Empty Nest

With the house filled with the tantalizing aroma of baking crust and succulent spices Heather pulls the piping hot pie from the oven to set on the stove top. Once it was allowed to cool and set Heather slices us out a hearty serving each and soon we are at the table ready to dig in. I pour us a glass of wine each while Heather sits patiently across from me. The moment the drinks were poured she says. “Let’s eat.”

The chicken pot pie was DELICIOUS. With the subtle sweetness of the wine in the gravy, the potato being shredded and baked to a golden crisp over the top instead of a top crust, and the different combination of herbs used in the stuffing it hit my taste buds in an entirely different way that my mom’s used to. At the same time it hit all the notes it needed to fulfill my sentimental craving while also introducing me to something I’d never experienced before.

“This is so good.” I say as I go for another bite. “Mmmm.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Setting down her fork she watches me savor my food then lets out a merry laugh.

“Hm? What?” I ask, my mouth half full.

“Sorry.” She says, shaking her head with a smile. “You’re so different than Liam.” Quickly she adds. “Not that I’m comparing you!”

“Uh, sure.”

“It’s just…the way your face lights up. The way I can just…see what your feeling.” She scoops up another morsel for herself and eats it down. “He was always such a closed book to me.”

“Oh?” I say politely. Liam was not my favorite topic of conversation, even now.

“He was a Daddy’s boy.” She says without looking up from her meal. “He and Alexander had a special bond. Did you have a favorite parent growing up?”

“Um, no. I can’t say that I did.”

“That’s good.” She nods slowly. “As it should be.”

“Hm.” Knowing I should leave well enough alone but not able to help myself I say. “Heather…about Liam.”

Setting down her fork she looks at me. “You’re going to ask me about his bullying?”

My eyes snap up to meet hers. “You knew!?”

With a guilty nod she confesses. “Of course I knew, Elliot. I’m his mom. I knew. We knew. Not right away, but we figured it out.”

“Then…why didn’t you…do something?”

“You think we didn’t?” She says. “Just because you didn’t see the long talks and lectures and punishments doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.”

“You did that?”

“Yes. We did.”

“But…why didn’t you…?”

“Say anything? In public?” She sighs. “That’s not how I was raised, Elliot. In my family you dealt with things behind closed doors. To the world out there we stand united. I didn’t stand by him to hurt you.” Reaching across the table she offers her hand. “He’s my son, Elliot. I will always stand by my family.”

“Even when they’re in the wrong?”

“Especially then.” She says. “He was my boy to care for. You were someone else’s. I had to look after mine first. I will always look after my own first.” She gazes into my eyes. “I never claimed that I was a perfect mom, Lord knows I’m not. I was just doing my best.” I stare at her hand, holding back a moment, before finally taking it in mine. She squeezes my hand and holds it for a long moment. “Are we okay, Elliot? If you need to say something I would like to hear it.”

I genuinely ponder that question for a time. Liam’s bullying had left me scarred and his mom’s unwavering support of him in public had helped to give him the platform from which to wound me. And yet how could I fault her for doing what she felt was best for her family? Hers was a different type of parenting to what I grew up with. With Mom and Dad it was almost the reverse of what Heather described. At home they built me up with love and support while out in public they expected me to compose myself with maturity and dignity. Unlike Heather they were never shy about taking me to task when around others. Was their way better? Who was I to say? I was hardly perfect, and neither was Liam. We were two flawed people each raised by flawed parents doing what they thought was best, just like the vast majority of the rest of humanity. I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anybody’s and yet as I reflect back on those days I confess that I felt just a touch of jealousy for what Liam had. To have your mom or girlfriend or any woman in your life publicly have your back even when they knew you were guilty as sin had a charm to it that was hard to deny. Especially when that woman was Heather.

“My dad always said that grudges made us weaker. That holding onto bad feelings for someone only ends up hurting yourself.”

“As wise as he was handsome.”

“Mm. Are we okay?” I say softly. “Yeah. We are. I can’t blame a mom for love and loyalty.”

“I won’t ask for forgiveness but I am sorry that he hurt you.” Her eyes drift toward her phone. “He’s never been one to care too much about the feelings of others.”

“You’re worried about him. Aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.” Her voice is wavered, ever so slightly. “Thousands of miles away and living life day to day with no plans or money to back him up if things go bad? What if he gets hurt? What if he gets in trouble? I worry about him constantly. All I ask is that he call me once a week. Just ten minutes a week to let me that know he’s okay.”

“And he doesn’t?”

She sighs. “As I said, he’s never been one to worry about the feelings of others.”

“I’m sorry, Heather.”

She smiles and gives me one more squeeze before letting me go to return to her meal. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You are here making a very silly old woman feel happy again.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.” I say. “And, respectfully, you’re not old. Not at all.”

“Ha!” She takes a sip of wine to wash down her food. “You flatter me.”

“I’m serious.” I say. “You are a beautiful woman, Heather. You’re so pretty and smart and you’ve still got a great body.”

“Still?”

“I mean…! Um…”

She chuckles and pats my hand. “Thank you, Elliot.”

I take a deep breath. “I’m just saying that you’ve got so much life in you. It really shines through. It is very…attractive. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

“You are a sweet, sweet boy.”

“I mean it, Heather.” I say, holding her gaze in mine. “And I might be younger than you but…I am not a boy.”

“True. You are definitely not that.” Tilting her head she studies for a time, her twinkling rich brown eyes unwavering as they stared into mine. The mood had changed. The energy around us had transformed to something more base than simple companionship. And the more time we spent together the harder it was to pretend that this was all just an innocent friendship that we were fostering here. “You make me feel young. If only…” Her voice drifts into silence. Something was happening here. Something wonderful. I could sense that her resistance to our natural attraction was teetering. Perhaps all it would take was a little nudge.

“Heather?”

“Yes, Elliot?”

“Um…may I have my treat now?”

Her left brow slowly raises. “Now? But we haven’t even finished supper.”

Setting down my fork I say. “Suddenly I’m, um, not so hungry.”

“Indeed.” She quips with a crooked grin. “Who am I to deny my hero his reward?”

YES!

Pushing back from the table she stops suddenly after a glance down at her lap. “Oh my.” Folding her hands over her legs she says. “Um. Go to your room.”

“My room?” I say, liking the sound of that much more than ‘guest room’.

“Sit on your bed.”

“My bed!?”

She chuckles. “We’re not having sex, if that’s what you were hoping.”

“What if that is what I’m hoping for?”

“Mmm. I’m flattered.” She hums as if tasting the sweet wine. “But if we did that you would be mine…forever. I’m not sure I could forgive myself if that happened.”

“It doesn’t need to be forever.”

“With me it does.” With a subtle lick of her lips she pauses to let that fantasy hang in the air for a moment. “Do not think that I’m not tempted. My own sexy little honey boy? Hmmm. It makes a woman dream.”

“Yes!” I whisper.

“No!” She says back with a laugh. “Quit tempting me you tease! This is, ahem, hard enough as it is.”

“Heather…”

“Don’t.” She cuts me off. “I know how you are feeling, Elliot. I feel it too. But I am no good for you. And I am far too old and set in my ways for a dynamic young man like you. You’re just coming into your best years. Don’t waste them on me.”

“Waste them? Are you saying this because of, um, what happened with Mr. Hutton?”

“I’m saying it because it is true.” She says. “You do not understand. Please, Elliot, just take what I give you tonight and be happy. Let’s enjoy this…with no regrets.”

“No regrets.” I repeat, trying and failing to hide the disappointment in my voice.

“Good man.” Her face brightens. “Now. Bedroom, sit on the bed, and close your eyes.”

“Again with the eyes? What are you worried that I might see?”

“Humor me?”

“Okay.” I say.

She remains seated, watching me, as I walk to the room. I try to think of something to say to assuage Heather’s worries but I could think of none. She was acting like we might make some lifelong, irrevocable mistake if we took things too far. She was acting like this was all life and death. Had she really never had a hookup or one night stand before? Her ‘honey’ couldn’t really be THAT addictive, could it? Was she using that as an excuse? Whatever the reason I wasn’t about to push the point tonight. I wanted this reward that was coming to me. What happened next we would decide tomorrow.

As instructed I enter the room and sit down on the side of the bed. After a quick stop to her own bedroom, based on the sounds of her footfalls, I hear Heather approach. “Hold these.” Two plump pillows are dumped on my lap.

Holding the pillows to my body I say. “You enjoy leaving me in the dark, don’t you? You like telling me what to do.”

She giggles. “I won’t deny it.”

“I like it too.”

“It’s fun, isn’t it.” The curtains are opened followed by the window. “The breeze will feel nice. Just try not to moan too loudly. Ms. Hancock might start getting ideas.”

“Ha!”

“Ah, on second thought, moan all you want.” She says. “Let her think what she wants.”

“You think you can make me moan?”

“I guess we’ll see.” She returns to sit beside me on the bed. Pulling the pillows away she touches my chest. “You can open your eyes.”

I do so to see her in the dim light staring at me with sultry eyes. Every light in the house was off with the only illumination coming in through the open window. In the gloam her pale skin seemed to glow nearly as brightly as the lily white pillows she’d laid across her lap. In the deep shadows her features were both obscured and accentuated.

“You’re beautiful.” I whisper, wanting to touch her long brown locks.

“Thank you.” She strokes her fingers across my chest. “May I remove your shirt? This will feel nicer on bare skin.”

“Yes!”

“He he he. You’re getting your hopes up again.” Hooking her fingers under the bottom of my t shirt she slowly pulls it up my body. “Remember, no sex.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There’s a good honey boy.” Her thirsty eyes drink in my slender torso as the shirt peels away. Fuck, did it feel good to be looked at like that! I raise my arms and let her pull the garment away. With a gentle hand she guides me to sit in the center of the bed, a warm hand on my back turning me to face the window. Her voice low and smooth to match the dusk. “Eyes straight ahead.”

“Okay.”

She shifts in behind me so that I was sitting in the space between her legs. “Mmmmm.” I shudder as she softly runs her hands up and down my bare back.

“That’s nice.” I whisper.

“Mmm, yes.” She says. “And we haven’t even started yet.” After she pulls her hands away it goes quiet for a few second before I hear the very quiet rustle of cloth. A moment later I see her blouse get laid on the bed beside our legs. As my whirring imagination was still grappling with that her bra, the biggest I’d ever seen, is laid on top of it! Heather was as topless as I was! Taking the two pillows she’d brought with her she stuffs one them between her spread legs and the base of my back then, from what I could tell, uses the other to add to the pillows already there for a backrest for herself. “Elliot?”

“Yes?” I say, my voice hushed.

“May I hold you?”

“Yes.”

“Come here, handsome.” Pulling my closer she presses herself to my back, skin to skin. Her huge supple breasts smooshes between us as her soft hands, one open and one closed, slowly slide around my sides then across my chest and belly until I was in a sensual embrace. Nuzzling her nose and lips into the back of my neck she lets out a long, soft hum. “Mmmmmmm.”

“Ohhhh.” I let myself melt back against her warm, voluptuous body.

“That’s it. Goooood boyyyy.” As light as the brush of a feather’s tip I feel a kiss touch my shoulder. From her closed hand she slips the little vial I’d seen earlier into my grasp. “Drink your honey, Elliot, then just…relaaaax.” Her hands caress up and down my body. “Relaaax. I’ve got you now, baby. Just lay back against me and let me make you feel good.”