My day started off pretty much like any other day. I'm a senior in high school at a small county regional school serving six communities nearby. I'm not anything special in either athletic or academic circles. I don't play any sports, barely pass gym class and I've got about a mid-C average in most of my courses. I'm not built like either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Woody Allen. Somewhere in between.
I've got about the right number of friends, including girls. Actually, I probably have more girl friends than guy friends. I'm easy to talk to, somewhat humorous and I don't push myself on the girls like most of the other horny, uber-macho, guys. I guess the girls feel safe with me although we don't date. Nobody dates at my school. We just go out together in groups and have a good time. I frequently end up in a small group of mostly girls after most of the guys demonstrate their lack of respect for the girls and general insensitivity. The girls have a term for most of them: "ass-holes."
I don't think I rate high on the stud scale either but I wouldn't know. I'm eighteen years old and still a virgin, unless you count my right hand as sex. Based on self-examination, I'm probably about average. By the way, my name is Kenneth. My mom insists on calling me Kenny but most of my friends call me Ken.
As I was saying, my day started off normally. It began to change when school let us out at noon so the teachers could attend a safety-training seminar. I drove home and got there just before one pm. I came into the house through the back door but, for some reason, I didn't call out to my mother that I was home. I guess I wanted to surprise her somehow.
When she wasn't in the kitchen, I helped myself to a glass of milk and a piece of pound cake she always had on hand for me. When I was finished eating, I put my glass and plate in the dishwasher and went looking for my mom. She wasn't in the living room or the den, so I wandered down the hall to my room. On the way, I noticed her bedroom door was slightly open. I went near her door to peek inside. If didn't want to just walk in, in case she was changing or in some other compromising position.
When I looked through the crack, I saw my mother from the back; up on her knees on the bed. I could see the lower portion of a man's legs between her legs and she appeared to be having sex with him as she moved up and down over his hips. I wasn't aware that dad was expected home before Sunday and I hadn't seen his car in the driveway but it could have been in the garage.
I was shocked and glad I hadn't made any noise to interrupt them. I knew I should leave them alone but I couldn't keep myself from looking at the first live sex act I'd ever seen. While I was looking, mom leaned forward to kiss him. He leaned up to reach her lips and it wasn't my dad. It wasn't my dad! I knew immediately who it was. Pete was our next-door neighbor. His wife had passed away about six months ago and mom had been taking an occasional meal to him ever since.
I backed away from the bedroom door slowly, went out the way I came in closing the door softly, got in my car and began to drive. "Fuck. My mother's fucking the next-door neighbor. Fuck!" kept going through my head as I drove.
I don't know how I got there but I ended up at the local burger and ice cream joint. I sat in my car, trying to change the mantra in my mind that kept repeating, "Fuck. My mother's fucking the next-door neighbor. Fuck!" When I couldn't get my head around it, I decided that I needed a change of scenery and went inside. I ordered a hot fudge shake with malt, and took it to an empty table in a far corner. I never saw the group of my friends sitting on the other side of the restaurant.
I sat there, alone, sipping my shake and trying to convince myself I'd been dreaming. I had my head down and tears in my eyes when Penny came over and sat beside me. She looked at me with concern in her eyes. Penny and I had been friends since grammar school and we had always had something special between us.
"What's wrong Ken?" she asked. It was a fair question, especially from Penny but I wanted none of it. I shook my head and waved her away with my hand. She refused to leave. She took my hand and rubbed the back of it in a way that calmed me somewhat.
"I can't talk about it right now," I said.
"Maybe tomorrow?" she asked.
"Maybe tomorrow," I repeated.
"Okay. I'll see you after school tomorrow and we'll go somewhere to talk. You okay with that?"
"Yes," I mumbled and Penny returned to the rest of the group where she looked up at me often as I finished my shake and left.
I drove around until school would have normally ended and went home. I went in quietly and directly to my room. I changed into some shorts laying on the floor and a t-shirt and stayed there alone, playing some stupid video game, until my mom called me for supper. I heard her but I didn't respond. She eventually came to my room. She knocked and came in. She was wearing a light robe I hadn't seen before.
"There you are. I didn't hear you come in. Dinner's ready. Come into the kitchen so we can eat."
I looked at her sadly and followed her to the kitchen without a word. As soon as we were settled at the table, she asked, "You look a little down. Is everything okay?"
I nodded. "Everything's fine," I said.
A short while later she asked again. "Something's wrong. Did something happen at school today?"
No, mom. It's okay."
"No its not. I can see it on your face. Something's very wrong. Let me help," she offered.
"No, mom. I can handle it. It'll be okay," I said.
She dropped the issue and, after dinner, I went back to my room.
A couple of hours later, she knocked on my door again. I'd been lying on my bed, inert and thinking since dinner. She came in and sat on the edge of the bed. She was still wearing the light robe.
"Something is wrong and I'd like to help," she said.
"Mom, it's not something I can talk to you about," I said.
She sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes. It was as if she was making a decision of some kind. "Kenny, did you come home from school early today?" she finally asked.
"How did you know?" I stammered.
"I just sensed it," she said. "Did you see something you shouldn't have seen?"
Having mom acknowledge it was a relief but I still needed answers. "Mom, why?" I asked.
"It's a long story."
"I've got the time."
"You know Pete?" she asked.
"I do."
"Well, Pete lost his wife a while ago. Your dad and I felt badly for him. Dad wanted us to do whatever we could to help him through a very difficult time. You know I've been cooking meals for him off and on since Mary died. Dad's been encouraging him to play more golf and they've gone together several times. Recently, Pete has opened up about his feelings to me. Dad thought that was a good idea and encouraged me to keep him talking. I don't think he anticipated where it would lead."
"Dad doesn't know?"
"No he doesn't." He might be alright with it but I don't know and you can't tell him."
"How long?" I managed to ask.
"This afternoon was the first time. I thought he was thinking about it when dad and I visited him last week but he took until this afternoon to get the courage to come over."
"You made the first move?" I asked.