There were race riots in Jacksonville that year, and as I remember, the Beatles played the Gator Bowl. The rest of 1965 flew by in a blur. Christmas was a big deal with Caroline just starting to understand about a few things. We had a huge tree and Santa Claus came with gifts for her. I spent tons of money on toys and we were simply enjoying every day.
Rita's mother, Sandra, came to spend the holidays. She was like a woman reborn with the upcoming birth of her grandchild. We as yet had no idea as to what sex it would be, just that Rita was huge and we hoped for a boy.
I discussed the idea of moving her down with Rita and she was pleased but wanted Sandra to be the one to decide. When I approached Sandra about it, she was negative at first, saying that she didn't want to interfere in her daughters life. I pooh-poohed her saying she was a part of her life and that couldn't change. When I mentioned the apartment down by the river over the mower shed, she was a little more receptive to the idea saying, "We'll see."
I invited Sandra on one of the daily walks that Caroline and I took around the yard. We trudged along the new fence line and down past the acreage that had been cleared for the stable and horse exercise ring. It was quite a long walk for the little girl, and as luck would have it, also for Sandra who was a city girl, or so I thought. We decided to rest a spell and catch our breath before starting back to the house.
We picked a spot on the bulkhead, down by the river, and sat and talked for a while. It turns out that when Sandra was a little girl, she lived with her parents on a farm in upstate New York and she was no stranger to horses. In fact, she told me she loved them. We talked about the recently cleared land and I told her how I envisioned it would look a few years from now, after we built a stable and rail fences. Her face was aglow at the thought of being around horses again. An idea formulated in my mind to build a small house near the stable and let Sandra live in it so she could be close to both her family, and the horses.
After dinner that evening, the night before New Years Eve, Rita, Sandra and I were sitting in the den enjoying an after dinner aperitif. I asked Sandra how she would feel about living in a house by the stable. Of coarse, it would take time to put a house up, but she could live in the apartment and help us with ours plans. She was extremely excited at the prospect. Rita was on cloud nine.
"You are all being so nice to me," Sandra exclaimed. She still had that little girl's voice.
"Mama, we love you," Rita said. "Don't we, Cool?"
"You betcha," I answered, looking up Sandra's skirt.
Rita caught me eyeing her mother's privates and asked out of the blue, "When was the last time you fucked my mother, Cool?"
Sandra gasped. I chuckled and said, "A couple of days before the wedding. You watched us, remember?"
"I sure do," Rita breathed. "And did you enjoy that Mama?"
Sandra was a little taken aback but she managed to say, "Oh, yes, Rita. I enjoyed it very much."
"So why haven't you done it since?" she asked. "You've had plenty of opportunities and I know Cool would fuck you at the drop of a hat."
Rita looked at me. I shrugged because I had no answer. The situation had just never arisen. I craved Sandra and would love to jump her bones. Sandra actually was a bit on the shy side. I think this conversation was making her uncomfortable.
"I don't know," Sandra whispered.
I poured Sandra another glass of Chablis and watched as Rita moved across the space from the chair she was occupying, to sit close to her mother. I handed the glass to Sandra and sat back in the chair across from them. Sandra sipped her wine and looked over the rim at me.
Rita touched Sandra's hair, which still had the Jackie Kennedy flip, with her fingertips.
"Why didn't you ever get married again, Mama?" Rita asked.
"Your father was such a wonderful man, Honey," Sandra began. "After we were married and you came along and then the twins, he was so good to me. He had to be away on business a lot and I spent so much time alone with you kids. One day, I discovered by accident, that he was married and had another family in Cleveland. That's where he was when he was supposed to be away on business. I threw him out. He sent money so I wouldn't have him arrested, but I found out that I never was really legally married to the jerk. I was devastated without him. I had to take care of the three of you so I danced in a strip joint for a couple of years and dated some real losers. Then I had a chance to go to cosmetology school and get a real job."
Sandra was crying now and Rita comforted her in her arms.
"They all treated my like a bimbo so I just sort of became one," she sobbed. "All I wanted was just to be loved."
"It's all right, Mama. Let it out," Rita consoled her, as she continued to stroke her hair and cheek.
"I never prostituted myself, although I had a thousand chances," Sandra said. "I may have been a tramp, but never a whore."
"I know, Mama," Rita said.