Note: This is a follow-up to "Life Imitates Art...Sort Of," published in the First Time section on 5/1/16. It helps if you read that one first but not crucial. The following can stand well enough on its own. Enjoy.
*
In June of 1968, the nation was reeling from a spate of tragic events. In dozens of American cities, the charred remains of buildings stood as a grim reminder of the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. Then, on June 5th, presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy met the fate of his older brother when he was gunned down in Los Angeles following his victory in the California primary. And then there was that senseless war in Vietnam where almost half a million American troops remained mired in a seemingly endless conflict.
Juliana Wilcox, home from Brandeis University, braced herself for what she thought could be a long, hot summer, both on a personal level and for the country as a whole. Her city might once again explode in rioting as cities across the nation had done every summer since the Watts conflagration three years before. Then she had to contend with her parents who barely spoke to each other and a mom jealous of her relationship with Wendell Perdofsky, her neighbor and her mom's ex-lover. As she told Wendell, her mom Janet could be a dead ringer for Mrs. Robinson, the hot, alcoholic older woman who seduces her friends' son in "The Graduate," a movie still popular with moviegoers months after its initial release. In the movie, Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, runs off with Ben Braddock immediately after exchanging marriage vows with a guy approved by her parents. In the final scene, Ben and Elaine, still in her wedding gown, hop aboard a bus, all smiles, fate and destination unknown. Juliana didn't have another guy in her life—just Wendell Perdofsky, "cute and charming" in Juliana's eyes and a virgin up until the time Janet ignited a torrid affair that Wendell broke off so he could date Juliana.
Tension reigned 24/7 in the Wilcox household during those first few weeks of June. Following her first date with Wendell, Juliana confronted Janet in the kitchen. "Be honest, mom. You not wanting me to see Wendell has nothing to do with him not being good enough for me and everything to do with the fact that you'll now be forced to get your extracurricular nookie from someone else."
Janet, her chestnut hair piled high in a bun and attired in a short yellow house dress and sandals, put away the last of the dishes. "Look, you want to see Wendell, see him. But don't you talk to me like that. Not when you're still living under my roof. I deserve more respect. "
Juliana, barefoot and dressed in white shorts and a short-sleeve blue v-neck, grunted in a bemused laugh and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Respect?! Mom, how can you talk about respect while you carry on with a guy young enough to be your son?"
Janet folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the counter. "This is beginning to sound like a damn soap opera. Look, naïve one, there might come a time in your life when you'll understand why people do things in marriage that aren't exactly kosher. It's no secret that your father and I haven't been happy with each other over the past few years. We've talked about divorce, and maybe someday we'll go through with it. Meanwhile, like many married people, unfulfilled in certain ways, we look for fulfillment elsewhere."
"But with Wendell Perdofsky? Why him of all people?"
"Well, honey bun, that's for me to know and perhaps for you to find out. Obviously you don't yet know or you wouldn't have asked."
Juliana shook her head. "Spare me the messy details."
"Oh, don't worry. I have no intention of going into the minutia of what went on between Wendell and I while you were away at school. What did he say about it?"
"No minutia. Just that it was over."
"Yes, much to my chagrin. Like I said, maybe you'll find out. But just remember this. Whatever fun you might have with Wendell is due largely to my largesse to a kid who had barely dated, much less...well, use your imagination." She lifted her dress and began to rub her crotch. "Sorry, Julie, don't mean to embarrass you, but I'm soaked just thinking about it."
Juliana's jaw dropped. At the moment, she could do little more than stare, watching Janet, her tan, bare legs slightly bent, rub her pussy over her thin blue panties. She wanted to run from the room. But she couldn't. She felt frozen in her chair, mesmerized by what transpired before her pretty green eyes, outrageous, wholly inappropriate—and undeniably erotic.
Janet, who had heretofore looked serious, began to smile, for she was beginning to sense what her daughter was feeling. She was her mom, after all. "I don't mean to be presumptuous. But if I didn't know better, I'd say your own little twat might be making some noises right about now. Am I right?"
Swallowing hard, Juliana continued to stare. "Ah, um, well, I—"
She chuckled. "It's okay, honey, I know you're not a lesbian. And neither am I, just to set the record straight. However, I don't suppose you...no, never mind." She shook her head and dropped her dress.
Juliana, suddenly conscious of her dry mouth and labored breathing, swallowed hard once again. "You don't suppose what, mom?"
"Forget it. I think I've traumatized you enough already."
"You wanted me to lick your pussy, didn't you?"
"Oh, you naughty girl, you. Dirty minds think alike. Actually, I'd prefer if Wendell did it. He got very good at it. Maybe you'll see just how good before the summer's out." She shoved her hand up her dress and gave her pussy a quick once over. "Ohmygod, Julie, I'm soaked and practically coming on my feet. You'll have to excuse me. Nature calls."
Naïve in some respects she might be, but Juliana knew where her mom was headed. Over winter break, right before the affair with Wendell, she accidentally discovered Janet's glass dildo in the bathroom. She didn't say anything, nor did she blame her mom. Women needed to relieve themselves too, especially sex-deprived women in bad marriages. Juliana was no stranger to masturbation herself, though she had never used anything but her fingers. What troubled her now as she sat alone in the kitchen was the offbeat way she had reacted to her mom's offbeat behavior. It should have repulsed her—and in a way it did. But it also turned her on, got her twat to make those figurative noises Janet had referred to. No, she wasn't a lesbian. But, as she just learned, human sexuality can be a strange thing, can take unexpected turns. The sight of her mom lifting her dress, exposing her tan, shapely legs, and then pleasuring herself almost drove her to bounce from her chair and do what lesbians typically do to pleasure their lovers.
The thought made her head swim and her stomach tingle. She burned with desire, desire that trumped her usual rational thinking and bourgeoisie sense of morality. "I can't believe what I'm about to do," she whispered to herself.
Upon leaving the kitchen, she checked the den to see if her dad was still there. He was, doing a crossword puzzle and working on his coin collection. Then she went upstairs, held her ear against the bathroom door and heard the faint sounds of her mom moaning on the toilet. Soon, she found herself touching her crotch, rubbing her pussy through her shorts. "Mom, can I come in?" No answer. "Mom?"
"I'm busy."
"Yes, I know, but I thought I could..." She couldn't say it.
"Thought what, Julie? You've got to know what I'm doing."
"Right, I do, and wondered if maybe I could help."
She heard a sigh. Then, seconds later, the door cracked open. "Your father's downstairs," Janet whispered.
In her own whisper, Juliana said, "Yes, engrossed in his hobbies. He barely noticed me. Have you...I mean did you—"
"Come yet?" Juliana nodded. "I was just about to when you knocked."
"Sorry."
Janet looked at her intently, dildo in hand. Her hair, no longer up, hung loosely below her shoulders. "Honey, are you sure you want to, um, help me?"
"Mom, my panties are soaked as well. I may not be in Wendell's league, but I'd like to try."
Janet laughed. "You'll' give it the old college try, huh?"
"The what?"
"Just an expression, honey bun. Before your time. Okay, come in. But we've got to keep it down."
Janet lifted her dress, slid her panties down to her ankle and resumed her seat on the toilet. "Guess I won't need this," she said, rolling the dildo into the sink.
