"Unbelievable," her work mate, Frances Anderson, exclaimed in total disbelief. "You have never celebrated Christmas?"
"Nope," Simone replied, feeling just a little annoyed at Frances' disbelief.
"Well, this is something else. It's going to be your first Christmas and KJ's first Christmas."
"If I can figure out how to pull it off."
"Oh, we've got to get you a tree."
"We?"
Frances was considerably older than Simone. She had one child in college, a daughter. There were also two adult sons who lived in another state now. Her husband had left her for a younger blond some time ago. Frances' response to that was: "One of us was going to have to go. I was tired of his old behind and he was tired of me. At least I got the house and a nice fat check. Fucker."
The woman always had a smile ready and a quick sense of wit. Despite her age and a bit of weight, she was a nice looking lady and full of life. She loved to laugh and joke around. Everyone loved her in the office. Simone would not have survived if it was not for her. Frances had made it her personal project to guide her along and Simone was extremely grateful.
"Yes," Frances said, wrapping her arm around Simone's shoulders. "Everyone should experience Christmas. It is truly the best time of the year. This is going to be so much fun."
Frances gave Simone an extra squeeze. Simone immediately regretted having shared her son's request with the woman. She liked Frances dearly and probably talked to her more than anyone in her life right now. Having the woman actually involved in the details was another story though.
Frances liked Simone. Quite attached, she looked forward to their conversations over lunch. She had even had Simone over a couple of times during the weekend. There were things, however, that Simone was holding back and that was apparent to Frances. Frances was a perceptive woman. There were the obvious things that were easily deductible. The lovely young girl was struggling as a single mother, attempting to have a better life, trying to keep a decrepit car going and doing an excellent job of raising the sweetest little boy. That poor excuse for an automobile had broken down once. Frances insisted that Simone let her drive her home. Simone lived in a questionable area. Frances had never even been to that part of town before.
There was more to the situation though and Frances knew it.
Simone was more than just pretty. The brown skinned girl had a smile that could melt you, when she lightened up a bit. Her features were delicate. Simone obviously did not have a lot of clothes, but she obviously had a great sense of style, chose her limited wardrobe well and displayed an excellent sense of class. The clothes she wore always fit her curvy figure just so and was always well coordinated. They were never suggestive or too tight. Frances loved the way she kept her hair in a neat little cropped style, reminding Frances of Halle Berry. Her make-up was minimal and tasteful. She was the kind of girl Frances wished her sons would bring home.
Every once in a while Frances caught a glimpse of a former life. The way Simone spoke and commented on things. Her vocabulary made Frances feel a little disadvantaged at times. She knew where to get extravagant goodies for meetings, and knew about fine cheeses, recommended restaurants for entertaining clients. Once, she had talked about a vacation spot and given bargain shopping pointers for stores Frances only treated herself too occasionally. It was not boastful at all, but more like a casual slip of the tongue based on conversations initiated by others and for their benefit.
Frances had gathered that Simone was raised in a two parent home. She even had a sister. They obviously did not help out with her son—definitely not financially. Everything was spoken about in past tense though. Frances had even asked one time if Simone's parents were alive. Simone had simply said no. Frances saw a sadness wash over her and the girl hardly said a word for several days. The girl never ever mentioned her son's father, even when Frances playfully encouraged a little husband bashing. There had been a secretary around Simone's age that was planning a wedding. Simone mentioned something about her own wedding dress and things she had done to keep the expenses down. Once again, hinting at a former life that included some luxuries that seemed beyond her current pay status. Of course Frances had been eavesdropping, she had being nosey down to a fine art. The fact that she was not a gossip redeemed her.
The office consisted mostly of men, educated professionals. It was a perfect opportunity to find a companion. Many of the secretaries had managed to marry quite well. Men were obviously drawn to Simone. Simone worked on Saturday's to make up for the hours she was not able to work during the week. She brought her son with her, it was fine because there never was anyone in her section. He played quietly at one end of her desk or on a blanket beside it. The child had the prettiest grey eyes and a full head of curls. He was almost as white as Frances was herself. So, Frances knew that Simone did not have an aversion to the Caucasian men that made attempts to take her to lunch or even dinner. She was no more than polite to the few black men that worked there as well. Most of them were already married. A girl in her mid-twenties had needs. Hell, Frances had to admit that working around such fine and interesting collection of men made her feel her own sense of need. But, Simone was pretty much oblivious. One time, one of the engineers had moved rather suddenly reaching across her while looking at some plans. Simone had flinched and moved away. The guy had not noticed. Frances had. Simone had realized this and looked ashamed.
To Frances, Simone was quite interesting and she had liked her immediately. She admired the girl's drive and the fact that she was going after her education. She wanted to help and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
***
Picking out a tree was harder than Simone had thought. Of course they looked for an artificial one. Under the impression that only the wealthy bought real trees, she did not even bother to go looking for one. The expense was too much at the store they went to in the beginning. She ended up at a store that was more of a cluttered warehouse. They had often received advertisements for it in the mail. The tree KJ wanted at first was a little too big. The one Simone felt like they could afford looked comically sparse. It was easy to give in to KJ when he found something in the medium price range, but it still lacked the fullness of what it was supposed to be mimicking. KJ was easily pleased when it came to the decorations even though they seemed rather tacky. Simone was quite thankful.
How to manage things financially was still a bit of a mystery. This was an unexpected expense. Toys were going to be a challenge. She was scared to file for child support. Scared that her husband would retaliate. Or worse yet, he would attempt to take KJ just out of pure meanness. He had money. She made just enough to sustain them. Sometimes the bill juggling, as basic as they were, kept her up at night. She would simply try to take her mind off of it by just doing more studying. It represented hope.
When they finally made it home, she was exhausted. KJ was a ball of energy. He insisted that they put the tree together and decorate it. Having never done it before, Simone found the process a little bit irritating. However, when it came time to do the decorating, KJ's excitement was contagious. The poor tree looked awful. She tried to spread the limbs out as much as possible. Besides that, KJ had insisted on loading it down with this silver stringy stuff. The stuff seemed to get scattered everywhere.
They had forgotten one thing. Lights. She explained to KJ that it would have to wait till next payday because they still needed some grocery. He was a little disappointed, but it did not last long once he started dancing around the tree. Realizing that she had not given it much thought in advance, the tree really should not have been erected in the center of the area considered to be a living room. She shook her head. That darn silver stuff was going to be a pain in the butt.
Finally settling down on the couch, they watched a Christmas movie that AJ found. Arnold Schwarzenegger was desperately trying to get his son some toy. It was hilarious. Simone made hot chocolate with marshmallows and watched her son glance at his creation every once in a while. It was nice to see him happy.
After he was tucked neatly in bed, Simone faced the hardest part of her day—the late evening. She was alone with her thoughts and worries. She listed things. There was almost two weeks till Christmas. She did not have any more actual classes. She would turn in her final paper on Monday. She had a paycheck coming in on Wednesday. AJ's school would let out. There were all sorts of interesting things going on in the city for kids right now and she wished she could work some type of activity in for KJ. They did parks and occasional things. She wished she could do something special for him. He deserved so much more than she had to give him.
All of these thoughts did not hide the fact that she was also lonely and extremely horny. Gary popped up in her head. She dug her hand into the back of the couch, past the pillows and close to the frame. What she pulled out was phallus shaped, with a bulbous head. She had cleaned it the last time that it was used. She slipped it between her lips to get it as moist and slick as possible. Then she turned it one, opened her legs, and pulled her panties to the side. She had not needed to worry about it being wet. She was already slick with her own juices. With her husband she had always been so dry. She dipped the toy in her spot and then drew it over her clit. It was too much. Thoughts of Gary, one of the nicer more handsome hotshots at work, already had it unhooded and sensitive. She dipped it in her opening again, this time slowly letting it go further. She pumped it for a while loving the vibration. She thought of Gary and how his cock must look. She wondered if it was as delicious as she imagined. It was his cock going in and out of her, vibrating and playing with her nerve endings.
