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Tongue and blades
The Thing With Sleeping Beauty and Nudity
‘How was her breath?’ Sadie pries over the phone ‘I don’t know. Anatole wouldn’t let me go up to the attic.’ I report with a smile, lying on my bed after a sumptuous dinner where Anatole duly backed me up, bringing up a range of topics that kept the entire family amused and stole the chance from my parents to investigate any further about Sadie. ‘You’re not fighting your brother for sleeping beauty are you?’ she lightly prods ‘quite contrary; he’s in love with you now.’ I divulge ‘me?!’ she wonders ‘he’s a huge Ambrose Michaels fan apparently and might be looking for you on facebook right now if I know him well enough.’ I chuckle lightly. She chuckles too ‘well I should get on too.’ She says frivolously
‘He’s fourteen Sadie.’ I point out ‘six years can’t be that much of a difference.’ She chuckles softly ‘I’ll have you know we have a history of feuding over women Anatole and I.’ I disclose ‘Really?’ she probes ‘Just last summer the girl he liked said I was more attractive than him; it was war though she was only thirteen and I had no interest in her.’ I divulge flippantly ‘wow!’ she says ‘It wasn’t that bad, at least he didn’t get me kicked out of the horse races.’ I point out lightly. ‘You got us kicked out.’ She reminds me ‘that’s not what my parents heard.’ I disclose ‘your world is too small.’ She sighs ‘I know. It’s a miracle we haven’t bumped into them.’ I say as the idea peeks into my mind. I bet if I talked to Anatole we could make this happen!! ‘I have to go. I have an early date tomorrow.’ She says ‘with whom?’ I wonder
‘Why? Are you jealous?’ she teasingly pries ‘Of course I am.’ I coo feeling her smile ‘don’t be. It’s a girl.’ She assures me ‘now I want to see this.’ I decide as she chuckles ‘it’s Natalia Bryce.’ She reveals ‘as in the singer who has sex in all her videos??’ I wonder trying to keep my voice straight ‘yeah.’ She chuckles ‘you can clear your throat if you want.’ She flippantly adds ‘I need a glass of water.’ I grunt ‘anyway, I’m running some concepts through her tomorrow so I have to sleep early.’ She explains
‘I completely understand. If you need help with this video my hands are free.’ I say recalling the video I had to sneak into MySpace to watch, it was simply pornography. She was naked and astride some anonymous lucky man whose main aim in the video apart from being the person she was singing about was to hold her breasts in his palms! I don’t even know what the song was about! I know she was hitting high notes! ‘We won’t be needing hands but you can help out.’ She assures me ‘Goodnight.’ She coos ‘Goodnight. I really really really like you.’ I gruffly say ‘I really like you too.’ She lightly says before she hangs up on me and I shut my eyes...
‘You’re twenty four years old.’ Father says. I smile knowing very well where this is going. He and mother were married at twenty five. ‘I am.’ I confirm primly ‘next winter you turn twenty five.’ He points out. He ought to get to the point. ‘I met your mother when I was but twenty three and we married when I was twenty five. We had you when I was twenty six.’ He recalls. I shift in my chair and give a heavy sigh of impatience ‘father if you don’t mind I have to drive back to school and that takes a while.’ I remind him ‘your mother tells me you have been spotted gallivanting around with someone quite unsuitable for you.’ He states ‘how do you know she’s unsuitable for me?’ I inquire calmly ‘you got kicked out of the horse races, were found at night in compromising situations and attacked Lucas Roland if the reports are correct.’ He lists ‘those could have been discrepancies on my part and not hers.’ I argue out ‘intolerable discrepancies.’ He adds ‘and I am making amends for them.’ I reveal ‘this girl is unacceptable Herve.’ He states ‘you can’t say that. You haven’t even met her. You know nothing about her.’ I reason out coolly
‘I know you and that you are not like this. She’s a rotten authority. I’m told she managed to talk Carlen Roland into some mischief as well.’ He says ‘Carlen had fun!’ I hiss ‘there are apposite ways of having fun, ways that don’t embrace stealing horses from forest rangers.’ Father divulges. I smile; is that where they got the horses from???! ‘I’m worried by your amusement.’ He points out ‘it’s an in-house joke.’ I explain lightly ‘call your mother.’ He sighs gripping the bridge of his nose as I stand up. They stole the horses from forest rangers?? I open the oak door and call out for mother. I suppose this is the part where they ambush me and things get heated! She walks into the study, walking to father’s side as if to clearly show me whose side she is on. It’s okay though; Anatole is on my side! ‘Anatole tells me she shoots videos for hip hop artistes.’ She says as though she were about to cry ‘Jesus Christ!’ father grunts in incredulity ‘she has much higher ambitions than that. She’s going to own the world some day.’ I assure him frivolously
‘Herve Royce McClure!’ mother exclaims. I stand up in protest ‘I am fifty-two years old Herve! My father died at fifty-six! You are in line to be the next earl of Angelford and instead of taking this seriously you are frolicking with some black American loose cannon!!’ father shrieks pointedly, his double chin jiggling in anger as he speaks ‘I am taking it critically! I’ve been summer schooling so I can pass the exams at the institute of Actuaries sooner than scheduled; I have done naught to displease you! And for once in my life I love! I love and you stand in my way and tell me not to??!!’ I bellow at them ‘you know nothing of love!’ mother hisses ‘how am I supposed to??’ I challenge her.
She gawks at me in shock ‘do not talk back at your mother!’ father warns me. ‘I have to go; I’m having dinner with Sadie tonight and I’m going to officially make her my girlfriend! When you have your change of hearts and are ready to confer on fairground you know where to find me!’ I state turning for the door and stomping out in a fit of irk. This is going wonderfully to make my heart race as such. ‘I tried getting her to like Sadie.’ Anatole reports ‘its okay mate. I’ll see you around.’ I promise him with a high five as I grab my keys and walk out to the silver bullet...
