All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
A week passed.
Felix was finally ready for a conversation. Unfortunately, there was more than a six-minute delay between when the message was sent to when it was received. That was over twelve minutes round trip. Despite her excitement, Penelope felt that it made their normally wonderful back and forth difficult.
"I have much to tell you, my beloved," Penelope said into the screen. She could see her husband's eager face as he patiently waited for her words to reach him. Then, he was typing and looking off to the side. She supposed it made sense that he would multitask. There was no reason for him to sit and wait for each burst of conversation. "But much of what I would share is of a personal nature."
A good wife shares everything with her husband. I so desperately need to get everything off my chest.
"Can I detail for you things related to the transference we discussed before you left?" She pressed the button indicating that she was done talking for the moment.
Penelope plastered a smile on her face while she waited. It was so odd how she sat and stared at him while waiting for a connection. The last week had been confusing and overwhelming for Penelope. On the plus side, Winifred was a gem with comfort and advice. Cora seemed to be enjoying Penelope's company more. And she had exchanged several pleasant missives with Victoria. On the downside, she continued to run through carrots at an alarming pace. Her masturbation frenzy continued, and it was becoming more and more difficult to find satisfaction. She could still find orgasms, but just barely. The mind-bending climaxes that had so rocked her world disappeared almost as soon as they had arrived. And her fantasies were still muddled and odd. Many of them focused on rekindling a bond with her son. A connection that seemed ever more attenuated. He frequently blew up at her when she approached him, and she spent much of her time after such confrontations sobbing in Winifred's arms.
She saw her husband smile, and his attention shifted to her screen. Finally, he was receiving her message. After a moment, Felix shook his head. "It may be best to keep a journal or speak to Winifred about your concerns. Security is very tight here. This line is not private. But please, tell me more about your days. Are you still learning to cook? Is Theodore treating you well? How is Cora doing?" The notice popped up on the screen that he was done talking for the moment.
Penelope took a deep breath.
A good wife is brave. I will tell him what he wants to hear. My sweet husband will be home before I know it. Then, I can tell him all.
Maintaining the veneer of her smile, she nodded her head and spoke to him as if all was well back at home.
When the conversation was done, she flopped onto her stomach on the bed, buried her face in a pillow, and had a long cry.
~~
"Just stop fucking bothering me!" Theodore screamed. "You've always been such a bitch. You're messing with my head. I just ... don't ... fucking ... need you."
Winifred positioned herself in the second-floor hall, ready to console Penelope when she ran sobbing from her son's room.
"Look ... Lambk ... Teddy ... I know I wasn't always a great mother. There were times I might have even been a ... b-word ... as you say. It wasn't always easy for me ... being a mother and wife." Penelope's voice was shaky and faint as it carried out into the hall. "But we also had plenty of wonderful times. We were close ... when you were little. We have a second chance to be close again."
"Get ... the fuck ... out ... of ... my room." Theodore punctuated his words with kicks that rattled his wooden bedframe.
The sobbing started, and Penelope ran out of his room into Winifred's waiting arms. Soon, they were seated in the sunroom. Winifred had freshly brewed some tea, and Penelope sipped it from a shaking cup. Tears still ran down her cheeks. "Was I really as bad as he says, Winnie? I know I wasn't up for Mother of the Year, but I don't remember it being that terrible."
"He's angry about your leaving. You're right that it wasn't always easy for you here, especially in the years before you left. But you're not a monster. You never were." Winifred enlarged and exaggerated her dark irises to give her eyes an empathic look.
"Do you know that I kissed him? I was so confused. So many thoughts ran through my mind." Penelope smoothed out her skirts with her glove and slowed her breathing. "He had just defended me so gallantly, pinning that horrible boy to the lawn. It was something a husband might do to defend me. I told him it was a mistake, but I fear I may have ruined the prime chance the duel offered us to mend the bond between us. He says the kiss doesn't matter, but I pressed my lips against his. I ... used tongue. What son wants that from his mother?"
"These things happen." Winifred was not a newly minted model from her factory in Urbana, Illinois. She had studied human behavior and spoken with other household AIs over the years.
"Excuse me?" Penelope blinked. The tears had dried, leaving salty streaks down her dark cheeks.
"What I mean is that Theodore will forgive the kiss. It was just a misguided act of affection. He cannot forgive your leaving. He feels it in his heart. You must heal that, little by little as we discussed."
"It's not working. He gets angry, and I burst into tears. Every time." Penelope's tea was growing cold. She gulped it down and rested the empty cup on her knee.
"Maybe he needs some tough love." Winifred retrieved the teapot and refilled Penelope's cup. She noted her mistress's raised eyebrows. "I know what you would say, Penny. And no, I don't mean you should yell at him. But, perhaps, you should be firmer with him. Assert your love and your needs. Let him know fully where you stand. He knows that if he screams at you, that is the end. You run out. He doesn't have to face his uncomfortable feelings about your return. Don't give him that easy escape. Be brave. Stand up for yourself. Be kind, but firm. Don't put him in a position to handily be done with you."
"A good mother is brave." Penelope nodded, sticking out her chin.
"Yes, she is." Winifred mirrored the nod, a stiff smile on her face. "And she is firm. And while she listens to her son, she also stands up for her own rights and needs. That earns her respect from him."
