Chapter 27

Without any preamble, Alyssa walked into the house and stopped in the breakfast nook where Mom sat at the table with her lunch and a glass of wine. She set the box on the table and said, “Mom, you and I have to talk.”

“Alyssa, slow down,” I said, catching her elbow.

Touching her would distract her, thanks to our bond, but she jerked away from me. “No, I want answers.”

Mom, as calm as ever, set her sandwich down. She took a quick sip of wine, set the glass down again, and looked at Alyssa. “What answers are you looking for?”

Alyssa held up a finger to pause their conversation. Then she looked at me and said, “Seth, I need you to go somewhere else for now. I won’t do anything stupid, but this is something I need to do with Mom alone.”

I wasn’t being excused or excluded because I would stop Alyssa. No, Alyssa was worried that I was right, and Kelly would try to seduce me into taking her side of things. At least, that’s what I believed.

I pointed at the food on the island in the kitchen. “Can I have something to eat first?”

Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Take a plate in the living room.”

I nodded. It was a compromise. It would also only give them the illusion of privacy. I would still be able to hear them. I didn’t know what she had planned, but I agreed. I put together a sandwich, poured myself some tea, and left for the living room.

I sat on the only chair in front of the fireplace, pulled the coffee table close enough to set my plate on, and watched the two women.

Alyssa sat down. Her face was stern, but she was calm. “Mom, Seth has told me things I am having difficulty believing. I need you to either confirm what he told me or tell me the truth.”

Mom glanced sideways at me. “What did Seth tell you?”

Alyssa pulled the collar out of the box. “He told me that you have some sort of hidden personality. It only comes out when you put on this collar.”

Mom looked at the collar. Her fingers tapped on the table. “I don’t see how that collar could make any difference.”

Alyssa nodded once, sharply. “That’s what I thought.” Then she looked at me. She had the same self-satisfied expression she wore any time she got her way while we were growing up, which happened a lot.

I didn’t say anything. Alyssa wanted to handle this and I had to let her. It wasn’t easy either. I was so used to being involved in so many lives already that watching these two talk as if I weren’t only a few paces away was hard. I sat there in the chair, however, eating my lunch, and waiting to find out what other subjects they might broach.

Alyssa stood up and walked into the kitchen. “So, Mom, Seth told me he found that box and its contents in your bedroom. In Dad’s dresser. I take it he liked to wear it, to let you degrade him occasionally.”

Mom watched her, but then looked at the collar sitting on top of the box. “No. He never wore it that I know of.”

“Really?” Alyssa asked. “Then why was it in his dresser? I thought you would have hidden it if it were yours.”

“I never said it was mine,” Mom said.

Alyssa returned with a plate and glass. She sat down, pushing the box aside so she could have her food closer. “So, if the box isn’t Dad’s and it isn’t yours, to whom does it belong?”

I smiled. Alyssa had backed Mom into a corner.

Mom shrugged. “I don’t know why your father kept it.”

Alyssa took a bite and nodded. When she could speak again, she asked, “You don’t know, but you can’t stop looking at it.”

“It’s hideous.”

Alyssa shrugged as she continued to eat. “I don’t know. The leather is soft, supple. It could be very comfortable, for the right person.”

Mom shook her head. “Not me.”

“According to Seth, you’re right.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Alyssa took a drink of tea, brushed her hands clean, used a napkin to clean crumbs from her lips, and then picked up the collar. “Seth said the collar sets Kelly free.” Then she looked at Mom. “He says if you put it on, you’ll lose all inhibitions.”

“Oh, please!” Mom said, laughing. She glanced at me. “That’s absurd. A person can’t lose their inhibitions by putting on an ugly collar. You’d have to be drunk or high.”

Alyssa nodded. “I agree.” Then she held the collar open and looked at is as if considering trying it on. “I wonder what it feels like.”

“What?” Mom asked.

“Being free of all my inhibitions? To put something like this on and not worry about anything except what I want to do next?”

Mom stared at her, but her expression wasn’t of disgust. She longed to put the collar on.

Alyssa looked up from the collar. “Do you think I should try it?”

Mom shook off her expression and sighed. “I thought Seth said it only works on me.”

Alyssa nodded. “If that’s true, then I could wear it like a costume piece.” She held up her chin, bringing the collar up to put into place.

“No,” Mom said louder than the calm conversation called for. She caught herself. “Um, I mean, what’s the point? What could you possibly wear that would go with it?”

Alyssa nodded. “Fair enough, but I think one of us should test it. If nothing else, it would relieve Seth of his fears that you’re a split personality or something.”

“Oh, please,” Mom said. “Putting that on wouldn’t prove anything.”

“Well,” Alyssa said, “if you put it on, it would prove that nothing happens.” She then held it out to Mom.

Mom looked at the collar. Unlike last night and earlier in the garage, she didn’t appear to want to touch the collar. After a few seconds, she reached out and took it. She held it as if it might bite her. However, the longer she held the collar, the more relaxed she became. She held it in both hands, and even caressed it. Then she flicked her hair back, and without any further prompting, she put the collar on.

Watching them from the living room, I was amazed to note that Mom’s posture changed the instant she put on the collar. Before, she sat with her back straight, her chin up, and one leg crossed over the other at the knee under the table. After putting on the collar, she turned in the chair, slouched a bit, and bent her elbow to rest her arm on the back of her chair. Under the table, she ran her other hand across her lap, as if smoothing a skirt. She ran her fingers over her legs, her hips, and the sections of her abs where her sweater had risen. She shot me a quick glance with a wicked smile, and let her fingers drift up under her sweater to her breast where I could see.

“Mom?” Alyssa said. “How do you feel?”

“I feel fine, dear,” she said with a relaxed tone.

“You don’t mind wearing the collar?”

Kelly reached up and caressed the collar as if it were some expensive piece of jewelry. “It is comfortable, so no, I don’t mind.”

Alyssa studied her and asked, “And what about all your inhibitions?”

Kelly smirked. “If I had lost all my inhibitions, I wouldn’t continue sitting here talking to you. I’d go over there,” and she flicked a finger my way, “and find out what your brother could do about this itch on my back.”

Alyssa frowned. “Why would you need to lose your inhibitions just to get Seth to scratch your back?”

Kelly sat up and pulled her sweater down tight, rubbing it back and forth over her breasts. “Because I’m pretty sure it’s this sweater that’s making me itch, and I would have to take it off before getting my itch scratched.” Then she held up a hand next to her mouth in a mock whisper. “I might embarrass him if I were to flash my boobs at him.”

Alyssa blinked and glanced my way. “But wouldn’t it bother you to be topless in front of Seth?”

Kelly shrugged and looked at me. She smiled, but not the smile of a proud mother. No, she smiled at me as if she would love to show me her breasts and enjoy my reaction to her. “He’s a grown up now, right? Why should anyone be embarrassed?”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or leave. Even as frustrated as Alyssa seemed to be, she continued with questions that only further confirmed what I had described to her. The only difference was that Kelly wasn’t trying to convince Alyssa to undress her.

I reached for my sandwich only to find an empty plate. I must have finished it without realizing. So, I drained the rest of my tea, collected everything, and took it all to the sink.

“Do you need any help, Seth?” Kelly asked from the nook.

“No, he doesn’t,” Alyssa said. “Now, you just stay in that seat.” Then Alyssa got up, brought me her dishes, as well as Mom’s plate. When she was close, she whispered, “Dear God! You were right.”

I didn’t nod or make any remarks. I simply asked, “What do you suggest?”

“I need to know how bad this is,” she said. “Since the sun is high, you should get the shoveling started. Hopefully, by then I’ll have made some headway.”