Eat Pray Love

This is a story of a beautiful young girl, Zoe, her parents Margaret and David and her husband Jude. Zoe embarks on a quest to find purpose in her life as she leaves England, her home, and travels around the world, along with her mother, Margaret.

If you feel the story is long, then it is my fault for not having told it well.

---------

Eat, Pray, Love.

I turned the key on the main door. The banging I could hear from outside turned to loud blaring music from the main living room as I walked in.

Not really surprised by Zoe, I shook my head and moved into the kitchen. I kept the couple of bags that were in my hand on the kitchen island and put my handbag down on the chair. I walked into the living room to ask her to turn the volume down a bit and to let her know I was home.

What I saw next, took me by surprise, to say the very least. Zoe, my stepdaughter, barely nineteen years old, was on her knees in front of a huge black man. The man, not a boy, must be in his thirties, was naked. Zoe had her skirt on but had no top on her. Zoe's mouth engulfed his huge black cock inside her mouth, and she seemed to be gagging on it.

The fellow had his hands behind her head and neck and was forcing her on his cock. Zoe's one hand was on his thigh and the other palm on the sofa, and it seemed she was trying to push herself up. The fellow was succeeding in keeping her latched on to his cock.

His eyes were closed and his mouth open, probably nearing his climax.

My first response was to pull Zoe back. I stepped behind her and pulled her off his cock, applying pressure on her shoulders. His eyes opened, as he tried to get a grip of what was happening and who the third party was.

Zoe uncomfortably fell back on her butt, gasping, clearly out of breath. The fellow on the sofa, with his gigantic cock was clearly frustrated and tried to get up to express his displeasure.

Before he could think of doing anything, even as he was trying to get his bulky ass up, I bent forward, swung, and slapped him hard. It was no ordinary slap. I knew from training if you are angry - slap the cheek, if you are attacking - slap the ear.

I gave him a full-hand cracker of a slap on his cheek, my full palm got his ear. Instead of getting up, his hand flew to his ear. Hurt beyond his expectation, his eardrums must be ringing like a church bell, I knew.

I remained in alert mode, should he try to respond.

I looked down at Zoe, and she was scrambling back, clearly trying to get away from the scuffle. My next thought was to check on her.

"Zoe, are you all right?" I asked her.

She was breathing better but panting. Her hands around her neck gave away what she felt.

I looked back towards the man. He had risen faster than I had assumed. Unfortunately, I had let my guard down.

He was aiming for my face, and even though I took a step back, I could not catch him moving fast enough. His big fist landed on my side, below my ribs. Surely he had broken a couple.

I winced in pain and fell. The naked man stood over me. His size seemed even bigger from the ground I was on. He growled, in a power drive.

At that exact moment, I rolled my fist and punched him in his nuts with all my strength.

"AAAAAAAHHHH," he fell in pain.

I quickly rose and pulled Zoe up. She was looking at the man in shock. He lay in a bundle writhing on the floor, deep in pain, moaning and cursing me, or possibly Zoe, "You bitch! I'll kill you."

I dragged Zoe into the other room. I pushed her inside and asked her to latch the door shut. She instantly did that, looking towards me in awe.

I returned to the fellow. The first thing I did was kick in his face and got a couple of his teeth in the process - at least one fell out on the floor. I held his large arm and held it in both my hands and twisted it behind him, and I kneed his spine. For a brief moment forgetting my own pain.

"Okay, Sir. Would you like to run like a dog from here? or should I call 999?"

He patted his other hand on the floor.

I got off from behind him and picked up the umbrella from my rack nearby. I couldn't find anything substantive enough that instant. 'This will have to do for now,' I thought.

He got up growling in pain and anger. If he had any intentions of raising a hand, he was wise to have reconsidered it and did not do anything, because the handle of my umbrella was ready for another blow on his naked blue nuts.

He tried to pick his clothes and I said, "uunh...huh."

I said, "Go out, and I shall throw them out for you."

He obliged, and I did too.

After I had locked the door behind him, I rushed up to check on Zoe.

She sat on the bed sobbing and, on seeing me, instantly rushed towards me and hugged me. She cried louder in my arms. I am not sure if she was grateful to see me fine or for saving her from the brute.

"Are you ok?" I asked her first,

"Yes. Are you hurt?" Zoe returned her question instantly. I remembered the ribs that had gone numb in pain.

I nodded but didn't answer her. I moved out to the main room again, to check through the front window whether the fellow had moved away from the house. He had, thankfully. I saw him pulling his shirt on while walking away.

We both sighed in relief.

When our breathing became normal, "Ok. Tell me who he is and why was he doing what he was doing?" I did not insinuate or presume that she was doing anything.

"I am sorry. I know him through John. He helped me with the..... pills a couple of times." She hesitated before telling me that she took drugs.

I nodded without getting pissed or condescending.

"He told me if I suck his.... penis... he would give me a hundred g," her eyes looked down guiltily.

"Have you been doing it with him earlier as well," I asked.

She instantly responded, "No, today was my first time. Ever. I swear."

Believing an addict is difficult but if it is someone you are related to you, not so much.

I believed her, more for the reason she seemed as if she was in difficulty earlier when his dick was deep in her throat. She wasn't doing it for pleasure.

For one thing, I knew the family wasn't short of cash, nor was Zoe. So if she was doing it for free drugs, then it was just her trying to be rebellious. So the chances of this happening regularly were low.

"Zoe, I cannot always be around to defend you. So if this is indeed the first time, let it be a lesson for a lifetime. If this has happened earlier, then we need to take precautions, so tell me again."

She responded instantly. "No, Margaret. It has never happened. I was so scared." She started to sob again.

I shushed her and wrapped my hands around her, pulling her head onto my shoulder. I winced in pain. She was on the same side as my bruised rib.

"Please don't tell Dad," She requested.

I nodded. 'We will deal with it later,' I thought.

---------

My husband, David, was a surgeon. He returned home to a normal evening. Meal on the table, Zoe locked in her room. The house was orderly, as always, without any traces of a scuffle.

I chose to delay the discussion with David. It would help gain Zoe's confidence, I reckoned.

---------

For the next few days, I kept talking to Zoe multiple times a day over the phone and at home to see if she had been bothered by anyone.

As a precaution, I had taken details of the fellow from her, just in case I needed to track the asshole down.

The only outcome of his thrashing was that her supply got cut off, not only from him but his buddies as well. In fact, that turned out to be a blessing.

As it turned out, Zoe wasn't addicted. Her recreational habit was her style of getting back at his dad, and me, and possibly her mom, and maybe the world for a foul deal she had got served.

---------

Zoe had a tough childhood. Her mother was a bitch. When I say that, I mean it with complete modesty. I know it because I was her lawyer. Being a second-generation civil lawyer, I do get my share of divorce cases. I practice along with my father.

Over the tenure that Valerie was my client, I came to realize that I was dealing with a conniving character.

During her divorce from David, I felt for him sincerely. A few months after their divorce was consummated, I called upon him when my father needed surgery.

He was very polite and kind. In fact, I was looking for an excuse to check with him once the divorce proceedings were over, but could not muster the guts to reach out. Then my father's surgery turned out to be in his hospital.

At a light moment, when he was diagnosing my father, I asked him, "I hope you won't take out your angst against me on my father."

He laughed hard and showed me a scalpel in jest.

Over the next month, as my father went through pre-surgery tests, and then around the surgery itself, and after that, when he was convalescing in David's care, we grew close.

He had clearly moved past Valerie. But apparently still had issues at home.

We dated for a while and eventually got steady. A year later, he proposed. We were married in a small church ceremony.

What I had gained over time about David was that he was a very decent man, a mensch but unlucky on his family side.

At the time of their divorce, Zoe was seventeen. At the time we married, she was a few months more than nineteen. Zoe was a rebel without a cause. Angry at her mother, her father, herself, and just generally at everyone.

Zoe wasn't really a loved child; at least not when she could experience it. Surely her parents loved her when she was a toddler or younger. But then their differences picked up, taking precedence over a growing child's needs. Those differences eventually turned into mutual hostility. David started to avoid home and spent even longer hours at the hospital.

The end of their strained marriage was in fact a relief to all. It did not seem like Zoe benefitted from the arrangement.

---------

Zoe became even more spiteful of me when I married David. He had learnt to live with Zoe's contempt for himself. I did not need to take unnecessary shit and stayed out of her way as she did mine. Our pleasantries were also minimal. All my efforts got misread as patronizing. Those, too, stopped soon.

The black fellow's incident mellowed her somewhat. We started talking, but barely enough. Most of it was from my side checking on her well-being, and then she started to respond, and we shared greetings every day.

Eventually, the soft side of a girl started to show, and I did not shun her in any manner. In fact, I overlooked the past hostilities and resolved to start afresh.

---------

Zoe was aware I had taken some martial arts training. In a city like Manchester, it made sense to keep your defenses in place.

She asked me, after that incident, once, "Can you train me."

I welcomed the idea. But I encouraged her differently, "Certainly. But I am not at a trainer level. But I tell you what, let's start working out together, and I will take you through the basics I know. It will build your energy, and once you want to take it up a notch, we will enroll you in a formal trainer."

Zoe smiled approvingly. A rare smile, it made me realize what a beautiful, normal girl she was. I smiled back.

Zoe was a pretty girl with a good height of five-six, but she was so lean, it felt like she was underfed. Her face was a lovely oval, and her deep green eyes were her most distinguishing feature. Her mid-length hair was mostly messy, but now that she was clean, it looked nice. I'd have loved to ask her to let them grow longer, but I never thought she would listen.

We started working out together. I took charge of feeding her as well. I changed her diet to some good protein-rich home food along with greens. We started by running every morning. Every evening we did exercise at the home gym.

Valerie incidentally was also good at looking after her health, and she had set up a small home gym on the top floor, along with a good jacuzzi and a nice big bathroom.

David, as a top-tier surgeon, was earning very well and had very few garish habits to spend on. The house was very modern and well-decked. For a small family of three, it often felt to me like an uninhabited castle, unusually quiet. It was a good thing we were in a gated community, all the twelve houses were that of doctors, all similar.

I had convinced Zoe that before getting on to martial arts, she should build up her stamina and strength. The jog every morning, and exercise four days a week, were fantastic rejuvenation for her. In a couple of months, she looked a lot better and had put on a little weight. She had shrugged off her drug habit like a hot potato. She looked great and felt good about herself.

I never let her work out on weekends. I told her, "Girls are supposed to enjoy their weekends."

I nudged her to go meet friends, but she avoided that always. Every weekend she hung around at home. I found out that all her friends were either users or drunks. She was keen to shun their company and move ahead in life.

I changed my work schedule to ensure I was home on weekends. I found time to spend with her. She appreciated that I was going out of the way for her. We started to feel close.

I coaxed her to start college, but she was very apprehensive about that.

---------

Zoe was upset with me that I had been delaying the start of her martial arts training. I had kept it delayed for a reason. I wanted to check on her commitment first. I was satisfied.

In the spring of that year, we decided to pick up our training a notch. I have a blue armband in Muay Thai. I took charge of teaching her basics first. Muay Thai is a contact sport, and it requires a lot of commitment, physically. At thirty-six, I am not as fit as I used to be, but I could still kick an ass or two, as I had learnt a couple of months earlier.

---------

Before the incident with the black dude, I had been married to David for over a year and maybe spoken with Zoe for less than a hundred words.

A couple of months after that day, we were tight as sisters. I would have liked to believe that our bond was somewhat maternal in a way but we were covering too much distance of lost ground fast.

I discovered that despite her tough-nut persona that she tried hard to project, she was a softy at heart; despite having a cool, kickass personality, she had never gotten laid; even though she said that she hated her parents, she craved immensely for their attention.

'If only she knew what I knew about her parents,' I thought.

Of all the people, David was the happiest with the turn of events. She was well beyond showing small changes in her personality, towards her love for life.

---------

Six months later, Zoe was fit as an amateur fighter, well into her own. I wonder sometimes how little it takes for one to find strength from. Zoe had gained as much from the physical training as she did from knowing that someone in the world cared for her.

Over the last few months, our simple greetings of a good morning, good evening, and bye changed into a short hug, usually just a short sideways shoulder hug, or a hand on the arm - a soft touch worked remarkably in bringing us closer.

From the time we started to train together, I had increased the hugs. I hugged Zoe many times a day - while greeting her in the morning, afternoon, or evening, welcoming her back from her room, rewarding her for an accomplishment during a jog, during a workout, after a workout, and such.

My objective was to make her feel important, feel loved, and I had somewhat succeeded in that. The reason I felt so because eventually, I got Zoe hugging David as well. The bond among us was growing.

Before we started training for Muay Thai, we would work out together and often change in front of each other. When we trained there was a lot of contact between us. I ensured that she was comfortable with that.

On her twentieth birthday, I gifted her a packet of three dildos. All modest sizes. Zoe gushed and was embarrassed to even say thanks to me.

I laughed it off and told her, "Tell me later which of them makes you happiest."

Later that evening, all three of us went out for dinner to a fancy restaurant and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening out.

It was there, at the restaurant, that David and I gave her the formal gift. David handed her keys to her new car - a fancy Land Rover. David had organized for the car to be parked beforehand at the restaurant.

The momentary argument between me and David, if she should have a sports coupe or a sturdier land rover was not much of an argument, to be honest.

Zoe felt genuinely surprised and thanked David and me for the car. Later that night, before going to sleep, Zoe gave me a slight nod, signaling for me to come see her in her room.

I changed out of my dress, got into a nightie, and pulled a gown over. "I'll join you in a bit," I told David and went to see Zoe.

I had no idea what she wanted. I knocked on her door once, as I usually did before entering. It was just a heads-up kind of thing.

Zoe looked happy and giddy. She smiled when she saw me and opened her arms for me to get in.

I joined her on the bed and hugged her. She kissed my cheeks and thanked me. "Margaret, thank you for everything. Everything," she emphasized.

I knew what she meant, but instead of replying, I just hugged her tight.

After a deep long hug, she said, "You know, compared to the car, your gift seems better." I pulled back from her hug and looked at her face, giving her a cheeky smile. She blushed.

"I have to ask you something. Please say no, if you feel uncomfortable." She asked me hesitantly.

"Anything, Zoe. What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"Can I call you Mom?" she looked down as she said that.

I was so overwhelmed by the way she said it that I hugged her tight. We both didn't say anything for a long while. Both of us had misty eyes, and when I did pull back, I looked at her in the face, and kissed both her cheeks and then her forehead, telling her, "I shall be most delighted if you call me Mom."

We hugged again. She said, politely, "Thank you."

This was a young vulnerable girl who got won over by compassion, caring, and love. I was just working my way up to her heart, and she seemed to have won mine.

I had come to realize over time, Zoe was chattier than I had known her to be earlier. We talked about various things all the time, messaged during the day, and we were always talking over dinner as well.

Breaking a long silence, I asked her, "Wanna give one a try?"

We both burst out laughing and bounced on the bed and fished out the box from the drawer next to her bed.

Giggling, she took each one out in her hand, astonished at their sizes, and their functions.

The dildos were of fine build quality and came in nice packaging. Zoe chose first, and from the remaining two, I picked one. We cleaned them with wipes before dousing them in lots of goop.

Zoe shucked her panties first. Her slip-top was too tiny to reach her pussymound anyway.

I opened my nightgown and pulled up my nightie. Then I dragged my panties off.

Not the first time we had seen each other naked. We were now accustomed to seeing each other without clothes. Usually changing, or entering our respective showers, mostly after we had trained together.

Prodding Zoe to go on, I switched on mine, which had a vibration feature. I slowly rubbed it on my pussy and looked toward her.

I left mine on vibration mode and let it stimulate my pussylips. Zoe had picked one that would penetrate and pump inside her pussy.

I saw her open her small, tender, tight pussylips and let the dildo enter. The pink of her lips opened up as the dildo went in. Her mouth opened in bliss as the dildo gained inside her.

I decided it was time for my friend to go in as well. I let it stay on vibrate, and let it slide inside. It had been a while since I had a dildo make love to me. A welcome change, I thought.