Chapter 5

Eddie didn’t look forward to being in San Diego again, despite it being Christmas. He knew there would be drama to deal with at home. Knowing he’d be away, he’d Christmas shopped before he left, so just had to dig the gifts out of his hidey-hole and put them under the tree, which had been set up and decorated in his absence. He wanted to see his kids, but having to live with his wife gave him no joy. He still gave her some of the lavish gifts she thought she deserved. On the bright side, his daughter was enjoying her new school and had a new circle of friends. This circle was almost exclusively girls, as Breeanne was very leery of boys, after the last time. Eddie tried to explain to her that having a friend who is a boy, was okay. She just needed to set her boundaries as to how close they became. From Carol’s point of view, all boys wanted was sex. This matter became a subject of heated discussion between Eddie and his spouse. Carol even used Eddie as an example, saying he was always hounding her for sex. Their children were in earshot during some of their arguments, so they knew the score.

During the Christmas season, the ship would allow a large percentage of personnel to go on leave, leaving approximately half to man the ship. Eddie had taken just a week’s leave, so he could take up the slack while his other technicians took leave over the New Year. While he was home, he still had responsibilities, and while running errands, he’d invited his son to go along. Steven had readily accepted. Once they were away from the house, Steven broached the subject:

“Dad, why is mom always so uptight about sex? She complains that you want it too much. I thought married people could have sex anytime they wanted.”

Eddie was reluctant to say anything derogatory about the boy’s mother, but his questions required some response:

“Do you know what a ‘libido’ is? Have they taught you that, yet?”

“Yeah, dad, it’s what makes us want to have sex.” he replied.

“That’s pretty close. Different people have different libido levels. Mine has always been very active. Your mother probably has a much less active libido. In many respects, your mother and I are mismatched.” he explained.

“So, why don’t you divorce mom and find someone who has a matching libido?” Steven mused.

“Son, divorce is not always the best way to solve mismatching partners. My parents divorced, and my mom finished raising me. If you’re mom and I were to divorce, she would want to gain custody of all of you. Breeanne is almost old enough to be on her own, if she wanted to be. You still have two years before you can be on your own. Marley is far from being free of your mother.”

“What if I tell the judge I want to be with you?” Steven suggested.

“There are no guarantees the judge would grant your request. Your mother could say my career makes me an absentee father, which it does due to my ship’s deployments.” Eddie advised.

“Dad, I’m, uh, umm, uh, not a virgin! I know about sex, and I think it’s great. I think if I were married, I’d always be asking my wife for sex.”

“Steven, I love that you feel you can confide in me. I’m sure you would never tell your mother.” he chuckled.

“Oh, hell no! She’d ground me!”

“Son, that would be the least of it. She’d probably be on you 24/7 about how you screwed up your life.” Eddie snickered.

“Dad, were you and mom virgins when you got married?” Steven murmured.

“Son, we’re getting into some pretty deep subjects, and I have no objections, but some of the things we discuss could be sensitive, and I hope you won’t repeat them to anyone, especially your mother.” Eddie cautioned.

“Oh, I promise, dad. I’ve wanted to talk to you before now, but I was kind of afraid. I think we’ve gotten closer in the last year, and I like it. For a dad, your pretty cool.” he admitted.

“Well, I’m glad you think your dad is cool. I’ve wanted to talk to you also, but your mother keeps pretty close tabs on us, so there haven’t been many opportunities. So, let’s go back a bit: First: when I married your mom, she claims she was virgin. I don’t know. It wasn’t painful for her the first time. Me? Well, let’s start with you. How many times have you had sex, and with how many girls, or women?” he inquired.

“Uh, gee, dad, uh, it’s kinda embarrassing.” Steven stuttered.

“Steven, this is just you ... and your cool dad. It’s just between me and you. Believe me, when I tell you more, it’s going to surprise the shit out of you!” he warned.

“Well, um, me and...” Steven began.

“No names, son. A gentleman never tells...” Eddie cautioned.

“Oh, okay. I um, I’ve had sex with two girls; twice with one and three times with the other.” Steven confessed, red-faced.

“So, you’ve fucked five times” Eddie said bluntly.

Steven looked at his dad with eyes as big as dinner plates and swallowed quickly a couple times.

“Son, relax! Just because your mother doesn’t allow it around the house, I know all the nasty words, and the nasty deeds. What would you say if I told you, that by the time I joined the Navy, I had screwed, or fucked, six grown women and almost a dozen of my classmates, multiple times? I would estimate that I’d had sex over a hundred times by the time I went in the Navy.” Eddie boasted.

Steven just kept swallowing, and his eyes seemed to get even bigger. Finally, he laughed:

“Come on, dad, stop shitting me. No one I know has ever done that.” he accused.

“Son, I shit you not! I was a horny son of a bitch. But I still had my rules: I never forced anyone, I only did what they wanted me to do, and I never mentioned names. With those rules, I probably got more pussy that any guy who fucked and told. Girls and women don’t like to get a reputation, even if they like a lot of sex.” he admonished.

“So ... what happened with mom? How come you married someone who wouldn’t have sex?” Steven inquired.

“Well, I’ve had a few years to consider that. I guess she looked a lot like someone I cared about very much but couldn’t have. I guess I thought I could have a facsimile, and it would be the same. Since I never forced anyone, I honored your mother’s wishes to wait until the wedding night to have sex for the first time. By the time I realized how your mother viewed sex, I had committed, but thought I could bring her around. No luck, but by then, you kids came along, and I wanted children, so I stuck it out. Maybe, after Marley is out of the house, I’ll leave your mother. I don’t know.”