Unintended Intruder - 03
The morning chime announces another customer, and Abigale's worn shoes carry her to the table.
"Good morning, Sam."
"Good morning, Abby. You look exceptional today."
"Thanks, Sam. Country Breakfast, scrambled eggs, and a coffee?"
"You know it!"
"Morning, Abby!"
"Good morning, Dave. Breakout Breakfast Omelet with ham, hold the onions?"
"Atta-girl, Abbs! Anyone tell ya yer lookin' fine today?"
"Just everyone, Dave."
The usual customers rolled in, their orders never change, but the day's compliments were a little more intense than normal.
"Quit jaw-jackin', Abbs."
"I'm not jaw-jackin', boss."
"Don't you go tellin' me what I did or-"
"ORDER UP!"
"Gotta go boss."
Every morning... every afternoon... every day... the only difference this day was the smell and the hunger. Everything smelled good... intense... a terrible ache seemed to follow her through every order and every steaming plate. The routine would normally make her day fly by as she thought of other things, but today, she was starving.
After clearing an order, she ate the leftovers. It never would have occurred to her before. Customers in general disgusted her and she imagined them all to be contaminated. But not this day. This day Sam left a few bites of hash brown... a kid mashed her pancakes into an unrecognizable pile... a woman did not eat her toast... a bit of sausage hit the floor and needed to be replaced. Normally this all would have gone into the trash, but Abigale decided today would be a good day to help the busboys, and if there was a morsel there, she claimed it.
When it came time for her break, she ordered a full meal. A steak, a salad, and an entire baked potato, any one of these would fill her most days... but not this day.
"Eating for two?" the voice of her boss jeered when he caught her stuffing an untouched grilled cheese sandwich into her mouth. "If you get sick, I'm not letting you call in. You be here or you're gone."
Frozen... she stared at him intently. She wanted to strangle him, to throttle him, to cut him open and leave him to die. Normally she would have just ignored his foul ways... but not this day.
"Y-you gotta problem?" Abigale's boss sputtered under her bloodthirsty gaze. She considered a few possible responses, but rejected them. Without a word, she moved to the sink and began washing her hands and face.
*****
"What... the... hell?" Abigale sat in traffic, her mind meditating on the day's strange events. "Eating for two," she said out loud, trying to block out the rush of fear which came with it. There had been no men in her body for a long time, her co-workers joked about her being a "born again virgin" and she had resented it at the time. But now, here she was, starving, aching, needing to pee... she knew the signs... everyone woman learned them. But what was really going on?
"Menopause?" she muttered. It was possible. She was only in her late thirties but she was an unlucky sort. Maybe her body had just given up on ever having children and decided to turn off the equipment. That could explain the sudden need to fondle herself senseless... or maybe it was a side effect of the green stuff. Maybe it did all kinds of good things for her but made her eat like a horse. Maybe she would end up gaining weight which was why it was not approved by the FDA.
There were so many possibilities, and several of the darker ones played in the corners of her mind. Something from the past night had been off, but her rational mind had sorted it all into neat little categories which meant she might be missing something. She remembered looking in the box and seeing the shell back inside. She did not remember returning it... how had that happened? The confusion carried her all the way back to the 'O'-Mart.
*DING*
"Hi, Abby."
"Hey, Terry."
"You look hotter than usual today."
"Thanks," she blushed as she tried not to look into his crystal blue eyes. "Is Marcy around?"
"I'm always around," Marcy said as she stepped out from the back wearing gloves and a surgical mask.
"Adventures in spank-booth cleaning?" Abigale could not help but ask. Marcy nodded and laughed. "Why didn't you have Spooge-Boy clean it up?"
"Oh, I abuse him enough," Marcy said as she looked over to Terry. "Besides, Naked Guy was here."
"Oh, God, again?"
"Yeah, I think he might have tried to molest our boy."
"His elephant dance is deadly," Terry said in a way that made the women laugh.
"I know," Marcy said, "but he doesn't elephant dace at me. So, Abbs, what's the verdict on last night's nocturnal adventures?"
"Yeah," Abigale said and then hesitated. "I wanted to talk to you about that."
"Oh, shit," Terry said, "does it look like a baboon's ass down there? Did you wake up wondering if a red lipped clown went down on you?"
"God... no... Terry!" His youthful laughter filled the store and flushed Abigale's whole face.
"Honk-ah!" Marcy shouted, imitating the sound of a clown's nose.
"God... Marcy," Abigale laughed, "go find something to clean, Spooge-Boy!"
"Awe," Terry made a dramatic sigh then headed toward the back.
"So, what's eatin' ya?" Marcy asked once the two of them were relatively alone.
"Well," Abigale started and then paused to think about how to say what she was thinking.
"Is the product no good?"
"No... actually it's fucking awesome," Abigale said and then gave a nervous laugh. "No, the problem's I've been horny ever sense it happened."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, I mean... I've been considering making out with you, now that Terry's in the back, and you know I don't swing that way."
"Uh-huh," Marcy said in a disapproving tone.
"I know you're tastes, Marcy, but-"
"But you don't swing that way," the store owner stopped her friend, "I know. What else is going on?"
"Well, it was really kinda weird, at first," Abigale said as she tried to remember the previous night through the haze of all the intense masturbation. "I mean... there's a sea-shell in there, and I think the stuff that it's in is like a lubricating aphrodisiac."
"Really?" Marcy blinked.
"Yeah... good stuff... well actually, great stuff. I've never been so damn horny in all my life!"
"That's pretty incredible cuming from you."
"Oh, ha ha," Abigale muttered in a fake annoyed tone. "But seriously, the green stuff's awesome. The video's a bit bland but the prop... whew."
"Prop?"
"Yeah, it actually paused itself and told me to break out my prop!"
"Damn," Marcy gave a low whistle, "the Japan really is the land of the rising sun."
"I feel really good, but I've been starving all day."
"Starving?"
"Yeah."
"You cycling without me?"
"No," Abigale giggled, for she and her friend's cycles had been synced for years. "I was wondering if that was one of the side effects."
"Maybe," Marcy shrugged. "You look really hot today... maybe the stuff creates pheromones too? I really don't know."
"Damn it, Marcy," Abigale said then she laughed. "You need to make a friend who reads Japanese!"
"I know... so... would you recommend it to a friend?"
"Sure," Abigale said after a moment of thought. "If I'm gonna get fat on tentacle-spooge I might as well take my best friend with me."
"It's a date," Marcy said then laughed.
*****
"I don't get it."
"What's not to get, Abby... we don't read Japanese."
"But... it was closed and locked... how did all the green goo dry up like that?"
"I don't know," Marcy shrugged in disappointment. "Maybe it needed to be refrigerated. Maybe it had a shelf life. Maybe it was a one time use item."
"But..." Abigale made the disappointment noises of a ten year old as she stared at the empty box some more. Only the empty seashell remained, hallow and useless as the box which brought it. "I guess you should return it... or..."
"Can't," Marcy said with an annoyed look, "the site's gone."
"What?" Abigale said with an edge to her voice.
"The site's been taken down," Marcy repeated, "and I can't find it on any other search engine. Either the company changed their name, or they were a scam."
"But I put that thing in me, Marcy!"
"Do tell," her lesbian friend half-grinned.
"I'm serious, Marcy! What if that stuff's doing something to my lady parts right now? What if it's a poison and I need an antidote? What if some anime-level creepy parasite has been put in me and I'm gonna go all chest buster in the next episode? Huh? Ever think of that?"
"Abby, I'm sorry." Marcy's amused expression evaporated at the real distress of her friend. "Look, do you want me to stay over? We can go to the hospital in the morning and get you checked out."
"Can't... gotta work..."
"Work?" Marcy balled a fist and Abigale feared for a moment she might get slapped. "Abby, dear, I love you like a sister, but you NEED to quit that damn job and take care of yourself."
"But... I..."
"No butts! You can come and work for me, now. You're mother's not around to die of embarrassment anymore and I can't possibly pay less then the money that ass leaves you after he's done taking all your tip money. Come on, Abby, quit that damn job and let me take you to the hospital."
"Well... alright... can we go now?"
"I guess."
"Thanks Marcy."
"Anytime, kiddo," her friend said as they embraced, "just let me take care of you... everything's gonna be alright."
"Uhm... Marcy?"
"Yeah, Abbs?"
"Can you... please take your hand off my ass?"
"In a moment, dear," Marcy said as she gave it one last longing squeeze. "Everything in due time.