The Autumn Prince

51. Control

Rachel sat on a barstool, leaning against the kitchen counter and describing our meeting in the shower to her audience. Katherine and Becca were laughing. Again. Somewhere, hidden away in the walls, despite what she said about going to sleep, I felt certain Amy was laughing too.

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Rachel shrugged, "I'm the injured party here."

"How were you injured?" I demanded. "I hardly saw anything."

"Yeah, but it's taken me weeks to get used to being wound up all the time, and now I have to deal with the memory of your baloney pony." On cue, a new wave of laughter erupted from the other two. Rachel shifted so she could look at Katherine and went on, "Seriously, you should have given me a heads' up.'"

"I believe I mentioned it once or twice," Katherine replied, wiping tears from her eyes.

"You said, and I quote, 'it's pretty nice.'"

"How should I have put it?"

"You should have told me he's packin' porno sausage."

That was delicate for Rachel, but the result was more hysteria. Even Becca's finer sensibilities were helpless against it. I suppose the conversation would have played to most men's egos, but I wasn't on that list and Rachel knew it, which was her sole reason for bringing it up.

"Can you please stop exaggerating?" I protested.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but Katherine stopped her from continuing, "Thomas, what do you think we're talking about? Nobody's saying you're a mutant," she held her hands a foot apart to illustrate, "but average is something like, what, five inches? What you have is more than respectable, and there's nothing wrong with being appreciated for it."

"Well that too, but I meant girth," Rachel broke in, making a large "O" shape with both hands, which brought the house down. I gave up, slid off my stool, and left them to finish their breakfast if they could manage it between breathless howls.

While I wasn't as flattered as I might have been, I was a little less offended than I behaved. It was part of daily life, and I wasn't always the target, I was just the only one that all three could mock equally. It was a coping mechanism too, and I couldn't deny them that.

I checked my phone for the second time that morning, re-reading the text I'd received while Rachel finished her shower. My apartment had been finally secured, and the four of us had to return to it on Monday morning to give Finn's team another three days for what she called "vital renovations." She didn't specify what "vital" meant, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I didn't look forward to leaving again. The last person to set foot in my old place had been Gloria, which brought back pangs of guilt. I was certain the space hadn't grown any bigger either, and three days in cramped quarters, even with enjoyable company, would wear on all of us. Throughout the day new concerns began to surface. Other students lived on that block, some of whom I knew, so our comings and goings could raise questions even if we avoided the campus. Rachel's Jeep was known to everyone in her dorm and the apartment wasn't that far away. Over three days someone was bound to take note of it. Then there was Penny, who was already suspicious and had admitted to stopping by.

When we discussed it in the office that afternoon, Katherine picked up on my unease and suggested a road trip instead. "There's plenty of room at my parents' house, and they'd love to see you all."

Rachel objected before I could. "That's not a good idea."

"Why?" She asked, but Rachel just gave her a steady look. "Oh gosh," Katherine's eyes went wide, "I'm such an idiot."