Chapters A Holsom Women's Social Chapter 4
Diane was indeed thrilled to see the three of them return, though her grateful smile seemed to become something more when it lingered on Cherry. Katie paid no mind to the fact that she had lost Diane’s attention. She was still on the nauseating subject of her tongue, or perhaps she had done a full cycle and was now repeating herself.
“…And once it’s clean, I should have a maid put the plunger back in its stand. Then—“
“That’s enough, Katie.” Madison cut in, her voice kind but firm. Diane nodded her agreement quite enthusiastically.
“Thank you for listening to my drivel!” Katie told her, still smiling that same warm smile. “I’ll shut my stupid face hole now.” And then the smile dropped in an instant, and her eyes glazed over completely. She was back in total isolation.
“Poor thing…” Madison murmured and Cherry had to agree. Retirement was an honor every wife hoped to achieve someday, but Katie was probably one of the only women in Holsom actually looking forward to it. If her husband even deigned to give her that kindness. Cherry fervently hoped he wouldn’t cut Katie loose after a life of dedicated service, whatever her faults. Loose women were no one’s property but their own, responsible for themselves in all ways. To be cut loose was to be adrift, vulnerable amongst the currents and the waves. It was the worst possible thing to be, usually reserved for women who had utterly failed to properly serve. No matter what sin Katie had committed to earn her current circumstances, surely she didn’t deserve that.
“You had something to tell me?” Cherry asked, eager to change the subject away from Katie’s miserable fate. “Something about what Sprinkles said, but you couldn’t talk about it with Gabby nearby?” Sprinkles flushed again at that, still embarrassed by whatever slip of the tongue had so annoyed Madison. In fact, Diane shot her an incredulous look, clearly picking up on the situation. Whatever it was, she knew it, too, and was not happy with Sprinkles for revealing as much as she had.
Madison let out another sigh. “I don’t like to talk about it with new girls. And Gabby has a hissy fit if I even mention it. She likes to think she’s unique, but she and I are actually quite similar. In fact, my husband used her court case to justify my situation to the Marriage Board.”
Cherry frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? You’re just one woman.”
Madison raised an eyebrow. “So is Gabby.”
“Ok,” Cherry conceded, “But you know what I mean.”
Madison gave her a friendly smile. “I do. But the truth is I’m not like the rest of you.”
“Yes, you are!” Sprinkles broke in. “If the Marriage Board says you are, and your husband says you are, then you are, Maddy!”
Diane’s determined huff showed that she agreed.
“Thank you, both.” Madison told them, and she received two encouraging smiles from her friends.
“Madison, it’s alright if you’d rather not tell me.” Cherry assured her, but the other woman hurried on.
“The truth is, Cherry, what you can see of me is not all there is. In fact, this body once belonged to another woman. A girl, at the time. I now control it from afar.” She paused to let that sink in, but Cherry found herself unable to absorb the information. How could a body belong to someone else? She supposed the bodies that comprised Gabriella could be considered to have once belonged to other women. Did Madison mean something similar? “I used to think of her as merely a puppet, and I still refer to her as such, but she has earned more fondness than that over the years. She is as much a part of me as I am of her, and together we embody an ideal ‘Madison’ to which my husband is married.”
“But Gabby said she had to act as one body at all times…” Cherry said, frowning once more. “How can you be one body if the other you isn’t here?”
Madison smiled at her. “You’re very smart, Cherry.” Cherry shot her an appreciative grin in return. That wasn’t a compliment she was used to hearing. “You’re right. Gabby’s court decision was quite clear. A wife must have a female body and a female identity. I am the identity only, and the puppet is my body. The box where the rest of me is kept sits on a shelf in our living room. I know I must still have eyes and ears, because I receive the signals directly from my puppet’s contacts and ear implants. And presumably my brain is intact, and whatever systems are absolutely necessary to keep me alive. But no one could look at a box that small and call whatever is inside it a ‘body’, not even the Marriage Board.”
Madison’s delivery was quite matter of fact, but Cherry couldn’t help emitting a small squeak when she realized what the other woman was saying.
“You live in a little box? Isn’t that scary?”
“That’s what I said, when she told me!” Sprinkles added. “But she says it’s not scary at all!”
“It isn’t.” Madison assured them both. “The worst part was the isolation in the weeks while the puppet was being trained to accept my guidance. But that was many years ago. The box is quite beautiful, actually. My husband designed it himself, and the love he put into it is clear. I imagine it might be a little scary to look inside, but I think anyone would be frightened by the sight of their own inner workings.”
“Yuck.” Sprinkles scrunched her nose at the thought. Cherry supposed it was true. She didn’t know very much about what went on inside her. She knew she had a heart, and a tummy, and lungs, and more or less where those things were. But there was a lot of extra room presumably filled with all sorts of squishy stuff. She didn’t like to think too hard about it, but it also rarely bothered her day to day.
“I guess that makes sense.” She said after thinking it over. “So you see and hear everything, and you tell the puppet what to do? Can she ever do things on her own?”
“Of course!” Madison seemed proud. As if in a beloved daughter, and also herself, all at once. “We are a team. She actually makes most of the decisions about what to do in the moment. She’s well trained, and there are some very sophisticated scripts to help her when she needs it. Nowadays I really only have to step in occasionally to remind her how I would behave in a certain situation.”
“Oooh!” The reality dawned on Cherry. All those times she had seen Madison stare at the air, as if listening to something no one else could hear, suddenly became moments when the puppet was receiving commands, or being corrected.
“So when you interrupted Sprinkles earlier… After she mentioned spending the night with her suitors?”
“Yes,” Madison sighed and shook her head. “That outburst was my puppet being too loose with her tongue. I allow her even more autonomy than usual at events like this, where no one present knew me as I was. But I cannot abide such a flagrant breach of character.” Madison’s expression was serious, as if she were truly delivering harsh words to an unruly girl. Or was this the puppet admonishing…herself? It all made Cherry’s head spin. She supposed it really was like Gabby, where it was easier to just imagine them as a single person.
“But why? Why live this way?” She asked, already anticipating the answer. It could only be the same reason Gabby’s husband had created a character to marry rather than a real woman. And indeed Madison’s next words confirmed her suspicions.
“To stave off retirement, of course.” Madison said, stating the obvious. “Neil absolutely adores me, and me, him.” That came with a satisfied sigh of affection for the mere mention of her husband. “He refused to replace me, even though I eventually begged him to. I had grown old, and despite his love I couldn’t live with knowing that my body didn’t spark his passion the way it once had. He’s a hopeless romantic, and I’m still sure he would have fallen just as deeply in love with my replacement. But he didn’t want that, especially not while our children were still at home. When Gabby’s case made the papers, it inspired him to attempt this solution.”
“Wow!” Cherry breathed and Sprinkles practically swooned. This really was way more romantic than even Gabby’s situation! Cherry could see why Gabby might be jealous of Madison. Cherry thought she might just be a little jealous herself! That made her wonder something though…
“Can you feel things?”
“Sometimes. The puppet reacts accordingly, of course, and occasionally I really believe I can feel what touched her. It’s a trick of the mind, mostly, not unlike how many wives sometimes feel a twinge in their arm even though it’s no longer there. Touch is the one true sacrifice I have made in this whole arrangement, and it’s more than worth the trade.”
“But what about…you know.”
“If you’re asking whether I can feel it when my husband and I are intimate together, I assure you that Neil included a very satisfying solution when he designed my enclosure.” She gave a playful wink. “And that’s as much as you’re going to get on that subject.” Then she sighed. “Now that we’ve explained why the genie is in the bottle, I’d appreciate it if we laid the ‘shes’ and ‘hers’ to rest. It’s confusing, otherwise. I am me, this is my body, and I’d appreciate it if you thought of me as such from this point on. Does that sound alright, Cherry?”
“Of course!” Cherry told her. She reached out to brush Madison’s calf in the way Diane had done with her, earlier. Madison smiled at her, and Cherry knew she’d made another friend. The loneliness that had weighed on her for so long was gradually dissipating. She hoped these Socials would be a regular part of her life, going forward.
“It’s almost two o’clock!” Diane suddenly announced. “A group conversation will start soon!”
“So it is.” Madison said, checking the clock on the far wall. “What is the topic, Diane?”
“The topic is the wonderful weather we’re having lately!” Diane beamed, and Sprinkles groaned.
“Oh, that’s one of the worst ones!”
“I might like that actually,” Cherry said, tentatively. “Except for today, I haven’t been outside since my wedding. And even today everything was totally censored. It might be nice to hear how the weather has been.”
“So that’s why I haven’t seen you before!” Sprinkles let out, as if this were something she had been puzzling over. “Thomas walks me every day, so I usually meet all the new girls around town.”
“Oh, really?” Cherry wished she could be taken out for a daily walk! “Francis keeps me in the bedroom. Even the hallway is censored, I discovered today.”
Diane’s lovely face was all concern, and Madison looked sympathetic as well.
“That seems awfully strict, considering how lax he is with your voice.” She said, but Sprinkles wasn’t done speaking and practically barreled over Madison’s words.
“My mommy was like that! Her boobies were so big I don’t think she could’ve left Daddy’s bed if she wanted to. I used to snuggle with her when I was really little, but when I got too old for that I barely saw her anymore. I didn’t even know he’d retired her until I went to show her my new boobies and there was a different girl in the bed!”
That was interesting to hear. Cherry’s own mother had been a fairly active presence in her life, while she lasted, and Cherry had been quite close with both of her father’s subsequent wives. The latest was only a few years older than herself, and she had treated Cherry more like a favorite sister than a daughter. Part of why her situation with Francis was so worrisome was because it didn’t fit the examples she’d had growing up. But if such practices were more common than she’d known, then perhaps there was nothing wrong at all.
“Thanks, Sprinkles, that’s nice to hear.” She said, honestly. “I was worried I had done something wrong, but maybe Francis just likes it this way.”
“Well, we’re glad you were allowed to attend the Social, Cherry.” Madison told her. Diane nodded emphatically, and Sprinkles clarified that of course that was what she had meant to say. “But I’m not sure you’d enjoy the group conversation. Despite what Diane’s script claims, it’s not really about the recent weather but rather whatever the weather was like at the time it was written. Sprinkles is right to say that it’s not one of the best, and it’s quite long. I’m afraid it will last until the end of the Social, and I’d hate for you to miss out on making friends with some of the other ladies in the room.”
“Oh,” Cherry said, a little disappointed. “I guess I’ll say goodbye to you all, then.”
“It was so nice to meet you!” Sprinkles hopped up to Cherry for a hug, in the same fashion as Diane had done when welcoming her. Madison followed suit, and then Diane herself. Strangely, the pleasant warmth of the other two women did not have quite the same effect as Diane’s touch had had earlier. Cherry was beginning to think she had imagined it after all until Diane’s body pressed against hers again.
She could feel Diane’s pulse against the side of her throat, and knew the other woman could feel hers as well. Could feel it quicken, just as her breath did the same, making her chest rise and fall in short bursts. She tried to steady herself, to take deep breaths, but each one carried an intoxicating draught of Diane’s perfume. And then, as Diane pulled back, Cherry felt soft lips kiss her cheek. It was only a quick peck, but it left a fiery imprint on her skin. Cherry gasped, wide eyes meeting Diane’s as their faces hovered inches apart.
Diane’s small smile proved that the kiss had not been an accident. Her expression was shy, and hopeful, as she searched Cherry’s eyes for a response. Cherry had to swallow a mouthful of fluid before she could speak. Her intimate modifications seemed to be malfunctioning. They were supposed to lubricate her for her husband, among other things, and often just thinking of him was enough to get the juices flowing. But Francis was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment.
“I hope—“ She started, and had to quickly pause to swallow again or else risk drooling. “I hope I will see you again soon, Diane.” she managed, and Diane’s smile broadened as she gave Cherry a small nod. And just like that, it was over. Diane’s whole expression changed, growing distant, and her torso shot back away from Cherry, suddenly standing upright and at attention.
“Have you seen the lovely weather we’re having lately?” She said to the air a little to Cherry’s right.
“Yes, what wonderful sunshiny days they have been.” Madison responded, stepping into Diane’s gaze. Sprinkles was similarly occupied with a woman Cherry had not met, and even Katie seemed to be in conversation. Though on second glance Cherry realized that Katie’s partner was the only one in that pair actually speaking her lines, and then pausing for an appropriate time before continuing as though Katie had done more than stare blankly.
Cherry spent a few minutes just watching them all. Her cheek was still so hot that she wasn’t sure Diane’s lips hadn’t made an indelible mark on her skin for all to see. Despite her best efforts to convince herself that simple curiosity motivated her remaining amongst the scripted ladies, her gaze mostly held to Diane. Her strict posture thrust her breasts prominently before her, jet black hair falling in waves across her shoulders and down her back. A rivulet of warm fluid oozed down Cherry’s inner thigh and the rest of her face suddenly blazed to match where Diane had kissed her. She forced herself to turn and mince away.
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