Note 1:
This is dedicated to
Breezy,
who requested this story.
Note 2:
Thanks to Tex Beethoven and Robert for editing this story.
* * * * *
Charlie and Maxine were so thankful when Uncle Joe rented them a space in his duplex. Newly married, just out of college and with excessive debt, they needed something cheap but near downtown, where they both worked.
Joe was a complete life saver.
That was five years ago.
During those years they became like family, which is why they started calling him Uncle Joe. He wasn't actually related to either of them, he just felt like their uncle.
Joe was like the grandfather neither of them had ever had... both coming from less than ideal homes, although Maxine was still close to her mother... and most definitely
not
to her father. Charlie was happily estranged from both of his parents.
For Joe, Charlie and Maxine were like the kids he'd never had.
Joe had lived a great life, had travelled the world, fought in a war, and had enjoyed a lot of great sexual encounters with women, and even a few men (the glory days of 'don't ask don't tell' in the military had been wild)... but he'd never married, and had never had kids.
That latter status... being childless... hadn't been a regret when he was young and living life to the fullest, but it had become one when he was in his fifties and alone. And now in his mid-sixties, his health gradually becoming an issue, he was happy to have Charlie and Maxine close to him.
Like all young couples, they fought sometimes... and like most couples regardless of their age, it was often over money.
Uncle Joe was always there to mediate, never picking sides, but always available to listen. Occasionally it was a weeping Maxine, or a confused Charlie who literally had no idea what he'd done wrong. Even if Maxine was too angry at Charlie to tell him what it was (something women sometimes do that their men invariably find both unfair and incomprehensible), she was always willing to tell her sympathetic Uncle Joe, and he could pass it along, so Charlie could then offer her a meaningful apology.
Then two things happened almost simultaneously that led to massive changes, which over time ended up benefitting all three of them.
First, after four years of their trying to get pregnant, their doctor revealed that although Maxine was very fertile, even more so than most women, Charlie had no more than a meager sperm count. This fresh knowledge, which in one sense was a relief since the mystery was solved, also increased the frustration level for both of them. Maxine desperately wanted to be a mother, and Charlie wanted that too for both of their sakes, but he now felt an intense sense of guilt because he couldn't give her one, and that tore at his self-image of masculinity. It was bad enough that being innately clumsy with tools, he could do almost none of the maintenance that needed doing around the house, and instead a 66-year-old man had to do it, but now added on top of that, was his being unable to give a child to the woman he loved more than anything else. This combination led him to feeling completely inadequate as a person.
This deflated emotional state led to Charlie's sex drive crashing, and soon the couple was prematurely sexually dissatisfied, two entire years ahead of the typical seven-year itch.
Second, Joe's eyesight had been progressively getting worse, and his optometrist had warned him he likely didn't have more than a year before he'd be completely blind. This was something he hadn't told anyone, not even Charlie and Maxine.
Maxine was concerned they might have to divorce, since Charlie had become sullen and temperamental... very like her dad, who'd had a major drinking problem when she was a child... still did, she assumed... and she wasn't about to return to living her life in fear. Things between them hadn't gotten anywhere near that bad, but she sensed they were heading in that direction. After trying to convince Charlie to go to a marriage counselor to no avail, Maxine suggested their talking to Joe.
Charlie resisted this option as well, but when Maxine uttered the dreaded 'D' word, reality hit Charlie like a sledge hammer, and he agreed. He loved Maxine, and suddenly realized he'd been pushing her away because of his own insecurities, instead of taking steps to deal with the disappointment.
They went to see Joe and after listening, he suggested they considered adopting a child or two. They were the right age, and in an adequate income bracket (both having paid off their student loans, but had decided to continue living with Joe because they loved him so much), and both were great people. (That is when Charlie wasn't sulking all the time, and Maxine wasn't quietly seething about it, so kindly cut that nonsense out, you two loveable idiots.)
"Are you okay?" Maxine asked, noticing Joe having difficulty reaching for his coffee cup.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, but then he knocked an adjacent glass over, spilling water everywhere. In a rare moment of unrestrained anger, he cursed, "Fuck!"
"Oh, it's okay," Maxine said, rushing off to fetch some paper towels, and returning to help him clean up.
"Since you two have been so honest with me, I guess I should be the same with you," Joe said after a long, thoughtful pause, realizing it would be good to share his own concerns with someone.
"What is it?" they both asked in unison, both of them concerned for the wellbeing of this kindly uncle figure.
"I'm going blind," he admitted.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" Maxine cried out, rushing this time to sit on his lap and hug him, something she'd done on a couple of prior occasions.
And just like the other times, this gave Joe an instant erection, since he hadn't had sex since before they'd moved in, and Maxine was a pretty young woman with great legs, which were always in nylons because of her job as a lawyer, and a great ass for no reason at all except perhaps good fortune. Almost all of Joe's jerk-off fantasies were dedicated to Maxine so to speak, although truth be told, he also found Charlie's ass pretty cute, and he occasionally imagined being the one to break that anal cherry. Joe might be old, but he still could get it up, and he still had a wicked imagination.
"Wow, that sucks," Charlie said, feeling terrible for this man, who always did so much for them.
"Yeah, it does," Joe agreed, rather distracted from his woes by enjoying the sexy perfume wafting from Maxine, as well as her nice tits resting against his cheek.
"Well, we're here for you, no matter what you need," Maxine pledged, meaning it. He was like her father, and she was going to make sure his quality of life didn't go down because of this tragic news.
"I appreciate that, but there isn't much you two can do."
"Well for starters, we can help around the house, and with whatever else you need," she offered.
"Pick up groceries and so forth," Charlie added.
"Maybe a little house maintenance?" Joe teased, as Maxine squeezed him affectionately.
"Don't be cruel," Maxine laughed.
"Hey, I can do
some
things," Charlie protested.
"Like mowing the lawn," Maxine said.
"For example," Charlie nodded, more comfortable with knowing he wasn't too useful with his hands than... the other thing.