Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 15:39:26 -0400
From: numlfl <numlfl@musfiber.com>
Subject: Emily's Crush - Part Two

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computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or
distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author.


     Emily's Crush
      Part Two
     By Chris


      Emily hated that she didn't have a cell phone so that she could still
talk to Danielle while she was gone but she knew that there wasn't any
reason to fret about it as she couldn't change the way things were. So she
went back to her old schedule of working at the Goodwill Store as much as
she could and then helping her mother at the hotel when she wasn't
working. Danielle had left on a Tuesday and on Friday Emily got a card from
her. It only said a few words but it made Emily feel worlds better.

      Emily,

      You Miss me yet?

      I'm having lots of fun...Not!

      xxx

      Danielle

      Emily stuck the card into a side pocket of her purse so that she
could look at it when she was missing Danielle. But that card wasn't alone
long as every couple of days for the next three weeks she got another card
from Danielle. All had short messages but Emily loved each and every one
and read them often. The day finally arrived for Danielle to return home
but then she had to go away for a week with her mother on a series of
functions across the state. Danielle did come by the store to tell her and
they talked all the afternoon about the camp and what Emily had been doing
but Danielle did say that when she came back on that Friday then she wanted
to spend the weekend with her as they both knew that the summer was quickly
slipping away from them. Then she would be tied up with cheerleading and
Emily would have work at the Goodwill Store when she had free time which
meant about every Saturday. Emily went home that night and made sure that
it was okay for Danielle to stay over for the weekend and her mother made
Emily wait a whole day for her to think it over but the next night as they
ate, she gave Emily her okay.

      Friday finally came and Emily was getting anxious for Danielle to
knock on the door. As suppertime came, Emily got even more worried but then
as she and her mother was washing up the dishes, she heard a knock on the
door. Emily threw down her wash cloth and was at the door before Bubba
could even get halfway out of his seat. Emily opened the door to see a
smiling Danielle standing in the doorway holding her overnight bag.

      "Guess who?" Danielle said with a laugh.

      "Marie Curie?" Emily said with a grin.

      "I think she died about a hundred years ago. At least you could have
guessed someone rich and famous." Danielle said as she came into the
apartment.

      "Well she was famous but I doubt that she was ever rich." Emily said
and then she accepted Danielle's hug.

      "I missed you." Danielle whispered as they hugged.

      "I missed you too." Emily replied as the hug ended.

      "Well welcome back, we missed having you around here." Chloe said as
she came in from the kitchen.

      "I missed coming here. I had fun on my trips but I was really glad to
come back. And thanks for having me this weekend." Danielle told her.

      "We're glad to have you, aren't we Bubba?" Chloe said.

      "Oh yes, now we can have another fart making contest." Bubba said
with a laugh and he put his hand under his armpit and made a loud farting
noise, which Danielle quickly copied.

      "Oh no you don't, you too. We'll have none of that this weekend."
Chloe was saying but she was laughing at the same time. But then Bubba did
it once more and he got a mean stare from Chloe but that only made them all
laugh harder, Chloe included. They sat and talked for a little while and
then Emily pulled out an old Life board game. It was a simple game but fun
to play and Bubba loved the game as he always tried to get as many children
as he could as they all paid money at the end of the game. They all talked
and laughed as the game went along with none of them except Bubba really
trying to win the game. For him, this was a serious game and he took it
that way. So everyone was happy in the end when Bubba came out on top and
he enjoyed his moment in the sun. Bubba and Chloe then told Emily and
Danielle goodnight as they took their leave. Emily and Danielle cleaned up
the kitchen and put the game away as Chloe and Bubba took their showers and
retired to the bedroom. Emily then let Danielle use to bathroom to change
into her sleeping clothes, which was one of her father's long sleeved
shirts. He was a big man and with Danielle being so petite, the shirt came
down to the tops of her knees.

      "I hope that this is okay to wear.' Danielle asked Emily as she came
into the living room.

      "Yea, that's cool, this is what I wear." Emily said as she held up a
long tee shirt that she had gotten from the Goodwill Store.

      "Good, I wasn't sure what to bring. I knew that my see through teddy
probably wasn't the way to go." Danielle said with a laugh and Emily went
to the bathroom with the vision of Danielle in the teddy. She was nervous
as it was knowing that she would be sleeping in the same bed as Danielle
but the thought of her in something sexy was more than she could take. She
ended up having to wash her face with cold water to clear her head. When
she came out, she noticed that Danielle was discreetly checking her out as
she had done to her when she had come out of the bathroom. She came on into
the living room and she went to the couch and with Danielle's help she took
the cushions off and then she started to pull the seat up so that it made
into a bed.

      "I was wondering where you slept." Danielle said as they set up the
bed.

      "Right here, we can't afford a two bedroom apartment." Emily told her
as she gave opened up the sheet and spread it across the bed.

      "I think that I would die without my bedroom. It is the only place in
the governor's mansion that I can be truly alone." Danielle said and then
Emily could see that she wanted to take it back but Emily knew where
Danielle was coming from.

      "It's okay, this is all I have ever known and they leave me alone
once they go to bed. We all try to respect each other privacy here as much
as possible. But sometimes you hear some things that you just ignore."
Emily said as she hoped that Danielle would catch what she was saying. If
not she would learn quickly enough.

      "Do you usually go to bed when your mother and Bubba does?"

      "Yea, most of the time. There's not much else to do since we don't
have a TV.  So I go on to bed and then read for a while. After an hour of
reading, I'm usually ready to go on to sleep." Emily said as they finished
putting the sheets on the bed.

      "Do you want to go on to bed or do you want to sit in the kitchen and
talk?"  Emily asked.

      "Let's go on to bed. It has been a long day and I have to admit that
I'm more than a little tired." Danielle said as she sat down on the edge of
the bed and then slipped under the top sheet as Emily turned out the light
in the living room, then she slipped under the sheet. They always left a
night light going in the kitchen so there was just enough light for Emily
to see Danielle's face and for Danielle to see hers. The couch made out
into a double size bed so they had plenty of room but they were still close
together, as they turned to face each other.

      "So tell me about the camp, what all that you did there." Emily asked
Danielle to keep a conversation going.

      "We learned some new cheers and tosses but mostly it was about
learning to depend on your fellow cheerleaders. I mean, when you get tossed
into the air, you are depending on them to catch you before the ground
does." Danielle said with a smile.

      "I guess that is true. I hadn't thought about it that way before."
Emily said.

      "Yea, you have to have that trust but that doesn't mean that you have
to be best friends with all your team members. I'm the head cheerleader so
I have to know all the girls. But my father taught me to always treat the
people under me the same. Never have any favorites because if you do then
you introduce jealously into the group. So during the football and
basketball seasons, I try to spend some time with each of them but never
giving anyone more that the other." Danielle said.

      "What about Chelsea? You seemed to be close to her during chemistry
this past year." Emily asked as she was wondering about her.

      "I was, but that was only during that class, which was the time I set
aside for her. But if you noticed that once Miss Bell separated us, I
didn't talk to her as much to her."

      "Yea, I guess you're right." Emily said and then she heard a moan
come from the bedroom and she hoped that Danielle didn't hear it. She was
also hoping that her mother and Bubba would take the weekend off but she
knew that was too much to hope for.

      "Did you hear something?" Danielle asked as Emily could see that
there wasn't anything wrong with Danielle's hearing.

      "No, now tell me about the new cheers that you learned." Emily said
quickly as she heard another moan, this one a little louder.

      "shhh..." Danielle said and then she added, "Listen a minute."

      Emily was quite but she knew what was coming next as she heard it
almost every night of her life. She only had to wait another moment when
another moan came. It was quite for a moment and then there was a soft moan
and that was followed by the bed starting to squeak.

      "Are they doing what I think their doing?" Danielle asked.

      "Yea, I'm sorry. I should have asked them not to do it tonight."
Emily felt so embarrassed and she felt her face going red.

      "No, I think it so cool that your mom still does it." Danielle said
with a little giggle.

      Then the bed started to squeak louder and the moaning came more
frequent and this caused Danielle to giggle a little more and Emily
couldn't help herself but to giggle with her. She felt so relieved that
Danielle wasn't embarrassed or made her feel embarrassed. They both started
to giggle more and louder so that they were trying to cover each other's
mouths so that Chloe and Bubba wouldn't hear them. Soon the sounds effect
came to an end and it got quite.

      "I think they're done. It sounded like they were having fun. Do they
do it often?" Danielle asked.

      "Yea, most every night, I think that it is their one true pleasure in
this world." Emily said now more comfortable talking about it.

      "That is so cool; I wonder if my parents still do it?" Danielle said.

      "Maybe, you never know." Emily said.

      "I don't know, I can't see my parents ever doing it, their too
uptight."  Danielle admitted.

      "Hey you're here, so they had to do it at least once." Emily said and
then she had to add, "They may be doing it right now, since you're here and
won't walk in on them."

      "Oh gross, now I'll go to sleep thinking about that." Danielle said
with a laugh as she punched Emily on the shoulder. Emily then punched her
back and as they started to get into a playful fight, they both heard a
moan from Chloe and the bed start to squeak again.

      "Oh god, they're doing it again!" Danielle said giggling and she got
Emily to start giggling again. Emily came back with," I bet your parents
are going again too."

      "Shut up!" Danielle said laughing and they soon were both giggling
and kidding each other.

      But soon the apartment got quite and they all feel asleep. But
sometime during the night, Emily woke up and she found that Danielle was
lying against her.  Emily looked at Danielle's peaceful face and she took
her hand and ran them through Danielle's hair. That got a little coo from
Danielle as she stirred a bit.  Emily stopped for a second for fear of
waking Danielle but when she settled back down, Emily went back to stroking
her hair until she fell back asleep. When she woke the next morning, she
found that Danielle was still against her and that made her feel so
good. She wanted to stay there forever but she heard her mother stirring in
the kitchen so she slipped from under Danielle and she got out of bed.

      When she got there, she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and then
she took over frying up the bacon and the eggs as her mother went to get
Bubba up and then both get ready for work. A couple of minutes later, she
heard someone come into the kitchen and she looked around to see Danielle
yawn as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

      "What time is it?" Danielle said between yawns.

      "About a quarter till five; we get up early around here." Emily said
with a smile.

      "I noticed, now I know why you go to bed early." Danielle said. "Do
you need any help?" She added.

      "Get the plates and silverware out, if you don't mind." Emily said.

      "Sure," Danielle said as she started to get the plates down. Emily
couldn't help but to watch as Danielle stretched to get the plates and her
shirt rode up her legs. Emily admired the view before she went back to
cooking the breakfast.

      Her mom soon came back in dressed in her maid outfit and she took
over as Emily and Danielle went back to get dressed before Bubba came
out. Once they were dressed, Emily gave Bubba the all clear and he came out
of the bedroom ready to eat. For a small man, he could put down the food as
he ate all of his breakfast and then took a piece of toast to soak up the
egg yokes from his and Chloe's plate. By five-thirty, Chloe was ready to go
to work as she had to be there by six. Bubba didn't have to be at work for
another hour and he could have slept longer but that was something he
wouldn't think of, when Chloe got up, he got up.  He even did that when
Emily was a baby. When Chloe got up to attend to her, Bubba was there to
keep her company. Anyway as Chloe got ready to leave, Danielle offered to
take her to work so that she wouldn't have to take the city bus system.  To
Emily's surprise, Chloe took her up on the offer. So Danielle grabbed her
purse and keys and the three of them headed out the door.  When they got to
the hotel, Emily invited Danielle in to see the service area of the high
class hotel that she had been in many times. When they got there, Emily
noticed that where there should have been at least ten maids, there were
only four and the four that were there were all new. About this time, Emily
saw the hotel manager come into the room.

      "Chloe, I need for you to cover floors nine through twenty
today. Everyone called in sick today so you have to pick up the slack. We
have a lot of guests checking in today go get to it." He ordered in a gruff
voice and then he added, "Maybe you can get your kid to help, but get it
done!" then he turned to walk away.

      Emily could see the anger rise in her mother but she kept her mouth
shut.  This was the first time that Emily had seen what her mother went
through just to put food on their table. She wanted to strangle the hotel
manager but she too kept her mouth shut. But the one person there that
could say something did.

      "Sir, I need to talk to you." Danielle demanded in a very forceful
voice that Emily had never heard from her before. This caused the manager
to stop in his tracks.

      "What do you want kid? I don't have time to talk to some prissy assed
girl."  The manager said to the governor's daughter.

      "I want to talk to you, is what I want! And I think it would be in
your interest that you listen to this prissy assed girl." Danielle said to
him as Emily and Chloe watched Danielle walk him outside of the door.

      "What's she going to say to him? I need this job." Chloe told her
daughter.

      "I don't know but I know she won't do anything to get you fired."
Emily told her mother but she wasn't so sure that she was right. She knew
that Danielle was use to getting her way but this was a different world
than the one she lived in.  Emily helped her mother restock her cart as
they waited for Danielle to return which she did about twenty minutes
later.

      "You don't have to worry about him anymore." Danielle said as she
came over to them.

      "What did you do child?" Chloe asked her but in a tone that said that
she wanted an answer and she wanted the whole answer.

      "I just reminded him that he had been using Emily's help without
paying her and that I was sure that the labor board would love to know
about that. I also mentioned that I knew quite a few labor unions that
would love to come in here and unionize this place and I do know that for a
fact. I told him that you would never call them but I would. I told him
that you were the best maid that he had and that he ought to take care of
you. People like you are hard to find and you take care of your good
people. I think it was at this point that he remembered where he had seen
me before and he changed his demeanor real quick, and he about fell all
over himself trying to please me. So we came to an understanding, which is
that he paid you for what he owed Emily for her work here and I agreed to
help clean today.  Danielle said as she handed over some bills to Chloe and
Emily could see that there were several hundred dollar bills in her hand.

      "So find Emily and me a maid outfit and we'll get to work." Danielle
said.

      Emily said that her mother was in shock but she recovered quickly as
she went to find them a maid outfit to wear.

      "We do have just one problem with my plan." Danielle whispered to
Emily after Chloe had left.

      "What's that?" Emily asked suddenly worried.

      "I've never cleaned a thing in my life. We always had maids to do the
cleaning. You're going to have to show me what to do." Danielle said.

      Emily laughed before she replied, "That's cool, and I'll show you all
you need to know. It's not that hard to learn but it's hard work."

      "I'm not afraid to work, just as long as I know what I'm doing."
Danielle said as Chloe came back with their outfits.

      They quickly changed in the bathroom and then Chloe sent them to the
top floor with a list of the rooms that they needed to clean. The plan was
that they would work their way down as she worked her way up. When they got
to the first room, Emily went through the room and she showed Danielle what
had to be done to each room. Then Danielle followed Emily around and helped
as they cleaned the room. As they went to the next room, they split up the
duties with each having about the same amount of things to do. They then
went about their way through the rooms on that floor. When that floor was
done, they switched duties so that neither would get bored with what they
were doing plus Emily didn't want Danielle to get stuck with cleaning
toilets all day. The one thing that Emily did help Danielle do when they
switched jobs was to make the beds. Danielle wasn't very good at that, plus
that gave them something to do together. Around eleven, they took a break
and went and found Chloe. They help her finish the room she was working on
and then they went down to the break area and they ate lunch. Chloe had
brought her lunch but Emily and Danielle had no dinner since they hadn't
planned on staying.  Danielle was going to go to the hotel restaurant and
get lunch for herself and Emily and she told Chloe that she would pay for
it but Chloe would have none of that. Emily saw that Danielle was going to
argue so before she could she slipped her foot on top of Danielle's
foot. She pressed down and when Danielle started to argue, she pressed
harder. Danielle looked at her and Emily widened her eyes and thankfully
Danielle got the message. She accepted the money from Chloe and ran off to
get them a hamburger. They finished the rooms a little before three and the
manager let them go on home as he had learned his lesson very well.

	"Here is your part of the money that you got from the manager."
Chloe told Danielle after they had gotten home. She then pulled two hundred
and fifty dollars from her pocket and handed them to Danielle.

	"Oh no, that's the money that Emily had earned and didn't get paid
for, if anything it's her money but it isn't mine." Danielle told her as
she tried to give the money back.

      "If it wasn't for you, we would never have gotten any money from him
so half of the money is yours." Chloe said as she pushed Danielle's hand
back. Emily was afraid that they would start to argue and she knew that no
one ever won an argument with her mother; at least she had never won one.

      "I tell you what, I'll take fifty for my work today and tomorrow, as
that is what I have earned and you take the rest because that is what Emily
has earned.  And you know even that doesn't make up for all the work she
has done over the years." Danielle said as she handed two hundred back to
Chloe.

      Emily watched as her mother thought this over and to her surprise,
she took the money and then she said, "This will go into Emily's college
fund as my little girl is going to graduate from college and make something
of herself."

      "Deal," Danielle said quickly before Chloe could change her
mind. "Now I don't know about you two but my feet are killing me. I think
that I'll grab something to drink and sit for a few minutes. You two care
to join me?"

      "I'll join you." Emily said quickly as her feet were hurting a bit
too and she could see that Danielle was tired from the first day of real
work that she had ever done.

      "Me too, Emily make us some tea as I go change, then you two can
change."  Chloe told them.

      "Go on in and sit down, I'll make the tea and bring it into
you. It'll take me a few minutes to get it made." Emily told Danielle.

      "No I'll help." Danielle told her.

      "No, you go sit; I'll be in there in a minute or two."

      "You sure?" Danielle asked.

      "Yes, now go sit." Emily said as she put her hands on Danielle's
shoulders and she turned her around. She then pushed her toward the living
room.

      Emily slipped her shoes off and she got out the tea bags. She put
them into the coffee maker and poured the water in. She then started it
dripping and while it did that she got a clean mason jar and put the sugar
into it. Once she got it ready, she went into the living room to see how
Danielle was. When she got to the door, she saw that Danielle was lying on
the couch and her mother was covering her with a sheet. She had to smile as
she looked on watching her mother doing what she did best, being a mother.

      "I think we wore your friend out today." Her mother said quietly as
she came on into the kitchen.

      "I have to admit, for an upper class girl, she worked her ass off
today."  Emily said.

      "Watch your mouth; you know I don't allow cussing." Chloe said as she
sat down.

      "Well she did. " Emily said with a smile.

      "Yes she did. She's a good girl isn't she?" Chloe commented.

      "The best, she's the best friend that I have ever had. And I do want
to thank you for letting me spend so much time with her this summer. I know
I haven't helped you as much as I have in the past and I feel bad about
that. You work too hard as it is and here I've been having fun and not
helping you." Emily told her.

      "You've helped me more than enough and you needed to get out
more. You need to start to make a life of your own and I know that. Soon
you'll be in college and that is all I have ever wanted for you. I just
don't want you to end up like me."

      "I'll make you proud of me, I promise. Then when I get out, I'm going
to support you and Bubba. Then you can work when you want and not because
you have to." Emily told her mother.

      "No, you take care of yourself. Take your money and spend it on
yourself, not on me. That's not why I want you to go to college so that one
day you can support me."

      "I know that, but that's what I'm going to do and I won't hear any
argument.  You know I can be just as stubborn as you." Emily said with a
smile as she took her mother's hand in her hand.

      "I don't deserve a child like you." Chloe said and Emily could almost
see tears coming to her eyes.

      "It's a mother like you that I don't deserve." Emily said as she got
up and came to her mother and hugged her.

      Her mother hugged her back tightly for a minute and then she gently
pushed Emily away as she said, "Now stop that or we'll both be crying." She
then kissed Emily on the cheek.

      Emily then went back to her chair and they sat and talked about Emily
going to college as her mother loved to hear Emily talk about it. And Emily
knew that when she went to college she would be going for both of
them. They talked until it was time to cook supper and they let Danielle
sleep until Bubba was about to come home. She then let Danielle take a
shower before she did. Then they all sat down for supper when Bubba arrived
home. That night it was another game of Life before they all retired to
bed. Then Emily and Danielle giggle as they listened to her mother and
Bubba make love.

      "I appreciate what you did for my mother today. You didn't have to go
out on a limb like that but you did." Emily told Danielle after the
apartment had quieted down.

      "He was taking advantage of both you and your mother and that isn't
right. I knew things like that happened but I had never actually seen it
before. Why does your mother take it? I know that she is very strong and
she doesn't put up with crap anywhere else but why does she take it at
work. I meant she can get a job anywhere." Danielle said and Emily could
see that she was trying to understand but couldn't.

      "That's just it; she can't find a job anywhere. I mean she hasn't
even been to high school; she dropped out or was forced to after the eighth
grade. Almost everywhere want you to have graduated high school or at least
have your GED. She has neither, so you see, there isn't many places to find
a job." Emily told her.

      "But there are programs out there that will help people like her, pay
for her education. Why didn't she ever take advantage of those?" Danielle
asked.

      "You have to remember that she was very young when she had me and she
had to get a job, any job. Bubba tries hard but he can't make enough to
support her and me. Bubba has a steady job now but that wasn't always
so. He used to have to go out and find what he could and he did but it
never paid much just like what he does now doesn't pay much but it makes
him feel good and he believes that he is supporting us. Mom never let him
believe otherwise. He's good to her and that is all she cares about. And
when she needed someone the most, he was the one to take her in and not ask
for anything in return. So don't you see, she is stuck, at least for now
but when I graduate and get a good job, I'm going to support her and Bubba
and then make her go back to school likes she wants to. But never mention
school to her. She doesn't know I know how much she wants that. It's my
education that she cares about."

      "I think I see now, but I wish I could help her." Danielle said
wishfully.

      "You already have silly." Emily said reached out and pulled her in
close for a hug. The hug went on for a while as Emily was reluctant to let
Danielle go but then they heard the bedroom door open and they separated
quickly. But it was just Bubba or her mother going to the bathroom but the
moment had passed and they both went on to sleep. Later that night Emily
woke up as she felt Danielle getting out of bed. At first she thought that
she was just getting up to go to the bathroom but then instead of going
there, she went into the kitchen. Emily slipped out of bed and she followed
her in. When she got there, she saw that Danielle had the fifty dollars
that Chloe had given her and she was going to Chloe's purse.

      "It won't work." Emily said and she watched Danielle jump out of her
skin.

      "Oh shit, you scared me to death."

      "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but again, it won't work." Emily
said smiling.

      "What won't work?" Danielle said trying to look innocent.

      "Putting the fifty that mom gave you and you got wadded up in your
fist back into her purse. She knows down to the cent what she has there and
she will know what you did. It will just hurt her feelings." Emily said as
she came over to her. "I know what you are doing and I appreciate it but
just keep the money, okay."

      "But I don't need it and you all do. I felt bad enough taking it in
the first place. What can I do and don't tell me to keep it, I can't."
Danielle said and Emily could see the pain in her eyes.

      "I think I have an idea, mom needs a new pair of work shoes, and hers
is about worn out. Can you meet me at the Good Will store about one
Monday?" Emily asked.

      "Yea, I'd planned on coming over Monday anyway." Danielle said.

      "Good, I get off about one and we'll go shopping for mom a pair of
shoes.  Then I will tell her that a lady came in with them and she wanted
them given away."

      "Will she fall for it? And will she try to give them to you?"
Danielle asked.

      "No she won't but I'll make her keep them anyway. And I have bigger
feet so she'll be stuck with them." Emily said with a smile. "Now, let's go
back to bed, I'm still sleepy and mom will be up in a few hours.

      The next morning when they escorted Chloe into the hotel, the manager
was waiting for them but his demeanor was the exact opposite as it was the
previous day. Thos time he asked Chloe if her daughter and Danielle could
help and that he would pay them well. Emily hated to ask Danielle to help
again but she was more than willing to go for it. This morning they had
more rooms to clean but Danielle was up to speed so they did each room
twice as fast as they did before. They even got done by two and the manager
let them all go. They stopped at the apartment to drop Chloe off and to
change. Then they took off for the movies and they were going to grab a
burger since Chloe gave Danielle another fifty that Danielle gladly
accepted this time. Emily could tell that her mother suspected something
since Danielle didn't argue this time and she knew she would figure out
quickly where the new shoes came from but that was a problem that she would
face tomorrow.

      They had a fun evening and Emily hated for it to end but Danielle had
to get back home that night even though Emily would have loved for her to
stay another night. But she knew that they had plenty of time and things
were going so well.

      Danielle arrived right at one and Emily jumped into her car and they
were off to visit all the shoe stores that they could before it came time
for Emily to get home. It was at the third store that Emily found the shoes
that she knew that her mom would like. She tried on a pair in her size and
then she made Danielle try them on and they both agreed that they would be
perfect for her so Danielle got two pairs and that took most of the money
that she had received from Chloe. But as they were getting ready to check
out, something caught Danielle's eyes.

      "Come here a minute." Danielle told her as she went toward the men
section and specifically to the work boots section.

      "Oh no you don't, I'll have my hands full in convincing my mom to
take these shoes, and she'll never buy me coming home with a pair of boots
for Bubba too."  Emily told Danielle.

      "But he needs them and he'll feel left out if I get your mom
something and not him." Danielle said in a pleading voice.

      "He'll get over it eventually. I'm not letting you buy him something
too.  Besides you have spent all your money on mom." Emily said hoping to
convince Danielle that she had gone far enough.

      "That's okay; I don't like any of these boots anyway..." Danielle
said and Emily thought that she had convinced Danielle not to buy the boots
for Bubba but then she added, "I know this boot place that has great boots,
let's go there next."

      Emily threw up her hands in defeat but on the way to the boot store,
she again tried to convince Danielle that enough was enough but as she
looked upon the determination on Danielle's face, she knew she was going to
lose the argument so she began to think how she was going to convince her
mother to take what Danielle was going to give her. She knew that the story
about the lady coming into the Goodwill Store and wanting the shoes given
away wasn't going to hold any water with her mother so she decided that
honestly was the best policy. At least almost complete honestly would have
to work. So she told Danielle after they got Bubba his new boots that they
would tell her mom that Danielle used the money she earned from cleaning
the hotel rooms for the work shoes and work boots. She wasn't about to tell
her mom that Danielle used more than a little of her money to get the
boots. The trip to the boot store took more time than they had intended and
now they didn't have time to cook dinner before her mother and Bubba got
home. So Danielle decided that they would stop and get pizza for supper and
Emily knew that she would hear about this for days. But she didn't have the
heart to say no to Danielle now, like her mother had always said "In for a
penny, in for a pound" and she was way past a penny now. They got home with
just enough time to put the pizza on the table and get the plates set out.

      "What's this?" Chloe said as she entered the kitchen.

      "Danielle had some shopping to do and it took longer than we thought
it would." She told her mother honestly.

      "Yea, I figured with all the food that I have eaten here this summer,
it's the least that I could do." Danielle piped in.

      Then as her mother came over to give her a kiss on the cheek, Emily
whispered into her ear, "Please don't say anything tonight, just go along
for me."

      Her mother gave her a weird look but she didn't say anything, which
Emily took as a good sign. Bubba came in shortly thereafter and Chloe
couldn't get Emily alone to find out what was going on.

      "Is that pizza I smell?" Bubba hollered from the living room.

      "Yes Bubba, Danielle is treating us to dinner tonight." Emily called
to him.

      "On man that is great, she should do that more often." Bubba said as
he entered the kitchen but an icy stare from Chloe stopped him in his
tracks.

      Emily knew that the evening was about to fall apart and she looked at
her mother pleading with her eyes to just let things be and she saw her
mother slowly soften and a genuine smile come to her face.

      "Yes it is nice but she doesn't have to ever replay us for feeding
her, we're always glad to have her eat with her. She's practically family
now." Chloe said and she gave Danielle a smile and Emily could see the
tension ease from Danielle's face.  And then she went over to her and gave
her a hug and that made Emily feel better.

      After Bubba had washed up they sat down for supper. Danielle had
gotten two large pizzas and Bubba almost finished one himself. They all
talked and Emily began to feel that the night might work out after all.
After the leftover pizza was put up, they all sat in the living room with
Chloe in her rocking chair, Danielle and Bubba on the couch and Emily sat
on the floor by Danielle's feet. They talked for a few minutes before Emily
decided that the time was right and she nudged Danielle on the leg with her
shoulder.

      "I kind of did something today with the money that I earned from
helping you all clean the hotel rooms. I really didn't need anything for
myself so I got something you." She said as she looked at Chloe.

      "Me?" Chloe asked.

      "Yes you." Danielle said as she got up and went to the closet in the
living room and pulled a bag out. She took it over to Chloe and gave it to
her. "And before you say that you don't need them and I shouldn't have. I
have two things to say. First you do need them as I now know what being on
your feet all day working is like. And I know that I shouldn't have but I
wanted to do it." She said as she handed the bag to Chloe.

      Emily watched as her mother pulled the two boxes out and she opened
the first one. Emily prayed that her mother had a lot of pride but she
hoped that she would swallow her pride for just this once. She then saw her
mother smile at Danielle.

      "Thank you so much honey." Chloe said as she got up and she hugged
Danielle.  As she hugged her, Emily saw her glance at her and Emily gave
her a big smile. She knew that her mother was doing this for her. Any other
time her mother would never accept something that she couldn't pay for.

      "Try them on!" Danielle said excitedly.

      "Okay, give me a second." Chloe said as she sat back down and
Danielle sat down on the floor by her. They all watched as Chloe put the
shoes and then she walked around the living room. "Oh these feel
good. Thank you honey." Chloe said again and then Danielle jumped up and
gave Chloe a hug.

      "Now try on the second pair and see if they fit too." Danielle told
her.

      "Okay but why did you get me two pairs, I can only wear one at a
time." Chloe said smiling.

      "You wear one pair one day and then the other pair the next day. That
way they can air out, plus they will last twice as long." Danielle
said. Then she turned to Bubba as she got up and said to Bubba, "And don't
think that I left you out."

      Emily saw a big smile come to Bubba's face as Danielle went to the
closet and pulled the second bag out containing Bubba's boots. She brought
them over and set them on Bubba's lap.

      "Thank you but I didn't need any shoes; Chloe is the one that needed
new shoes. I have been trying to get her to get some for a long time."
Bubba said.

      "I know but if the mean girl gets new shoes then the nice man at
least should get a new pair of boots. Now open the box and try them on."
Danielle told him.

      He smiled a big toothy grin as he tore into the box and pulled the
nice shinny work boots out. He brought them up to his nose and he smelled
the leather before he set them down and then he put them on. He walked
around and showed Chloe and then Emily his new boots. Both of them told him
how nice they looked and that made him proud. He then went to Danielle and
gave her a big bear hug and that she saw pleased Danielle to no end.

      "Thank you for accepting the shoes from Danielle. She so wanted to do
something for you and Bubba." Emily told her mother the next morning as
they drank a cup of coffee together.

      "I know that she meant well but don't let her do it again. I know
that I let my pride get the best of me at times. But that is just how I
am. I have worked hard to provide for this family and I hate that I can't
give you everything that I like to, and so I get a little hard headed about
things for myself."

      "I know but mom you give me everything that I need, the rest is just
fluff, it doesn't mean anything." Emily told her mother and about this time
Bubba came strolling in with his boots on and a pair of jockey shorts. He
looked funny but Chloe and Emily didn't laugh as they knew that Bubba was
just showing off his boots.

      "Maybe a present here and there is good for us." Chloe conceded after
breakfast and Bubba had gone back to the bedroom to dress for work.

      "It doesn't hurt; you know you don't spend enough for you and
Bubba. You should do something for yourself for a change." Emily told her
mother.

      "Is that the daughter telling her mother what to do?" Chloe asked
with her eyebrows arched.

      "No, just a daughter making a suggestion to her mother." Emily said
smiling.

      "Oh I see." Chloe said with a smile on her face.

      As the new school year came closer, Danielle had to start spending
more time with the other cheerleaders practicing. Since she was the head
cheerleader, the coach/teacher allowed her to decide as to when they would
practice. Most of the previous head cheerleaders put it up to a vote and
that was how Danielle had done it the previous year but this year she
decided that they would practice early in the morning. The rest of the
cheerleaders were about to revolt on her as they had gotten use to sleeping
late in the morning but Danielle used all of her skills as a leader to
convince them that it would be much cooler in the mornings and then she
added that the football team would be practicing then and that was the
clincher. But Danielle wanted to practice in the mornings because that
would allow her to go and visit with Emily in the afternoons. And so they
went on this way for the last three weeks before school.

      "You want me to do what?" Emily asked Danielle when she came by the
Goodwill Store the Monday before school was suppose on the following
Monday.

      "My father is hosting a dinner for the Education directors for all
the school districts of the state on Friday night and I've got to go. And I
want you to go with me. Please... come with me." Danielle said as she put
on her puppy dog look.

      "Mom will never let me come and besides I don't have anything to
wear."  Emily said.

      "We'll find you something to wear and how do you know that your
mother won't let you come? You haven't asked her yet."

      "I don't know..." Emily said as she hesitated for a moment. She had
never gone to anything like this and a part of her was scared of going but
another part of her wanted to see how her state government worked. She knew
that there would be a lot of wheeling and dealing as all the directors
would be hitting the governor up for more funds.

      "Please come with me, it'll be fun." Danielle told her.

      "No it won't, it'll be boring and that is why you want me to go along
so bad."  Emily said with a laugh.

      "Okay, you got me there, it'll be boring but with you there it can be
fun."  Danielle confessed. "But will you ask your mother?"

      "Yea, I'll ask her tonight." Emily told her.

      "I'd go with you but I have to stay home tonight." Danielle said as
they left the Goodwill Store and went back to Emily's apartment.

      Danielle told her about the dinner and what all would happen there as
Danielle helped Emily start supper. She then left shortly before Chloe came
home.  Emily then waited until supper was done and they were all sitting in
the living room.  She put the dinner in as an educational opportunity for
her. It took her most of the night to convince her mother to let her go but
in the end, her mother gave in but she kept the ten thirty curfew in
play. Once she had made the decision to let her go, Chloe went and got a
dress that she had in her closet and brought it out for Emily to wear. It
was a long white dress and it was the only dress that Chloe owned and while
it was very pretty it was also about ten years out of date. Emily, not
being a fashion hound, loved the dress and she gladly accepted it. She knew
that there was a pair of white shoes at the Goodwill Store that she could
get to wear with it.  The rest of the week went slowly as she didn't get to
see Danielle very much as Danielle's mother had her doing things with her
when she wasn't practicing cheerleading. But she was able stop by for a few
minutes each day after her practice was done to talk and of course, the
first day she stopped by was to see if Emily could go with her and when she
found out that she was being allowed to go, Danielle gave her a big hug.

      "That is a pretty dress." Emily told Danielle as she stood by
Danielle's bathroom door as Danielle was applying some makeup. Danielle had
on a mid thigh length red dress that made her breasts seem just a little
larger than they actually were and it flared out at the waist.

      "Your dress is pretty too." Danielle told her as she turned to face
her.

      "Thank you; it's my mother's dress." Emily said as she smiled but she
knew that Danielle's dress was beautiful and it was in style.

      "You know, I have a dress that would really look pretty on you."
Danielle said as she went to her closet and she rummaged around to find
it. "Here it is." Danielle said as she pulled out a light blue version of
the same dress she had on.

      "That dress is pretty but I would feel more comfortable in what I
have on."  Emily told her.

      "Well, we have time, at least try it on and see what you think."
Danielle said as she handed her the dress and pushed her into the bathroom
and she stepped out to let her change.

      As Emily was taking her dress off, Danielle opened the door and she
threw in a pair of shoes, "Put these on too, they go with the dress." And
then she shut the door before Emily could say anything back.

      So Emily finished pulling her dress off and she slipped on Danielle's
dress.  She looked at herself in the full length mirror and she had to
admit that she did look cute in it. She slipped on the shoes and she opened
the door to the bathroom.  The first thing that she heard was Danielle
whistling at her.

      "Now who is that foxy babe that I'm looking at?" Danielle said as she
let out another whistle. Emily felt her face go red but she felt her heart
burst with pride as no one had ever accused her of being foxy.

      "Come here and let me zip you up." Danielle told her and Emily walked
over to her. She felt Danielle's hands on her back and then she felt her
zipping her up.  This sent a shiver up her spine but then any touch from
Danielle did that to her.

      "Now sit down here at my vanity and let me put up your hair."
Danielle told her and she did. She watched as Danielle pulled out a couple
of clips and she put Emily's hair up and she couldn't believe the
difference that made to her looks.  Danielle wanted to put a little make up
on her eyes but Emily stopped her there.  Danielle fussed over her a bit
more and then she looked at the clock on her vanity and declared that they
were late. Emily wanted to change back into her own dress but she found
that she was being pulled out of the bedroom before she could protest.

      When they got down to the reception hall, Danielle took her place in
the receiving line and she noticed that Danielle got a look from her mother
and then she saw her fussing at Danielle. Emily had been in that position
with her mother fussing at her so she smiled a Danielle, who gave her a "oh
well" look. Emily stood back and watched it all go on and on. The dinner
was suppose to start at eight but with each director taking the opportunity
to talk to the governor, the last director from the smallest county did not
get to greet the governor unto after eight-thirty. Danielle came to her
then and escorted her to the head table where Danielle's parents were
waiting. Emily was hoping that she and Danielle could sneak away after the
receiving line was done but that wasn't to be the case. Danielle first
reintroduced her to her mother and her father. She had not really gotten to
talk to them when she had met them that day at the Goodwill Store and she
found that hey both were nice but Emily could tell that Danielle's father
was busy politicking tonight but Danielle's mother turned out to be very
nice and she took the time to talk to her. After the dinner was over, the
speeches began and they were still going on at ten.

      Emily pulled on Danielle's sleeve and she whispered into her ear,
"Danielle, it's ten. I've got to get home."

      "I know but we can't leave now. The speeches should be over in just a
minute. Then we'll get out of here."

      Emily began to get more and more nervous as each minute passed. At
ten after ten, she again pulled on Danielle's sleeve and told her, "I'm
going to go and catch a bus home. I'm going to be late as it is."

      "No don't do that. We'll go in just a minute. I don't want you to be
taking a bus this late at night. I'll tell your mother that the dinner went
over. I'm sure that she will understand." Danielle told her but Emily knew
her mother and she knew that she wouldn't understand.

      Emily didn't know what to do. She didn't want to embarrass Danielle
by getting up and walking out during her father's speech but she knew how
mad her mother would be. The ten-thirty rule was one rule that you didn't
break in her house. She looked at her watch and she knew that she was
already late and then she looked at Danielle who was watching her father
speak. She was going to upset someone and she didn't want to do that. She
knew that she either wait it out and hope that she could explain things to
her mother or make Danielle take her home and embarrass her in front of her
family. Danielle had been so good to her and her family this summer and she
had become so close to her that she just couldn't upset her or embarrass
her. She just hoped that her mother's punishment wouldn't be too bad and
that she could explain things to her. So she decided to just sit back and
wait but as each minute passed her stomach became more and more upset.
Danielle's father didn't stop talking until a little after eleven and then
there was another five minutes of applause.

      "Can we go now?" Emily asked Danielle.

      "Yea, let me tell mom." Danielle said as she went to her mother and
told her that she was taking Emily home. They both then rushed out of the
hall and Danielle ran up to her room to get her purse as Emily waited for
her at the bottom of the stairs. When Danielle got back down the stairs,
they rushed to her car only to find it blocked in by all the cars.

      "Oh god, mom is going to kill me!" Emily cried out and she felt the
tears starting to form in her eyes.

      "Oh Emily, it's not that bad, you're just a little late and you have
a good reason." Danielle told her.

      "Danielle, you just don't understand my mom. When she says to be home
by ten-thirty, she means ten-thirty and not ten thirty-one. The reason your
late really doesn't matter. You just don't understand." Emily told her and
she now even closer to tears.

      "Oh god, you're serious aren't you. I'm sorry but don't worry, I fix
it, I promise." Danielle said as she came to Emily and hugged her tightly.

      Emily let Danielle hug her but she knew that she was the only one
that could fix this and she had no clue how to do that.

      "But we're blocked in and it will be hours before we can get out. I
should have taken the bus, maybe they are still running." Emily said as
they separated.

      "No I'll get you home. Come with me." Danielle said as she started
running toward the side of the house.

      "Where are you going?" Emily said as she started after her.

      "We're taking my father's old truck. Now come on and I'll get you
home in no time." Danielle called back to her.

      Emily was out of breath by the time she caught up with Danielle who
was in the process of getting into the truck. By the time Emily got inside
the truck, Danielle had it started and she hit the gas, knocking Emily into
the back of her seat. Danielle took the curves of the service road as fast
as she dared and she had them out on the road in no time but they were
still a ways away from Emily's apartment. Emily was trying to get Danielle
to understand that it was better for her to face her mother alone but
Danielle kept saying that she was the one that made Emily late and she had
to take the responsibility. Emily tried to tell her that didn't matter; she
was the one who chose to stay so in the end, it was her that was
responsible. It was almost midnight when they got to her apartment and
Emily made one last attempt to get Danielle to go on home and let her face
her mother alone but Danielle wouldn't budge on that and even started
toward the building as Emily was standing there talking. So she just gave
up and decided that maybe it would be good for Danielle to see what she was
talking about. When she got to her door, Emily took a deep breath and then
she put the key into the door and opened it. The first thing she saw was
her mother sitting in her rocker and she knew that she was up shit creek
without a paddle.

      "Where the hell have you been? I been waiting and worrying about
you!" Her mother hollered at her.

      Emily started to say something but then she saw her mother's eyes go
wide and her face turned a deep red color. Emily was almost afraid that her
mother was having a heart attack as she was staring at her with a pained
look. Emily happened to look down and she knew why her mother was so mad.

      "And just where the fuck is my dress? Are you too good to wear it
now? You go to the governor's party and now you're just too good for us
now." Her mother said as she jumped up from her chair.

      "No mother, it's not like that, just let me explain, please." Emily
said.

      "Shut your fucking mouth, I don't want to hear it!" Her mother said.

      "Chloe, let me explain, this is all my fault. I'm the one that made
her late and I'm the one that got her to try on that dr..." Danielle
started to say but Emily's mother stopped her.

      "I don't want to hear another word from you young lady. You have done
enough damaged to my family as it is. You had best just get out of this
house and don't you ever come back. You're no longer welcome here." Chloe
told her.

      "But please let me explain, it's not Emily's fault, it's mine."
Danielle said but Emily could see that her mother had Danielle as scared as
she was.

      "Not another word from you, you hear me! Emily, take that dress off
and give it to Danielle and then you get out of here and don't you come
back. You hear me, never come back and don't ever go near my daughter
again! Get that dress off now Emily or I'll come over there and tear it off
you!"

      Emily quickly reached back and pulled the zipper down and pulled the
dress off and she slipped her shoes off. Emily was so embarrassed as she
went over to Danielle in her old cotton bra and her thread bare white
cotton panties but she could see that Danielle was just as
embarrassed. "Just go on home, please." Emily whispered to Danielle as she
handed her the dress. Danielle took the dress and Emily could see the tears
in Danielle's eyes but Danielle took the dress and she left Emily alone to
face her mother.

      "Now stay right there young lady!" her mother yelled at her and Emily
did just that. She knew what was coming next and no amount of talking was
going to stop it so she just kept her mouth shut. Emily watched as her
mother came back into the living room with one of Bubba's belts. Her mother
came over and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her across the back of the
couch. The next thing she felt was the belt landing on her almost bare
ass. It stung like hell and it kept on stinging as the belt kept raining
down on her butt and thighs. Emily was soon crying hard but she didn't try
to stop her mother. She knew she had done wrong and she had to take her
punishment but her mother had never whipped her this hard and for this
long. Finally her mother quit and left her there crying. Emily didn't
bother making her bed up, she just curled up on the couch and cried herself
to sleep.

      The next morning she heard her mother get up and she sat up and
moaned as her ass was still sore. She got on up and put her sleep shirt
on. She then went into the kitchen hoping to talk to her mother and explain
what had happened the previous night.

      "I want to talk to you about last..." Emily started to say but her
mother stopped her in mid sentence.

      "I don't want to hear it this morning or any other time. And remember
what I told you last night about seeing or talking to that girl again. But
you had better get my dress back today. Now get breakfast started, Bubba
and I have to get to work. Some of us have to earn some money around here
to help this family survive unlike some who have pissed their summer away
doing nothing." Her mother barked at her and then she stomped out of the
kitchen to get dressed.

      Emily stood there speechless, she didn't know what had happened to
her mother but she had never acted this way before. And she was the one
that wanted her to enjoy herself this summer. And then she couldn't see or
talk to Danielle but she had to get the dress back today. Emily wanted to
scream but instead she went to the fridge and got the eggs and bacon
out. When Bubba came in he talked to her and she felt like he was on her
side but when her mother came in, she told him to be quite and to eat. Her
mother didn't say another word to her that morning and Emily was almost
glad to see her go. She had some free time before she had to go to work at
the Goodwill Store so she straightened up the house. Then she headed to
work. When she got there she found Danielle waiting for her.

      "I'm so sorry." Danielle said as she ran up to her and hugged her
tightly.  Even though she wasn't supposed to be talking to Danielle, she
needed her this morning more than she ever had so she hugged her back and
she felt the tears begin to flow.

      "I'm so sorry." Danielle kept saying to her and Emily could tell that
Danielle was crying too. She forced her tears to stop flowing and she
pulled back from Danielle.

      "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Emily told her as she wiped a
tear from Danielle's cheek.

      "Yes it is, you wanted to leave and I kept you there. And then I
stayed outside of your door and I heard what your mom did to you. And I
didn't do anything. I should have broken the door down and stopped her but
I didn't. I just stood there like a fool. Oh god, I didn't realize what
would happen. I have to do something to fix this." Danielle told her.

      "No, let me fix it, just be my friend okay?" Emily told her.

      "Okay but what can I do to help you." Danielle asked.

      "Just listen to me and let me talk this out." Emily told her.

      "Okay, let's go inside and talk. I can help you work." Danielle said.

      "Good, oh did you bring my dress with you?" Emily asked as they went
inside the building.

      "Yea, it's in my car." Danielle told her.

      "Good, I was supposed to get it back but I wasn't supposed to talk to
you or see you to do that." Emily said.

      "How the hell were you supposed to do that?" Danielle asked.

      "Beats the hell out of me," Emily told her and then she told her
about how the morning went and how strange her mother was acting. They
talked all morning as Emily worked with Danielle's help. She did feel
better by the time she got off but the thought of facing her mother that
afternoon made her stomach churn. She refused Danielle's offer of a ride
home. She didn't want anyone to see her with Danielle, if she could help
it.

      Emily had the wash done by the time that her mother got home and she
was hoping that her mother would be in a better mood but if anything, her
mood was even worse. She criticized how the clothes were folded and she
said that the whites weren't white enough. Then as she cooked dinner, her
mother came in and told her what she was doing wrong there too. Emily
wanted to tell her mother to do it herself then but she knew better than
that. She was so thankful with Bubba came home as that meant that she had
someone to talk to that wouldn't have something bad to say about whatever
she was doing. And Bubba came through for her as he was as nice as he could
be to her and she just wanted to hug him for doing that.

      Sunday was a little better of a day as she got to spend most of the
day with Bubba as he didn't have to work on Sundays. She talked to him
about her mother but he didn't have a clue as to why her mother was acting
the way that she was.  But he was going to try to find out what was wrong
and she knew that was all that he could do but she didn't expect much from
him. But she didn't know then just how much she was under estimating him.

      Monday morning couldn't come soon enough for Emily and she got out of
the apartment as soon as she could and she rushed to school. When she got
there, she found Danielle waiting for her as the bottom of the steps
leading into the school.  She rushed up to her and hugged her not caring
who saw and she was glad that Danielle was willing to hug her back. She
told Danielle all about the rest of her weekend and how her mother was on
her all the time. She told her it was like she could no longer do anything
right. They talked until it was time to go to class.  Danielle could only
get there early a couple of days that week but any time that Danielle could
give her, she was grateful for as her mother wasn't easing off of her.

      The next two weeks went that way as her mother was on her constantly
from the time she got home until they all went to bed. Then on Tuesday of
the third week, Emily brought home a test that she got a ninety-five on and
her mother just told her that she should have gotten a hundred. Then at the
end of the week she brought home a test in which she got a hundred and her
mother told her that she needed to talk to her teacher about extra credit
so that she could get her grade up higher. Emily just looked at her mother
like she was crazy; she wanted to scream at her that you couldn't get any
higher than a fucking hundred.  But her mother's look stopped her from
saying anything.

      That night she went to sleep crying. She had always loved her mother
to death but she was slowly growing to hate her and she hated feeling that
way. The next day she went to work at the Goodwill Store but Danielle
couldn't get away to see her and them meant that it would be Monday at the
earliest before she could see her. She was also afraid that she would lose
Danielle as whenever they were together all she talked about was how bad
her mother was treating her. She knew she couldn't do that forever without
losing Danielle's friendship.

      The next two weeks went on the same way and Emily was reduced to
crying herself to sleep every night, when she could sleep. She was mostly
just crying and tossing and turning in her bed. She even stopped pulling
out the bed and she just slept on the couch. It was just easier to do that
and she didn't have the energy to make up her bed anyway. She had long
since lost her appetite and thus she had lost about ten pounds that she
didn't really need to lose. All her jeans were loose on her but she was
afraid to buy new ones at the Goodwill Store for fear that her mother would
say that she was wasting her money.

      Then came the Thursday from hell, which was a little over a month
after this had all started. Her mother must have had a hard day at work as
when she came home, she was on Emily's back and she rode her hard. No
matter what Emily did, her mother would bitch at her for doing it wrong. By
this time, Emily was beaten and she just stood there and took it. She did
notice that Bubba was getting angry while this all went on but he didn't
come to her aid and that made Emily lose all hope. And to make it worse,
she had not been able to talk to Danielle all week as Emily's mother had
kept her at the apartment until she just had time to catch the bus and get
to school as it started. She just knew that Danielle was wondering what had
happened to her and she feared that Danielle would just give up on
them. She waited until her mother and Bubba went to bed before she laid
down. She curled up on the couch and started to cry but this time once the
tears started, they came full force. Before she knew it she was sobbing
uncontrollably and she couldn't stop. Her body just convulsed with each
sob.

      This went on for a few minutes when somewhere in her mind she heard
angry voices. She thought that it was her mother yelling at her and that
made the crying worse. She couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. Then she
felt a hand on her side and a kind voice calling to her and she thought
that it had to be Bubba. But then she felt someone's arms hugging her and
she felt hair on her arm and then a head laying there. Her mind began to
clear and she realized that it was her mother holding her and the words
that her mother was finally sinking into her head.

      "Oh god, what have I done to you baby. Please stop crying and talk to
me.  Please baby, I'm so sorry. Oh god what have I done..." her mother kept
saying over and over again. And Emily could feel her mother's tears on her
arms.

      The words and the tears made their way into her soul and she slowly
was able to bring her own crying under control. "Why do you hate me so
much?" Emily spit out and the anger that she felt for her mother came
spilling out in her voice.

      "Oh baby, I don't hate you. I don't" her mother replied as she lifted
her head off of Emily's arm but she kept her arms around her.

      Emily pushed her mother's arms away from her and she turned over so
that she could see her mother's eyes and face. She saw the tears running
down her face and she could see the sorrow in her mother's facial
expression but that didn't stop her from replying to her mother with the
anger that she was feeling, "Then why have you been treating me like shit
since I came home late from Danielle's father dinner. I come home late once
in my fucking life and you act like I some demon child now. You worn my ass
out, wasn't that more than enough punishment for being late?"

      "That wasn't why I was treating you so bad." Her mother said as she
put her face into her hands and Emily could tell that she was ashamed. It
was then that her mother burst out in tears and she cried out, "Oh god, I
am the mean mother, Bubba was right. I'm no mother at all. I'm so sorry
Emily, I'm really am and I don't know how to explain it to you."

      Emily wanted to continue to hate her mother but she couldn't. She had
loved her to much for too long to stop now. But that didn't take the anger
she was feeling away. A part of her wanted to really let her mother have it
while she was down but the better part of her won out and she just said,
"Try."

      Her mother looked up and they looked into each other's eyes and they
both measured the sincerity of the other. Emily still felt so much anger
but she was willing to let her mother talk but it had to be tonight. She
couldn't go on like this for another day.

      "Let's talk in the kitchen so that Bubba can get some sleep." Her
mother said as she slowly got up. Her mother looked more like she was sixty
than her thirty years, Emily thought as she watched her mother get up and
walk into the kitchen. But as Emily go up she also felt more than twice her
own age. When she got into the kitchen, her mother had turned on the coffee
pot and the water had begun to drain into the pot. Emily then knew that
they were in for a long night.  Her mother stood there with her back to
Emily as the coffee made. She could tell that her mother was crying and
Emily wanted to go to her but she couldn't, she couldn't comfort her mother
until this was resolved. So she sat there in silence as she watched her
mother's shoulders shake as she cried. Emily's own eyes began to tear up
and as much as she didn't want to cry, she did all the same. She then got
up and went to the living room and got a box of tissues. She set them down
but not before she handed her mother a couple, who took them and said in a
soft tone, "Thanks."  They both blew their noses as they waited for the
coffee to finish making. When the coffee was done, Emily's mother made them
both a cup and she sat down in her chair at the square table. Emily was
sitting just to the right side of her so that they were close but still
could look into each other's eyes.

      "I'm not sure where to start. I know that I have done you wrong and I
guess I know the reason but..." her mother started to say but then she
stopped and it was like she didn't know what to say next.

      "Just tell me what I did that was so wrong. I just don't
understand. I mean when I came home that night, I saw you look at me and it
was like you changed into a different person. I just want my old mom back;
tell me where she went so that I can go get her."

      "I want her back too, I really do." She said.

      "Well at least we agree on one thing, that is a starting point. So
tell me what happened. I know I was late and I can explain all of that if
you let me." Emily said.

      "There's no need to, I know that it had to be a good reason for you
to be late. But that wasn't what made me angry and what scared be so much."

      "Then why were you angry and what scared you?" Emily asked.

      "I think I was more scared than angry."

      "Scared of what mother, you're talking but you not telling me
anything. Talk to me; tell me what happened to you. I really want to know."
Emily told her.

      "I was scared of losing you. I saw you in the fancy dress and you
looked so beautiful. You looked just like Danielle and I could see you
leaving me and never coming back. I could see you running off and never
looking back." She said and then she began to cry softly again.

      "Mother, why would you think such a thing? Didn't you ever listen to
me when I talked about going off to college and stuff? I always said that I
would never leave here for good. You and Bubba are my family, my only
family and that I'll never forget. I love you mama and I always will. I
will always be your daughter and you will always be my mother."

      "I love you too baby. I started loving you from the time that I first
felt you in my belly." She said and she started to cry again and this time
Emily reached out to her and they hugged.

      "But why were you so hard on me. I have to tell you that I was just
getting to the point that I knew that I had to get out of here. You were
driving me away."  Emily asked as she had to know the answer to that
question before she could forgive her mother.

      "I don't know. It was like once I started down that road, I couldn't
stop.  Maybe it was a little of my own mother coming out of me and I swore
that I would never let that happen but I did. I was scared of losing you
and yet by being so mean, I was doing just that. I was angry at Danielle
for taking you away from me but I was the one that encouraged you to be
friends with her. Maybe I was angry with me for doing that and I know I was
angry with myself for treating you so bad and I took that anger out on
you. I can't explain it to you but that is the way it is."

      "I think I know what you are saying. Sometimes I get angry for being
so poor but then you or Bubba will do something to make me realize that
being poor isn't so bad. And seeing how Danielle has to live with everyone
looking at everything she and her family does, makes me glad that I'm so
poor that no one notices me. So even though Danielle are friends, I still
like our lives and not hers.  You see, you were never even close to losing
me. No matter where I go, I will be with you. A girl always needs her
mother, don't you know that?" Emily said as a smile came to her face for
the first time in a very long time.

      "That's good to know. I know that I have a lot to do to earn your
love and respect again but I want to do that. I want to start over." She
said as she put her hand on Emily's.

      "You don't have to earn my love and respect, you have always had that
but I do want us to talk again." Emily told her and she turned her hand
over and she grasped her mother's hands in hers.

      "Well I still have to make up for all that I have done. Then once I
finish with you then I can start with Bubba. Maybe then he will stop
calling me the "mean mother." "The Mean Girl" I could handle but the "mean
mother" was too much. Plus I want him back in the bed and not sleeping on
the floor. I miss him almost as much as I missed you. But don't you dare
tell him that." She said with a smile.

      "Too late, you done told me as least you're going to tell me right."
Emily told her mother.

      "Yea, we got all night and I want to tell you everything. And maybe
you can tell me everything too like we have always done." Her mother asked
more than said.

      "I would like that but we may need more than one pot of coffee."
Emily said as she finished her cup.

      "I can always make more." She said as she got up and fixed them both
a fresh cup.

      When she sat down she started to talk about that night that Emily
came home, about how she could see that Emily had grown up on her. It was
like one day she was a baby and now she was an adult. That was when she
started to get scared and then she saw her in Danielle's dress and she even
more scared. Then the next day she still felt the anger in her, anger that
maybe she had inside her all her life and only now it had an outlet and
Emily was the outlet. Then that night, Bubba moved to the floor because of
the way she had treated Emily. Then about a week later Bubba told her that
she was no longer the mean girl but was the mean mother. She told Emily
that it hurt her feelings to be called that and she became angry at Bubba
too. But she also knew that she was wrong in what she was doing.  Then came
this night when Bubba went to the bathroom and he heard you crying.  She
told Emily that he came back into the bedroom and practically dragged her
out of the bed and into the living room. He then said to her, "This is your
fault. Stop it now or I will take our girl out of here and you will never
see either one of us again!"

      Emily then knew where those angry voices came from; it was Bubba
laying down the law to her mother. She knew that Bubba had come through for
her in the end. He loved her mother to death but he wasn't going to let her
be hurt any more.

      Her mother then went on to say that it was then that her heart broke
and she realized just what she had done. She said that she knew that Bubba
was right; she had become the "mean mother." She also knew that she would
do anything to make it up to both Emily and Bubba. When she had finished,
Emily told her mother all about that night and how she ended up wearing
Danielle's dress. She also told her that she tried to leave on time but she
couldn't embarrass Danielle and her father.

      They both then took a bathroom break and when they came back, they
sat down and began to talk. They talked about Emily and her going to
college and how Emily would help her and Bubba when she got her degree and
started to earn some money. Then her mother did something that she had
never done before, she began to talk about her childhood and she told Emily
about her real father. He was a kid that came from a rich family and all he
was after was a little pussy and once her got that from her mother, he had
no use for her anymore. Then came the baby and there was no way that his
family would ever admit that he had gotten a poor girl pregnant. Emily knew
that her mother had a hard life but now she understood her better and she
could see why she would get angry when she saw Emily getting close to a
rich and powerful family. And when she came home dressed like them, then
that would make her angry for all types of reasons. They talked and talked
but this time the talk was much deeper and more adult. They talked until
they heard Bubba's alarm go off and her mother got up to put a fresh pot of
coffee on. When he finally came into the kitchen, she had a cup of coffee
ready for him.

      "You fixed this?" Bubba asked Chloe as he reached for his coffee.

      "Yes, I believe so." Chloe said.

      Bubba looked at Emily and she nodded her head yes. "Good! You going
to stop treating her so bad?"

      "Yes, I'm sorry for what I did and I think that Emily has accepted my
apologies. We have it fixed now." She told him.

      "Then she has no curfews anymore." He stated more than asked.

      "We haven't talked about that and I still think that she needs a
curfew."  She replied.

      "Emily's a good girl, she knows when it's time to come home and she
my girl too and I say that there is no more need for a curfew." Bubba said
as he stood up straight and Emily could tell that he wasn't going to give
in on this.

      Emily started to say something, as after all that she had been
through, she didn't want to see them fight over her but then she looked at
her mother and she could see her starting to cave in so she kept her mouth
shut.

      "No curfew but I have to know where she is going, I'm still her
mother."  Chloe said giving a lot and taking back only a little.

      Bubba again looked at Emily and she nodded yes again. So he said,
"Now I want you two to spend the day together. You stay home from work and
you stay home from school. You all need to spend the day together."

      They both started to protest but he just stood there and they both
decided that a day off from work and school wasn't such a bad idea after
all.

      "Now that is settled how about Danielle, she's allowed back here?"

      "Yes, anytime she wants." Her mother said.

      "Then invite her over for tonight, I miss seeing her around here."
Bubba said.

      "But if I stay home from school, I won't see her and besides she has
a football game tonight." Emily told him.

      "Then we'll go to the ball game tonight and invite her." He declared
as he took his first sip of his coffee and then he went back to the bedroom
to get ready for work.

      "I've never seen him like that before." Emily declared when he had
left.

      "Oh he can be forceful when he wants to, he just rather keep quite
but he loves you dearly and you couldn't ask for a better father." Her
mother said.

      "Oh I know and I love him too."

      "You know, the way that just went, I would swear that you two had
this all planned." Her mother said and at first, Emily thought that she was
being serious but then she saw her mother smiling.

      "Who us? We would never gang up on you." Emily said and then she
laughed.

      Her mother laughed with her and then she replied with, "You two have
been ganging up on me since the minute that you were born."

      "But you wouldn't have it any other way would you?" Emily asked
seriously.

      "No, you both are the two people that I love in this world. But now
that we both suddenly have the day off, what are we going to do." Her
mother asked.

      "I don't know about you but I would love a couple of hours sleep. I'm
about worn out." Emily told her mother.

      "That sounds good to me, I could use some sleep. As soon as Bubba
leaves, let's sneak off to my bed." She replied.

      "Cool," Emily said as she got up and stretched her sore muscles.

      Her mother went next door to borrow a phone to call into work,
something that she had never done before. She came back in about the time
that Bubba was ready to leave. He came to Emily and gave her a big hug and
kissed her cheek. He then went to her mother and there was a moment of
hesitation but then he opened his arms and her mother fell into them. Emily
slipped out of the kitchen as she knew that they had some making up to do
and she knew that they could use the privacy. She went to their bedroom and
she saw Bubba's blankets and pillow on the floor. She picked them up and
she folded the quilt. She then slipped under the covers and she thought
about all that she and her mother had talked about and she felt good for
the first time in a month. They still had some healing to do but they had a
good start. She then felt her eyelids getting heavy and she started to fall
asleep but not before she felt her mother slipping into the bed and she
felt her mother wrapping her arms around her. She felt a motherly kiss on
her forehead and then she fell asleep.

      They woke up about noon and got dressed. They decided that since it
was a warm day, they would go down to the city park. That way they could
walk and talk but before they got there, they stopped at a burger joint and
ordered something to eat. For the first time in a month, Emily was hungry
and she practically wolfed down her food. Her mother then went and bought
her another burger and made her eat it too. By the time she was done with
it, she felt stuffed but it felt good to want to eat again. From there it
was a short walk to the park and Emily asked her mother more about her
childhood and then she began to talk about Danielle. She told her mother
about how much she liked having Danielle as a friend but she stopped short
of telling her that she was in love with her. She wasn't quite ready to
share that with her mother and besides she didn't know how Danielle felt
about her. And she knew that Danielle had a boyfriend but then again, she
never seemed to be seeing him. That was something that she wanted to ask
Danielle about but it was one of those things that she didn't want to know
that it was serious. She figured that was something that was better off not
knowing at this point.

      They got home with just enough time to cook supper together and they
had it ready when Bubba got home. He gave them both a kiss and Emily
noticed that the kiss that he gave her mother was a lot more intimate than
they had been.  They then sat down and had a quick dinner. Once supper was
eaten, Bubba ran and took a shower as Emily and her mother got their
coats. She then pulled some bills from her stash of rainy day money and
they were off. They caught the city bus to the high school and they got
their tickets. Emily looked around for Danielle but she couldn't see her as
they went to the stands and they found a seat near the center of the
field. They sat there as both football teams warmed up and the stands
slowly filled in. They sat and talked about the game but since none of them
had ever seen a football game before, they didn't know what they were
seeing.  Bubba was the first to notice Danielle and he quickly pointed her
out to Emily and her mother. They all stood to get her attention but about
that time, the announcer asked for everyone to stand for the national
anthem. So Danielle failed to see them and after that the football team
came running out onto the field and her attention was focused on them. The
football game soon started and everyone watched the game except for those
three who kept their eyes glued on Danielle.  But Danielle was busy
cheering and when she looked into the crowd, there was no way for her to
see them, as they looked like everyone else waving their arms but in this
case they were waving their hands at her and not for the team. Emily had
decided at halftime she would try to go down to the front roll and get her
attention.

      Then came the end of the first quarter and all the cheerleaders
started to throw small footballs into the stands. Danielle came on over and
she ended up standing down in front of them. She had a football and threw
it as hard as she could, it came flying up into the stands and Emily jumped
up and snatched it from the air. When she looked down onto the field where
Danielle was standing, she saw that Danielle had finally seen that it was
her. Everyone was hollering for Danielle to throw a football to them so
Emily didn't try to holler at Danielle, so instead she pointed down to her
mother and Bubba. She then pointed to Danielle and back at herself and
Danielle got the message as she nodded her head "yes." Emily sat back down
but she could see the confusion in Danielle's eyes. She kept an eye on her
the rest of the half and she could see Danielle glance up at her from time
to time and she saw the confusion in her eyes. The half finally ended up
with the team up by a touchdown but it was a tight game. Emily watched as
Danielle talked to the other cheerleaders for a minute or two, then she
turned and came up into the stands and she made her way up to them. Emily
could feel her stomach start to churn inside of her. She didn't know how
Danielle would react when she got there or how what she would say to her
mother. Emily had told Danielle everything that her mother had done to her
and she knew that Danielle was very angry with her and had more than once
threatened to come over and straighten her mother out. When she got there,
Emily stood up and she hugged Danielle tightly.

      "Is everything okay?" Danielle whispered into her ear.

      "Yes." Emily said as they parted.

      "Hello Ms Cook," Danielle said coldly to Chloe.

      "Hello Danielle," Chloe said as Danielle stepped in front of her and
she hugged Bubba.

      "Hello Bubba, have you come up with any good stories lately? I have
missed hearing them." Danielle said and she made sure the Chloe heard every
word that she said.

      Emily almost wanted to snicker at how cold Danielle was treating her
mother but she didn't want this to get out of hand so she quickly spoke up,
"We would all like for you to come over and stay the night with us soon."
Emily said and she emphasized the word "all" so that Danielle knew that her
mother also wanted her to come over.

      "Yes, can you come tonight?" Bubba asked eagerly.

      "I'll have to ask my mother but I may be able to do that. That is if
I'm welcome back again." Danielle asked.

      Emily started to say something to keep things on an even keel but her
mother spoke up before she could say anything.

      "Danielle, you're welcome at our house anytime and I'd love to be
able to talk to you. I'd like a chance to ask for your forgiveness for
anything that I may have done wrong. I've done that with Emily and for the
most part Bubba and I'd like for you to give me a second chance as they
have done." She told her.

      Danielle looked first at Emily and then at Bubba and when they both
nodded their heads "yes", she responded with, "I'll call my mom but I'm
sure that she'll let me. Just meet me at the gate after the game."

      She then hugged Emily and she whispered, "You sure it's cool?"

      "Yea, it's cool, give her a chance, do it for me okay?" Emily
whispered back.

      "For you, I'll do anything." Danielle said as she gave Emily a
squeeze and then she had to run off as the second half was about to begin.

      Emily was finally was able to relax and enjoy the game but she still
kept an eye on Danielle. Mainly because she was so interested in her and
she didn't have a clue as to what was going on in the game anyway. To her
it was a bunch of boys running around and hitting each other. The fact that
Danielle's boyfriend was on the field didn't help any. Every time that he
got hit, she almost wanted to cheer.  But then she thought about what would
happen if he really did get hurt, then maybe Danielle would stay with him
and not come home with her and her family. She then decided that it would
be better if he didn't get hurt. The game was tight until the very end when
Danielle's boyfriend threw a long pass that one of the players caught for a
touchdown. That play ended the game and all the plays hosted Danielle's
boyfriend on their shoulders and carried him off the field. Emily watched
as Danielle went over to him with the other cheerleaders. By this time he
was back on his feet and she saw them talking. Then she saw them hug but
there was something about the way that they hugged that struck her as being
odd. But it wasn't something that she could put her finger on. Emily,
Bubba, and her mother waited for a few minutes as the crowd thinned and
then they made her way down the stands and on to the front gate. They had
to wait for a few minutes then Danielle appeared dressed in jeans and
carrying a little bag.

      "You all wouldn't be waiting for anyone would you?" Danielle said as
she came up to them. She smiled deeply at Emily and Bubba but when she
turned to Chloe, her look was much colder. She knew that her mother didn't
like to be treated this way but she hoped that she and Danielle would work
things out.

      "Naw, we're just waiting for our driver to bring our car around."
Emily said with a snotty voice.

      "Oh, he called and said that his car broke down, so he sent me."
Danielle quipped back.

      "Well, I guess we'll just have to make do, but the car company will
be hearing about this when we get home." Emily said as she pouted and put
her hands on her hips but then she started to laugh and Danielle laughed
with her. They all then headed for Danielle's car with Danielle and Emily
going arm in arm and Chloe and Bubba following close behind. When they got
there, Emily and her mother squeezed into the back seat and Bubba took the
passenger seat. Then on the way home, Bubba talked all the way about how
much fun he had watching the game. He was like a little kid and Emily
leaned over and whispered into her mother's ear, "You know, we need to do
this more often."

      "We will, I promise." Her mother whispered back as she took Emily's
hand in hers. Emily squeezed her mother's hand and she realized that maybe
all this was worth it. It seemed like they were growing closer as a family
and doing things that they had never done before.

      "If you two don't mind, I'd like to talk to Danielle for a minute in
private."  Chloe said as they all gathered in the living room after taking
turns visiting the bathroom.

      "Sure," Emily said as she looked at Danielle to make sure that she
was cool with it and she saw that Danielle was more than ready to talk to
Chloe. Emily started toward Danielle to tell her to take it easy but
Danielle had already moved toward the kitchen and Chloe was following close
behind. As her mother went into the kitchen, she closed the door behind
her, keeping Emily behind.

      "What do we do now?" Emily said as she turned to Bubba.

      "I don't know about you but I'm going to listen in." Bubba said with
a shy grin on his face. He then tiptoed toward the door and placed her ear
to it. He motioned for Emily to join him and she was shaking her head no
but after a minute or two she couldn't stand it and she crept up beside of
Bubba and stuck her ear to the door.

      She couldn't hear every word but she could hear her mother talking
and she was explaining her side of things that had happened the past month
or so. Emily was glad to hear that Danielle was listening and not being
combative. Her mother talked for a while and then she heard Danielle
talking and she was talking about the night of her father's dinner and how
it was her fault and not Emily's fault. She said that the wrong person was
punished, that she was the only one that was at fault. But then Chloe
argued that Emily was still wrong about being late but the rest of it was
her fault and not either Danielle or Emily's fault. They talked for a while
about this and Emily wanted to burst in and tell them to get past this
point and get on with it. But they seemed to want to argue for a while
longer before they decided to agree to disagree. They talked more about
Emily and Danielle being friends and her mother said that she hoped that
Danielle didn't hold what she had done wrong against Emily and Danielle
said that she didn't. Emily was her friend and always would be. Chloe
talked about wanting to see Danielle around again and that she did miss
seeing her. And she added that she knew that Bubba and Emily missed her but
she made sure that Danielle knew that she did miss her too.  They talked
for a while longer but about nothing important and Emily was hoping that
they would finish already but then she heard Danielle bringing up getting a
cell phone for Emily so that they could talk and that she could just add a
line to her phone and it wouldn't cost much.

      "You're getting a phone!" Bubba said enthusiastically and much louder
than he meant too.

      "Shhhh..." Emily said to him as she put her hand over Bubba's mouth.

      "I haven't agreed to that yet." Chloe said loudly. "You all may as
well come on in. You can hear a lot better than by putting your ear to the
door."

      Bubba shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door and he pushed
Emily on into the door.

      "Sorry about that." Bubba said as they came on into the kitchen.

      "I could see your feet under the door so I know that you heard
everything that we were talking about." Chloe told the two spies.

      "Well not quite everything, it was kind of hard to hear, you all
weren't talking loud enough." Emily said smiling but she could feel that
her face was red from being caught spying.

      "I'll try to remember to talk louder the next time I don't want
anyone to hear what I'm saying." Chloe said with a smile.

      "Enough about that lets get back to Emily's phone." Bubba told her.

      "Like I said, I haven't made a decision about that yet. Danielle just
sprung that on me. I believe that she was about to try to convince me why
we need a phone that we have thus far done just fine without all these
years." Chloe said as she looked at Danielle with a look that seemed to
say, "Go ahead and do the impossible, I dare you."

      But Danielle had never found anything in her life that she had found
was impossible so she quickly launched into her argument. "With this phone,
then I would be able to talk to Emily and her, me. There will always be
times when I have to go away with my parents and we have no way of
talking. You all don't have a computer so we can't talk that way. This is
our only way to talk and I miss her so much when we can't talk. This last
month has been hell for me, not being able to talk to her. She has become
my best friend and I need her and I believe that she feels the same
way. Plus, if you ever need to call someone, then you can use her phone."

      "I see and just how much would this cost us?" Chloe asked.

      "Noth..." Nothing was what Danielle started to say but then she saw
the look on Chloe's face and she quickly changed her tactics. "I can add
her to my phone for less than ten dollars." She said but she didn't add
that she would have to change her plan and that would cost extra. I can
even add a phone for you for ten dollars."

      "And how much would the phones cost? I know that you have to buy your
own phones." Chloe said.

      "They can cost a lot if you get something fancy but I know you both
don't want that. I can get you both a simple phone for free. It won't be
fancy or anything, just a basic phone." Danielle told her.

      "And each time we make a call, it cost us right. And if I know you
two, once Emily gets a phone, she will be talking to you all the time."
Chloe said.

      "Well, when we talk to each other, it cost nothing and on week nights
and weekends it doesn't cost anything to call anybody. We will have a bunch
of weekday minutes to use before they cost us anything. And I know you
won't use it much during the day and neither will Emily. She will be
talking mostly to you and me and that costs us nothing." Danielle said.

      Chloe sat back and she thought for a minute and Emily could see that
she was weakening. Emily knew after all that had happen this past month,
her mother was wanting to make up for things, but she wasn't going to do
anything unless there was a good reason to do so. Emily decided that maybe
she needed to add the finishing touches to the argument.

      "Mom, you and Bubba have saved every penny you could for me to go to
college on.  But it's time that you did something for yourself and for
us. I know that there have been many times that I have wanted to ask you
something but you were at work or at home and I couldn't get a hold of
you. And I know that you can say the same thing. Do this for me and for us,
please." Emily said.

      "What do you think Bubba?" Chloe asked Bubba and Emily knew what he
would say.

      "I think we should do this for Emily. She has never asked for
anything before. Plus now that you have done away with her curfew but are
making her tell you where she is, well now she can. You can still keep up
with her and not worry."  Bubba said and Emily was surprised how well
thought out his argument was. But then Bubba was slow in his learning
ability but he wasn't stupid.

      "It's only ten dollars a month for each phone right; you're not lying
to me are you?" Chloe asked Danielle as she tried to stare her down.

      "No, I'm not and I won't lie to you. I can add two lines to my phone
for ten each and get your phones for free." Danielle told Chloe never
breaking eye contact.  She was honest in what she was saying but she didn't
offer anything about having to get a different plan.

      Chloe looked at each of the sets of eyes that were bearing down on
her and she knew that she was out numbered. Emily had her fingers crossed
as her mother thought about it all. She made them all wait her out before
she finally made her decision.

      "Okay I give up, I can't bear having three people mad at me. You all
can go get us phones tomorrow."

      Emily screamed as she ran to her mother and hugged her tight thanking
her and kissing her cheek. Bubba then came over and pulled her up from her
chair and gave her a big hug and a sloppy kiss, which she protested but not
too much. Then it was Danielle's turn and Emily wondered just what she
would do. So she watched as Danielle came up to Chloe slowly and Chloe held
out her arms. Emily knew this was more about the talk that they had just
had and not about the phones. Danielle only hesitated a second before she
went into Chloe's arms and she let Chloe hug her. Danielle immediately
hugged her back.

      "Does this mean that I'm forgiven?" Chloe asked as they separated.

      "Yes and I'm sorry about the dress thing. I understand things a
little better now. And I admit that I'm not sure that I would have reacted
any differently. You all have been so tight net for so long and then have
someone come in change everything around. That would scare me too. So yea,
I forgive you. And thanks for the phones, I do appreciate that too."
Danielle said as she came back toward Chloe and gave her a kiss on the
cheek.

      This act almost made Emily cry as she was so relieved that her world
was back to spinning properly. She had her mother back and Danielle was
still her friend.

      But then her mother had to have the last words as she said, "You know
that was sneaky bringing up the phones when you knew I couldn't say no."

      "Hey my father always told me to strike while the iron is hot so I
did."  Danielle said with a smile as she hugged Chloe one more time.

      "Well, I don't know about you all but I'm getting tired. I think that
I'll head to bed and leave you two to catch up. Since I know that you
haven't talked in a month." Her mother said as she gave Emily a wink. Then
she said to Bubba, "You coming to bed with me?"

      "Yes," Bubba said and Emily knew that her mother was asking more than
just if he was tired and ready to sleep. She wanted to know if he was going
to sleep with her tonight and not on the floor beside of the bed. And Emily
knew that he was going to sleep with her and that there would be noises
coming from the bedroom again.

      'I don't know about you but I'm kind of tired too. You want to go to
bed and talk there?" Danielle asked with a slight smile on her face.

      "Yea, that sounds good. Did you bring something to sleep in?" Emily
asked.

      "No, I didn't want to stop at my house to get anything. I didn't want
to take a chance of your mother changing her mind. I figured that I could
wear something of yours." Danielle said.

      "No problem, I'll get you one of Bubba's shirts to wear tonight and
tomorrow I find you something to wear." She said as she went into the
living room and she pulled a shirt out of her dresser for Danielle to wear.

      She then let Danielle use the bathroom first to change and freshen
up.  Once she was done, Emily followed her in and she changed out of her
clothes and into her shirt. When she came back out, Danielle helped her to
pull the couch out and they made out the bed as they talked about going and
getting the phones the next day. Danielle was telling her what type of
phone she was going to get her.  Emily would normally have argued about
getting anything fancy but this time she just let Danielle talk. It was
just fun to talk about something fun for a change.  Danielle's shirt was a
little shorter than hers and every time she bent over which was often the
back would ride up and she got a good look at her legs and cute little
butt. More than once she had to ask Danielle what she had said and she
hoped that Danielle didn't notice how distracted she got at times. Then
when she bent over to put the pillows down, Emily go a long look down the
front of her shirt and she could see Danielle's breasts with her mauve
colored nipples. This made her want to reach out and touch those beautiful
breasts but she kept her hands to herself.  Once the bed was made, Emily
went and turned off all the lights except for the one in the kitchen that
they always kept on. As she made her way back into the living room, she
could feel her heart pounding and she felt like something was going to
happen tonight that would change her life.

      She got to the bed and she slipped under the covers, moving over
beside of Danielle, who had turned onto her side and was facing her. The
room was so quiet that Emily could hear both of their breathing. Emily
wanted to say something but nothing was coming to mind, and she felt the
tension begin to rise between then when she heard a low moan coming from
the bedroom. Then a louder one came and she heard Danielle start to
giggle. This broke the tension and Emily started to giggle herself. They
both got into a giggling fit as they listened to Bubba and her mother in
the bedroom. They both giggled for a moment then Emily saw Danielle's face
turn serious and just as her mother let out a moan, so did Danielle. Then
every time she heard a moan, Danielle would moan too and Emily giggled but
then Danielle started to get louder with her moans.

      "Shhh... they'll hear you." Emily said trying to get Danielle to be
quite but then she heard a loud moan from the bedroom and then Danielle
started to mimic it in length and loudness.

      "Hush girl!" Emily told her but she kept going giving her a wicked
grin.

      The moaning then stopped for a moment in the bedroom but that didn't
stop Danielle who started to let out another fake moan and Emily clamped
her hand over Danielle's mouth to stop her.

      "Damn you! Mom will come in here and see what we're doing." Emily
said to her as she kept her hand clamped on Danielle's mouth.

      Danielle then put her hand on Emily's wrist and she pulled Emily's
hand away from her mouth. "Maybe we should be the ones going to see what
they are up to."  She said as she started to get out of the bed.

      "Don't you dare!" Emily said as she suddenly got scared that Danielle
would really do just that. She pulled Danielle back down in the bed and she
slipped her torso over Danielle's to keep her from getting up. She then
found herself looking straight into Danielle's deep blue eyes and
Danielle's eyes were boring into hers.  Neither of them moved as they just
stared at each other. Emily felt her heart start to race and she could feel
Danielle's heart beating just as fast. She could feel Danielle's breasts
pressing into her breasts. Emily's heart then took control of her body as
she lowered her head down. She closed her eyes just as her lips touched
Danielle's soft lips. Emily felt like her heart was about to burst as the
kiss lingered on for a moment more and then she lifted her head up and it
hit her what she had just done.

      "Oh god, I'm sorry." Emily said as she rolled off of Danielle and she
lay on her back afraid to look at Danielle for fear of what she would see.

      "I'm not sorry. I've wanted to do that since that day after chemistry
class when you read me the riot act. I knew then that you were the girl
that I had been looking for." Danielle said as she moved over and she lay
down on top of Emily.

      Danielle leaned down and kissed Emily lightly on the lips. "I was
just wasn't sure about how you felt but I guess that I know now." And then
she lowered her head and Emily accepted her lips. She put her hand to the
back of Danielle's head and she held her in place as they kissed. She
opened her mouth a little and she felt Danielle open hers and their kissing
became more passionate. Emily heard a moan come from Danielle and this time
it was a real one. This kiss lasted for what seemed like forever but
finally they had to catch their breaths. Danielle started to kiss her again
but Emily pushed her back.

      "What's wrong?" Danielle asked and Emily could see the concern in her
eyes.

      "I need to ask you something." Emily said and she so wanted not to
ask this question but she had to at this point.

      "What about... what's his name... your boyfriend?" Emily said
suddenly drawing a blank on his name.

      "Oh he's not my real boyfriend, he's my pretend boyfriend." Danielle
said.  And then she started to kiss Emily again but again she pushed her
back.

      "Pretend boyfriend?" Emily asked.

      "Do you want to talk or kiss?" Danielle asked.

      "Both," Emily said as she pulled Danielle back down for another long
kiss.  This time they both opened their mouths and the kissing became real
passionate with them both moaning. But then the kiss ended and Emily pushed
Danielle up as she waited for her answer.

      "I trust you with this because I know that you will never tell anyone
what I am going to tell you. I made a promise to Jeb that I would never
tell anyone but I'm going to tell you." She said.

      "You know you can trust me with anything." Emily said.

      "I do. It was during out freshman year that I happened to see
something that I wasn't meant to see. I had stayed after cheerleading
practice to do some tumbling exercises. Anyway once I had taken a shower
and gotten dressed, I left the locker room and was going to my car. But as
I went past the boy's locker room, I heard a noise like someone was
moaning. I thought one of the football players may have fallen and gotten
hurt so being the bold person that I am, I marched on into the boy's locker
room to investigate. What did I see but Jeb and the starting full back
naked as the day they were born and kissing like fools. I let out a yelp
and they froze like deer caught in a car's headlights. Jeb then started to
beg me not to tell anyone and after I had recovered from seeing them like
that I came up with a plan. He needed a girlfriend as a cover and I knew
that having a boyfriend wouldn't hurt as I already knew that I was a
lesbian but I wasn't ready to come out at that point. So we made a deal, we
would become boyfriend and girlfriend but with no real benefits, in other
words, no sex and no kissing. And we agreed that we would tell everyone
that we were holding off having sex until marriage. That worked for both of
us as it saved our reputation and it would keep us from having to tell lies
about what we did together. We've actually never had a date. He would
sometimes pick me up and then drop me someplace and then he would go visit
his boyfriend. In fact, the nights that I was spending here, we told our
friends that we had gone out. So far, everyone has bought it, even you I
guess, but I figured that you would have figured it out by now."

      "Well I did and I didn't. I knew that something was strange about
your relationship with him but I never guessed that Jeb was gay like
us. And I knew that I was gay for a long time like you. In fact, I've had a
crush on you since I first saw you our freshman year." Emily confessed to
her.

      "Oh god girl, why didn't you say something long ago? We've wasted all
this time." Danielle said.

      "I don't know, I think that it has worked out just right in the end."
She said as she curled her hand back around the back of Danielle's neck and
she pulled her back down for a kiss.

      They began to kiss and this time they didn't stop to talk between
kisses, they went right back to kissing. Danielle was the first one to open
her mouth and Emily felt Danielle's tongue come into her mouth. She let out
a muffled moan as she felt Danielle's tongue move around inside of her
mouth. After a moment's hesitation, Emily lifted her tongue and she began
to caress Danielle's tongue. This brought a moan from Danielle. Emily kept
one hand to the back of Danielle's neck but the other she moved to
Danielle's back. She ran her fingers along Danielle's spine and then she
moved it to the shoulders and finally down to her lower back. By this time
Emily had moved her tongue into Danielle's mouth and she felt Danielle
begin to suck on it. Emily felt her pussy start to get really wet and she
opened her legs up so the Danielle's pussy was now pressed firmly against
her own pussy. She could feel the wetness that was coming from Danielle's
panties and she knew that Danielle was just as excited as she was. Emily
brought her knees up and that changed the position of her pussy and the
pressure of Danielle's pussy against hers felt even better.

      Danielle then began to slide her hips up and down slightly as she
moved her mouth to Emily's neck and she began to kiss her there. Emily let
out a slight moan and she started to move her hips against Danielle's
hips. They both moved slowly for a while just enjoying the feeling that
they were giving each other. Emily had masturbated a few times before but
this was so much better. She moved her hand to Danielle's panty clad ass
and she could feel the firm buttocks as Danielle tensed and relaxed them as
she moved. Emily used her hands to grasp Danielle's left butt cheek and she
squeezed it. Danielle lifted her lips from Emily's neck where she was
kissing her to moan and Emily quickly moved her lips to Danielle's neck and
she began to kiss and suck on her neck. This only caused Danielle to moan
more. If Emily had been capable to thinking, she would have realized that
they were making a lot of noise but her passions had complete control over
her. She kissed and nibbled on Danielle's earlobes, then Danielle brought
her mouth down to Emily's lips and they began to kiss again. Emily felt
like her pussy was leaking juices like an open facet. She moved her other
hand down to Danielle's ass and she grasped Danielle's right cheek with
it. She squeezed both cheeks and she pushed Danielle's ass down. The both
picked up the speed of their hips and Emily felt like she was going to cum
at any moment. She urged Danielle's on and she had to stop kissing her so
that she could breath. Her breaths were coming fast and shallow and so was
Danielle's. They both moaned and groaned as their orgasms approached. Emily
then felt her orgasm hit and she lifted her hips and cried out. She felt
like her whole body was being carried away to some distant place where only
she and Danielle existed. She felt Danielle drive her hips down hard and
she heard Danielle cry out her name into her ear.  Emily curled her legs
around Danielle's hips and she held on as she rode out the waves of her
orgasm.

      "Oh fuck, I've never felt anything like that before." Emily said
breathlessly.

      "Me either, I never knew that I could cum that hard. God that was
great."  Danielle said as she lowered her head and kissed Emily softly on
the lips.

      "I don't want to ever be without you again. I missed you to god damn
much."  Emily said as she felt a tear go down her face and she began to cry
but this time she cried because she felt so wonderful.

      "Shhh baby, don't cry. I'm never going anywhere without you."
Danielle said but she could feel Danielle's tears hitting her face and she
knew that Danielle was crying for the same reason she was. She just wasn't
quite sure what that reason was, she just knew that it felt good to cry and
it felt even better knowing that Danielle was crying with her. They cried
and kissed for a while longer before Danielle laid her head down on her
shoulder and Danielle fell asleep. Emily laid there loving the feel of
Danielle's weight pressing down on her. She used one hand to caress
Danielle's back and the other she used to comb her fingers through her
hair. Emily wanted to stay up all night just so that she could enjoy this
moment but sleep eventually overtook her.

      That morning, she woke up when she heard her mother moving around in
the kitchen. Danielle had moved off of her during the night but Danielle's
arms were still wrapped around her. She kissed Danielle on the lips and she
slipped out from under her. She went first and got some clothes and she
went to the bathroom and peed. She then cleaned the girlcum off her pussy
and then she changed into clean clothes. She then went on into the kitchen
to help her mother fix breakfast.

      "Morning sweetheart, did you sleep well last night?" Her mother asked
her but she had this strange smile on her face and Emily wondered what was
going on.

      "Yea I did, how about yourself?" Emily said as she came over and gave
her mother a kiss on the cheek.

      "Oh I was just about to fall asleep when I heard these strange noises
coming from the living room." Her mother said.

      Emily had started to turn away but that statement stopped her in her
tracks. Her heart stopped as she prayed that her mother didn't do what she
already knew that she had done.

      End of Part Two

      To be continued...

Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good
or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com