She was married fresh out of highschool. Everyone thought that he was beneath her, even though she was from a blue collar family. She was bright, musically talented, and kind of shy. Mae was pretty in a plain kind of way, and the glasses she wore reflected her intelligence. On the otherhand, he was just plain goofy looking with a strange sense of humor. At the wedding, there were many bets about how long this relationship would last. It was over after four years, and two baby boys.
Mae was from a fairly extended family. Her brothers were at twelve to fifteen years her senior. Her sister was fourteen years her senior. Mae was a belated accident (probably from an affair her mother had) and naturally was quite alienated from her other siblings. She played by herself growing up, unless her nieces and nephews came to visit. The family seemed to follow the oldest son as he moved around the country until everyone finally settled in SoCal.
The oldest nephew was only three years her junior. Harry was the product of Mae's oldest brother and his oriental bride. He had a crush on his aunt since he was five, but like all kids, attitudes change when nearing puberty and Mae definitely pretended he did not exist during this period of her development. When Mae married, Harry was upset, but did his best not to show it. He just continued his education and follow a promising career. Harry's advancements took him to the largest of the west coast cities, but he would continue to visit his family occasionally.
One weekend Harry was visiting his mother when his Aunt Mae stopped by. She didn't want to bother her relatives much, but she hadn't been out for so long that she just had to accept an invitation by coworkers to go dancing. Harry's mom decided to babysit for her, and she was extremely grateful. Harry hadn't seen Mae for about seven years, and when he looked at her, his crush washed over him like no time had passed. Mae still had mousey blond hair with some highlights. At five foot two and one hundred and fifteen pounds, she was built just perfect in Harry's eyes. Her breasts were small, but she had a wonderful ass. She still wore glasses that were generally the same style she had always worn, but slightly upgraded. Her blue eyes had a sad and lost quality to them and when she laughed, it was with a nervous titter. She told Harry's mom she wouldn't be too late and left the name of the nightclub she was going to. When she saw Harry coming around the corner of the hall, Mae was stuck by how handsome he had gotten. His mixed heritage made for a strikingly exotic look. Having been an athlete in school, Harry kept in good shape all his life. He had dark brown hair (almost black), well tanned olive skin and piercing green eyes. At five foot four, he was limited to women who would accept his short stature, but he carried himself well and was a fit and trim one hundred and thrity-five pounds. His build was wiry, but very powerful.
Mae commented, "You've grown to be a very hansome young man, Harry."
Harry accepted the praise by his secret crush with a shy "Thank you."
Mae said she was going to meet some friends. "Would you like to come along?"
"Sure," Harry stuttered, "I'll follow you."
They left and went to meet Mae's friends. The three women worked at the same hospital as Mae. Her friends were nurses, but Mae worked in administration as a clerk. Mae introduced Harry to her friends and they all commenced to order drinks and dance. Mae did not tell her friends what her relation was to Harry. Throughout the evening Harry danced with Mae's friends and several other women in the nightclub, but only a couple of times with Mae. Her friends commented to her how exotic Harry looked, and asked why he wasn't paying attention to her?
Mae said, "He and I are just friends."
Harry noticed Mae acting uncomfortable. He decided to make his excuses to Mae's friends and asked Mae to see him outside.
They went out together and Harry said, "Thank you for inviting me along. I had fun and it was certainly wonderful seeing you again."
Mae slipped Harry her phone number and said to stay in touch, "and by the way, my friends think your very handsome... I do too."
She sighed and said, "If you weren't my nephew....."
Then she kissed me on the cheek and went back to her friends.
We kept in touch over the next couple of years by phone, and I visited Mae a half a dozen times. She had a couple of short lived boyfriends. I noticed that she seemed to draw the bragadocious type that enjoyed belittling her to boost their ego. This upset me immensely.
Each time I visited, she would always say, " if only you weren't my nephew..." as we parted.
One week, I called Mae to see how she was doing. I told her I was thinking of coming down for the weekend.
Mae said, "I sure wish I could get out of town!"
I asked her if she wanted to come to visit me this time?
"I have the boys." she said.
I said "That's okay, we'll go to a theme park."
Mae said "Nice offer, but that's too much."
Harry answered,"Mae, I make very good money and it's my treat at my discretion."
Mae accepted gratefully.
Friday night came and I was beside myself to see Mae and the boys. I had a condo and plenty of room. I showed the boys their room, Mae hers, and told them to make themselves at home. Mae and I talked until about one AM. It was certainly nice to talk to each other like adults, with no others around and the boys comfortably asleep. The whole weekend was wonderful. Our relationship seemed to turn a corner very subtly. On Sunday afternoon Mae thanked me for the wonderful time she and the boys had.
"I'll be looking forward to seeing you soon." Mae said as she leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips. My heart pounded and I wanted to embrace her and reveal my true feelings.
A month passed and Mae called.