The Lawsons had made their home in one of the more upper-scale suburbs. It wasn't exclusive, but it was quiet. That quiet was almost never disturbed and it was for that reason that everyone knew when Riley Windham had come to pay a visit to his friend Sean. And to Sean's mother.
The engine of his decades-old muscle car roared, even as he pressed his foot as lightly on the gas pedal. It was partly due to the power that the engine once had, and mostly attributed to the fact that Riley had a penchant for possessions carrying a certain old school flair. Unfortunately, he didn't have quite the income to service the vehicle so that it could operate without everyone in a quarter-mile radius knowing he was about.
He pulled into the cul-de-sac and parked right in front of the Lawson home. He avoided the driveway so as to not block access to the garage and scrambled excitedly to head inside.
Riley was a mousy teen, the same age as his friends. Despite being born first, he was the smallest in stature. In fact, he would often be mistaken for a student a full year or so below his class. He had pale skin, as well as the freckles that often accompanied those with his fiery red hair. His slight build made the sight of him exiting his vehicle with arms full of a cardboard box almost the size of his torso look even more ridiculous.
"Riley?" Valerie said as she stepped out the front door. She was dressed for the gym, wearing a black tank top with the straps of a white sports bra showing underneath. She wore a pair of shorts that were so tight that it should have been illegal. They were almost like a second skin, with no space being left for the possibility that Valerie Lawson wore panties while exercising.
Riley seemed startled to see Mrs. Lawson. Strange, considering it was her house but she paid it no mind. He did come to see Sean, after all.
"Mrs. Lawson," he said. There was definitely a hint of excitement in his voice. "Hi. Hi, sorry. My hands are full."
"I can see that," Valerie laughed as she deftly manipulated the ring of keys she held in her hand. She had a large gym bag slung over one shoulder and stood with it rested on her hip as she shifted her weight to one side. She pretended she didn't notice Riley's eyes linger on her exposed mid-section as he scanned her outfit. "What do you got there?"
"Just," Riley started, then seemed to struggle to find the right words, "some old movies. I guess. I thought Sean and the guys would be interested in seeing them. Some vintage stuff, you know."
Riley's face shone beet red which made Valerie confused. "Ah, yes," she said excitedly. "Daniel told me earlier that you were out getting some old VHS tapes. Looks like you had a pretty good haul!"
"Yeah," Riley chuckled. "Some pretty rare stuff in here, I think..."
"Anything I'd be interested in?" Valerie stood on the tips of her toes to peek inside of the box. The top of it was scotch taped haphazardly and, while it didn't do a particularly good job of it, she couldn't see past the torn flaps that held the box closed.
"No!" Riley practically shrieked, making Valerie recoil slightly.
She laughed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Riley laughed as well, perhaps self-conscious over the tone of voice he had just emitted. "It's just some old stuff. B-movies. Horror flicks. Gory stuff, you know?"
"Ugh," Valerie groaned. "I hate that sort of thing. I can't stand the sight of blood!"
"Sorry. Just the kind of things boys would be interested in."
"Ah, yes." Valerie shrugged. "Boys will be boys, or so they say. But, wait, how are you all going to watch them? I don't think Sean has a VHS player in his room..."
"Oh," Riley said. "I think his dad has one in the basement? We've never used it but there's an old tv set and I'm quite sure I saw a player down there some time ago. We could use that. If you don't mind, that is."
Valerie thought to herself. It was true that there were more than a few old things down in the basement. It was mostly junk that they had never bothered to get rid of because her husband insisted that he'd find time to take them to the appropriate place rather than contributing to the landfill. While she appreciated that he was so invested in the community's health, it just meant that over the years, the basement had become their own personal dumping ground.
"Sure, sure." she said. "Just as long as you boys don't make a mess down there. Well, more of a mess than the state it's in already. Sean's dad likes his mess just the way he's left it!"
Valerie laughed and Riley did the same.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lawson."
Valerie made to leave. "I'm heading out but the rest of the boys are upstairs, I think. I didn't know you were coming over but you're welcome to stay for dinner. I'm making meatloaf!"
"Yum," Riley said as he watched Valerie make her way to the car.
"What was that, dear?"
"Nothing," he said. "Looking forward to it!"
****
"And I'm telling you," Daniel said, almost stumbling over his words, "there's no fucking way!"
"Then what am I looking at right now?" Gary held up one of the VHS tapes that Riley had presented to the group. The box sat open a few feet away from where the three stood in Sean's bedroom but, right now, it might as well have been a gold mine. "It is her!"
"It's not!" Daniel denied. "You guys are desperate."
"Bruh," Gary said. "Open your eyes. It's her! These tits," he gently brushed his fingertips over the cardboard cassette cover, "it's definitely Sean's mom."
Daniel looked down at the faded old tape that Gary held in his hands. 'Veronica Vixen's Summer Camp Adventure!', that was the name at the header. On the front was a busty blonde. Even with most of the color being lost to time, her bright eyes and wide, welcoming grin seemed all too familiar. Still, Daniel didn't want to believe it.
Yeah, he lusted over Valerie the same as they all did but he didn't want to believe that it was her. "It's just some random blonde, dude," he said. "Blondes like that are a dime a dozen in porn."
"No, but look," Riley chimed in. "There's a bunch of tapes in here," he gestured to the box. "Veronica Vixen's entire catalog, or what's left of it. She was huge, like twenty years ago, and then fell off the face of the Earth."
"It doesn't matter how huge she is. It's not Sean's mom! Tell them, Sean."
Sean sighed from where he sat at his computer. "I don't know," he said. "I'm looking at her page on the Adult Film Database and I'm not seeing anything that lets me track her down. If I could find a facebook page or any indication of what her real name was, we could be sure."
"You're focusing on the wrong thing! Tell them that there's no way your mom was a porn star! She's," he slumped his shoulders. "She's Mrs. Lawson, man. That's not fair!"
"Dude," Gary said, placing a hand on Daniel's shoulder, "I'm sorry to tell you this but Sean's mom...she isn't a virgin."
"That's not the point."
"Oh, no," Gary continued, "I was just confused because you seem disappointed in the idea that she's been fucked before."
"Of course she's been fucked before!" Gary yelled. He then composed himself. "There's just a tiny difference between fucking her husband and," he walked over to the box," and, and this!" He presented a tape from deep within the pile: 'Veronica Vixen is Insatiable: 10-on-1 Ganbang for the World's Sluttiest Co-Ed!'
"Yikes," Gary said.
"Yes," Daniel agreed, "very yikes!"
