Update 33
Discovering Mum Ch. 19
We piled into the car and drove home to Granny's house. It was quiet in the house, and we didn't want to wake anyone up, so we sat on the back verandah. The afternoon had become quite warm, so I got us all cold drinks and brought them out.
We sat in comfortable silence for a while, just listening to the sounds of the neighbourhood. After a while, Susie turned to Mum and put one hand on hers.
"What are you going to do, Beth?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... Well, when the inevitable happens. When your Mum passes away."
There was a long silence as she thought about it before she let out a long sigh.
"I don't know for sure. I had planned on staying here. Getting a job somewhere and starting again. At least I will have a home, one that has always felt like a home too."
Susie nodded.
"You're not thinking about selling and going somewhere else?"
"I guess it's a possibility eventually, but no. I love it here. It's the home I grew up in, and I like the area. I have so many good memories here. I don't have a desire to leave. Even if I can afford to travel at some point in the future, I think I would still keep this place."
They each seemed to think about it some more, then Mum turned to Susie.
"So what about you? Everything has changed for you too. What are you going to do now?"
"I guess I need to go and spend some time with my mom. Try and rebuild that
burnt bridge."
Mum nodded solemnly.
"I know it's not the same as my situation, but I really do think that it's something you should at least try to do. If it doesn't work out, then you will always know that you tried. You were the one to make the effort, and you did all you could to remedy the situation. It's up to her to make the effort to reciprocate. You never know; she might be a lot more willing without the constant negative influence of your dad around."
"I know it's not nice to say this, but that doesn't make it any less true. I'm glad that asshole is dead. I hate him for everything he did, and I will never forgive him. It's not the affairs that bother me. Sex is just human nature, and we are all beholden to it in one way or another. It's the blatant hypocrisy and the abuse of Mum and me that I hate him for. The way he held us down and threatened us if we showed the slightest hint of independence. The way he denied us love, the love of a sane family, the chance for Mum and I to develop a normal mother/daughter relationship. Shit, he even tried to deny us the ability to love ourselves. Constantly telling us that any form of self-love was evil, but especially the physical kind. He was constantly harping on about the evils of masturbation. Funny considering he was such an epic wanker."
"I hope your Mum comes around and at least tries to make some kind of a relationship with you."
"I think she wants to. She seemed to want to say some things when I was dropping the bus off, but to be honest, at that point, I wasn't very receptive. I just wanted, no, I needed to get here, and I wasn't in the mood to talk. I will try, but I'm not holding out too much hope."
"All you can do is try. Just remember, she has had a lifetime of conditioning, and it is going to take a bit to get through that."
"If she's still going to that church, then I don't see her getting past that, to be honest. We'll see, I guess. As you said, all I can do is try."
Again, there was a long pause as we all thought about our own situations. It was such a nice evening that it was easy to just sit there and enjoy the relative quiet and the cool drinks.
My thoughts turned to dinner when my stomach began to rumble. I thought about what food we had in the fridge and came to the conclusion that the only thing I could make that was even remotely better than a peanut butter sandwich with the ingredients we had was a basic omelette. Even though we had gone shopping just this morning, most of the protein we had got was now in the freezer. I asked if they were hungry, and that seemed to awaken them to the fact that it was getting later.
"Do you feel like anything in particular?"
I knew this was Mum's way of suggesting that we go out somewhere because she didn't feel like cooking.
"Not particularly. I can make us an omelette like we discussed this morning if you want, but we don't have all that much in the fridge at the moment."
"I should have gotten something out of the freezer this morning."
"I could defrost something in the microwave."
"Yuck. I hate nuked meat."
Susie chuckled and nudged her with her elbow.
"You always did prefer your meat fresh."
"You were as partial to fresh meat as anyone I ever knew."
They both giggled like schoolgirls, and it made me smile. Susie looked at the time on her phone.
"What are the chances of getting a seat at a restaurant?"
"It's the holiday season."
"Shit. I keep forgetting what it's like here during the holidays. Absolute madness."
"Ahh, it'll all settle down after this weekend when they all bugger off back home."
"Yeah, man, I would hate to be driving my bus out of here that weekend."
"It's madness. It was bad enough driving in here last weekend."
"Your timing wasn't great for that."
"No, but I didn't really have a choice."
"True. What are delivery services like here?"
"Pretty good usually, but it will be a wait any night this week."
I looked at them both and laughed.
"Omelettes it is then. I hope you can cope with the excitement."
After I had cooked and we were all around the table again, something began playing on my mind while we were eating. I wasn't sure if anyone had given it any thought yet.
"Susie?"
"Hmm?"
"Did you want me to grab your case out of the car?"
"Oh, it's alright; I can get it. I probably should do that before it gets too dark."
She got up and headed back in through the house. I turned to Mum, who was looking at me like she had just figured out the problem herself. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Basic logistics told me what the answer was.
"I'll sleep on the couch; it's okay."
"I'm sorry, Jeff. I don't want you to. I want you with me."
"I know, but there just isn't enough room for the three of us, and that would
raise some questions."
She gave a small, kind of sad, nod and smiled.
"I'm sorry, Jeff."
"It's okay. It's not forever... I hope."
She laughed and got up out of her chair. She walked around the table to my chair and bent down. She kissed me deeply and passionately. Her hand slipped down my chest, then circled my hardening cock. She gripped me firmly and growled into my mouth.
"Just how long do you think I can live without this lovely cock inside me?"
"Not too long, I hope."
"I know having Susie here has thrown up some questions for you, Jeff. It has for me too, but I want you to know I don't want anything that is going to change things too much between us. I love this thing we have found, and as unorthodox as it is, I don't want it to be a quick flash in the pan. I know there will be changes later that we will have to face, though, and we will when it's necessary, but it's not necessary yet. Not by a long shot."
"I want more of this too. I'm not ready for it to be over yet. I'm not sure if I ever will be."
"Mmm, if I didn't think that Chilton could walk out at any moment, I would ride your cock right here right now. You make me so wet."
I grinned at the idea of doing just that.
"I wish you would, but I understand."
She chuckled that deep, throaty laugh that she seemed to reserve for especially naughty thoughts.
"You and I are so much alike it's not funny."
We heard the handle turn for the back door, and Mum straightened up, releasing my cock. It was exciting to think of how close we were to being caught if it had been Chilton, but it was Susie. She looked at us as though she suspected we were up to something but wasn't entirely sure, and it made her smile.
"Where do you want me to put my case?"
"Pop it in my old bedroom; it's the one at this end of the house."
"I remember which room was yours. I spent enough time there to never forget it."
She looked at me for a moment, then back at Mum.
"Am I kicking you out of the bed, Jeff?"
I smiled at her concern.
"It's okay. I don't mind."
She smiled warmly and walked over to me. She wrapped me in a hug that weirdly felt more intimate than the fact that she had sucked my cock earlier. She spoke softly to me.
"That is nice of you to say, even if it's not true. I promise you I won't take her away from you. This is just for a couple of nights."
I gave her a squeeze in acknowledgement, and she kissed me on the cheek. She leaned into it and whispered in my ear.
"I would never deny her that delicious cock."
There wasn't much I could say to that, but it did make me laugh. She kissed me again and then let me go. Mum smiled at her and picked up the bag she had sat on the deck to hug me.
"I'll help you unpack."
She held out her empty hand to Susie, who took it in her own. They wandered off through the door, leaving me alone to ponder what was happening. I didn't have much time to contemplate the irony of feeling a little jealous of Susie while at the same time feeling very attracted to her.
I had just begun thinking about this when my phone rang. I looked at the screen and saw that it wasn't a number I had saved a name to, but it was vaguely familiar, so I accepted the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Jeff?"
"Yes, it is."
"It's Richard."
It took a moment for me to drag my mind away from where it was and into the current situation.
"Oh, oh, yes. Richard. Sorry, my mind was elsewhere for a moment there. It's good to hear from you again."
"I just thought I would let you know what's happening."
"Okay."
"I have arranged for my son to bring me in to see Liz. I don't drive very far these days, I'm afraid. We should be there tomorrow morning, sometime before midday. Is that going to be alright?"
"Yes, of course it is. Granny will be delighted to see you."
"Likewise. I guess we will meet tomorrow then."
"I look forward to it. Travel safe and remember that it's school holidays."
"Oh, yes. My son has reminded me. I don't think he's too thrilled to be driving, but as it is somewhat urgent, he agreed to bring me."
"Well, it will certainly be appreciated."
By the time I was hanging up, Mum and Susie had returned to the table. They brought fresh drinks with them, which Mum handed to me as I approached the table.
"Who was that?"
"It was Richard. He will be here tomorrow morning. His son is bringing him."
She nodded as I sat down with them again.
"Have you met his son?"
She shook her head as she thought about it.
"I don't think so. I haven't seen Richard since I was a little kid, and I don't remember there ever being anyone with him, not even a wife, but I guess that makes more sense now."
"I suspect she didn't know he was here back then or, at least, that she didn't want to come here with him. I think she saw Granny as competition, and I get the feeling that there was not a lot of love between the two women."
"I guess. It would be a difficult situation, especially if you're not very open-minded about these things; it's certainly not for everyone. I wonder how much she knows. I can't imagine her staying with him if she knew he was having an affair, even more so, one with his cousin."
We looked at each other with an understanding that what we were doing was not any better. Mum chuckled and then said to the table at large.
"I know, I am in no position to judge, and I'm not judging any of them, to be honest. If anything, I think I can honestly say that I know how each and every one of them is feeling. I know I wouldn't be happy with my husband having an affair; I certainly wasn't when I found out about it, even if it did make things easier for me in the long run. However, I guess I am open to a different interpretation of an affair than most. Some consider flirting as affair-like behaviour, whereas I do not. Some would feel that teasing and flashing would be tantamount to cheating, but to me, that's just foreplay for the relationship I'm in. Some people are open to sharing lovers so long as everyone is open and honest about it, and I think I probably fit that description too now. Fucking someone else while you are in a relationship and sneaking around to do it, though, is crossing a line."
She gave me a look that seemed to question my understanding of why she had felt the way she did before handing Dad the divorce papers. I nodded along, and it would have appeared to anyone else that I was agreeing with her, but she knew that I was also letting her know that I understood before she continued.
"I guess most people would be more concerned about the incest side of things than I am too. It makes sense, but they haven't lived the lives of these people either. I'm not saying it's right, but I understand it better than most, I think."
There was a long silence as we all contemplated our "deeds and misdeeds" and the things we had done that would be heavily judged by those who were more religious, morally strict, or especially more self-righteous than us.
Susie was looking at her hands folded together on the table, then sighed. She looked up at us, making sure she had our attention.
"This is partly what I was talking about today. People will judge you incredibly harshly if they find out. They will be relentless and brutal with their judgment. It may well be none of their business, and it may not make any difference to the life of anyone else, but that won't stop them from destroying your life if that's what they want to do. Personally, provided you are safe, and for god's sake don't get pregnant, then I am happy for you if you are happy, just like I am happy for your Mum that she found someone to explore her sexuality with, but don't expect that anyone else in the world will be. I think I know you better than anyone else, so I understand what's going on with you, but others won't, and they won't care. Some of those people will sit at home and masturbate to how much the idea of what you are doing turns them on, but in the street, in front of friends and family, they will curse you and wish you harm. Purely because it goes against the moral code."
It was another reminder of the reality that we had to face, and it seemed that we needed to continue to think carefully about the way we were handling this. There was a long silence, and Mum and I were looking worriedly at each other.
"Look, all I'm saying is, have your fun, play, explore, whatever. Hell, I would like to be a part of it, but be fucking careful about it, and don't try and turn it into a marriage or anything like it. It will end badly for both of you."
