The Matrons of Regal Bay
Chapter 28
Deirdre's Tales -- Part 1
Deirdre Sullivan was the resident Symphony Orchestra leader at Regal Bay University as well as the head of the entire Music Department. She had held her current position for nearly half of her adult life, a position that was more a passion to her than a job. A strikingly beautiful woman, Deirdre was blessed with fiery-red hair, eyes that were sparkling green, and pure milky white flesh. Freckles, though fading with age, still adorned her face, arms, neck, and upper chest. All in all, at forty-eight Deirdre still embodied the stereotypical idea of the Irish Lass.
Deirdre had been born in Cork, Ireland, and with her younger sister, Teagan, she came over to America to study music while still in secondary school, the equivalent to high school in America. Staying with their distant relatives outside of Boston, she and her sister graduated two years apart, with Teagan following Deirdre's lead in attending Boston College. While studying Musical Theory towards a Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts there, Deirdre met and soon married Geoff Sullivan.
Geoff was a Boston born and raised MIT student who Deirdre was introduced to through her cousin Joan. Their first date, a double with Joan and her boyfriend, was to a Boston Bruins hockey game. Deirdre had enjoyed herself, and began to see Geoff semi-regularly for the next year. Eventually, Geoff was able to sweep her off of her feet. They married during the break between her senior and graduate years, and by the time she graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts; she was pregnant with her first child, her son Brian. By the time Geoff joined the staff out at the Gen. Bradley Military Research Facility, they were the parents of 4, two boys and two girls. Once all were of school age, Deirdre resumed her passionate pursuit of music, completing her Master's degree within a year and her Doctorial degree less than two years later. Honored with the title of Doctor of Musical Arts, Deirdre was soon offered a residency at the University, a position she still holds.
Though a mother of four children by the time she had settled into her role at Regal Bay University, she had little need to work out. Her tall frame was well maintained by a healthy diet, augmented by frequent walks either along the mountain trails or the beachfront. Deirdre's long strides took her miles each week, and kept her figure neat and trim. Still, Deirdre often could be found in the early evenings at the Bayside gym on a treadmill or one of the other cardio machines, working up a sweat as she listened to music on her i-pod.
Despite her motherly efforts, only one of Deirdre's four children took to music. Her oldest son, Brian, had left home seven years ago. He had a love for the sea from early on and had made it clear as a young boy that he wanted to be a sailor. He received several academic offers and was accepted to the Naval Academy. Upon graduation he accepted his commission. Next, he went on to join one of the most respected and elite groups in the entire military. Just that autumn, Brian became a member of the elite Navy S.E.A.L.s. Both she and her husband were very proud of their oldest child.
Their two daughters, Allison and Sarah, graduated high school with honors and left Regal Bay to attend separate colleges, pursuing separate fields of study. Allison, her now 22-year-old daughter, had always enjoyed the outdoors and was leaning towards a career in wildlife conservation. She was away studying at the University of Oregon. Sarah, a freshman at 20, was on a course of study that may one day lead to a position in the Roman Catholic Church. She had spent a year at Holy Cross University, but had transferred to the University of Notre Dame and that school's world renowned Theological Studies program. Deirdre was very proud of both of her daughters, though she wished they would at least call a little more often than they did.
With their three oldest children away, that left Deirdre and Geoff alone with their youngest son, Conor. Conor had been the lone child to be swept up in his mother's music, and had displayed a gift at an early age. Conor was an expert pianist by age nine, and had begun to master several other instruments by the time he entered the high school program. He played violin in the concert band through the winters, and trumpet during the marching band season. By the time he graduated from high school, seven different schools had offered him scholarships. But Conor had seen his three siblings leave home, and with his father away on business much of every month, it left Conor and his mother alone in the large home most nights. Seeing the way his mother was affected as her children left home, Conor didn't want to cause her any more anxiety, so he accepted the offer Regal Bay University had presented him. It helped that he would be able to study under his mother's tutorage. He also soon discovered that he had an Oedipus crush on her as well.
Since reaching puberty, Conor had found that his mother filled his dreams at night. For the most part they were ordinary, but on many occasions the dream would turn sexual. Waking with a raging boner after dreaming of his mother, Conor began to use images of her as his masturbatory figure. It wasn't long before she became aware of the way he looked at her, not as a son to a mother, but as a young man to a woman. She liked the idea that she was still an attractive woman as she entered her middle age years. Few of her students seemed to pay her much notice and even fewer of the men her age. It was only after catching Conor in the shower, jacking off and mumbling, "Mom, oh, mom," over and over again that Deirdre began to consider their relationship in a different light.
Deirdre was a popular woman about Regal Bay. She was easy to recognize, and admire. She enjoyed meeting with people, talking music with those who shared her passions, and helping out where ever she could. Often, she would spend a free morning at one of the elementary schools, playing music for the children. Other times, she would join her sister, Teagan, who had moved on to teach music at the high school after several years in the lower grades, as guest director during band practice. She also spent an evening or two each month playing classical pieces on the grand piano out at the Golf Club for V.I.P. guests or special occasions. Music was indeed Deirdre's life.
With the close of the spring concert season on campus, Deirdre had the majority of her afternoons free until the summer sessions began. This gave her a little over six weeks to relax, enjoy herself, or spend time at her home piano working on any one of several pieces she was composing. It also served to give her a few evenings out, to spend with her husband when he was in town, or with her friends. On this particular evening, she had been invited out to dinner with her sister and a couple of their close friends. Recently, an Olive Garden restaurant had opened along the bay front, a short walk from downtown and the boardwalk. Teagan had suggested the evening to her earlier in the week, and Deirdre readily agreed. It had been some time since she'd dined out with her sister, she admitted.
