The Trip to the Airport
[Author's Note: This is a related story to events mentioned in Chapter 13 of the Soccer Moms series. You don't have to have read that story to get the gist of this story. I have enough information to make this a stand-alone story. But I think you will get more out of it if you know more about these characters which would come from having read the Soccer Moms series. And for anyone who already read the Soccer Moms series, some of this will be repetitive. It was necessary to give enough background for anyone who didn't. As I was getting ready to submit Chapter 13, this side story first came to my mind. That was over 16 months ago. So, re-reading the first part of this story might still be worth your time to help refresh your recollection.
Special thanks to Ronin for his editing assistance. He not only fixed my many grammatical errors but made some content suggestions that improved the overall story.]
Megan York had spent her four years in college having a lot of fun. And that had included a lot of sex. Most of that sex had been with other women. She had really enjoyed it, but things changed after graduation. Back then, if you wanted to have children, you married a man and had a family. That was just how it was. She never really questioned the societal convention; she just went along with it because she thought that was what she was supposed to do.
She chalked up her college experiences to experimentation in the safe environment of college. Later, in the "real world" she dated some men until she finally met Harold Sims. He was charming and suave and she felt as if marrying Harold and having a family with him was exactly what she wanted.
And for a while it seemed as if it was what she wanted. They only had one child, a daughter named Kelly. Harold made good money and Megan did not have to work. When things had started to get a little boring in their marriage, Megan had gotten breast augmentation surgery, giving her a forty-two inch DD chest that seemed to help revitalize her and Harold's love life. For a while. Over time though, even this was not enough to keep the spark going.
Kelly was an amazing soccer player and there was a premiere team in a nearby town. When Kelly was thirteen, Megan took her to the tryouts and she made the team. Another family had a daughter the same age who was also on that team. That child's name was Katie Rogers.
Her parents, Carol and Paul Rogers, were nice enough people. Over the next few years, Kelly and Katie continued to be teammates and so Megan and Harold got to know Carol and Paul. To Megan, Carol and Paul seemed like the textbook suburban couple. Carol was always very nice and very helpful. Everyone liked Carol, including Megan. However, if she had to pick a word to describe Carol, it would have been "hausfrau." To Megan, Carol was the stereotypical soccer mom.
One day, Megan found out that Harold was cheating on her with some young woman at his office. Surprisingly enough, Megan felt relief. Megan and Harold were able to work out a fair settlement without too much trouble. Jen Smith, the mother of a new girl on the team that year, was involved with the legal program at a community college not too far away. She knew some attorneys and helped Megan and Harold find representation that mediated their issues rather than fighting over everything and having both parties end up with nothing but large legal bills.
When she became single again, Megan Sims was looking to recapture some of what Megan York had experienced. The problem for her was how to go about doing that. She found an answer in a most unlikely place, her daughter's soccer practices.
Jen Smith's daughter, Melanie, had been an excellent addition to the team. And Melanie and Katie Rogers, Carol's daughter, had become instant friends. So it seemed natural enough that Carol and Jen would also become friends.
It was during that spring season, with the divorce finalized and Megan trying to figure out how she might find someone who would be willing to engage in some sapphic love, that Megan started to notice just how close Carol Rogers and Jen Smith had become. Then, Jen Smith showed up with a girlfriend and Carol Rogers seemed very out of sorts. Megan started to put one and one together based on all the facts that she knew.
The soccer team had an unusual aspect. It was part of the "Blue Lightning Way" as their organization's founder put it. The girls would usually play two-day tournaments against other, high caliber teams. The first day, the games would be recorded. That night, all the girls slept in one suite. The coach went over the films and talked about tactics and strategy for the next day. Then they all went to bed, chaperoned by the coach and two parents. This meant that the other parents would be alone that night.
Jen Smith was a widow and Carol's husband Paul had a job that did not allow him to come to most games. During the previous fall season Carol and Jen had been sharing a room. This was not unheard of within the group. And with Jen being a single mother, it made sense financially. Plus, they were now such good friends and their daughters were so tight, no one really thought anything of it.
But Carol's reaction to Jen's new girlfriend started to raise questions in Megan's mind. She had seen this in college, when someone began to have feelings for someone else who thought the sex was just recreational. So, everyone else just assumed that Carol was sad about having less time with her best friend. It would never cross anyone's mind that Carol and Jen might have been lovers. Not Carol. Not the vanilla hausfrau. That thought never crept into anyone's mind, except Megan's.
When the next fall season started, Megan learned she had been right. Carol and Jen had been hooking up at the tournaments the previous year. Now that Jen had a girlfriend, Megan decided to try to put some moves on Carol. As it turned out, Carol was trying to put some moves on Megan. They ended up having sex a few times. It was not earth shattering, but it gave Megan that old swagger back that she'd had in college.
They had only been intimate a few times and neither was looking for a relationship. That season was the last for the team. Soon Kelly and Katie were going to different colleges and Megan and Carol did not come into contact with each other. Neither one sought out the other for more fun. It became just a pleasant memory for Megan.
It had been over a year and a half since they had last spoken directly to each other. There was a Facebook group from the old team and so everyone had been keeping up with everyone else. Megan knew that Carol's daughter and Jen Smith's daughter had gone on to the same college. Jen Smith was still living with that woman who had "broken up" Carol and Jen. Carol and Paul were still together. Megan had not wanted any new relationships but she did have a few friends with benefits. Life had gone on, like it always does.
So that one day, when out of the blue the caller ID on her phone showed that Carol Rogers was calling, it initially brought back some fond memories. Megan answered the phone very airily, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure Carol Rogers?"
However, as soon as Carol started speaking, Megan could hear in Carol's voice that something was very wrong and this was not a social call. "Megan, I'm sorry to bother you. I don't know if you heard about that accident with the plane. Well, Paul was on that plane. They don't know anything yet and I haven't been able to reach Paul. I know it's a lot to ask, but I had come to the airport to pick him up and to be honest, I really do not want to be here all alone waiting for them to get me in touch with him."
"Oh my God, Carol. I will come right away. Just stay where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can. Which airline is it?"
"Thanks Megan."
"Don't mention it sweetheart. Just stay positive and I'll be there in a bit." Carol mentioned which airline and Megan grabbed her keys and went to her car.
Megan began making calls as she drove to the airport. She called a number of the other moms from the old Blue Lightning Team and asked them to call some others. Word spread and people were already organizing to be of whatever help would be needed and they all waited for more news.
Megan arrived about 45 minutes after Carol had called her. Carol immediately worried about how fast Megan must have driven to get there so quick; but was so happy to see her. When one of the airline employees tried to tell Megan that only family was supposed to be there, she pushed right past and went right up to Carol. They hugged and Carol finally felt that she had enough support to let it all out. She began to cry and Megan did her best to try to soothe her.
As the time went by Megan got a hold of Carol's oldest daughter, Abigail. She was on her way to the airport as well, but Megan convinced her to go to her parents' home and get things ready there. Megan would see to Carol and they would call as soon as they had news.
Eventually, someone came into the lounge area where the families were waiting for news. She handed a new list to the person in charge. She looked it over and looked around. Carol noticed she stopped looking around after they made eye contact. At first, the woman was not walking toward Carol and so she was initially relieved. The woman instead went to the Chaplain. Then they both turned and walked toward Carol.
Megan noticed this too and took Carol's hand. First the employee introduced the Chaplain as Reverend Swan. Then she said "Ms. Rogers I am afraid I have to inform you that it has been confirmed that your husband Paul did not survive the accident."
Carol collapsed onto Megan and began to cry uncontrollably. Megan put her arms around Carol and tried to be of any comfort she could. The Reverend said, "Ms. Rogers, I am so very sorry for your loss. If there is anything I can do please just ask." Megan said "Thank you Reverend. We'll let you know."
After some time, Carol was finally able to raise her head and hold back the tears. "I've got to call Abi."
Megan asked her, "Do you want me to do that for you?"
