Chapter 12: Double Incest

Millie Hawley's words, "Tonight is the night," played in my mind all the way home. We had left the New Year's party a few minutes after midnight because Jen was tired. I was a little tired too, but Millie was wide awake. Jen said goodnight and went upstairs to her room. Ed tossed me the keys to her car and reluctantly followed her.

Millie handed me her coat and excused herself, going into the bathroom. 'What to do now?' I asked myself as I hung up the coat. Our five weeks of dating, becoming comfortable with one another, talking three times each day, almost inseparable during our free time and being seen in public, had been the prelude to this night.

My problem was that I wasn't ready. I was afraid that, in a moment of passion, I would fuck up and call her by the wrong name. For the past five weeks I had searched for differences between the two sisters and found very few. Once when Millie declared she was thinking of cutting her hair short, like Jen's, I urged her to leave it long. Another time, I discovered a small mole on her neck. She said she was thinking of having it removed. I disagreed, telling her it was tiny and she needn't bother, when really, I was overjoyed, having discovered something that her sister didn't have.

The sisters were so much alike it was scary. Oh, there was Millie's height; otherwise, their bodies, hair and skin coloring were almost identical, right down to the number of freckles below their eyes. What set Millie apart, what made me love her, was her disposition. Her quick wit and glib observations were a contrast to Jen's serious temperament.

"Would you care for a nightcap?" I asked when she returned from the bathroom. She was wearing a long black skirt and a white silk blouse.

"No, thank you," she said haphazardly dropping her purse to the floor as she came to within arm's length of me. She had removed her jewelry, pearls and matching earrings. It was also apparent that her bra was in the purse.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked, switching the tape player on. She did.

We slow danced, staying in one spot on the parquet floor in the living room. By the end of the first song, Millie had removed her shoes and my sweater. Feeling her soft breasts pressed to my chest was giving me a raging hard-on.

"Let's go upstairs," she suggested, without elaborating. I grabbed the tape player and took her by the hand, leaving her purse, her shoes and my sweater on the floor where we they had been dropped.

"Welcome to my room," I said, swooping her up and carrying her through the door.

"So, this is the infamous bed," she said, looking around the room as if she were searching for relicts from my youth. There were none; all our childhood toys had been removed to make room for the bed.

I wasn't sure what to read into her 'infamous bed' comment. What had Jen told her about the bed? "Try it out if you like," I offered. She was shimming out of her skirt.

"Do you have a hanger for this?" she asked, handing me the skirt. I took it to the closet and when I turned she was sitting on the bed, removing her stockings. "May I wear a pair of your socks?" she asked.

I found a pair of sweat socks; several sizes too big for her small feet and watched her roll down the silk stockings over her shapely ankles. She looked up at me and smiled, knowing that I had discovered something else that set her off from her sister. The absence of the little red birthmark was a relief to me.

I started the tape player and she stood up, ready to continue our slow dance. "There's something else about me that you need to know," she offered.

Why now? We had spent the last five weeks finding out everything about each other. There was only one thing she hadn't told me. This was no time to hear about the guy she was in love with at graduate school. That had to be it. Didn't she know I had a hard on? "What do you need to tell me?" I asked, trying to be conciliatory while praying she would make it short.

"I had a crush on you before you met Jen."

"What?" I asked. Having been braced to hear what happened to the guy at grad school, this took me by surprise.

"You were a sophomore and I was a senior. I made the mistake of telling my sister about you."

"Why didn't you... say something?"

This wasn't like the Millie I had come to know. She seemed shy and vulnerable. I held her close, moving slowly to the music.

"I waited too long and the first thing I knew, she had you. I tried to break you up, but she was enjoying seeing me suffer and you were so loyal to her that you didn't notice anyone else. I hated coming home from school because I knew I would have to see you together. Then, Jen and Ed fell in love and I thought I had a chance with you but you didn't come home."

"I'm sorry, Millie, I really am. Things may have turned out differently if I had known how you felt."

"After almost ten years I have you and I don't intend to let you go. Seeing those ladies practically eating out of your hand tonight made me envious of the time you were devoting to them. That's why I followed you around, like a guard dog."

"Selling is part of my job. I had to listen to them. Besides, they're married women."

"I had to tell you how I've felt all these years. Thanks for listening."

Her morose disposition was depressing. I decided to play her game. "Isn't this where I get into your panties?" I asked, hoping to shock her. It worked.

"Why, Mr. Crumbly, am I finally going to get lucky?" she asked, unbuttoning my shirt.

I fumbled with her buttons, too and what followed was a different kind of dance. Our first time together was a total disaster and ten minutes later I found myself apologizing. Millie said she had been nervous, too, as if she knew my nervousness was because I had been afraid that I would call her by the wrong name.

"Thanks for not faking an orgasm," I said, pulling her to me and feeling her breasts against my chest.

She put both hands on my chest and pushed up to look down at me. "I'm a librarian, not an actress."

"You're unique," I said, hoping she would understand it was the highest compliment I could pay her. My fears were abated; in bed, Millie was unique, nothing she did reminded me of Jen.

"And you're sweet," she said, kissing me and lowing her breasts to rest on my chest.

"It'll be better next time," I said, speaking confidently. I was right; it was much better. I pulled out every trick Veronica had taught me, taking my time with her breasts, pussy and clit. Millie responded with positive praises for my technique, with timely giggles and even professing her love for me. It was an unforgettable night of lovemaking.

Sun streaming through the window woke me. I looked up to see Millie smiling down at me. I smiled back.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to you too," I said, reaching for her and saw a serious expression come to her face.

"How's your memory?" she asked.

"I'll remember last night for the rest of my life."

"Is that all?" she asked, cautiously.

"Isn't that enough? Wasn't it memorable to you?" I teased.

"Yes, but..." Her expression was one of desperation. I took pity on her.

"I remember proposing marriage and I believe you said yes."

Millie brightened. "You do remember. Thanks for assuring me that I wasn't hearing things," she said, her smile fading. "But it doesn't count. Your proposal and my acceptance were made under duress."

"What duress? I was sincere and I believe you were too."

"Ben, I was sincere. I am sincere. Let's give it some time. I want to hear that same question from you when we're not... making... fucking," she said, giving my forehead a kiss as she got out of bed.

She was right. Things said during sex should not be taken seriously. Also, my timing was bad.

"I should be out of debt on March the thirty-first. We'll go to The Regal for dinner that night," I said and received an approving smile from Millie. She was buttoning the shirt I had worn to the party the night before.

"It's a date," she said, heading for the bathroom, wearing my shirt and sweat socks. She turned at the door. "I left my purse down stairs. Be a dear, please."

I made it downstairs and back without being heard or seen by Ed and Jen, who were in the kitchen having breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, they greeted us with inquiring stares. We endured Jen's knowing smirk, confident that we had discovered the secret of bliss. Ed had a permanent grin on his lips. We ate ravenously.

"Would you like to look through my closet? I'm sure there's something that will fit you," Jen asked, looking critically at my shirt hanging loosely from her sister's body.

"Ah... thanks... but we didn't... it was a short night... we're going to..." Millie looked to me for help.

"Right, we're going to... need some more... rest," I said, taking great glee in Jen's disapproving frown. She looked from us, both grinning, to Ed, who was staring straight ahead, grinning for a different reason.

I took a sip of coffee and looked at Jen, wondering if she was going to reprimand her sister for sleeping with me or reprimand her husband for grinning like an idiot. There was a sound of urgency to the telephone's ring. Jen answered it and called me to the phone.

"It's Veronica," she whispered as if to protect her husband and sister from a dreaded disease.

I took a deep breath before taking the receiver. "Happy New Year, Veronica," I said, determined to sound cheerful.

"I've been thinking a lot about you, about us, Ben."

"How did you know where I am, Veronica?"

"That's not important. Listen to me, everything will be different."

I laughed and heard her scoff in disgust. "We tried it once, Veronica. I didn't fare so well."

"You fared just fine, Ben, much better than you think."

"What are you talking about? You ruined my credit standing and that ruined my reputation."

"Wake up, Ben. You were nothing before you met me. You let that ex-girlfriend drag you down. I pulled you out of the depths of depression. I gave you confidence and sex appeal, things that spell success."

"Thanks, Veronica, but I think you're forgetting that you also gave me debt."

"Happy New Year, Ben," she said. I heard the line go dead, before I had the chance to say, "I met someone; it just happened."

We went back to my room, removed our clothes, got into bed and I told Millie about the telephone call, ending with Veronica's assertion that she had giving me confidence and sex appeal.

Millie disagreed. "She may be right about giving you confidence, but you always had sex appeal."

We cuddled. "Did you see the permanent grin on Ed's face?" I asked, feeling my cock grow.

"He found out he's going to be a father," she said, moving her knee up my thigh and sighing when she discovered my hard-on.

"I wonder what Jen told him."

Millie wrapped her hand around my cock. "Like this, 'It just happened, '" she laughed.

Here ends "It Just Happened."

Epilog:

New Years: Three years later.

The last three years have been crammed with so many meaningful events that I don't know where to begin.

Our wedding was postponed three times, always caused by others. We made our engagement official in April, the day after dining at The Regal. Except for some college loans, I was debt free and had accumulated a small nest egg. From the day Millie's picture appeared in the local newspaper we received congratulations from friends and strangers, all except Tony Hawley. He couldn't fathom why his sister would want to spend the rest of her life with the likes of me.

Our wedding was set for the last day of June. Invitations were being acknowledged and the seating plan, though changing daily, was taking shape when Mr. Hawley suffered a massive stroke, followed by a heart attack. It wasn't fatal, but his life would never be the same. It was May, five weeks before our wedding date and we were able to postpone the reception and travel arrangements for two months with very little loss of deposit monies. "I told you we should have eloped when you proposed," Millie quipped. We returned the wedding gifts and made new plans to go away over the Labor Day holiday.

Tony showed up at the hospital and finding me answering calls regarding his father's condition on both of his sisters' cell phones, he went berserk.

"What the hell do you know about my dad's state of health?" he practically yelled at me.

"Excuse me, Aunt Amelia, Tony's here," I said into one of the cell phones. "Excuse me, Aunt Sophia, did you hear me? Tony's here," I said into the other phone. Both Aunts said they had heard him.

By the time I turned back to Tony he had calmed, probably remembering that it was me that called to give him the news about his father the day before. "The critical care unit is on the third floor. They'll probably let you go in to see him for a few minutes," I said, thinking, wait until he sees his sister. Jen was in her sixth month and getting bigger every day. How I wished I could tell him it was me that knocked her up. But that was impossible. She was very nervous that I would, in a moment of weakness, tell Ed that, "It just happened."

We moved Mr. and Mrs. Hawley into a small, one-floor house with easy access and wheelchair ramps. Millie and I, much to the consternation of Tony, made arrangements to take over the family homestead. I immediately began updating the old house in my spare time.

It was important that we marry as soon as possible. Ed was opposed to the company truck being parked overnight at the Hawley home, saying it was bad for business. I countered that everyone in town knew the reason our wedding had been delayed. He was right though. It was a small town and people took notice when a public employee was shacking up, especially an Assistant Librarian. Sneaking around didn't agree with either of us.

Our second marriage date was called off at the last minute when it became increasingly evident that Jen was not going to have an easy birth. She told us to go ahead with our plans, but it was clear Ed wasn't going to be able to survive the event on his own. Besides, he was useless at work; somebody had to run the company. This time we lost our deposits. Millie hid her disappointment, saying, "I told you we should have eloped when you proposed."

E.B. was born at seven P.M. on the thirtieth day of August, the exact date and hour we were to be married. Edward Benjamin Crumbly weighed seven pounds, fourteen ounces and had a sprinkling of fine, reddish-blond hair on his otherwise bald head. As I held him for the first time I looked down at Jen. She was smiling, nervously. I winked at her, assuring her I would keep our secret.

I was pretty sure that Millie knew I was the father of E.B., but Ed, being pompously proud, would never admit he suspected it and Millie, being lovingly supportive, would never tell.

Business was great. Ed still hired the sub-contractors and negotiated with the suppliers, but he left selling up to me. Veronica had been right about one thing; she had given me the confidence to be a good salesman. That summer, we doubled the number of employees, hiring four graduates from the technical high school. We had orders for two custom built homes and kept one crew busy on renovation work. When needed, we could always borrow a crew from Stew Mercer. I reciprocated by lending my selling skills when he had a reluctant buyer.

Ed, admitting that I was indispensable, changed the name of the company to 'Crumbly Brothers, Contractors' and made me a full partner. I became the company treasurer, taking over the books from Jen. She continued to maintain the personnel files and watched our bank accounts.

Our third wedding date was planned for the New Year's Eve. We made plans to be away one year after sleeping together the first time. Two hours before our wedding hour, tragedy stuck our family. Hannah, Tony's wife was involved in an automobile accident. She was in serious condition. Tony phoned Jen and she phoned Millie. We called our wedding off, packed essentials and left at seven P.M., the exact time we were to say 'I do'. We took my truck. I drove, Ed sat in the front with me and Millie and Jen and E.B. sat in the back.

"I understand why Tony didn't call me, but Mom deserved to know," Millie joked about being snubbed by her brother.

"He knew it was your wedding day. He didn't want to upset you or Mom either," Jen tried to explain their brother's single telephone call to her.

Millie's laugh had a sinister ring, "Apparently, you didn't want to upset Mom either. You both left it up to me to break the news."

We went directly to the hospital and found Tony pacing in the waiting room. He looked relieved to see us, hugging each of us, even me. Since none of us could get in to see Hannah, and Jen wanted to put E.B. down for a nap, it was decided that she and Ed would pick up the two kids at a neighbor's house and take them home. This left Millie, her brother and me in the hospital waiting room. She tried to comfort Tony. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I struck up a conversation with a couple whose baby was also in intensive care.