Everyone's over 18, blah, blah, etc... BTW, this story will be infinitely more enjoyable if you read the other chapters first.
AFTERSHOCK
"
Absolutely
not!
You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to sit idly by and watch my son throw his life away! She's a
whore
Peter, a prostitute who may be a couple of rungs up the ladder from the girls down on Eighth Avenue but she still quacks like the same species of duck. Jason said she lost her virginity to a train of sixteen people for God's sake... and she's actually
proud
of it! She has no shame! I'm telling you if we just sit back without stopping this, our son will become a laughing stock in every social circle we care about; and you can forget about your precious application to the Yacht Club. We'll never be allowed entry to the homes of decent people again!
And what about Monica? She'll be here this weekend too! Do you want your daughter to make friends with her brother's little cock sucking tramp? Don't you think she already has enough problems without adding to her confusion?
He's
your
son too, you know! Aren't you going to say
anything
?"
"I rather thought it might keep the overall volume down if I waited until it was my turn. Is it my turn now?"
"Oh for God's sake, if you have something to say, say it without sarcasm!"
Peter began, "When we were discussing Jason's shyness around women we discussed
at length
the idea that this might happen and we decided it was worth the risk. The one thing we never considered was that the girl might turn out to be actually worthy of our s..."
Worthy?
You're calling that cheap piece of tail..."
"Excuse me Ruth but didn't you just tell me that it was my turn?"
Ruth shut her mouth which was mid sentence and waved to Peter to continue. "Yes I said worthy. In case you haven't noticed Lisa's been a tonic for Jason. His confidence and maturity have made quantum leaps in the last few months. You put so much store in Lisa's flamboyant entry into sexual maturity but it seems to have escaped your notice that she waited until she was old enough to reason out the implications of what she was doing. And no matter how you want to delude yourself, you know damned well what Monica and Ray Laughton's son were doing in the pool house almost six years ago! Maybe if she'd waited until she had Lisa's emotional maturity she might not have some of the problems she has today, I don't know.
I
do
know that as I already told you on board the
Clarion
, I was impressed with the way Lisa stood up for herself in the airport in Bermuda and I seem to remember your saying how impressed you were with her college course load.
Oh, and as far as all those doors that are going to be closed to us in the homes of 'decent people'? Well after talking to Jack Breslin in my office I feel fairly confident that Arthur and Joan Hill are already on the
inside
of most of those doors." He chuckled, "I know that if I'd had Arthur as a sponsor on my Yacht Club application we'd already be members.
All that aside though, Ruth, in the last hundred years how many parents do you think succeeded in ordering their children to stop seeing the object of their loves? Whatever number you come up with I guarantee it's smaller than the number of parents who wound up alienating their kids.
I know you, Ruth. So I know that on Wednesday when Jason brings Lisa home for Thanksgiving Day weekend you're going to bite your tongue and be cordial and loving and every bit as friendly as you were on board the schooner. Your sense of self-preservation would never allow you to drive a wedge between yourself and your son."
Ruth opened a cabinet and took out a rag and some cleaner to address an imaginary stain on the kitchen counter. The conversation was over.
Lisa thought Jason had fallen asleep in the deep armchair until she heard him say, "You seem to forget where we're going this weekend. You're packing quite a few things I'm
really
sure you won't be dragging out in front of my family."
Lisa looked over, "I thought you were asleep."
"I don't care
how
tired I am, I'm not about missing my favorite thing to do
ever
! I could watch you doing ordinary domestic-like things naked forever! When you're naked in a non-sexual setting it seems to me that you're wearing the most magnificently designed outfit ever conceived of!"
Lisa smiled as she said, "I sometimes feel that way too but
trust me
, you'll stop thinking that way in a few years when these tits begin to sag."
"
That's
why I want to store up as many of these memories as I can. Note to self; buy a good quality digital movie camera for these very occasions."
She smiled coyly, "I won't mind."
"You still haven't answered my question about your packing. Don't forget that it'll probably be me who winds up carrying all that stuff!"
Lisa looked down at the
Golden Whore
trophy in her hand and smiled as her mind drifted back to her summer.
After thirty seconds of silence Jason was forced to ask, "A penny for your thoughts?"
Lisa didn't look up as she continued to smile. She said, "I was thinking about the day we met and you were telling me I wouldn't be needing all the frilly underwear I'd packed." Her eyes rose to meet his. "You were
so
embarrassed!"
Jason smiled back and said, "I love you too but
please
keep packing. We're already going to be late and you're
decidedly not
my Mom's favorite person right now."
Lisa rolled her eyes as she put the statuette in one of her Hartmann bags. "Don't remind me. If I didn't absolutely know how much you want peace between your Mom and I... Well, trust me, I wouldn't be going." She filled that bag and positioned the next one for filling.