MAJOR/minor Generation Gap Chapter 10: Hurdles and Missteps 

For an instant Hilda felt panic, her heart quickened as the world slowed down to fractions of a second, her mind processing everything in front of her. Basil in a rage having just hurled their oldest son to the floor, she could see the beads of sweat form on his face, the pink flushing his cheeks, and spittles of saliva as he roared at her. Her hands were still on Elliot, his face contorting into an expression of fear, his eyes widening and his already pale face blanching even whiter. A sheen glossed over his eyes as a translucent liquid started to accumulate in his ducts. 

Then her panic turned to anger. 

She rose gently pushing Elliot to her side, almost instantly his MAJOR friend had taken charge of him. She rose to her feet walking right past the mess of a man that was her oldest son to address the mess of a man that was her ex-husband. Her senses, still heighted, meant she could see the moments between moments of his expression changing from one of anger to wide eyed shock. His face squashed and contorted under the sudden pressure and force from her slap. He recoiled under her assault. 

“You don’t have the right to just barge into MY house Basil!” 

He turned back toward her wearing a wicked grin. “I love when you get fiery!” he growled. She was seized into his overbearing clutches, his arms strong and thick. As amped as she was, the moment played out in painful slow motion as she felt the cheek of her ass press in under the pressure of his eager palm. 

“Basil, don’t!” She screamed at him, but her lips were snatehed in his. His tongue assaulted hers as they struggled for dominance in tandem. To Hilda’s great shame, she forgot herself again. Something primal threatened to overtake them both. This was just another battle for control to both of them. They were both MAJORS after all. Neither wanted to give in and concede. She had made a mistake, violence was often a flirting tactic for MAJORS. Basil would never see her anger as rejection, just playing hard to get. Fortunately Hilda was not above playing dirty at this moment and Basil was a man. Hilda took that moment to remind him just how much of a man he was. 

Basil cursed in pain and released her to cup his wounded groin. Covering his assuredly tender nuggets that had just had an intimate moment with her knee. It hadn’t been their first meeting. To his credit he didn’t completely buckle from her love tap. 

“Get yourself together!” Hilda hissed before spitting the taste of his breath out her mouth. “You’re too old now, to still be acting like such a brute! What are you doing!?” Hilda turned around to regard her oldest son Richard, still gathering himself on the cold marble floor of her entryway. From the corner of her eye she could see the look of hurt on Elliot’s face at her brief display with Basil. It felt like a shot to the chest, but she couldn’t comfort him, couldn’t explain herself. Not here with Basil present. That would risk too much. 

A small crowd had gathered in her entryway having apparently heard the commotion. Richard’s daughters were the first to rush up to their father. He grabbed the both up, one in each arm with a big hug before rising to unsteady feet.

“Something smells good!” He said before stumbling his way toward the kitchen. 

“He’s your problem now.” Basil said, still fondling his balls with one hand. “Dammit Hildy I think you popped one!” He lumbered toward the stairs probably towards what was once a shared bedroom and bathroom, 

“No!” Hilda said, stepping in front of him. 

They held a gaze but Hilda wouldn’t relent on this. Who knows what he would get up to in her bedroom. It was likely even a ploy to get them alone. 

He grit his teeth, but relented. He turned and it was then he seemed to notice all the extra people in Hilda’s house. “Moonie having some kind of party?” he grumbled and headed toward the kitchen as well. 

To say that breakfast had become awkward was an understatement. There was a separation of groups that Hilda did not appreciate. Elliot had given her a wide berth for better or worse. Him, his friends, and Moonie had sequestered themselves to a smaller table that Moonie and Elliot could sit at without using high chairs. This created a rather comedic scenario where the two MAJOR girls had to crouch somewhat to hold eye level with the minors. 

Richard and his family had taken the island. There was tension in the atmosphere there. Mia was not pleased to see him, but was pretty much powerless to stop his advances. Her drunken son pawed at her hornily while making idle chitchat with his kids. Sunflower seemed noticeably upset by this behavior, though Richard Jr. was indifferent. She would have to save them soon, but she had problems of her own to deal with first. 

“I can’t believe you couldn’t tolerate being with one of your sons for even one day!” Hilda whispered vehemently at Basil. They were together by the refrigerator, Basil nursing his balls with a bag of frozen vegetables. He had found his lost testicle. 

“He’s a grown man. That’s not my responsibility anymore!” 

“So suddenly it’s mine?” Hilda huffed. 

“With how you baby Lionel, so much I figured you enjoyed it!” Basil stated. 

“You know why that’s different, Basil.” 

“Hrmph.” he grunted, pushing past her to open the fridge. “No beer.” 

“Until yesterday, no one here was old enough to drink!” Hilda informed. 

“You were.” 

“It’s a dry house, Basil.” Hilda huffed. “I even had the staff clean out your liquor cabinet!” 

“What about the one upstairs?” He smirked. “Y’know the nook in the walk-in closet where we put the wine from our trip to Venice, I know you didn’t throw out 900 dollars a bottle. We could pop one open and talk while these kids have breakfast.” He nodded toward the rest and in particular Munalune and Elliot. ”Let Moonie have some time with her friend from the restaurant.” 

Hilda cursed in her head. He’d taken note of Elliot now, remembering him from Moonie’s birthday. Of course he would. Minors were rare and worth noting. 

“No, Basil.” Hilda growled. “I know what you’re trying to do. You won’t be getting anything from me today, and you need to stop fondling me whenever you feel like it!” 

“Don’t be like that.” He gruffed. He pulled out a carton of cranberry juice from the fridge and took a huge chug straight from the bottle. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. You’re clearly stressed. We could both use the release. Plus I figure you owe me.” He grimaced as he pressed the frozen bag against himself. 

“Just throw those out when you’re done with them.” She stepped away from him to head towards the kitchen island. “And you will be taking YOUR son with you when you leave!” 

“Hey, ma-” Before Richard could even finish greeting his mother Hilda seized his hand and forced it off of Mia, releasing her from his groping. He stunk horribly of alcohol and who knows what else. 

“What is wrong with you boy?” Hilda hissed. “Get yourself together!” Hilda felt a familiar rage boil up inside, seeing RIchard like this reminded her so much of Basil. Would it really take him another 40 or 50 years to grow up? 

“C’mon, Mama!” he slurred out. He stumbled and caught himself on the counter's edge. “Why you gotta be mad at me already?” 

Hilda took in a deep breath as Richard smiled at her, His hair was greased and covering part of his face. His beard was shaggy as if he hadn’t shaved in weeks, and based on his speech he must have been on a serious bender and it was much more than alcohol in his system. No MAJOR could get this wasted in one night on alcohol alone unless they were downing it by the keg. 

“Aren’t you embarrassed to be such a mess in front of your children?” 

This seemed to resonate with Richard. He looked toward his family, his young daughters. Sunflower was scowling at him while hanging on one side of her mother, trying to create a buffer between her two parents. She was already nearly as tall as the minor woman. Azalea looked up at him confused, trying to cling to him by his pant leg. Richie didn’t even bother looking at him as he was busy shoveling food into his mouth. Richard stood up a bit straighter trying to find his footing and his composure. 

“Can…can I use one of the showers?” he asked. 

Hilda was slightly taken aback by his request. Maybe there was a little hope him. “Upstairs, you know which one. I think some of your father’s old crap is still in the hallway closet. You might find some clothes that fit there. Clean yourself up Richie.” 

“What?” Richard Jr. snapped up from his meal to see who had addressed him.  

Hidla sighed. 

“He’s….not staying here…is he?” Mia asked. She was a buddle of nerves and visibly shaking at the prospect. It would be cruel to challenge her resolve so soon. 

“No.” Hilda assured. 

“She’s not good for you, dude.” Riley said to Elliot. “We should just leave her to her family drama while we can.” 

“She’s not like what you think.” Elliot defended. “You just don’t know her.”

“She has kids dude, grandkids even.” Riley opened her hands to gesture around Munalune who was sitting across from him at their table. Riley was tall enough that she could easily reach her hands over to her even from her crouched position. “That’s way too much baggage for you to be dealing with.” 

“She has a point.” Moonie added. “I am a lot of baggage. You really want to be my step-grandpa?” She smiled widely with a look of pure enjoyment. 

“Stockholm much.” Minnie jabbed. “I didn’t realize you were pathetic enough to fall for the first girl to give it up. You’re such a cliche.” 

Elliot shot her a dark look before glancing at Riley in hopes she correct Minnie, but she didn’t. 

“She’s right on this.” Riley said. “I get how it feels when you’ve found someone that’s connected with you physically. It’s blissful, almost addictive, fun. But sometimes that’s all it is, dude, fun.” Riley pointed her thumb to Hilda who was chatting with her family at the kitchen island. “You saw what happened back there. Who do you think that guy was?” 

Elliot stayed silent, not willing to answer the obvious. 

“Her husband.” Riley stated evenly. “The father of her children, he’s gonna be factor in her life for as long as they live. Do you really think you can compete with that? Do you really want to? He’s a MAJOR, and this probably wasn’t the first or last time he’s come around. You have to know what that means.”

“Believe it or not I’m actually rooting for you.” Munalune said. “I like to tease, but if I’m being honest you’ve actually been good for grandmama.” She leaned back on her chair balancing it on the back legs. “She’s calmed down a lot.” 

Elliot wasn’t sure what to think anymore. He really liked Hilda. Was it really just because he enjoyed the sex. He did really enjoy the sex, but Hilda was also pleasant to be around. He offered a sense of warmth he didn’t receive much in his life. It was like feeling a void in himself he didn’t even know was missing. But was that enough, did she even take him seriously? Elliot didn’t know. 

“Let’s go.” he said rising from the table. 

“Finally!” Minnie sighed out. “This day has been so tiring and it’s only just started. 

With Richard upstairs showering and Basil placated with food instead of booze, things had calmed down. Hilda wanted to use this opportunity to check in on Elliot but she couldn’t. She had to keep an eye on Basil to make sure he didn’t try to skulk away while Richard was showering and just approaching to talk to what he assumed was one of Munalune’s friends out of nowhere would raise some suspicion she wasn’t in the mindset to explain away. Part of her wanted to just rip off the bandaid and tell Basil about her relationship, but even that wasn’t a wise prospect. She knew Basil wouldn’t react well to that, and it would put a target on Elliot. She needed to talk to him in private so they could discuss how to approach this together. That’s when she saw him leaving the dining area. 

She moved to follow but caught herself. Basil side-eyed her from the kitchen counter having stopped his eating. They locked eyes before thankfully Azalea went up toward him pleading for a pick up and some attention from her grandfather. He complied and started peppering the young girl with pecks that made her giggle and caught the attention of Sunflower who wanted the same. At least he was a competent grandfather when he wanted to be. 

Elliot was already by the door when she caught up to him and his group. Munalune was with him which was another favor. She’d earned at least a few by now with how this morning was going. She bent down to try and talk to him, but his friend Riley stepped between them. 

“I think I’m just gonna head home.” Elliot stated shyly. “You seem pretty busy and I don’t want to interfere.” 

“Nonsense, Ellie.” Hilda stated. “We can-” She heard stomping from behind and the roaring laughter of Basil!

“Oh, let the kids go out!” He jovially bellowed with carrying an armful of granddaughter at each side. “We gotta take our grandbabies shopping for new toys to fill that empty room of theirs! My treat!” 

“Basil, you can’t just…” Hilda facepalmed before turning back to Elliot but he was already halfway out the door. “I mean,..”

They just held a brief wanting glance before he exited the house with his friends including Munalune in tow. Hilda wasn’t going to let it end like this. “I’ll go pull the car around.” She sighed. That would give her an excuse to leave and hopefully catch Elliot in private even if just for a minute. She used every bit of her MAJOR speed to rush past Basil and into the kitchen to fetch her keys off the rack and turn about face, before booking it out the door. 

Fortunately Elliot had only made it to the front of her driveway so she could still catch him, unfortunately there was a problem. Someone was with him. Someone massive, the size of which she’d never seen in person before in her life. A CYCLOPEAN. 

“Hello, Elliot.” Rose said. “I was just coming to find you and greet our new neighbors.” She kept her eye on him but made sure to keep a distance. Even though she practiced extreme diligence around him, there was always a small fear in the back of her head she could injure him, especially when he was still in the company of the minor from before. 

“It’s good you’ve made a minor friend, Elliot.” She stated. “I’m…proud of you.” For some reason just saying that made Rose nervous. She was unpracticed in praising her son, for something so innocuous. 

Then she heard a rhythmic click-clacking of high heeled steps. She looked toward the house to see a well dressed MAJOR woman freeze in her tracks. Rose was used to that reaction. She looked barely older than herself, but the whitened streaks of hair betrayed her real age. She must be the mother, understandably worried about her minor daughter. Rose could relate to that common sense of overprotection. 

“Hello.” She greeted flatly hoping the statement didn’t come off cold, but the MAJOR woman recoiled in awe before catching herself. 

“H…hello!” She said regaining her composure. 

“You must be this one’s mother.” Rose gestured lightly toward the grinning young minor girl. “I didn’t catch her name, but I’m delighted that my son as made a minor friend in your daughter.”

“Granddaughter.” Hilda corrected. “Your…son?” The older MAJOR looked first at her, then at Elliot. Rose could see the conclusions coming together in her head, she and her son shared an almost uncanny amount of similarities when size wasn’t factored in. She took another step back. “Um…yes of course. Elliot has been a very sweet….to me granddaughter! Munalune.” 

“Oh, indeed!” The minor girls smiled widely. “So sweet! Addictively so!” She hugged Elliot to her in a gesture of friendship. 

Rose took a step around the group of young adults to more formally address Hilda. She still had to bend down a bit to extend her hand but not as much as with the teens. “I’m Rose Magnolia, me and my  husband just moved in across the street. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Hilda Maldera.” She responded by taking a few fingers of Rose’s much larger hand. Rose instead encompassed the entirety of Hilda’s and gave it a brief but tight squeeze. Hilda to her credit didn’t flinch. 

“I would like to setup a more formal get together if you had the time.” Rose requested. “Seeing as you will be our only neighbor I feel it best we start our relationship off on the right foot.” 

“Yes.” Hilda agreed through a forced smile. “I’m sure I can make time, but maybe not too soon, I’ve suddenly become busy with family just recently and-”

The front door to Hilda’s house burst open and Basil came strutting out with his granddaughters and Mia following in tow. 

All of them froze in place at the sight of Rose. 

“Your family?” Rose mused. “They seem lovely.” she stepped toward Basil and extended a hand. 

The formerly belligerent man had been rendered speechless just by the presence of Rose. Basil was a large man himself at 13 plus feet, but Rose was still very nearly twice that. It was satisfying to Hilda to finally see someone capable of shutting him up. 

“Oh, mommy!” Sunflower beamed. “She said we could ride in her truck! It’s so big mommy! Can we? Can we?” 

Rose giggled at the child’s outburst. “I can assure you they will be safe. You can ride along if you want.” 

“Uh…” Mia was just as stunned as Basil by the CYCLOPEAN but unlike him she managed to find her voice. “We were actually just about to head into town for a bit.”

“We’ll be here for a few more hours.” Rose informed. “And the truck will be back tomorrow too if you can’t manage today.” 

“Please, mommy?” Sunflower begged. 

“Okay.” Mia relented. 

“Yes!” Sunnie cheered. She dashed off past the adults and toward the truck. 

“Hey, don’t run off!” Mia yelled at her, darting off to catch her MAJOR daughter and dragging her other daughter in tow. 

Rose was relieved and proud in herself. Things were going well! Maybe she could finally foster a dynamic where people weren’t intimidated by her. If Elliot saw that then he wouldn’t be so scared either.

“Could I exchange numbers with you, Hilda Maldera?” Rose requested. 

“Yes..of course.” Hilda said, fishing out her phone. 

Rose observed her give a brief glance toward her son, as he group walked across the street to her manor. “You have no need to worry. I too struggle coping with my son’s independence, but I have been discovering more and more that I can trust him. They’re not as fragile as we think.” 

“No. I suppose they’re not.” Hilda agreed.