Bea watched the whole thing. She listened to what they were saying. She saw Mary sidle up to Bill and even spread her legs just a bit. She watched Mary lean a little more dreamily, she thought, against the wall.
Bea had not yet sat down on her lettuce cases which were now mostly depleted. If she had sat down on them she would have been about the same level as Bill instead of higher like she usually sat.
Standing opposite them, watching them, she reached up her dress and scratched herself right there. She did not bother to stop the dress from riding up with her arm so both Bill and Mary got a good look at her as she did what she did. This was not the first time that she had done this and Mary, like usual, made a comment.
“Ain’t you got no shame, woman?”
“Not here,” said Bea. “Not with you two.” As she said this, purposefully, Bill thought, she adjusted her panties so that the full outline of her womanhood was visible. Then she proceeded to rub herself, scratching and whatever else she was doing, without any sense of shyness.
Mary watched her, shook her head, said, “Girl, please!”
“Wanna scratch for me?” Bea asked.
“Who you asking?” said Bill.
“Anyone who wants to scratch my itch.”
Mary looked at Bill. She moved away from him so that he had to withdraw his hand from her. “Go ahead, scratch her itch. I dare you.”
“Now you’re getting crazy,” said Bill.
Bill saw Mary stare at Bea. “Go ahead,” she said again. “I want you to.”
Bill did not do anything. Instead, he reached into his shirt pocket and took out his Marlboros. He flipped open the box and took a cigarette out then took out his matches and lit it. He took a deep drag and blew gray smoke up into the air.
Seeing that Bill wasn’t doing anything, Bea stepped across to him so that she was standing directly in front of him. From the waist down she leaned forward.
Having been dared, Bea almost touching him with her coochie, right there in front of Mary who was egging it on, he reached up and slid his hand underneath Bea’s panties. Bea took the cigarette from his mouth, took a drag on it and held it in her hand.
“Go on boy,” said Mary. “Take a good feel, give her a good scratch.”
Bea reached down with one hand and guided Bill’s fingers. Mary, standing there, feeling angry, hurt, and excited, feeling, as was totally uncharacteristic for her, sassy, devilish and bawdy, watched a moment then reached her hand to Bea’s and helped Bea guide Bill.
“Maybe we better go downstairs,” said Bea. “Then we can finish off the day like we started it.”
“Okay with me,” said Mary.
“Me too,” said Bill.
Without hesitation, even though the only one left in the kitchen was Marie, the three of them, without saying anything to anyone, went down the stairs and locked themselves in the ladies’ bathroom.
Henry Lee happened to be on his way through the hall to head up into the kitchen when they emerged from the ladies’ room. He had just turned the corner when Mary came out. He stood there and watched as Bill then Bea followed Mary.
“Goddamn,” he said.
“We had to pee,” Bea said.
“Goddamn,” Henry Lee said again.
“We all had to pee,” said Mary.
“I’d like to have seen that,” said Henry Lee.
“Aw, baby, you wanna watch me pee?” said Bea.
“Maybe I want to pee with y’all.”
Bea laughed. “Maybe next time we’ll let you know when we’re peeing.”
Since he was ahead of Henry Lee, Bill ran up the stairs first. Mary and Bea went to change clothes to go home.
