A short story, featuring the Collins family (Leland, Anne Marie, and Anise), with their maid, Martha.
As summer comes to a close, the Collins take one final trip to the beach for the season. Anise's nostalgia is unaffected by her parents' bickering...
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Leland didn't think that getting a bit of sand inside the car was that big of a deal. "I'm having the car detailed any--"
"You are not getting any sand into my brand new Buick. Martha, help Anise shower, por favor."
Anise was lost in a melancholic trance, so her chubby little self went into "automatic" mode, as she followed her mother's instructions without even thinking. She walked the way back to the entrance of the parking lot, ten yards away from the Buick, with her personal maid Martha following close behind.
A short brick path led away from the beach and into the parking lot. Right before brick turned to asphalt, the path was lined with two rows of three showers each. Visitors leaving the beach were given the option to rinse themselves in the showers, before getting into their cars -- something which Anise, in her melancholic trance, had failed to do.
Anise stepped into the shower area, with Martha close behind. She turned to face one of the showers and placed her chubby little hand on the valve. It was late in the afternoon, there were few people on the beach. The path to the parking lot was empty, and there was no one around but Anise, Martha, and Anise's parents, thirty feet away.
Anise undressed in a swift, automatic motion, and handed her bikini to Martha -- who had remembered to shower. She mustered a "thank you" but her mind was clearly somewhere else.
Anise turned the lever, and after a short, gentle sputtering, sun-heated water streamed out of the shower head and crashed all over her, rinsing the sand off her ample, girlish curves. As the water soaked her, Anise let thoughts of the day gone by, of the Summer gone by, fill her mind. She smiled in sweet remembrance, as she squirmed in place, to let the water reach every spot, making sure she would not drag a single grain of sand into her mom's brand new Buick.
"Well, you got it for free..."
"No, I did not. You've no idea how much cock I had to suck to get the fuckheads at the Agency to go along."
Leland looked away, partly to shake the mental image off, and partly because he had lost the argument.
"OK, dear... I'm sorry."
"You don't appreciate all that I do for our family."
"I do, I really..."
In gratitude for her "support" in getting some legislation passed, a large automaker (that will go unnamed) provided Senator Anne Marie Collins with a generous "thank you" package. This included a large donation to her daughter's trust fund, and (every two years for the next decade), two brand new, fully equipped luxury sedans. This year, Anne Marie got a Buick, and Leland got a Cadillac.
The unnamed automaker also agreed to pay for a 10th wedding anniversary shindig at the Waldorf Astoria, for the Senator and her husband, and a hundred of their closest friends. Anne Marie worked hard to show the world how happy and successful her marriage to Leland was, and this intimate little event in Manhattan would go a long way into achieving just that.
Leland was fully aware of his wife's dealings in Washington -- he himself worked in DC, as a lobbyist for coal companies, and he was quite a persuasive one. Still, and even if Leland provided most of the proverbial bacon for the family, it was Anne Marie who provided the Collins with perks and prestige, as well as a significant chunk of that bacon.
Anne Marie had been very successful in cultivating her image. To every other Washington phony, Anne Marie and Leland Collins appeared to be a successful couple, impressively efficient in what they did, and somehow finding the time to raise a happy, beautiful family. Together.
There was once a time when Anne Marie's scolding hurt Leland, but that time was long gone. Arguments like "sand on the floormats of my brand new Buick" were increasingly rare, and if he had to admit it, Leland enjoyed provoking a passionate response in the woman he loved. Any passion is better than none, after all.
As he sat in the driver's seat, he was half paying attention at his wife's barely passionate rant. In his mind, the fact that Anne was simply going through the motions of "angry wife scolding her incompetent husband" was hurting her as well. He could not tell. He may never learn.
He caught a glimpse of Anise bending over as she showered, in the car's rearview mirror. The sight made him uncomfortable -- why, though? Anise and Leland were intimate, and quite comfortable with each other's plump bodies. But in his mind, this particular moment belonged to his wife, and all his attention should be focused on her -- and not in emptying himself inside his daughter, something they both enjoyed, and something Anne Marie tolerated.
"OK, dear. I'm sorry. You're right.
It's your car... your space. And I will respect your space --"
Anne Marie was not quite done ranting, but her diplomatic side kicked in.
"Thank you, that's all I ask."
"-- I always do."
"OK, baby. I know."
"Yeah."
A couple of minutes have passed, and Anise was now sand-free. Martha opened the rear door for Anise, and Anise wobbled her fat little body inside -- she was only wearing a towel. Anne Marie turned towards the back seat and handed Martha a clean shirt. "Por favor, help her put this on."
"Yes, ma'am."
The thought crossed Anne Marie's mind, that he should tell her husband to move his seat forward a bit (it was set all the way back, since Leland was a hefty man). But just as she got ready to speak, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the vanity mirror.
She stared at herself for a moment.
The words "move your fat ass forward so that Anise can have some space in the back" were loaded in her throat, but never made it past her mouth. Instead, Anne Marie took a deep breath, and exhaled in a controlled sigh.
"We -- uh.
Let's... get some burgers on the way home. That way, Martha won't have to cook tonight.
We're all tired. It's been a long day."
Leland turned to his wife, and saw a bright smile directed at him -- a scrap, but one that Leland would feast on for a while.
"Is... that OK, baby?", Annie asked Leland, but she didn't really ask.
"Uh... sure! Let's go!"
"Woo! I love burgers!", Anise managed to voice her opinion, as Martha helped her crawl inside her shirt.
"And milkshakes too, Mommy!"
"Fine," scoffed Anne Marie in a playful tone. "Milkshakes too."
"Woo! Best day ever!"
Upon hearing her own words of approval, Anise felt that summer melancholy coming back. But the burgers and shakes managed to successfully keep the melancholy at bay, for the rest of the evening.