"We"re not playing any such thing," Gavin said.
He looked down at the cards as if our touching them would contaminate us.
"Oh, you only play with each other, is that it?"
Aunt Fern taunted.
"We"ve never played this," he said.
"So? There"s a first time for everything. Right, princess?" she said, turning to me. "You can talk about first times, can"t you."
"Stop it, Aunt Fern."
"Then pick up your cards," she ordered hotly.
"You know how to play poker."
"Don"t do it, Christie," Gavin said. Fern picked up her cards and smiled.
"I bid three pieces of clothing," she said.
"Morty?"
"I"ll see you and raise you three pieces," he replied.
"Gavin?"
"We"re not playing this stupid game, Fern," he said firmly. She lowered her hand.
"I don"t like my fun being ruined," she said steely-eyed. "It makes me want to call people, people like Philip."
"Stop threatening us," Gavin snapped.
"And people like Daddy." She turned to me.
"And people in authority who come and get old ladies who still play with dolls."
"You dirty . . ."
"Forget it, Gavin," I said quickly. "We"ll play her silly game if that makes her happy."
"Fine. Morty has bid six pieces of clothes.
Christie?"
I looked at my cards. They were terrible, not even two of a kind.
"I"ll pa.s.s," I said.
"If you do, you"ve got to take off six pieces of clothing," she said.
"But that"s not the way poker is played," I protested.
"It"s our special rules," she said. "Right, Morty?"
"Absolutely," he said.
"This is dumb," Gavin said.
"Everything that"s fun is dumb to you," Aunt Fern told him. "Well?" she asked me.
"I might as well stay in if that"s your rule," I replied. "Although it doesn"t make any sense." "Good.
Gavin?"
He just ignored her.
"I"ll take two cards, please," she told Morton.
He dealt them and turned to me.
"Four," I said.
"Why are you doing this?" Gavin asked me.
"She wants to have some fun. Loosen up, Mr.
Prude," Aunt Fern teased. Reluctantly, he picked up his hand and looked at it.
"Two cards," he muttered at Morton.
I had no better hand than the one with which I had started.
"One for me," Morton said, dealing himself a card. He wore a big smile.
"I raise you two more articles of clothing," Fern said.
"See you and go one more," he replied.
"That"s nine if you"re in, six if you"re out," Aunt Fern explained.
Gavin threw down his hand. I did the same.
"Two pairs, threes and fives," Aunt Fern said, showing her hand.
"A straight, two to six," Morton said, showing his cards. He sat back.
"Lucky you," Fern said. She smiled. "You two take off any six pieces you want. I gotta take off nine.
Oh," she said, laughing as she kicked off her shoes, "that will leave me stark naked." She lifted her blouse over her head and then stopped.
"What are your six pieces, princess?" she asked.
I took off my shoes and socks.
"That"s two," she said.
"Two? I"ve taken off two shoes and two socks,"
I protested.
"Pairs are counted as one," she said. "Our rules, right, Morty?"
"Right," he parroted.
"Keep going," she ordered.
"Don"t do it," Gavin told me.
"You don"t welsh on a game," Aunt Fern snapped. "It"s like breaking a promise to keep a secret," she added, smiling at me.
I unb.u.t.toned my blouse. Morton"s smile widened and he licked his lips. Aunt Fern unfastened her bra and without hesitation slipped it down her arms as if she were alone in her bedroom. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s shook as she started on her skirt.
"Fern! You"re drunk and you"re disgusting!"
Gavin screamed, standing. "I can"t believe you"re my sister."
Aunt Fern threw back her head and laughed.
With his face red and swollen, Gavin turned and rushed out of the room. That only made her laugh harder.
"GAVIN!" I cried standing. I heard him run down the corridor and out the front door of the plantation house so I started after him.
"Hold it," Fern said, her laughter stopped short.
"You haven"t taken off your six pieces."
I looked at her and then Morton, who sat back with a licentious smile, gaping at me hungrily.
"The game"s over, Aunt Fern," I said, looking down.
"You don"t walk out without paying what you owe," she insisted. "Those are the rules."
"Please, Aunt Fern. Can"t we stop now?"
"Not until you pay up what you owe," she insisted. "Pay."
I took of my blouse.
"That"s three," she said. "Go on."
I unfastened the skirt and it fell to my ankles.
"Four."
All I had left were my bra and panties.
"Do you want help?" she asked. I shook my head. "Aunt Fern . . ."
"It wouldn"t be fair," she said. "I didn"t hesitate to pay what I owed."
I gazed at Morton. He was staring at me so hard, I felt he could already see through my remaining garments. I reached behind my back and undid my bra, but I hesitated to slide it of my bosom.
"Come on, princess, you did it for your uncle Philip, you can do it for us," she coaxed.
"Aunt Fern! That"s horrible, a horrible thing to say," I cried. "I didn"t do it for Uncle Philip. I didn"t."
I scooped up my shoes and socks and my skirt and holding my bra against my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I shot out of the living room.
"You b.i.t.c.h!" she screamed after me. "You can"t welsh on a game of strip poker. You"ll be sorry . . .
YOU"LL BE SORRY!".
I ran down the corridor and stopped in a room to dress myself. Then I went outside to look for Gavin. He was nowhere in sight, so I went around the house toward the barn. Halfway there, I heard him whisper.
"Christie."
He was standing off in the shadows. I went to him quickly.
"Gavin, you were right. I shouldn"t have tried to please her. She"s horrid and she"ll never stop tormenting us, especially me. I don"t care about her threats anymore. I"m not going to do anything else for her."
"Good. Now maybe you"ll listen to me and leave."
"Yes, Gavin, I will. I think once we"re gone and no longer here to provide her any amus.e.m.e.nt, she"ll leave too. I"ll explain it all to Luther and he"ll keep Charlotte and Homer away from them until they go," I said. "We"ll leave in the morning."
"Good. We"ll get up early and ask Luther to drive us into Upland Station."
"But what will we do then, Gavin?" I asked, my excitement waning when I let reality seep into our plans. Gavin thought a moment.
"I guess we"re just going to have to call my daddy," he said. "He"s not going to be happy we"ve gone so far away, but he"ll help us, especially when he learns what happened to you. And he is Jefferson"s grandfather, Christie. Don"t forget that."
"I know. I just can"t help being scared about it all. But you"re right. We should call him," I said.
"He"ll help us. You"ll see. He"s nothing like Fern claims he is," Gavin said, obviously sensitive to her taunts.
"I know that, Gavin. I"ve always liked Granddaddy Longchamp. Let"s go back inside and go to our rooms and go to sleep."
He took my hand and we returned to the house, entering as quietly as we could. We could hear Fern giggling in the living room. As we walked by, we gazed in and saw the two of them naked, embracing on the floor. We hurried up the stairs and stopped at my doorway.