David awoke with a start, his heart pounding and his skin covered in perspiration. He turned onto his side and strained to listen – a door was banging, the back screen door. The young man sat up in the strange narrow bed, his eyes becoming more accustomed to the dark and then a moment later he went to find out what had happened.
He reached the backdoor aware that the bedroom his mother was using was empty. He stood there at the backdoor peering out over the desolate looking sand dunes, glowing unearthly in the silver moonlight; peering at the narrow sandy path through the short grass and at the patches of black trees in the far distance to his right. His mother was somewhere out there - maybe down at the waterline in the surf, or hidden in the dunes, or amongst the trees. David could hear the soft blast of the surf as it crashed into shore and went racing up the tight hard sand and he could hear the strange wind as it occasionally struck the house, sweeping in from the coast. It was the wind causing the screen door to bang which woke him.
He stood there at the back porch looking out and wondering what he should do. This was far from a normal situation and he was unsure. His mother Susan had, on a whim, told David to pack and then driven the two of them out here, leaving David's 23 year old sister to fend for herself, at home in the suburbs. She had driven the two of them out to the north coast, to a ramshackle holiday house on the water, which she claimed to have once shared with David's father for weeks on end, when they were both at college and carefree, years ago.
Susan was expecting something, but at first the 19 year old David had trouble fathoming his mother's mind. Susan was seeking something, David had thought, but he couldn't quite pin it down. She had driven them up to this dilapidated house, ready to reminisce about old times and rest for sure, but she wanted something more, wanted something from David. He finally thought he knew what it was she wanted, as he stood there at the back door, but he still wasn't entirely sure. He dare not speak his mind.
And still he stood there. Where was his mother? Why would she get up in the early hours of the morning, leave the back door unlocked and just disappear? For a moment he thought someone might have taken Susan, but there was no sign of a struggle and they were completely alone, the road gate to this house locked. Yes, his mother was somewhere out there. Maybe she had left the back screen door open deliberately, knowing that it would bang and wake him, causing him to come looking?
David's sister Kellie had warned David against going on this strange holiday with their mother. The divorce had only recently been finalised between Susan and David's father and Susan was acting unpredictably, moodily, like a weirdo, according to Kellie. David did wonder, at first, why Kellie wasn't invited along, but there was no way he was going to say no to his mother. And now that they were there he wouldn't call a halt to the holiday – not now, not for anything - he was putting two and two together, or he at least thought he was.
Kellie was sure her mother was clearing the way for David; preparing him to step into his father's place now that the marriage between her parents had been dissolved. Kellie knew that her conclusion sounded bizarre and she couldn't really point to anything specific, apart from this strange holiday, but she sensed it. Kellie believed her mother was unwell, manipulating and grooming her son and the problem was that David seemed to be a willing target. Susan and David were far too close.
Still David himself wasn't so sure. His mother had invited David away in an ambiguous manner. Susan had taken David aside one evening and pulled the young man into her arms, running her fingers through his hair and stroking his face softly. David, always aware of his mother's extraordinary beauty, was soon under her spell. Susan's hair was short and brown, her eyes light blue, her mouth full and soft, her skin lightly tanned, and her body slim with gentle curves. Susan addressed him with her soft voice, sincerely, trying to explain herself.
"I want you to come away with me David, just you and I, and no one else."
"You mean on a holiday mom?" he had asked, confused.
"Yes, a holiday," Susan continued, "I want to take you to a place that used to mean a lot to me, somewhere you've never been before. I'm hoping that it will become an important place for you, for just us two as well."
"Sure mom," David said, enjoying the way his mother was touching him.
"I just need to get us out of this house David, away from this horrible divorce, rid ourselves of your father once and for all."
"Sure mom, we'll go away. When do you want to go?"
"Well now honey, now. I have been planning this for weeks. I want you to go and pack now."
And then they had just taken off, abruptly announcing their departure less than an hour after David was all packed. Kerrie had grabbed David, trying to warn him, but David, as usual, was under the spell of his beautiful mother and laughed off his sister's fears. Kerrie never got a chance to tell him exactly what she thought. He and Susan jumped into the car and drove off, leaving Kerrie confused, tempted to telephone her father for advice, but not following through.
They had arrived that afternoon and Susan took a bedroom and David took the second bedroom and everything seemed normal. David's mother had shown him around the rundown weather beaten house, pointing at first this and at that, explaining its significance in her life and what it meant. It was all thoroughly normal and David found it interesting, given how strongly he felt about Susan. There was one unusual moment though, as Susan explained the significance of the bedroom she was sleeping in.
"I think you were conceived in this bedroom David," Susan said gently, turning to him, "I'm sure it's not the same bed though, at least I think it's not. That was a long time ago."
"Wow," was all the response David could muster.
"Yeah, wow's right. That bed got one hell of a workout."
David began to laugh, growing red faced - his penis stirring in his pants. Susan was laughing too, but also looking at him, her eyes sparkling, maybe expecting him to do something.
Then they had taken a walk and Susan had shown him the beach and the dunes. They had taken a quick swim in the sea and then ambled back to the house and ate and went to bed early. And now this, Susan missing at three o'clock in the morning and the screen door banging in the wind and David wondering whether he should go after her or not.
He suddenly made a decision, at last. David carefully took off his shorts and then his underwear, tossed them aside and picked up his beach-towel. He stepped out onto the back porch and pulled the door and pushed the screen door closed behind him. He descended the wooden stairs, very aware that he was completely naked and that his penis was fully erect. The warm night air caressed his skin, making his penis tingle. The grass and leaves crunched under his bare feet. He turned first this way and that, looking into as many dark corners as he could.
"Where are you mom?" he whispered.
David took one step after another, following the winding sand trail through the grass, on his way towards the beach. He looked left and right, his eyes scanning the dunes for any sign of Susan and finding nothing. Then he emerged from the trail and walked out onto the open sand of the beach, the waterline in sight now, a black body in the middle ground, the waves with their foamy heads rolling and crashing to earth. He scanned the beach for his mother, steeling himself to keep looking and not turn tail and run for his clothing and his bed.
