Sapphic Voices General Fiction

Pun

When I was a little girl I spent most of my summers with my "Big Mama".
She was not my natural grandmother, but she was my grandmother in every other possible way. I know she adored me and I loved her dearly. Big Mama was a large good looking woman. Her smile was as bright as her spirit. Her skin was a dark cocoa brown and her eyes could see right through you. Those eyes looked at me quite often as if she could tell me exactly who I was going to be.

Big Mama had a friend who visited almost religiously twice a week. She called her friend "Pun", but her name was Mae. Mae was a very beautiful woman as well. She was a tiny little thing, with skin much lighter than the the rest of us. Her hair was dark brown, long and wavy. I still remember how much my friends and I envied that hair and skin. The gossip said that that Mae's father was a white man and that was why her skin and hair were so different from ours. I didn't care about that I
just loved to touch her hair. Occasionally she would let me brush it, that was always so nice.

I always looked forward to Pun's visits because Big Mama would pack a picnic lunch for me and my friends and send us out to the meadow beyond her backyard. Pun's visits were always lengthy. The other kids and I enjoyed the time to play without supervision. Needless to say we got into all kinds of mischief during that time.

My Big Mama spoke with a heavy accent, my mother explained that she was not originally from America. She was from someplace called the Caribbean Islands. That did not mean anything to me then. Big Mama and Pun were very dear friends. I often wondered if I would ever encounter such a friendship as theirs. "My Pun" she would call her and always with such love. Often-times she would speak in her native language to Pun. I never understood any of it, except that she used the word "punani" quite frequently. It wasn't until recently about five years ago as a matter of fact that I learned "Pun" is short for "punani" which is an old African-Caribbean word for "sweet pussy". Imagine my surprise.

If you have enjoyed E. Fowler's "Pun", then please be certain to e-mail her at  LiberatingEve[at]yahoo.com  and thank her for posting this Story.

Click here for a list of all of E. Fowler's Stories and Poetry at  Sapphic Voices Authoresses.