From The Ghost Writer
After the second bottle of champagne, Rose and Carla were pretty far gone. Neither of them could stand up too well, and if they could have been summonsed for walking while drunk, they would have been.
The baseball game over, Murph let the next game start and sat hoping they wouldn’t mess with him. But being left alone to watch the game didn’t last long. First Carla got up to pee. While she was gone, Rose kissed Murph. She took his hand, led it to her bosom, told him it was okay, that she and Carla had discussed it all: what happens on the Island stays on the Island. Carla came in on them and rather than any anger or discomfort, she kissed Rose then leaned over her, unbuttoned her top and placed Murph’s hand inside. She held it there forcefully.
“I think we should have a sauna,” Carla said.
“Or a hot tub, a shower and a nap,” Rose said. “And whatever else we might do during any of those activities.”
“You know, I worked most of the day,” Murph said. “You distracted me this morning and I was glad when you left. Keekah and Keelah presented another distraction, big time. I’m not sure what you two want from me. I’m not sure what they want. I’m a man. I’m not stupid so I have a pretty good idea all around. But one of us has to be sane. We have work to finish, a project to complete. Why not just keep me out of your craziness?”
“You can keep your clothes on,” Carla said to Murph. She removed their hands from Rose’s bosom, bent down and kissed Rose on the tip of each breast.
“Give you another thousand if you help me get him in the sauna,” Rose said.
“Deal.”
Her top still open and very tipsy, Rose stood up. She grabbed one arm, Carla grabbed the other and they pulled Murph through the house to the pool area and into the dressing room by the sauna. Murph could have broken free at any time, but he couldn’t see an up side to it. He was not happy, to say the least.
Together, Carla and Rose undressed Murph. Then they undressed each other. Then they entered the sauna.
A sauna is a sauna is a sauna, but this was a sauna, fully professional, wholly automatic and run by remote if desired. Murph sat on a low bench. Rose and Carla sat opposite him, one up.
“This will get us sober,” Carla said.
“Too bad,” Rose said. She put her arm around Carla and hugged her. “I am so glad we met last week and I’m glad you came out here.”
“I was very afraid.”
“Not anymore?”
“Less so.”
“Good. I had misgivings too. But at least my lawyers will be happy. I was telling Murph. They didn’t want me doing this project. They wanted me getting out, enjoying my houses and my money, even getting wild.”
“Now you’re talking my language,” Carla said. “And while we’re talking, how’d you like to get one of those thousands back? All you have to do is what I did in the dressing room.”
“Here? Now?”
“Yup.”
“By myself?”
“Why? You need help? Need extra hands?”
“Don’t need it, but it might be nice.”
“By yourself for a thousand,” Carla said.
“Deal,” Rose said.
From The Ghost Writer
Keekah and Keelah stood where they could not be seen. Awestruck, even flabbergasted, they watched as Rose and Carla, both clearly tipsy and on the way to drunk, stripped unabashedly before Murph and modeled what they’d bought. Beyond the pale, they thought, as it went to modeling lingerie, even panties. At one point, Rose and Carla paraded around in only their new shoes.
“Fifteen years we’ve worked for her and I’ve never seen her like this,” Keekah said when they were back in the kitchen.
“She’s a different woman. ”
“Totally unlike her.”
“Bizarre.”
“Strange.”
“We’ve never seen her with anyone. Ever.”
“And now it’s with a woman. Never would have dreamed it. She as much as told me we shouldn’t wear anything under our uniforms. I think she wants us to be showing him our asses.”
“She’s gonna do him and her.”
“Get out of here. She’s gonna come to her senses and snap out of it.”
“It’s telling her life story is what it is. Something is breaking her up inside.”
“Mr. Murph, he’s kind of shy like Miss Rose,” Keekah said. “I’m there all day while they’re working. Miss Rose is just spilling out everything her father did, everything her husband did, how her mother died. Everything, Keelah. And he’s recording it and taking notes. You can see she’s drawn to him, but he won’t give in to her. I’ve even heard them discuss it.”
“Then it’s Miss Carla,” Keelah said. “She’s a wild one.”
“I think we should talk to Miss Rose. We owe her that.”
“Not while she’s drunk.”
“Course not,” Keelah said. “You gonna show off your butt?”
“Why not? He’s seen everything we got already.”
“You gonna let him?”
“I’m gonna help him if he needs some help,” Keekah said. She winked at her sister. “Keep it all in the family.”
They were preparing center cut lamb chops with mint au jus, fresh asparagus and scalloped potatoes. They had not planned an appetizer originally, but Rose told them to have shrimp cocktails and garden salad. These were ordered separately, as were the French pastries for dessert. Fred was out now picking the stuff up.
“Let me check on them,” Keekah said.
“I’ll do it,” Keelah said. She reached under her uniform and pulled off her underwear. “You asked for it, you got it,” she said. She tossed the panties in a laundry cart in a closet along the way. They had worn the maid’s uniforms lots of times through the years, but only when Miss Rose had formally entertained. Miss Rose did not entertain often, maybe once or twice a year, sometimes more. Those events had always been catered and presented with a full staff of chefs and servers. But then she’d never had friends before, no one besides Evelyn and Maureen, who were her family for that matter. Evelyn had been her nanny and Maureen had tended the twins when they were alive.
“Miss Rose?” Keelah called from the doorway before entering the room. She walked in, slowly, sashaying more than walking.
They were sitting on the sofa, Miss Rose and Carla fully dressed again. They sat next to each other, Murph on the end.
“I came to see if you need anything, Miss.”
“We’re fine, Keelah,” Rose said. “You can take these.” She pointed to the caviar tray and empty champagne bottle. “And you can bring another bottle of champagne and a fresh water. We’ll be fine then until dinner.”
“Yes Miss,” Keelah said. She leaned over to clear the table. As she did, she stole a quick glance at Murph who was checking out her bosom. She did not see Rose and Carla checking her out too. When she turned to leave, she made sure lean enough so they could see just about all of her in the back. She could feel all their eyes on her as she walked off.
From The Ghost Writer
Slouched up against Murph, Rose called for a bottle of champagne for her and Carla. She told Keekah, who answered her call, that she and Keelah were to wear their maid uniforms for the evening and that they were to make sure everyone had everything they wanted. She told Keekah dinner would be at eight by candlelight on the deck by the pool.
Keekah brought the champagne right away. Keelah followed shortly afterward with a tray on which was caviar with all the accoutrements. Keelah had already donned the maid’s uniform. Low cut and short, it reminded Murph of the waitresses in the hotel in Cleveland where he’d worked. They’d all worn French maid’s uniforms. Rosie and Edelgarte were the two he’d fed steak and lobster tails. Rosie wore a trench coat with just her uniform underneath to the motel. One time when Edelgarte had met them, she’d worn a trench coat with nothing underneath. Murph had written a story about it, sort of.
When Keelah leaned over to set the tray on the coffee table, both Rose and Carla put their feet down. Murph could see just about all of Keelah’s breasts. He wondered why it was so much sexier this way. When they’d been swimming he’d seen all of her and her sister. They’d even made sure he saw all of them. After awhile their nudity had become commonplace, banal, and while he’d been distracted from his work, he’d accepted it for what it was, nudity, nothing more. But now, the suggestion of the unseen, really just a brown nipple, was quite enticing. His mind had slid from the baseball game to the women on either side of him, to the basement where he entertained thoughts he should never have entertained. A fantasy: he told Keelah to show him her…
“Turn around, Keelah,” Rose said.
“Miss Rose?” Keelah said.
“Turn around. I want to see how you look.”
Keelah obeyed. She turned all the way around and faced Rose again.
“Wear nylons and heels tonight. And put on more makeup.”
Keelah acknowledged and left the room.
Rose poured the champagne. She realized Murph had nothing to drink and called out for a sparkling water. Keekah brought this in and Rose checked her out too. Rose smiled, told her she looked great. Keekah did a mock curtsy and winked at Murph. She told Rose she was wearing a thong underneath and asked if that was okay. Rose, totally uncharacteristically, said she didn’t care if they wore nothing underneath. She winked at Keekah.
“So here we all are,” Rose said. She drank a full glass of champagne quickly and poured herself another which she also quickly finished. She helped herself to caviar, set it on a toast point and ate. Murph did the same. Carla drank her champagne. Then she reached over and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Murph’s lips. As soon as she finished kissing Murph, she leaned across him and kissed Rose the same way, only with Rose the kiss was longer, even deeper. Rose then kissed Murph, intimately, passionately, longer and deeper than Carla had.
Rose and Carla laughed. Murph didn’t know how to react or what to think.
“Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Caviar’s good, isn’t it?” Rose said.
“Yummy,” Murph said.
“Let’s model what we bought for Murph,” Carla said.
“Great idea.” Rose poured another glass of champagne for herself and for Carla. They both giggled and drank it down.
