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Chapter Nine
They had exhaustedplaying on the adult swing in the garden. Bored with dressing up and changing dolls clothes umpteen times, they called Honey and pulled a pink tee shirt top over her head. The dog laid placidly accepting of their attention, lapping up the affection. Penny placed a straw bonnet on her head and tied a bow under her chin. Honey licked her hand. She fetched her phone and took a selfie of herself with Emily and the dog.
“What shall we do now?” her guest asked.
Penny took the hat and shirt off Honey and lay down beside the dog, cuddling her. “What would you like to do?” she asked.
“I want a juice,” Emily declared.
Penny disliked how the other woman seemed to think that because she enjoyed the simple pleasures of childhood she should drop all her manners too. She climbed to her feet. “Come along then, let’s go to the kitchen and get a drink. Do you like to colour?” she asked as she led Emily from the room.
“Yes, and paint, can we paint?”
Penny hesitated; she wasn’t sure that Emily could be trusted to paint nicely. There was a childish recklessness about her that was disconcerting.
In the kitchen she offered her guest the choice of apple or orange juice.
“I want cranberry!” Emily stated stridently.
“Sorry, we only have apple or orange,” she repeated patiently.
“Apple then.” Emily sounded cross, but Penny ignored her and set the cups of juice on the table across from one another. Opening her drawer she got out colouring pens, books, and paper.
“But I want to paint!” Emily yelled.
Penny started. She looked at the blonde woman in shock. Her face was flushed and her whole demeanour was just like the toddler she was dressed up to be, mulish and unreasonable.
“I don’t know...” Penny began.
Emily reached for her juice, leant forward, and tossed the contents of her cup into Penny’s face. “I hate apple!” she screamed.
Without a second thought, Penny grabbed her own cup and threw her own juice back in Emily’s direction.
Bullseye!
There was a shriek of pure rage. Emily launched herself around the table into Penny, winding her. Penny grabbed hold of Emily’s hair and held on. They tumbled to the floor and rolled about. Emily lashed out, repeatedly smacking her around the head and shoulders. Penny retaliated by yanking Emily’s hair and kicking her.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
The girls froze, lifting their heads they stared at the door where David stood with pure astonishment on his face.
“Girls!” he reprimanded.
“She started it! Penny threw her juice at me!” Emily squealed.
Penny kicked her, outraged. Emily spat in her face. “You witch!” Penny screeched.
David reached them and hauled each little girl to her feet in turn. Holding them by the elbows, he dragged them to the far corner of the room and pushed Penny up against the wall.
“Nose in the corner. Do. Not. Move,” he growled.
She watched as he towed Emily to the opposite end of the room where the bi-fold doors began.
“Nose in the corner, Emily,” he ordered.
“I want my daddy. I’ll tell on you!” she shouted.
“Listen to me, both of you! You will stay exactly where you are. Hands on your heads, until I say otherwise... Got it?” He sounded harsh and uncompromising.
