(A note that I am not promoting this kind of behavior; domination, adultery, blackmail, etc. These themes are used only to shock and maintain suspense, not to offend. None of the characters or events are real, obviously, and I look forward to exploring more extreme ideas in the future… maybe. This is my first effort in quite a while and is not connected with the Scared Stiff series or the "To Live Forever" novellas I have previously written).
Prologue
It was four years ago today, the news came as a shock to everyone in my family. We had been friends with the Grays for many years, and it was hard to believe that both Daniel and his son Max were gone. Max had been my best friend since we were three, and we had done everything together worth remembering, it seemed.
Max left a mother and two sisters behind, and though I had seen them less and less over the years, I couldn't help but dread seeing their sad faces at the funeral. I wished so much that the nightmare would just be over with, and I could go on trying to forget them. Despite my clouded mind, I ended up having to endure the funeral to its full extent on account of my mother being such a loyal friend to Mrs. Gray, or Anna, as we call her. It was one of the toughest things I ever had to do, watching these three women who I thought of as my other family cry uncontrollably at the feet of the fresh graves. It feels like so long ago now, a memory of a distant life.
My family and I remained good friends with the remaining three Grays, and we often went over on weekends to their house to keep them company. Over time, we all worked to get past the deaths of our loved ones.
Chapter One
It was a little over a year ago that something changed. It was during the move. Anna and her two daughters, Liz and Katrina, had decided collectively that it was time to leave their home full of memories and get a smaller place just outside of town. I was called upon to help them pack one night, and I would be doing most of the heavy lifting in the morning. I agreed, of course, not being able to deny these poor ladies in their time of need, and I arrived just after supper to start sorting through my rested friend's items.
"Remember this?" Anna and I sat on the floor looking through a bunch of Max's belongings in his old room. She held up a small picture of Max and I, it had been our first day of kindergarten. I gave a half smile, not wanting her to get too emotional and cry.
"Yeah, I have a few of those left."
"I always loved this picture," she stared at it sullenly, her expression wavered from sad to empty. I wondered if she had really gotten over it at all, or if she had even tried to move on with her life before her decision to move. It was then that I noticed her wedding ring still glinting in the light on her finger. Perhaps she still wasn't ready to take such a big step. She was a slight and pale older woman, her hair still black as the day we'd all met. She always wore these ridiculously long and colorful skirts and baggy overshirts. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean, and I found it hard to believe they were real at times. I remember a time when she was always happy. Always had things to talk about, and whether you'd known her all your life or for only a moment, she'd keep your mind possessed with her captivating notions.
That time was over, I could see then and there.
"You still wear your ring."
"Mmhmm," she was distant, off in another world as she stared at the picture. Her trance lasted another moment, "I'll never love again. There's no reason to take it off."
I could say nothing to that, for it was clear she was serious. I hadn't meant that she should try to forget him, I merely supposed that a widow had certain needs to fulfill that would be difficult to achieve while wearing such a trinket. Now, Anna was not the type who embarrassed easily, and I could have said it in just those words without feeling awkward, but I couldn't possibly interrupt her moment of reminiscence so intrusively.
"Did he ever have sex?" her question caught me offguard.
"Uh…" her eyes pierced through my own. "Yeah, there was one girl."
"What was her name?"
"Julie," I lied. The reason I was forced to do so was because the one girl he had managed to sleep with in his short life had been a girl Anna had hated for many years.
"Did they have something special?"
"I think so," it was a fling.
"I wonder why he kept it from us…" she looked at the picture again for another few seconds and then tossed it aside. "You can have the picture if you'd like," she offered.
"Mom!" the call of Katrina came from a distant room. "I'm sleeping at Reala's tonight!"
"Thanks for your help, sweetie!" Anna shot back sarcastically. "Jeez," a smile formed across her lips, and for a moment it felt like she was back to her old self. "So reliable, those girls."
"They both leave?"
"Yep, Lizzy left an hour ago. Hasn't even begun to pack yet, the bugger."
I laughed at this. You could never expect any more from that girl. Lizzy was twenty now, and Katrina was almost nineteen, which I found hard to believe then, knowing them since they were babies. Even harder to believe now that they're a full year older than that!
"Thanks for your help, again, Caleb."
"Don't even mention it," I stood to stretch.
"I'll go make your bed up," she rose from her kneeling position and headed off.
I poked around the familiar room a few minutes more, remembering all the time I had had at this old house. It was not long before I could hear her whimpering from the other room, desperately trying not to let me hear it. What could I have said to make it better, though? Nothing. All I could do at that moment was sit on the bed that hadn't been used in three years and wait for her to come back.
When she did, I was instructed on what things to rummage through next and we were on our own for the next couple hours. The next time I saw her she announced her sleepiness and retired to her room for the night. I stayed in the guest room, something I had done many times in my life, and tried desperately to get some sleep.
Chapter Two
Three hours had passed by and I still couldn't find sleep. I just wasn't tired, and I just needed something to do to waste the hours away. I quickly and quietly headed out of the guest room towards the basement to watch television when I heard sounds of cupboards closing from the kitchen. Curiously, I crept up behind Anna and waited for her to feel my presence.
"Can't sleep?" she asked without even looking at me. Somehow, she just knew I was there.
"Not tired," I confessed.
"I was… then I got thinking about not being here ever again," she was groggy and her hair was a mess, but she still could have passed for 35 years old in the dim kitchen light. She just never seemed to age in all these years, yet so much had happened.
"Maybe it'll be better," I suggested.
"For the girls' sake, I hope so," she continued to rummage through the cupboards, I wasn't paying attention to what it was she was trying to do. All I could do was watch her movements, wondering suddenly what it would be like if those pale and soft hands were to be on me. I had certainly never looked at her in such a light before, of course, but it was something about the change of circumstances. She just seemed so vulnerable, nothing like the mother figure I had come to know through my years of childhood. There was no doubt in my mind that out of loyalty to our family she would have done anything for any of us if we needed it, at any time, yet I had never considered the possibility that she may need me someday.
"And what about you?"
"I'll be fine."
"Strong words from someone who'll never love again."
She stopped moving around and looked at me, some sort of recognition that escaped me. Perhaps I had caught her off guard, and had made a strong case.
"I don't need a man anymore."
"I'm sure you could use one for some things," I tried not to sound too obvious in my implications, but I had obviously failed.
"You mean sex," she smiled in that cunning way she does.
"Erm… uh, amongst other things."
"Not everyone needs sex, Caleb. Besides, I had my fill over the years."
"You mean… you haven't done it since he died?" I was too shocked to leave it alone now. She wasn't the most gorgeous older woman in the world, but jeez!
"Haha," she pretended to be embarrassed, but I have yet to see that woman blush in my life. "Well, who would I have done it with?"
"Any single man in existence?" My suggestion was strong, but probably true.
"Oh, no. I don't get out at all anymore and I'd feel so wrong doing such a thing with a stranger.
"Well how about with me?" my heart jumped in my throat and I almost immediately regretted saying anything. I was just so lucky that of all the people I knew, I was dealing with her, the one person who could make light of any situation imaginable.
"Oh, stop," she laughed. "Your mother would kill me and she would probably kill you too for having even suggested it."
"I didn't hear a no," I smiled back, instantly feeling a bit more at ease by her reaction. "And she'd never know."