Chapter 6: Gang of six

Kerry and Moira danced about in the kitchen while Dave and I did manly things around the barbecue. Aly and Paul were sprawled on the back lawn, giggling and talking with occasional nervous glances at the two of us. Aly seemed to be doing most of the talking. I could see Paul's face but not Aly's. He seemed very interested in her quiet words. I could read his lips.

"No! You did?"

His eyes went very wide, questioning. I could see Aly's head nod.

"Wow," Paul mouthed, exaggerating his face.

I couldn't make out his next words but whatever he'd said made Aly giggle loud and say something that caused Paul to nod his head in strong affirmative. They both turned to stare at Dave and me. Paul at me and Aly at Dave. I smiled a small smile at him and he gave me a little nervous knowing grin. Turning to Dave, I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

"He did it. He woke up and saw us doin' it on the couch last night. Broad daylight, so to speak."

I didn't know what to say. Dave didn't seem to be embarrassed at all. He spoke as if he'd accepted the inevitable. Then he took a deep breath as he turned to look at me.

"What did he see?" I finally blurted.

"Not much. Kerry was playing cowgirl but since she had a long skirt on, we weren't really all that exposed. It was very obvious to him what we were doing, though."

"What did Kerry do?"

"Nothing at first. She was a sort of busy but she did finally notice me staring over her shoulder. When she looked where I was looking she screamed and jumped off me and fled to the bedroom."

"Leaving you there with your pants down," I laughed at him.

"Eh yup," he drawled slowly. "He got an eye full of my johnson, he did."

"It could have been worse, buddy. He could have seen a lot more than just your 'magic' johnson."

"I don't even want to think about that," Dave shook his head. "It bothered me that I'd exposed myself to him."

"You don't seem bothered now," I stated. I looked at him carefully, trying to figure out where he was going.

"Dave, what did you do? Don't hold back on me now."

"It's happened to you so you know how I felt. A dozen possibilities flashed around in my head until I realized it was time for honesty. I just waved him over and patted the couch next to me. He acted embarrassed as hell and sort of shuffled over to perch on the edge of the cushion."

I watched Dave's eyes defocus into the memory. He licked his lips and made a little snort laugh, shaking his head before continuing

"He wouldn't look at me but couldn't seem to keep his eyes off my limp noodle. Boy, I'd like to know what was running around in his head. I didn't say anything for a bit, just sat there hoping he'd relax and say something but he didn't say a word, so I had to. I asked him if he knew what we were doing. He just nodded his head."

Dave looked around when Aly went running by us, headed for the backdoor. Paul was ambling uncertainly toward us.

"You telling Rick about last night, David?" he mumbled softly.

He didn't seem embarrassed, just a little shy.

"Yeah, Pauly. Did you tell Aly?"

Nodding his head, "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, it's okay."

I felt a need to flip some burgers. Just in case Pauly needed some time to get comfortable.

Dave spoke softly after a moment. "Paul, tell Rick what we did last night, okay?"

"Um, well. He asked me if I understood what he and momma were doing. I said that they were screwing." He made a little giggle, his eyes wandering.

"Then Dave said no, they were making love. People that care about each other don't just screw."

Paul didn't seem quite as stressed now.

"I can agree with that. Dave really loves your mom, you know? He's told me that many times." I did some more serious burger flipping.

"Yeah, they are awful mushy a lot." His voice was so soft I almost couldn't hear him.

Paul wrinkled his nose at Dave, pretending disgust, it seemed. His eyes told a different story which surprised me. He had a look of awe, almost reverence after his fake grimace at Dave.

"Tell Rick what happened next, Pauly." Dave chuckled softly and seemed to fidget a little.

There's something going on here I thought but wasn't at all prepared for Paul's next words.

"Dave showed me how to jerk off and squirt."

My jaw hit the deck. I shook my head and choked. Coughing over the burgers, of course.

"What else did we do, Pauly." Dave's voice was definitely nervous now.

"We talked about how to make girls feel good. You know, kissing and stuff."

"And stuff?" I couldn't help blurting.

"Yeah. How to rub titties and pussies. To make a girl feel good."

I stared at this kid standing there so at ease talking about sex with two adults. He seemed proud to be included. I looked at Dave. He was looking at Paul like a proud father watching his kid hit a Little League home run.

"Oh, yeah. One more thing," Paul enthused. He was on a roll. "He let me feel his dick. I rubbed it and he got hard. That was very interesting."

"What does Kerry think about this?" I eyeballed Dave intently.

"I haven't gone into all the details about last night but she's been fretting about how to discuss the subject with him."

"Mom bought me a book but it didn't say much about how to make a girl feel good." He gave Dave another big grin. "I asked Aly if she'd like to kiss and play around some."

A shriek of laughter came from the kitchen. Our three heads snapped around to see Moira pointing an accusing finger at Kerry's blushing face and laughing behind her other hand.

"Hey Paul, looks like Aly is sharing your story," Dave chuckled. "Part of it at least."

Aly came scampering out the door, making straight for Paul, flashing an evil grin. She groped for his hand and pulled him back towards the door.

"Come with me. I'll show you my room. I've got some great mummy stuff to show you or we can make out."

She glanced at me for a moment and laughed. I guess my mouth was hanging open or I had a stupid look on my face. I tend to do that upon occasion.

"Those burgers are well done now." Dave's voice brought me out of my daze. I began lifting them off the grill onto the serving plate thinking how young Aly and Paul were.

I carried the plate into the kitchen to find Kerry and Moira grinning at each other over the salad.

"Burgers are ready. How did the canary taste?" I put the plate down in the middle of the table. It had been set for six.

"What," they spoke in unison.

"You two look like..."

"We got it," Moira laughed. She turned her face to Dave and raised her eyebrows.

"So, you did some sex education last night, hm? Paul caught you and Kerry playing around and that's what you come up with?"

"Uh, seemed reasonable," Dave sputtered, blushing bright.

"Better him than me, don't you think?" Kerry appeared comfortable with the event.

"After dinner we'll talk about it. Right now is bad. I'm too hungry to think straight." She aimed her steady gaze at my face. "I've had a lot of exercise today and need some protein."

Kerry snorted a laugh but only said, "I'll call the kids." She put her head through the doorway and yelled, "Dinner's ready."

The kids trooped in. Aly's posture and gait made it clear, she was the alpha female or child of. It didn't matter. I got the impression that she was confidant and in charge of... What is a kid of eleven in charge of, I thought slowly. Dave pressed a cold beer against my arm.

"You look zoned, Rick. What are you thinking about?"

I looked at him, blank for a moment. He thrust the beer into my hand.

"Do kids these days mature earlier than we did?" I shook my head wondering if maybe I was a little slow at that age. Dave just shrugged.

We started seating ourselves. Aly and Paul sat side by side so I sat next to her. She gave me a sweet smile.

"I think television exposes them to more information than we had access to at that age." Kerry spoke out. "It's a shame they lose their innocence even before they hit their teen years."

"I think innocence is just another way of saying ignorance," Moira responded. There wasn't a trace of cynicism in her tone.

"Pass the mustard," Dave contributed.

"Can I have a taste of your beer, Rick," Aly asked sweetly.

Without thinking, I held out the bottle. She took it in both hands and raised it to her lips. One gulp was all she took. Her eyes squinted, she quickly gave it back. She swallowed big and smacked her lips.

"I'll stay with cola. Why do you like that taste. It's so bitter."

"It's something guys do to prove their manhood, sweety." Moira laughed softly. "They can't go out and kill something to drag back to the cave so they drink beer instead."

"Come on. It's just as dangerous to drag home a paycheck. Driving on freeways with idiots and stress at work. Either is deadly." My two cents.

Moira nodded as she smeared relish on her bun. We handed round the condiments.

"Dave, is that burger okay. You look like you don't want to swallow that bite." Kerry looked concerned.

"It's just well done. I was hoping for medium well." He gulped it down. "Kinda dry."

We began our meal and devoured the crispy burgers. I think we were all too hungry to talk. Paul proved me wrong.

"Mom, why are you so nervous about explaining sex to me?" Paul's question silenced us all. We looked at Kerry to see her reaction.

Kerry's eye's darted from Dave to Paul. Her mouth opened but no words came out.

"Uh. Ah," she stumbled.

"Dave wasn't embarrassed last night when he answered my questions. You weren't, were you, Dave?"

Dave shook his head and started to open his mouth but Kerry jumped in first. "Um, what all did he tell you, Pauly?"

"That it's okay to masturbate. Everybody does it, even girls."

He turned and gave Aly the softest little smile, his cheeks slightly flushed.

Aly silenced a giggle with the remains of her burger.

"Is that all?" Kerry turned to lift her eyebrows at Dave.

"Well, that and how much fun it is to make a woman feel good. Your book illustrated how part 'a' goes into part 'b' and all that. He knew about erections but really didn't understand what to do. So I showed him."

Dave spoke calmly with a gentle sincerity that seemed to defuse Kerry's stress. Her shoulders relaxed and her face softened as he spoke.

"Kerry, I can't be Paul's father but I'd really enjoy being his Dad someday. Someday soon."

A panoply of expressions flickered over Kerry's face. Her squinty eyes and pursed mouth became a wide eyed gape and a great big 'O'. Then tears, a flood down her cheeks. Her mouth took on that funny twisting shape made when laughing and crying at the same time.

"Oh, David. Oh, David!" She blubbered as she lurched into his arms.

I turned to check Moira. There were a sheen of tears in her eyes. She had a little smile working as she stared at the two clutching friends. Peripherally I noticed Aly look up at my face. I turned my big smile in her direction. She wasn't smiling. Her lips were parted slightly, her eyes were so soft and pleading that my heart almost stopped. A hammer couldn't have hit me harder.