Prologue
My name is Rick (Richard really, but everyone calls me Rick); I'm 43, 5'11" and about 220 pounds, but at the time of this story I was only 23 and about 190 pounds. I've always been athletic and always enjoyed sport, and still do. I'm the only son of Tony and Jessica, and I was returning to my family home after the breakup of a long term relationship. At the time I thought this was the end of the world, but looking back I couldn't have been luckier. This is the story of how my life changed.
A New Start
Louise, my ex, and I had met at university and moved in together. We both secured well-paid jobs with different companies after both graduating with honours. As a couple we were financial very well off, and as our relationship blossomed I was convinced that she was the one for me. I agreed that we wouldn't get married for a while at Louise's request but we did set up home together, which resulted in us buying a house. It seemed that Louise wasn't satisfied with all of that. She decided to run off with Robert, one of her clients, in what I can only assume was an attempt to find greener grass. So after only 4 years in total our relationship was at an end. We had finally agreed in principle to the financial and legal aspects of our separation but it would still take about a year to resolve everything including the sale of our house. With solicitors dealing with the formalities and Louise having already moved in with Robert, it was time to return to my family home.
I had had many long talks with my mum over the last 6 months or so and she had invited me to move back home for a while until all the legal and financial issues had been resolved; selling our old property and splitting the assets of our failed relationship. I had been able to transfer my job from Manchester to an office in Bristol, so I only had a reasonably short commute every day from Bath, where Mum lived. I'd already moved most of my possessions down to Bath, some at home and some into storage, so having finished work in Manchester, and starting work in a couple of weeks time in Bristol, there was nothing to keep me in Manchester anymore. With everything set I'd locked up my old home and handed the keys to my solicitor and I hit the road leaving my old and recently very painful life behind me.
The drive from Manchester to Bath was about four and a half hours. I was thinking how strange it would be going back home. Strange because when I left to go to university Mum and Dad saw me off, but with Dad having died in a car accident 3 years ago, it would only be Mum at home to greet me.
The drive was a little slow with the typical Friday evening traffic on the roads and with no great rush I stopped off a couple of times for a coffee, and took the opportunity to phone Mum and let her know how my journey was going. Eventually at around 10:30pm I backed onto the drive and parked next to Mum's Audi TT and got out of my car.
As I was stretching I heard the front door of the house, and then Mum's familiar voice, "Hello Darling, how was your drive?"
I turned towards her. "Hi Mum. It was fine thanks. No surprises and I made reasonable time once I got south of Birmingham."
She came up to me and gave me a big hug and a motherly kiss on the lips, then said, "It'll be nice to have some company. It's so quiet around the house with you having left and Dad having gone, it will be nice to have you around."
"Hopefully I won't turn the house upside down," I replied, and then continued, "I'll enjoy some company as well. It's been pretty lonely since Louise left."
"That bitch doesn't know when she's on to a good thing." Mum said with some venom in her voice, then softening, "Anyway, I'm glad it's all over and you can spend time home sorting yourself and your future out."
I was a little surprised at the venom in Mum's comment about Louise, but I smiled at her and said, "It's good to be home Mum."
I took a couple of things from the back seat of the car and grabbed my suitcase from the boot, leaving the rest for the morning. I locked the car and Mum and I went into the house.
I went up to my old room, freshened up from the drive and did a quick change into some joggers and a sweatshirt. When I got back downstairs Mum had made some cheesy crumpets, my favourite, and had poured me a lager. I thanked her and we spent another hour or so just catching up on the latest developments in my saga, before eventually going to bed.
Tomorrow would be the start of my new life, but at that moment I had no idea what my new life would be like, and to be honest I didn't really care.
Settling In
Mum had offered me the second reception room downstairs and said that while I was staying there I could furnish it how I wished. This allowed me to get my TV and sound system from storage and set up that room as 'my den'. I'd agreed with Mum that it would be 6-12 months before everything was sorted and she had said that I was welcome for as long as I wished.
So over the next few weeks I'd settled in, got into a routine working in Bristol and had met some of my old sixth form college mates and had started to slowly forget the pain of the last year.
Living at home with Mum was a little strange at first. We both had to adjust to the fact that there was someone else in the house. Mum had admitted to me that one morning she'd come down to the kitchen to make a coffee, forgetting I was in the house, then realised she was completely naked. I had also nearly done a similar thing, but had remembered where I was as I went to open my bedroom door. We had a good laugh about it.
Mum was what most people would call pretty. She wasn't stunning and she rarely turned heads, but she had an almost child-like face, which had its own attractions. She kept her dark brown hair fairly short, almost boyish but a little longer and thicker. She had an athletic frame, standing 5'5" not too curvy and with an adequate chest, probably 34B or 34C at most. She kept herself very fit, as she had done all her life, with a trim waist and extremely toned legs, and at 43 years of age, she was the envy of many women 10 years her junior.
Mum was not hung up over things like nudity or sex, and often spoke to me and advised me when I was in my mid-teens. I was more relaxed talking to her than I was talking to Dad, who always seemed to try to tell me what to do. I was able to talk to Mum about girls and sex and she would just give me facts and advise me on avoiding some of the traps many young people fall into. Although it was sometimes mildly embarrassing for me Mum never judged me and never gave me a hard time on the few occasions I ignored her advice. She knew that it wouldn't take me long to realise that whatever she said it was always in my best interests. Although it may not have always been apparent to me a few years back, I am eternally grateful for her advice and still seek it when I have a problem.
Weeks turned into a couple of months and I had truly settled back in at home. Mum and I were both comfortable around each other, and we'd settled into a routine that suited us both. We tended to have breakfast together before leaving for work and then most evenings we'd eat together before one or both of us went out with friends. We rarely did anything together except food shopping, which we tended to do early on a Friday evening, so we only really got together to talk late on in the evening.
It was one such evening when I'd stayed in but Mum had just returned from playing badminton at her club. I was sitting in my den, when there was a tap on the door and Mum popped her head in.
"Hi Rick," she said. "Are you doing anything special?"
"No not really." I replied.
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course not," I said and sat more upright on the sofa.