Chapter 12

John’s mom, Beth, rang Paula’s doorbell.

Moments later, Paula opened the door and greeted John’s mother, “Hi Beth, come on in.”

Paula could see Beth was upset when she asked, “Paula, do you mind if we sit down? We need to talk.”

Paula invited Beth to the kitchen, “Come on into the kitchen and sit down. I will make coffee.”

Beth went with Paula to the kitchen but told her, “Don’t bother making coffee. You may not want me to stay long. It’s about our kids.”

Paula felt the back of her neck get all prickly but remained calm and asked, “What’s the problem? Are John and Sharon not getting along? Did Sharon do something to upset you?”

Beth shook her head as she answered, “I don’t think John and Sharon will ever not get along, and we all love Sharon as if she were our own. What I have to say concerns our kids, but it’s not anything they did that I consider really wrong. It’s what my husband Peter and I did. I’m so ashamed of what we did. I’m going to tell you so you can decide if you will ever let Sharon come over and babysit with John again.”

Paula sat quietly and waited for Beth to continue.

Beth took a deep breath before starting her confession, “Please don’t interrupt because I will never be able to get through this twice. Ok, here is the ugly truth. Peter and I were out for our date night last Friday when we had to come home early because of an incident at the Bistro. Peter needed to change his pants.”

“We checked on Julie and Bobby, and they were tucked into bed and sleeping just like they should have been. We could hear John and Sharon splashing in the pool in the backyard. We went to our room so Peter could change, and as you know, our bedroom overlooks the pool. I looked out the window to check on the kids just as they got out of the pool, heading for the diving board. Paula, they were skinny-dipping.”

Paula started to say something, but Beth held up her hand and stopped her. “I know we should have said something to them or somehow let them know we were home early without embarrassing them, but we didn’t, and that’s the problem.”

“I called Peter over, and they were so cute and beautiful together that we stood there and spied on them for almost a half hour.”

Paula could not see anything to be upset about, “So you saw our kids skinny-dipping? That’s it?”

Beth took a deep breath before confessing, “Well, not quite. Peter and I got a little turned on. And okay, I will spill the beans. Peter and I got very turned on and had the best damn sex we have had in years that night.”

Paula got up, rushed over to Beth, gave her a big hug and in between the laughing, asked, “And just how good was it, Beth?”

Beth could not contain herself now that she knew Paula was not angry with her. She raised her hands in the air and shouted, “It was fantastic! But the next time we need to come home early, we will call ahead. I’m not sure our hearts could take watching those two beautiful angels running around in the nude again.”

Paula went to the kitchen counter and asked Beth if she was ready for that coffee.

Paula could see Beth’s relief as her stiffly held body relaxed, “Now that I see you are not upset with Peter and me, I would love a cup. There is something else we should talk about while I’m here.”

“And what is that, Beth?” Paula asked as she got up to make the coffee.

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Beth expressed another concern that was bothering her, “I know you’re not naive, and neither are Peter and me. We all know John and Sharon are having sex. I worry about whether they are being smart about it and if they are safe.”

Paula sat back down as the coffee started to perk, “Don’t worry about them being smart about it, Beth. Sharon and I often talk about her relationship with John. When Sharon told me, they hadn’t gone all the way. But she was seriously thinking about it because she knew John was the one she would be with forever. And I truly believe they will be. Don’t ask me how I knew back then, but I did. Something about John makes me feel confident that he is the right one for Sharon. I put her on the pill that week. From what Sharon told me, they did it four weeks later.”