As she looked at herself in the mirror, carefully studying every single pore in her face, Cheryl Maple realised she was not young anymore; her youth had gone, her skin was not what it used to be, her hair did not feel as healthy and vibrant as it used to… It was her 39th birthday and in a few hours, she would be surrounded by everyone she knew – even old college friends she had not seen in about two decades – and she feel completely lost and rather upset. She had begged her husband, Lionel, to not throw her a party, she felt as though she could not bear an evening dedicated entirely to her faded youth, but he had, after she had poured many tears, firmly explained it was already planned and to get ready. She would have to look surprise and, for a brief moment, at her vanity, she practised an astonished look, but could not mask the sadness in her watery eyes.
‘‘Do you need help getting ready, Auntie?’’ Her 17-year-old niece, Mel, said, slowly entering Cheryl’s bedroom.
‘‘No, my dear,’’ She whispered. ‘‘I’m ready to go. Are you?’’
‘‘Yes, but Uncle Lionel told me to drive you at the restaurant in about thirty minutes. He just called and said everyone was there.’’
‘‘I see,’’ Cheryl replied, her eyes filled with salty tears.
‘‘Is everything all right, Auntie?’’
The young girl paused. She knew what was upsetting her shy aunt.
‘‘You don’t want to go to the party, do you?’’ She asked.
Cheryl did not say a word. She merely stared at her niece, who looked so beautiful in a white and purple sundress. She had put her hair up and Cheryl thought it suited her beautifully.
‘‘You look beautiful, Mel.’’
‘‘Thank you,’’ The equally shy young girl answered, blushing slightly.
‘‘Would you help me put this necklace on?’’ Cheryl asked, taking a small golden chain out of a jewellery box.
‘‘Of course,’’ Mel responded.
As Mel’s fingers wrapped the chain around Cheryl’s neck, the older woman felt her niece’s cold, but firm and soft fingers, against her neck and shoulders. She shivered and a smile – the first one that day – appeared on her thin lips.
‘‘You have very delicate fingers, Mel,’’ She said, grabbing them and kissing them softly.
Mel gasped. It was something she had thought about more than once… But she never would have guessed her aunt felt the same way. She shut her eyes and felt the older woman’s tongue caress her fingertips. They then began kissing and she felt her body fall on her aunt’s soft mattress. Cheryl’s skilled fingers began unbuttoning Mel’s dress, and then her own. Their brassieres were removed as quickly, followed by their underwear and socks. The two women, naked, firmly holding each other, covering themselves in kisses and lipstick stains, moaned heavily and trembled.
After they had made love, they both fell asleep. Two hours later, they were awakened by a Cheryl’s mobile telephone.
‘‘The party,’’ Mel screamed, running out of the bed and picking up her watch, which had been throw on the floor. ‘‘We are two hours late, Aunt Cheryl.’’
Putting her dress on quickly, Cheryl grabbed her phone and answered, sitting at her vanity with a small tissue in her hand to erase Mel’s lipstick from her cheeks.
‘‘Yes, this is Cheryl Maple,’’ Mel heard her aunt say.
A second after, Cheryl froze. Mel asked if everything was all right.
‘‘It… There’s been an incident… The restaurant.’’
She dropped her phone.
‘‘The restaurant burnt down… Everyone has died…’’
There was then a very chilly and haunting silence in the room. Both women stared at each other, their faces showing shocked expressions. Suddenly, they both began laughing hysterically.
‘‘Oh, God,’’ Mel said, sitting on the bed, placing her hand on her stomach because of the pain her intense laughing was causing. ‘‘You’d think what we did was wrong… Lesbianism and incest… But…’’
Cheryl sat next to her, still laughing to tears.
‘‘But it saved our lives.’’