Gerty XIII in gerty

Gerty followed Charlotte through the great room into what seemed like a study with mahagony walls and a grand bookshelf. Besides many leather bounded books there was a built in wet bar displaying many top shelf liquors. Charlotte bee lined to the bar grabbing a bottle of Patron by the neck and headed out French doors leading to the back of the estate. A beautiful veranda waited which stepped down to a stunning pool.

Charlotte nodded at a wait staff dressed in white jacket and black slacks that immediately turned to the building on an unspoken errand. Charlotte led Gerty poolside to a table with four chairs and festive beach umbrella. Fritz had quietly followed the girls and took up post by the French door. The servant soon returned with the promised lemonade which Charlotte quickly sipped from to make room for some tequila.

“It would be rude not to have at least one with me Gerty.”

Gerty drew from her lemonade and Charlotte topped of her drink as well.

“Atta girl.”

Fritz surveyed the yard and noticed two older gentlemen sitting in the shade of the house engrossed in reading and sipping mimosas. Fritz speculated one of the gents to be Charlotte’s father and a possible guest.

Gerty thought the same.

“So Gerty, what’s up with Lurch over there? He’s kinda creepy. You’re not tapping that stuff are you?”

Gerty didn’t blink and just gazed deeply at Charlotte as if she heard not a word. To the surprise of Charlotte Gerty put her lips to the straw in the drink and slowly drained the drink down to ice.

“Damn Gerty, guess you may have had more practice at this than I thought.”

“Fritz is my muse, my guide,..sort of a pilot.”

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder and asked,

“Well, where do you find someone like that?”

Gerty shrugged and replied,

“He found me. Apparently I was somewhat newsworthy back in the day and he kept after the executor’s to be my driver or bodyguard or something and since no else wanted anything to do with me they finally relented. And here we are.”

Charlotte and Gerty sat quietly as the servant appeared with two more full glasses. Two more drinks were made but no one took a sip. Both seemed entranced in with others eyes until Charlotte asked,

“What are you really doing here Gerty? No one wants to see me except men who have little interest in me personally but plenty interest in themselves.”

Gerty answered with a question.

“What’s wrong Charlotte? Really wrong. You didn’t have to be in there with me. You’re old enough to screw men without ending up in with my kind.”

Charlotte was not a woman of tears but shimmers appeared. Not one tear touched her cheek. Charlotte ignored the question with one of her own.

“You still keep a journal Gerty?”

“I have a journal but I have been traveling and a bit distracted as of late. Didn’t think you thought much of my writing and poems.”

Charlotte continued to fight her sudden swell of emotions.

“I have a journal. A diary I guess. I write poems too.”

Gerty was sensing a revelation with this sudden openness on Charlotte’s part and glanced over at the men in the shade.

“Might I ask who those fellows may be?”

Charlotte lost the battle of the tears and one crept down her cheek.

“The chubby one is my dad and the other is my uncle Melvin who lives down the road. That’s when you can get him out of here.”

Gerty turned back to Charlotte and climbed back into Charlotte’s eyes. Charlotte felt naked under the knowing stare of Gerty and felt relief when she finally spoke.

“bouncy, bouncy, bouncy ball”
That’s why Gerty’s come to call..”

Charlotte interrupted the ominous poetry and asked,

“Would you like to read one of my poems?”