Chapter 3

Sharon was looking forward to getting away to the beach as much as her kids, but driving to the campground on a weekend was a nightmare. So she had the kids all packed the night before. They piled into the car a little before 5:00 a.m. on Sunday and headed south on Rt. 495. Around 5:30, Billy fell back to sleep. Grace and Tim were leaving text messages for their friends and playing games on their phones.

Sharon sensed something different about the kids over the last two weeks. They had always been close, but the usual sibling rivalry was missing. Billy was sleeping with his head in Grace’s lap, and she wasn’t complaining that Billy was in her personal space. Tim didn’t seem to mind Billy hanging around him as much, either. The three of them seemed to huddle together, talking like they were sharing secrets. Their hands seemed to touch more, and she caught Grace hugging Tim a few times before she went to bed. Sharon attributed it to the incident with Grace’s ex-boyfriend Johnny and Grace being grateful for them coming to her rescue. But kids usually move on from an incident like that and quickly slip into their old ways. Sharon thought something else was keeping them closely bonded, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Sharon drove by the campground a little after 7:30 that morning. They were a little early for check-in, so Sharon drove until she found an open breakfast place that didn’t look too expensive. Having breakfast out was a real treat for all of them. After breakfast, they wandered around the town, window-shopping the craft and artist galleries until a little after 11:00. Sharon drove back to the campground and checked in. They were assigned a nice, flat, grassy spot under the trees. There was an oak picnic table and a fire pit. They were only about 50 yards from the beach and bathhouse. Several other tents were set up in the campground, but it was mostly campers—everything from pop-ups, Winnebago’s, and a couple of Airstreams.

Tim and Billy retrieved the tents and camping gear from the U-Haul pod they had on the car’s roof. Grace helped Sharon empty the trunk. They set up the two tents, blew up the air mattresses and put their sleeping bags and coolers in the tents. Then they made sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch, they changed into their bathing suits and headed down to the beach. Everyone was having a good time. Sharon’s only concern was that Billy was getting a little pink on his shoulders from the sun. Sharon kept checking on him to make sure he was putting on enough sunscreen. The kids spent the afternoon playing in the waves, beach volleyball, and building sandcastles. Sharon relaxed on her beach blanket under their rented umbrella with a novel she had borrowed from the library. Every so often, she would doze off.

They had supper at 6:00, and around 8:00, everyone was ready for bed. Getting up at 4:00 in the morning, the drive and the day at the beach caught up to them. Monday and Tuesday turned out to be nice days. It was more of the same: eat and then go to the beach. Have lunch and go to the beach. After dinner they would play cards until it was time to go to bed, but nobody was complaining. Being here was a treat for everyone.

It was Wednesday afternoon, and Sharon just woke up from a nap on the beach and did not see the kids around.

Sharon figured they were back at the campsite, grabbing a snack. It was a little past dinner time, so Sharon couldn’t blame them. Sharon took her beach bag and novel but left the blanket and umbrella on the beach, thinking she would return after feeding the kids something besides cookies and tonic.

Sharon put her book and beach bag on the picnic table. She heard some noise from the boy’s tent and went over and opened the flap. “Hey, you guys ready to ... to have some dinner?” Sharon quickly closed the flap and backed up two steps. She was so shocked she did not know what to say or do. Sharon was just getting her wits about her when the tent flap opened, and her three kids came out looking sheepish. Tim had his head down and was fidgeting. Grace and Billy were on the verge of tears.

What Sharon had seen when she opened the tent flap flashed in her mind. Tim was lying on his back without his bathing suit on. Grace was on her knees with his cock in her hand as Billy watched with his bathing suit around his knees like he was waiting for his turn.

Sharon didn’t know who the instigator was or who to start yelling at. She grabbed Grace by her arm and shook her. “What in the world is going on with you kids? Speak up, Grace. I want to know what got into you to let your brothers talk you into doing something like that. At your age, you should know better.”

Sharon looked angrily at the boys, “You boys get back in the tent. I will talk to you later.” The boys scrambled back into their tent, glad to be out of the firing line.

Grace’s voice trembled as her mother dragged her over to the picnic table. “They didn’t talk me into anything. They only did what I wanted them to do. I’m sorry, Mom, but the only people I love in this world are Tim, Billy, and you.” Tears were streaming down Grace’s face.

Sharon spoke harshly to Grace, “You can love us, but to let Tim touch you like that and for you to touch him is not something brothers and sisters do. I see you even have Billy involved.”

“I like sex, Mom, and I’m on the pill. What’s the harm if I have sex with people I love and trust? I don’t ever want to make the mistake I made with Johnny again.”

“Just how far have you gone with Tim?”

“All the way with Tim. I do it with Billy, too, if you must know. I love them so much.”

“Holy crap, Grace, are you saying you’re fucking both of your brothers. My god, Billy is only fourteen. How long has this been going on?”

To lie to her mother never entered Grace’s mind, “We have only been going all the way for three weeks, but we started fooling around a few weeks before that.”

“This needs to stop, Grace. You will find someone to love, get married and lead a normal life someday. You can’t be doing it with your brothers. Grace stumbled over the words, that’s, that’s, that’s incest. I’m sure there are some nice boys out there that you can have a relationship with.”

“Just like you, Mom? End up with a string of assholes that use me for sex like Johnny did. I know Tim and Billy will never use me like that. They care about me, and I care about them.”

“Just because I made bad choices, it doesn’t mean you have to. How often do they ask you to have sex with them?”

“They never ask. I tell them when I’m ready, just like I told Tim I wanted to suck his cock before you interrupted us.”

Sharon saw the tears were gone from Grace’s eyes. There was a look of stubbornness and defiance now. She was going to fight for her right to have sex with her half-brothers, “How often do you ask them to have sex with you?”

“Three or four times a week, but we don’t always go all the way. Sometimes, I like cuddling. Other times I jerk or suck them off. Billy likes licking me, although he is not as good at it as Tim yet.”

“Jesus, Grace, that was much more information than I needed.” Sounding a bit sarcastic, Sharon threw out a barb that she thought would embarrass Grace. “Oh, and I suppose Billy is not as good at fucking you as Tim?”

“Actually, Billy is just as good. You should try it.” Grace could be sarcastic, too.

“Don’t get smart with me, young lady. I don’t think the boys would enjoy fucking me.” Somehow, that came out wrong.

“Why don’t you ask them?”

“That’s absurd, Grace, I’m their mother.”

“Why not, Mom? I know you like sex and always end up with losers who don’t love you. Tim and Billy love us and would never hurt or leave us.”

“Grace, think about what you just said. They will leave us someday to get jobs, live on their own, get married, and have a family. You may think you can now, but you can’t build your whole life around your brothers, no matter how much you love them.”

“Oh, I know that Mom, but that’s not leaving us. They will still be family and will still love us. Maybe I’ll change my mind someday and fall in love with someone. But until then, I want someone to hold me in their arms and make love to me. I don’t want to just frig myself till then.”

Sharon took Grace into her arms and hugged her. “I’m so sorry about how my life and Johnny soured you on trying to find love outside of the family. I know things will change for you. Look at me. No matter how badly my love life turns out, I always try again. We’re just taking a break until some guy turns our head, and we think maybe this is it.”

“Maybe you’re right, Mom. But until then, I need Billy and Tim. I love the sex. I can’t just stop. Don’t you want to have sex again? Don’t you miss it?”