Chapter 9

Traci was just getting home when they pulled up.  She took one look at Mandy’s face and knew what the verdict had been.  The two women shouted out their joy as they hugged each other in the front yard.  Greg smiled at them and then headed into the house to let them celebrate.

Traci noticed his mood.  Mandy explained what had transpired while they had been at the bistro.  The older girl had met Greg’s mother and found her a contradiction of her ideals of motherhood.  Traci had the vision of being a mom that she had seen for most of her younger years from her friend’s moms as well as her own.  Heather Tolkin seemed to think that the way to be a mother is to give the child money.

The two talked about it a little more before they went in to find Greg sitting on his bed staring at the floor.  Mandy came in and hugged him followed by Traci on his other side.  Traci took his hand and started talking.

“Greg, you and Mandy have always listened to me and my problems.  Maybe now it is my chance to return the favor.”

“I don’t know if you can understand.  It should be a sweet deal, but I can’t seem to be able to get out what I’m feeling.”

“You know I am not a psychologist, but I have a good Foundation.  It is part of the education major.  Let me explain what you I think you are feeling and you can tell me if I am right.  Okay?”

When Greg, still looking at the floor, nodded, Traci continued.  “You are shocked that your parents are splitting up and even worse, your mom just dumped it on you all at once.  The deal with the house must feel like a payoff of some sort.  They both haven’t been around but they are giving you the house to make up for it.  Am I close so far?”

Greg looked up at her and she could see the tears in his eyes.  “You must be looking in my mind.  I mean, I keep trying to tell myself that they don’t know any better and they think they are giving me what they can.  But I just can’t help thinking that I would give it all away just to have them be here for me.  I just feel so betrayed that instead of talking to me as their son, they are brokering a deal that soothes their consciousness.  I am just another client that they are figuring to give a fair deal.  Somehow that the money makes up for all the lost childhood, the love I never had.  Damnit, this is so wrong!”  

As he said the last sentence, he broke down and sobbed.  He was letting out all the pent up feelings that he had been holding in for years.  He had always tried not to let anyone know how lonely he had felt for so long.

By now, both of the women were crying along with him.  Both of them could feel how much this had been hurting him for so long.  He had hinted about all this before, but they had never seen him so upset.  Greg had always been so much a rock to them and anyone who had needed him, and nobody knew what he kept hidden.  It was deeply disturbing to find out how badly he needed them. They sandwiched him between them and held and comforted him as he had done for them both before.

They stayed in that position until Greg had finally let it all out.  He raised his head up and apologized for bringing them all down with his problems.  Traci gave him a stern look and told him that he had no reason to be sorry; that it brought them all closer together.  Now he didn’t have to keep up a front.

Mandy hadn’t said much during this whole time, but now she pulled him close to her and told him how much she loved him.  Traci sat back a little to allow them to snuggle.  Mandy noticed, and drew her back in.  Greg looked at both at them and told them that he loved them both.

After sitting there a little longer Mandy’s stomach growled.  Traci giggled at her reminder that they needed to eat.  They all stood up to go down to the kitchen.  Before they went out the door, Traci gave Greg one more long hug.  “Thank you for confiding in me.  I know you would never show that much emotion to someone unless you really loved and cared for them.”

Greg returned her embrace.  “I...I mean we both love you and care about you.  You are a part of us.  I know Mandy will agree that we will feel lost when you go on with your life.”

Traci looked up to see Mandy nodding in agreement.  She pulled away from Greg enough to motion Mandy to join them.  Her stomach caused her to have to bend to get in the embrace, but it was enough to show that she felt what Greg had said.

It had been an exhausting day for them all so they decided that instead of cooking, they would just order pizza.  While Greg called the order in, Mandy went out in back and got the hot tub uncovered and the heater started up.

As soon as their dinner was delivered, they set it on the Kitchen Island and dug in, washing it down with their beverage of choice.  Greg had a beer and Traci had wine, while Mandy stuck with Pepsi, staying away from alcohol while she was pregnant.  They did toast Mandy’s new status and they discussed the case while they ate.

When the box was empty, they refilled their drinks and moved out onto the deck.  Greg was about to ask if they wanted to wear suits since this was Traci’s first time in the tub.  But before he could say anything, she started stripping her clothes off.  Mandy followed suit and Greg was left to play catch up.  Mandy went back in to get some towels while Traci and Greg settled in.  When Mandy returned, she slipped into the warm water between the other two.

They spent most of the evening enjoying the swirling waters.  While nothing sexual happened between them other some mutual groping, they did teach Traci the other use of the jets than just to circulate the water.  When she climaxed, Greg was supporting her upper body, taking the opportunity to caress her firm breasts while Mandy did the same to her stomach and ass.

When Traci started to nod off, they adjourned from the tub and headed to bed.  Traci gave them each a kiss before going into her room.  The other two turned into the doorway opposite hers to do the same.  Since they were already nude, they crawled into bed without any delay.  They didn’t make love, but Greg did snuggle up against his lover’s back taking solace in her presence.

Heather kept her promise and showed up a few days later to clean out the master bedroom.  She didn’t take any of the furniture, just the clothes and accessories.  That afternoon, Greg and Mandy moved their belongings into the room.  The bed was a king size and would provide plenty of room and the mattress really had not been used enough but what it was quite comfortable.  There was also a balcony that overlooked the back yard and the deck.

The first night Greg couldn’t get to sleep in there.  Even with Mandy’s drawings on the walls and all of their personal possessions missing, it still felt like his parent’s room.  As a child he was never allowed in there and even now he had never been comfortable going through even to use their shower.  He couldn’t seem to forget that his parents had both slept in here as well as fought in this room.  Like any other person his age, he didn’t care to even think of them having sex in this room.

When Mandy saw him the next morning, she asked why he was so tired.  When he explained it to her she understood.  “I don’t think I could sleep in the same room as where my parents had been having sex.  I always left the room when my mother would complain to her friends about having to do her ‘wifely duty’ twice a week.  Is it the whole room or just sleeping in the bed that bothers you?”

I think it is just the whole room.  They liked the dark colors and stuff.  It just feels like their room.”

“How about we turn it into our room then.  We could paint or paper the walls, rearrange the furniture, whatever it would take to make you comfortable.”

“Sounds good to me.  I think I will let you do the planning and I will do the grunt work.  And please, let’s get a new bed.  The thought of my parents rolling around naked makes me shiver.”

Greg went up to shower and change for the class he was to teach that day.  By the time he left, Mandy and Traci were busy talking colors and patterns. Trusting them to not go too far, he left them alone and got on his bike for the short trip to the gym where they held the classes.

On the way, he tried to work out why he was so nervous about the bedroom.  It wasn’t just the idea that he had never been allowed in there, but more like he was having to accept that his parents were moving on with their lives, and in some ways, he was being left out again.  By moving into ‘their’ room, he had to accept the fact that his parents would not be coming back to stay.  That had always been a dream he could hold on to, and now it was gone.  It was like he had been emancipated instead of Mandy, an emancipation that he had not really wanted.  Well he would just have to get used to the disappointment.  He had done it many times growing up.

He worked the class harder than usual at first, but then he saw their frustration and chided himself for taking his anger out on them.  He slowed the pace and started to work on helping each woman with her position and technique, and the class was back to normal by that time.  He was glad to see everyone building confidence, even Cindy Lawder.  She had been worked over by her husband so bad that she was in the hospital for two weeks.  When she first started class, she would cower any time he would pick her out to demonstrate a technique.

But the last couple classes she had started to show a confidence that had not been there before.  She was putting everything she had into the kicks and punches.  He had been glad he was wearing a cup as well as the groin pads this week.  Maybe that confidence would help when she had to face her soon to be ex-husband.

As he rode home, he was looking forward to a nice hot soak.  Having 20 females beating up on you was almost as bad as competing in a tournament.  When he first started, they were all afraid of hurting him.  No problem in that now.

Greg parked the bike in the garage and noticed that the Monte Carlo had been moved from its normal place to be replaced with an array of drop cloths and a bunch of paint cans and tools.  He made his way upstairs toward the sounds of female laughter.

When he stepped into the doorway, he saw Traci and Mandy attempting to cover the walls with paint.  What they accomplished was getting more paint on themselves than on the walls.  And from the position of the brush and roller marks, the splotches were more than accidental.  Traci’s shirt showed two roller marks across her breasts.  Mandy had a handprint on her butt and a brushed on ‘X’ across her belly.

“Maybe it would work better if I would just cover you both in paint and roll you along the walls.”  This was probably the wrong thing to say, because Greg soon found himself the target of two laughing, paint-covered females.  They were soon all covered in paint and laying on the drop cloth laughing.  Greg then decided that thinking about the past was not worth it: not with the love and companionship of the two women who were with him.

They pulled themselves together and with Greg’s help, they soon had the walls covered in a light cream color.  With just that little change, the room took on a lighter, more airy feel.  Mandy told him that she had a border to put up next to the ceiling and some new curtains that she would need his help to put up.  He agreed to do that tomorrow.  Then he suggested that they all share the shower in the master bath.

Even with the paint being water-based, it still took some scrubbing to get it all off.  They each volunteered to help the other two to get clean.  Of course, there was some fondling going on and Greg was surprised to see how easy the women were about touching each other.  In addition to being a turn on, he was also happy that they cared for each other enough to not be worried about the caresses coming from someone of the same sex.

Feeling much better after their mutual shower, Mandy suggested that they grab some sub sandwiches and go out to the park for a picnic.  They grabbed a blanket and headed to the deli that was in the little store a short hop from them. It was a family-owned place that didn’t sell much in the way of regular groceries, but was famous for their sandwiches and salads.

One of Greg’s classmates was behind the counter and greeted him when he came in.  Flower (her parents had been hippies) got their orders and started to slice the meats that each wanted.  She chatted with them all as she worked, asking how their summer had been and telling them about her vacation to her uncle’s place in Virginia.  They also picked up some pasta salad as well as plates and plastic utensils.  Flower gave them a cheerful farewell and they headed to the local park.

This park was actually part of the state’s park system, and was very well maintained.  They took their supplies and found a spot that was under a huge tree and where they could see the water.

They sat in a triangle, munching on their subs and just enjoying the warm weather.  After they were full, they took the pieces of bread and tossed them out to the ducks that were making their way around the edge of the shore.  The antics of the younger ducks as they fought over the bread sent the three into fits of laughter as the birds would chase each other over a piece of crust.  When they were out of tidbits, the ducks continued on their way and Mandy scooted down and put her head in Greg’s lap.  Traci stretched out alongside the other two.  There were no words spoken, each enjoying the lowering sun in their own way.

That night Mandy and Greg slept in his old room since the smell of the paint was still strong.  They made love slowly with Greg behind his lover as she was on her knees.  She was getting far enough along that any position other than this one or on her side was uncomfortable.  Then they settled down spooned together and fell asleep.

The next day, Greg was putting up the wallpaper border that Mandy had selected.  He was under the guidance of Traci whose mother had taught her how to do wallpaper.  Then they rearranged the furniture and re-hung the pictures that Mandy had picked out.  When they were done, it was no longer his parent’s room but theirs.  They helped Traci move all of her things into Greg’s old room since it was larger than the room she was in.

Mandy and Greg decided to take it easy that night.  Traci had a date and they didn’t feel like going out among the crowds, preferring each other’s company.  After dinner, they found an old black and white movie on, they snuggled together on the couch, moving only for snacks or bathroom breaks.  After the movie, they retired to the hot tub to enjoy the relaxing jets pulsing against their skin.

They were still in there when Traci returned from her date.  When she found them, she wasted no time in stripping her clothes off and settling into the warm water.  After enjoying the heat for a few minutes, she started to tell them about her date.

“Josh was nice enough, I mean we always get along at work, but we just didn’t really ‘click’.  He is handsome and funny and all that, but we just feel anything for each other than just friends.  He actually was the one to bring it up, telling me that he didn’t want to hurt me, but he really didn’t want to be more than just friends.  It was a relief to me because I felt the same way.”

She took a long drink from her Pepsi before she continued.  “Being with you guys has made me realize that I don’t have to go out looking for a companion.  I am not going to rush into anything because I don’t have to.  I love you both and that takes care of all I need for now.”

Mandy moved over next to her and gave her a hug, letting her know that she was always welcome with them.  Then they continued to relax a while longer talking about nothing important.  Mandy noticed that she was getting very wrinkled from the water and by mutual agreement they all got out and dried off.

As Greg checked the doors and windows, Mandy suggested that Traci join them to help ‘break in’ their new room.  She looked over at Greg who nodded in agreement.  She agreed and the trio made their way up stairs to the master suite.  

Greg followed them up watching two very sexy butts sway as they climbed the stairs.  This was more than enough to cause his cock to awaken, and he was sporting an impressive erection by the time he got to the bedroom door.  The women were already climbing in the king sized bed moving toward the center.

Greg stayed back to just watch as Mandy rolled on her side and started to kiss her friend.  Traci did not hesitate, returning the kiss as she started to caress Mandy.  They were in their own world for a while each one enamored with the feel of her partner.  Traci broke the kiss only to move lower and take one of Mandy’s nipples between her lips.  Mandy had noticed that her breasts were becoming more sensitive and she gave a long groan in reaction to Traci’s actions.

Greg saw Traci’s hand move over Mandy’s abdomen and down between her legs.  Mandy gave a little jump when Traci found her clit, then moved to copy the other woman’s movements.  With their hands on each other’s sexual center, they started to work each other toward climax.  Traci went over first, lifting her head to cry out her release.  Mandy was close as well and as soon as Traci came to her senses, she redoubled her efforts, and Mandy was soon voicing her orgasm as well.  

As Mandy started to come down, Greg sat on the side of the bed.  Both women noticed the movement of the mattress and grinned up at him shyly.  “That was the most erotic thing I could imagine.  The two women most important to me making each other feel good.”

Mandy spoke up first.  You didn’t mind that you didn’t get to join in?”

He gave a chuckle.  “Not at all.  That was too sexy for me to interfere.  Besides, I figured I would get my chance later.”

Traci sat up and pulled on Greg’s arm until he was between them in the center of the bed.  “Your chance is now.”  She looked over Greg to Mandy.  “You think we should show him what it feels like to be attacked by two horny women at the same time?”

Mandy’s grin gave her the answer.  Mandy moved up and started kissing Greg deeply while Traci moved down to his feet.  She started to caress and lick his legs while Mandy worked her way over his neck and to his nipples.  Greg was soon squirming from the sensations they were giving him as they kissed and gently bit every inch of flesh they could reach.

As if by mutual agreement, they met just above the head of his cock.  They kissed each other and then continued on their respective routes, only to reverse direction to meet once again.

This time, Traci took hold of the base of his cock and pulled it up off his stomach so they could take turns licking it. One would spend a little time stimulating him then move his cock so the other could work on it.  He was about ready to explode when Traci began to tickle his balls with her fingernails.  That was too much and he started shooting streams of his seed.  After the first, Traci put her lips over the head and took part of his load.  She relinquished his cock to Mandy who sucked the remaining semen from him, swirling her tongue around the head to make sure he gave up everything he had.  Meanwhile Traci moved up to his chest and licked his first shot from his skin.

Both women moved to where they were laying half on Greg while he recovered.  As soon as he could move again, he returned the favor first to Mandy and then Traci.  As he went down on them, the other would help by kissing the recipient and fondling her breasts.  It wasn’t long before the both were recovering from their respective orgasms.

Traci got up as soon as she was able and went down to the kitchen, returning with a tray of drinks and snacks.  Mandy didn’t realize how dry she was until she opened the Pepsi.  She downed about half of it before she came up for air.  Then she gave out a loud belch that seemed to rattle the pictures on the wall.  This caused her to first be embarrassed, and then join her lovers in laughter.  They all sat in a circle, laughing and kidding each other.  Even after what they had just done together, they were relaxed enough with each other not to have any excess baggage to be brought into the bed.

They were still interested in continuing the activities after their refreshments, but none of them was sure as to what to do next.

Greg reached over to stroke the backs of his two lovers.  “If you two don’t mind, you could live out a fantasy of mine that I’ve had ever since we have met you Traci.”

The women were agreeable and his fantasy was soon fulfilled.  Mandy was straddled his face, her wet pussy within easy reach of Greg’s eager tongue.  She was facing Traci who was impaled on his hard cock.  Greg was lapping at Mandy’s quim in the same rhythm that Traci was riding him.  He was in heaven pleasing them both and being pleased at the same time.

He couldn’t see what the women were doing, but he could feel that they were busy touching each other.  Traci’s hands were busy on her friend’s breasts while Mandy was zeroing in on Traci’s clit.  Between the stimulation they were getting from Greg and what they were doing to each other, their orgasms were approaching rapidly.

Greg used his fingers to tickle Mandy’s anus while he ran his tongue over her clit.  That was enough to send her over the edge.  Her body started vibrating as the pressure between her legs was released throughout her body.  Her actions caused her fingers to put the right pressure on Traci’s clit and she followed her friend into climax.  Greg followed them closely slamming up into Traci as he emptied his second load of the night into her.

As she started to collapse, Mandy had enough mind left to roll off her boyfriends face and to curl up on her side enjoying the aftershocks.  Traci didn’t make it that far as she fell limp onto Greg’s chest, jerking with every movement of his deflating cock as it continued to stimulate her over-sensitive pussy.

They all stayed in those positions for several minutes just drinking in the feeling that had just happened.  Greg and Traci both reached out to caress Mandy who was curled up next to them.  She returned the touches, smiling at her two lovers.  She was surprised that she was not in any way jealous of the other woman.  Maybe it was because she loved them both.  Not the same way perhaps, but there was love there nonetheless.

Traci was having thoughts along the same lines.  She really did love these two people, and not for the way they could bring her off.  It was a love based on friendship first and that had grown to where it was now.  She still wasn’t interested in other women, but she didn’t look at Mandy as just another woman.  She couldn’t explain it and right then she didn’t want to.  It was enough that she was there with them and they returned her feelings.

Mandy stretched out which brought the other two out of their thoughts.  Traci felt Greg’s cock slide out of her and she put he hand between her legs to stop their juices from dripping out on the bed.  She got up and headed to the bathroom on shaky legs.  A couple minutes later she returned with a couple of warm washrags.  She cleaned Greg’s face then his pubic area getting the sticky spend off.  The second one she used on Mandy carefully cleaning her as well.  She then took both back to the bathroom and returned to give the other two a kiss before turning toward the door.

Mandy stopped her from leaving and let her know in no uncertain terms that she was expected to get in bed with them and stay the night.  She agreed and slid in the bed putting Greg between the two women.  They stayed that way giving each other caresses until they dropped off to sleep, comfortable with the presence of the others.

The weekend of the Art Fair finally arrived.  Mandy had been nervous for the week beforehand, worried that nobody would like her work, that she would be laughed at, and many other negative thoughts.  Greg kept telling her that everything would be fine and he would be there to help her.

Early Saturday morning found them in the park setting up the easels and rearranging her framed drawings for the best effect.  They had a poster made giving a title of  “Emotions in Life” along with her name.  The six paintings included “First Bonding” and of course “Passion” along with “Wonder”, a drawing of a child looking up at the moon and stars, “Commitment” featuring an old couple that Mandy had found that after fifty years together still looked at each other with a love that had never grown cold.  “Sorrow” a sketch of a man who was kneeling beside the grave of his wife.

The last was called “Friendship”.  Mandy had drawn this one from pictures that Greg had taken of her and Traci face to face with their hands on the other’s shoulders.  The love and trust they had for each other was evident in their eyes.

Being nervous, Mandy kept fiddling with all the displays right up until the fair opened to the public.  Throughout the day, the crowds filed through stopping at each booth and display.  Many of the people were glad to meet Mandy, and to ask questions about all of the pieces she had chosen.  She was surprised at the attention she was getting and went from shy to very outgoing as the day went along.

There were a few that claimed that a couple of them were ‘pornographic’ but the rest were very complimentary.  There were even requests for prints of the original artwork.  The surprise of the day was when Mandy won the People’s Choice award for “Passion”.  With the ribbon, there was also a check for Five Hundred Dollars, and an offer to join the artist co-op that sponsored the event.

Many people recognized Greg as the model and when they did, they would give him strange looks.  The women, especially the teen girls, seemed to be trying to decide if he was really as well endowed as the drawing showed.  This was embarrassing for him and even more so when he recognized some of the people that he went to school with.  Mandy found this rather amusing, teasing him by saying that those girls are just now finding out what they had been missing.

Just before they started to break down the display, an elderly gentleman came by to talk with Mandy.  He introduced himself as Eldon Harrington, owner of Harrington Galleries.  Mandy was surprised that he was interested in her work and very flattered when he continued to compliment her on her style.  It didn’t take long for him to strike a deal with her to carry prints of her work and offer them to the public.  She was flabbergasted, barely able to believe what he wanted to display her work.  They made a deal and he said to come to the Gallery on Monday to sign the contract.

Traci had been through earlier, but had come back to help them load up and then go with them for something to eat.  Mandy mentioned that Mr. Harrington had offered her a deal.  Traci was quiet for a moment then said, “You do realize that Harrington Galleries is the premier art house in this part of the state.  If he is offering to carry your work, he must really be impressed.”

Greg thought Mandy was going to faint when she heard that.  Traci continued, telling her that there was a good chance that she was going to get more recognition than she ever dreamed of and that a deal with him could be worth a lot of money.

This put Mandy on a high that looked like it would last for quite a while.  When it finally sunk in, she was almost in tears.  Something she had done, that she loved doing, might be making her some money.  She was going to prove her father wrong and more important, prove her own self worth to the one person that counted the most: herself.

That evening, Mandy asked if they could call Greg’s mother and ask if she would join them for dinner.  She wanted to share the good news plus she considered Heather the one parental figure that would maybe be proud of her accomplishments.

Heather was surprised when she heard Mandy’s voice on the phone.  She immediately thought something had happened to Greg, but the cheerfulness in the young girl’s voice swept that fear away.  She listened to Mandy’s explanation for calling her and agreed to meet them downtown for dinner.

During dinner, they discussed how Mandy had come to get into the show and her winning people’s choice for one of her works.  Heather was curious about just how good Mandy was and they decided to go back to the house after dinner so she could see the drawings.

Once home, Mandy enlisted Traci to help her put up the easels in the living room while Greg stayed back to talk to his mother.  Heather was uncertain why Mandy had called.  Greg tried to explain as best he could.

“Mandy has never really had any adult encouragement to do what she is good at.  Now, when she has something to be proud of, she couldn’t share it with her parents, so she thought of you.  She admires you for your accomplishments and since you’re my mom, she sees you as the parent she can show off to.  She really needs someone to be proud of her accomplishments and your praise would mean a lot to her.”

This came as somewhat as a shock to Heather.  She had never thought that she would be ‘looked up to’ by someone that wasn’t in her business circles.  The idea hit her that maybe her son also needed her approval.  She had never given him more than cursory praise for his accomplishments and at this moment that thought hit her hard.  And the idea that this girl that her son loved looked up to her and craved her approval was hard to understand.  

Mandy had finished by now and was inviting them into the living room.  Heather was truly impressed and made sure that the girl knew it.  She was a little embarrassed by the one where Greg and Traci had posed together but only because it caused her to see her son as a nearly grown man and that he was a handsome man now.  It reminded her of his father when they had first got together in college.  After they talked about the art for a while, Heather sat down and asked if they could talk about some other things.

Traci sensed that this was going to be a family talk and quickly excused herself to take a shower and go on to bed.  Heather was in one of the chairs with Greg and Mandy on the other side of the room together on the couch.

“Greg, you said some things earlier that got me to thinking.  I know that I was never liberal with my comments of your accomplishments when you were growing up, but you never seemed to mind.  But when you said that Mandy wanted to share her award with me, I got to wondering if maybe you missed that as well?”

Greg leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.  “I never said anything about it, but if you really want to know, I really wanted your attention.  When I won my weight class in the regional martial arts tournament for three straight years, your and dad’s reaction was like it was an everyday thing.  The reason that I have excelled in school was in some vain hope that you would notice and praise me for doing so well.  When I was younger, I craved it and when it didn’t come, I felt that whatever I did wasn’t good enough.  It took me a long time before I figured out that it was just the way it was, but by then I started to feel good for myself in my accomplishments.  I went on that way because by then it was just normal.”

Heather was crushed by what her son had just told her.  She realized that both she and her husband had done something that could have been very damaging.  The only reason it hadn’t turned out bad for Greg was his own strength of character.  “I know that there isn’t an excuse for how we treated you, but I just never realized.  I had no idea of how to be a parent and I guess I went with what I knew best which was work.  Now I see that I have missed out on a lot and I am worse as a parent for it.”  She then included Mandy in the conversation.  “When you two got together and I spent some time with Mandy, I got a taste of what I missed, and I found I liked it.  I was always the one that never had friends growing up and I decided that being a success didn’t include relationships.  Now I see that I missed out on a lot of things.”

Mandy spoke up then.  “Heather, I enjoy your company and I do admire the way you have succeeded.  I want to take part of that and apply it to what I do in the future.  But I have learned how important love and friendship are and I never want to lose that part of me.  If you think you would want to, I would like to get to know you even better and be friends.  If Greg and I ever decide to get married, I would like to be friends with my mother-in-law.”

“You know, I would really like that.”  Heather’s eyes were very wet by now.  This young girl’s sincerity really hit home.  She stood up and met Mandy half way across the room and they gave each other a hug that was also a bonding between the two.  Greg made it a three-way hug.  

“I may have missed out on the past, but I want to start being more involved.  I would have come to the art fair if I had known.”

“I didn’t know if we should call and interrupt you since you are so busy.” was Mandy’s reply.

“From now on, I am never too busy for you two.  Promise me from now on that you will let know about anything important that is going on.  Or even if you just want to talk.  I really do want to get closer to you all.”

Their talk continued until early in the morning.  They convinced Heather to stay there for the night and they could all just spend the next day together.  It was strange for Heather to go into the guest room at least for Greg, but she didn’t mind in the least.  They bid each other good night and then went to bed thinking about just how thing had changed.

Heather was up just before the other two.  She came down to the kitchen to find Traci already down there having a cup of coffee.  She knew that the girl was living there and why, but she didn’t know her personally.  Traci looked up and smiled at the older woman, offering her a cup of coffee while she refilled her cup.  Heather accepted the cup with a sleepy smile and a thank you.

They sat in silence while Heather got the cobwebs out of her head.  Then they started talking, getting to know a bit about each other.  Heather had been unsure of Traci moving in when it happened, but as they talked, she learned that she was a sincere person who really loved her son and his girlfriend as friends and that she wasn’t just looking for a free ride.

By the time Greg and Mandy made their appearance, they were discussing all kinds of things including Traci’s desire to become a teacher and even her posing with Greg.  Traci explained it to Heather.  “It was a little strange at first.  But I knew Greg well enough that he wouldn’t try and take advantage of the situation.  We were both nervous, but as we stood there, we got a little more comfortable.  The worst part was when Mandy said she wanted a look of passion and proceeded to describe things for me to think about to get that mood.  I gotta tell you, by the time she was done, I was about to die!”

Heather was about to collapse from laughter from Traci’s description.  “I bet you were!  I bet you were a quivering mass by the time it was over.”

Mandy walked in then with Greg following close behind.  They looked over at the other two curiously as they were still laughing.  “We were just discussing how turned I got when Greg and I posed.” was Traci’s explanation.

Greg gave them an embarrassed grin.  “I think I was in worse shape than you.  Having my hands on a beautiful woman and not being allowed to enjoy it was murder.”

Mandy had to tease Greg a bit.  “Well we could certainly tell how much you were enjoying it.”  Her gaze went to his crotch as she said that.

“I’m having trouble thinking about that part”, said Heather.  “Since he is my son.  But I can imagine he was excited.  Not thinking of him as my son and just as a man, I bet he was showing his interest.”

“MOM!”  Greg was turning red.  Then he gave them a grin.  “I have to admit that I did enjoy it.  It was worth the torture to help Mandy win that award.”

Traci insisted on making breakfast for them all, and while they were eating, they all decided to go back to the park for a picnic.  This time, Traci volunteered to make fried chicken and Mandy decided that she would make some potato salad.  Heather left for her apartment to change clothes with the promise that she would be back soon.

It was a warm and sunny day at the park and Heather enjoyed the day more than she thought she would.  The food was great and it had been forever since she had spent a day not thinking about work.  By mid-afternoon, she was more relaxed than she had been in years.  She looked around from where she was sitting in the shade.  Greg was leaning against a tree reading a book between looking at Traci who was lying on a blanket and Mandy who was sitting cross-legged with her sketchpad.  They were all three doing their own thing, but she noticed that there was closeness between them that showed her that they were still enjoying each other’s closeness.

She stood and walked over to where Mandy was sitting and looked at what she was working on.  On the paper was a scene of the lake in the background with them all relaxing in the foreground.  She could feel the tranquility of the day right there in the strokes of Mandy’s pencils.  She knelt down next to the young artist.  “That is beautiful.”

Mandy looked over at her and grinned.  “You like it?  You can have it when I’m done if you want.”

“I’d love to have it.  Every time I look at it I’ll remember how much this day means to me.”

Mandy made a few more pencil strokes to finish up.  Then she signed it and carefully pulled it out of the book.  She rolled it up and used the band out of her hair to secure it.  She handed it to Heather who put it next to her purse.  Then the two of them took a stroll around the park.

By the time the sun was sinking, they went their separate ways.  Heather found that she was more relaxed and happier than she had been in years.  She promised herself that there would be more days like this in her future.  She also decided that her son had turned out better than she had any right to expect and that he chose his friends well.