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From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} A Different Sort Of Lifestyle 27 (MF, rom)
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Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 03:10:05 -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, "Life01-27.txt" begin>

A Different Sort Of Lifestyle
Chapter 27: Battle Lines Are Drawn
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2006

Scott felt like he had stepped in a huge pile of manure. He looked 
over at Sam and then back at Greg. Taking a deep breath, he asked, 
"What do you want to say to Sam?"

Leaning forward towards Sam, Greg said, "Sam, you are dating my 
little girl. I love her more than life itself. Now the problem is, I 
don't know you well enough to decide if I like you or not. There's 
nothing personal about that, I just don't know you. You need to 
understand my position. I don't want anything bad to happen to 
her."

Confident that Greg was about to tell Sam that he didn't want him 
coming over to see Cathy, Scott was fuming at the mistake he had 
made. Crossing his arms, he decided to listen to what Greg had to 
say before saying something that he would regret. He looked over 
at Sam trying to see him through the eyes of man whose daughter 
he was dating. He couldn't manage that. All he saw was his son 
and the kid looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an 
oncoming truck. 

Swallowing heavily, Sam looked to his father for guidance. There 
was no guidance coming from that quarter. He said, "I understand 
that, sir."

"Now, I know that things are heating up between you and Cathy. 
I'm afraid that she's going to do something stupid and you'll be 
involved. Do you get my drift?"

"I'm not sure, sir," Sam answered knowing exactly what he meant.

"One of these days, she's going to be ready to say yes to you. Hell, 
for all I know she'll be asking you to do it. I'm not stupid enough 
to think that you won't do it. No, I'm not going to ask you to 
promise that you won't do it," Greg said finding it almost 
impossible to say what he meant. He wondered if there was a good 
way to let a teenage boy know that he knew that before long the 
kid would be having sex with his daughter. 

"Do what?" Sam asked suspecting that he understood exactly what 
Greg was saying. 

Scott shook his head and said, "Don't make him say it, Sam."

"Oh."

Greg took a sip of his drink. This was the hardest thing that he had 
ever done. While rubbing his eyes, he said, "Sam, I want her first 
time to be special. Don't go rushing into it. I want you to promise 
me that you'll make it special."

Stunned, Scott stared at Greg with wide eyes. He could see that it 
hurt the man to make that request. Unable to hold back his 
curiosity, he asked, "Why would you ask that?"

Greg looked down at the floor hoping that he wasn't inviting a 
disaster. In a quiet voice, he said, "I can't stop it from happening. 
Not in today's world. I just don't want her to get hurt."

"I understand," Scott said. He turned to look at Sam and thought 
about how lucky his son was. He hoped the boy didn't blow it. Just 
to make sure, he said, "Son, you better talk to your mother about 
what would make something like that special before you go off and 
do something you'll live to regret."

Turning to look at Sam, Greg asked, "Do I have your promise that 
you'll make her first time special?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said realizing that Cathy's father was giving him 
permission to sleep with his daughter. All he was doing was 
putting conditions on it. Even then, the conditions weren't all that 
bad. 

"Get out of here," Greg said waving towards the door. Before Sam 
reached it, he added, "Don't hurt my little girl. Don't make her do 
anything that she doesn't want to do."

Scott took a sip of his drink and studied the man seated in front of 
him. The entire conversation was too improbable to believe. Once 
Sam was gone, he asked, "Why did you do that?"

"She's ready to make a major mistake. I don't want her hurt," Greg 
answered.

"What makes you think that being with my son is a mistake?" 
Scott asked feeling irritated at the suggestion that his son wasn't 
good enough for his daughter.

"That's not the mistake. The mistake is being with your son for the 
wrong reason," Greg said staring into his drink. There was just a 
hint of the golden liquor around the ice cubes in his glass. He 
swirled the ice around the glass and said, "I'd invite you for 
another drink, but we're expecting company."

Recognizing a dismissal when he heard one, Scott stood up. He 
understood that Greg needed some time alone. For that matter, he 
needed some time alone to think about what would happen when 
Martha started dating. He extended a hand and said, "It's hell 
being a father."

"You can say that again," Greg said shaking his hand.

---

Ted stood at the front door with his father waiting for his mother to 
make her way up the walkway. Turning to his father, he said, "This 
is going to be a disaster."

"You might be right," Daryl said with a frown. His wife had 
refused to wear clothes appropriate for an evening by a pool. He 
had grabbed her bathing suit and stashed it in the trunk of the car 
without her knowing about it. Seeing her now, he doubted that she 
would have a need for it.

Harry opened the door and said, "Hey, you're here. I was getting 
worried that you weren't going to show."

Not knowing how to answer, Ted said, "We're here."

"Okay. Come on in," Harry said gesturing into the house. He 
watched Ted's mother make her way up the walkway. She didn't 
look much like the woman who had visited the house when they 
had brought Ted over the first time. Raising an eyebrow, he looked 
at Ted. Ted just shrugged his shoulders with an expression that he 
was just as confused by her behavior.

It seemed to take forever, but Shirley finally made it to the door 
and entered the house. Ted and Daryl were waiting for her. Ted 
was frowning and shaking his head. Harry said, "My mom is in the 
kitchen getting the appetizers ready. We'll go out by the pool and 
have a little swim before dinner."

The trio followed Harry though the house. He took them out by the 
pool and offered them chairs around the patio table. Greg rose 
from his seat and shook hands with Daryl. He offered the two 
adults alcoholic drinks. Shirley rose out of her depression long 
enough to say that she would appreciate a glass of wine. 

While preparing the drinks, Greg explained about allowing the 
wine spritzers.  Daryl looked over at Ted for a moment and then 
gave his permission for Ted to have a drink. Shirley didn't say a 
word, but stared at Daryl as if he had said that Ted could use drugs. 
Greg couldn't help but notice the tension in everything involving 
Shirley.

Sharon finally came out carrying a tray of appetizers. It was 
nothing more than simple cheese cubes and chunks of ham on 
toothpicks, but it was appropriate for the start of a backyard 
barbecue. Shirley waved off the appetizers, but Ted and Daryl took 
a small plateful. It was only after they had taken appetizers that 
Shirley noticed that they were using real China plates. 

For the first time since arriving, she spoke without being asked a 
question first. "You're using China plates?"

"This is the last of the old set. We got a new set a couple of weeks 
ago," Sharon explained. She smiled at the thought of using the 
China for barbecue eaten in the backyard and said, "We'll be using 
paper plates for the barbecue."

"Oh," Shirley said. She looked down at the pattern on the plate and 
said, "These are lovely."

"Thank you. It took a rather wise woman to remind me that they 
were plates and were meant to be used," Sharon said remembering 
the night she had talked to Ann Green. 

"But China is only for special occasions," Shirley said.

Seeing that a conversation was finally started that had Shirley 
interested, the men slipped away and entered the pool. Sharon 
watched them sneak off and then said, "That's probably true. The 
question is -- what constitutes a special occasion?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are special occasions limited to holidays? Or is a special occasion 
a time when you sit back and just appreciate what you have? 
Sometimes it is those occasions when you sit back to appreciate 
what you have that are the more special times of your life."

Looking at Sharon, Shirley didn't know how to respond. Finally, 
she said, "I don't have anything in my life that is worth 
appreciating."

Surprised, Sharon asked, "What do you mean?"

"My husband is going to divorce me. My son hates me. I'm going 
to lose my house and end up homeless on the street," Shirley 
answered.

"Oh my, that doesn't sound very good at all," Sharon answered 
thinking that if what Shirley was saying was true, that the three of 
them wouldn't have been there together. She asked, "Did your 
husband say that he was going to divorce you?"

"No."

"Oh. Did your son say that he hates you?"

"No."

"So what makes you say that?" Sharon asked looking at the other 
woman.

Shirley vented all of the rage and anger that she felt towards Daryl. 
She explained how he didn't act like he cared after Ted had been 
attacked. Sharon listened to the whole story without saying a word 
other than to nod her head and urge the woman to tell more. She 
shook her head in all of the right parts, said `ohh' when it was 
appropriate, and basically provided a sympathetic ear. When 
Shirley finally finished her story, Sharon knew that she was out of 
her depth. Looking around for a minute, she finally said, "Come in 
the house with me. I need to call someone for you to talk with."

"I'm not talking to a therapist," Shirley said.

"Oh, I'm not calling a therapist. I'm calling June. You've got a lot 
in common with her and really need to hear her story," Sharon said 
with a smile. 

---

In her bedroom, Cathy reached up and started to unbutton her shirt 
while smiling at Sam. He watched her with wide eyes knowing that 
he was finally going to see the treasures that he had only felt 
through her shirt. Seeing his reaction, she said, "We're going to go 
all the way tonight."

Shocked, Sam stared at her while hearing the voice of her father. 
He looked around her room and thought about what her father had 
said. Smiling, he said, "I love you, Cathy."

Cathy finished with the last button on her shirt and pulled it off. He 
was now looking at her bra. Hands trembling, she reached back to 
undo her bra. She stopped and asked, "You do want to do it, don't 
you?"

"More than anything in the world," Sam answered telling the truth. 
He moved to sit beside her and turned her face to his. In a soft 
voice, he asked, "Do you want your first time to be like this?"

"Huh?" Cathy asked confused by the question.

"It isn't very romantic," he said. He pointed around the room and 
said, "There aren't any candles. No music. No flowers. Do you 
really want your first time to be like this?"

His question caught her by surprise. Cathy had it all planned out. 
In as matter of a fact manner as she could muster, she was going to 
get undressed and then lie back on the bed. He was going to do his 
thing and take her virginity. If Harry was right about what men 
wanted in bed, then Sam was going to be very happy. 

Looking down at the bed, she said, "I thought this is how you 
wanted it."

"We are both virgins. Don't you think we should make our first 
time very special? We only have one first time," Sam said. If he 
were to tell any of his friends that he had not jumped on her when 
she made her offer, they would never believe it. He was doing it 
and didn't believe it.

"Harry said that you would want raw hot monkey sex," she said. 
Her lips quivered.

"Harry was wrong. Well, maybe not entirely wrong. The thing is 
that I don't want that for my first time. I don't think you want it 
either," Sam said looking down at her bra. There was just enough 
lace for him to make out her nipple. He could see that she was on 
the verge of tears. In a soft voice, he said, "Cathy Anders, I love 
you. I want you to feel like a princess in a fairy tale when we do it 
for the first time. The fourth or fifth time can be for me."

Cathy threw her arms around Sam and hugged him. After a few 
seconds she started to cry. Sam laid her back on the bed and held 
her in his arms. He had no idea what to say. He did know that he 
didn't want to hurt her. 

---

Harry and Ted took turns on the diving board. Most of the dives 
were not very good, but the boys were having fun. Occasionally, 
Ted would stop and watch his mother talking to Mrs. Anders. It 
was the most animated that he'd seen her in days. 

At the other end of the pool, Greg stood in the shallow water 
talking with Daryl. The evenings spent by the pool had given Greg 
a nice tan. Daryl looked pale and out of place. Smiling, Greg said, 
"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it looks to me like 
things are pretty rough at your house."

Uncomfortable, Daryl nodded his head and said, "I guess you 
could say that."

"I can relate to that. Up until a couple months ago, we were 
rushing headlong towards a divorce. You might not believe it, but 
we were rescued by a guy in my carpool," Greg said squatting 
down in the pool until the water came up to his neck.

Echoing his movements, Daryl squatted as well. Waving his arms 
in the water to take the weight off his legs, he asked, "Rescued? 
How?"

"Actually, he's rescued me several times. The first thing he did 
was show me that I didn't have to participate in the rat race. You 
have no idea what a revelation it was to learn that I didn't need to 
keep up with the neighbors," Greg said.

Looking around the backyard, Daryl said, "I'd think it is the 
neighbors who are trying to keep up with you."

Greg laughed at the comment and said, "Appearances are 
deceiving. The other day the guy across the street installed a 
twenty thousand dollar home theatre in one of his spare rooms. My 
first thought was that I needed to get a bigger and better one. My 
second thought was that I was an idiot for thinking that when I 
don't really want one. My third thought was that he was an idiot 
for spending that much money just to watch a movie on occasion."

"Twenty thousand dollars on a home theatre?"

"That's right. Of course, I figured that with that amount of money, 
I could buy flowers, some jewelry, and other stuff for my wife that 
would make her happy. Shoot, we could even take a very nice 
vacation and still have money left over. We could buy a two 
hundred dollar home theatre system and watch the same movies as 
the guy across the street. The picture might not be as sharp, but 
with my eyesight I'd never notice," Greg said. 

"You're probably right," Daryl said. He hadn't thought about it 
like that.

"Yeah, that's one of the things Jim did for me. He made me 
reassess what was important. At his house, his relationship with his 
wife is the most important thing in the world to him. They've 
created this entire world for the two of them. We've tried to do the 
same here. It isn't working out quite as well as life at their house, 
but it's a damned sight better than it was before," Greg said. 

"You don't say."

"I do say. You should see them. They act like newlyweds and their 
kids are the same age as ours," Greg said. He grinned and said, 
"We're not quite that way, but there are times when we get a little 
carried away with our passions."

"None of that is going to help me," Daryl said with a frown. He 
looked over at Ted and said, "She thinks I didn't do the right things 
after Ted was attacked."

"Uh, that sounds horrible," Greg said. He shook his head and 
looked over at Ted. He commented, "Looks to me like Ted doesn't 
agree with your wife."

"He's a good kid. We talked about it and he's coming to grips with 
the attack. It was a bit of a rough time, but he's come through like 
a champ," Daryl said with obvious pride.

"Yeah, but your wife doesn't agree," Greg said. 

"Right."

Scratching his cheek, Greg asked, "Did she ever hear or see you 
talking to him about the attack?"

"No," Daryl said.

"I bet you gave him good advice, too," Greg said thinking about 
the kinds of things he would suggest to Ted in Daryl's place. He 
said, "I bet you told him how to pick himself up and get on with 
his life. I bet you were the one that got him to come over here that 
one night."

"Right," Daryl said nodding his head. It was good to hear someone 
else say that he had handled things in the right way.

"That's the problem," Greg said. He ducked under the water and 
emerged after a few seconds. Wiping the water from his face, he 
said, "From her perspective, you didn't do the right kind of things. 
She thinks that you didn't show that you cared."

Hearing his wife's complaint echoed back at him surprised Daryl. 
Open mouthed, he asked, "How did you know?"

"As far as she's concerned, you're supposed to help him come to 
grips with his feelings. You think your job is to help him get his 
life back together. The whole time you're over there helping him 
get his life back together, she is watching you ignore his feelings. 
Bad you," Greg said. Seeing the shocked look on Daryl's face, he 
said, "That was something that Jim explained to me. Believe me, I 
didn't get it at first either."

"What do you mean? How I was supposed to help him come to 
grips with his feelings?"

"At any time while she was around, did you ask him how he felt 
about having been attacked by that sick pervert?"

"No."

"That's what she wanted to see," Greg said. Shaking his head, he 
said, "You didn't do it. In her mind, you didn't care. If you had 
cared, you would have asked that question."

"That's fucking stupid," Daryl said with a frown. He was pretty 
sure that he knew how Ted felt. He knew how he would have felt 
in that situation. Shaking his head, he said, "Men don't talk like 
that."

"I know that. You know that. Ted knows that. The problem is; 
she's not a man. She doesn't know that and she isn't going to 
understand it even if you try to explain it to her," Greg said. 

"I tell her that I care," Daryl said amazed at what Greg had told 
him. He was going to have to sit down and think about it for a 
while.

"Oh, yeah. You tell her that you did care. Of course, she doesn't 
believe you. Did you tell her what you felt?" Using the closest 
approximation to talking about emotions that most men used, Greg 
said, "I bet you felt horrible when you heard about the attack on 
Ted."

"That's right," Daryl said thinking it was a close enough 
approximation to what he felt. 

"She doesn't want to hear that you felt horrible. She wants to hear 
in what way you felt horrible."

"What's that mean?"

"Hell if I know," Greg answered with a shake of his head. He held 
out his arms and said, "Jim saved me a couple of times now. I'm 
still trying to figure this stuff out. All I do know is that when you 
say and do the right thing, your wife will treat you better than you 
can possibly imagine."

"I need to think about this for a bit," Daryl said.

"While you're thinking about it, let me get the fire started for the 
barbecue," Greg said moving to the edge of the pool. Daryl 
followed him at a much slower pace. It was obvious to Greg that 
the man was deep in thought.

Greg had just finished starting the fire when Sharon came out of 
the house with a tray of chicken. Looking around, Greg asked, 
"Where's Shirley?"

"She's talking with June," Sharon answered.

"Oh. Why is she talking to June?" Greg asked. After a second of 
thought, he asked, "Is June here?"

"She needs to learn a little about men from June. June is in the 
living room with her," Sharon answered. 

"Where are Jack and Lisa?"

"They're at home," Sharon answered.

"Oh. It would have been nice to talk to Jack," Greg said while 
fiddling with the grill.

Sharon looked at Greg for a minute and said, "You know, I think 
you'll be more upset than anyone if Harry and Lisa break up."

"Why would you say that?" Greg asked in surprise.

"You won't have an excuse to talk to Jack," she answered with a 
smile.

In the living room, June had listened to Shirley's story. When the 
other woman had finished, June said, "Woman, you need a reality 
check."

"What?" Shirley said insulted by the comment. 

June shook her head and started to tell about her belief that her 
husband didn't love her daughter. It wasn't a short story and she 
filled in little details about tea parties that turned into catastrophes, 
report cards that led to minor crisis's, and dresses that never got 
worn because Daddy didn't say enough about it. 

While listening to the first half of the story, Shirley was convinced 
that Jack was the biggest jerk this side of the Mississippi. Each 
little episode that June relayed just convinced her more and more 
that Jack was a father that didn't care about his daughter. It 
reminded her of Daryl. She was half tempted to interrupt and tell 
June that men are just bastards. 

It was when June came to the end of the story and described how 
she discovered that Jack loved his daughter more than life that 
Shirley's attitude towards Jack changed. When the story was over, 
she sat there speechless. It was an amazing revelation that a person 
could feel that deeply about someone and never say a word about 
it. 

It took a minute for Shirley to process the story, but she finally 
asked, "Are you suggesting that Daryl feels that way about Ted?"

"Men don't let us see inside them all that often. Sometimes you 
catch a little glimpse and you realize that there's a depth in them 
that leaves you speechless. Don't ever underestimate what your 
husband feels for his family. That's the mistake that I made," June 
said with a sad little smile. She glanced at her watch and realized it 
was time to head home. Jack didn't know it, but he was getting a 
visit from his Bunny that night.
<1st attachment end>


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