Who: Divorce (itsnotyouitsme), with special guest appearance by Infidelity (infidelitas). What: Some obvious conclusions. When: Late July. Where: Laguna Beach, SoCal. Warnings: None.
"Infidelity."
"Infidelity."
"Shit."
"Mm," Mona hummed. Desmond saw her duck her head with that smug little half-smile she did so well, noted it from the corner of his eye while irritation slip-slide-rat-a-tat-tat-ran down his nerves.
" 'Fi'. Ha! Fucker thought he was being cute."
"He's of Hell, Des. Really, let's raise our hands to count who's surprised."
He didn't answer her, which was fine; they were both too distracted by Felicia further down the shoreline. While her father and aunt sat on chaises beneath an over-sized umbrella -- at a glance, they almost seemed friendly -- their young not-goddess in the teenage girl's body traipsed along the water's edge. If Fi noticed the string of men who alternated between staring unabashedly or outright following her, she didn't deign to acknowledge them.
Or maybe she really was Divorce's through and through, and this was just part of her game.
Desmond snorted and Mona laughed. She stretched out like a great cat -- suddenly those men nearer Divorce found their attention wandering toward the leggy woman instead of the young nymphet, their train of thought remaining much the same. " 'Fess up. It makes perfect sense, particularly with that trial run you put her through. She snapped her tutor in no time at all."
"I figured that was me."
It was Mona's turn to snort. "I realize you have a difficult time keeping track of where you put your cock, but don't play coy."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Mona-me. That's your job, innit?"
They turned simultaneous to look at one another, less smiling than baring teeth. Every couple in a half-mile radius heard-felt the creaking sensation of the sea on old timber, of pressure bearing down on them and their loved ones. Neither half of Divorce blinked.
"You accused me of wanting to go domestic," Mona said through her false smile. Behind his sunglasses, Desmond's eyes narrowed to slits. "So tell me: How's it feel, Daddy dearest? Are you enjoying single fatherhood?" She leaned in close despite Divorce's mutual distaste for one another's space. Pettiness, after all, was their forte. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end? Inquiring minds and all that."
Desmond gave in and hissed, forcing Mona back as she offered up a cheerful wink, a smug laugh. Dropping her glasses down over her eyes, she lay back in satisfaction.
"What goes around, baby doll. You're not doing me any favors by sticking around."
"The hell I'm not." She called his bluff without missing a beat, a long leg slipping to one side so Mona could curl her toes in warm sand. "I'm enjoying myself. That doesn't somehow negate your owing me."
Silence for awhile. The tide against the shore, children shrieking bloody murder, lovers and loathers murmuring across distances great and small. Felicia was a brightly colored, long-limbed speck on the horizon as she climbed an outcropping of rocks. There'd been dolphins spotted out to sea, and she was curious, interested, wearing her youth the way women did jewelry looped 'round fingers, wrists and throats.
"You might as well tell her."
"Hey. Hey. Don't you get all parental and all..."
"She'll figure it out for herself. Young isn't stupid, and it's a liability besides. Des, the child's untested."
"So were we. The way I remember it, we were young once upon a time, and we did just peachy keen fantastico for ourselves."
"What? You're an idiot drunk on pipe dreams."
"And big man on campus besides. What I say goes, and I say thee nay."
"All right, then. She's your problem, not mine; when you have to deal with a resentful infant monster in a teenager's body, I hope you take photos for posterity's sake."
"Shut up, Mona."
"Make sure they're mattes -- I don't care for glossies."
"Where are you going?"
Already on her feet, Divorce turned back to Divorce, looking over her shoulder with a too-playful shark's grin. "To spend some time with Infidelity. Relax, Dad. She'll be safe as houses."