Chapter 22

Becky was on her side, curled up, her head rising and falling on the tide of her mother’s breathing. Mary’s mound of brown hair was inches away, fragrant with the smell of the previous night’s shower. It had been the last thing they did together before falling asleep.

Now, they were both awake, and for the third time, Becky considered getting up, but her mother’s fingernails started a crab crawl on her scalp. She felt like a little girl and a grown woman, but Becky was neither. She was between those two stages of life, teetering. For longer than her years permitted, she had been acting the part of the latter and resisting the former because she feared her mother wouldn’t respect her as an adult. Not anymore. During three lovemaking sessions and the blatantly honest conversations in between, Becky realized the two stages weren’t mutually exclusive. Mary treating her as an adult didn’t close the door on motherly concern any more than sex excluded the other aspects of their love.

Wasn’t it forbidden, taboo, a sin, and illegal? Sure it was, but going to bed together had bridged the divide in their relationship. It showed them that love didn’t fit in one box at a time. Mary could love her daughter with the caring, protective nurture appropriate for a young girl while still respecting and guiding Becky through the turmoil of her teens and into womanhood. And, Becky could yield to Mary’s motherly compassion without losing her independence or feeling guilty for the adult desires that burned inside her.

When they were in bed, the omniscient facade of motherhood fell. They were two women equally concerned with the other’s pleasure. Mary got a chance to go back in time to the years that had been stolen from her, back when everything concerning love, passion, and joy was new and all-consuming.

Becky was able to forge ahead, experiencing passion and pleasure in a way most women never achieved, no matter how many men they fucked. She had fallen in love with Mary, loved her as a mother more than at any other time, and felt more loved than she ever imagined possible. “MmmMom,” she ran her hand down the top of Mary’s thigh and dragged her fingertips back along the inside, “I love you.”

“I know, baby, and I love you,” Mary said. “We need to talk about something.”

Becky turned and watched her mother stuff another pillow under her head. The tits she hoped would one day grow on her chest jostled about, but it wasn’t enough to distract Becky from the serious expression on her mother’s face. They had already discussed Becky’s impulsiveness and her relationship with Darlene. Mary had admitted she saw Evan and Becky together, and they talked about how long Mary had watched, touching herself, and how she cried after because she hadn’t stopped it. Mary even told Becky what she had done to make Evan uncomfortable before he left that morning and confessed to intentionally leaving the bathroom door unlocked whenever Evan spent the night. The idea of her mother fantasizing about fucking Evan set Becky on fire, and she had immediately mounted Mary’s face.

Now, there was only one thing left to discuss; Becky knew that, so she said, “Yes, Mom, we did, but it wasn’t Jason’s fault. He didn’t—”

“I know, Becky, it’s not his fault, it’s not anybody’s fault ... except maybe mine. I knew how you two were. I saw things. It was inevitable unless—I should have stayed on top of it, but...”

Becky read into her mother’s inaudible words and perked up. “I’ll stop, um, you know, but maybe—”

“Stop right there.” Mary asserted her Mom-face. “We have enough uncharted water to navigate without Jason. Does he know about us?”

“I didn’t say anything, but I’ve spent the last two nights in here. So?” She shrugged and sat astride her mother’s stomach.

Mary inhaled deeply, pushing the silky softness of her belly into Becky’s crotch. “Don’t say anything. Let me handle it. Okay?”

Becky pulled an imaginary zipper across her lips, collected the woman’s breasts, piled them together, and moved her mouth to the cone-shaped nipples. “One last time before we get up.”

“Mmm, I can’t resist you, baby, I can’t.”