Free Dark Plums by Maria Espinosa Page B

took off her clothes and lay down next to her friend. They pulled back the covers and lay on top of the sheet, embracing each other.
    â€œAdrianne, why do you give men, who are idiots, so much power over you?” Lucille chided. She licked Adrianne’s ear-lobe. Then she softly kissed her eyelids, caressed her hair, her neck, and her shoulders before she lowered herself to take one of Adrianne’s nipples into her mouth, sucking at it as hungrily as an infant.
    If only I had milk to give you, thought Adrianne. If only I could give you back your breasts.
    Lucille raised her face and buried it in the hollow beneath Adrianne’s throat. Then Adrianne pulled her up and gently began to kiss her scars.
    â€œStop, goddamn you!”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Adrianne whispered.
    â€œDon’t do that!”
    Adrianne burst into tears.
    â€œDon’t cry. Damn you, don’t cry!” Lucille bit Adrianne’s lower lip, then thrust her tongue into Adrianne’s mouth. The strong perfume she was wearing could not mask her sickly odor. Lucille’s thighs clamped around Adrianne. Feeling
    Lucille’s wetness, Adrianne reached down to stroke and comfort her.
    Lucille whispered, “Honey, I want to go down on you.” She shifted her body so that her head was between Adrianne’s thighs. Closing her eyes, Adrianne began to let herself go, moaning a little and arching up so that Lucille’s tongue could go deeper inside her. She pressed Lucille’s thighs down against her face and shoulders, feeling the stubble where they had been shaved. As her own tongue penetrated Lucille’s slippery, oyster-like crevice, she was almost overcome by the odor. But despite this, she gradually allowed herself to sink into pleasurable sensations.
    Afterwards, the two of them lay quietly with their arms around each other. Lucille soon fell asleep.
    The noise of traffic sounded outside. Adrianne felt restless and hungry, and she had a headache. Stumbling around in the darkness, she looked for something to eat, but there was nothing except for a piece of toast left over from dinner. When she dialed the luminous numbers on the phone for room service, there was just silence at the other end. Finally, she felt inside her purse and found half a dozen gum drops that were stuck to the bottom lining. She ate them.
    On the floor near the bed she found the Bonwit box with her new dress. She padded barefoot with it into the bathroom. There she turned on the light, took the dress out from its tissue wrappings, and tried it on. The chiffon draped over her so gracefully. It was with reluctance that she finally took it off.
    Lucille’s bottles of pills were everywhere in the bathroom, but Adrianne couldn’t find any aspirin for her headache. She used Lucille’s toothbrush and rinsed her face with cold water. To cool off, she decided to shower. As the water washed over her, she worried about whether Alfredo had phoned. If he had, would he suspect that she was spending the night with Lucille? Forgive me, Alfredo, she thought to herself. I’m sorry about Lucille. Please God, let Alfredo know I love him, she prayed. What if Alfredo never spoke to her again? If that happened, she vowed she would kill herself.
    She returned to bed but couldn’t sleep, disturbed as she was by all that had happened. Lucille tossed, twisted the sheet around herself in her sleep, and got up several times to go to the bathroom. Once Adrianne heard her vomit.
    In the grey light of morning, Adrianne awoke from a dream inwhich Alfredo had offered her a plum. She was munching its flesh, even though she knew it was poisonous.
    Lucille had already risen. She was in an armchair, dressed in a white half-slip and a padded brassiere. With her head bent over a hand mirror, she carefully plucked at her brows with a tweezer. The diamond and ruby rings on her fingers gleamed.
    â€œGood morning.”
    â€œGood morning, honey. Excuse me,