It didn't matter that she was married, or she had kids. It didn't matter that she was a vivacious, exemplary soccer mom that liked to bake goods and watch after the kids in the neighborhood to get in good with the other parents. It didn't matter that the only reason I knew her was because I stumbled across her babysitting ad one weekend because, let's face it, I wanted to get high and order in that night. Alison and I had an odd relationship.
I didn't know much about Alison, to be honest. She was well-behaved and tightlipped to the nth degree with a no nonsense attitude. Her face was guarded by bangs and her straight dark hair was often pulled into a ponytail. Her outfits were plain and clean cut, much like her personality. She had a stale marriage with some guy named Tommy or Donnie or something. Her house was always spotless, her kids were always in bed by a decent hour and never talked back. Boring, boring, boring.
Me, on the other hand, I was her complete opposite. I was a complacent, laid back, somewhat conceited college kid. I had a typical group of friends and a string of girls I dated occasionally. My grades were passing. My attendance was acceptable. I was tall and thin, she was short and carved like a statue.
It was a gray Saturday afternoon when Alison called me. I never actually expected to hear from the woman again, but I was glad to take another stab at making more money – the yuppie suburbanites always did like throwing cash around whenever they needed a babysitter on the fly. Campus wasn't far from her house, so after I felt like I procrastinated enough, I kicked on some shoes and headed out the door. I pulled out a smoke and lit it on the way there, polluting the cloudy Canadian air. Oh well.
By the time I had made my way to Alison's street it was late in the afternoon and the skies were a desolate shade of ash. What a drag. I took a quick final puff before flicking my sizzling cigarette on the sidewalk and crushing it under my heel. When I rounded the corner to Alison's house, I didn't find a car parked in the driveway, but proceeded around the back of her old-fashioned brick house anyway.
After knocking on the door a few times and standing there a few minutes and knocking a few more times, I decided to let myself in. The ground floor playroom was empty, the mahogany furniture absent of little kids home from school. "Alison?" I called out, making my way up the stairs.
"In here," she responded. I made my way through the house and to the living room, where I found Alison perched on the edge of the couch with her arms folded across her chest. When I walked in, the fireplace was unlit, the TV silent. By the look of her outfit, Alison had clearly already been out with the kids, as was evident by her bland soccer mom wardrobe. Like usual Alison was sporting her classic ponytail, a blue headband nestled in her hair. Her clothes were vapid – dark jeans, pink sweater, white vest. Alison sat there silently, still as a rock.
I stood in the doorway, unsure of what to say. "Uh, Alison?"
"I think Donnie's cheating on me," Alison mumbled, rubbing her arm.
It took me a minute to realize who she was talking about. "Oh. Oh," I stuttered, still skeptical whether or not she wanted me to come in. "What, uh, what makes you say that?" I asked her, trying as best as possible to skirt around the subject.
"Oh, I don't know," Alison whined, dropping her arms to the side. "I just-I just feel like I know, you know?" she complained, leaning back against the couch in defeat. Alison sighed and rubbed her forehead slowly. "He's always home late and he can never get his stories straight and he's always snapping at me lately and I just-I just don't know what to do," she mewls in distraught.
My hand went to the back of my neck as I tried to figure what to say to her. "Oh, um," I started, "well, where are the kids?"
Alison turned to me, meeting my eyes for the first time since I'd gotten there. "They're at my mother's," she mumbled quietly. "And Donnie, well, God knows where Donnie is," she added quickly. The woman looked up at me again, cocking her head. "Well? Come on, sit down."
"Uh, yeah, okay," I said, slowly wandering into the room. I sat down on the far end of the couch, clearing my throat as we sat in awkward silence. Here I was, just trying to get paid, but instead I was stuck instead stuck with a soccer mom in the middle of an existential crisis. Just my luck. Alison sat there, looking away, biting her nails. "How long has this been going on for?"
Alison sighed. "A few months, I guess," she groaned after a moment. The quiet stretched on. I was about to say something, but Alison interrupted me before I could. "I want to get back at him," she said in a hollow, definitive voice.
I turned and looked at the woman, who I thought was sure losing her mind. "What?" I said incredulously. "What do you mean?"
"I said I want to get back at him," Alison exclaimed, slapping her leg. The woman turned to me with an intensely determined look on her face. "I want that bastard to feel what I've been feeling every night for weeks now. I want him to feel sick to his stomach."
I blinked a few times, rearing my head back. "Whoa, Alison," I said, trying to calm her down. "You don't want to do this, you know? I mean, you two have a family together, kids, a life, a marriage, that isn't a good idea."
"No. No, dammit. I want to do this," Alison retorted, standing her ground. "Get over here, Reed. We're doing this. Now."
I choked for a second, not believing what the woman had just said. "M-me? What? Why?"
Alison pulled her head back. "Well, because you're young and attractive. Duh," she offered. I guess I couldn't argue with her. "If you're not going to do it, then, Reed, I'll just have to do it." With that, Alison shot up, waltzed over to me, and proceeded to promptly sit down in my lap sideways. Brushing her hair behind her ear, the girl chewed her lip and lowered her head, looking up at me. Her hand cupped my chin gently. "Well?" Alison murmured.
I let out a loud, shaky breath. "Oh boy," I whispered, swallowing a lump in my throat. This woman was hitting all my weak spots with perfect aim and I was starting to melt. "C'mon, Alison, we can't do this," I protested, squirming underneath her. "You know that we-" My words were cut off as Alison's lips hit mine. They were soft, plump, glossy. She tasted off strawberries. Her arm wrapped around my shoulders, her hand pressed to the back of my neck, her thumb planted in my hair.
Too long passed before I broke the kiss. "Alison!" I exclaimed as I opened my eyes, not realizing they had closed. I sighed uneasily, turning away. "Look, Alison, you're going through stuff right now, I get it. But making out with some random guy - it-it's not gonna solve anything, trust me."