Chapter Five: what's next?
at the office....
I arrived at work, still aware the very faint taste of Ben's semen; and uncertain what I should do, or what I could do with this emotionally and morally complicated mess I found myself in. But my first step was to go to the ladies room to brush my teeth. I was terrified at the prospect that somehow my son's faint scent might be detectable on my breath. I was paranoid that someone would somehow instinctively know the horrific act I was committing.
Part of me kept questioning whether or not I was truly the monster that society would label me if they only knew. I wanted to believe I was not a pariah, but I was not convinced.
I closed the door to my office and sat trying to sort out my thoughts, feelings, and decide what the future might hold for both me, and my son.
I did not fully understand how this all happened, although I felt very culpable. My childhood Catholic upbringing taught me plenty about guilt, as well as some about forgiveness.
I could revisit the events leading up to this moment, but to what end? Yes, I should not have invaded his privacy the night I saw him first masturbating; and yes, I should never agreed to our mutual masturbation session, that was totally over the line. And I should never have allowed him to touch and taste me. Each mistake led to another. But I do not know how I could have prevented last night; Ben was intent on having me, with or without my diaphragm in place.
I was convinced that allowing Ben to enter me with my diaphragm in place was infinitely preferable to being taken unwillingly with no protection. For all my guilt and shame that I continue to deal with even to this day, I am still convinced that deciding to allow Ben to enter me with my diaphragm in place was really the right decision.
On the other hand, I was not a victim here. I did respond physically to Ben's attentions; and I did respond emotionally as well. I responded in a profound and shattering manner. I should not have, I wish I had not; but I had.
So what now? The important thing was doing what was best for Ben. My son seems to have no problem with the current arrangement. He seems to have no pangs of guilt. I needed to think more; I needed to have a serious discussion with Ben. I also need to understand better what was really going inside Ben's head. Then I thought, I do not even understand what is going on inside my head! I was totally confused.
Later that morning I called my ObGyn and got a prescription for birth control pills. I did not know what the future would hold, but it was clear that neither Ben nor I could be trusted to put these events in the past where they belong, and I knew that I did not have the physical or emotional strength to stop him from taking me whenever he chose. And I was not sure I could turn away from the pleasure my son gave me either.
I did not trust either of us to do the right thing.
When I picked up the prescription over lunch, the pharmacist reminded me to use another form of birth control for at least seven days after starting to take the pill. Note to self, keep diaphragm in place whenever there was any risk or potential.
Back in my office, I shut my door again and sat in trying to sort things out. I need to assess how this happened and what to do about it. Just how culpable was I? Did I do something that caused Ben to come on to me, or was I merely thrown into a difficult and unexpected situation to which I responded poorly? What exactly did I do to encourage Ben to feel so comfortable pushing the boundaries with me? When did I cross the line from being his mother to being a sexual target for him? How did this happen?
Wait, I realized, I was asking all the wrong questions. While understanding my level of culpability might lessen, or increase the level of guilt I was already feeling, it was not going to help me determine what I should be doing next? Unintentionally, I had crossed a line that should never have been crossed, actually several lines. On the other hand, Ben was of legal age, and he was a fully developed and mature man; at least physically.
And although I knew what Ben and I did was wrong by any measure, he did not think it was; he thought it was one of the most beautiful of encounters two people could experience. Was I really in a position to argue against his assessment? Could he be right? Could it be that these would be the most precious and cherished memories he ever experiences as he passed through life?
I had to accept the fact that not only was not I going to change Ben's view of this; I was not going to be able to dissuade him from trying, in a most tenacious manner, to maintain the physical nature of our relationship.
And did I really want to dissuade him? And objectively speaking, on one level, I felt the proper thing was to stop this craziness; however, I knew I would be unable to resist his determined full pressure assault on my will power and my loins.
Although I verbally had discouraged Ben's advances, I did not resist enough, if at all. In fact, my physical reactions did nothing but encourage my son to continue. While I was saying 'no', I was allowing Ben to remove my panties, and I was squatting and opening my thighs to give Ben better access to my most intimate parts. I did enjoy his touch, I loved the feeling of having him inside me, filling me and stretching me open. I loved the feeling last night of laying with Ben inside me in a post-coital cuddle as I slowly descended from a powerful orgasm. Wrong as it was, I enjoyed it, a lot.
I would like to think that if I really wanted to do so, I could behave better going forward, but I was fairly certain I would not be able to resist his pressure and advances. He simply knew how to push my buttons too well. And I felt certain his pressure would continue after the success he had had so far.
OK, if I could not institute a "dead stop" on the physical and sexual aspects of our relationship, what were the rules? First, I needed to make sure that I was protected from pregnancy. I would use my diaphragm religiously in addition to getting on the pill starting today. Ben and I needed to have a candid discussion and agree what was in and what was out of bounds. It was time to go home, and face my son.
Going home to face Ben
As I got up to leave, it dawned on me, I needed to always have my diaphragm in place when I came home. Ben need not know I had it in place, but I could not risk being taken, either by force or by seduction, without having time to get my protection in place. I went into the ladies' room and inserted my diaphragm as a strictly precautionary measure, not knowing what I would encounter at home. As I did so, I shook my head in disbelief that I was inserting my diaphragm in case my 19 year old son insists upon taking me tonight. Amazing. And being honest with myself, I knew if he "insisted", I would cooperate.