Chapter 3: Mistakes and consequences

A plainclothes policeman came to my door. I knew he was a policeman by the way he was dressed and by the way he walked. It may have been that I knew he was an officer of the law because I'd been expecting him. He had come to arrest me.

You see, I had been breaking the law. It is unlawful for a lady of thirty-two to have sexual relations with a lad of sixteen, and I'd been doing it for a few weeks. I knew I was breaking the law, but I couldn't stop.

"You can make breakfast for you and your brother. You know where the cereal and the milk are. Don't let Jess use too much sugar," I said to my daughter.

"Okay, Mom," Jeannette said to me, looking a bit uncertain.

"Don't interrupt me while I'm talking to the man in the living room. Stay in the kitchen," I said, not wanting my children to see me taken away in handcuffs.

"Okay, Mom," she said, giving me one of her toothy grins that I knew so well.

The man stood up as soon as I entered the living room. Except for his tie being slightly askew, he was groomed to perfection. The creases in the trouser legs, the shine on his shoes, and the part in his dark hair, accented the smile on his handsome face. It's too bad that his wife didn't check his tie before he left home this morning. What am I thinking? He was talking to me. What was he saying?

"Mrs. Patterson, it's good to meet you. I hope I'm not here too early."

He's extending his hand. Shake it, stupid. No, it might be a trick policemen use to put the handcuffs on you before you know what they're doing.

His hand felt strong. "I'm Lester's father. I spoke to him this morning. He told me about the dance lessons you've been giving him. I wanted to thank you for taking an interest in him. Apparently, the dance was a tremendous success. He seemed happy with the way it turned out."

Let go of his hand, stupid. "You're ... Lester's father?"

What must he think of me? My hair had not been combed, and I was wearing a plain house dress that ... could he see that I was not wearing any underwear? The way he was staring at me, he could.

"Please call me Frank," he said, handing me a business card.

"I'm glad that ... ah ... Lester had a good time. I hope everything went as planned."

"He was very excited. I wanted to stop by and thank you in person," he said, smiling, showing a strong resemblance to Cotton.

"That was good of you, Mr. Fabric."

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Patterson," he said, heading to the door.

"It was good to meet you, too, Mr. Fabric," I said. When was he going to put the cuffs on me?

"By the way," he said, turning at the door. "Lester asked me to tell you that he won't need more dance lessons. It seems that the girl he took to the dance wants to teach him the latest steps the kids do these days."

I didn't even try to respond to the bomb he had just dropped. Did he know I'd been fucking his son? Was he giving me a break by not arresting me? Had Cotton really asked him to deliver the message that he would not require more dance lessons?

"Mom, Jess spilled the milk. It's running all over the counter. Mom, what should I do?" my daughter yelled to me from the kitchen.

I watched Mr. Fabric back his car out of my drive before going to the kitchen to clean up the mess. I gave the kids fruit for breakfast, and went upstairs to my room.

It was worse than I thought. Half of the fourteen buttons on my housedress had been missed, clearly showing that I was without bra or panties. My hair stuck out on all sides, reminding me of a scarecrow. What must he think of me?

I'd started to remove the dress to change into shorts and a T-shirt when I reached in one of my pockets and discovered his business card.

Captain Francis L. Fabric

Patterson Police Department

In addition the to the telephone number, the Police emblem was embossed next to his name.

Now I understood Cotton's remark about his dad working crazy hours.

Thinking of Cotton, I became agitated. He had sent his father to tell me that he would not require more dance lessons. In other words, he wouldn't be coming back on Saturday nights. He had fucked Ms. Janice Acorn, and decided he liked young pussy better than an old lady. What's more, he'd used the condoms that I had supplied.

I stripped the dress off, and looked at myself in the mirror. What did Janice Acorn have that I didn't? Were her tits more erect than mine? Was her pussy tighter? Did she suck his cock with more vigor than me? Just thinking that I'd been jilted for a young high school girl sent me into a rage.

"Why are you crying, Mom?" Jeannette asked.

I turned to see my daughter at my door. "I'm not crying," I said, denying that tears were running down my cheeks.

"Why are you naked?" she persisted.

"I was trying to decide what to wear today."

"Would you like me to pick out something that would look nice?" she asked.

"Yes, please."

"I get to help," Jess said, beating his sister to my closet.

I'd planned to wear shorts and a T-shirt, but I let them dress me in lacy underwear, and a silk dress. Jeannette even selected the jewelry she wanted me to wear. I made up my face, and we all went shopping.

"Who was that man that came this morning?" Jeannette asked.

"He's a policeman."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to ... remind us to keep the house locked at night."

"Oh," she said, accepting my answer as to why Captain Francis L. Fabric had paid me a visit that morning.

I wore the silk dress all day, until the late news was over and I went to bed.

By Monday, I was accepting the fact that I had been jilted by a sixteen year old lad, but I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. There was always the possibility that he would come back to me, wanting another dance lesson after all. When Patti didn't hear from me, she called on Wednesday night. I told her about Frank L. Fabric's visit.

"Are you going to be all right, Jane?" my best friend asked.

"I cried myself to sleep three nights, but I'm going to be okay."

"I tried to warn you, but I'm glad you were not found out."

"Yes, you did warn me. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I have another call. I'll talk to you later," I said, and took the other call.

Ten minutes later, I was talking to Patti again.

"He called me ... we're going to dinner on Friday night ... will you?"

"The kid is going to take you to dinner?"

"No, silly, his father called. I'm going to dinner with Captain Francis L. Fabric. Will you take the kids?"

"Of course I'll take the kids. What did he say? Tell me everything?"

"He was very ... courteous. He may have been nervous, afraid that I would turn him down."

"What are you going to wear?"

"I don't know. I'll have to go shopping. Do you think I should go for sexy or a reserved look?"

"Definitely reserved. That is, if you want there to be a second date. Men want to be with a woman that gets noticed because she's smart. Save sexy for when you're alone with him."

"Are you sure? What if he doesn't like me?"

Patti assured me that he would like me.

At breakfast, I told the kids that they would be staying with Aunt Patti on Friday night. "Mommy is going on a date," I said.

The concept of my having dinner with a man was strange to them, but they liked staying overnight with Patti and her girls. The questions as to what a date was were minimal.

I shopped carefully, and when Patti came to pick up the kids, I could see that she was impressed with my selection.

"Black is a good choice, but I'm surprised that you went so conservative. Men like to look across the table and see some cleavage," Patti said.

"Believe me, he saw plenty of cleavage last Saturday morning," I responded.

The next morning when I went to her house to pick up the kids, Patti wanted to know everything.

"He's very nice."

"Is that all you have to say?" Patti asked, clearly disappointed that I didn't tell her we made passionate love between the first and second courses.

"We talked. Like I say, he's very nice, but he's nothing like Cotton."

"What did you expect, an older version of your young lad?"

"A girl can wish, can't she?"

"Get to the good stuff. Did he kiss you goodnight?"

"Yes, but like I said before..."

"I know," she said. "He's nothing like Cotton."

"He asked me to go to a party next Friday night. Will you..."

"Of course I'll watch the kids. Why do you bother to ask?"

"How was the party?" Patti asked when I picked up my kids from her house.

"We didn't stay long. He wanted to show me his paintings."

Patti burst out laughing. "What happened to the third date rule?"

"It was nothing like that. He really did want to show me his art. It's a hobby. He says it relaxes him."

"I don't believe it. He took you to his home, and didn't attempt to seduce you?"

"It's an apartment, and anyway, I looked at his paintings, and we talked. He sold his house after his wife died, and Lester went to live with Marion. He said he didn't have time to maintain a home."

Patti squinted her eyes, the way she does when she doesn't believe me. "That's nice. Are you going to see him again?"

"I invited him to have dinner at my place on Friday night. Would you like to come?"

"Ah, I see. This is the third date. You want me to take the kids home so you can seduce him."

"I don't think it's going to happen. He nothing like..."

"Cotton?"

"Yes."

Patti declined my offer to join us for dinner, and I told her it wasn't necessary for her to take my kids for the night. "I want to see if my having young children is what's holding him back," I said.

"How did last night go?" Patti asked on Saturday morning.

"Surprisingly well, he told the kids to call him Frank, and his goodnight kiss made me weak-kneed. We're going to dinner on Friday night. Do you think my little black dress would be too daring?"

"That's a big leap, Jane. I hope for your sake, that you know what you're doing."

"What did I tell you about men our age having baggage? He's seven years older than me, and he talks about his wife like she is still alive. I don't want to come between them. I just want him to make love to me. I want to be the one that straightens his tie."