Women Who Talk Pt. 03

"Have you ever had goat's cheese before?"

"Um, no. Am I doing it right?"

"More or less," she straightened up and fluffed out her hair, "this should be an experience," she took a few steps to one side and picked up a cafetière, "have you ever had coffee from a cafetière?"

"A what?"

"It's called plunger coffee in this country but in Europe it's called a cafetière, this'll wake you up, I have it in the morning and when I come home at night but you don't want to have it too late, you'll be awake half the night."

"A bit like espresso then."

"Yeah, pretty much," she replied.

"Come on, we'll choose the coffee we want."

"White and none."

"Ah, but is it Columbian, Costa Rican, Brazilian or Arabic?"

"Huh?" Robyn frowned.

The answer sat inside the double refrigerator in the kitchen. A row of brightly coloured coffee bags sat in a neat row inside the door shelf.

"You're about to get an education into the finer things in life, I call this my original sin, how does Costa Rican sound to you?"

"Yeah, okay," she stepped back.

"Costa Rican it is," she replied.

Robyn watched the process with interest, it took a little longer than instant but when she took her first sip her eyes widened and she let out a low murmur.

"Ooh, that is different," she opened her eyes to find Penny staring at her with a bemused smile.

"Well, the worm has certainly turned for you, I can see it in your eyes. Don't drink it last thing at night unless you have to be up all night and in that case," she eyed the plate of crackers and dips, "feel free to indulge, come on through and we'll talk dirty."

She followed her back into the living room and when they were sitting on the couch Penny nodded at the two books on the table.

"I just brought two out, but there about a dozen more through there," she pointed, "that first room on the right just by the front door is my library. It used to be the original study but I moved it to that room up there," she nodded at it, "it used to be a spare bedroom."

"So, how many bedrooms do you have?"

"Four in total, it used to be five, and then there's the office, my library, the junk room, a bathroom on this level and one upstairs, and then there's a basement level that serves as storage for a lot of shit, not all of it is mine but there are a lot of rooms to clean. I've thought of converting it into a unit and renting it out, it even has a bathroom and toilet down there."

"Don't you have like a cleaner?"

"Yeah, I do," she dipped the cracker into a dip, "you're looking at my very sexy maid," she put the cracker into her mouth and closed her mouth and then continued a few seconds later, "my family all have cleaners who come in for a few hours to clean."

"Why don't you?" Robyn took another sip of coffee.

"It's my phobia," she smirked.

"My dad had an affair with our cleaner, a cute little Filipino woman named Maria and that was what ended his marriage. He walked out with his clothes, his personal possessions, and the maid and so I've never had a maid here because I don't want to run the risk of fucking her."

"So, what happened with your dad and Maria?"

"It got messy because she not only had her eyes on his prick, she was also checking out his large bank account and going all weak at the knees. When she fell pregnant to him he realised his mistake too late and he's still paying maintenance for a daughter he only sees once a month for two hours, Maria is a fucking piece of work. I've met some mercenary women in my time but she takes it to a whole new level, I can't really step in because it'd be a conflict of interest but I've offered to pay his legal fees if he wants to renegotiate the settlement."

She picked up another cracker.

"So, what do you want to talk about besides my father's tawdry little affair with the maid?"

"Masturbation," she also leaned over to pick up a cracker.

"My favourite pastime," she chuckled, "or as I put it, sex with someone I actually like."

Masturbation. Never had something been more universally practised and more roundly condemned and Penny told her about her favourite pastime and it even included a practical demonstration when she fashioned a crude artificial vagina out of a gigantic sponge with a hobby knife and a pair of pliers, it was to show her how to use her finger.

Then she brought down some dildos from her bedroom, three in total, one large, one small and one medium sized electric one and although it was hard to demonstrate on her artificial vagina she got the general idea. Penny also cut lips on one side of the sponge and got her to 'masturbate' the spongy vagina and when Robyn asked about pain the first few times Penny told her about Kegel exercises, to strengthen the muscles in that part of the body.

"I should buy one of these," she picked a dildo up some time later, "it's been on my bucket list ever since I moved out of home but every time I have the time to go down to the sex shop in Bayswater I don't have enough money or I'm with Jeff."

"You could take one of these or just buy it off me," she sank back against the couch, "I do clean my dildos."

"Maybe," she felt the girth, "the only thing that worries me is the fact that all I've ever put inside me are tampons and now that I've been on the pill for last couple of years that's infrequent," she put it down, "that was a major thing when mum found out. She was convinced I was sleeping with my boyfriend at the time and I'm like, no mum, my periods are fucking murder."

"So, can you talk to your mum about women's issues?"

"It all depends on the issue," she pulled a wry grin, "sex isn't one of them. Just before my sister got married she found some booklet in a charity shop about sex. It was one of those curiosity books that dates from the time of Queen Victoria, my sister was like what the hell? Dad just shook his head but I was too young to read it at the time."

"The last time I saw that kind of booklet was at law school, we were pretty stoned at the time so it kept us giggling for a while," Penny eyed the dildos.

"Oddly enough, we have Queen Victoria to thank for the lack of laws prohibiting two women from having sex with each other. The wisest men at the time said it was impossible without a cock, so it was just the men who couldn't have sex with each other."

"I might buy my own one," she eventually decided, "not that I couldn't buy one off you but I need to break down a wall and walking into the sex shop is the way to do it. Feel the fear and do it."

"No worries, but if you chicken out just let me know and I'll get the others from upstairs, these are just a few, don't forget the lubricant too and don't forget your Kegel exercises."

"Of course," she stretched, "well, on that rather pleasant note I'd better get going, I've got work tomorrow and after work I've got to go and see Helen about this sewing machine."

"Helen? From work?"

"Yeah," Robyn sank back against the couch as well, "something that came out of her mother's spare room. She was trying to give it away and I said no, I'll pay her for the machine if it's in good nick but I'm definitely taking Jeff with me."

"You don't trust her?"

"I can't say if I trust her or not but she's dropped the hint for sure, but she's with someone and I'm not the kind of girl to break up a relationship. I'm kind of funny like that, if someone offers to leave their partner to go with me it's an instant turn off. Maybe I'm a prude or naïve but it just seems to me that if they're prepared to leave one person to be with me then they'll leave me when they find someone else," she stared into the flames.

"Admittedly, I haven't worked out the rules yet, so catching someone on the rebound is still on the cards but I still feel odd about that as well. Kathy hasn't put it out there but I get the feeling that if I gave out the wrong signs she might leave Melissa for me," she leaned forward to pick up the vagina that Penny had made.

"And I'm still with Jeff anyway, so even if I met some hot single woman it still wouldn't happen because I don't cheat. I'd hate it if someone cheated on me and I wouldn't do it to anyone else," she glanced at her.

"Although I know I'm young, maybe that could change but, yeah," she trailed away.

"Good for you," Penny nodded, "I've been on both sides of the fence and it's messy, I haven't been with anyone for over three years and that's partly because I had to focus on the business and partly because I just needed to cool my heels and sit on the riverbank for a while."

"So you've been watching the women sail past you for the last three years," she grinned.

"Something like that."

"Maybe I should do the same," she fidgeted, "but we'll talk more about that soon, I've learned a lot tonight already, my head's buzzing."

She left not long afterwards and as she headed back down the mountain she let her mind move out to drift on the breeze blowing against the mountain. She had taken the next step on her journey

***

Helen's house was located on Swansea Road not far from the roundabout at Montrose and it stood out from its neighbours due to its size. It was a two-storey building with fake Greek columns on the small front porch, the exterior was rendered in a light yellow to contrast with the white woodwork and aluminium window frames. Robyn had seen dozens of such houses in recent years, flung up on new housing estates like gigantic boxes. To call them architectural wonders was laughable but if you wanted to flaunt your wealth or project an illusion of prosperity you bought one of these huge box-like houses.

Robyn's original plan had been to enlist Jeff's help in checking out this sewing machine but he had been forced to work back late to fix a customer's car and so she'd made tentative plans to see him on Saturday night instead. She couldn't even call on Erin's help as a backup because her housemate was off work today as she had to work on Saturday. Kathy would still be at work and she felt a little awkward asking Cindy to accompany her to Helen's house.

She stared at the house, she had no physical fear of Helen but there was a strange anxiety mingled with what could only be defined as excitement or was it curiosity? Helen had certainly put her flags out and whilst Robyn accepted that other women had made passes at her in the past, this time she'd taken notice of it. Was that because she had begun to accept that she was that way inclined or was it because she was attracted to the older woman? She was also drawn to Penny as well, but was it the same kind of attraction? If Penny had come onto her last night, would she have allowed it to continue? For that matter, what if Helen just came out and asked her out?

Robyn opened the car door and got out. She was here to look at a sewing machine, not check out the woman selling it to her and as she made her way to the front door she ran an eye over Helen's black Toyota Landcruiser. The paintwork was definitely amateurish, she could see the brush marks, the tyres closet to her were almost bald and there were dents in the bodywork. Just in front of the car she saw dark patches on the driveway where oil had leaked out.

The front door opened as she got to it and Robyn paused to look at Helen. The older woman looked as if she'd just come through from her home office. She was wearing a white man's shirt and dark blue trousers.

"Hiya," Robyn nodded at her.

"You came from work," Helen opened the flywire door.

"Yeah, I did."

"You look nice," Helen replied.

"What these old things?" Robyn looked down at the white and blue striped pussybow blouse, and her black skirt and black jacket, "they really are old."

"It's very retro," Helen stepped back, "welcome to my parlour."

Robyn managed a tight smile as she stepped inside, her eyes were automatically drawn to the fire to her right. The open fireplace was enclosed by a metal box with a glass front, it wasn't as impressive as Penny's fireplace but it was still a nice touch. The couch was laid out in an L-shape to face both the fireplace and the large television set in the corner, there was a media centre beneath the tv, the DVD player, VCR and a Foxtel box. A coffee table stood in front of the couch and she stepped over to it as she ran her eyes over the sewing machine.

"It's a Husqvarna," she murmured.

"Yeah, free to a good home, I think it's Swedish."

Robyn rounded the couch and then sat down on it for a closer look.

"I'll pay you for it," she reached out and touched it, "how does thirty bucks sound?"

"Sold," Helen dug her hands into her pockets.

Robyn's eyes narrowed at that. She'd anticipated working her way up to sixty or seventy but she hadn't expected Helen to just settle on $30. Helen's eyes widened slightly.

"It's probably worth more, but fuck it. The op shops won't give me fuck all for it, and thirty bucks is better than nothing at all, they'll sell it for twice that and the Salvos will nearly triple the price, God helps them that help themselves and the Salvos certainly help themselves."

"You know about that," Robyn smiled crookedly and opened the folder of patterns beside it, "these are quite old patterns," she started flipping the envelopes, "I'll up you forty for the lot."

"Thirty five," Helen sat down at the end of the couch and put her hands between her legs, "money isn't an issue for me."

Robyn noticed the shift in her eyes. Two of her tyres were nearly bald and that Landcruiser looked as if it had seen better days but for all she knew it was a second car and to be honest she actually knew nothing about this woman's situation. She hesitated before replying.

"Maybe so, but I've only got twenties in my purse."

"Fine, forty it is then," Helen shrugged, "it's just not an issue for me and to be honest it's not even my money, I'll just give it back to mum as a surprise."

"Oh, that's nice," she pursed her lips, "although she could get more for it in the Trading Post."

"True enough, but the more money my mother has the more she has to feed the pokies, forty is fine and it's going to a good home anyway. If I give her forty dollars that she wasn't expecting it keeps me in good with her, she can be a handful at times."

"Yeah, I know about that," Robyn took out her purse, "okay, forty it is then," she opened the purse and took out two twenty dollar bills.

"Thanks," Helen took the money, "it does work."

"Well, if it doesn't I know where you live," Robyn inclined her head.

"Do you have to go straight away?" Helen asked her.

"Yeah, I've promised to take Josie out to the movies seeing as she's at a loose end this weekend," she put the purse back into her bag, "why?"

"I was going to ask your advice."

"My advice?" Robyn glanced at her, "what can I advise you on?"

"I'm thinking of selling up," she looked around, "but before I get a valuation I need some advice about what it might be worth."

"I could give you a ballpark figure I guess, but different agents have their own pricing structure, so any price I gave could very well be wrong. About all I can really do is tell you what faults that they might use to knock the price down."

"Sure, that sounds like a better idea. I'm just thinking about it anyway."

"I can't do it now though," she glanced at her watch, "I really do have to get going but if you give me your phone number I'll arrange a time to come around."

"Not a problem," Helen remarked, "can I grab yours as well?"

Robyn hesitated before nodding.

"Okay, sure."

She left some five minutes later and Helen walked her to the car and opened the boot.

"Thanks," Robyn put the machine into the boot.

"You carry a half decent toolbox in your boot," Helen stared at the toolbox.

"It's Jeff's old one, it really belongs to him but he's let me use it instead. Jeff collects tools the way I collect clothes," she straightened up.

"Where is Jeff?"

"He's working late," she shut the boot, "I um... I don't know when I'll get around to having a look at your joint, maybe next week sometime, the weekends can get hectic but I'll see."

"No worries," she stepped back, "well, thanks for taking this off my hands."

"Thank you," she smiled, "it was a surprise. I was thinking about buying one but I've got bills to pay and other things to buy so it was put on the back burner for now."

"So, you reckon you're going to start making clothes like Cindy?"

"Yeah," she frowned, "do you know Cindy?"

"Yeah, through Penny of course but I know what she does."

It sounded plausible enough Robyn mused as she drove away a few minutes later but she had the odd feeling that she'd missed something vital, but what was it? The question was still uppermost in her mind as she turned left into Stradbroke Road and pulled up outside Kathy's house.

Kathy raised an eyebrow when she opened the door to greet Robyn a minute or so later.

"What're you doing here?"

"I um... I need some help tomorrow but if it's a hassle I totally understand," she looked past her.

"Sure, what do you need help with?"

"I need to buy a," she lowered her voice to a near whisper, "dildo."

"Oh," Kathy's eyes flickered to the window to her right, "sure, as long as you're okay with me being there as well."

"Of course," she paused, "and it's not a hassle?"

"It's not," she stepped outside and pulled the door behind her, "just as long as no one else knows."

"Suits me," she nodded, "absolutely."

"You could have just called me," Kathy replied.

"I was um, I just picked up a sewing machine from Helen's joint."

"Helen? Not Helen McInnes?"

"I don't know her second name, works for Penny, has a house on Swansea Road?"

"Yeah, that's the one. I didn't know you were seeing her."

"I'm not, she just knocked on my door and offered it to me. She was in the reception when I was telling Penny I wanted to learn dressmaking and she was cleaning out her mother's spare room."

"Ah, so she's making her play," Kathy smiled crookedly.

"Her play? I thought she was with someone?"

"Fucked if I know who she's with now but if she's made the effort to come out and see you then it's odds on she's hoisting her flag."

"Well it's not going to happen," she replied, "I don't have affairs with anyone who's with someone else, it's just wrong."

"I agree, it does complicate things," Kathy nodded, "but getting back to your question, I'll pick you up tomorrow. What time?"

"Is nine too early? I have to do my share of the housework tomorrow morning as well, so it's just a quick trip down to Bayswater and then back home. I have to go to Cindy's place in the afternoon," she finished.

"No worries, I've got friends coming here for lunch anyway."

Robyn frowned as she drove away a minute or so later. So, Helen was putting out her flags, it was something she'd more or less suspected earlier after that encounter in the supermarket last Friday night. Now she'd asked Kathy to help her choose a dildo and that raised another problem. Did this have the possibility to ignite another flame? Should she have just asked Josie or Erin instead?

I should just go in myself, she turned left into Canterbury Road, feel the fear and do it.

***

Josie raised her eyebrows when Robyn carried the sewing machine into the house.

"Wow, you lashed out. How much did this cost?"

"Forty bucks in total, with the folder, it's second hand," she put it on the dining table.

"Fuck me drunk," Josie leaned over, "it's a Husqvarna, they're worth a heap more than that, my mum has one and she became the envy of all the other women."

"I wonder how much it is worth?" Robyn sat down at the table and took out her phone.

Cindy answered on the third ring and she sounded out of breath.

"What's up, Robyn?"

"You sound out of breath."

"I've been exercising," she replied.

"No worries, I bought a second hand sewing machine, a Husqvarna?"