Chapter Two

Sweet tea was a staple of the South. A unifying force. Northerners just didn't get it, complained about how much sugar was in the drink. But that was the way it was supposed to be. The South wasn't perfect, there was intolerance and bigotry, hatred and racism. Everything was mighty fine if you were a part of the majority, a part of the patriarchy, but being a queer woman left her decidedly outside that realm of "normal". The South wasn't perfect, but sweet tea and Southern hospitality were.

Sabrina knew she should have packed up and gone North, away from the place that raised her, the place that scorned her, but she just couldn't manage. New York, Chicago, Seattle, some place where the f-word wasn't casually thrown around to refer to her and other queers. Maybe someday.

But for now, there was comfort in sweet tea.

"This is Sabrina," Kinsley said from her spot on one side of the ramshackle card table that sat in the breakfast nook off to one side of the kitchen. The appliances in the kitchen were ancient, the tiles on the floor spiderwebbed with age. It was a stark contrast from the modernity of the tech den upstairs. This matched the outside of the old house, but nobody paid it any mind. "She's going to be staying in Emmie's room for a while. She's one of us, I think, and it's been a while since she had someone to care for her."

"Welcome, sweetie." Faith offered a warm smile and a refill before sitting down to Sabrina's right. Lila was on her left, with Kinsley directly across, and Sabrina felt surrounded and enveloped by their kindness. They were an odd bunch, all home on a Thursday afternoon and Lila in pajamas. Their styles couldn't be more different, but the connection between the three of them was palpable. "I'll get your room tidied up after I sit a spell and I'll show you around."

It was hard to tell who was the "leader", honestly. It seemed like it would be Kinsley, but Faith seemed like the most together. There was a childlike quality about Lila that Sabrina just couldn't put her finger on. She was younger, for sure, but definitely in her twenties. She just had a youthful energy about her, a carefree attitude.

"Thanks... " Sabrina ran a hand over her shaven head before continuing, a common nervous gesture for her. "Um, are there any rules I should know about? Don't let the cat out, that kind of thing?"

"Don't let Mamoru out, Bree! She'll run away!" Lila stopped mid-drink, lowering the glass from her mouth with both hands, which wasn't helping her appearance of immaturity.

"I won't! I was just asking for examples. And I prefer Sabrina, please. I've never liked shortened versions of my name." Lila wilted visibly, a dying flower. Guilt bloomed, however - in the pit of Sabrina's stomach. "No offense."

"Let's go back to your game, honey," Faith offered, standing and taking Lila's hand. Electronic sounds of video game music soon followed.

"Well, rule number one is that Lila is a sensitive soul, I suppose. She's a sweetie who has had a hard time of it. Please be kind to her." Sabrina could feel the guilt in her gut twist to anxiety and opened her mouth to defend herself, to say that she didn't mean it. "I know you didn't mean to, you didn't do anything wrong. She can't have everything she wants, we just have to be delicate with her. Don't worry. And yes, please don't let the cat out.

"Since you're not paying rent, we do ask that you do some chores around the house. Do you have a car?"

"No." Sabrina hung her head. The car had been totaled the day after the plant let her go... the other driver didn't have insurance, and hers wasn't going to cover anything. It had made finding another job substantially harder. It was the sort of thing she normally would have turned to friends or family for... but those were gone. Facing the reality of it brought with it another surge of sadness. "Not anymore."

"That's okay, hun." Kinsley reached a butterfly-adorned hand across the table and patted Sabrina's reassuringly. "We'll drive you to interviews or wherever you need to go. What you don't contribute in money, you'll contribute in helping the house, right?"

"Of course! I'm not looking for something for nothing, I just... "

"You just need a little help, that's all. Everyone needs help sometimes, and we're no strangers to giving it. You're not the first person to come knocking for a hand up, and you won't be the last." Kinsley's laugh was a hearty chuckle, full of mirth and caring. Sabrina couldn't help but smile.

"So what chores do you need me to do?"

"Well, do you like cooking?"

"I like it but I'm terrible at it. I can try, though."

"That's okay, how about we start you with the dishes? The rules here are simple: be kind, take care of your fellow dolls, and put in at least as much as you take out. Money, chores, emotional support - we need each other to survive. The South ain't exactly kind to queer women, you know."

Sabrina laughed nervously. "I'm all too aware. So... are any of you an item?"

"We're very free with our affection, but no. Lila and I dated once, long ago, but that was practically a different lifetime. Faith is seeing someone, I'm sure you'll meet her when she comes around. Angie's sweet, you'll like her." Kinsley stood, pushing her chair back and stretching. "We'll take care of you if you take care of us. No hard drugs. No drinking unless we're all drinking together. Don't bring strangers into the house. Try not to make Lila cry. If you're not sure about something, ask. But always, always be kind."

Sabrina stood as well, looking up at her host, and rubbing her shaven head once again. "Thanks. You've no reason to trust me, you don't know me. I appreciate this."

"Oh, I'll be checking up on you, Sabrina Warren. I'll be asking around, find out where you got our information. I'm trusting you, but I'm verifying. If you're telling me lies, you're out. Got it? And if you're here to steal something... just know that we've helped a lot of people over the years. There are lots of folks out there who would love to pay back a favor, huh? I'd much, much rather add you to the list of people we've helped rather than the people who have hurt us."

"I don't steal." Sabrina stood tall and proud as she said it, but still had to look up to Kinsley. "No worries there." She took a glance at the kitchen counters, the dishes waiting in the sink. "How about I do the dishes until Faith wants to show me the room?"

"Sounds great, sugar," Kinsley smiled, laying a friendly hand on Sabrina's shoulder. "I'm going to go check my charts. You be a good girl, okay?"

Sabrina only blinked as the taller woman walked away, before turning to the sink to show that she didn't mind earning her keep. It had been a hard road, a hard month, and she was grateful for their kindness.

▲ ▲ ▲

Emmie's room was lavender on two walls and peach on the other two. Sabrina wondered if Kinsley had something to do with the motif. The blankets on the bed were a dark red, however - something a little more mature. A long, short dresser with a mirror lined one wall, and a bookshelf sat next to the closet door, covered in stuffed animals. Apparently Emmie had been a collector of some kind. Bunnies, squirrels, and other happy woodland creatures smiled out at her, a stark contrast to the bare, curtainless window it stood next to and the dead tree branch swinging slightly in the wind. The window was a squat rectangle near the ceiling, a very odd thing but it let a lot of light in the room. An old, wooden trunk with a heavy lid waited at the foot of the bed, and the dark stain of the wood offset some of the soft pastels of the walls.

It wasn't as large as the bedroom in her old apartment, but it was a room. It was cool and dry, and it was a safe place to sleep. The only thing that really struck her as odd - not the stuffed animals, not the big white dragonflies dancing on the walls - was the fact that the doorknob to the room had a keyhole beneath it, the kind you could peek through. All of the doors in the house seemed to have that, that and the odd push-button light switches. Two small, round buttons - a white one on top and a black one on the bottom. Pushing the black one turned off the lights, pushing the white one turned them on. It was novel, in a way. A relic of a time gone by. The house had to be a hundred years old, and the creaking floorboards did nothing to dispel that notion.

An old, maroon towel waited for her, folded on the bed. Kinsley had taken her gym bag, since it was full of dirty clothes anyway. After a quick look around, she grabbed the towel and headed for the bathroom... which also had a keyhole under the doorknob. With a shrug she closed the door and stripped, wondering if she should bother shaving her legs and pits. It felt wrong to borrow someone else's grooming supplies, though, and if anyone would accept her unshaven self, it would be these three. She wasn't a fan of stereotypical femininity anyway - there was nothing wrong with it, she had just been doing that particular rebellion so long it was second nature, part of her identity. The hot water cascading over her felt amazing, and the freedom to enjoy it was as refreshing as the water itself. In this moment, she felt her heart lighten, simply enjoying the visceral pleasure of caring for her basic needs.

When the shower was done, when the water was off and the last bit slid down the drain, her heart slid with it. The reality of her situation settled back into its place, no longer held at bay by the unwanted buffer of stress that came with the quest of finding a safe place to sleep. With that pressure gone, the crushing reality of how far she had fallen was unrelenting and she slowly sank to her knees in the empty tub. The tears followed shortly after and she sat, huddled with her arms around her knees, and sobbed.

The world was cruel, it was a lesson she had learned early, but the depth of sadness that enveloped her felt insurmountable. She cried until the tears wouldn't come any more, until she was exhausted and empty. Bundling herself up in the towel, she opened the door slowly and walked the four feet to the door to Emmie's room, and slipped inside.

Waiting for her was a pair of striped pajamas, white and mint green. With a weak smile, she draped the towel over the corner of the bare dresser and slipped into the soft, warm garment. The bed called to her, and she didn't resist. Sabrina collapsed on it, grabbing for a stuffed animal without thinking, hugging it. She felt like she was bleeding, like all the warmth in her body was seeping out of her from a slice across the belly. It felt like her emotional pain was just pouring out of her, pooling on the bed beside her. Her eyes closed, her breathing ragged, she rested.

She was barely aware of the door opening a while later, of her light being turned off, and a soft, warm body joining her in the bed.

Lila's voice was a caring whisper in her ear. "You seemed like you needed a cuddle."

Gentle arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Soft breasts in her back, kind arms around her body. Steady, calm breathing against her own. A tender stroke along her cheek, across her eyebrow.

In Lila's arms, she drifted off to sleep.