I am a HUGE believer in character development, so please please please give this story some time to build up. I like to let that sibling romance ripen on the vine a bit before I pluck it off, makes it sweeter and juicier.
That's a little weird, sorry about that. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
P.S. This story starts out briefly from the point of view of the mother, but the sexual stuff is only between the siblings. So if you're turned off by mother stuff, never fear! And if you're only interested in mother stuff...read on anyway!
*
Penny sat alone at her kitchen table, deep in thought and slightly troubled. She was having one of those moments where you question whether or not every decision you have made in your entire life has been completely wrong, and maybe you should just off yourself and hope for a fresh reincarnation.
Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, she was doing some questioning. She was taking a break from her work (yes, she worked from home, and no, not because of the 'rona virus...since this is a work of fiction, let's just pretend that little nuisance doesn't exist for the time being) and had just finished reading a very intriguing article. Her best friend/business partner Takeisha had sent her a link to an article written by some new age hippie schmuck that she followed, and told Penny that she just had to read it. Penny typically didn't go for that kind of thing, but was looking for a break from the monotony that was her current project, so she had clicked on it and given it a read. Forty minutes later, there she sat, contemplating the habits and inner dynamics of her family.
The article had talked about diet mostly, touching on how the things we eat affect not only our physical well being, but our mental, social, and emotional well being too. It mainly stressed the importance of eating an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, getting into lots of specific details for specific foods and exactly what benefits they have. The article also touched a little bit on a trend of a lack of closeness that exists in a modern household, and how we need to get rid of some of our distracting vices get back to the basics of just loving our family more.
Come to think of it, Penny was a little irked that her friend seemed to think that she needed advice on her diet and the way she took care of her family. Then again, Takeisha was a true friend and certainly meant well. Besides, there had to be something to it, given the jarring affect it seemed to be having on Penny.
She got out of her seat and headed towards the living room, where she was pretty sure she would find her oldest child, her daughter Talia.
Yes indeed, there she sat on the couch, just like she had done every single day for the past few weeks since she had gotten home from her first year away at college.
Penny took in her daughter for a moment. She was a pretty girl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and an ass that wouldn't quit. Of course, Penny was biased, not only because it was her daughter, but also because Talia was basically the twenty year younger version of Penny herself. Despite having gained just a tiny bit of weight during her first year of college, Talia could certainly turn some heads, that was for sure. Well, maybe if she showered first or something.
"Talia?" Penny called out.
Talia did not answer, but continued to stare at her phone. Penny was pretty sure she was messaging (or tweeting, or snapping, or whatever the fuck it was) her boyfriend, because of the intense googly eyes she was giving the screen. Then again, that just seemed to be how people generally looked at their phones these days anyway.
"Talia," she said again, this time a little more firmly.
Not surprisingly, there was still no answer.
Penny walked right up to her daughter, leaned in so that her face was mere centimetres away from Talia's face, and blew a huge puff of air right into her eyeballs.
"Ahhhhhh!" Talia exclaimed, eyes only briefly breaking contact with her screen. She almost immediately fell back into her stupor.
"What are your plans for today, daughter of mine?" Penny asked.
"This," Taila responded dryly.
"Seems riveting. What have you eaten today?"
Without losing focus on her screen, Talia gently waved a hand in the direction of the coffee table. There sat a partially eaten bag of cheese puffs, a half empty sleeve of chocolate chip cookies, and a couple empty cans of soda.
"Ew Talia, why have you just been eating this junk food?"
"You do the grocery shopping, Mom. If you don't want me to eat it, then don't buy it."
"Fair point," Penny replied. "So, you talking to that boyfriend of yours?"
"Yes."
"Miss him?"
"Yes."
"When do you think you'll see him again?"
Talia continued to type away on her phone, apparently putting her real life conversation on hold in order to finish her virtual one first.
"Don't know. It's a three hour drive, and Ken is super busy this summer. He doesn't know when he can get here to visit. Of course..."
For the first time during their conversation, Talia made eye contact with her mother. Penny knew exactly what her daughter was getting at.
"Nope," Penny stated simply.
"Why not, Mom!?"
"Come on sweetie, use that nineteen-year-old brain of yours and answer your own question."
Talia stared at her mother, her face looking somewhere between irritated and bewildered.
"Okay then," Penny began after a long pause. She spoke in that slow, condescending tone people use when they want the other person to feel dumb. "Let me explain it to you the best I can. This family has one", Penny held a single finger up to give her daughter a visual, just in case she got confused, "car. If I let you borrow it to go visit your boyfriend three hours away, then that will leave this family with no cars." She lowered her finger, continuing the visual presentation. "And then we wouldn't be able to drive places." She mimed driving a car as she finished her last sentence.
Talia simply gave her mother an annoyed look and returned her focus to her phone.
"You had the option to get a job or take summer classes and stay at college for the summer, Talia, but you said you didn't want to. So, here you sit, I guess."
"Guess so," Talia responded with a sense of finality in her voice. Penny decided she had badgered her one child enough for the time being, and decided to seek out her younger one.
Quinn, her son, had recently turned eighteen. Even though it had been a pain in the ass at times having two kids so close together in age (mainly when they were really little and her useless lump of an ex-husband decided to head west on his own to "mine for gold"), she was really glad most of the time for their small age difference. Growing up, the kids had been really close to one another, their year and a half age difference barely noticeable, at times even getting confused for twins. They were inseparable for the longest time, even choosing to share a bedroom for most of their childhood. That made it all the more upsetting for Penny when they reached an age somewhere in their mid-teens when they drifted apart, each deciding that the other just wasn't worth their time anymore. Their family was so much stronger, so much more enjoyable, when her children had been best friends. Now, as far as she knew, they hadn't even spoken once since Talia had returned home for the summer.
When Penny reached the end of the hall where her son's room was, she discovered that his bedroom door was closed. She put her ear to the door in order to try and figure out what he was up to. Upon doing so, she heard the unmistakable noise of his soccer video game Fifi, or whatever it was called. He had been addicted to that game for a while now, and spent most of his free time playing remotely with his friends. She had recently suggested to him that he simply walk the seven minutes down the road to his friend's house and play the game with him in person. He had explained to her how silly that would be, since then they would have to share one game instead of them each playing their own. Then he rolled his eyes and went back into his cave of a bedroom.
"Quinn?" Penny called out as she knocked on his door.
Not surprisingly, there was no answer. Penny opened the door and stepped inside. Quinn was sitting in his chair, facing his T.V. screen, which meant his back was to her. He wore a headset with a microphone while he played. He was deeply focused on his soccer game, unaware that his mother had entered his room. Penny took a few moments and looked around the room. There were a couple of empty pizza boxes on the floor, which was disturbing since she was pretty sure they hadn't had pizza in at least two weeks. A couple of empty soda cans and various other food trash lay scattered about as well.
Quinn was in pretty good shape, despite his affinity for junk food and sitting on his ass playing video games. He had been on the school soccer and baseball teams all four years of high school, which made him lean and sinewy. He tanned pretty well too, which made him different from both Penny and Talia. Otherwise, he looked pretty much just like his sister.
"Quinn, this room is disgusting," Penny said, finally announcing her presence.
"Get the fuck outta here!" Quinn called out rather violently.
"Excuse me!?" Penny replied, completely appalled. "How dare you talk to me like that, Quinn! Get your ass out of that chair and-"
"I told you not to come at me with that weak shit, son!" Quinn interrupted. "You've got to do better than that if you want to score on me, bitch!"
Penny rolled her eyes. She wasn't too thrilled with the language, but at least she didn't have to kill him now for talking to her like that. She walked up behind him and flicked him in the back of his head as hard as she could.
"Ouch!" Quinn cried out, looking back at his mother and removing his headset.
"Hey Quinn, just wanted to get your attention."
