Chapter 1

"I am so sorry! The breeze just caught it and over it went. Are you all right?"

Deirdre Rivers slowly rose from the crouch she had assumed beneath the vinyl banner that had fallen over her. As she had ducked instinctively, she had noted that the banner had no wind cut-outs. It was inevitable at some point today that it would succumb to the breeze. Folks in the Middlebury College Drama Club evidently had no basic engineering skills.

"I'm fine. It's not really that heavy ... no harm done," she assured the other girl.

"I'm Kasey, by the way. I'm with the Drama Club here at Middlebury. Nice shoes, by the way. I hope they're not ruined by the mud."

"I'm Dee. I think they will be okay once I scrape them off."

The shoes were an extravagance for Dee. They were not quite of the style that guys and girls alike referred to as Come-Fuck-Me shoes. That was definitely NOT the message that Dee wanted to send right now, given her current situation. Technically they did not really meet the CFM criterion of heel height. They were only three-inch heels rather than the taller four-or-more inches.

But she had needed some really nice shoes to go with the summer outfit she was wearing for her walk around campus during the orientation week events. Even though she did not really mean to 'strut like a slut, ' it still felt good to be able to attract a little bit of male attention. These shoes definitely enhanced the sway in her walk.

She would have shrugged off any compliments about her looks. She knew that some folks thought her to be very attractive. She was 5'7" and slender, with shoulder length dark brown hair. She had a nice flair to her hips. Her breasts were nicely rounded, supported by a 34 C-cup bra. Her slender frame caused her breasts to be accentuated.

Her hazel eyes were probably the most fascinating feature of her pretty face. She was not what some would be called drop-dead gorgeous, but she seemed to turn enough male heads when she passed by to help her self-esteem a lot.

She did not really want to open up any doors for any idle conversations with guys today. This was simply part of acclimating to the new campus.

She was not new to college life. She had already botched up her first attempt at a freshman year at Radford. She had just not been able to get into the college groove that previous year.

Sure, she had finally gotten out of the family nest. But she had still felt a little like a boat without a rudder. If only her father hadn't ended up dying in that silly war in Iraq her senior year in high school! She had been so angry with the federal government at the time.

She had finally realized too late into her first semester that she had also been so unjustly angry at her late father. Sergeant First Class Richard 'Reedy' Rivers, a Special Forces Soldier, had had this deep determination to do what he called 'his duty.' Since his death a couple of years previous, and the funeral at Arlington, she had simply pushed everyone away for a time.

Her grades had stunk that first semester at Radford. She had made no real friends.

She had not been a virgin since she was fifteen and a sophomore in high school. She had only engaged in sex with a total of three guys during her years in high school, initially in Kentucky, and then in North Carolina, when they had moved right before her junior year. She had only had one sexual foray in her first college semester.

He had taken her just down the road from Radford to a football game at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. For the return trip, they had taken the old U.S. highway instead of the Interstate.

He had pulled off at an old farm turn out. They had made out in his car for a few minutes before adjourning to a small copse of trees that hid them from the view of the few passing motorists. Once there, he had not wasted much time.

It was basically done in three phases: get both sets of pants off, hop on her missionary style and cum, and leave her mildly frustrated and annoyed as they dressed and moved back to the car for the return to Radford. She never went out with him again, and refused to answer his calls, texts, or emails.

He reacted by trashing her on Facebook. Needless to say, that did not help her anger issues.

Encountering her undisguised anger at life, guys at Radford thought she was either a lez or a militant feminist. They would simply wander away after feeble attempts at civilized conversation with her that only got them withered by her attitude. She was truly living up to the Gaelic translation of her name as a 'Raging Woman.'

Worst of all, she had taken the lion's share of her grief and anger out on her mother, Helen Rivers. She and her mother had been in the process of moving from North Carolina to Vermont when Dee had left for college in Radford, Virginia.

This major move coincided with the loss in the emotional and family stability that both of them had shared up till her father's death. Add to that the aching loss of her dad, and it was no wonder that her anger and frustration continued to grow.

She had not even returned for second semester. During winter break, she had joined her mother at her momma's apartment in Middlebury, Vermont for a while. Eventually she had moved to Boston to look for work. Momma had objected, wanting to try to get her back on the path toward a good education and a good life, but Dee had not been interested at the time.

She had found a cheap apartment and a roommate. A girl named Brandi, attending Boston University downtown, offered to share the rent, paid for out of a parent's trust fund. They were civil to each other. Neither girl had a boyfriend, so the arrangement suited Dee just fine.

Dee had found a job at a specialty pizza shop that was part of a food court serving a small cluster of business offices. The working conditions stank, requiring her to be on her feet all day long. The pay wasn't a lot, but she got pretty good tips from the corporate types that stopped by for quick lunch and snacks. So, the income was adequate to afford the bare essentials to live.

After work every day, Dee would take the 'T' back to the apartment she shared with Brandi. There, she'd scan the classifieds in the daily newspaper that would inevitably be available in the dumpster out back, looking for a better job. If the stains and moisture from the coffee grounds weren't too bad, she would also try to enjoy the comics and do the crossword puzzle. Life for her at that time boiled down to two words--Bo Ring.

After Dee had been in Boston for a few weeks, she got a call from home informing her that her mother had been offered a good job in Middlebury, Vermont. Momma was going to be working as a housekeeper, of all things, for a corporate executive there. My momma is a maid! How disgusting and embarrassing!

Whenever she spoke with her mother on the phone, after working through the difficult conversations, Dee would be sad afterwards. She slowly began to realize that she wasn't helping matters by continuing her bitterness over the loss of her dad, much less by taking it out on her mother.

Momma was just trying to get on with life and help Dee to do the same. Dee really loved her mother. It was just difficult at this time in her life to say as much openly. But Momma was evidently getting on with life on her end in Middlebury.

Dee found out, to her great surprise, that the folks for whom Momma worked actually lived in a mansion. They paid her very well to maintain it and cook their meals--Momma was an excellent cook! They even provided Momma with an apartment right there in their house as part of the deal. Dee had not been back to see it since coming to Boston, but it sounded nice.

Momma would always give glowing commentary on her employers and friends. It was always Jan this and Brad that! It was as if Momma were more like a part of their family now.

Dee did not know quite how to take that aspect of things at first. But it had evidently helped her mother's outlook. Dee finally began to warm to the idea of Momma's getting on with her life, even if Dee herself couldn't seem to do so.

This couple, Brad and Jan Pittman, had even gotten Momma a date with the president of their company, of all things! Imagine Momma, a simple woman from a modest background, and a Soldier's widow at that, mixing it up with the Brahmins!

Evidently, Momma had been out on more than just ONE date with the old guy! Dee had not been too excited about that. But she knew that if anything were to develop in the romance department for Momma, Dee would not be able to stop it. Anyway, Momma deserved a break in life!

The Pittmans also had other domestic help in the person of their company-provided chauffeur, a gentleman named Dennis Way. Momma had found out that Dennis' twin sister, Dina, was successful in the design of women's fashions. Dina Way had a small boutique there in Boston and Momma had arranged through Dennis for Dee to interview for an associate's job with his sister.

By this time, Dee's attitude had improved a bit. Dee had been somewhat embarrassed at her own personal lack of sophistication and style. Dina Way evidently thought differently.

It was a brief interview. She and Dina (who insisted that Dee call her by her first name) basically just conversed about life in general. Dina surprised her when she told Dee to show up the following Monday ready for work.

It helped that she really did not have to give more than a few days' notice to the pizza franchise owner. It also helped that Dina's boutique was just three stops farther along on Dee's 'T' route. So things were very convenient.

After only a few weeks of working for Dina, Dee got a call from her mother that started to turn things in her life a whole new direction. Momma was getting married to that company president she had been dating for, what, only a couple of months!

Dee had arranged with Dina to get off work to be able to attend the wedding in Middlebury. Momma had arranged for Dee to fly by corporate jet ... well, la-di-dah ... to Middlebury for the big event.

Upon landing, Dee was met at the foot of the stairs leading down from the jet by Robert, the limo driver for Mr. Morris, Momma's new husband-to-be! Dee was somewhat intimidated by all this luxury, but impressed as well.

The Pittman's house, where the wedding was being hosted, was impressive too. It was definitely a mansion. Jan Pittman, her hostess for the weekend, laughingly called it 'The Palace.' Jan had paused only slightly between the 'The' and the 'Palace' giving Dee the impression that the very young but obviously very-high-society matron had almost said 'The Fucking Palace.' Imagining this had caused Dee to giggle to herself.

The weekend had flown by. Dee had finally met the rich corporate baron of industry who had won her mother's heart. She found herself taken by him very quickly. Even though he was in his early-to-mid-sixties, he had shown a lot of energy and was very warm with all of his employees. He went out of his way to treat them like old friends and family members, rather than peons.

Dee was impressed not only by this, but with the fact that he deliberately took some of the valuable short amount of time before the wedding to sit down with Dee one-on-one and talk to her. He assured Dee of his love for her mother. He also promised Dee that he would never try to take her late father's place in the minds or hearts of her or her mother. She found herself liking ... no ... almost loving Mr. Richard Morris right away--Mo, as Mr. Morris asked her to call him. Later Momma laughingly told her that he refused to come anywhere close to letting anyone call him 'Dick Morris'.

The wedding was a simple civil ceremony. Afterwards, everyone ate, drank, and partied. Some of Momma's friends made comments about there being too much clothing here at the Pittman's house to suit them. Dee took these comments to be just wedding day raunchiness and banter aimed at the coming honeymoon for the happy couple.

The next day, Dee arose with no real hangover or after effects of the wine she had consumed at the reception. She went downstairs to join her hostess, Jan, and Jan's very handsome husband, Brad. Mo and Momma were there also.

Everyone was enjoying a sumptuous breakfast being prepared and served by Jan's housekeeper, a very attractive lady in her mid-twenties named Dani. Jan and Momma had traded friendly insults about this having been Momma's job to do in the recent past. Both ladies had teased and laughed back and forth like lifelong friends.

After she had finished her breakfast, Dee had been prepared for the newlyweds simply to say their goodbyes and head out right away on their honeymoon. Mo had surprised Dee once again by leading her and her mother out onto the patio by Jan's pool. They spoke for less than half an hour, but the conversation carried a lifetime of meaning.

Mo, through his influence as a corporate donor to Middlebury College's general scholarship fund and capital campaign, had pulled some strings there. He had actually gotten Dee a conditional acceptance to that prestigious institution to begin this coming fall. Dee could give college a fresh start at one of the top five most prestigious liberal arts small colleges in the country!

After tearful hugs and thanks, the happy couple had departed for their honeymoon. With Jan's help, Dee had gotten her things packed for her return trip to Boston.

Upon arrival at work on Monday, Dee had given Dina the good and bad news about her upcoming return to academia in about six weeks. Dina had said that she would miss her, but she was happy for her as well.

At the apartment, Dee had made arrangements to get the lease and utilities worked out with Brandi. Another girl who knew Brandi would move in when Dee finally left for school and new adventures at Middlebury College.

Dee had worked hard for Dina until it was time to leave, learning what she could of the fashion trade and improving her wardrobe as well.

Finally, the day had come for her new life to begin. Dennis had come down to drive her from Boston to Middlebury in the Pittman's limo. The car had made quite a stir when she was deposited on the front steps of the apartment where Momma had arranged for her to stay. It had been too late to get Dee on-campus housing once they had made her attendance arrangements at the college--and, surprisingly, no one in the Housing Office seemed to want to object, despite the housing rules at Middlebury for underclassmen.