Rebecca's Tales, Part 4
The grocers were fairly busy for that time of day, Rebecca thought. It wasn't the end of the week, when people got paid either at work or from the government. Nor was a storm on its way, which always sent people out in search of milk, bread, and eggs. It was a normal mid-week afternoon. Wednesday; four-forty-five p.m. Still, the parking lot had been nearly full of cars, and of the six check-out lanes, all had at least two or three carts lined up.
Pushing the shopping cart up one aisle and down another, and picking out food items to restock the pantry and cabinets, Rebecca wondered why she was buying so much, given that she would be the only one at home for the next three weeks. Ron had been picked to spend a training rotation at Ft. Irwin, California, where the military was testing out a few of the newest gadgets that he and his team had been working on over the past several months. He wasn't due back until the first weekend of November, and that in a nut-shell was all Rebecca knew about what her husband did out at the Gen. Bradley Research Center.
Carl was also away from Regal Bay, attending a month working alongside other young radiology students at Portland General Hospital. He, too, wouldn't be back home until November. Rebecca was proud of her son, who was following her path into the medical technology fields, and not into her husband's military field. Her two daughters, Audrey and Heidi, were busy with their own lives, and Rebecca seldom saw either, unless she was being asked to baby sit Audrey's son. As it was, Rebecca was kind of looking forward to some time alone in her own home. She had even taken a few days' vacation, taking the rest of that week off, to enjoy some much-needed rest and relaxation. She was on-call at the hospital delivery ward starting Saturday morning, so a little time to unwind was always welcome.
With her cart about two-thirds full, Rebecca headed for the crowded check-out lanes. Standing in line, leaning casually on the handle of her shopping cart, Rebecca swiped through her new smart phone screens, getting familiar with all of the apps and features. She'd just picked it up at the Apple store in the mall that morning and was now taking the time to really explore it, not that she was going anywhere any time soon. Rebecca had nothing in particular to do the rest of the afternoon, so she didn't mind standing in line, even if the old lady at the front was trying to pay with a written check, and the high school aged casher hadn't a clue as to how to process it.
Even though Rebecca had taken the day off, she had still dressed in her pale blue work scrubs. She just felt so much more comfortable wearing the light-weight clothing, she reasoned. It wasn't particularly chilly for the middle of October, though the morning had started out a bit windy, but the day had warmed as it went on and Rebecca had shed her jacket before coming inside. Her large, prominent breasts were hidden beneath the loose-fitting fabric of the scrub top, but it didn't stop the men in the store from casting her a second glance. Even at 48, Rebecca was proud to still be able to turn heads, even if those how regularly paid her any attention were not men she had a particular taste for. As she grew older, she realized her eye went more and more to those men younger than her. Much younger. Carl's age younger, in fact.
Finally through check-out, Rebecca headed out into the parking lot. The sun was bright and reasonably warm on her face as she pushed the cart towards her parked SUV. The cold-steel gray GMC Terrain sparkled from the drive-thru wash she'd given it on her way to the store. It was only a month old, having traded in her older, gas-guzzling Yukon for the more fuel-efficient compact SUV. As she neared, she used the remote to pop the lift-gate.
"Hey, Mrs. Thomas!" a young man's voice called to her, and she had to shield her eyes against the late afternoon sun to see who it was.
"Oh. Hi, Patrick," she replied when she finally was able to make the young man's features out. He jogged up, wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt with the RBU logo on the chest. He also wore loose fitting grey trousers and hiking boots. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Patrick O'Hara, she remembered, was a friend of her son's and had taken some of the same classes as Carl the previous year. She didn't think Patrick was working towards a career in medicine, though.
"I'm not taking any classes this semester," Patrick told her. "I'm working out at the golf club right now."
"Oh, okay," Rebecca replied. "How is your mother doing?" she asked. Rebecca knew Maggie O'Hara through her daughter, as Maggie's youngest child and Audrey's son went to the same pre-school. Rebecca had often talked with Maggie O'Hara while waiting to pick up Jasper for her daughter.
"She's okay, I guess," he shrugged. "She's got me running errands for her this afternoon, before I head home."
"I hadn't seen her in a while. Be sure to tell her I said hello, won't you?"
Patrick grinned and nodded. "I will." Rebecca couldn't help but notice his eyes had spent nearly the entire conversation on her chest. Not that she minded. Patrick was a handsome young man, well within her wheel-house. In turn, she made sure to give his crotch a healthy glance as well.
"Hey, maybe I'll stop by and see Carl later this evening. He's still living at home, isn't he?" Patrick asked.
"I'm sorry, but Carl's up in Portland for the month," she explained. "He's getting some internship time in at Portland General."
"Oh, that's right. Carl's going into medicine." Patrick again nodded, and again his eyes seemed to stay riveted to her chest.
After an awkward pause, Rebecca said, "Well, I've got to get going, get these groceries put away."
"Yeah, okay, I'll see you, Mrs. Thomas," Patrick nodded again, grinning as he did. Rebecca wondered what was going through his mind in that moment, and could probably have guessed.
Rebecca told him, "Don't be stranger, Patrick. Stop by anytime. It'd be nice to catch up." She had no idea why she had said that.
"I might do that," he replied as he turned to head inside. "I'll see you, Mrs. Thomas."
Rebecca paused long enough to get a good eye-full of Patrick's ass as he broke into a slow jog on his way. She had the distinct impression that Patrick was wanting to say something to her, maybe ask her something more personal than how her son was doing. She shrugged it off to her imagination, since she'd never know Patrick to have an eye for her or any older women. She barely knew the boy as it was, his only hanging out with Carl a few times over the years. Besides, not every young man in Regal Bay had the hots for the older, matronly women, did they?
During her drive home, Rebecca began to think about how she'd expanded her sex life in the last few years. Since she and Carl had crossed the line during a heated summer afternoon encounter on the back porch of her home, she'd come to realize that she enjoyed a life that was spiced with the occasional sin. She'd also learned that she wasn't the only middle-aged mother in Regal Bay with such a taste for much younger men. That was how she had been introduced to Luke Vaughn after all. And he'd all but told her that he had been not only sleeping with his own mother, but with several other women her own age. Luke boasted that he was not only one of Regal Bay's gigolos, but the cities most active.
For her part, Rebecca was well aware of the fact that her husband had a mistress. They had never discussed the matter, but she wasn't a fool. Neither was Ron. It wasn't long after she and Carl had begun their mother-son affair that Ron had begun to act different. Rebecca sensed that he knew that she had been sleeping with another man when he was away. Ron never asked about it, but Rebecca knew. And it wasn't long after that she began to suspect him of the very same thing. She hadn't stopped loving him, and as far as she knew Ron still loved her for that matter. They had just grown to the point where, as long as it didn't affect the household, and it was never brought up, then it was okay with the both of them. Better still, their own love-making hadn't suffered. They still made love as often as they had for years, and with as much passion and zeal as ever. The addition of having her son as an occasional sinful side-dish, along with a once or twice a month visit to Luke's apartment, only added a bit of spice to Rebecca's otherwise mundane life.
The drive home took her a little over fifteen minutes, given the evening traffic, and as Rebecca pulled into the garage and shut off the SUV, she realized that she'd been thinking about Patrick for much of the drive home. She moved the groceries to the kitchen, and then put them away. All the while, she had Patrick on her mind, and she couldn't get him out of it. "Maybe I should change, go for a little walk. Maybe even jog a little." She had all but talked herself into it by the time she made it to her upstairs bedroom. She opened the curtains to the windows overlooking the backyard. The shadows were beginning to stretch across the yard. She looked down and saw the porch, and the very spot where Carl had taken advantage of her, years ago. "Jeezus, I need to get laid!"
