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Blue Moon 6.4

by Donna Lamb

Richard handed the phone to Jo after retrieving it from under the bed, noting that the hardwood floor seemed clean and free from dust bunnies. Maid service, probably. Still on his knees, he presented the phone to Jo with a flourish.

Frowning at him, Jo answered, "Hello?"

"Baby, that was brilliant! Totally defused Cherie before she even suspected a thing!" The big voice came through the tiny phone just fine.

"B-b-b-barry?" Jo squeaked.

"You're the greatest, babe. Kiss, kiss." It was indeed Barry making osculations into his phone.

Jo sputtered. Richard reached for the phone thinking, How dare that bastard call her! Jo wouldn't let him have the phone though, moving, turning away and scowling -- either at him or Barry, he couldn't tell.

"I love you, too, baby," said Barry, mistaking the noises for more kisses. "But I've got to go, I'm at breakfast with Cherie and some other biddies. Meet you at nine tonight, at Wrangler Jill's, wear something, um, skimpilicious."

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-!" said Jo, quite literally speechless.

"B'bye, baby-boo!" said Barry. He hung up, still clueless and self-satisfied, imagining Melody in a short dress like she had worn to the office only with heels and makeup, jewelry and smiles. Hot Damn. Melody reminded him of Cherie at that age, before he'd left his first wife. He turned the phone off again and slipped it into his pocket and smiling, went back to his wife.

"Damn it!" Jo stabbed callback -- glaring at Richard this time, surely -- while she waited for it to ring. Richard watched in awe; Melody Jo angry was something to see. Her eyes flashed green, her cheeks glowed and her movements had that abrupt grace of hunting cats. Wow, he thought, isn't she something?

"The party you are trying to call is unavailable," the phone said into Jo's ear. "If you'd like to leave a message, start speaking at the tone. Beep."

"Screw you, Aronhaus!" Jo shouted into the handset, then snapped the phone closed. She turned away from Richard and glared at the glass case full of babydolls, bears and bunnies.

"You know, " said Richard without thinking it all the way through, "it's possible that you have been. Screwing Aronhaus, I mean." He ducked when Jo turned around with the phone raised to throw at him.

"M-m-m-I'm not a slut!" she shouted. "Richard, you are a dick! A dickless dick-dildo of a dick!" She didn't throw the phone but suddenly spun back around, tossed the phone on the bed and bent down in front of the glass corner cabinet. "Dunny!" she said, pointing.

"What?" The dickless accusation had stung Richard's pride; he didn't think it fair, just or accurate. True, it had been stupid to speculate on whether Melody had bedded Barry Aronhaus. Especially out loud. Jo angry wasn't nearly as cute when she was angry at him. Still sexy though, he decided. But she's definitely wrong about the dickless thing. He looked at her ass sticking up in the air as she struggled with the latch of the cabinet. Definitely not dickless, oh no.

Jo opened the glass door and took out a bedraggled, stained, loose-limbed, plush rabbit about eighteen inches long, including ears. "Dunny!" she said again. "It's Dunny, I thought I lost him twenty years ago!" She stood, leaving the cabinet open, then sat on the bed, the happy-sad bunny in her lap.

"The rabbit?" said Richard, getting a clue. Dunny?

Jo nodded, stroking the soft fabric of the very old toy. She had a far away look for a moment. "I remember now, w-when the b-baby died, I told them she could have my Dunny to take with her to Heaven so she wouldn't be scared. And she kept him for me, and now I've got him b-back." She hugged the limp toy. "Thank you, sis."

* * *

Sophie snarled, "Is that the same damned rabbit?"

Ted smiled. "You'd better believe it. Miriam wanted Melody Jo to have it. So she wouldn't be scared. We retrieved it from the grave, cleaned it up so it's just like it was when Joel gave it away. The real Miriam, Jo's real little sister."

"And you accuse me of cheating," Sohie grumbled. But she had to admire the slickness of the trick.

"Heartbreak into joy, our stock in trade," said Ted with satisfaction.

* * *