Chapter 3

When Roy arrived home after his trip to the library, he was surprised to find the whole family waiting for him. His father and twin sister were already sitting at their places at the dinner table when Roy trudged down the front hall.

“Hello,” Roy said into the dining room.

Nathanial had the paper open on the table in front of him. Roy’s father raised his hand in a gesture that always meant not right now. Roy looked to his sister. Annie hid behind one of her teen mystery novels. She ignored him.

Roy, turned and wandered into the kitchen. “Hello, Mom.”

“Really, Roy?” Amanda sat at the kitchen table, she looked up from the latest issue of Good Housekeeping. “Your father left work early, just so we could eat as a family tonight.”

“No television tonight?” Roy sniffed the air. The food did smell delicious. Whatever his mom had been cooking, sat in pots on the stove. “You didn’t tell me.”

“I told you this morning.” Amanda frowned, her pale cheeks turned a little rosy. “Maybe I got distracted.” She looked toward the dining room and then back to Roy. “I’m sorry about not believing you about your ... um...” She whispered.

“My dick?” Roy scratched his head.

“That’s not polite, Roy.” Amanda’s frown deepened. “But yes, the gadget you’ve got down there. And as long as you leave my undergarments alone, we can never speak of it again.” She still kept her voice low, but her face brightened. “Agreed?”

“Sure, Mom.” Roy’s belly grumbled. “Can we eat?” He was so hungry.

“Yes. Go wash your hands and join your father and sister in the dining room.” Amanda rose from her chair and walked over to the stove. Her black ponytail bounced behind her. “I’ll bring dinner in a minute.”

Roy headed for the main washroom. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe not normal, but things were normal enough in the Ackerman household.

Once her passions had cooled, Linda fell into a state of deep remorse. She’d done the dirtiest of deeds with her son. If that wasn’t a cardinal sin, she didn’t know what was. After David had gone to bed, Linda went to check on her husband. She found William in the den, happily reading a book. Linda’s stomach turned. The sweet sight of her husband sent waves of guilt coursing through her body.

How could she have done this to her mild-mannered Bill? She stepped into the den, dropped to her knees before him, and unbuckled his belt. She pulled down his pants and went down south on husband. She gave him what the kids call a blowjob.

Up until that moment, she’d always thought William had a satisfactory penis. But putting it in her mouth created an unfortunate contrast with their son. She easily swallowed most of William’s shaft. With David, she’d barely been able to fit the head inside her mouth. When William ejaculated, he deposited his normal, modest amount of semen. It sent no thrills of pleasure through her. She spit his stuff into her hands. With David, it had been a deluge that she had tried to swallow, and she had been in ecstasy.

Of course, William was thankful and appreciative. He congratulated Linda on her initiative. That was nice. She’d hoped the act would bond them and get her mind off David. Instead, while William offered polite appreciation to his wife, Linda’s mind went to the sperm in her womb. She just knew David’s little swimmers were in there, searching for an egg. The thought was more than troubling. She excused herself and went to bed.

The next morning, Patrick caught up with David in the school hallway before first period. “I found out some stuff at the library.” Patrick looked up at his friend and adjusted his glasses.

“Oh?” David looked down the hall like he had somewhere else to be. Which he sort of did since the school day was about to start.

“Want to talk it over at lunch? I’ll give you all the details.” Patrick adjusted his cardigan. David was making him nervous, but he wasn’t sure why.

“Sure, sure.” David clapped his friend on the shoulder and finally looked at him. “See you then.” He walked off toward class.

“Okay. Be there or be square,” Patrick called after him. Everything would be fine when they talked at lunch.

The contrast of David and William plagued Linda as she thought about it during her morning chores. It hammered home the perversity of what she’d done with her son. She thought about going to her pastor for help, but decided she’d be too embarrassed to bring these sorts of problems to God. Could He really see everything? And come to think of it, how could He let this happen to her family? Linda might have even been a little mad at God.

Instead of turning to the church, she went into the kitchen to telephone her friend Nancy Anderson. Nancy was a college graduate and knew much about the world. Nancy was Linda’s best bet.

The two women talked on the phone for twenty minutes before Linda confided that she’d been having problems with David. She told Nancy that they’d become too close recently. Nancy, ever the helpful friend, recommended a family counselor who worked in Portsmith. Dr. Epman came highly recommended. Linda dutifully wrote down the name, address, and phone number.

When she hung up with Nancy, she didn’t call the counselor. Maybe she could handle this on her own. The thought of confiding the truth to anyone was too humiliating. She just needed a little more willpower. She folded up the paper with Dr. Epman’s information, put it in her purse in case she changed her mind, and went about her household chores. Her thoughts wandered to David and what she would say to him when he came home after school.

Linda looked up at the clock over the mantle in the living room. She had to hurry with her dusting. Susy was expecting her for their morning coffee date in about a half hour.

The sound of the front door slamming echoed into the living room. Linda froze. Her green housedress fluttered around her knees as it adjusted to her sudden stop.

“Mom, where are you?” David dropped his backpack and walked down the front hall.

“I’m in the living room, Davey.” Linda stood, still frozen, her duster resting on the top of the television.

“There you are.” David tromped into the living room.

“Why aren’t you at school?” Linda blinked her blue eyes in disbelief.

“I skipped.” David offered his widest, it’s Christmas morning smile.

“You what?” Linda couldn’t believe it. He’d never done something like that. She looked at her son. She could see the sheen of sweat on him. It was clear he’d rushed home.

“I just wanted to see you.” David stepped toward her with long strides across the living room.

“Me?” She caught a whiff of his young male sent and her vagina went Niagara Falls again. Oh no. Her knees trembled.

“You need to call the school and make up an excuse for me.” He closed the distance between them. “But first.” He reached down and pressed his hands into the back of her dress. He cupped her butt in both hands and lifted her into his arms.

Without a second thought, Linda wrapped her legs around his waist, flung her arms around his shoulders, and let his mouth meet hers. It was their first kiss.

Roy and Patrick waited the whole lunch period for David. It was a few minutes before the end of lunch and the two friends looked at each other. It was clear he wasn’t going to show.

“What do you think happened to him?” Roy’s had a look of worry etched on his face.

“Beats me.” Patrick shrugged.

Across town, at that moment, David held his mom up in the air with a firm grip on her bare butt cheeks.

“Oh, sweetheart. I didn’t know ... people had sex ... standing up.” Linda’s spread legs dangled on either side of David, her feet bouncing with every powerful thrust. Her green dress was bunched around her waist. Her black panties hung from her right ankle, rocking back and forth and back and forth. “Where ... did you ... uh ... uh ... uh ... learn this?” She grabbed tightly to the jacket that still covered her son’s shoulders, her wedding ring glittering as it caught the midday light in the living room.

“It just ... felt natural.” David watched his mom’s sweet round face clench up every time he bottomed out in her pussy. It was an incomparable sight.

The sounds of their coupling filled the room. The squelch of Linda’s pussy. The slap of their skin together.

“It’s so amazing, David.” Linda’s blonde ponytail bounced. “Your ... uh ... school? Oh nooooooooo.” Her vagina clenched. And she had another orgasm while being hoisted up in the air. She squealed like a harlot.

David kept pounding her while she came. When she’d calmed down, he answered. “Call them later. I’m a ... senior ... ah ... ah ... what are they ... gonna do?”

At that moment, a few streets away, Susy swept the kitchen with her broom. Where was Linda? It wasn’t like her to be late for one of their coffee dates. And Susy had needed to talk to someone about Patrick. She eyed the phone on the wall. Maybe she should just call her. Susy leaned her broom against the wall, walked over to the phone, and dialed. She lifted the receiver to her ear.

After eight or nine rings, Linda answered. “Hello? This is the Riles ... residence.” Linda’s voice was hoarse.

“Hi Linda. It’s Susy Lannit.” Susy twirled the telephone cord around her finger.

“Oh ... I’m so ... sorry, Susy,” Linda said. “I missed our ... coffee. Can ... we make it an afternoon date?”

“Oh. Of course.” Susy eyed the broom. That meant more time to clean. “Is everything all right, you seem a little out of breath.”

“Oh, yes. Just doing ... one of those television ... exercise programs ... you recommended.” Linda didn’t want to tell her friend that she was bent over the kitchen table with David slowly sliding in and out of her from behind. “Gotta go, Susy. See you ... at two?”

“Sure thing, sugar.” Susy’s right hand fiddled with the buttons on the front of her red checkered dress. Those poor buttons were straining to contain her expanding bosom.

“Bye.” Linda hung up.

“Goodbye,” Susy said to the dial tone. She hung up too. That was odd. Jack LaLanne’s exercise program wasn’t scheduled to be on channel 5 until the afternoon. Maybe one of the other channels carried it earlier? Susy would have to check sometime. She shrugged and walked back over to the broom. Time to get back to work.

Linda and David had sex through the morning and into the early afternoon. He took her standing up, bent over the couch, on the floor, in the living room, in the den, in the kitchen, and in the hall. He deposited load after load deep inside her.

All that effort wore David out. After they finished their copulations, Linda cleaned him off in the shower, fed him an enormous lunch, and tucked him into his bed for a nap. This was the first tuck-in she’d given him in many, many years. Soft snores filled David’s room before she reached the door on her way out.

Linda walked downstairs, ate her own lunch, and finally telephoned the school.

“Yes. A stomach bug,” Linda said. Well, lying to the school secretary wasn’t the worst thing she’d done that day.

“He shouldn’t have left without notifying the office.” The woman on the other end of the line sounded a little putout.

“He’s very sorry. He’s in bed resting.” Linda smoothed out her maroon circle dress.

“And you’re his mother?” The woman sighed. “I’m sorry if I was short just then, we’ve had so many absences lately. The phone keeps ringing.”

“Yes, I’m his mother. Mrs. Linda Riles.”

“Do you think David will be back in school tomorrow?”

“I...” Linda bit her bottom lip. A mix of guilt, dread, and anticipation sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “I hope so.”

“Very well, we will expect him,” The woman said. “Goodbye, Mrs. Riles.”

“Goodbye.” Linda hung up the phone. She took a deep breath. Maybe she’d gotten it out of her system. Maybe David would wake up and everything would be normal again. She prayed he’d lose interest in her, because the temptation of that ecstasy would not leave her brain.

Linda walked to the hall and grabbed her purse. She was very late for her date with Susy. She hoped her friend would forgive her.

The reflection that greeted her in her hallway mirror was of a woman well put together; makeup perfect, hair brushed back, winning smile. Was it that easy to deceive the world?

The Lannit living room was as immaculate as ever. Linda sat on Susy’s modern couch and sipped at her coffee, thinking about how much cleaning she’d need to do at her own house later that afternoon. She held her legs primly together, occasionally holding her coffee cup on her knee. The warmth felt good.

Linda eyed her tall friend, sitting on the other side of the couch. Susy was a picture-perfect housewife. Everything perfect. Well almost everything, Susy’s clothes didn’t seem to fit her anymore. Apparently, those exercise routines weren’t doing the trick.

“You’re looking at my bust, aren’t you?” Susy frowned. “You know, I’ve just about given up. I think I might need to buy a whole new set of clothes.” Susy squirmed a little, to show her discomfort.

“You know, Susy.” Linda leaned in. “I’ve given up myself. I can’t even wear my bras anymore.” She nodded down toward her boobs, hidden poorly by only a layer of maroon fabric.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Susy held her hand up to her mouth in sympathetic disbelief. “Maybe there’s something in the water?” The two women giggled at that.

“Why don’t we go shopping this weekend? We could buy some things that fit.” Linda gave Susy her full dimple smile. “That is, if Fred doesn’t mind.”

“Oh, he’ll pay for anything, the old softy.” Susy liked the idea of shopping with her friend. She liked the idea of some well-fitting clothes even better. “Saturday at one?”

“It’s a date.” Linda nodded.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Susy’s smile faded.

“Oh?” Linda took another sip of coffee.

“I’ve been having a little trouble with Patrick.”

“Yes?” Linda wondered where this was going. Was Susy having the same problems as Linda?

“Yes.” Susy watched the steam rise from her cup. “He’s been a little over-affectionate lately.” Seeing Linda’s eyes, she quickly added, “Nothing out of line, mind you. Just too clingy. Too many kisses for his mother.”

Linda let out a long breath. So, Linda was alone with her problems. “I see.”

“I’m wondering if you’ve ever had to deal with this sort of thing with David.” Susy looked down at the red, checkered pattern on her dress. She didn’t feel like looking at her friend at the moment. She didn’t like lying to anyone, least of all Linda, but Susy couldn’t tell her she’d somehow passionately kissed Patrick for several minutes. “If so, do you have any advice?”

“Well...” Linda’s heart beat faster. What would she tell her friend? “David’s always been a bit of a momma’s boy. But nothing that’s caused me concern.” So, it was a lie then. It seemed the lies had started simply rolling off Linda’s tongue. “And as for my other boy, now that Ryan has a fiancé, he won’t even answer the telephone. But he always did prefer his father.”

Susy nodded. Patrick’s two older sisters were recently married, and very much into their own lives now. She thought about raising two boys and didn’t know how Linda did it. Girls were easy. Susy had her hands full with Patrick.

“You know...” Linda’s dimples returned. “There’s a family counselor I know about. Dr. Epman. I actually have his contact information right here.” Linda stood and walked out of the room to fetch her purse.

Susy watched her friend leave, eyes fixed on her round behind. It was somewhat mesmerizing the way it rolled as she walked, even concealed under her dress. Susy found herself wondering what it would look like with no dress at all. She frowned. Such an odd thought to have.

“Here it is.” Linda walked back into the room and handed Susy a folded piece of paper.

“Let me go copy this.” Susy made a move to rise off the couch, but Linda put a hand on her shoulder.

“No need.” Linda walked to her old spot and sat back down. “I don’t need it.” Away from her house and chatting with her friend, Linda had found a little perspective. She could stuff temptation deep down where it wouldn’t bother her anymore. As long as David kept his hands off her, Linda was sure she could get things back to normal. She was a strong woman. She’d just have a chat with David about it tomorrow.

“Okay.” Susy held tightly to the paper. Hopefully, the good doctor would set Patrick back on the right track. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Linda smiled, all dimples.

Patrick took a long, meandering walk home. He dawdled and barely paid attention to his surroundings. David’s sudden disappearance at school was part of the puzzle. What did Patrick have so far?

A meteor fell to Earth not far from Portsmith. The gadgets on at least several senior class boys had grown tremendously since then. Several older women had put on weight; two teachers, the librarian, his friend’s mothers, and his own mother. There were investigators in town interested in the meteor. David was acting weird. Roy was acting weird. He’d kissed ... no, Patrick had full on made out with his own mother while his father was in the next room. Then, on top of all that was what he’d found in the library.

On his search, Patrick had found that there had been some precedent for odd occurrences near meteor strikes. An old dusty book on the science shelves catalogued three meteor falls five-hundred years ago. All three had been near villages. One in North Africa, one in England, and one in China. The meteorites had never been found, but people reported seeing a blue streak of light in the sky. There were also reports of small earthquakes after impact. What followed was disturbing. In the weeks and months post-strike, all three villages reported disappearances, violence, and more disturbing things. There were reports of strange changes to the citizenry. The adoption of new religions. And all three villages, were eventually set upon by their neighbors. All burned to the ground.