Page 14 of Afternoon Delight
“The cages are male chastity devices. The rabbits are those vibrators with the two prongs like ears. They stimulate the G-spot and the clitoris at the same time.”
“Do they work?”
I froze with a spritz running down the glass, bunched paper towel poised. “I don’t know, Mom. Do you want to try one and report back?”
“That sounds as though you’re judging whether I should or would,” she pointed out.
Ugh. I scrubbed the glass, polishing out the final streaks before stepping down to the floor.
“Let’s call a truce. We both want this to work for Georgia, right? If you want to help, then I have something I know you’d be good at.”
Her spine stiffened.
“I’m not being facetious. Come here and tell me what you think would help this window display. I realize it should be Valentine’s Day, but what’s your first thought?”
Her mouth pursed as she came over to inspect it. “It needs more color and texture—something inviting and playful. This isn’t a hospital.”
I always, always took remarks like that as criticism against myself, but she was on the right track, and I suddenly saw an opportunity.
“I don’t want to spend a bunch of Georgia’s money. Do you have anything in your craft supplies that you could loan her?” Maybe forever?
She tapped her chin. “I have a table runner with red roses and a white fringe that I made when I was trying to get back into quilting. It doesn’t bear up under close inspection, but it would work here. Let me see what else I can find.” She took a step toward the door, paused, and reached into her purse, withdrawing a paper bag. “I brought you a sandwich and a banana.”
“No juice box?”
“We don’t have any. I’ll pick some up when I get the rotisserie chicken for dinner.”
I opened my mouth to say I could roast one myself, but instead said, “I’ll pick one up on my way home, so it’ll still be warm. Do you want potato salad or coleslaw?”
“You decide,” she said absently, still studying the window display. “Once things are spruced up, you should host a Grand Re-opening to let customers know you’re here.”
“Good idea, Mom.”
Georgia was right. This apple had fallen directly under the tree.
Chapter 7
Meg
“I made my first sale!” I bragged to Georgia when she called that evening. “A clit stimulator.”
Ali had come back after her shift. By then, she’d done some research, and I had too. We compared notes and, after a little more browsing, she settled on a model that attached to her finger. It cost less than thirty dollars. I was proud as punch, and she looked like a kid who’d gotten exactly what she wanted for Christmas.
“Doesn’t it feel great to make the world a better place, one orgasm at a time?” Georgia teased.
“Can I paint that on the wall? Live, Love, Orgasm? Oh, hey—Mom came by and has some great ideas for the window. I’ll send you a photo tomorrow, and you can let us know if we’re on the right track with your vision.”
I heard a small hitch in her breath.
“George? Am I overstepping?” Shit. “You’re right about the two of us being way too keen when we’ve got a project. I won’t do anything you don’t like.”
“It’s not that. I appreciate the enthusiasm, I do, but I’m having a shitty day. They’re delaying my surgery because they want another specialist to weigh in.”
“Nooo. For how long?”
“I don’t know, but I had wrapped my head around it happening soon, and now I have to wait and...” She sniffed. “What if they find something else? What if they say I have to live like this? What if they cancel everything and tell me to put my affairs in order?”
I gripped the phone harder. “Have they said any of that?”
