Chapter 7

The next two weeks for Cathy were a blend of hectic preparation for the return of her husband from his Army service in Europe and furious level of activity in her office. Compounding that was a very strongly stated desire by Steve's parents to try to have a parade in his honor.

"He's not a hero, Mom. He hasn't been to war. He hasn't been anywhere near a battle zone. Just because a guy serves in the army and then gets discharged doesn't mean the town has a parade. That would detract from the accomplishments of the soldier's that were in the war zone. I am sure that he would be terribly embarrassed if you did this."

"Cathy, what don't you understand? How can you say such things? He is your husband! He is our son! Of course he is a hero."

"Mother, it was not a war zone. I lived there with him for more than a year. Our daughter was conceived there. Believe me, nobody was shooting at us. We are not having a parade!"

And so it went every evening and sometimes during the day, for two solid weeks; Cathy's mother-in-law would telephone, or come to their house, and ask about the welcome home celebration. Each day, Cathy would go into her office and face new challenges and opportunities of the type that justified her appointment to that position. By nightfall, Cathy was ready to go home and relax, cook some dinner for her daughter and herself, and then try to unwind, both physically and mentally. The last thing she wanted to hear every evening was her mother-in-law telling her how to organize what she envisioned was the triumphant return of a soldier from the field of battle. Cathy wanted no part of that.

"I know he is your son, and I know that you love him dearly, but I will only say this one more time. There is NOT going to be a parade or a city wide celebration because my husband returns from the army," her voice becoming louder with each word. "There is NOT!!! If you bring this up one more time, I will arrange for him to arrive in Chicago, and we will stay there for a week, and then sneak back home, and never tell you when we get here. How would that be? NOW, don't say any more about it!"

"Ever since you had that makeover, you're not the same person. You think you are so important, and that you know so much, just because you've got this fancy title now. Well, let me tell you; we don't know you anymore." With that, she walked out of the house, slamming the door as she left.

Steve arrived about noon on Saturday, looking splendid in his uniform and appearing quite happy to finally be home. Cathy, with their daughter in her arms, met him at the airport and as might have been expected, the child was a bit frightened by the stranger in their midst. More importantly, Steve wondered who the lady was in the driver's seat of their car. It certainly wasn't the quiet, shy, demure young woman, mother of his daughter, that he had last seen nearly one year ago when she was sent home to have her baby. By the time that they actually arrived back at their house, he was nearly asleep in the car, having been in an airplane for almost eight hours.

Minutes after their daughter was tucked in for the night, Steve and Cathy were naked in their own bedroom. Without being asked, Cathy moved down and began sucking on her husband's cock, quickly taking its entire length into her mouth and throat, pulling and sucking as he began to fuck her mouth. She had never previously been able to take his cock that far into her throat but Steve didn't seem to notice that as much as he appreciated her newfound talent. In less than a minute, he was dumping his first load down her throat.

Almost immediately, he slipped between her legs and entered her, the first time in nearly a year. Cathy responded to him aggressively, thrusting her hips up to meet his drives as she had so many times in the past, but on this night, something was missing. Steve achieved his orgasm within a few minutes, yet Cathy was not even close. She had gone through the motions, more from habit than anything, but there was not a sexual hunger in her, no longing for her husband's cock to drive into her forcefully. She said nothing and continued the ruse, but when he had finished, she immediately went to the bathroom to expel his cum. When she returned to their bed, she claimed to be too tired from the excitement and everything else, and asked just to be able to go to sleep. When they awoke in the morning, the scene was repeated, with the same results.

It wasn't until later in the morning that the subject of Cathy's make-over became the topic of discussion. It happened to come up at Steve's parent's house, shortly after Steve and Cathy arrived for their first visit. Taking full advantage of her opportunity to express her displeasure with her daughter-in-law, Steve's mother unleashed a double barreled blast.

"What do you think of the new look of your wife? Hard to recognize her now, isn't it? It actually scared your daughter when she saw her."

"Well, I was surprised by it," Steve replied.

But before he could say another word, his mother interrupted, "Yup, maybe if she hadn't been spending all that time in a beauty parlor trying to look important now, she might have had time to plan a parade for your homecoming like all the other soldiers get. But no ... she has to spend weekends in Chicago getting fussed over like she's some kind of queen and then refuses to even think about a parade."

"What the hell is this about a parade? What kind of a parade?"

"A parade for you. To welcome you home from the war, just like they do in other towns. I've seen it on television."

"I don't want a parade. Who came up with that idea? That's just plain dumb! They don't have parades for one guy. They have parades for an entire unit. And besides, I wasn't in the war, Mother; I was in Europe, about as safe a place as you can be."

"Well, I still think you deserve a parade. This town needs to recognize its soldiers and stuff."

"And what the deal with all this bashing of Cathy's new hair-do and stuff? I think she looks beautiful. I'm not sure how all this came about yet, but I'm sure she'll tell me when the time comes. But I don't know why you're being such a crab about it, Mom."

"Because she is trying to pretend that she is better than us now. She's got this big, all important job in the new factory. All the girls tell me. She's not from here anymore; she's from Chicago or someplace like that."

"Okay, on that note, I think we'll go home now." Steve stood up, grabbed his jacket and headed for the door with Cathy following close behind. "I can see that you are still trying to control our lives, Mom, and that's not going to work. I told you that years ago, right after we were married. We are adults now, and we will lead our lives as best we can, and it will be without parental supervision!"

Once they were back in their own home, Steve reopened the subject. "Just how did this make-over thing come about?"