Madolyn Caldwell knows first-hand how much it cost to raise her children - from college tuition, to her daughter's recent wedding.
Still, she's about to learn the true value of a dollar ...
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Legalese: Contains adult material. Anyone under age 18 must leave now. Anyone that might be offended by sexy or sexually explicit material or strong language must leave now. The activities in this story may be unrealistic, unethical and/or illegal, and they ignore the reality of sexually transmitted diseases - this is fiction, do not try any of this at home. All characters are over age 18, proof of age on file.
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"Oh Bobby, it's good to see you!" Madolyn greeted her son at the front door. Her shoulder-length auburn hair framed her beaming smile and pretty cheekbones. The cobalt blue sweater she was wearing and the white mid-length skirt intuitively flattered her figure. She had just turned 40 two months ago, and perhaps her metabolism hadn't geared down yet like most 40-somethings, but she just naturally stayed fit with her everyday activities.
"Mom, it's good to be home," Bobby grinned. At 5 foot 9, he was two inches taller than her. He'd hoped for taller still, but he had to admit that at 21, he was probably done growing. So no basketball player, he.
"C'mon, give me a hug," she gestured. "I know you're all grown up, but you can still hug your mom."
He relented and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"It's good to have you home," she broke the hug. "Can you stay the whole weekend?"
"Yep," he picked up his bags and carried them through the door, "though I'll need to start the drive back Sunday afternoon."
"Well, carry those bags back to your room and get settled in, then come on out to the kitchen. I've made some macaroni and cheese, and I'm going to fry some pork chops." She had to giggle at his excited expression. "Yeah, young men and their stomachs," she drawled with a nod.
Bobby headed back to his old room and unpacked a few things, then headed out to the best meal he'd had in three months - the last time he visited home.
He over-ate. "Ohgod, that was good," he moaned with a grin afterward.
"Well, I'm glad to have you home. Even if it's only for the weekend."
"You know what would top it off, though?"
"What's that?"
He reached to his back pocket and retrieved his wallet, then pulled a dollar bill out of it and held it up. "I'll give you a dollar if you go get me a cold beer."
She flicked her hand. "Oh, you don't have to give me a dollar," she stood. "Now the beers are the ones left over from New Years, though."
"That's not too old," he grinned.
Madolyn disappeared, then came back carrying a glass and the beer, and handed them to him.
"You're the best!"
"Hey, hey," she snapped her fingers, "Where's that dollar? Hmm?"
"You said I didn't have to give you-"
"Mm-hmm, but you offered."
Smiling oddly, he pulled it back out of a pocket and held it out, where she took it.
They talked while he finished the beer, then he helped take the dishes to the sink, where she washed them. While she was doing that, he went into the den and flipped on the TV, then clicked through some channels.
"I think there's a historical drama," she entered the room, "set in Elizabethan-"
"Chick-flick," he dismissed the idea, still clicking through channels looking for an action movie of some kind.
"We're going to be sentenced," she arched an eyebrow and sat on the couch, "to endure through some film only a college boy could like. Aren't we?"
"If I can find something," he grinned, still clicking. "Hey, I'll tell you what, though," he set the remote on a cushion, reached into his back pocket for his wallet, and withdrew a bill. "I'll give you a dollar for a kiss."
She frowned at him oddly, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, then reached for the bill.
He didn't let go of it. "On the lips."
She studied him a minute, tilting her head. Then she ... leaned in and kissed her son on the lips.
He released the dollar to her this time.
She ... took it. And slipped it into the pocket of her skirt.
He went back to flipping through channels, and she considered. She shouldn't have done that. They ... didn't kiss on the lips, her and him. That would be ... weird. And this was the second dollar bill he'd offered her - why was he doing that anyway? "The, uhm, kids at college. They ... offer each other dollar bills for things?"
"Nope," he said without looking away from the television, "just me."
Odd, she thought. Well, he didn't need to get in the habit of trying to do that with her. She was his mother, and she wasn't going to be bribed into letting him get away with things.
And certainly not with just a dollar bill! Hmm?
He found an action film, and they stayed on that channel for a while, watching it.
On about the third commercial break, he pulled another dollar bill out of his wallet and held it up. "I'll give you a dollar for another kiss on the lips."
"Hungh-ungh," she shook her head. "We don't kiss on the lips. And what's it with you offering dollar bills for everything anyway?"
He was looking back at the TV set. "Oh, nothing."
"Because it's kind of insulting."
"Hey," he folded the bill with his fingers and tucked it in his shirt pocket, keeping his gaze at the television, "if you don't want it, don't do it. No offense taken."
"Well, *I'M* taking offense, young man. You don't just go offering dollar bills to people to do things. It's rude. And if you do that to people, it's going to make them angry. Including me."
He shrugged without looking at her.
"Hey, mister," she reached to take his chin and turn his head toward her. "Don't ignore me. I'm your mother. And I don't care what kind of fad behaviors kids at the university are doing, you are not going to be rude to people. Understood?"
He had the decency to look embarrassed. "Yes, ma'am," he dropped his eyes.
"Good," she nodded and took her hand back from his chin. Then sat back as the film came on again after the commercial break.
She tried to pick up where the plot was, at least what little plot these action movies tended to have.
Except ... something was nagging at her.
Small at first, but it just kept drawing her attention back to it from the film.
It was like those times when you know you've locked the front door after going out - you even checked to make sure it was locked - but ... you just had to go back and check it again.
Her attention kept getting pulled back that something was ... wrong.
That she ... needed to do something.
But she ... wasn't going to do that. She was not going to kiss her son on the lips again.
She had no idea why she'd done it the first time - she guessed just shock at the rudeness that he'd offered her a dollar bill for it. But she was certainly not going to do it again, for godssake!
She focused her attention back on the shitty movie.
The next commercial break, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his.
"There, okay?" she asked as she reached for his shirt pocket for her bill.
But he was holding his fingers there, not letting her take it. "For the whole commercial break."
