Free Duplicity by Peggy Webb Page B

joined the group unnoticed, spotted the pie. She loved chocolate pie even more than she loved potato chips. With a grunt of delight she snatched the pie from Ellen's hand and gobbled it down in two bites.
    This was the final straw for Aunt Fronie. A lovers' quarrel was fascinating, but her pie was sacred. Especially her chocolate cream pie.
    "Did you see that?" she shouted. "That gorilla ate my pie."
    Gigi gave her a chocolate-covered grin and proceeded to lick the bits of meringue off her fingers.
    "She loves pie, Aunt Fronie," Ellen said. "Especially your chocolate cream pie."
    "But there was only one piece left."
    "I know that," Ellen said, trying to sound soothing. She was relieved that Gigi had come along to take the attention away from the lovers' quarrel. She was afraid that she had carried it a bit too far. And now, if Dirk would just take his arm away, everything would return to normal.
    "Don't worry, Aunt Fronie," he said. "Ellen and I will eat another dessert."
    "But it won't be my pie," Fronie wailed.
    Gigi finished cleaning the pie off her fingers and reached over to retrieve a fleck of chocolate that had spattered onto Aunt Fronie's arm. She popped the last morsel into her mouth, then turned a somersault to show her delight.
    "Stop that, you big ape," Fronie yelled. "Eating my pie and then showing off."
    "Aunt Fronie," Ellen cautioned, but it was too late.
    Gigi didn't recognize the spoken words, but she knew the tone of voice. Frqm her seat on the pavilion floor she signed up at Fronie.
    "What did she say?" Aunt Fronie asked suspiciously.
    The teenager with the pimples laughed. He had learned sign language when his cousin first started bringing Gigi to these reunions. He knew exactly what she had said. "She called you a dirty toilet seat, Auntie."
    "Indeed! Well, I think you're a pig." It never occurred to Aunt Fronie, who prided herself on her dignity, that she was exchanging insults with a gorilla.
    Her tone of voice again roused Gigi to action. She stuck out her tongue at Aunt Fronie, then defended her actions by signing to Ellen.
    "Yes," Ellen signed back as she spoke aloud. "Gigi is a fine animal gorilla."
    Everybody laughed except Aunt Fronie. "Humph," she said. "If you ask me, she's a spoiled brat."
    "Aw, Aunt Fronie," the teenager said. "You're just mad because you lost the argument."
    "Go wash behind your ears, Herbert," Fronie told him. "You always did have dirty ears." With that parting remark. Aunt Fronie held her head high and made a dignified exit.
    Gigi spotted a coconut cream pie and quickly lost interest in everything except eating.
    "Poor old love," Ellen said as she watched her aunt walk away. "I'm afraid we've ruined her day."
    "She’ll get over it," Herbert said as he and the rest of the crowd walked away.
    "What about me?" Dirk asked. "I believe you've ruined my reputation."
    Ellen laughed. "What reputation?"
    He put his hands on her shoulders and slid them slowly down her bare arms. The sensuous abrasion made her catch her breath. "My reputation as a flag-waving citizen and a faithful lover."
    "You can let me go now. The show is over."
    He lifted one of her hands and planted a long, lingering kiss in her palm. "On the contrary, love. It's just begun." He pulled her roughly to him and tilted up her chin. "We have to kiss and make up, you know. Your relatives expect it."
    Before she could protest, his lips descended onto hers, and she found herself being very thoroughly kissed. A fleeting thought crossed her mind that he didn't have to overdo it, and then she was lost in the magic of his embrace.
    His lips were hot summer sunshine and mimosa and honeysuckle. The taste of him burned itself into her senses, and she knew that this was not pretend. This was a kind of magic that worked its way into the empty places of her heart and drove away the lonesomes. This was fire and tenderness, desire and sweetness. This was almost like coming home.
    Lost, I am lost
. Then he released her. She stood