. "So, tell me about this girl Samantha. I know you can sign, so you have actually talked with her?"

"I mean- yeah. Totally. She rides the bus. I met her this morning. I had never seen her before so it was obvious she had to be new, I tried to introduce myself. She looked like she wanted to respond, but said nothing. She merely turned her head around and stared out the bus window the entire trip. I just wrote her off as some kind of stuck up bitch. I was so wrong. I feel bad about that. I mean, how often she must have people assume that about her not because she doesn't want to talk, but can't? That must be horrible, and lonely."

"You changed your mind, apparently." Kittie said, trying to force out more of the story.

"Oh, God, Kittie. I don't know." Hope responded. She stood up and began pacing. "I don't know what it is about her. She is in my seventh period class, now yours and mine first period."

"Wait, what? I thought gym was a freshman class."

"It is, now. When we started, it was still optional to take at whatever year you wanted. I was never forced to take it. So, I was going to have to take it this year, anyways. I merely switched between first and fifth periods."

"Okay." Kittie deadpanned.

"Okay, so like I was saying, she was in my seventh period class. She walked in with her sister and Mrs. Fairhaven. Mrs. Fairhaven kind of set me up with her.

"Set you up!?" Kittie asked incredulously.

"What? No! That's not what I meant."

"Hope."

"Huh?"

"You're blushing." Kittie giggled.

"Bite me."

"I'll leave that for your lover girl." Kittie teased in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up." Hope replied under her breath, the feverish heat she had become increasingly familiar with ever since Sam entered her life broke out all over her face, shoulders and chest.

"Hey, you're asking for my help here." Kittie scolded. "I could easily let you figure this all out on your own."

"No!" Hope shouted. "Please. Please, I need help. I don't know what to do!"

Kittie was not about to let it show, but she was astonished. She had never once heard Hope beg for anything before. Yet here Hope was, on the verge of tears over a girl whom she had not even known a full twenty-four hours. Kittie already could see what Hope's problem was. The problem, as far as Kittie was concerned, was that she could do nothing to help. Hope could either face herself and admit to what was really bothering her, or she would be miserable.