Silicon Valley Tales
from the imagination of
California Dreamer
© 2001, all rights retained.
Moira and friends
Gang of six
Kerry and Moira danced about in the kitchen while Dave and I did
manly things around the barbecue. Aly and Paul were sprawled on
the back lawn, giggling and talking with occasional nervous
glances at the two of us. Aly seemed to be doing most of the
talking. I could see Paul's face but not Aly's. He seemed very
interested in her quiet words. I could read his lips.
"No! You did?"
His eyes went very wide, questioning. I could see Aly's head
nod.
"Wow," Paul mouthed, exaggerating his face.
I couldn't make out his next words but whatever he'd said made
Aly giggle loud and say something that caused Paul to nod his
head in strong affirmative. They both turned to stare at Dave
and me. Paul at me and Aly at Dave. I smiled a small smile at
him and he gave me a little nervous knowing grin. Turning to
Dave, I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.
"He did it. He woke up and saw us doin' it on the couch last
night. Broad daylight, so to speak."
I didn't know what to say. Dave didn't seem to be embarrassed at
all. He spoke as if he'd accepted the inevitable. Then he took a
deep breath as he turned to look at me.
"What did he see?" I finally blurted.
"Not much. Kerry was playing cowgirl but since she had a long
skirt on, we weren't really all that exposed. It was very
obvious to him what we were doing, though."
"What did Kerry do?"
"Nothing at first. She was a sort of busy but she did finally
notice me staring over her shoulder. When she looked where I was
looking she screamed and jumped off me and fled to the bedroom."
"Leaving you there with your pants down," I laughed at him.
"Eh yup," he drawled slowly. "He got an eye full of my johnson,
he did."
"It could have been worse, buddy. He could have seen a lot more
than just your 'magic' johnson."
"I don't even want to think about that," Dave shook his head.
"It bothered me that I'd exposed myself to him."
"You don't seem bothered now," I stated. I looked at him
carefully, trying to figure out where he was going.
"Dave, what did you do? Don't hold back on me now."
"It's happened to you so you know how I felt. A dozen
possibilities flashed around in my head until I realized it was
time for honesty. I just waved him over and patted the couch
next to me. He acted embarrassed as hell and sort of shuffled
over to perch on the edge of the cushion."
I watched Dave's eyes defocus into the memory. He licked his
lips and made a little snort laugh, shaking his head before
continuing
"He wouldn't look at me but couldn't seem to keep his eyes off
my limp noodle. Boy, I'd like to know what was running around in
his head. I didn't say anything for a bit, just sat there hoping
he'd relax and say something but he didn't say a word, so I had
to. I asked him if he knew what we were doing. He just nodded
his head."
Dave looked around when Aly went running by us, headed for the
backdoor. Paul was ambling uncertainly toward us.
"You telling Rick about last night, David?" he mumbled softly.
He didn't seem embarrassed, just a little shy.
"Yeah, Pauly. Did you tell Aly?"
Nodding his head, "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, it's okay."
I felt a need to flip some burgers. Just in case Pauly needed
some time to get comfortable.
Dave spoke softly after a moment. "Paul, tell Rick what we did
last night, okay?"
"Um, well. He asked me if I understood what he and momma were
doing. I said that they were screwing." He made a little giggle,
his eyes wandering.
"Then Dave said no, they were making love. People that care
about each other don't just screw."
Paul didn't seem quite as stressed now.
"I can agree with that. Dave really loves your mom, you know?
He's told me that many times." I did some more serious burger
flipping.
"Yeah, they are awful mushy a lot." His voice was so soft I
almost couldn't hear him.
Paul wrinkled his nose at Dave, pretending disgust, it seemed.
His eyes told a different story which surprised me. He had a
look of awe, almost reverence after his fake grimace at Dave.
"Tell Rick what happened next, Pauly." Dave chuckled softly and
seemed to fidget a little.
There's something going on here I thought but wasn't at all
prepared for Paul's next words.
"Dave showed me how to jerk off and squirt."
My jaw hit the deck. I shook my head and choked. Coughing over
the burgers, of course.
"What else did we do, Pauly." Dave's voice was definitely
nervous now.
"We talked about how to make girls feel good. You know, kissing
and stuff."
"And stuff?" I couldn't help blurting.
"Yeah. How to rub titties and pussies. To make a girl feel
good."
I stared at this kid standing there so at ease talking about sex
with two adults. He seemed proud to be included. I looked at
Dave. He was looking at Paul like a proud father watching his
kid hit a Little League home run.
"Oh, yeah. One more thing," Paul enthused. He was on a roll. "He
let me feel his dick. I rubbed it and he got hard. That was very
interesting."
"What does Kerry think about this?" I eyeballed Dave intently.
"I haven't gone into all the details about last night but she's
been fretting about how to discuss the subject with him."
"Mom bought me a book but it didn't say much about how to make a
girl feel good." He gave Dave another big grin. "I asked Aly if
she'd like to kiss and play around some."
A shriek of laughter came from the kitchen. Our three heads
snapped around to see Moira pointing an accusing finger at
Kerry's blushing face and laughing behind her other hand.
"Hey Paul, looks like Aly is sharing your story," Dave chuckled.
"Part of it at least."
Aly came scampering out the door, making straight for Paul,
flashing an evil grin. She groped for his hand and pulled him
back towards the door.
"Come with me. I'll show you my room. I've got some great mummy
stuff to show you or we can make out."
She glanced at me for a moment and laughed. I guess my mouth was
hanging open or I had a stupid look on my face. I tend to do
that upon occasion.
"Those burgers are well done now." Dave's voice brought me out
of my daze. I began lifting them off the grill onto the serving
plate thinking how young Aly and Paul were.
I carried the plate into the kitchen to find Kerry and Moira
grinning at each other over the salad.
"Burgers are ready. How did the canary taste?" I put the plate
down in the middle of the table. It had been set for six.
"What," they spoke in unison.
"You two look like..."
"We got it," Moira laughed. She turned her face to Dave and
raised her eyebrows.
"So, you did some sex education last night, hm? Paul caught you
and Kerry playing around and that's what you come up with?"
"Uh, seemed reasonable," Dave sputtered, blushing bright.
"Better him than me, don't you think?" Kerry appeared
comfortable with the event.
"After dinner we'll talk about it. Right now is bad. I'm too
hungry to think straight." She aimed her steady gaze at my face.
"I've had a lot of exercise today and need some protein."
Kerry snorted a laugh but only said, "I'll call the kids." She
put her head through the doorway and yelled, "Dinner's ready."
The kids trooped in. Aly's posture and gait made it clear, she
was the alpha female or child of. It didn't matter. I got the
impression that she was confidant and in charge of... What is a
kid of eleven in charge of, I thought slowly. Dave pressed a
cold beer against my arm.
"You look zoned, Rick. What are you thinking about?"
I looked at him, blank for a moment. He thrust the beer into my
hand.
"Do kids these days mature earlier than we did?" I shook my head
wondering if maybe I was a little slow at that age. Dave just
shrugged.
We started seating ourselves. Aly and Paul sat side by side so I
sat next to her. She gave me a sweet smile.
"I think television exposes them to more information than we had
access to at that age." Kerry spoke out. "It's a shame they lose
their innocence even before they hit their teen years."
"I think innocence is just another way of saying ignorance,"
Moira responded. There wasn't a trace of cynicism in her tone.
"Pass the mustard," Dave contributed.
"Can I have a taste of your beer, Rick," Aly asked sweetly.
Without thinking, I held out the bottle. She took it in both
hands and raised it to her lips. One gulp was all she took. Her
eyes squinted, she quickly gave it back. She swallowed big and
smacked her lips.
"I'll stay with cola. Why do you like that taste. It's so
bitter."
"It's something guys do to prove their manhood, sweety." Moira
laughed softly. "They can't go out and kill something to drag
back to the cave so they drink beer instead."
"Come on. It's just as dangerous to drag home a paycheck.
Driving on freeways with idiots and stress at work. Either is
deadly." My two cents.
Moira nodded as she smeared relish on her bun. We handed round
the condiments.
"Dave, is that burger okay. You look like you don't want to
swallow that bite." Kerry looked concerned.
"It's just well done. I was hoping for medium well." He gulped
it down. "Kinda dry."
We began our meal and devoured the crispy burgers. I think we
were all too hungry to talk. Paul proved me wrong.
"Mom, why are you so nervous about explaining sex to me?" Paul's
question silenced us all. We looked at Kerry to see her
reaction.
Kerry's eye's darted from Dave to Paul. Her mouth opened but no
words came out.
"Uh. Ah," she stumbled.
"Dave wasn't embarrassed last night when he answered my
questions. You weren't, were you, Dave?"
Dave shook his head and started to open his mouth but Kerry
jumped in first. "Um, what all did he tell you, Pauly?"
"That it's okay to masturbate. Everybody does it, even girls."
He turned and gave Aly the softest little smile, his cheeks
slightly flushed.
Aly silenced a giggle with the remains of her burger.
"Is that all?" Kerry turned to lift her eyebrows at Dave.
"Well, that and how much fun it is to make a woman feel good.
Your book illustrated how part 'a' goes into part 'b' and all
that. He knew about erections but really didn't understand what
to do. So I showed him."
Dave spoke calmly with a gentle sincerity that seemed to defuse
Kerry's stress. Her shoulders relaxed and her face softened as
he spoke.
"Kerry, I can't be Paul's father but I'd really enjoy being his
Dad someday. Someday soon."
A panoply of expressions flickered over Kerry's face. Her
squinty eyes and pursed mouth became a wide eyed gape and a
great big 'O'. Then tears, a flood down her cheeks. Her mouth
took on that funny twisting shape made when laughing and crying
at the same time.
"Oh, David. Oh, David!" She blubbered as she lurched into his
arms.
I turned to check Moira. There were a sheen of tears in her
eyes. She had a little smile working as she stared at the two
clutching friends. Peripherally I noticed Aly look up at my
face. I turned my big smile in her direction. She wasn't
smiling. Her lips were parted slightly, her eyes were so soft
and pleading that my heart almost stopped. A hammer couldn't
have hit me harder.
"You love my mommy, don't you?" Aly voice was pitched high, her
nervous little girl voice. I couldn't help but take her little
cheek in my hand and lean down to kiss her forehead.
"Yes, I do, Aly. A whole bunch."
"I'd like it if..." She abruptly stood and wrapped her skinny
arms tightly around my neck.
"I know, baby. I've asked her already but she's very careful.
Because of you, you know? Mothers have to do that."
"Yeah, we've talked a lot." She whispered in my ear, "She told
me she loves you and why. And how you make her happy."
"How's that, Aly."
"That you're sweet to her and a very gentle man. Can I sit on
your lap?"
"Sure, honey." I pushed my chair back and she spun to wiggle her
little butt onto my legs. I hugged her around her waist and
nuzzled her cheek.
"I'm sorry if I've been mean to you. I'll make it up to you,
don't worry. I'll be nice to you from now on. Do you believe me,
Rick?"
"So, do I have to get down on one knee, Kerry?" Dave's voice a
loud interuption of a pleasant moment.
"Not after what you just said to me." Kerry was calmer now. Her
tear streaked face smiling broadly.
"Hm?" Dave knitted his brow. He remembered his words but didn't
understand the impact or her strong reaction.
"You aren't a single parent so you don't know what your words
really meant to me."
"Ah, Kerry. I think I might have a handle on it."
"We will share love and adventures. Now I know I can share the
joy my little boy brings to me with you. My heart of hearts
child. Pauly, come join our hug."
Paul scrambled to his feet and joined them. Only he was dry
eyed.
I felt a warm belly against my shoulder, gentle fingers slipping
into my hair just above my neck.
I tilted my head back to look into the face of the woman who had
become the center of my life. She leaned down, bringing a kiss,
her eyes so soft. I tilted my head back and her warm lips rested
gently against mine for a moment.
"Can I have a kiss too?"
I felt Aly squirm and twist. I smiled into her pretty eyes and
put a quick peck on her lips. So quick she didn't have time to
peck back. She made a tiny frown and grabbed my hair to twist my
head down and around. She put her lips against mine and tried to
force my lips apart with her tongue. I let her do it her way.
She was cleaning my teeth so I sucked her tongue into my mouth.
She 'umphed' through her nose and pulled back, her fingers
releasing my hair.
"That was fun," she spoke slowly, her tongue peeped from between
her lips as if checking if she'd lost any of it. "Why is it
called a French Kiss?" Her voice was calm, her cheeks slightly
flushed.
"I don't know, honey. Maybe it was popularized by French
people." The best I could do.
"I've only read about it. It was kinda fun. Do you think we
could do it again?"
"Aly," Moira sounded a warning with her tone. "He's mine. You
practice with Paul."
I glanced up sharply at her, slightly surprised at her
permission.
"Don't you look at me like that. It was your idea, remember?"
Moira's tone was now playful.
I felt Aly slide off my lap. She reached for and captured my
hand.
"Come on, let's go sit in the living room. I want to talk with
you about stuff."
"Aly?" Her mother's voice gently warned.
"Just one, mom! It's renewable resource, isn't it?"
"Not bad for an eleven year old!" I exclaimed with a chuckle.
"I'm twelve, almost. Two more months. Now come on."
She marched me into the living room and nudged my hip towards
the couch.
"Sit here. Do you want another beer? I'll get it for you."
"Sure, Aly. Thanks."
She scampered back into the kitchen and returned the same way.
She handed me the bottle as she sat next to me.
"What kind of work do you do, Rick?" Aly's tone was very
serious.
"Was this a job interview?" I wondered.
"I'm a bit kicker, sweety." I sipped beer and waited patiently,
wondering what she'd do with that statement.
"A butt kicker?" Her head tilted and her face twisted into a
cute questioning look.
"Bit, Aly. Bit not butt."
"Mom said you do computer programming. What's a bit kicker?"
"She used my job title but everyday I kick bits around to make
the machine do it's thing."
"I don't understand? Could you explain that a little bit."
I think she said that on purpose. I resisted the urge to tousle
her hair.
"Sure. The smallest computer data element most commonly used is
called a byte which is composed of eight bits. So, I rearrange
those bits for a living."
"What does a computer do, anyway? You'll have to show me how you
'kick' bits someday."
"Computers just add a little bit."
Aly gave me a suspicious look.
"You're doing it again?"
"Sort of, I'm sorry but I need to draw pictures to explain
easier. But what I said is true. At the current level of this
art and science, the core of the machine is called an adder."
Aly was not following.
"Look, come to work with your mother. I'll come and take you to
my office. We'll play with my toys for a couple of hours. Sound
good?"
"Okay. Thank you, I'd like to do that." Aly leaned her shoulder
against my arm.
"You and mom are pretty close now. She told me you were a
'keeper'. Do you think my mom is a 'keeper'?"
Aly smiled up at me, showing dimples I hadn't noticed before.
"Your mom is definitely a keeper. You both are. And I'm really
tickled that she feels that way about me."
"If you two get married then you'd be my daddy?"
"I'd be proud to be your daddy, dear one. Then I could call you
silly names like precious and honey pot." That got a short
giggle and a shoulder nudge then she was serious again.
"Are you and mom going to make a baby? I'd like to have a little
sister or brother."
I paused for a moment. This little girl was ticking items off a
serious agenda. And she's only twelve almost. Then I got the
vague feeling she already knew the answers.
"I've asked her. I'd like to have more like you around."
Aly's smile could melt hearts and blister paint.
"Can I sit on your lap again?"
"Any time, sweety pie."
She scrambled into my lap and snuggled in. Her chin on my
shoulder, her nose against my neck. I couldn't help patting her
little bottom. Pat, pat, pat and a squeeze.
"Isn't that 'bad touching'?"
I jerked my hand up to her waist.
"I'm sorry, Aly. I've got this strong butt patting habit. It
runs in the family."
She reached behind her and shoved my hand back down to her
cheek.
"My daddy can pat my bottom. It's okay. I think you're just
telling me you like me so I like it."
A spontaneous hug occured. A reflexive action. She hugged back.
"I've got some more questions."
No surprise there.
"Lead on, McDonald."
She didn't respond to my feeble wit.
"Paul asked me to be his girlfriend."
"Mmm. I noticed he likes you. What was your answer?"
"Well, I'm not sure what boyfriends and girlfriends do together
so I told him maybe."
I laughed and kissed her cheek. Almost twelve and this little
woman already knows when to 'maybe'. I felt I must have been a
retard at her age.
"Let's see. I guess sharing what you like and enjoying exploring
what Paul likes is the heart of a friendship."
"I like reading. So does Paul but he only reads Science Fiction
stuff. I like Nancy Drew mysteries. He said he'd show me his
Pong game. That sounds like fun, sorta."
"I forgot. Friends enjoy each others company. They like each
others style too, you know, the way they act or treat you."
This was new territory for me. I'd not seriously thought about
relationships before. I'd just let them happen at a trivial
level without thinking much. What were the bits and pieces that
make up a relationship, I thought. There I go, using that word
again. Maybe I'd better ask Moira was my next thought.
"Well, Paul is funny sometimes. He's never mean to me like some
boys at school. Is that what you mean by style?"
"You got it, sweetums. My girl is quick, isn't she."
I felt her press harder against my chest so I squeezed her
again.
"I like that. You calling me 'your girl'. Kiss me one more
time?"
"Big one or little one?"
"Kiss me the way momma wouldn't like if she saw us."
"Ha. You want a big sloppy, heavy duty make out wet one?"
Thought maybe that would dissuade her.
"Yeah," she breathed enthusiastically. "Let me do it."
She sat up straight and put her hands on my cheeks and pulled me
toward her. Her lips were parting as she pressed them to mine.
She was aggressive with her tongue, I sucked it lightly and
pushed mine between her teeth. She tried to suck the damn thing
right out of my head. I felt her heat and broke away. She leaned
back and gazed at me, smiling, her eyes dancing.
"Where'd you learn to kiss like that?" I was breathing a little
harder than before. I noticed she was too.
"Oh, I read more than just Nancy Drew." Her eyelids drooped. She
was giving me her best 'come hither' look. I was definitely a
retard at her age.
"What are you doing to my daughter, you child molester?"
I'm sure glad Moira was laughing.
"Wrong question. Ask her what she's doing to me." I grinned at
her.
"Okay. What are you doing to my man, Aly?"
"Practicing, mom. Just practicing." Aly's voice was sweet and
innocent.
"Go find your own to practice on. That one's mine. And that's my
lap you're sitting on. Get off him." Moira's face was stern but
it was easy to see she was trying to keep from laughing.
Aly bounced off my lap and Moira claimed it with a flounce. Be
forewarned, it'll hurt when they do that. I let out a big 'oof'.
Moira sat on me and stared at my face, her eyes narrow.
"Where's Paul, mom?"
Moira just gestured towards the kitchen with a vague wave of her
hand, she was coming in for a kiss. With the intensity of a
pouncing big cat. After a minute of heated action she pulled
back and looked me directly in the eye.
"That better be the best kiss you've had tonight."
"Yes, dear."