----- Chapter 1 -----
“Hey Dale!” I heard my mother’s voice calling from downstairs. It sounded like she must be home from work, and I could hear her rummaging about the kitchen. “I got dinner!”
I pushed myself away from my glowing computer screen and rubbed my tired eyes. It was unusual for my mother to get anything for dinner, and although I appreciated the gesture, I was far too busy to eat right now. This work wasn’t going to finish itself.
“I’ll be down in a bit.” I hollered back, but we both knew I had no real intentions of heading down anytime soon. As I went back to my computer I heard our big screen TV turn on as my mother prepared for a night in front of the television. She’d probably had a hard day at her job and was likely just looking for some alone time anyways.
As I went back to my own business, I thought about the relationship I had with my mother. In short, it wasn’t bad, but we weren’t exactly close either. Cheryl Harvey was my adoptive mother, and my “father” had left us shortly after the couple had taken me in. I don’t even remember him. My mom had been left with a small baby and a budding career to juggle, so she had regularly missed out on parts of my life.
My life hadn’t been what one would call typical. I’d been raised by various caretakers and gotten the best private homeschooling my mother could afford. I’d recently graduated, and I’d found my calling with computers. Due to a life of limited social interaction, I was what one might call a “shut in”. A social recluse. And I had no real intentions of venturing out to correct that image.
After a few more hours of coding, I was hungry enough to take up my mother’s dinner offer. I carefully made my way down the expansive stairs of Cheryl’s mansion, working my way over to the kitchen area. Across from the kitchen was the vast open living room where my mother was asleep on the couch. The TV was still on, and colors from the immense screen played all over the white vaulted ceiling and walls.
Nothing was on the counter, or in the fridge. Perplexed, I tip toed over to the couch in the living room to investigate. Sure enough, my mother had bought a large tub of chicken. She’d fallen asleep with her arm wrapped around it. I peered over the couch, careful not to wake her, when I noticed the tub was bare. So much for that. Discouraged, I went back to the kitchen to see what else I could scrounge.
In a way, I felt bad for Cheryl. Her life obviously hadn’t turned out to be what she’d really wanted. After her husband had left her, she’d poured herself into her career, and thereby lost any potential relationship she could have had with her son. Sure, she’d basically built GAIA Companies from the ground up, but by the time she was able to devote her efforts elsewhere, I had moved on and grown up. Now she was 38 years old with an 18 year old son and she’d hadn’t had a date in nearly two decades. Instead she’d made a widely successful international business. My mother was a chief executive at GAIA, an international company that made pharmaceutical products, medical devices and consumer packaged goods aimed at maternity and pregnant women. It was a position she’d earned through her obsession with success.
I knew that her lack of romantic encounters was her own fault, although she’d never admit it. My mother was a businesswoman first and foremost. She could be stubborn, critical, and at times a bit domineering. She was very hard for most men to take. While she was decently attractive, there were enough quintessential qualities of her personality to turn nearly all men off. I had a sneaking suspicion that those very qualities had been what eventually turned my adoptive father away.
I found enough stuff in the fridge to make a sandwich. As I fixed myself something to eat, I gazed into the living room at my mother’s outstretched form.
Her face was peaceful, contentedly sleeping. Facially speaking, Cheryl Harvey looked a bit like Peg Bundy from that “Married with Children” show, but she lacked the big 80’s hair that the character had. She had high cheekbones and sharp features. Her hair was voluminous and a dark brown, with a hint of red if the light hit it just right. Her eyes were emerald green, large and expressive.
It was nice to see her so relaxed. Lately, work had been rather stressful on her, or so she claimed. She regularly came home irritable and grouchy. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I felt like it probably wasn’t just work. I knew she was looking for a Mr. Right, and I had a feeling that the search wasn’t going so well. The fact that she had porked out on an entire tub of chicken supported my suspicions.
I suddenly felt bad for missing dinner with her. As I finished eating I resolved to make more of an effort to reach out. She was one of a handful of people that I had any contact with, and we had such a detached relationship. I didn’t even really consider her my mother- she was more like a roommate. With that thought, I finished my sandwich and turned in for the night.
……
The next morning I came downstairs again to find my mom having coffee and breakfast with her friend, Trisha. Trisha was a 30 something blonde doctor who also worked at GAIA. She looked a bit like the Wheel of Fortune woman, and in a way she was my mother’s only real friend. They were halfway through a conversation when I walked into the kitchen.
“Well, if you’re having so much trouble with this Cherie, maybe you two need to go out more. All you do is work all day anyways. It’d be good for you.” Trisha said, brushing her long blonde bangs to the side.
“I’m not so sure. I feel like if I were to leave all the progress we’ve made would be wasted. We’d be set back significantly if I started taking days off all the time.” Cheryl looked down into her coffee cup. “I do want to though.”
Neither one of them knew I was there. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about, and it sounded important.
Trisha leaned forward. “Cheryl, I’ve known you for a long time. When are you going to quit making excuses and get your life started? GAIA will be fine without you. Hell, we’ve been so successful that I’m sure you could retire today and live comfortably.”
Cheryl was listening but she had a critical expression on her face. Unconvinced, her eyebrows furrowed as she sipped her coffee. I couldn’t tell if they were talking about Cheryl going out and dating, or if the conversation was about me. It seemed like it was about dating.
“You’re not getting any younger. You need to get reconnected.” Trisha insisted. “I can help, if you want.”
It took my mother a long time to respond, and when she did, it was with a reluctant sigh. “Yes, I suppose it’s time, even though I still don’t understand how this is going to work.”
I was confused. Time for what? It sounded like something these two had planned up a while ago. I continued eavesdropping, despite my better judgement.
“Just trust me! I’ve worked it all out. It’s foolproof, and it’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“Ok fine. We’ll talk about it later, but right now we should really go, or we’ll be late.” Cheryl stood up to leave for work.
I needed to make an entrance quick, otherwise they were going to discover me as they left. I made loud stepping sounds and walked into the room, bluffing to make them think I’d just woke up. I shuffled about the kitchen, grabbing a bowl of cereal and pouring myself one. Trisha also stood as my mother left the room to grab some things.
“How are you doing today, Dale?” Dr. Trisha asked as I got myself some milk.
“Great.” I sat down at the table. “Things are going ok.”
“That’s fantastic.” My mother’s friend nodded; an awkward attempt at small talk. “Your mother and I were just talking about going out tonight.”
“Oh” I replied, “That should be fun.” I don’t think they knew that I’d overheard them.
“Yes. I think Cheryl needs to get out some more. She’s been pretty stressed lately. What do you think?” The woman cocked her head to the side slightly, almost as if she were asking my permission.
“Sure.” I shrugged. Going out wasn’t exactly my thing, but I heard it worked okay for other people. Dr. Trisha was a pretty smart woman. If she said Cheryl needed to go out more, she probably needed to go out.
My mother came back with her purse and said good morning to me. Trisha waved goodbye and both women quickly left for work.
As I ate my bowl of cereal I thought a bit about what I’d just overheard. Judging by what was said, I was sure that Cheryl was interested in hitting the dating scene again. Apparently her and Trisha had some plan to do that. Whatever that meant. I guess I wasn’t entirely convinced that it was even possible at this point.
I went back upstairs and spent the better part of the day working. After graduating high school I had landed this low paying webmaster job, maintaining and designing a low traffic webpage. It was nothing special, but it allowed me to use my computer talents and gave me something to do. I definitely wasn’t doing it for the money, and I didn’t want to make a career out of it. I didn’t have any kind of degree anyways. Cheryl had been disappointed when she found out I wasn’t going to college, but I just didn’t have direction in my life, so I knew college would be a waste of time and money. I’d spent most of my life in front of a computer anyways, so I guess it was really the only thing I knew.
Evening rolled around, and I had stopped working and was putzing around the web when I heard the mansion door open. Loud heels clacked down the empty hall as Cheryl made her way to the living room. I listened closely, because I had thought that she was going out. I checked the time. It was only 9 PM, which I thought seemed early for a Friday night out, but too late to be coming home from work. She’d done something tonight.
I continued listening, and I could hear Cheryl sobbing softly on the couch. Obviously, she’d had another terrible night. I felt bad, but I knew there was nothing I could do for her now. Not that she would let me see her crying anyways. I figured the best plan was to let her get a hold of herself before heading down to talk with her.
It wasn’t long at all until she’d recovered, and I tip toed into the living room. My mother had done her hair up a bit, had hoop earrings, and she was wearing a bit more makeup than usual. And judging by the little black dress she was wearing, the evidence was pretty clear that she had been out on the town. I was pretty sure her and Trisha had been to the bars.
Cheryl was curled up on the couch, reading a magazine. As I walked by, she watched me discreetly, her eyes just above the top page. I knew she secretly wanted me to initiate a conversation, to spend some time with her. I thought that it wouldn’t hurt.
“Hey Cheryl.” I sat down next to her. “Going out didn’t go so well?”
She placed the magazine down and eyed me suspiciously. “How’d you find out about that?”
“Trisha told me this morning, and I suppose it’s a little obvious.” I stated bluntly, then immediately cringed. I needed to work on my people skills.
“You little punk!” She threw her arm around me and jerked me playfully. I caught a strong whiff of her perfume.
“I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Sure,” Cheryl rolled her eyes and smiled, unfazed by my hard handed comment. We sat quietly for a second before she spoke again.
“Hey, do you want to watch something with me?” She suddenly suggested.
Some quality time with her wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Sure. You pick it out.”
Delighted, she bent forward and grabbed the remote, flipping the TV to the Discovery channel. Finally she decided on some show about animals, and we settled in to watch it. Or rather, Cheryl settled in.
“Hey Dale,” she nudged me with her elbow. “Could you be a dear and fix me up some popcorn? Since it’s obvious I had such a bad night.”
I hopped up off the couch, eager to fix that little gaffe I’d made earlier. I wish I knew how to talk to people, but I was glad Cheryl knew me well enough to not take it personally.
“Why don’t you get some for yourself too.” She suggested as I made my way into the kitchen. I spent the next ten minutes making us both big bowls of popcorn. I finished Cheryl’s first and brought it to her before heading back and getting my own.
As I entered the living room I noticed two things about my adoptive mother. First, the scent of her alluring perfume seemed really intense, almost like she’d put more on. Secondly, her popcorn bowl was nearly gone already.
She scooped another quick handful as I sat down next to her.
“Someone’s hungry!” I commented in a joshing way, giving her a quick nudge.
“Oh, I know! I just ate too. I’m totally hungry again.” She felt her stomach with a look of disbelief.
Seeing an opportunity to make myself useful, I offered to make her something again.
“Would you like a sandwich maybe?”
“Yes actually. As a matter of fact you should make two. I’m feeling just famished today,” my mother admitted, finishing off the last of her popcorn.
I got up again and headed to the kitchen. If my mother’s appetite continued like this, I’d miss the whole show! That was ok; it wasn’t something I was super interested in anyways. This night was more about her, and if she wanted me to make her stuff to eat, I guess I figured it would make her happy. In a way it actually felt really good to be useful.
When I made it back to the living room, I noticed that my popcorn bowl that I’d left for myself was empty. Cheryl eyed me hungrily as I set the sandwiches down next to her. As I sat down myself I mentioned the lack of popcorn.
“You ate my popcorn, ya jerk.” I teased, pointing to the empty bowl.
My mother sighed, “I know, I don’t know what’s come over me. It’s like lately I’m a bottomless pit.” She grabbed a sandwich off the plate and took a big bite.
I decided that I didn’t really care about the missing popcorn. I wasn’t hungry anyways. I curled up next to her and tried to get into the animal show. It was hard since I’d missed the first half hour. I was having trouble focusing.
Cheryl ate her two sandwiches quickly. When she finished, she looked over to me and wrapped an arm over my shoulder.
“That was good Dale. Come snuggle up to me. Yeah, you’re the only man I need.”
It was a strange request, but I scooted a bit closer and leaned into her, feeling the warmth emanating from her body. I suddenly felt a bit tired and incredibly unfocused. The more I tried to watch the TV, the less interested I was in it. I just wanted to nod off, to get some relief. My mother’s perfume filled my nostrils, full and musky and feminine. It felt weird to admit it, but at that moment it smelled really good to me. In no time at all I had completely stopped watching and my eyelids were shut.
……
I woke suddenly when I felt my mom moving about. She was holding me, and she gently laid me down on the couch as she stood up. Too tired to care, I merely allowed myself to doze off again. Half asleep, I could hear her rummaging through the kitchen. Shortly after that I woke again when she came back, snuggling up next to me on the couch. In a way, I was glad to feel the warmth from her body again, and I definitely was starting to enjoy the lasting scent of her perfume. Her body heat and aroma lulled me back to sleep easily.