Chapter 49: Preparations

May 1979

On Monday afternoon, Kent and Jennie picked me up to get my tux fitted for the wedding. I was very happy to see that they had selected traditional tuxedos rather than some of the gaudy colored ones. All the groomsmen would wear black with light purple cummerbunds and ties and Kent would wear black with light blue. Jennie wanted me to wear black and yellow. I thought the offsets were interesting. Jennie explained that she was wearing light blue and her maids of honor were wearing light purple. Everything made sense to me then.

Kent’s brother and his best man were throwing a bachelor party on the 19th, but Jennie and Kent felt it better if I wasn’t there, given I was only sixteen. I totally understood, because that would seriously limit what they could do. Rehearsal would be on May 25th, with the dinner to follow. The wedding was on the 26th. They had booked hotel rooms for everyone in the wedding party for the night of the 25th. I considered asking Jennifer to stay with me, but I had no idea how late the rehearsal dinner would go.

I would ride to the wedding at St. Andrew’s with Jennie, because I would be giving her away. She had cleared everything with my mom, minus the fact that I was giving Jennie away. I was shocked that Mom agreed, but Jennie was persuasive. Of course, if Mom ever got even a whiff of the fact that Jennie and I had been intimate, all hell would break loose. I didn’t see any chance of that because the few people who knew about it would never tell, and it had been over between me and Jennie for almost two years.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened for the next week. Debbie V did complain that I wasn’t visiting her, but I pointed out I had very little time left and was spending most of it with my girlfriend. Kellie was continuing to try to get me to ask her out again, but I was firm with her. I figured she’d give up soon, but if she didn’t, then I’d be gone for a year, anyway.

Kathy Will continued to be very nice to me. I was nice to her as well, and while I didn’t encourage her, I wasn’t treating her like I did Kellie. I was slowly coming to a place where I could see giving Kathy what she wanted in the right circumstances, so long as she could understand that I was serious with Jennifer.

I missed talking to Joyce, but I honored her request to not call her. I planned to write her a letter as soon as I was with my host family. I hoped we’d keep in regular touch that way, but I’d never conducted any kind of relationship by mail.

I received my passport back from the Swedish Consulate and everything was in order. I received my flight schedule as well. I would leave late in the afternoon on July 2nd from Detroit, and we’d arrive in Stockholm on the 3rd, early in the morning. I didn’t have my host family assignment as yet, but I wasn’t supposed to have it until the end of May. I wrote a quick letter with all the details and mailed it off to Lars Andersson. I planned to call him as well.

On Thursday the 10th, I received my class ring and my Milford letter jacket. For the ring, I selected white gold with a clear stone and had images of a computer and a book on opposite sides where the band joined the top of the ring. My letter jacket had ‘81’ on it, signifying my graduation year, as well as a patch for the National Junior Honor Society.

On Friday the 11th, Larry told me that his grandfather wanted to see me before I left for Sweden and hoped that I could come on Sunday. I must have had a concerned look on my face. Larry told me nothing was wrong, he just wanted to see me to wish me well. What Larry didn’t know was that Joyce and I had already said goodbye, and I was worried about her.

On Saturday I worked, had lunch with Jennifer and then we spent the evening with her parents.

On Sunday, Larry picked me up around 11:00am and we drove to his grandfather’s house. I didn’t know how Joyce would react, but I hoped she didn’t hold it against me because I had been summoned. It would be too chilly to use the pool, but I was sure bocce was on the agenda.

I was happy to see that we arrived before the Abbadellis. Don Joseph greeted me and invited me to join him and his friends at bocce. As usual, I was playing well. We had been playing about twenty minutes when I saw Joyce come into the backyard. She stopped and stared and then went back into the house. I hoped she wasn’t mad at me.

About ten minutes later, she came to where we were playing and began cheering for whichever team I was on.

“I see you have not yet managed to teach my granddaughter proper manners!” Don Joseph chuckled.

“Don Joseph, she is a young, independent woman who makes her own decisions. I love her, so I am helpless when she wishes to do something.”

The men laughed and had a quick conversation in Italian that ended in laughter.

Don Joseph chuckled, “Since you were struck by the thunderbolt. I forgive you, «figlio mio»!”

We finished the game and Joyce took my hand and walked me into the house.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi. I’m sorry; I was asked to come.”

“I know. Grandmother told me.”

“Now what?”

“I guess we have to say goodbye again,” she tittered.

I squeezed her hand and walked her to the table outside. We sat holding hands and talking with the rest of the family. Nothing was said between us, though occasionally we squeezed each other’s hands. I was happy to see that Connie appeared to be behaving. She was polite, but not flirting.

We were called to dinner and Joyce and I walked hand-in-hand and sat next to each other at the dining room table. We had to release our hands to eat properly. We ate and chatted with everyone at the table, but again said nothing to each other. When dinner was finished, Don Joseph invited me to join the men in the study.

He handed me a splash of Sambuca and said, “Steve, we wish you a safe journey! «Salute»!”

“«Salute»!” his friends and I said.

“Steve, I have very good reports about your work. I look forward to your return from Sweden.”

He handed me an envelope, which I simply put into my pocket, realizing that it was impolite to look at the contents in this room.

“Thank you, Don Joseph.”

“Now, go take my granddaughter on a nice date.”

“Of course Don Joseph! «Arrivederci».”

“«Buon viaggio, figlio mio».”

I walked out and went to find Joyce.

“I’ve been given an order to take you on a nice date.”

She giggled, “Then I guess you have to!”

“Do you have your car?”

“No. But let me talk to Larry. He can ride home with his parents if I can borrow his car.”

She came back in a moment and dangled car keys in front of me.

We said our goodbyes and got into Larry’s Mazda. We rode in silence. I wasn’t sure what to say, and she wasn’t saying anything either. We headed east on I-275 but instead of continuing towards Milford, she took the ramp to I-71 North. I assumed we were heading for her house. A few minutes later, I chuckled.

Joyce pulled up in front of her friend Jill’s house, pulled into the driveway, and parked. She motioned, and I got out of the car. We walked to the front door, and she rang the bell. Jill let us in and Joyce led me upstairs to the guest room.

“Jill’s parents are away for the weekend. They’ll be home late tonight. I called her when you were in with my grandfather. I figured we’d say goodbye again right here.”

“The same way?” I said, arching an eyebrow.

“That’s Up to you. Good Joyce or Bad Joyce, you decide.”

“I want the Joyce that is comfortable with what she’s doing and wants to do what she’s doing.”

“I can be whatever you want, Steve.”

Time to assert control.

“I’m telling you to be you, Joyce.”

“You are so difficult! Fine. Just fuck me, then!” she giggled.

We quickly removed our clothing and got into the bed. We kissed gently, then with more urgency. I was quickly erect and dipped my hand between her legs. I ran it up and down her slit and found she was wet enough. I pushed her on her back, got between her legs, pressed my dick against her pussy, and shoved hard. I slid most of the way in, backed off a bit, and pushed hard enough to sink completely into her.

“What was it you wanted?” I asked.

“I want you to fuck me!” she growled.

I withdrew most of the way and sunk all the way in, then withdrew most of the way and stopped.

“I’m sorry, I forgot what I was supposed to do.”

“If you don’t start fucking me, I’m going to cut it off with a kitchen knife!” she giggled.

I plunged back into her and her hips met me. She put her ankles behind mine and we quickly developed a furious rhythm. I felt her muscles begin to tense and her pussy walls rippling as her orgasm approached. She groaned.

“Fuck me hard, now!”

I slammed into her as her orgasm crashed over her, pounding as hard as I could. Her orgasm seemed to go on for minutes as she bucked hard against me. I wasn’t close and worked hard to bring her to a second orgasm. We kept the rhythm for a couple more minutes. I felt my cum rising and slammed hard into her and stayed deep. She thrust her hips hard against me and I blasted her pussy full of cum. We collapsed, sweaty and spent.

“What does the mostly good Joyce need now?”

“Just cuddle me for a bit and then I’ll take you home. I hope that’s OK.”

I just moved next to her, pulled her to me, and we cuddled. If she wanted to talk, I’d talk. If she wanted quiet, I’d stay quiet. We cuddled for about fifteen minutes and she got up. We dressed, and she took my hand and led me back to the car. We drove to Milford. When we turned onto Overlook, she pulled to the side, leaned over, and kissed me.

“Let your parents think Larry dropped you off.”

“Makes sense,” I said.

“I didn’t talk because we said goodbye and I would cry too much if we talked. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said.

She started the car, pulled into the driveway, dropped me off, and drove away. I went inside and went to my room. I opened the envelope from Don Joseph and was shocked to find ten $50 bills.

I took a quick shower, put on shorts and a t-shirt and wrote in my journal.

“I thought you were with Larry,” Stephanie said from the door.

“I was, at his grandfather’s house.”

“You saw Joyce, didn’t you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“You wouldn’t need a shower when you came in, otherwise.”

I wonder if Mom knew. No, she’d have said something. She was almost always in the office or in bed when I got home, anyway. I decided to have a bit of fun with Stephanie.

“Joyce wasn’t there, but Connie was. She got what she wanted. Repeatedly. God, she’s good. Better than anyone else I’ve ever been with.”

“Whoa! Never would have guessed that! ... wait, you’re full of it!”

“You got me!” I chuckled. “It was Joyce.”

“I thought you guys were done until you came home.”

“Me too, but I had to go see Larry’s grandfather, and she was there. Their grandfather told me to take her on a nice date.”

“Which you interpreted as sex, of course.”

“That was what Joyce wanted.”

She stuck her tongue out at me.

I stuck mine out and wiggled it.

She giggled and went to her room.

I finished writing in my journal, stripped and climbed into bed. I slept soundly and had happy dreams about Joyce.

The next week flew by as well. On Friday the 18th, Sarah Leonard and I got together. I had told her I needed to talk to her and felt it would be easier if we just went for dinner and ice cream. The weather would be nice enough that we could walk along the river. We met at David’s Buffet and ate our fill of a wide variety of things. When we finished, we walked to Graeter’s for ice cream sundaes.

I decided to toy with her a bit. I had been clear that this date wasn’t about getting her into bed, but about talking.

“Sarah, OK if I take your cherry?”

“Sure, if you want it!” she said, scooping it up with her spoon.

“Not that one, Sarah!” I said.

She gave me a confused look, which changed to realization within seconds.

“Absolutely not!” she giggled. “No way!”

We finished our ice cream and walked hand-in-hand down the street towards the river.

“Sarah, can we talk about you and your brother?”

“I guess. Why?”

“I just want to try to understand my sister.”

“Ah, OK. Then, sure, what do you want to know?”

“When did you know you wanted him?”

“Pretty much as soon as I figured out what sex was. I was eight, I guess.”

“Stephanie said pretty much the same thing. OK if I ask why?”

“I’m not sure, really. When I figured out what went where, I wondered who I would do it with. I decided I wanted somebody like my brother. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it should be my brother. I didn’t realize until a couple of years later that society didn’t like that idea. I sort of found out by accident, really. I was watching a TV show, and they talked about a brother and sister who had done it and gotten pregnant and about how terrible it was. That’s when I first heard the word incest. But it didn’t change my mind. I still wanted my brother. I never talked to him about it. I did flirt and tease with him, but he told me later he thought it was all just silly little girl stuff.”

“I had the same idea with my sister,” I said. “Once I found out, I realized she’d been sending me signals for years. But that’s only because Melanie and Jennifer were wise enough to clue me in.”

“Jennifer said that she and Melanie figured you could handle it and wouldn’t completely freak out. Even if you refused in the end, you would think it through, decide what to do, and explain it to your sister. They were sure you would do it, though, given how close you and Stephanie are and how much you mean to each other.