Training Lolita

The name of this story has nothing to do with the main characters names. The story is about a 40-something guy having sex with an 18 year old girl(s), so I just took the name "Lolita" from the Nabokov novel.

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- From the last story

Sherry had come over and confessed that she was pregnant at 16 and had Dana at 17. She and her parents had fought and they were too ashamed so they asked her to leave. She made her own way, got her nursing degree and had raised a wonderful child. She had not seen her parents since Dana was born. Sherry had had her last name officially changed to Wilson and had not contacted her parents since that day. It seemed to John that maybe she was having second thoughts about that, but wasn't sure.

Dana had been hiding upstairs in his house and heard the whole thing. Drinking scotch and hearing her long held secret meant that John had let his secret slip, as well. He had been married years before and his young, pregnant wife had been killed. Dana heard that, too.

John was unsure about where everything was going, but things had definitely changed and gotten more serious between him and the hot, sexy, young thing next door.

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On Sunday, Dana was at John's door at noon.

"Hello, Mr. T. I wanted to ask you a favor."

John waved her in. "Sure. Anything for my favorite next door neighbor."

She chuckled. "I think I'm the only next door neighbor who comes over."

"Exactly."

Dana shook her head at the bad humor. "Anyway, Mr. T., I wanted to ask you about taking me somewhere."

"And where would that be?"

"To see my grandparents."

John stared at her for a second. "You know where they are?"

"Yes." Dana wrung her hands for a couple of seconds and fidgeted in place bouncing from foot to foot. "When my Mom went to work last night I rummaged around her closet and found a small box with a lot of the important information in it. It had my birth certificate, some pictures of her and her parents, and the legal documents where she changed our names" She looked up at me. "I found her first driver's license and it had her address on it. I checked it out and found that my grandparents still live there."

John watched her closely. "And where is it?"

"About 40 miles away in another town."

"That's not far. It's amazing that they never ran into each other."

"I know, right? Anyway, I really want to meet them, but I can't bring myself to ask my mother about it. Can you take me? Please? My mother is sleeping late since she got home late from her shift so she won't know that we left."

John was nodding by the time she finished. "Of course. But you should consider what you could find at the other end of this trip. What if they don't want to meet you? What if they are still angry at your mother and can't deal with it? Are you sure this is the right course of action? Couldn't you call them first?"

Dana looked at her shoes for a few moments and then took a big, deep breath. "I have to meet them. I don't know what to say over the phone and I want to see them for their reaction. I don't even know if I will like them knowing what they did to my mother. I just have to know."

John knew that she was struggling with this and trying to figure it all out. She was only 18 and this was a lot to dump on her. Besides, she had never had direct contact with her grandparents. "Okay, let's go."

John and Dana headed to his car and got in. John asked Dana for the address and put it into his GPS. They started out and Dana was initially talking about how she found the box and some of the pictures in there where her mom and grandparents looked so happy before the pregnancy. Then there were some pictures of a pregnant Sherry and she could tell in the pictures that her mother didn't look too happy. But there were also some baby pictures of her and her mom and her mother looked very happy in those. She talked and talked, a little too much out of nervousness it seemed, until we reached the small town of our destination. Then she went very quiet.

John made the last turn and looked over. Dana was as tense as he had ever seen her.

"Ready?" John watched her closely.

Dana turned and her eyes were big and she was almost trembling. Her voice trembled, too. "I have believed my whole life that they were dead and now I'm going to meet them. I'm scared."

John reached over and put his hand on hers. "I'll be there in case something bad happens. Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay."

John pulled up in front of a seemingly idyllic 1930's house with a big front porch and nice landscaping. It was two story, the first about 3 feet off the ground. There were some low basement window wells and then a second story dormer that came out over the front of the porch. It was well maintained and looked lovely. There was a woman in her late-50s or early 60s sitting on the porch reading. The two of them got out of the car and approached using the front walk.

The woman caught the movement and put down her book and reading glasses. She stood up and came over toward the steps leading up to the front porch. She was just at the top of the 5 or 6 steps and John and Dana were at the bottom when she stopped, took a sudden breath, and put her hand to her mouth. She stared at Dana. The resemblance of Dana to her mother was pretty remarkable and she even looked a little like her grandmother.

John and Dana stopped and Dana looked up at her. John watched closely, figuring the resemblance between mother and daughter must have hit grandma hard. She was completely stunned for a few seconds.

The woman pulled her hand away and quietly said, "Dana?"

Dana could only shake her head yes and then the woman was down the steps and on Dana. She wrapped Dana in a big hug and started crying. "Oh, Dana, Dana, Dana." She just kept repeating her name over and over and Dana started crying, too.

John didn't know what Dana expected, but she was obviously blown away by her grandmother's joy at seeing her. John started to get choked up at the tearful reunion of the two who had never met. He watched as they just clung to each other. Then the woman noticed John.

She pulled away from Dana and wiped her eyes and cheeks, not completely letting go of Dana. "Are you her father?"

John shook his head no. "I'm just the next door neighbor who drove her over."

She put out her hand. "Ann Woodson."

John shook it. "John Tipton."

Ann turned back to Dana. "Please come in. Your grandfather is going to love meeting you."

Ann led everyone into the house. It was a beautiful home, nicely decorated and appointed. John could tell that this house had been cared for.

When they reached the kitchen, they found Ann's husband just opening the refrigerator to get a drink. He stood up when we entered and looked over. He glanced at the three of us and said hello.

Ann pulled Dana to her, putting an arm around her waist. "Don, I want to introduce you to your granddaughter, Dana."

For a moment, Don was stunned. He just stared and gaped a little, his eyes going back and forth between the two. Finally, he stepped forward until he was right in front of them and wrapped the two in a big hug. Tears were in his eyes as well as he hugged her. "I have wished for this day for years." And then they all just hugged and cried.

John stood there feeling like an intruder on this intimate moment. He started feeling like he should leave, but they finished before he could flee.

Ann noticed him there fidgeting. She pulled back a little and so Don did the same. She nodded toward him to Don. "This is her next door neighbor, John, who drove her over here."

Don stepped over and shook his hand. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"No problem." John felt so uncomfortable he still wanted to bolt.

Don must have noticed this as he herded them all into the living room and got them to sit down. He asked if anyone wanted anything to drink and after getting some diet soda for Dana, sat down on the couch next to Dana, who he and his wife put in the middle. They both sat close to her and asked how she found them. They discussed how that happened, where they lived, and what her last name was. They asked how she was doing, what she was doing, where she was going to school and all that. The conversation lasted for a long time and they all seemed so excited. The entire time her grandmother kept her hand on Dana's arm or leg. Then came the hard part.

"How could you push my mother away when she was so young?" After all the niceties, Dana asked it pointedly and with a little accusation in there.

A look was exchanged between Ann and Don. Ann started to speak, but Don interrupted her. "I think we need to explain that to your mother and you both and I only want to do it once, so let's wait until we can tell both of you. It's not something we are proud of, so it's very painful to explain."

Dana looked back and forth. "Why?"

Ann answered for them. "What we did was very wrong. We want to apologize to your mother and you. When can we come to your place to do that?"

Dana looked over at John. "What time did my mother say dinner was tonight?"

"6 o'clock."

Dana turned to them. "Be there at 6. Here's our address."

John stopped her until he had a pen and paper. He wrote it down.

Dana then stood up. "I think we should go now. I want to discuss this more, but if you want to wait to have us both there, then so be it. I'll go home and wait for that."

Ann and Don both seemed a little taken aback at her abruptness, but accepted it. They both stood and Don spoke. "Okay, Dana. I can see your point. Please understand that we are sorry and want very much to be back in your lives."

Dana nodded, but headed toward the door. She seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there.

John stood and Don was right there to shake his hand. "John, thank you so much for bringing her. It means the world to us to be able to reconnect with them. Will you be there tonight?"

John wasn't sure what his point was, but he answered anyway. "Yes, I was invited for dinner originally. Not sure what will happen at this point."

John and Dana got back into the car and when he looked, John could see the joy mixed with pain on the faces of Ann and Don. It was almost heartbreaking, but he also knew that they had brought that on themselves when they threw a young, pregnant Sherry out.

Dana was quiet most of the way home. She didn't want to talk to John about her grandparents at that time and so John waited. She stared out the window and was lost in her own thoughts about what she had learned, what she didn't know yet, and how things might have been different if her grandparents had not thrown her mother out back then.

When they arrived back at John's place all he got was a "See you later" from Dana and then he watched as she slowly walked back and inside her house.

John went into his house and thought about what just happened. The three of them had had a good conversation for about two hours, and then Dana had brought up the issue with her mother being kicked out. They had not wanted to discuss that right then, preferring to wait until they had both of them together. He wondered about what they were going to say. He couldn't imagine that they would say anything to Sherry that would matter one bit. It would depend on Sherry being able to forgive them for Dana's sake.

Finally, at about 5:50, John went to wait on his porch to see if the grandparents showed up on time. He looked down the street and noticed that they were already there, waiting down the street in their car until the exact time. They were very visible if you looked and they appeared to be a little stricken with indecision.

At exactly 6, Ann and Don pulled up in front of the house. John met them halfway up the walk with a bottle of wine in his hand. "Hello again."

They both said hello, but were tense and subdued. This was either going to be a great reunion or a complete disaster.

The three of them traipsed up onto the porch and John rang the doorbell. The door opened almost immediately. It was apparent that Dana had been anxiously waiting for them. She ushered them in and asked them to wait in the middle of the living room. Ann, Don, and John all remained standing. Dana turned toward the kitchen.

"Mom? Can you come out her for a second?"

Sherry entered the room with an apron on, nicely dressed under it in a cute skirt and blouse, and all made up. She looked delicious. "Yes, d-d-dear?" She sputtered on the dear when she saw her parents. She started to look very angry and intimidating. Ann and Don seemed to shrink before her, waiting for the onslaught that was to come.

Instead, only quiet words, whispered with ice and venom, came out. "What are you doing here?"

Dana moved over to her mother. "Mom, I invited them."

Sherry stared at Dana. "And how did you find them?"

Dana looked a little abashed, too. "I looked through your things and found your old address. They still lived there. I went to see them and invited them over to see you again. They want to apologize."

Sherry's gaze moved back to her parents where she zeroed in on them like an assassin. Ann stepped forward a half step. "Yes, we would." She wiped her eyes and went back to nervously squeezing and clutching at her small purse. Don stayed about two feet back and to her right. "We came here with no expectations. You have every right to hate us. We just would hope that you would let us back into your life enough to know our granddaughter. Please, let us explain, and maybe you can allow us at least some time with her."

Sherry watched her closely. "Fine." It didn't sound like fine. "Explain." She crossed her arms, not bothering to move closer, sit, or offer them a chance to sit.

Ann grabbed Don's hand for support and started. "You know that we were pretty religious back then. Not so much now. However, back then we were heavily swayed by the pastor, Jon Jenkins. You remember him." She watched Sherry nod curtly. "Well, he said that you were a terrible sinner having that baby out of wedlock and that we should cast you out. Those were his exact words. Don and I fought about it. I was more convinced by Jon than your father. He was too attached to his 'little girl'." She turned and looked up at Don as she squeezed his hand. He just looked forlorn. "So, we did as he suggested. It was so hard to see you go, but we thought we had to be strong. Three years later, after Pastor Jenkins was found to be a liar, a thief, and a philanderer, we got a new pastor. We were now torn about what we had done, so we went to him with our story. Your father and I continued to fight about it. The new pastor took us to task. He told us to look through your eyes. You were young and innocent. You made a mistake and for that, your parents, who brought you into this world had turned you out. You were so young, scared, and knew nothing of the real world and we turned our backs on you. He told us that as your parents we owed you our support, to matter what. We are all sinners and we should have loved you and helped you work through it. He called us terrible sinners for abandoning our child. After that explanation, we realized the magnitude of what we had done and felt horrible. Your father almost left me." Ann turned and smiled wanly at Don who just nodded. Tears were beginning to run down his face.

John was watching all this and noticed that Sherry was having a hard time remaining stoic. He didn't know if that meant she was about to explode or if the apology was breaking down her hard facade.

Ann continued, sniffling and trying to finish before she totally broke down. "Anyway, there is no way we can make that up. We know that you may never forgive us for that, but we would like permission to get to know our granddaughter. We tried to find you after those first three years, but by then you had changed your name and we couldn't find you. We felt awful and Don and I barely managed to stay together. He was so angry at me for causing us to lose you. We'd like to make up that mistake by being good grandparents to Dana."

Ann stopped to take a breath, her gaze now pointed down at the floor, unable to meet Sherry's stare. Don was also staring at the floor, the tears now running down his face.

Ann looked up at her daughter. "Please?" It was a mournful whisper.

Don continued to look down, seemingly lost and bracing himself for the worst. Dana was in tears, too. They all looked at Sherry who was still staring and glaring. Then her facade broke and she started crying, too. "Daddy?" She put out her arms and that was all it took.

Don's head snapped up. He rushed to her and held her tight, smoothing her hair like the little girl he once held. Ann rushed to wrap herself around the two of them and then Dana joined them. They held each other tight, Ann murmuring 'Sorry' over and over, Don murmuring her name, and Sherry just sobbing.

John stood there and cried, too. How could he not with the emotion that was flowing through the four souls in that room. He finally sat as they all continued to hold each other, like they were trying to make up for 18 years of separation.

Finally, Sherry started pulling back. They all separated and stared wiping their eyes and then Sherry looked at her mother and father. "I have some things on the stove in the kitchen." She rushed into the kitchen. Ann waited a few seconds and followed her in.

Don sat on the couch and took a deep breath. "Wow that was exhausting." He looked up at Dana. "Are you okay with all this Dana?"

"I think so."

"We have failed you as much as your mother." He continued to wipe his eyes. "We want to make it up to both of you."

John and Dana also sat, but not for long. Ann was immediately back in the living room. "Dinner is served. We're in the dining room."

They all walked into the dining room and sat. Sherry and Ann bustled around the table bringing in all the food, like it was just a normal dinner. The sense of normalcy was a little relaxing for John. He wasn't sure he could take much more drama.

Dinner was old fashioned meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and some steamed mixed vegetables. Everything was delicious and after some initial tension, they all started talking. It seemed that the walls that existed between them were disappearing fast. Everyone was smiling and happy and Don looked especially overjoyed. John figured he must have been the kind of father who doted on his daughter, just like he would have done himself.

The family was extremely happy and John was a little shocked at how fast it had happened.

Dana, meanwhile, was ecstatic. She had never expected to be able to have dinner and a conversation with her grandparents. She went on and on about what she was going to do in college and all that. She also talked about the scholarships that she had received and that she would still have to work, but was going to make it. Then Ann and Don dropped a bombshell.

Don smiled at his granddaughter. "So is it expensive?"

Dana shrugged. "Yes, but it will be a good education. My mom always told that it was extremely important and she wanted me to be able to get a good one. I know how hard she worked to get hers."

Everyone was a little silent at that reference to why she had to work so hard. Don looked at Sherry. "I just want you to know that your mother and I created one of those 529 plans years ago in hopes that we would someday have a granddaughter to put through college."

Sherry seemed happy but maybe a little put out.

Dana didn't. "Really? That would be great so I don't have to work so much and so Mom can have a break from overtime. Right mom?"

Sherry nodded. "Yes, I suppose." She looked at both her grandparents. "How much is in it? Her school is about twenty-four K per year."

Don looked at Ann who nodded. "A hundred thousand."