James had been dating Lilly for almost two years now. In that time he had only introduced her to his family once, and that had been by accident. Lilly had stopped by unannounced one day while his mother, father and sister had been visiting.
It wasn't because he didn't want to have her get to know them better. Nor was it because he didn't love her, because he did. Lilly had asked him many times why they never went to visit his family. He had always told her it was because his family traveled so much and were hardly ever at home. That was a lie, and only the second lie he had ever told Lilly. The other lie was where he spent every other weekend. He had told Lilly that he was doing charity work for the company he worked for, his father's company.
He had a throbbing headache, he was in such a dilemma he just didn't know which way to turn. Lilly had been hinting around about them getting married and so far he had managed to skirt the issue telling her he didn't think he was ready yet. He had been married when he was eighteen and divorced by age twenty six. When Lilly had asked him why his marriage failed he told her it was because they just didn't get along, that she had never gotten along with his family and that had been cause for many arguments between them.
James was very close to his family and told Lilly that May had never liked the fact that they spent so much time together. She had wanted James all to herself and resented the fact that he had to spend so much time at home.
He was a program writer for many of the software programs his father designed. They were big in the gaming industry, both for gambling machines and for home gamers of all of the big three home video game systems. James worked hard designing new games and circuit boards for slot machines.
He stopped the car at a small gas station to get some aspirin, he didn't want to arrive home with a headache. He had been looking forward to this trip home, it had been three weeks since he had seen his family. They had been out of state attending a good friend of his fathers retirement party.
It was a three hour drive to his family home so James had plenty of time to think about the choices he had to make. No matter what ideas he could come up with it always went back to the fact that he had no choice but to break up with Lilly. That thought was what had given him his headache. He loved her and didn't want to lose her but it was the only choice he had. He couldn't wait to talk to his family about it before making his final decision.
His family lived in a huge ten bedroom home. When he and his sister were small their family entertained a lot and always had weekend guests. Their parents had designed the house so that the kids could have almost a whole wing of the house to themselves where the guests wouldn't bother them. There was only two years difference in their ages with James being the oldest.
Clara and Paul had adopted James and Lana when they were three and five years old. Their real parents had worked for Paul and had died in a plane crash on a business trip. They had no other relatives, Clara and Paul had never been able to have children so they took them into their home and gave them as much love and care as their real parents would have had they lived. James and Lana loved them with all their heart and soul.
As he drove up the long tree lined drive he felt a quiet peace come over him. He was home, the one place he was the happiest. He parked in the garage and let himself into the house. His mother and sister were in the kitchen finishing up plating the food for their dinner that evening.
"About time you got here James, mom thought she was going to have to put all this on the warmer waiting for you to get your late ass here," his sister said coming forward to kiss him hello.
"We're so glad you could make it this weekend, go get your father and tell him dinner is ready please," his mother requested kissing him hello as well.
"Hey dad, mom said to tell you dinner is ready."
"So you made it, the girls were beginning to wonder, what took you so long?"
His father followed him into the dinning room where the women were waiting for them. James sat his mother at the table then held the chair next to him out for his sister.
"I had to stop and get some aspirin for a headache and sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes until it went away," he explained.
"Are you ill dear, do you think your coming down with something," his mother asked, worry written all over her face?
"No mom, I was just thinking about Lilly and what I was going to do about us," he told his family.
"But James I know you love her, are you thinking of breaking up with her," his sister asked?
"Yes. I don't see any other way for it I'm afraid. Lilly would never understand why she wouldn't be coming with me on my trips home. She already wonders if I'm ashamed of her not bringing her with me when I come home."
"Surely there must be a way James. Maybe we can come up with something if we all put our heads to it," his father stated.
"Dad I've tried believe me and I just can't think of a way. She has every weekend off so I would never have an excuse for coming alone, she would expect to come with me if she were my wife."
"Oh honey there has to be a way, there just has to. We know how much you love her dear and it will break my heart if your unhappy and lose the love of your life because of something so small and trivial," his mother said sadly.
"Sure Mom, I can just tell her the truth. Honey you can't come with me because my father and I make love to my mother and sister on those weekends! I'm sure that would go over real well," he said with consternation.
This had been going on with the four of them since he was twenty years old. Over twenty years the four of them had been intimate as a family. His sister had been on the pill without their parents knowing since she was sixteen. She had a boyfriend at the time who kept bugging her to have sex with him. She was a smart girl and knew she didn't want to have a child if she should decided to go all the way with him.
One night when their parents were at some charity function Lana had been out on a date with her fella. James was home alone and was flipping through an adult magazine he had bought earlier that day. He was stroking himself while he was reading when he realized his sister was standing in his doorway watching him. He jerked his blanket over him as quickly as he could.
"How the hell long have you been standing there," he yelled at her?
"Long enough brother to see you have a hard on," she said walking into his room and standing beside his bed.
"How come your home so early? I thought you had a date?"
"I did, but I came home early. I decided that I didn't want to have sex with him."
"You were thinking of having sex at your age! Well at least you smartened up before you made a mistake."
"Yes I did. I decided if anyone was going to be my first it was going to be my brother who popped my cherry," she told him pulling her blouse over her head then sitting down beside him on the bed.