Chapter 20: Finding Comfort

It had been a shitty day from any point of view. It had started with a pop quiz in his mathematics class – a class he definitely did not enjoy – and it continued all through the morning classes. If that was not enough he had run into Reba Martin of all people, and she had the gall to dress him down for 'dumping poor Deirdre'. Once again, like so many times in the recent months, he had felt an unholy fury well up inside and his rather uncouth response had earned him a five-minute lecture on the part of some dried-up biddy who taught French Lit and didn't seem to pardon his French.

The fury changed into depression during the afternoon. His e-mails were still not answered by Deirdre and from what he had heard from Maureen she was also stonewalling her mother. Perhaps the new therapist would be able to help but Joey was beginning to lose hope. Still, on the way home he detoured to Mount Vernon Street hoping to catch Maureen and get some information.

Maureen's venerable Volvo stood in the drive way, so she had to be at home. Joey parked behind her car and stepped out heading for the door. In the corner of his right eye he saw a slumped figure behind the wheel of the dark Volvo and fear flooded him. A second later he banged against the side window. To his relief Maureen jerked upright, but her tear-streaked face and her swollen eyes made him fear the worst.

"Maureen! What happened?" he cried banging against the window.

She opened the door.

"Maureen! Tell me! Did something happen to Deirdre?"

She stared at him without understanding at first but then she shook her head sadly.

"No, no, nothing. Nothing I know of, at least, and what do I know? No, I just realized how shitty my life has turned out. A year ago I had a partner and a daughter who was in love with a great young man, and look at me now! Karen's dead and I didn't even get to keep her ashes. Deirdre left me, left us, and she won't even call anymore. I keep thinking I may as well call for the check and leave."

"Umh, Maureen, it's really cold out here. Shouldn't you go in, have some supper? You want me to help you?"

"Would you mind, Joey? God, I must sound so pathetic, but I need somebody to talk to. Plus, I can't cook to save my life."

"Tell you what, Maureen. I'll have a look at your fridge and I'll whip something up, and then we'll have dinner together. You'll have some wine along with it and we can talk."

Joey noticed the tired gait of the woman who had lost everything in the last year. He had always liked Maureen and to see her so depressed deepened his own sadness. He helped her from the car and along the narrow path to the door. Being inside the house woke some of his worst memories: those terrible two days when they were waiting for a sign of life from Deirdre. The house was dark and bleak, lacking human warmth. No wonder Maureen was depressed coming home to this place.

She excused herself to change out of her lawyer clothes and Joey headed for the fridge. He saw some dubious looking cold cuts and threw them into the waste bin. There was a box of eggs, not yet past the expiration date but getting there, a few tomatoes not far behind the eggs in terms of getting ripe, and a fairly fresh red pepper. Omelette was the order of the evening it seemed. Joey set to work.

The kitchen had been Karen's domain, and Joey found that her taste in cooking utensils had been extravagant. He found a sinfully expensive set of Japanese knives and a bamboo wood cutting board, and for the next ten minutes he sliced and diced the veggies, careful to keep his fingers away from the razor sharp knife edge. He even found onions and cut up two before he poured olive oil into one of the priceless copper pans to stew the chopped vegetables. Maureen had come down again wearing blue jeans and a sweater. She was watching Joey. When the vegetables were almost done, Joey poured the stirred egg yolk over them, followed by the whipped egg whites. Two minutes later the steaming omelette was ready, the appetizing smell even rousing Maureen from her depression.

They ate at the kitchen table, Maureen drinking a Spanish wine she had found in a cabinet. The French bread was at least two days old but Joey had moistened it with water before baking it again, and it was almost edible.

"I guess, you're hired," Maureen said after the first bites, smiling in spite of herself. "How did you get the bread edible again?"

Joey explained, and for the next minutes they talked about cooking and other mundane issues carefully avoiding the sticky issues. They washed the dishes in silence and relocated to the living room. Joey's eyes fell on the mantle above the defunct fireplace. Right in the middle Maureen had placed a portrait of Deirdre, taken on her eighteenth birthday. It had been done in black and white by a professional photographer at the mall, and Deirdre looked stunningly beautiful.

Seeing the picture overwhelmed Joey. Tears poured over his cheeks and now it was he who needed support. He found himself leaning against Maureen's shoulder sobbing out his sorrow over Deirdre while Maureen gently stroked his hair.

"You poor boy," she crooned softly. "Life is so unfair to you."

Joey let it happen. He had not felt the comfort of a mother for over two years, had not been able to give free rein to his feelings, and now this wonderful, warmhearted woman held him and accepted to be his surrogate for a few precious moments. Neither of them noticed the passing of time as they sat immersed in their sadness, lending support to each other. They were torn from their mood when Joey's cell phone went off. Both sat apart, feeling sheepish, while Joey fished the phone from his pocket and answered it.

"Damn it, Joey, where the fuck are you? It's past twelve!"

That was Tess and she sounded pissed.

"Gee, umh, sorry, Tess. I'm with Maureen. We have been – hrhm – talking and I kinda forgot about the time."

"Are you okay, Joey? You sound funny."

"I – umh – I'm okay, just a bit down. Listen, Tess. Go to bed and activate the alarm. I'll be another hour or so. Okay?"

"If you say so. Joey, is everything alright with Maureen?"

"I guess. Lemme get my head clear before I drive home, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Yeah, see you. Sleep well, Tess."

"And you. Give Maureen a hug from me."

The connection broke and Joey thought about Tess' last sentence. He had taken comfort in Maureen's arms and had not given anything back. He looked at a rumpled looking Maureen.

"Tess said to give you a hug from her," he said, putting his arms around the petite woman's shoulder.

Maureen smiled wryly but she accepted the hug and even returned it. They sat like that for a minute or ten before Maureen let go.

"Listen, Joey. I know this sounds weird and maybe a bit ... Well, anyway, would you mind staying over? I feel so alone in this house all the time."

Joey looked back with apprehension. "Not in Deirdre's room! I can't!" he said between his teeth.

"No, that would be asked too much. Umh, Joey, what if you came to my room? We could hold each other. It feels so good to have somebody hug me."

"So good you'll even put up with a man?" Joey asked with a weak attempt at humor.

"Not any man, Joey, but I feel close to you. We're missing the same person, after all."

"All right. Lemme call Tess."

He did, and Tes told him to sleep wherever he wanted but not to wake her anymore. He smirked.

"Tess allows it."

Of course, Joey had no pajama, but Maureen told him to sleep in T-shirt and boxers. She set the alarm clock for eight o' clock after consulting with Joey.

It felt strange for Joey to join an older woman under the covers especially thinking that he was sleeping where Karen had used to sleep. His misgivings soon melted away when Maureen put her head on his shoulder. It was a simple gesture of trust and it was eerily similar to the way Deirdre had cuddled. It was so nice to hold Maureen. Even her hair smelled like Deirdre's and her breasts, through the satin pajama top, were firm and pointy like Deirdre's.

It took perhaps an hour, but Joey managed to fall asleep in spite of the unaccustomed sensation of a female body at his side. Sleep was interrupted a few times when he and Maureen had to readjust their positions, and when Joey woke for the fifth or sixth time he found himself behind Maureen spooning her and with his right hand on her chest. He froze in place and wanted to retract the offending appendage but he noticed that his hand was held in place by both Maureen's hands. He felt an erect nipple under his palm and Maureen's heaving chest caused a steady rubbing. Mortified, Joey felt his penis swell inside the boxer shorts, pressing against Maureen's tight behind.

God, she felt good. She was even pressing her tight butt against his growing wood, moving up a little to allow for the tip to slip between the cheeks. Joey could not help himself; he began to rub his erection in the cleft between Maureen's butt cheeks.

"Mmmmmh, feels good," Maureen suddenly purred in a sleepy voice. "Keep rubbing!"

Her right hand let go of his and landed on his thigh, stroking it and kneading it, while Joey continued to saw his penis up and down between Maureen's cheeks. His boxers were getting soaked where his penis leaked lubrication, and the waist band was rubbing against the tip. Suddenly, Maureen's hand sneaked between their bodies and under his waist band.

"Oh God! That's big, Joey," she whispered. "Pull down my pants and put it between my cheeks."

In a trance Joey complied while Maureen lifted her hips from the bed to help him. With a whimper he tried to slide between her naked cheeks but Maureen tilted her pelvis and changed the angles and his penis slipped between her legs, now rubbing along a soaking wet pussy instead.

"Oh my God," she whispered reverently.

'Oh my God' was right. Joey almost shot his load right then when his bare glans rubbed along Maureen's vulva. If he had, his life and a few others may have taken a different course altogether but he controlled himself with an effort. For minutes he softly rubbed Maureen's pussy with the tip of his penis.

It was Maureen who instigated more. Again tilting her hips she stuck out her butt, bringing her opening right in front of Joey's dick. When he pushed forward, instead of gliding along her vulva, he speared her opening sinking deeply into her folds. He gasped with the sensation as did Maureen. He felt her pussy flutter around his penis and she pressed her butt against him to take it deeper. The sensation was simply too much.

With a sobbing cry, Joey pressed into Maureen while his penis began to pulse, flooding her core with a load that had been saved up for months. Maureen gasped at the sensation pressing back against Joey's pelvis and rocking her hips softly. Then, with a small whimper, she too began to shake. They stayed joined for a while even after Joey's penis softened, neither of them able to comprehend what had happened. In the end, Maureen was the first to come to grips. Releasing the shrunken penis she turned to face Joey.

"Oops. What was that?"

Joey's face reddened in the dark. "I'm ... That ... I didn't..."

"I'm afraid we did it both," Maureen said softly. "That wasn't too gross. You know you are only the second man to have his dick inside me? I hated it the first time. Now, it wasn't not so bad. You kinda poked all the right places."

"You ... You're not mad?"

"Joey, who told you to push down my pants? Not that I planned it, but you gave me something very precious. You made me feel attractive and desirable. Don't get me wrong. I have not turned hetero. But I have to admit that a penis is not as gross as I thought."

"You ... You are an incredible woman, Maureen."

"Not bad for an old broad?" Maureen could even joke now.

"Not bad for any age. I..."

Just then, Maureen's alarm clock went off. She silenced it and looked at Joey ruefully. "The pleasant dream is over. You have to get back to Tess, and I need to go to work."

"Can we, I mean, can we shower together?"

Maureen's eyes widened a little, but then she smiled. "You want to inspect the old broad you bedded by light?"

"In a way, yes. You are so beautiful: petite but all woman. I would like to see you one more time."

"You, Joseph Di Rosa, are dangerous. I'm thirty nine, an old broad, and you make my heart beat faster with your sweet talk."

"You're no old broad, Maureen. You're almost like an elf: ageless and beautiful."

"Stop it! You'll make my head swell and explode. Let's go have a shower."

They did not make it through the shower without another tryst, again from behind, but this time standing up. They rinsed off the residue afterwards and dried each other off. In no time at all Maureen was dressed and Joey rushed to put on his clothes.

"We need to talk about this night, Joey. Come by tonight," Maureen said in parting, before they both climbed into their cars.

Tess had not said anything, had only looked at him curiously when he arrived and went up to change into fresh clothes. No saucy comment, no cross examination. Just a long look and arched eyebrows. Joey did not care much. The last night had given him solace, some peace, plus a pretty exciting sexual experience. After all, he'd had sex with a confirmed lesbian and she had claimed to have liked it. It was definitely a boost for his damaged self esteem.

There was just one thing that spoiled it: there was no way he could let anybody know. He liked Maureen too much to spread any damaging rumors. She was a professional woman after all. Plus, she was Deirdre's mother and Deirdre, even after dumping him for all practical matters, was still the woman he really craved.

He called Maureen at her office, around four, and they agreed to have dinner in the Blue Grotto. Joey called to make the reservation and asked for one of the secluded tables claiming the need for a private conversation. He picked up Maureen at seven. She gave him a warm smile and a hug before he backed out of her drive way. Their talk was easy on the way over to the restaurant and Joey felt comfortable again. That was how Maureen affected him, he decided. He felt drawn to her, even now that they were in public.