Hot Dog Day

En plein air

Yard time

"Bullshit."

"Bulltrue."

"Er... excuse me, excuse me ladies... language, please."

They exchanged a glance.

"OK Suzanne. We're gonna watch our mouths."

"Thanks, uhm. Bye," wringing her hands, she proceeded on her way to the guards, Lolly in tow.

The older women watched them go.

"I never got the story behind that one, y'know."

"Oh, well, I never knew myself."

A level look. "Fine. But it's a rather long one."

"I have a life time." Taslitz's eyes turned to the figures on the bench not too far from them, to the side of the kickball field. "You got anything better to do?"

Frieda followed her gaze, and sighed heavily. "Right," she slapped her hands on her thighs. "It started with ol' Carol Denning's 'Classifieds' joke..."

Meanwhile, Suzanne and Dixon were already engaged in a passionate discussion, Lolly nodding in support of her friend's words and the wrinkle between McCullough's brows becoming deeper by the second.

"I thought of another pro, Mr. Dixon," Suzanne was saying. "So..."

"Yes, Suzanne, enough pros really," he patted her shoulder.

"OK," she looked expectantly.

He frowned, feeling like a piece of shit. "It's not that I'm not convinced..." he threw a tentative glance at his colleague. "It's just, there are rules..." she pursed her lips. "...and rules are important, uhm..." he scratched his head. "Right?"

The question floated in the air for a few.

Suzanne darkened a bit, and something that sounded like "Rules are overrated" seemed to come from her corner.

"Oh, for f..." McCullough burst out. As if she wasn't exhausted enough, now she had to deal with this too. "Fine. We all know Hellman is not here anyway."

"Yes!" Lolly pumped her fist, and Dixon appeared relieved.

"Thanks Miss McCullough, Miss," Suzanne happily grinned at her, teeth and all.

"Mh. Just go," the CO told them, and they started moving before she could change her mind. "But be quick and don't get busted by Alvarez or something, OK?"

"Sure, yeah," he smiled boyisly. "Thank you Art!"

"Don't call me..."

"Thank you again," Suzanne said.

"Mh." Her frown would become a permanent part of her one of these days, she'd bet on it.

"We'll make yours extra special Miss Mac," Lolly assured, walking backwards.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, turning to check on her charges. Because that wasn't worrying at all.

_________________________________

"Suzanne should be back by now," Lorna wondered aloud, a distant look in her eyes.

"Who's that? The crazy one?"

"Mh?" she turned, as if surprised at hearing her companion's voice. Maybe she had simply forgotten she was there, for a moment.

"Suzanne," repeated Red, continuing to rub her back.