The tests were stacked on the dining room table. She had just barely started, and it would take all night to get through them. Karyn shook her head. Whatever in the world gave her the idea to give a three page test to four algebra classes?
The test she just finished grading got 110 out of 117 correct. Not bad. Better than most of the first few tests. She set it off to the side and picked the next test in the stack. Hopefully, the rest would get better. She wasn't that bad of a teacher, was she?
She took a sip of her tea and rubbed her eyes. It had been a long day already. How was she going to make it through the rest of the night? It was a little after five. Doug would be home in about half an hour, and she had to get dinner ready. Maybe she would tell him that tonight was a good night to get pizza. Grant would like that. She would even ask Owen if he'd like to stay for dinner.
She paused and listened. The boys had been quiet for a long time. Usually when they played those video games they would yell and laugh so loud she would have to ask them to keep it down. She tapped her red pen on her knuckle and looked up at the ceiling, as if she might be able to see through it. What were they up to? If she didn't know any better, she might think they had a girl up there.
She shook her head and chuckled. That was ridiculous. She went back to grading the tests, but only got through a couple more before she had to stop again. She shook her head. It was too difficult to concentrate. Now she had to know what they were doing. But that was silly. Didn't she trust her own son?
She pushed back the chair and stood up. Of course she trusted him. She was just going to get a notebook from her room, and on the way she would peek in his room to make sure they were still alive. That wasn't spying. That was being a responsible parent.
At the top of the stairs she stopped to listen. Still, she didn't hear much besides their muted voices, then what sounded like a groan. What were they doing in there?
Grant's bedroom door was open a crack. She stood still in the hallway and took a deep breath. How wrong was it for her to pry on her son's business? But she was way too curious not to find out now.
She took a step toward the door, hoping she didn't step on one of those squeaky floorboards. She peeked in the crack of the door and her mouth fell open.
"Oh God," she said in a soft whisper.
That was the last thing she expected to see. Grant and Owen were on the bed, both naked from the waist down, and her son was on his knees with his friend's erect penis in his mouth. She covered her open mouth with her hand. This couldn't be happening. She didn't want her only son to be gay.
She watched for only a few more seconds, then had to tear herself away. She stood with her back to the door, shaking her head. The whole world was spinning.
She went into her room and sat on her bed, still shaking her head, and wiped away a tear. Where had she gone wrong? Was she not firm enough with him? Was she too hard on him? Grant was involved in sports. Doug was an excellent father and a good, strong influence on their son. She sobbed. What was he going to say when he found out?
She got up and paced. This wasn't right. She couldn't let this happen. She and Doug had worked too hard to raise a gay son. She had to do something to turn him around before his friend corrupted him any further. She needed a girl, a sexy girl who would show Grant how much better girls were than boys. But who could she get who would agree to sleep with her son?
She sat on the bed again with her head down in her hands. This was a disaster. How could her handsome son be gay?
She heard Owen's voice and looked up. He came out of Grant's room and ran down the stairs. What was that all about? She got up and went to her bedroom door. Did they have a fight? Why did he leave in such a hurry?
She looked at herself in the mirror on the folding closet door. There was no other choice. She would never find another girl that she could ask to seduce her son. By the time she did it would be too late. Hell, it might be too late already.
She would just have to take care of it herself. She cupped her breasts in her hands. They weren't as big as she had hoped they would grow when she was a young girl. She still looked good, though. She was going to be thirty three in a few months. That wasn't old, was it?
She turned sideways. Her stomach was still flat, maybe not as flat as before she got married and gave birth to Grant, but still looked good. It was her ass that bothered her. Doug said he loved it because he could get his hands around it, but to her it looked huge.
She took a deep breath and stared hard at her reflection. This was a crazy idea, maybe the craziest idea she ever heard of. It had to be done, though. There was no other way. Her beautiful son was broken and only she could fix him.
Walking across the hall from her bedroom to his bedroom, she felt stiff, like she was a robot being controlled remotely. She stopped outside his door. Owen had not bothered to close it. Inside, Grant was sitting in the chair facing the tv, which had a game paused. She couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, except for the up and down motion of his left am. She shook her head. How could Owen just walk out on him when clearly he still needed to be satisfied? It was just as well. That was a mother's job.
She took a step into his room.
"Grant?" she said.
He dropped something and grabbed a pillow from his bed to cover his lap.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" he said with a twisted, painful look on his face.
She clasped her hands together in front of her.
"I just saw Owen run out. Is anything wrong?"
"No. Nothing."
His face was bright red. Karyn bent down and picked up a magazine that had fallen to the floor by his foot.
"Did Owen give this to you?" she said.
"No. Jon did."
She opened the magazine and flipped through a few pages. It had pictures of men having sex with women. If Grant was looking at that, how did that fit in with him being gay? She sat down next to him and looked at the pillow on his lap.
"It's ok if you're masturbating, dear. You don't have to hide it from me," she said.
"Jeez Mom ..."
"You don't have to explain. I saw what you were doing with Owen."
Grant's face turned pale and she hesitated. Had she said too much? Had she started something that was better left alone? She had to remember that she was there to lead him in the right direction, and she would have to feel her way cautiously.
"Grant, dear ... I don't want you to think that I think being gay is wrong. I just think you have ... more potential," she said.
Usually, when she was standing in front of her class, the words came easily to her. At that moment, though, she was having trouble finding the words to say what she was feeling.
"Mom, I don't think we should talk about this," he said.
He looked very uncomfortable and pushed the pillow down on his lap. Karyn shifted on the chair and it squeaked. She cleared her throat. It felt strange to be in the presence of her son when he was so clearly aroused.
"Um ... we need to talk about this before your father finds out. He won't be nearly as understanding as me."
Grant nodded, even though he had a frown on his lips, and she was relieved that he agreed with her. It made the next part of what she had to do a little easier. She put her hand on his knee.
"Grant? Do you like girls?" she said.
