A/N: It’s all about the sisterly love, Jad, sisterly….

Chapter 390: Debbie XIII—Pulling Rank

“So where is your man, what’s he up to while you’re getting the star treatment?” Katrina asked and Debbie groaned as her tight hamstrings were assaulted by the therapist’s fingers. “And didn’t I tell you to drink a full glass of water before I came over?”

“I did!” Debbie replied in shock and hurt. Really she hadn’t had a glass of water, not even close to a glass but how the hell would Katrina know that unless she’d paid the twins to inform her of this. “I drank a whole glass…. OW!” Katrina dug even deeper into her poor abused hamstring and it felt as if the skin were crackling and flaying off her meat. Debbie adjusted her weight to her elbows and craned her head to glare at Katrina. “Can’t you use a little more oil?”

Katrina didn’t look at her, but rubbed a little lighter. “I’m using tons of oil, your skin is soaking it up as soon as I touch you and it’s sticking to your muscles when I rub, I can feel it clinging. You, my dear, burned a lot of calories and fluids yesterday night and you obviously have not had anything close to a glass of water this morning, hence,” she dug in again and Debbie yelped, “the pain.”

“Eh,” Debbie sighed, “Look if I had the whole glass I would be peeing all morning, come on; you’re the one who’s supposed to fix me up anyway right? Make me feel like a million bucks!”

“That’s your husband’s job,” Katrina replied, really the woman didn’t seem to have any sort of humor in her except dry or dark. Debbie sometimes thought of Katrina as that saucy, dry humored comedienne wallflower trapped in a pretty girl’s body. “He goes out on that ice to earn the big bucks which you,” and she let go of Debbie’s leg and Debbie stopped herself from a sigh of relief, “do not need to be doing, what the hell were you thinking last night princess?”

“I beg your pardon!” Debbie exclaimed flipping over and sitting up, holding the sheet against her breast. “The fans loved it, we had fun, and, and it was for charity! Two charities, the hospital and school sports programs are gonna thank us for it. It was a special day, why, Jonathan even got a shut out, the kid’ll have memories to last a lifetime.”

Katrina’s eyebrows lifted a little. “Yeah and poor Brandi, her collar bone is broken did you know that?”

“Yipes!” Debbie exclaimed, remembering that she hadn’t seen Brandi or Robbie last night at the dinner. “I didn’t know that, when did you hear?” Now she did feel like crud, leave it to Katrina to find the sensitive nerve and drive a nail in it. Poor Brandi!

“Last night,” Katrina replied, “Pat called me over to the medical center. Clean break, poor thing, the hardest thing for her to go through on a daily basis is a broken nail much less a broken collar bone. I doubt she was even conscious for childbirth, now really, I don’t see why she would have been so eager to play in that stupid game to begin with much less play goal in it. What the hell was she thinking?”

Debbie shrugged, she knew exactly how Brandi’s participation in it came about but to say it out loud… well it sounded worse than it really was. “You know, she wanted to do her part in the game. Brandi likes charity work and gimmicks, she loves attention. It wasn’t that hard to convince her.” Aw hell now she felt guilty, really, really guilty. She would have to call the group up after the massage and figure out how to cheer Brandi up and apologize to her. Yeah, they could make it all better in a little bit, and then the guilt could go away. At least, if Mike Modano came through, he had the Louis Vitton bag covered.

“I’m sure she does,” Katrina said in a voice that said she knew better, much better. “Come on tell me, what you girls said to convince her. Cause I know for a fact that she wouldn’t agree to getting herself all sweaty stinky and in the face of harm unless something pushed her that way.”

“Nothing!” Debbie squeaked and her cheeks reddened. She turned around so she wouldn’t have to look at Katrina anymore and she nestled back on the massage table. “Can you work on my shoulders now cause my right one is really killing me, from the shooting and pass….”

“Nah uh,” Katrina said and Debbie wanted to sit up and scream like a little girl in anger. “I ain’t working on anything else on your cute little body until you tell me exactly what you told Brandi to get her to play in that game. Cause as far as I’m concerned honey, you girls as good as snapped that collar bone of hers with your bare hands.”

Gah she had to say “snap” so repeatedly! If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Katrina had a man’s mean streak for goading women to irritation and laughing at them about it. “Are you just trying to tease me?” Debbie asked.

“Nope,” Katrina replied, “Now cough it up, babe.”

Debbie sighed. “Okay but kinda have a sense of humor about it okay?”

“Oh this is gonna be good,” Katrina replied but with no humor, as if she’d never known a light hearted day in her life. Debbie made a mental note to ask Michele sometime if she knew anything at all about Katrina’s background, it couldn’t be as dull as her attitude could it?

“Yeah see,” Debbie began but she stopped and she twisted her mouth. Really she couldn’t think of anyway to make the situation humorous. And now, considering that they did so well with the boys and without Jennifer, dragging Brandi into this whole ordeal seemed cruel and pointless. “Well at the time it seemed like a fun idea. Ah Katrina you have to see it from our perspective.” Why the hell am I apologizing to my massage therapist for Gods sake! She’s on the team payroll it’s not like she’s even dating anyone from the team.

“How so?” Katrina asked but not in a competitive way.

Debbie rolled to her side, balancing her head on her shoulder. “Well, being with the wives and girlfriends, well it’s almost like a club, kinda like how the guys are? You know? They’re like a boys club, so we’re like a girls club, we’re a team, yeah, we’re a team of “Better Halves” we stick together and everything.”

One ebony eyebrow arched, “Oh how touching.”

Debbie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Okie, okie, I won’t patronize you. But you know how a group of girls can get, I mean Brandi’s main objection was being sweaty and we told her how fun it’d be and everything, and that she could always wash off the sweat and it would be worth it in the end. You know? It didn’t take much; we just dared her a little.” Debbie nodded. “A dare!”

“A dare?”

Debbie nodded. “Yeah, it’s just silly, we dared her.”

Katrina smiled, finally a soft sort of smile. “Why did you need to dare her?” she asked.

Debbie almost sighed with relief. “Well not everyone in the group was really sold on it you know? I mean some of us were really excited about it, but other ladies didn’t really want to but would if everyone else was so we all agreed that no one would play unless everyone played, so we’d all feel like we’re in this together, I mean if Brandi were the only one not playing, some of us, well there would have been some ladies who would have called her a shirker, you know, like she was bailing out on everyone.”

“You told her she was bailing out on everyone if she didn’t play?” Katrina asked and there was an incredulous, almost horrified look on her face. “What is this junior high or something?”

“We did it for her own good,” Debbie exclaimed feeling panicked and guilty as if she’d committed a huge crime, but didn’t know exactly what.” You don’t understand we spared her from a cold shoulder from some of the group we spared the group from division and war! It was serious stuff!”

Katrina lifted her lip on one corner. “Seriously, you peer pressured her into playing?”

Debbie sighed. Well the battle was lost so far. “Yeah I guess so.”

“Oh you sick bitch,” Katrina replied and she shook her head as if dealing with a child she were sick of, which to Debbie seemed ridiculous because how old could Katrina be, twenty or twenty one? Who was the child here!

Nevertheless, Katrina shaking her head and muttering grabbed her purse and stood up. “I’m outta here. I need to run some errands.”

“But… but my massage!” Debbie exclaimed and she hopped off the bed, clutching the sheet around her body. “You’re not done.”

“Oh I’m done,” Katrina replied.

“What?” Debbie squeaked and she began chasing after Katrina. “No you’re not! What you’re just pissed because of some silly little….”

“How could you do that to her?” Katrina snapped, wheeling around to face her. “Really women are just sick bitches and here I was thinking you were actually decent. Pressuring poor Brandi to play in something that gets her body busted! She’s the only woman around here with some sense not to pretend she’s something she’s not and you guys bust her up. Oh yeah, real mature, I’ll be back later.”

“Later?” Debbie said with what she knew was a tear filled pout.

“Yeah, I’ll pick up my table and oils, maybe I’ll finish your massage.”

Debbie’s shoulders screamed in agony. “Nooo you need to finish it now!”

Katrina turned and looked at her at the front door, and she half grinned. “Well I don’t feel like it.”

“Hey my husband’s the Captain of this team!” Debbie snarled, pulling rank for the first time she could think of. “You could be outta the job if I just call him up and…”

Katrina laughed. “Yeah just try it Sweetcakes that would be really interesting.”

Debbie watched in shock as Katrina, sliding into her coat left the house and really was leaving. “But I’m hurting, what do I do?” She cried.

“Parker’s talented,” Katrina called back this time with laughter and amusement in her voice. “Why don’t you call him?”

“Parker?” Debbie asked, the cold air biting her bare skin.

“Yeah, Scott.”

“WHAT?”

Katrina laughed. “I ain’t joking honey, call him up, I taught him a few things, you’ll like him, you’ll thank me. See ya!”

Debbie shook her head, “What a weirdo.” But her cheeks burned and she closed the door blinking back tears. At least she saw no sign of Cecile or the children, they were probably absorbed in some oh so fun nanny playtime game. The fact of the matter stood, however. Debbie was embarrassed and rejected. Stupid Katrina. She sat back on the massage table and crossed her arms, she saw her phone…

Parker?

Really?

She grimaced and grabbed her phone, and went into her purse. The entire team and their wives were in her address book and she squinted at the P’s, looking at a name she never thought she’d have reason to call. She sighed, well hell…

“Yeah?” Parker’s voice answered, and Debbie closed her eyes, her cheeks blistering with fear and nervousness.

“Hey… Scott?”

“Yeah?” his voice deeper now and more commanding.

“What are you doing?” Debbie asked as forcefully as she could. She couldn’t show him fear.

“Eh,” he said. “Nothing much, just sitting here on the couch in my underwear, having a beer, watching m’cats fight.”

And Debbie could hear the ungodly squalling that could come from a pair of fighting cats. “Cats fight?”

“Yeah I only threw em one drumstick, now they have to fight for it, heh…”

Debbie rolled her eyes and felt no more fear. “Scott get your ass over here okay?”

“Um… does Joe need me?”

“No I do,” Debbie said.

Long silence from Parker, even more screeching from the cats. “Uh… heh… yeah you’re a married woman.”

“Yeah I’m the Captain’s wife!” Debbie exclaimed, God pulling rank had to work somewhere.

“Exactly why I shouldn’t be coming over,” Scott replied calmly.

“MEOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRL! MAAAAAAAAAAAAOW!”

Debbie sighed. “I’m already naked and it will involve scented oils.”

“I’m on my way!”