It was in the middle of July that I decided to broach the topic of my new relationship with Dad to my mom. Now, Mom is a kind and loving woman, but she is also strong-willed and assertive. Anytime the wool was pulled over her eyes, I'm willing to bet she was putting on a sweater. After the shock of listening to her dressing down my dad on 'spy night', my admiration for her grew. I knew she liked having things her way, and why not in the bedroom as well? Way to go, Mom. I tuned into their conversations more acutely, and the submissive side of Dad became all the more clear.
My intention to come clean with Mom got preempted, though. One afternoon, I was chilling by the pool. The ice cubes in my tea had melted, and I went inside to make a fresh drink. I was quietly stirring in some sugar and running some plans for the day through my head when I heard Mom come into the living room from the garage.
"I specifically told you to get light mayonnaise. Show me where it says 'light' on the label here." she said sternly.
"I'm sorry, dear. I'll go back at once to..."
"To do what you were supposed to do in the first place, you pinhead!" Mom said with a raised voice.
"Please, Miriam. Jen might hear."
"Really, Robert. And if she did? I guess she'd find proof positive that you are a walking joke. And it would be an amusing one if you didn't wind up being such a pain in my ass on such a regular basis."
"please, dear. Jen..."
"She's out by the pool. I saw her there as we drove in."
"I think she might have come inside, dear. Could we please discuss this in the bedroom?" came Dad's simpering reply.
Right on the heels of these words came a sharp cracking sound, and I realized with astonishment and no small delight that Mom had given Robbie boy a good slap across his face! Go Mom!
"Don't ever tell me what to do, you worm." Mom said in a low voice.
"Go to the bedroom and stay there until I say so."
I could hear old Dad hurrying from the room. I turned to make my way quietly back to the pool, but in doing so knocked the spoon I'd used for my tea onto the tiie floor. I just stood there for a moment.
Mom came into the kitchen as I was heading to the sliding door.
"Just a moment, Jennifer." she said. I stopped and turned to her.
"You heard?"
"I did, Mom. I heard all of it."
"And?"
Gee, Mom. What can I say?" I said, feeling odd in knowing I was withholding my own secrets around Dad. But I sure wanted to talk to Mom about all of it.
"Your father, he, well... he turned out to be a different sort of person than I'd imagined when we first met."
"You mean like... submissive?" I said, averting my eyes.
"Have you guessed?" Mom said, going to the stove and putting the kettle on the burner. "Care for some tea, hon?"
"No. That's okay." I said. It was uncomfortable hearing my mother talk about personal stuff.
"Sit down. Let's talk." Mom said, and gave me a sympathetic smile. She knew it was an awkward moment for me.
I sat at the table while Mom fixed her tea.
"You're right, Jen. He's a submissive man. He likes crawling around behind a woman. What more can I say? It wasn't entirely clear to me until after we married. Oh, he was very attentive when we were dating, always anticipating my needs, buying gifts for no particular reason. I was flattered. I just didn't see the dynamic behind it all, the sexual aspect of his attentions."
She brought her cup to the table, and we sat across from each other. I was feeling easier then, perhaps because Mom wasn't freaked out about any of it.
"Well, Mom," I ventured, "I guess whatever works, you know."
"Exactly, Jen. And it does work. I found that I liked lording it over him. I enjoy watching him take whatever I dish up, and no complaint. And, believe me, I dish up some demands that would make many men pack their bags."
'Wow!' I thought, 'what could they be?'
"Um, gee, Mom. It sounds kind of cool." I said, hoping that my openness would elicit some juicy details. I was more than curious to see how far little Robbie was willing to bend.
There was also the matter of my spying on their bedroom talk, and having my own up and running 'game show' with Dad. I needed to come clean.
"Mom. I need to tell you something before we go any further." I said. I took a deep breath.
"Well? Go on, dear. What is it?" Mom said, encouragingly.
" I kind of, you know, ... already know about some of this."
Mom gave me a little smile, but her gaze was sharp and somewhat defensive.
"Really. And how did that happen?"
"I listened. I listened to you and Dad one night. I spied on you, Mom." I said, twisting a paper napkin in my hands, first one way, then another. Mom could have a temper, and I was preparing myself to be on the receiving end.
"You listened. Hmmm. And from where, Jen?"