Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
"You're late for supper, Teddy." Penelope frowned at her son.
"Cut him some slack, Penny. He's been busy ... investigating." Meredith gave Theodore her most winning smile. When he smiled back, her heart skipped a beat. She turned her smile on Penelope.
I might still have a chance with her. Can you imagine it? Mother and son in one night? I'll charm them into letting me stay for a while.
"Meredith?" Penelope sipped her wine.
"Yes?" Meredith nodded.
"You're smiling and staring at me. It's pleasant. But also a little unsettling." Penelope laughed to show her friend it was no big deal.
I have a friend! What would Felix think of her?
Theodore sat at the table watching the women stare at each other, smiling their faces off. He shook his head. His mother was a bit off her rocker. Her long list of sundered bodices attested to that. But he got the feeling that Meredith was even more insane. "So, I think we just have to get this out in the open." Two sets of eyes turned toward him expectantly. "I fucked your friend, Mom." He saw Meredith's eyes go wide. It was unexpected that he could shock her. His mother cocked her head at him, like she was trying to determine his angle. Theodore shrugged under their combined gaze. He saw Winifred shaking her head slowly at her post by the door. He sipped some water. "She came onto me, and we fucked. Without a condom."
"Well ... I know what you two have done is improper. You're not courting her. You're not dating her. She's nearly twice your age." Penelope watched her son choke on some water. "Well, she is."
Theodore coughed. More than anything, he was relieved that she wasn't okay with it. He wanted her to be jealous. He needed her to be jealous.
Mom needs to show me that she wants me in more ways than jumping me whenever I get angry.
"Really, Penny. I don't think that's fair." Meredith's face fell. Maybe she'd misread the situation.
Penelope waited for her son to stop coughing. When he was better, she held up her finger. "There is a but. I haven't gotten to the but yet." She wagged her finger at her son and Meredith. "But ... Teddy
is
getting over a messy breakup. A new woman would be good for him. And you're both consenting adults. So, as long as it's a healthy thing for you two, how could I complain? I think it's lovely that two parts of my life are coming together." She crashed her gloved hands into each other, wiggling her fingers together. "About the condom, I hope you were safe."
A good mother wants her son to be happy and safe.
"Mom ... I ..." Theodore's blood boiled. "Aren't you jealous?"
"Gosh, Teddy. What a thing to say! How could I be ... um ..." Penelope felt her cheeks heating. "Victoria was just telling me that she thought you were more upset about her letting
you
sleep with other people than the idea of
her
sleeping with other people." Penelope turned to Meredith. "Victoria is his wonderful ex-girlfriend."
"You've been talking to Victoria behind my back?" Theodore's brow furrowed, his grip tightened on the water glass.
"You knew I was sending her messages. She cares about you. And ... she's my friend." Penelope felt her belly turn over. "I needed to tell her what happened to you ... to us ... at that awful drug house."
Meredith was too polite to clap, but whatever was happening at the table certainly had her entertained. She longed for popcorn. "Drug house?"
"It's a long -"
"Fuck, Mom. You fucking told Victoria about that? What's wrong with you?" He squeezed the glass so tight it burst in his hand. Shards flew about the table.
Meredith pushed her chair back, an amazed smile on her face.
"Oh, no. You're bleeding again." Penelope quickly rose.
I don't remember Teddy bleeding so often when he was younger.
She quickly moved around the table.
A good mother tends to her son.
"Let me bandage you."
"Fuck, Mom." Theodore stood and walked out of the dining room, heading for the main floor bathroom. He looked back to see his mother following him with a worried look on her face.
Back in the dining room, Meredith turned to Winifred. "Are things always so chaotic in this house?"
"More so, lately, Ms. Cooks." Winifred didn't emote. She didn't know what to make of their guest's apparent glee at Nisha tensions. "They're working through some things. I'm doing my best to help them."
"I'd like to help them, too." Meredith pulled herself back to the table and checked her white wine for shards of glass. Satisfied that it was still good to go, she gulped it down and poured herself another.
"I'm not sure you'll be staying long enough to be of much assistance." Winifred had thought the woman harmless, even when Meredith had practically thrown herself on Theodore's stiff penis. But Winifred was starting to reconsider that assessment.