Once the last of Rhen’s tears had been dried with an unused napkin and their dessert order had been placed, Dana pulled out her smartphone and offered it to her new “niece”.
“Why don’t you give your granny a call and tell her the good news?” she suggested in a way that Rhen suspected she wasn’t supposed to ignore. “I’m sure she’s still worried sick about you finding somewhere to live. Plus I’d also like to have a quick chat with her as soon as possible.
You know, introduce myself and make sure we’re both on the same page on a few things and all that.”
“Oh, good idea,” agreed Rhen, accepting the device from her former-boss-turned-aunt and punching her grandma’s phone number into it from memory.
The call went through after only a handful of rings, and her face lit up as she heard the warm voice of the woman who’d raised her ever since she was a small child pick up on the other end.
“Hi Grandma, it’s me… No, I’m using someone else’s phone…
Because I forgot mine… No, no, it’s fine. I just left it in my backpack at her house is all. It’s safe, I promise… Yeah, today was my first day… It was alright, I guess. Kinda fun, actually. But uh… Yeah, no the job kinda sorta fell through in the end… No, no, it wasn’t anything like that. It’s just that I kinda, um… Well, I kinda messed up a bit and got fired. But it’s all good now, I promise!”
Rhen blushed as she blurted out her last couple of sentences as fast as she could, hoping that they’d be overlooked while her newly-acquired aunt sat across from her watching the display she was putting on in open amusement, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smirked. Crossing her fingers underneath the table, she silently prayed that her grandma wouldn’t go ballistic or ask her too many questions just then. She could practically feel the sharp accusations and impending lecture brewing on the other end of the line like an oncoming summer storm, and she very much wanted to avoid getting a double dose of scolding from the two authority figures in her life in one day if it was at all possible.
“No really, it’s fine, I swear!” she squeaked. “Actually, it’s even better than fine! I’m out to dinner with the lady I was working for, her name’s Dana by the way and she’s super nice, and she offered to let me move in with her next semester after I told her about the whole dorm thing.”
She paused for a moment then while her grandma took it all in, sounding rather dubious.
“Yes, really,” she huffed. “We talked the whole thing out, and she said she’d let me live with her rent-free if I wanted to. I just had to agree to uh… to be on my best behavior is all.”
Eager to sweep past that last bit before her grandma could puzzle out its meaning, Rhen quickly added.
“She’s super nice, Grandma. I think you’d like her a lot.”
I know I sure do.
Rhen felt her cheeks flush at the sudden personal revelation, and swallowed hard as her grandma picked up on her evasive tone, but by some small miracle she ended up letting her off the hook with only a stern warning to try and do better after she eventually managed to drag the whole story of her disastrous first day of work out of her. Eager to keep her return to childish discipline a secret, she’d been very careful to avoid making any mention of Missus Johnson’s preferred method of discipline at all costs.
“I guess you could say she’s super strict, but that’s okay. I honestly don’t think I mind it all that much with her,” she admitted with another rush of heat up her face, wondering why it was that she couldn’t seem to stop herself from gushing on and on about the woman sitting across from her, only to realize then that she’d totally developed a crush on her. “It’s like, you know… tough love or something. It’s nice.”
Oh well… There’s no sense in trying to deny it now.
“Yes, I’m serious!” she snapped in exasperation a moment later when her grandma pressed her on that point. “Look, can we talk about something else instead, please?”
The petite sophomore couldn’t help but heave out a sigh of relief when they finally moved on to discussing the arrangement she’d reached with her former boss, content to let her grandma steer the conversation for a little while so her motor mouth couldn’t embarrass her further. But that relief was quickly replaced by a nervous twinge in her chest when her grandma asked her to pass the phone off to Dana so that they could talk.
“Um, yeah… Sure, no problem. Here she is,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant as she held out the phone to her aunt. “She wants to talk to you.”
“Hello there, this is Dana Johnson,” greeted the older woman smoothly as she accepted her phone back and brought it to her ear with a knowing look that made the butterflies in Rhen’s stomach flutter even harder. “How’re you doing this evening?”
Rhen sat there awkwardly fidgeting with one corner of her kids menu and staring shyly at the tabletop, wishing very much that their molten chocolate lava cake would arrive already and cut the phone call short as her new “aunt” and her grandma fell into a surprisingly long and easygoing conversation. She knew from personal experience that her grandma held very similar beliefs to Dana when it came to child rearing and discipline, though by some miracle of luck (and being really good at not getting caught) she’d managed to avoid experiencing anything quite like what she’d gotten that afternoon since her junior year of high school.
Nevertheless, apparently her grandma and Dana had sensed that they were kindred spirits, because before she knew it, the two of them were chatting away like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.
By now the all too familiar sensation of dread and anticipation was gnawing away at Rhen’s insides, and she found herself straining hard to try and overhear what her grandma was saying on the other end of the line.
Unfortunately it was far too loud in the restaurant to pick up anything comprehensible, but judging by all the fervent nodding and the things Dana was saying, she had a pretty good idea what they might be talking about with regard to her and their new living arrangement.
Phrases like “needs discipline”, “put on a tight leash”, and “proper schedule” kept coming up and Rhen didn’t like the sound of any of it, especially since it seemed pretty obvious that her grandma was agreeing right along with whatever it was her new aunt was telling her. Something about wardrobes (or maybe it was closets?) kept coming up too, but try as she might, she wasn’t able to make heads or tails of that remark. Not that it mattered much, she decided.
Given the older woman’s penchant for swift and immediate action whenever she got out of line, Rhen was sure she’d find out what she meant sooner rather than later.
After a minute or two more of letting her mind fill in the gaps from the little bits and pieces she was able to pick up, and not at all liking what they were shaping up to look like, she turned her attention back to her rumpled kids menu and tried not to listen any longer. She told herself that it was because eavesdropping on a private conversation was rude, but the truth was simply that she didn’t want to find out for sure whether or not her grandma really thought she was still young enough to spank at the ripe old age of twenty.
Practically twenty-one, she thought with a sullen pout. Humph!
Dana wasn’t a tyrant though, she reminded herself. She’d be fine so long as she acted like the mature adult she knew she was. Even though her new aunt had made it very clear that she would be assuming the role of a thirteen-year-old while living with her, that was more for show and fun, wasn’t it? Today had just been an unlucky fluke. She wouldn’t be getting spanked that often… right?
Mercifully the phone call eventually ended with Dana promising that she’d be in touch again soon, and a few moments later their dessert finally arrived.
More than ready to put the entire embarrassing incident and all of its stomach-twisting possibilities behind her, Rhen snatched up her fork, and she and her aunt dug in.
—
The drive home that night was a quiet one for the both of them.
Rhen, who was stuffed to the brim with pasta and cake, could feel herself drifting off to sleep with each passing streetlight as Dana drove her back to her dorm.
They’d had a brief conversation once they’d piled back into the car about whether or not they should swing by Dana’s house to grab her bike first before she dropped her off, but fatigue and her aunt’s insistence that it would be fine where it was for the night quickly convinced her that it wasn’t worth the effort.
The big seats of the SUV were just so comfy.
She could just walk to class tomorrow.
Besides, who cared? If she left her bike at her aunt’s house, then that would just be one less thing she’d have to worry about moving later.
Or something.
I’ll figure it out in the morning…
—
By the time they pulled up in front of her dorm, Rhen was fast asleep.
For a brief moment Dana considered carrying the gently snoring girl inside and tucking her into bed herself, but reluctantly decided against it after it occurred to her that she had no idea where Rhen’s room actually was inside the building.
“Oh well, there’ll be time enough for all that later, I suppose,” she sighed to no one in particular with only a twinge of disappointment, contenting herself with snapping a quick photo of her snoozing niece as she drooled adorably onto her seatbelt.
Reaching over, she softly shook her by the shoulder to rouse her.
“Wake up, cutie pie. We’re here.”
A blurry-eyed Rhen stretched in her seat and yawned then.
“Oops, I must’ve fallen asleep…”
“Just for a minute,” conceded Dana with a twinkle in her dark eyes as she surreptitiously checked the picture she’d just taken on her phone.
Oh yes, that one was definitely a keeper.
“Do you want me to walk you inside?”
“Nah, that’s fine,” replied Rhen with a half-hearted wave as she stepped out of the car onto a pair of wobbly legs. Letting out another long yawn, she turned back toward the older woman and flashed her a tired smile. “Thanks for everything, Aunt Dana. Today was a lot of fun.”
“You’re very welcome, dear. Now go get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow, alright?”
“Deal.”
—
The next day, after she’d finished up with watching her usual gaggle of eight or so kids for the day, Dana drove back to Rhen’s school with her bike mounted to the back of her car. After dropping it off in front of her dorm and sticking around to make sure that she locked it up properly, the two of them decided to go grab some dinner.
This time they opted for simple fast food from one of the nicer
“restaurants” on campus since neither of them was really in the mood for anything more extravagant just then. Rhen was honestly just grateful to find herself spending two nights in a row now not having to try and stomach lousy cafeteria food. Being a bratty thirteen-year-old certainly had its perks, even if her aunt tut-tutted at her disapprovingly when she admitted to her that she’d actually already had most of a bag of potato chips only just half an hour earlier.
“Honestly, Rhen, you’re going to give yourself a tummy ache if you keep snacking like that before dinner.”
“Um, sorry, Aunt Dana.”
“Oh never mind, it’s fine, cutie pie. Now why don’t you tell the nice lady what you’d like to eat?”
Rhen actually recognized their cashier as one of the girls who lived in lived in one of the floors above her in the dorms, but thankfully she didn’t seem to recognize her. At least, she sure hoped she didn’t. Either way, she took their orders with a bland, professional smile, and although it irked her to no end to accept it, she even let Rhen pick out whatever toy prize she wanted to go along with her meal.
“Thank you, dear,” crooned Dana, accepting her credit card back along with a receipt once the cashier had finished running it.
“Yeah, thanks…” mumbled Rhen, refusing to meet her eye as she shuffled awkwardly in place.
Hey, at least it’s free, she told herself with an internal shrug. I can live with a little embarrassment if it means not having to spend any money on something yummy.
The two of them ate outside at a picnic table underneath the sprawling limbs of a tall oak tree that provided enough relief from the lingering summer heat to be enjoyable as the sun finally started to dip down below the horizon for the day. Over their modest meal, a cobb salad for Dana and chicken nuggets for Rhen, they hammered out a few more of the details of their new living arrangement.
It was quickly decided, mostly by Dana (although Rhen had to admit that she did have a point), that it was silly for her to wait until the start of the next semester to move into her house. She pointed out that her guest room was far, far nicer than Rhen’s cramped little dorm room was.
And once she was settled in there, she’d have a lot more room to spread out and wouldn’t have to cram herself into a tiny corner whenever she wanted to study or use her computer.
It was hard to argue with that, agreed Rhen. Plus she was also getting pretty sick and tired of constantly having to wear headphones at night so she wouldn’t wake up her roommate. Having a room all to herself was going to be pretty sweet.
“Besides,” added Dana with a playful grin that she hid behind her napkin as she patted her lips. “The sooner you settle into your new home, the sooner you can start getting used to acting your age, little girl.”
Rhen felt an excited shiver run straight down her spine and in between her pressed-together thighs at those words, especially when her aunt winked at her and went on to remind her (and anybody else who might’ve been listening at the time) about their agreement that she was to assume the role of her thirteen-year-old niece, not her twenty-year-old niece when she moved in. And while the words definitely brought a hot flush of mortified heat to Rhen’s cheeks, there was no denying that the prospect did intrigue her, and she found herself nodding her head obediently.
“Yes ma’am, you’re totally right. So um… when can I move in?”
“Hmmm… Now let me see,” mused Dana languidly as she leaned on an elbow and surveyed her new niece with an open display of amusement. She was just so cute when she got all bashful and squirmy.
“My schedule is pretty much locked down until around six every Monday through Friday, but anytime other than that works for me. How about you?
What’s your class schedule look like right now?”
After a bit of back and forth coordinating their schedules, they both decided that it would be best if Rhen moved in that Friday evening after the daycare closed. The petite sophomore had told her that she needed some time to take care of a few things on campus and to talk to her RA before she left, which wasn’t exactly the truth but she found herself telling the fib anyway, and Dana had agreed that that would be fine.
“Friday it is, then,” she declared with a broad smile once the matter had been settled. “That’ll give us all weekend to get you properly put together as my new niece. And don’t you worry about a thing, hon. You just pack up your stuff, and we’ll get you settled in, no problem. I’ve already told all the boys and girls at the daycare that your granny was going to have you stay with me while you’re going to school, and they’re all so excited to have you around again. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”
Rhen wasn’t quite sure if she liked the way the words “put together” sounded in her ears, nor the eager gleam her aunt had in her eyes as she said them, but she quickly decided that it would probably be better if she didn’t ask her to elaborate. Somehow she had a sneaking suspicion that the answer wasn’t something she wanted the random strangers walking all around them overhearing away. Even so, she was excited to have an actual plan in place now.
“Hell yeah, I’m stoked!”
“Language, dear,” chided Dana with a smirk.
“Oops, sorry.”
Rhen felt as if she was on the cusp of a brand new adventure as Dana walked her back to her dorm and sent her jogging back inside with an affectionate pat on her rump.
And before she knew it, the rest of the week had flown by in a flash.
