Bobbi-Doll
By Country Girl
"So as long as we're pretending to date each other, why don't we play a game of twenty questions or something to get to know one another better?" Lauren idly suggested. Bobby had to agree. They were running out of small talk after spending the entire day together. This ‘dating’ for revenge wasn’t for the faint of heart.
"Sure, ladies first," Bobby charmingly bowed.
"Thank you, kind sir. Hmm, what do I ask when I finally have you cornered?" Lauren thought a moment and then inspiration struck her. "How many siblings do you have?"
"Three. Four if you count the dog," Bobby grinned.
"Okay, so of the three siblings, where do you fit in?"
"Right above the dog," Bobby smirked.
Lauren punched his arm.
"Okay, I'm the youngest," Bobby properly answered.
"Oh, so you were the brat? That explains a lot," Lauren snickered. "So I've heard you mention your brother Brian during study groups because you use his notes. I've also heard you mention your sister Trixie with Larry and Terry when you all are supposed to be helping with the student council. Mart must be the missing link since you mentioned he would help us out with our little issue. Am I correct?"
"Have you been stalking me?" Bobby grinned at her dire expression. "Yes, you are exceedingly correct, but your sequence is a little off. Brian is the oldest, then Mart, followed closely by Trixie."
"So who were you the closest to?"
"My sister. She helped take care of me a lot when I was little. Plus, she put up with an awful lot of my shenanigans," Bobby ruefully chuckled.
"Like what? If you were closest to her, why would you want to do anything to her?"
"Well, she and my brothers were members of this club. They and their friends were constantly off doing things, like charity work and such, so I usually got left behind. I always got mad at her the most for not taking me with her. So, a lot of the time I would plot revenge in retaliation. Some days I look back and wonder why she didn't clean my clock for some of the bratty things I did to make her miserable."
"You're awful," Lauren shook her head.
"Sometimes, I was. I'm ashamed of it now, but Trixie just laughs over it. Well, except for one stunt I pulled. She still gets mad at me over that."
"What did you do, Bobby?" Lauren looked interested.
"Well, it all started at Christmas. See the Bob-Whites, that was their club's name, always held a Secret Santa exchange. What made it interesting was that Trixie and Jim had just started dating...."
~~~~~~~~
That year, the honorable boy scouts, Jim and Brian, had decided to break a Bob-White rule and switch names for Secret Santa. Jim had gotten Honey's and Brian had picked Trixie's. With recent romance in the air, Jim casually convinced Brian that it would be very difficult to shop for a sibling and hide the item in shared living quarters. Brian, albeit a bit too willing, agreed that it would be a very difficult challenge and happily switched Jim names. Too bad neither Boy Scout realized blabbermouth Bobby had overheard their exchange.
So, upon Christmas Day, as the Bob-Whites traded presents, Bobby burst into the Belden’s living room.
“Santa should have put two lumps o’ coal in your stockin’s,” Bobby, at ten, vehemently declared pointing at Brian and Jim.
Brian chuckled and ruffled the little imp’s hair, unaware of what was about to occur. “Sure, small fry, if you say so.”
“I know so!” Bobby stomped his foot. “Santa didn’t check his list twice like he’s supposed to.”
“What makes you say that, Bobby?” Jim innocently asked.
“’Cause, the rule of see-crud Santa is to keep the name you draw. Not switch it like you and Brian did.”
Jim’s face turned a very festive shade of red, while Brian stared at his brother openmouthed. Mart, noticing their incredulous looks, realized what was going on and hooted from his spot on the couch.
“I better tell Dad that Jim isn’t so honorable after all,” Mart elbowed Dan.
Dan picked up the ribbing, “Yeah, and I’ll go tell Mr. Wheeler exactly how honorable boring Brian really is.”
Bobby, realizing the peril he was in, fled from the room in search of Mrs. Belden for protection.
“Well, that got rid of him at least. Congrats, master Boy Scouts, on joining the rest of us in disobeying the rules. Would you like the lecture now or would you rather wait for Dad?” Mart chortled.
“Shut up,” Brian growled and lunged for Mart. Mart scampered off the couch, much like Bobby, but not quick enough to escape. So the Belden brothers tussled for a bit while Honey, Di, and Trixie quickly left the room giggling to discuss this revelation. Jim wearily glanced at his girlfriend leaving the room. Trixie threw him a smile and a wink before she and the girls scurried away to the sanctuary of Trixie's room for a quick discussion. Jim bit back a sigh, leave it to Trixie to sneak off when he was about to get up the nerve to give her the Christmas gift he bought her.
Dan joined Jim and nodded to the brawl in front of them. "Think they do this often?" Dan dryly asked.
Jim just rolled his eyes and shook his head before sidestepping the brawl to head to the kitchen for some food and drinks.
~~~~~~~~
After spending most of the day with the Bob-Whites, Jim finally found some alone time with Trixie. Everyone was heading to the lake to go ice skating, but Trixie still had to dig her skates out of the closet.
"Hey, Trix, wait a sec," Jim touched her arm before she could bolt up the stairs.
"Why? We're going to be late." Trixie was mystified.
"Well, Bobby kind of ruined my surprise earlier. Brian and I did swap the names we drew."
"Why would you do that?"
"Maybe I wanted to get you something," Jim looked at his shoes and Trixie noticed the tips of his ears were turning red.
"But we agreed that since we hadn't been dating long we weren't going to make the other buy something."
"I know, but I still wanted to get you something. I figured if I got your name in Secret Santa it wouldn't hurt anything. Kind of a dumb idea, I know."
"Oh, Jim, I think it's sweet," Trixie stepped up to kiss his cheek.
"You don't even know what I've gotten you yet," Jim argued.
"I think the thought's sweet, silly."
Jim dug around in his pocket to produce a small jewelry case. "Merry Christmas, Trix," he whispered huskily.
Trixie gave him a radiant smile before proceeding to open the case. In it was a beautiful silver charm bracelet. There were already a few charms on it. One of which was a heart strategically placed near the clasp.
Upon closer examination, Trixie discovered it was engraved. She giggled, the engraving read Trixie Belden on one side and Jim Frayne on the other.
"You just have to keep branding me like some piece of cattle, Frayne," she told him with a saucy toss of her curls.
Jim relaxed with her taunt, "It's a bit nicer than the last one I got you. Just wanted to make sure you knew who you belonged to," he winked.
"Oh, trust me, Jim, I do," Trixie pulled his neck toward her for a quick kiss. The tender moment was shattered with the arrival of a certain little 'horrorcane.'
"HEY! I got my skates. Quit smoochin' and let's go!" Bobby hollered.
Trixie shot him an annoyed glare. "Those are my skates for starters, small fry. And you aren't going."
"I am, too!" Bobby argued, forming a pout.
"No, you aren't," Trixie said with authority.
Bobby turned his teary eyes to Jim for help. Seeing no support, he settled for throwing a tantrum.
"I'm tellin' Moms," Bobby whined.
"Go ahead, Robert, she's going to agree with me. You've been sick anyway, so you have to stay inside," Trixie fixed Bobby with a stern gaze while she ran upstairs to grab her sweatshirt and put Jim's bracelet safely in her jewelry box.
Bobby, knowing he was beat, wasn't giving up easily. "You’re gonna regret it if you don't take me with you!"
"C'mon, Jim, let's go while the going's good," Trixie came back in time to hear Bobby's dire threat. She rolled her eyes at her little brother's antics. Jim just shrugged and followed Trixie, used to Bobby's behavior by now. Neither noticed the gleam of revenge in Bobby's eyes as they left.
~~~~~~~~
"So then what happened?" Lauren interrupted.
"Well, I rummaged around her room looking for something to use to get back at her and secretly hoped her overflowing closet didn't tumble out and eat me," Bobby shook his head, but continued his story. "I knew she'd just gotten that bracelet when I spotted it in her jewelry box. She'd placed it there for fear that it would get broke while they were out skating. Knowing how much it meant to her, I thought I would fix her good for leaving me behind this time. And I did, but I made her cry in the process," Bobby sighed.
"What did you do?" Lauren incredulously inquired.
"I took that bracelet and put it in my room, my toy box to be specific. She flipped out when she came home and couldn't find it. Moms noticed I looked guilty and quietly cornered me while Dad and my brothers helped Trixie search the house. When I took Moms to my toy box to retrieve it, it was gone. I didn't know what had happened to it. It wasn't until days later we found out. Our dog, Reddy, had found it and mistakenly ate it. Nobody wanted it after that bracelet made the full circuit of the dog's system. Trixie cried for days. When I approached her to apologize, she yelled at me and swore revenge with a rage I'd never known in her eyes. It was then that I knew I was in for it. I felt bad about it anyway, but Trixie wanted to make sure I paid."
"What'd she do?"
"Well, Trixie knew I had gym class. At the time, my teacher made us all change clothes for class. One day, Trixie decided to do my laundry with hers."
"Okay, big deal, she did your laundry for revenge? You Beldens really don't know what revenge is, do you?" Lauren asked skeptically.
"You aren't getting the point. She did my tighty-whities with her colored clothes. Meaning, I had a full drawer of girlie pink underwear. Trixie waited until Moms went out of town to visit our aunt Alicia to do this so I'd be stuck until Moms returned. Dad was working long bank hours and didn't get home until after I went to bed so he had no clue. I had to change clothes for a full week wearing bright pink skivvies. Larry and Terry still tease me about that to this day. After that, I left Trixie's things alone. It still burns when I recall my hot pink underroos I was forced to wear and the teasing I received at school."
By this time, Lauren was laughing so hard she nearly fell off of the bench they were sitting on. “Well, I suppose that answers the classic question - boxers or briefs?” Lauren could barely breathe.
Bobby opened his mouth to shoot her a smart retort when he took in her blushing cheeks and easy smile. An answering smile formed on his face. Maybe it wasn’t so bad ‘pretending’ to date Lauren after all. Horrified with that thought, he decided to turn the tables. He lightly pushed her off of the bench and into a pile of leaves.
“Hey! What’d you do that for?” Lauren sputtered from the ground.
“Just trying to find out an answer to my own question.”
“And that would be?” Lauren asked, looking at him like he’d lost his mind. Given what he’d been thinking a few seconds ago, maybe he had.
“Boxers or briefs?” He wickedly grinned and ducked as she threw a clump of dried leaves at him.