Chapter 4

I woke first again next morning and I felt decidedly down in the dumps. I had a headache trying to break through, my mouth tasted like a chicken-coop floor and I was worried that any intake of food or drink would cause my stomach to chuck in the towel. It never ceases to amaze me how drinking reasonable quantities of something that seemed so good at the time, could have such a debilitating effect next day. I crawled gingerly from my bunk and disappeared into the bathroom to emerge feeling much better having used the toilet and shower and had a shave. I brewed a pot of coffee and settled down again this morning with today's newsletter to await Mom's awakening, not expecting her to be in anywhere near as good a mood and condition as yesterday.

Finally, a painful groan signalled her return to the land of the living but it was some time before I could make out any movement behind the curtain, Her bleary eyed face eventually poked through and she grunted out a demand for coffee which I provided for her to disappear with. After another long delay, more grumbling and groaning indicated that she was going to leave her nest. The curtain dragged back and Mom moved towards the bottom of the bed, complaining ceaselessly, until she was beside the ladder where she readied herself to lower her legs over the side. I was on my feet by this time, not exactly sure of her sobriety, and, worried that she would fall to the floor, I warned her not to move before I was ready.

"What the devil did I drink yesterday? I feel like I'm dying and it can't come quick enough." It sounded as if Mom's tongue was double size.

"Well, we had a couple of gins each at the bar before dinner, we had a couple of glasses of wine with our meal and then the two bottles of wine at the dance between us and, just to finish ourselves off, we had a large brandy each as a nightcap. It's no wonder you don't feel too good, but trust me, you will come right." I suddenly realised why I didn't feel so good myself when I woke up, we had consumed a lot more alcohol than we should have.

Mom groaned and began to slide forward to lower her legs over the side and I reached up to grab her. I was distracted by the sight of her nightie sliding up her legs from her movement and when her legs parted just a little I got a bit of a glimpse of Mom's pubic hair (seemingly very dark and luxurious) and the top of her pussy (just the start of the split between her lips). It was only a fleeting glimpse as Mom didn't wait for me to grab a hold of her and sort of toppled forward into my arms, wrapping hers' desperately around my neck, and virtually fell from the bunk with me trying to hold her up. She slowly slid to the floor and the way she was pressed against me caused her nightie to slide up her body till the hem was at her waist level. I didn't realise this until she hugged me and thanked me for saving her and, when I hugged her back, I let my hands slide down her body once again intending to cop a quick squeeze her bum through her nightie and I was absolutely shocked to encounter bare flesh. Mom got just as big a shock and she pulled away from me in some confusion, giving me a clear view of her tummy and hairy pubic area as the nightie fell back into place.

"Oh Shit! I'm sorry, dear, really sorry! I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. It must be the drink that's made me so careless and clumsy." Mom seemed most distressed about it all but it was definitely not a problem for me, it was all that I had been hoping for, for some time. She quickly fumbled some underwear from her drawer and fled to the privacy and security of the bathroom to spend some time regaining her composure.

She was in there for some time and I heard all the usual toileting noises and when she finally emerged I was careful to be engrossed in the newsletter. This morning Mom was wearing her nightie and she went straight to the dresser and slipped her shorts on without removing it first and then she turned her back to me to put on her blouse and I saw that she had put on her underwear in the bathroom. I had moved forward slightly to give me a view past the closet but Mom was so intent on not meeting my eye and keeping herself turned away from me, I don't think she was aware of my continued interest in watching her.

She brushed her hair and did the make-up thing and we set off for breakfast with barely a word having passed between us. Breakfast was a virtual replay of yesterdays' without the chitchat that occurs when two people are comfortable and relaxed in each other's company. Conversation this morning was very 'formal' and not at all relaxed - Mom was obviously reading a lot more into her accidental exposure than necessary. We set off on our promenade laps of the deck and still there was little or no response to my efforts to break the ice and, when we had finished our 3 laps, Mom indicated that she was returning to the cabin.

"Won't you come and relax with me at the stern and watch the sea for a while? The fresh air and soothing sight of the wake and waves will help cure your hangover." Without saying anything she nodded her acceptance and we leant against the railing, side by side.

After a few moments I put my arms around her shoulders and cuddled her to me saying quietly,

"You're being silly making such a big thing out of what was, after all, just an accidental exposure. I don't know why you're so worried and embarrassed."

"I'm just worried that you found me to be just a repulsive old woman and are disappointed and disgusted at my drunken and sluttish behaviour. I'm so sorry and hope your feelings won't ruin your holiday." Mom hadn't looked at me as she blurted this out and I could hear, in her voice, that tears weren't far away.

I turned her face to mine and saw that there were, in fact, tears in her eyes and I pulled her into my arms and reassured her,

"You silly thing! How could I possibly think that you are sluttish or disgusting? You're a very beautiful and sexy woman who finally let her hair down a bit after a long worrying time. Most women would have cracked under the strain you've coped with and we all love and admire you and think you're absolutely wonderful. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, you do could change my feelings towards you. You're my ideal of a perfect woman, wife and mother and I love you with all my heart. Now stop all this nonsense and let's get on with enjoying ourselves the way we have been."

The smile had returned to Mom's face and she reached up and pulled my head down to hers and gave me a long kiss. This was slightly more than the usual mother/son kiss but was definitely not that of lovers - Mom had her lips parted slightly and it was a moist and firm meeting of our mouths. I was slightly breathless when she released me and responded,

"You can't know how much better that makes me feel. I was sure I had ruined everything and it would be awful for the rest of our time together. I'll be a lot more careful in future and try to keep myself hidden from you."

"Don't be silly. I enjoyed seeing you. You have a very nice body and should be proud of it, the way you have looked after yourself." I was quite definite in the way I spoke, trying to make sure that she understood that I certainly didn't find her at all repulsive, and I decide to be even more dating, "In fact if you want to show me even more of yourself I would be delighted."

There was a silence for a few seconds and then she giggled, bumped her body against mine and returned,

"I know who is being silly! I'm just your Mom with an old and nearly worn out body. No-body but your father has thought me at all sexy for years. Now let's go back to our cabin and decide what we are going to do today. I need more caffeine as well."

As we returned below decks I thought to myself that she would be surprised if she learned just who found her very, very sexually attractive. When we were safely ensconced in our own private space Mom filled the jug and while it was heating she headed to the toilet, asking me to make coffee. I quickly zeroed in on the fact that this time Mom did not shut the door fully, just pushed it to, and I wondered if she had decided to relax her inhibitions and maybe allow me to become more familiar with her. She certainly seemed more at ease with the whole situation, continuing to chatter to me as she sat and pissed, the hissing sound of her peeing and the splash of urine hitting the toilet were clearly audible over our talking, and she just continued on as she unrolled toilet paper and wiped herself.

While we drank our coffees we talked about what we should do after lunch and Mom suggested that we should see if we could reserve a spa pool for a couple of hours, and I agreed eagerly, the thought of a soothing water massage in a spa was very enticing, especially since it had been such a long time from my last one. A quick phone call secured a reservation and I was looking forward to it in eager anticipation.

"There's only one problem," Mom said, 'I never thought about needing a swimsuit on board and I intended to buy one at our first stop over. Will it bother you if I just wear ordinary panties and bra?"

It certainly wouldn't bother me and I assured her that she would definitely be ok in that attire. Collecting our 'relaxing in the sun' gear, which we now had sorted into a small travel bag, we headed off to find a couple of sun-loungers till lunchtime. It was definitely a lot easier not having to dig out towels, books, sunglasses, lotion etc and the other things needed to make 'relaxing' possible and while Mom was sorting herself out and guarding my seat I went down to the pursers to pay the small nominal fee for the spa, this probably being necessary to deter people from making bookings and then not using them.

The rest of the morning passed peacefully till we were called to lunch. A number of other passengers stopped by and chatted and I had not made much progress into my book, which, at this rate, looked like lasting the whole voyage. I noticed that all our 'visitors' spoke to us as if we were married and I wondered if Mom picked up on this. I did nothing to dissuade this notion, in fact, my habit, now, of calling Mom by her first name probably reinforced people's misconceptions. I returned our bag to our cabin and met Mom in the dining room where we again both chose a light repast of sandwiches and fruit.

We did 2 laps on our afternoon exercise today and, after a short sojourn to the railing to investigate the mystique of the sea, we headed for our spa.

To my surprise Mom reached down and grasped my hand and we walked hand-in-hand like a couple, and I certainly enjoyed the feelings that this caused. We were issued a couple of large fluffy bath-towels and shown into a room with a small intimate spa-pool and, after snibbing the door, we were alone in each other's company.

Mom looked quite embarrassed and quietly said to me,

"I've been thinking about this and I'm not sure if we should be doing it. I know that as soon as I get in that pool in my bra and nickers are going to turn completely see through and I might as well be naked." Her face was a bit red with embarrassment, and she was toying, nervously, with one of the buttons on her blouse. Deciding to take a chance I quickly returned,

"I'm game if you are."

Mom was a bit taken aback at my response and, after a short pause, she blushed even deeper and replied,

"Well, I suppose that since you've already seen almost everything I've got anyway, it's not going to make much difference." And she began to unbutton her blouse and remove it. I wasn't sure whether she meant it wouldn't make any difference if we went in nude or it wouldn't make any difference if her underwear turned diaphanous so I undressed slowly, waiting for her cue.

When she unfastened the catch of her bra I cheered silently and began removing my own clothing a lot more eagerly, waiting anxiously for her to get out of her shorts and panties. The sight of her standing, unclothed, with her back to me and then bending down and picking up her clothing was awe-inspiring. She had an almost perfect bum, which I already knew, but the rest of her body, from a rear view, was soft, curvaceous, shadowy and all woman, and the sight of her puffy pussy lips framed in the space at the top of her thighs with just a hint of wispy, dark pubic hair, really got me going and I had to ease the waistband of my underpants carefully over the raging erection that she had caused.

Mom moved towards the pool and glanced over at me and down at my cock, her eyes widened in surprise and she quickly looked away and stepped into the water and lowered herself slowly to a seated position. I climbed in opposite her and saw that she never looked away from my erection as I also eased myself into the hot water carefully. When we had both enjoyed the feel of the bubbling water for a few minutes we were both relaxed and feeling great.