Chapter 12

It was good that Julia had her relaxing, restorative dinner at Betty's house, because a few days later, Theresa severely tested her professional aplomb.

"I'm going to have more children, and do it right this time," Theresa said, before she was fully seated for her appointment.

Julia did not know if Theresa caught a flash of astonishment and disbelief on her face, or not. Judging from the beatific look on Theresa's face after her proclamation, she was probably not very aware of Julia, or anything else in the office.

Knowing that openly trying to dissuade a patient was seldom effective, Julia launched a cautious discussion. She was careful not to give the impression that she was raising problem areas, but managed to touch on all of the areas that could make the plan difficult. In every case, it was apparent that Theresa had worked through them very thoroughly. The subject of Vince was left until last, and when Julia asked how he would react, she once again had to fight for composure.

"I'll probably have to divorce him. I couldn't raise the kids the right way with his attitudes as they are now. I want the first baby to be his, though, so I'll wait until I'm pregnant."

Even though she somehow controlled her facial expression, Julia needed several seconds to find her voice. She hoped it came across as a thoughtful pause, but she had no confidence of that. Before she could frame her response, Theresa went on.

"I know it's your responsibility to keep me from doing foolish things, and I know this may all sound very foolish and hasty. But I am determined. This is what I am going to do with the rest of my life. If I don't, I will consider my whole life wasted. What I hope you can do is help me to do it right."

Julia had always known that Theresa was intelligent and strong-willed. Up until now, though, all of their interactions had been when Theresa was marginally rational, or worse. For the first time, Julia saw the force that was within her: the force that had made her the controlling, insensitive mother she had been. She also saw a level of determination that she rarely encountered. Theresa's life had a new direction, and she was absolutely and irrevocably fixed on it.

"What I need most, Julia," Theresa again continued before Julia could respond, "is for you to help me stay away from the old patterns. If I make the same mistakes again, I think I will kill myself."

The last comment sobered them both. Julia finally decided to drop the professional mask a bit. "Theresa, you surprised me like few patients have. I cannot say that I am thrilled with your decision, but I can see why you have arrived at it. I can also tell that no one will be able to change your mind. I will help you all I can."

"If I had had your help twenty years ago, I could still be looking forward to my daughter's picture-book wedding," Theresa said softly.

"We can never be sure of those things," Julia said, trying to keep her from getting morose. "You have decided to try to get over the bad things from the past by doing them right in the future. That is admirable, and we need to focus on that." They chatted for a few minutes, then Julia felt she had to ask "Will you see Terry again?"

"Oh, yes!" Theresa answered, visibly brightening. "He agreed to see me regularly. He said not every week, but I'll take it."

"So, do you think serving dinner naked and shaving was instrumental?"

"Absolutely!" She went on to tell the story in detail, while Julia pretended she had not heard anything about it. Julia marveled at the difference from the Theresa that frantically dashed from her office a few days earlier, in a desperate hurry to humiliate herself on the small chance that it would gain her contact with her son.

"Are you glad that humiliation is behind you?" Julia asked.

"I don't think of it as humiliation," Theresa answered. "Well... I guess I do, but it was justified, and it worked. Id rather not be done yet, though?"

"You mean you want to do it again?"

"I don't think I would serve dinner naked again. Although, if Betty asked me to I probably would. Anyway, I would like to be naked when I meet with Terry for a while. I think it is necessary. He's still not convinced I have changed. He won't let me, though."

"How long would you want to keep that up?"

"I'd know when it was time to stop," Theresa assured Julia. Julia just raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting Theresa to say more. That brought a blush and a giggle before she said "I had decided that when he got a hardon, I would know things had changed."

Julia could not restrain a chuckle at that, and said "Tell me what you mean."

"Right now, I am kind of a monster to him, not even really a woman. I saw him looking me over, and his face showed surprise. When he looked at me and got aroused, I'd know that he sees a woman first and not just a monster."

"Makes sense, I guess," said a bemused Julia.

"Of course it might have been so much fun getting him aroused, I might have stayed naked a while longer," Theresa said with a giggle, "but seriously, he has to see me as a woman before there is any chance he will see me as his mother."

"Theresa, we've talked about that a lot. Don't get your hopes up that it will ever get to that point," Julia cautioned her patient.

"Oh, I know, and I'm learning to accept that, thanks to you. Having more kids will soften the blow if it never happens, but that won't stop me from trying."

'One for the books', Julia thought to herself. Rarely had a patient's intelligence, drive and spirit been so hidden by the trauma of circumstances. Even more rarely had such a dramatic turnaround occurred. She wished she could take more credit for it, but she always rejoiced when good things happened for a patient. Theresa's children were still aloof to her, and now she was facing divorce, but she had a new purpose in her life. All of her natural abilities were again in play, but this time, tempered by a massive dose of reality therapy.

The start of school brought new challenges to both Julie and Terry, and a new outlook for Ellie.

In the two weeks before the first day of classes at the high school, Ellie pestered her mother mercilessly, and the two spent many hours at malls and discount stores. Suddenly, triggered by her interludes with Glen and driven by her love for Terry, Ellie was anxious to look good - to look sexy.

So thrilled was she at the turnaround in her daughter's attitude, Betty bit her tongue many times to avoid mentioning budget constraints. Fortunately, Ellie was well aware of their financial limitations, and tried to be thrifty.

At home, the newly fashion-aware girl spent more hours trying combinations. Many times she would ask Betty or Glen how a particular outfit looked, seemingly afraid of the answer. Both mother and brother, of course, worked hard to redirect her diplomatically from choices that did not flatter her. For Ellie, it was like starting from scratch, because her appearance had just never mattered much before. Now, it mattered a great deal.

After complimenting her on a particularly appealing get-up, Glen could not resist some teasing. "Babe, you're heartless and cruel, you know?"

"Huh?"

"Yup. Here you are, turning yourself into this sexy bombshell, and none of those drooling high school guys has a ghost of a chance. You're already taken."

"I wish!"

Softening his tone from teasing to sympathetic, Glen told her "Babe, it's obvious how you feel."

She blushed brightly, but did not deny it. "Yeah, but it takes two."

"I think you've already got him. Just remember all the crap he's dealing with and hang in there."

"Well, I wasn't about to give up. Couldn't, anyway," she said, eyes moistening slightly.

"Whatever happens, you're looking great," he assured her.

"You were the one who said I had to bait the man-trap better."

"I'm glad to see you appreciate big brother's advice for the gold mine of wisdom that it is."

That, of course, initiated a short tussle that ended with her cuddled on his lap for a few minutes.

The impending start of school hit Julie very hard. All summer, she had fought valiantly against self-pity over the scratch-and-claw existence she and Glen had been forced into. Just reminding herself that she had caused it was enough to help her regain control. But now, just being exposed to Ellie's excitement almost pushed her over the edge.

A year ago, Julie had been looking forward to her senior year of high school. She was unquestionably a star on campus, and she was in love with the number one hunk of the school. Things were not good at home, but no worse than usual. There was a huge problem looming over college, but even that had not been enough to dampen her enthusiasm.

Thinking about high school deepened her depression, especially the way it ended. Living with a friend, pregnant by her own action but driven to it, the future she had always looked forward to no longer possible: all of those things weighed heavily on her mind.

Right now, she was supposed to be heading off to college with Glen for four romantic years. Instead, she was fighting through morning sickness every day in a bathroom shared with Glen and his brother and sister. She was trying to patch herself together enough to go to work and look competent and professional for her wealthy customers. Just their casual attitude toward the expensive furniture she knew she would never be able to afford was another painful reminder of what she had let herself in for.

Her parents were responsible for her present plight, and her hatred of them surged. She almost cancelled her next visit with her mother, but after what Theresa had done in front of them all, just to keep contact with Terry, she knew how her mother would react to even one missed get-together.

Theresa sometimes felt like a screen had been removed from between her and the people she was closest to. Suddenly, she could sense how they were feeling, something that had never been important to her before... before her children left her. All of her considerable intelligence and powers of observation had lately been consumed with evaluating every little action and expression of Julie and Terry, when she got the precious chance to be with them.

As soon as Julie came into the house, Theresa sensed the depression, and it took very little time to deduce the reason. First going through her own struggle to keep from breaking down at her own guilt, she set about to do whatever she could to distract Julie. It was another source of guilt when she realized she wasn't very good at comforting because of sheer lack of practice.

There were precious few topics where they shared common interest and experience, and Theresa could only think of one. She began reminiscing out loud about when she was pregnant with Julie, trying to be as light and humorous as possible. She tried to get Julie talking about how she felt, whether she was gaining weight yet, had the doctor put her on some good supplements, etc. She mentally slapped herself several times as she almost fell into her old know-it-all role. It was disturbingly difficult to just relate incidents and ask questions. What a nasty person she had been!

As she talked, Theresa was filled with thoughts of herself again being pregnant, and it gave her conversation a joy and intensity that Julie could not help but notice. Thinking of herself and her daughter sitting together, nursing their babies made Theresa's face literally glow.

Much to her amazement, Julie felt better when she left her mother's house. That was a completely new experience. Every previous visit had taken a toll, requiring Glen's help to get over it.

The next morning, when Glen left the store at six, he was amazed to find Theresa standing by his car. "Can I talk to you for a minute, Glen?" Nodding, he opened the passenger door and she slipped in. When he was seated, he looked at her questioningly.

She handed him an envelope, saying "There's five hundred in there for..."

"Mrs. Menconi, you know I won't take your money. We're making it on..."

"Glen, please let me say this, OK? And please call me Theresa... or Bitch, if you want to. 'Mrs. Menconi' shows more respect than I deserve."

That took the wind out of Glen, and he said softly, "OK... Theresa. I'll listen, but you know how we both feel."

"Yes, I know. Right now, Julie is very, very down. I think it's because school is starting, and she's supposed to be away at college... with you. I took that from her, and unfortunately, I can't fix it."

"What I want you to do with the money is something romantic to give Julie a little boost. A couple of nights at a hotel or a B&B; nice meals out; there's a good touring show in town. Don't let her know it's from me."

"But she's knows I can't afford that," he objected.

"Tell her a relative sent gift certificates for a belated wedding present. Tell her you won a contest at work. Make up something. Just make her feel special for a couple of days. Will you do that? Please?" Theresa's lip was quivering as she made her plea.

Her request hit Glen hard at several levels. He and Julie had vowed to take nothing from the Menconis. On the other hand, Theresa's request fueled some strong guilt in Glen. He had definitely been neglecting Julie lately. It was between class sessions at college, but he had not slowed down, studying ahead for classes in the next quarter. He had noticed that Julie was down, but had chalked it up to pregnancy.

A little getaway would be wonderful, but could he enjoy it, knowing it was from the Menconis. "Does your husband know about this?" he blurted out.

"No, of course not. I don't know if you were aware of it, but I have a fund of my own. Does it make it easier to accept if it's just from me? I had hoped it would."

He had to pause before responding to that. This was the woman who had just a few days ago exposed herself in the most complete way possible, just on the chance it would gain her contact with her son. This was the woman who had certainly shown every evidence of a radical and sincere turnaround. He had urged Julie to re-establish contact with her in the first place. Was this just a natural result of that?

The money probably meant little to Theresa, and it could mean a lot to the young couple. There were so many things they needed, and... NO! he would not go there. They had decided they would have absolutely no dependence on her parents, and they were right. They would not let the Menconis buy off their guilt for the past.

"Look, Glen, I know what you're thinking. I understand why you can't accept help from us, and I won't try to change your mind. This is just something that I think Julie needs right now for her spirit. I would like to able to do little things, just special for Julie, once in a while. If you don't want that, I'll understand. But, please! At least this once, will you take it and give her a boost?"

"Theresa, I'm sorry, but I can't. She would never tolerate it, and I would have to lie to her about where it came from. If it's any consolation, I believe your motives are pure, and I do appreciate the thought."

"You have accomplished one important thing, though. I have been neglecting her too much, and I needed to be waked up. I will do what I can with the money we have to give her some romantic times. I thank you for caring."

"Oh, I care! More than you will ever know! Can I... will you... if I find some really great deals, like coupons or specials, can I tell you about them?"

"That would be fine. Look, maybe at some point, Julie will be able to take gifts from you, but I'm afraid she's not there, yet."

"How about you? Could you take them?"

"It's all about Julie and how she feels, Theresa."

Glen took Theresa's visit to heart. The next time Julie came home from her last shift before her days off, he whisked her into his parents' good car and threw a suitcase in the back seat. Betty and Ellie had put it together for him. A cooler with essential food makings was already in the trunk.

They didn't have much money, but the cabin was free, the weather was great, and they would be by themselves. The food in the cooler was strictly for breakfast and snacks. They would spend the money to eat in town the other meals.

Caught totally off-guard, and weary from her day of work, Julie did not react with the glee that Glen had hoped for. "But what about your work? Aren't you on tomorrow?"

"Nope. I swapped so we could have the days off together for once." That went a long way toward changing her attitude, but she still had objections.

"It's almost three hours up there. It's late, and I've had a long day."

"The seat folds way back, and there's a blanket if you get cold."

"But I've still got my work clothes on, heels and all!"

"So, take off whatever is uncomfortable - the more the better!" With that, he looked over and waggled an eyebrow in classic Groucho fashion. That finally broke through, and she relaxed and giggled. Suggestive remarks had been far too rare lately, and their lack had added to her feelings of depression. Now in her second trimester, the physical changes were becoming apparent. She could still wear most of her clothes, but just barely. Her tummy was at the point that only the slimness of the rest of her body proved that it wasn't just a weight problem. Her breasts had grown a little and the nipples seemed to be darkening.

With surprising speed, Julie's heels and pantyhose were puddled on the floor of the front seat. She looked over at Glen, who was watching as much as he could while maintaining driving safety. Then, she hiked her skirt well above her waist, and slipped off her panties, not hurrying to push the skirt back down. The sexy grin she threw at him almost had him driving off the road.

Glen had two reactions to Julie's little show. First, of course, his jeans became quite uncomfortable. But the most important reaction was chagrin. He had been a clueless dope! There had been very little sexy, suggestive play between them since the marriage. Oh, they had made love, often with great intensity. What had been missing was the joyous celebration of their beautiful young bodies that had been so much a part of their courtship days.

His mother had talked to him about how fragile a woman's self-image could be as she swelled with child. He had heard, and thought he understood, but he really had no idea. Julie was starving for affirmation that she was still appealing to him. There was no doubt she was - very much so, but he couldn't expect her just to know that. He had to keep reminding her, probably more often as she got bigger. Betty had tried to tell him, but until that moment, he had been either too dense or too busy to really catch on.

With her skirt back in place, Julie settled into the seat and let the back recline so she could rest. Thinking quickly, Glen said, "Damn! Is that all the more comfortable you're going to get?"

"What? You expect me to put on a show for all the truckers?"

"Sure, as long as I get a front-row seat. Poor guys need something to keep them awake, anyway."

"Hah! As if a fat, pregnant broad is going to get them excited!" she spat out.

There it was. The proof of his stupidity and insensitivity. Honestly, he thought she looked great as her term advanced. He just had not done enough to let her know he felt that way.

"Well, it sure gets this driver excited," he said, twisting himself toward her a bit so she could see the bulge in his pants. She noticed, and giggled again, a sound that thrilled him more than he remembered.

She unlatched her seat belt, and reached into the back seat for the blanket, which she opened and spread over her lap. Then, eyes fixed on his, she worked under the blanket for a moment, then tossed her skirt theatrically over her shoulder into the back seat.

"I'm not ready to flash the truckers, but if MY driver is interested..." and she lifted the blanket to display her bare lower half.

"Is he ever!" Saying that, Glen reached over and stuck his hand between her legs. Once again, her reaction surprised him with its suddenness and intensity. She reached her outside hand down to the seat control and reclined it all the way. Grabbing his wrist with both hands, she held his hand firmly against her pussy and rolled on her side to face him. Immediately, she started humping herself on his thumb, which was against her lips.

Glen tried to turn his hand so he could use his fingers, but that was not in her plan. She clamped her thighs tightly, holding him in place, and kept up her humping motions. He got the idea, and started moving his hand, crooking his thumb so the knuckle bumped over her clit area with each thrust.

That was exactly the stimulation Julie wanted. She had clamped both hands around his arm and was bracing herself against him for leverage. For a while, they were both contributing the motions. When the blanket slipped off onto the floor, Glen was sure the interlude would end, but Julie seemed to ignore it.

It was ten o'clock at night and they were on a rural section of freeway, in the right lane. There was relatively little chance of anyone seeing them, and Julie was definitely on her way to a climax. She stopped her own motions and just let Glen do the work, seemingly oblivious to her exposure.

Just as he felt the little jerks and tremors that signaled impending orgasms for her, he saw the lights of a truck coming up in the left lane. He considered speeding up to keep it behind them, but he was already going as fast as he felt comfortable with, given the distractions.

Julie seemed unconcerned with the approaching onlooker, if in fact she even realized he was catching up. She was now gasping erratically and her fingernails were digging into his arm. Glen was frantic to get her off before the truck pulled alongside and spoiled it.

When the truck was right behind them, she still had not come, and there was no way she could miss the noise. Glen took his foot off the gas, hoping to get the truck past them in a hurry. Apparently, the driver still got a look, because he gave a short blast of his air horn when the cab was even with them.

Glen's heart sank, thinking that their wonderful little playtime was ruined. Instead, to his shock, the blast of the horn started Julie bouncing and writhing in an intense orgasm. Somehow, the driver could see what was going on, and gave a series of six or seven shorts blasts as the decelerating car fell back from his view. Glen half expected the truck to slow to stay with them, but it held its speed. As it pulled in front of them into the right lane, all of its lights were flashing in salute for about fifteen seconds.