Marilyn opened the package carefully, taking care that she did not damage or mark the contents with the knife she used. Removing the protective covering, she glanced at the gleaming black lid of the brand-new laptop, as yet, unblemished by fingerprints and the daily wear and tear that it would ultimately receive.
It was her son's Christmas present, a promise she had made at the start of the year, that if he gained the grades he needed and got into college, she would replace his old one with a spanking brand new one. There was nothing wrong with his current laptop, but it was getting old, and he had managed to get through the last couple of months of his web design course using it, excited at the prospect of a far more powerful machine.
Covering it with the protective sheet, she closed the cardboard flaps and carefully carried the box upstairs, placing it in the bottom of her wardrobe and then locking the door before secreting the key.
She was just starting to prepare their evening meal when she heard the front door bang and the sound of footsteps running up the stairs as Stevie ascended to dump his college bag and get changed. The footfalls came again, sounding like a herd of elephants as he took the steps two at a time in his haste to get downstairs before appearing in the kitchen.
'Has it arrived yet mum? he asked, his excitement palpable.
Marilyn kept her face straight as she turned. 'It hasn't yet. I'm sure it will be here by the big day, if not, probably the first post after Christmas.
He may have been eighteen, but at that moment as his bottom lip drooped, he looked like a little boy again.
It was only just over a week until Christmas and tomorrow would be his final lecture before a nearly three-week break. Marilyn normally had a full-time job, but this year she had saved seven days of her holidays and was taking a week off during the festivities. She had her fingers crossed for snow, but it was highly unlikely, she could only remember a heavy fall on three occasions during her lifetime, the most they usually got was only a light smattering.
When he had disappeared out that evening, she had retrieved his present, carefully wrapping it in festive paper and sealing the corners with tape, before replacing it and locking the wardrobe door once more.
She had kept up the pretence, right up to the day itself, Stevie's disappointment evident as he looked longingly out of the lounge window each morning, hoping, and praying for a delivery driver to appear.
'I'm sure it will be here the day after Boxing day, they did promise me it would arrive in time.' He nodded his head, but she could see that he was not holding out any hope.
The look on his face Christmas morning had been worth it. 'You!' he said with a grin. 'You are a bad mother, lying to me like that.'
He'd manage to put it to one side for the day, but Boxing day, Stevie was noticeable by his absence, ensconced in his bedroom as he transferred files from his old laptop to the new machine.
The following day he had brought the old one to her, they had always planned that she would get his laptop when the new replacement arrived. 'There you go, mum. I've removed everything I need. If you come across anything...... just delete it.'
Marilyn had no real need of a computer at home, she had one at work and that sufficed. She was only going to use it for a bit of online shopping, emails to friends and family, and to occasionally play "Solitaire" in bed each night instead of watching rubbish on the television.
That evening, sat in bed, she must have played fifty games, eventually bored with what she was doing. She was no computer expert but knew enough from watching the I.T blokes at work as she clicked through the regular folders and was surprised to find that hundreds of files still resided on the machine. She was sure Stevie said delete anything she came across, but with rising concern, she had imagined one or two, not this many.
Rooting in the old laptop bag, she found a memory stick, plugging it into the side as she began transferring folders and files onto it. At first, it was a simple click and move, but finally, her motherly head kicked in. It was a special training that all mothers received on the birth of their first child, that ability to be nosey, to wonder and pry into what their children were doing.
She opened folders and files, reading this, and discarding that, all of it so far was old schoolwork and projects. At last, she had cleared the most relevant, "Documents, Music, Pictures and Video's" as well as any files left on his desktop.
She emptied the "Recycle bin," did a disk clean and removed the stick. The laptop running smoother and a little quicker with all the junk gone.
She opened the browser, ostensibly to do a bit of window shopping, but her curiosity got the better of her as she brought up her son's browsing history, half expecting it to contain a list of pornographic sites. He was no longer a child. He was a young man, and she knew that most young men would spend time watching the sort of things these sites offered.
Marilyn was completely surprised to find that there was only the occasional one, but what did catch her eye was a site that advertised itself as containing erotic stories.
She clicked and a webpage appeared, her eyes reading the list of titles on offer,
"Mom made me a man. Seducing my Mother. Mother and daughter get it on. Mom wanted a threesome,"
were among many of the titles listed.
She picked one, clicked on it and started reading, becoming engrossed as the tale unfolded until she came to the sex scenes. The descriptions were certainly graphic, especially when the two main characters were supposed to be a mother and her son.
