After a nice dinner at home, my mother sat me down for an important talk in the living room. She looked me straight in the eyes as she took a deep breath. As always, her posture was upright and proper, with the graceful manners she always liked to display.
"My birthday is next month," she said with mild nerves, as if this were some sort of big revelation. "I'm turning 45."
I was a little confused. Her announcement wasn't what I had expected.
"Yeah, I remember. Did you think I forgot or something?"
"It's not that," she replied. "It's hard to explain, but I'm getting older."
"You look great, mom. Really, you do."
She smiled, "Thanks. But it's not that either."
"Then what is it?" I asked, confused by all this.
"I'm getting older and I want to explore
life
while I still have time. Things I've never explored before. I want new experiences."
"Oh, well, that's great, mom. Cool idea."
"I'm glad you think so because I've already made reservations for us to stay at an expensive beach resort. The resort specializes in all sorts of different water sports like private boat rides and water skiing."
I looked at her skeptically. "Don't you get sea sick on the water?"
"I'm cured."
"How can sea sickness be cured?"
"I've been talking to my therapist about my desire to explore new things. He thinks it's wonderful. When I told him about my sea sickness, he recommended that I see a hypnotist."
"Hypnotists can cure sea sickness?"
"According to my therapist, it's doable," she replied. "So I made an appointment with the hypnotist and apparently I'm cured. He had me count backwards and all of that fun stuff. Then he worked his magic."
She looked pleased as she was explaining this. To her, this was a sure thing and she looked like a woman ready to take on the world.
"That sounds a little weird. I mean, the hypnotist just cured you? How?"
"I told him about my problems," she explained. "I told him that I get sea sick and that I wanted a happy and pleasurable feeling whenever I'm on a boat, instead of being sick. He told me that he understood. A few minutes later, I was cured."
"Do you have proof that you're cured?"
"Not yet," she replied, brushing off my skepticism. "We're going to find out next month on my birthday. I've already made the reservations for the resort. I'll email you the website. You'll love it. It's a new place with a very new concept. There's tons of private boat rides."
"Nice! I hope it's not that expensive though."
She suddenly looked shy. "Unfortunately you're going to have to take some time away from college until I can earn the money back."
"Huh? Wait? What?"
She giggled. "I'm only joking. The reservations were expensive but I have a lot of money saved up. It's for my birthday. I want us to do something special."
***
The resort was unlike anything I had ever seen before. All of the facilities were new. It was like staying at a five-star hotel. On top of that, the resort was located next to the beach. There were all sorts of boat rides, big and small, that were designed to give a thrill of a lifetime.
The next morning my mother woke up early and put on her new swimsuit, which was covered by a large white tshirt and a thin beach skirt. Her body looked nice. She was slightly voluptuous in her womanly areas, especially around the hips. She definitely looked her age which I thought was really sexy because I've always been attracted to older women.
She spent a while in front of the mirror. I had the feeling she was self-conscious because it had been a long time since she wore a revealing outfit in public.
"Make sure you only eat a light breakfast," she said, still adjusting her outfit in the mirror. "I'm kind of excited to try a boat ride."
I was watching tv and glanced down at the resort's brochure.
"Great idea. There's so much cool stuff we could do."
"I was thinking we could sit in the back of a speed boat together and have the driver cruise around the ocean. Not too fast though. I just want to get used to it first."
"Are you sure you don't want to start with something slower first?" I asked.
"I want to jump right in. We're only here a few days and I want to make the most of it. Plus the cost of this place, my gosh, it's expensive."
"But well worth it," I smiled.
She turned to smile at me. "I'm glad you think so."
***
Two hours later. After a light breakfast and a moment to relax, we finally headed to the beach. We went to the dock and an employee of the resort was ready to drive us around in a private speed boat. My mother explained her situation with sea sickness, her recent hypnotism, and her eagerness to explore new adventures.
The employee was completely understanding of my mother's position and they joked and talked for a while. He was a nice guy and he reassured my mother that the ride would be as smooth as possible. He also assured her that he would drive the boat at a reasonable speed and have us back to the shore within 30 minutes. My mother gladly agreed.
We sat in the backseat of the small speed boat. The engine started and we slowly began to move.
"Let's hope the hypnotism treatment worked," my mother said with a wink.
The boat slowly made its way towards the ocean. It was fun. The ride was smooth and the view was beautiful. It was a perfect day with a perfect view. I looked at my mother and she was all smiles. She couldn't have looked happier.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.
She flashed a big smile. "Actually, I feel fantastic. I love it!"
The small speed boat went faster and we headed out into the ocean. In the back of my mind, I worried that the hypnotism didn't work and that my mother would end up horribly sick during the ride. But none of that happened. She didn't complain and she wasn't feeling sick.
I looked at her briefly, the wind blowing through her hair, and she was smiling. The driver also checked on my mother and she nodded that she was okay. She told him that it was okay to go faster, and the driver took the speed boat faster.
Our seats began to vibrate since we were sitting directly above the propellers. I didn't mind the vibrating feeling at all.
When I looked to see how my mother was doing, she suddenly looked stiff with eyes wide. The smiles and happy expressions on her face were suddenly gone. Her facial expressions suddenly became blank as the boat began going faster and the seats started vibrating more. She sat like a wooden board with her hands tightly clasping the seat for dear life.
I knew it!
I thought to myself. The hypnotism was either a scam or it didn't work.