Joey Says

'Should we put on our nighties for this course?' Beth said with a smile. I smiled back.

'You're looking in good shape Mat. I'd better record that before you go to seed.' She looked at me mischievously. She'd obviously loosened up after several glasses of wine.

'And you are looking lovely, little sister. So I shall need some pics of you too.'

'I miss our special times together. I loved the drawings you used to do for me when we were kids. I've still got some of them. Do you remember Joey?'

'Gosh have you? That's nice. I think. Yes of course I remember Joey.' Would I be embarrassed by them now? Particularly those of Joey.

She yawned, and stretched languorously.

'Joey says she'd like a glass of brandy now, and a cup of Lady Grey tea in bed tomorrow.' Beth licked her lips and smiled lasciviously.

'We cannot refuse Joey.' I said getting up to pour two glasses of brandy.

I had better explain about Joey.

Joey was an imaginary figure, a kind of shared alter ego. We created her as part of our fantasy games, as the figure who could propose outrageous adventures. She was allowed to locate us in a Hollywood movie, or in a darkest jungle, or in hyper space. She suggested that we creep out of bed when our parents were out, or asleep. We could go to the kitchen and raid the freezer for exotic ice creams, and then watch unsuitable programmes on television. Or even grown-up videos, when there were any left around by adults. She was wicked and fun.

I drew pictures of her. Sometimes her instructions arrived in speech bubbles in the drawings. I would draw Joey, and Beth would provide the words. 'There's syrup and ice-cream, and sexy videos waiting for you' would appear in the bubble. Things we would otherwise be too shy to articulate. We weren't too sure how Joey should dress. She looked like Beth except she had developed breasts. Otherwise she was androgynous, or trans-sexual. Probably driven by the onset of hormones I ended up drawing her naked, as a slim figure with breasts. But Beth insisted that she had to have everything so she had a penis too. Not that she ever did anything sexual. And nor did we. It was all oddly both wicked and innocent.