Eighteen year old Harvey woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding. What a nightmare! He'd seen his dad (Edgar) kissing a young woman, who wasn't Mom! But it was just a bad dream; at breakfast Mom and Dad were perfectly fine, they teased and joked with each other and with Harvey and Brenda (age sixteen.) Dad hugged Brenda, kissing the top of her head, slapped Harvey on his shoulder and gave Mom a tight squeeze and a full kiss on the lips before heading off to work. It all looked like a normal day at the Brooks household, but Harvey barely touched his breakfast.
"What's wrong, Bubby?" asked his kid sister.
"Nothing. Well, I had a bad dream, can't even remember it now," he lied.
"Best forget about it, then," said his mom, Fern. "Better hurry so you don't miss your bus!"
Should Harvey tell her about the dream? No, that might upset her. Dreams weren't real, were they? But it had seemed so vivid, so clear.
Harvey's bad dream returned several times over the next few months. He felt awkward around his parents. He nevertheless finished his senior year, got a night-shift grocery store job, planned to take some classes at the community college in the fall. He was afraid to talk to anyone about his bad dreams.
The Brooks owned a pool -- Edgar had risen through the ranks to a management job at his company -- so Harvey's friends liked to come over and enjoy splashing and sunning. One thing irritated him, though: the guys liked to rib him about how hot his mom was, especially when she came out in a swimsuit. She usually wore a one-piece, which hugged her curvy top and bottom nicely. Add in her pretty face -- she could pass for maybe 25 -- and long, dark wavy tresses; Harvey had to admit they had a point, but he wished they'd shut up about it. He didn't like thinking of Mom that way!
One night toward the end of summer he had a dream that was, in some way, as upsetting as the one about Dad kissing another woman. He dreamed about himself kissing Mom! He woke up aroused, confused, and angry with his buddies. He tried looking at some online porn, but as he watched he closed his eyes and jacked off thinking of Mom in her swimsuit -- or out of it!
The previous summer Edgar had been able to get his son a job at the factory, but the company hadn't been hiring this year. Business picked up, however, and in August Harvey got a call to contact the company's HR department about a job.
The factory jobs paid well so Harvey was eager to go for an interview. When he finished he went up a few floors to say hi to his dad. But he stopped dead when he saw the woman at a desk just outside Dad's office -- it was the woman from his dream!
Harvey turned around, left the factory and went straight home. Fern was off visiting her sister in Texas; the house was empty when he got there.
He went to his room, closed the door and began moaning, "Oh God, oh no, oh no it can't be, oh please no."
He didn't hear his sister come home, but when she walked in she heard a noise from his room -- crying? Her brother was crying?
She tapped on his door "What's wrong, Bubby?"
He got up and opened his door "That woman! I've been having nightmares about her for months! I'd never seen her before but she was in my dreams and now she's real! It's so awful!"
"What woman? What's awful?"
"In my dream Dad kisses her!"
"Dad kissed who? You're not making any sense."
"I've been having bad dreams where Dad kisses this woman. Always the same dream, always the same woman, no one I've ever seen. Today I went to the factory about a job, then went up to Dad's office. That woman, the one from my dreams, she was sitting right there, her desk just outside Dad's office!
"No way!"
"Way!"
"Dad would never do that!" But as she said it she felt a stab of doubt -- her best friend's parents had gotten divorced, and it was because the dad had an affair with someone at work.
"What should I do? Should I tell Mom? What if I'm wrong? What if I'm right and don't tell her?"
"It's just a dream! It doesn't mean anything! Dad wouldn't do that!"
"I hope that's true! And I hope these dreams go away!" Harvey closed his door and crawled back in bed.
That night, after Harvey left for his 3 pm to 11 shift, Brenda told her dad she needed to talk to him. "What's up, Pumpkin?"
"Dad, Harvey has been having bad dreams."
"Dreams? What about?"
"You and...and...a woman!"
Guilt flashed over his face; Brenda gasped. "It's true! You're cheating on Mom! I thought it was just a stupid dream!" She rushed to the front door.
Her Dad stopped her from opening it. "No! That's not true! It is just a dream!"
"Why did you look like that? You looked guilty!"
"I was just surprised, shocked that he would say such a thing! Don't jump to conclusions, young lady!"
"I don't believe you!" She burst into tears. "Now you and Mom will get a divorce! That's what happened to my friend McKenzie!"
"No, no, Precious, nothing like that is going to happen, I'm not having an affair, there, there, everything is fine. I'm sorry Harvey upset you with this stupid dream nonsense."
"Is that really the truth? Promise me you won't break up our family?"
"Of course not, Precious. I promise." He held her until she quit crying.
Sadly, Harvey's dream hadn't lied. A year and a half later their parents were divorced; a few months after that Dad married his secretary, Jessica. Fern was broken-hearted. Harvey and Brenda told her about the dream; she cried and said, "I wish you had told me earlier!"
Harvey didn't know what to think -- if he'd told Mom earlier, would she have believed him? He hadn't believed it himself until he met the woman, and then Brenda hand't believed him until their parents had a big fight. Harvey was also puzzled why Dad traded Mom in for Jessica -- Mom was way better looking! And so much easier to get along with -- Dad and his new wife seemed to get mad at each other a lot. Mom and Dad had gotten along great until that big fight.
For several years Fern struggled just to carry on. She worked at her job, kept house, tried to be upbeat for Harvey and Brenda, but the sparkle was gone from her eyes, the joy from her voice. Harvey and Brenda each had a few dates, but nothing developed into anything serious. Hardly a month went by without Fern getting asked out but she refused all offers. Harvey and Brenda were angry with Dad and despised Jessica, but Fern convinced them they were only hurting themselves. They grudgingly stifled their anger and tried to be civil to Jessica.
Then Fern met Jacob, a tall, handsome man a few years younger than her. They hit it off quickly. Soon they were spending most of their free time together. Fern came back to life, from the sparkle in her eye to the tunes she hummed and sang to her teasing, jokes and laughter. Harvey and Brenda were thrilled, and finally let go of their lingering resentment of their dad and Jessica.
And then Harvey had another nightmare, a dream about Jacob and another woman. He remembered what Mom had said. He wasn't sure what to do so he called Brenda, away at college, and told her about the dream.
"Oh, my God! That's awful! You've got to tell Mom!"
"But what if It isn't true?"
"Have you had any dream like this that wasn't true?"
"No, just the ones about Dad." He'd never mentioned the ones about him and Mom.
"Well, then you'd better tell Mom. If it isn't true maybe she can disprove it."
He told Fern. She listened to him and then just stared, not saying a thing.
"Mom? I don't know how to tell if it's true. You said you wished I'd told you about Dad."
She let out a mournful sigh. "Can you describe the woman? Is there something distinctive about her looks?"
"Yes, she's got a purple streak in her hair."
"Well, that's distinctive enough! I'll see what I can find out."
She talked to her friend Margaret, who had introduced Fern and Jacob to each other. "Does Jacob know a woman with a streak of purple in her hair?"
"Oh my gosh, that's his ex, Violet! Did you run into her or something?"
"Seriously, her name's Violet and she dyes her hair purple?"
"She said if that's what her parents decided to name her, that's what she's going to be! She's done that as long as I've known her. Why did you ask?"
"Oh, I just heard something, not important really."
"Really? Do you have suspicions?"
"Oh, heavens no, nothing like that! Pretty silly, in fact. Forget I asked."
Margaret wasn't fooled. She bought a spy cam and mounted it on a For Sale sign across the street from Violet's house. A week later she was able to show Fern a time-stamped video of Jacob returning the kids after a visit -- and not leaving until 3 am.
Fern thanked Margaret for the information and told her she wanted some time alone.
"I'm so sorry I hooked you up with that bastard, I thought he was one of the good guys, he made it sound like the divorce was all her fault!"
"It's OK, Margie, I'm just glad I found out before things got too serious. I'm going to lie down for a bit."
"Oh, honey, do you want to cry on my shoulder?"
"No, I'll be fine."
Margaret finally left after extracting a promise that she would call if she realized she didn't want to be alone.
Fern had put up a brave front but after her friend left she went to her bedroom and cried her heart out. Things had, in fact, gotten serious, she and Jacob had made love and she'd been thinking about marriage.
She was still crying when Harvey got home from his shift, near midnight. She heard him come in and tried to pull herself together, sitting up on the edge of the bed, but a fresh wave of grief hit her full force and she collapsed into more sobbing. Harvey dropped his book bag and rushed to her room.
"Mom! What's wrong?"
"You were right again! That woman with purple hair -- she's his ex-wife! And he spent most of a night at her house! I thought I was in love with him! Why do men cheat on me? Is there something wrong with my looks? Am I old and boring?"
Harvey climbed on the bed and folded her in his arms. "No way, Mom! You're beautiful and smart and funny and kind! Dad and Jacob were just idiots! They don't deserve someone like you!"
Fern laughed. "Well, it's good to hear you say those nice things. You're such a good son. To hell with those bums!"
"That's the spirit, Mom!" He hugged her tight -- and then became acutely aware that he had a gorgeous, wonderful, sexy woman in his arms. Her large, firm but soft breasts were mashed into his chest. Her long, dark, wavy hair lay over his arms; the aroma of her perfume and natural musk filled his nostrils. His tool grew hard and pressed into her thigh -- which lay below her round, shapely bottom and her enticing, forbidden valley. She shifted her weight so his erection was pushing up between her thighs.
He pulled back and wiped her tears out of her large, deep blue eyes, which now shone with love. Her lovely lips formed an 'O' and her breath became rapid. Her body became warm all over, as did his.
He'd kissed several girls, but none of them had tempted him to go further -- he always had the feeling something was missing. It dawned on him he had been comparing them to Mom -- who wasn't missing anything he ever wanted!
"Mom?"
"Yes, dear?"
