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From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} A Different Sort Of Lifestyle 13 (MF, rom)
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:10:02 -0500
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Lazlo Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
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<1st attachment, "Life01-13.txt" begin>
A Different Sort Of Lifestyle
Chapter 13: Recovery
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2006
While scrubbing the pan in which she had burned the brownies
June heard the front door slam. Hearing the booming echo all of
the way to the kitchen, she figured that Jack was still angry. She
couldn't blame him if he was. Turning to Lisa, she said, "Jack's
home. Stay here and let me talk to him first."
"Why?"
"I have to tell him that I'm sorry," June said wiping her hands on a
towel. She was prepared to do anything to get his forgiveness, even
grovel at his feet if necessary.
"Okay," Lisa said somewhat thankful for the reprieve. She was
worried that after having just learned that her father loved her that
she had already lost his love. It was her hope that waiting a little
longer to talk to him would allow her to come up with better words
to say to him.
June stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Much to
her surprise, Jack was nowhere to be seen. She went to the door
and looked out. His car was there which meant that he had
returned. Fearing that he was in the bedroom packing a suitcase,
she locked the door and stood in front of it thinking that he would
have to get through her before he could leave.
The sound of the toilet flushing echoed through the house. It was
so unexpected that she almost laughed. The seriousness of the
situation was sufficient to squelch all humor. She licked her lips
and waited for him to appear in the living room. She didn't have to
wait long. One quick glance in his direction let her see that he
looked horrible.
"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice unable to look him in the eye.
"Which insult are you apologizing for?" he asked. He knew the
question might have been seen by her as unfair or even harsh. The
fact was that he didn't know what she was apologizing for having
done. In his mind, she was guilty of many things. The pain inside
of him needed to know and that allowed him to ask.
Staring at a patch of floor a few feet in front of where she stood,
she answered, "I'm sorry for believing that you didn't love Lisa.
I'm sorry that I didn't trust you to tell you of my fears. I'm sorry
that I helped turn Lisa against you. I'm sorry for how I've treated
you. I'm sorry for the horrible life that you've had to live here.
That doesn't even scratch the surface of all the things for which I
am sorry. Most of all, I'm ashamed that I didn't love you as much
as you loved me."
Jack had to admit that was a pretty good list of things to apologize
for having done. He asked, "Why do you say that you didn't love
me as much as I loved you?"
"Because if I had, none of this would have happened," June
answered giving voice to the belief that made her feel the guiltiest.
For the first time in the conversation, she looked up at him. She
said, "I would understand if you don't love me anymore."
Unused to dealing with his feelings, Jack stood in the middle of the
living room in silence. As the seconds passed, he tried to figure out
what he felt. The pain that he felt should have killed his love. He
knew that, but there were still feelings for her that weren't
diminished by the pain or anger. For both of them, it felt like hours
had passed before he said, "I still love you. I don't know why, but I
do."
Unable to trust herself to say more, she said, "Thank you."
"I need to understand why you thought that of me."
The answer lay in the beginning. She said, "The first time you held
Lisa in your hands, you had this look of absolute terror on your
face as if she was some sort of monster that was going to eat you.
I'll never forget the look of relief when I took her out of your
hands. That same look of terror came over you every time you held
her."
Stunned, Jack didn't know what to say. He backed over to his chair
and sat down. Unable to look at his wife, he said, "I remember the
day she was born. The nurse put Lisa in my hands and I looked
down upon that fragile little being. She was so small. She had
perfect little hands complete with little fingernails. I couldn't
believe it. I looked at her thinking that this is my daughter.
"I had never held a baby before. I kept thinking that I was holding
an incredibly fragile and precious treasure. I was afraid to move. I
was afraid that she would wiggle and fall from my clumsy hands. I
felt big, clumsy, and ugly compared to that perfect little being.
You're right, I was terrified. I was terrified of dropping her or
breaking her somehow.
"When you took her from me, she looked so right in your arms.
You moved and touched her just right. I could see that Lisa was
more relaxed. I remember thinking that with you holding her in
your arms that she was safer than in mine. I could protect her by
protecting you.
"After I left the hospital, I went to work. On the way, I bought
cigars and handed them out to everyone. I was so proud of you and
her that day. I think I bragged more that day than I had ever
bragged in all my life. I don't think I did a minute of work that
day."
Ready to collapse, June edged across the room and sat down
staring at Jack. She'd had no idea that he had felt that way. All she
had seen was the terror and not the reasons behind it.
He continued, "I remember when she said her first word. It was
mama and not dada. I knew that the first word was always mama,
but I had hoped that it would be dada. I was still proud of her.
Maybe I didn't show it, but I was.
"I remember the day when she took her first steps. It was the day
that I realized that she was becoming a real person with her own
personality and style. I watched her, imagining she was running
around with ribbons in her hair chasing butterflies in the yard.
Sure, she was stumbling around and falling down like babies do
when they are learning to walk, but I saw the future little girl in her
movements.
"I guess she was about eight when I was watching her play outside
and it was just like I had imagined. There she was in the back yard
with ribbons in her hair chasing a butterfly. It choked me up. She
was so happy and carefree.
"I thought that with you taking care of her and me taking care of
you, she could do and be anything she wanted. I would make sure
that she got everything she needed. You would teach her to be a
better person than me. You see, I wanted to be the perfect father
and that's what fathers do. They provide for their family. They
keep the wolves at bay.
"Every year that she got older, I kept thinking that she was
growing into an even more special person. I could see that when
she went to school. She's a smart kid. She takes after you that way.
I was never that good of a student. She can be anything she wants
to be, a lawyer, a doctor, or even President of the United States.
"I have always been amazed that I have been part of her life.
Providing for you and her is the best thing that I've ever
accomplished."
Jack fell silent and stared at the floor. It was the most he had ever
said about his feelings towards his family. Having said his peace,
he didn't know what else to say or do so he sat there. There was a
blur as Lisa ran from the kitchen and flew into her father's lap. She
wrapped her arms around him and hugged him even as she cried.
He held her tightly, afraid to let go.
It took hours for the emotional temperature of the room to finally
lower to a point where they were able to discuss more mundane
aspects of living. The smell of burnt brownies still hung in the air.
Throughout the afternoon, Jack had noticed the odor off and on.
He asked, "Was there a fire?"
"I burned some brownies," June answered.
"Oh. Are you all right?"
June smiled and answered, "I'm better than I've been in a long,
long time."
"I'll help you fix dinner, mom."
Thinking about the day that all of them had experienced, Jack said,
"I don't think you feel like cooking. I don't feel like eating out.
Let's order a pizza. I'll go get it and we can eat here. What do you
think?"
June's first reaction was a desire to say that she would go ahead
and fix sandwiches or something for them. She caught herself and
said, "That sounds lovely."
"Everything but fish?"
"That sounds good."
June watched him put on a pair of shoes and head out to get a
pizza. He could have called in his order and had it delivered, but
she felt it was important to him to be doing something. Once he
was gone, she turned to Lisa and said, "There are going to be a lot
of changes in this house."
"Like over at Harry's house?"
"Jack deserves a lot more of our attention from now on. I don't
know what he might want, but I'm going to make sure that he gets
it," June said. She sighed and said, "He's been a second class
citizen in the house for too long."
Looking over at her mother, Lisa asked, "Does that mean you'll be
spending a little more time with him and less time with me?"
"I'm afraid so," June answered.
"Good, that will give me more time with Harry," Lisa said with a
smile.
Having seen the two of them together, June said, "I take it you are
thinking about birth control pills."
"Yes."
"I'll make an appointment with the doctor. His mother and I are
too young to become grandmothers," June said. Putting a hand on
her daughter's arm, she added, "Just don't rush into it. You have
your whole life ahead of you."
"Are you worried that he'll take advantage of me?"
"I think that you are particularly vulnerable to the attentions of
males because of the past relationship between you and your
father. It would be my hope that you slow down a little with Harry
until after you come to grips with what happened today," June
said. In a way, she was relieved that Lisa had not turned into the
school slut by seeking male approval there that she couldn't get at
home.
"You might be right," Lisa answered.
"You know, I'm glad that your father decided to get a pizza. I'm
too exhausted to do anything right now. I didn't sleep very well
last night and this afternoon has been particularly draining."
"I didn't sleep well either," Lisa admitted. She wasn't going to
mention the lust filled thoughts that had been going through her
mind.
"I can imagine," June said thinking that her daughter had laid
awake through the night thinking about her father. She sighed and
said, "You know, your father is always going on about having a
Sunday dinner. Maybe tomorrow after church I could cook up a
nice big meal. We could stay dressed up in our church clothes and
make it a special occasion."
"Daddy would like that."
"He would, wouldn't he?' June said with a little smile thinking that
it wasn't so hard to put him first on occasion.
Jack sat at the pizza place waiting for them to finish cooking his
pizza. The events of the day had been rough and he was tired. He
thought about the advice the bartender had given him and his
discussions with Greg. The bartender had been right that women
needed to hear the words. He'd have to remind himself of that on
occasion. He'd also mention it to Greg the next time he saw him.
The idea that he should start making his desires known slowly
came to him. For the past few years he had become increasingly
unhappy about his life. Greg was right about waking up one
morning wondering what had happened to his life. Some of it was
explained by the events of the morning, but there was more to it
than that. There had been things missing from his life. Activities
that he wanted to do on occasion.
He wasn't sure what kind of changes he wanted to make in his life,
but he knew he wanted some things changed. He thought that
having his wife dress up would be nice, even if it was just once a
week. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted that. Greg
and Sharon dressed up for dinner, but that didn't really appeal to
him. He liked being informal at dinner after work.
When they were first married, she used to walk around in the
living room of their apartment wearing very little. She had a couple
of transparent wraps that she'd wear for him. Occasionally, she'd
add in a corset or a garter belt. When she sat down, she posed just
like the women in those old Playboy Magazines he remembered so
fondly. By the time the nightly news came on, he'd be so horny
that a national disaster couldn't have kept him away from her.
He shook his head and thought that it wasn't possible with Lisa in
the house. He was going to have to come up with something else to
request. He didn't resent Lisa for that. Being a parent required that
adults make certain accommodations in their lifestyle for their
children. Maybe they could start having Sunday dinners together
with all of them dressed up their church clothes. That would nice.
The pizza guy called out, "You're pizza is ready. Everything but
fish."
"Thanks," Jack said when he picked up the pizza box. As he
walked towards the door, it dawned on him that he hadn't been
fishing in years. He and his brother used to go fishing all the time
when they were younger. They'd climb into an old aluminum boat
with a little five horsepower motor and putt out onto the lake.
They'd drink a couple of beers, tell a few stories, and, sometimes,
catch a few fish. It was a typical male bonding type of activity, but
he missed it. They had stopped when his brother had moved away.
He wondered if Greg would be interested in going fishing with
him.
The one problem in his plan was that he didn't have a boat and he
didn't see how he could afford one. He decided they could always
fish from the shore until he could figure out a way to buy an old
boat. Starting the car, he said, "I could always build one."
The more he thought about building a boat, the more he liked the
idea. While he was working on the boat, his wife could do her
thing with the daughter. When his daughter was with Harry, he
could spend time with his wife. When both of them were available,
they could do something as a family.
He had pulled up in the driveway and realized there was one hole
in his plans. He wasn't doing anything with Lisa other than as a
family. The problem was that he didn't know what kind of activity
they could do together. He didn't think she liked going to sporting
events. He didn't think she would enjoy working on a boat. What
could he do with her? That was the problem that had led to the
current state of affairs.
Picking up the pizza box, he got out of the car while thinking he
should have washed it earlier that afternoon and headed towards
the house. He stopped and looked back at the car. Grinning, he
knew what he could do with Lisa.
Seated around the dinner table, June said, "I thought we might
have Sunday Dinner tomorrow after church."
"That would be nice. I was going to suggest that we do that," Jack
said looking at his wife in surprise.
"I thought we'd stay dressed in our church clothes and make a real
event out of it."
Nodding his head, Jack asked, "Lisa, would you like to invite
Harry?"
Both women looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them had
even considered including Harry. Lisa asked, "You wouldn't
mind?"
"No," Jack answered thinking it would give him a chance to get to
know the boy a little better. He grabbed a slice of pizza and said,
"Give him a call after dinner."
"Don't worry, I will," Lisa said amazed.
Jack took a bite of his pizza and looked around the table. He
wondered how to bring up the other matters he wanted to discuss.
He decided that talking about the boyfriend was a perfect way to
make another suggestion. He turned to June and said, "Maybe we
should start doing something together the nights that Lisa is out on
a date. You know, dinner out or something."
"I think that would be a good idea," June said glancing over at
Lisa. For the `or something' he had mentioned, she recalled
Sharon's suggestion of lingerie nights. She added, "I have some
ideas about what we could do, but maybe we should discuss them
later."
Curious why she didn't want to discuss the matter now, but not
wanting to create a scene Jack said, "Okay."
They were silent as they ate pizza. After a while, Jack said, "I was
thinking about building a boat."
"A boat?" a pair of female voices echoed.
"I was thinking that I'd like to start going fishing again, but that I
didn't have a boat. I realized that I couldn't afford one, so I
decided to build one. I've got Dad's old tools that I haven't really
been using. It shouldn't cost too much money to build one," Jack
said. He grabbed another slice of pizza and added, "I figure it will
give you two a chance to do mother-daughter kinds of things while
I'm working on it."
Unable to believe what she was hearing, June asked, "What kind of
boat?"
"Just a simple little motor boat; nothing too fancy."
"Interesting," June said. She didn't know what to make of the
announcement.
Lisa watched the exchange confused. She didn't know that her
father liked fishing or knew how to build things. She wondered
what other surprises he had in store for them.
Jack looked over at Lisa and said, "I figure after you and I wash
the car on Saturdays that we'll go out driving. Does that sound
good to you?"
"Driving?" Lisa asked. Her eyes got big.
"You're getting your learner's permit this week, right?"
Considering that she had no idea that he loved her until that
afternoon, the fact that he knew she was getting her learner's
permit shouldn't have surprised her. None the less, she was blown
away that he had known. Nodding her head, she said, "Right, on
Tuesday."
"So next Saturday, we'll wash the car and then you'll take it for a
drive around the neighborhood for a while," Jack said. He was
pleased that he had found some activity that he could do with his
daughter.
"That would be wonderful," Lisa said. The excitement in her voice
was clear to everyone at the table.
"She'll enjoy that a lot, Jack," June said. If she hadn't been cried
out, she would have started crying again. This was the first time
that she could recall where he planned some activity with his
daughter. Then it dawned on her that it was the first thing he had
ever found that he could do with his daughter.
"Good," he said. Having said everything that he wanted to say, he
turned his full attention to the pizza. It seemed to him that the pizza
tasted better than usual.
Everyone was quiet as they enjoyed the pizza. It had been an
exhausting day and no one really felt like talking. June was busy
thinking about what Jack had done. He had really taken a lot more
control over his life and had done so in a way that wasn't at her
expense. She could live with him working on a boat. With him
taking Lisa for a drive, she'd even get a little time to herself.
The most surprising thing was that he had asked for a little time
alone with her. After years of rejecting him, she knew that it must
have been hard to ask. Of course, with Lisa on a date her usual
excuse was gone. She reached for another piece of pizza and was
surprised that the three of them had finished it. Usually, they had
one or two slices left.
Lisa stood up from the table and said, "I'm going to call Harry
now."
"Go ahead," June said. She watched her daughter go into the living
room unable to believe the difference in how her daughter looked.
Learning that her father loved her had removed a shadow from
over her heart. Now when she smiled, it was as if she glowed.
Jack picked up the empty pizza box and threw it in the trash.
Grinning, he said, "The dishes are done."
She laughed and said, "That was wonderful. I really didn't feel like
cooking tonight. I definitely didn't feel like doing dishes."
"Good. I'm going to go look for boat plans on the web," he said.
"Go ahead. I'll bring in some coffee to you in a little while."
"Thanks," he said and left the kitchen.
On his way to the computer, he stopped and kissed his daughter on
the head while she was talking on the phone to Harry. When she
looked up at him, he whispered, "Just wanted you to know that I
love you."
He went over to the computer not realizing that she was crying
again. These were tears of happiness, though. She had to hang up
before racing to her bedroom where she ended up crying for
another half an hour. She fell asleep without remembering to call
Harry back.
June got up and went over to the sink. The brownie pan was still
soaking in the sink. She reached down and poured out the water.
Walking over to the trashcan, she threw the pan away. Looking
down at the pan nestled amongst the other trash, she said, "Good
bye old marriage. Today we start a new one."
She went into her room to look through her clothes. She had pants,
dresses, skirts, and blouses of all kinds in her closet. Not a single
outfit, other then the dress she had worn the previous night, was
sexy. Amazed at the utility of her clothes she sat on the edge of the
bed wondering when she had stopped trying to look attractive.
Physically tired from the lack of sleep the previous night and
emotionally tired from the discussions of the day, she lay back to
consider her wardrobe. Before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
Jack searched the web for free plans for a simple motorboat. There
were a large number of plans for sale with prices ranging from
twenty dollars on up to thousands for the bigger boats. He finally
found a couple of sites with free boat plans and spent a couple of
hours examining each one.
His search was interrupted when Harry called. The poor guy had
been waiting for Lisa to call back and, when he had to head to bed,
he decided to call back. Jack made the invitation for Sunday dinner
on her behalf and Harry accepted. He wandered out to tell her or,
at the least, her mother, but discovered that all of the lights were
out in the rest of the house. Looking around, he said, "Looks like
everyone has gone to sleep before ten."
<1st attachment end>
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