Lucy hadn't stopped by to see her mother for nearly a month. Being an attractive young woman with a promising career, she had learned quickly that free time was a rare commodity. During the first year after she had moved out from her parent's house, Lucy had been so preoccupied with her own new life that she had precious few moments to spare. When her father Bill had passed suddenly from a heart attack, the guilt from not seeing her parents pushed Lucy much closer to her mother.
Bette, Lucy's mother, had become painfully accustomed to her daughter's gradual disappearance from her life. In her heart, Bette knew that it was simply a case of Lucy trying to establish her own life. Lucy needed a bit of time to get her career off the ground; she needed to concentrate on becoming an active adult. Their relationship had always been a close one, so she knew that sooner or later, Lucy would once again be an active part of the family. When Bill passed, Lucy had made a conscious effort to once again establish her relationship with her mother. They had grown much closer, speaking frequently on the phone. Lucy had even made a point of trying to visit at least weekly, at least until recently.
As it happened, Lucy found herself meeting with a business client late one Friday very near her mother's house. After the meeting, she met a few friends for dinner and drinks. Feeling a little too tipsy to drive, Lucy opted to take a cab to her mother's.
Unannounced and slightly buzzed, Lucy pushed her key into Bette's front door and then entered the spacious house. Making herself at home, Lucy kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse, and found her way to the kitchen. On the counter, Lucy found a half empty bottle of merlot. Giggling with the knowledge that her mother had never had a very high tolerance for alcohol, Lucy poured herself a glass and began to wander about the house, searching for her mother.
Making it up the stairs to the bedroom, Lucy heard the shower running through the closed door. Cracking the door slightly and poking her nose in, Lucy announced to the air, "hi Mom, I'm home!"
In a slightly startled voice, Bette took a moment to respond, "oh hello dear, why don't you go downstairs and help yourself to a glass of wine. I'll be right down."
Closing the door again, Lucy simply sat down on the bed, having already gotten a glass of the dark liquid. Taking a sip, she noticed that on the nightstand next to her was a small bag, approximately the size of a student's backpack. Absentmindedly she toyed with the bag, twirling the zipper in her fingers as she listened to her mother rustling about in the other room. Taking another sip, she curiously unzipped the bag, peering inside.
Opening the door a moment too late, Bette walked into the room to see her daughter Lucy curiously holding a rather menacing looking butt plug in one hand, and a glass of what appeared to be the merlot in the other. The plug was black in color and somewhat sizeable, flaring out dramatically in the middle. The base of the plug, which served to prevent it from becoming lost inside its user's body, also had a rather large suction cup attached to it. The glass of wine, equally dark in color, had been mostly consumed in one big gulp upon the discovery of the plug.
Their eyes met only briefly, expressions of shock and embarrassment obvious on both faces. Lucy hurriedly stuffed the toy into the bag as Bette simply retreated back to the safety of the bathroom, closing the door without a word being said. Unsure of what else to do, Lucy quickly found herself back in the kitchen, refilling her nearly empty glass.
After a torturously long ten minutes, Bette braved the stairs and met her daughter in the kitchen. Aside from the fact that the first bottle of wine had disappeared only to be replaced with a newly opened one, nothing seemed amiss. Lucy had filled her own glass and left another one full for her mother. Bette picked it up with a lightly shaking hand and took a small sip as she sat down at the table across from her daughter.
Lucy broke the ice by beginning to make small talk about work, and about the friends that she had just met for dinner. Bette responded by pursuing that line of conversation, eager to put the embarrassing moment behind her. After an hour of chatting, snacking, and drinking, Bette was finally comfortable in her own skin again. She had nearly forgotten the horrific embarrassment that had overtaken her when she walked out of the bathroom earlier. Her husband's sudden departure from her life had left her as an attractive woman in her early forties. Only a few years prior, she and Bill had begun to truly explore each other's sexuality with various deviant behaviors. With him gone, she had been left with a fertile imagination, a bundle of toys, and nothing else but frustration. Feeling that she wasn't ready to try to date again, Bette had little recourse but to simply try to amuse herself in private. Naturally, some of the kinks that she had discovered with Bill had kept creeping into these amusements.
Lost in thoughts about her husband, Bette nearly missed Lucy's quiet question. "What was that, dear?" she asked.
Lucy stammered, embarrassed to have even mentioned it, but was fueled by the merlot. "Sorry Mom, but I asked if it hurts." A silence fell between them both, as Bette was shocked back into the present by the simple query.
"I, um... well a little at first, yes," Bette croaked. Her cheeks flushed deeply as her mind raced to the bag she had absentmindedly left on her nightstand earlier. What else, she wondered, had Lucy seen? Her intent tonight had been to exorcize the demons inside of her with the contents of that bag, but she had certainly not intended to share the experience with her own daughter. When she looked up again, Lucy was still gazing directly at her. "It feels..." her words trailed off, her mind trying to fight through the merlot haze.
Lucy, in a haze of her own, stood up and took her mother's hand. Wordlessly, she turned and gently pulled Bette down the hall towards the stairs. Too stunned by this bold action to do anything else, Bette complied and shuffled along behind. Before she had completely gathered her wits about herself, Bette found herself once again in the bedroom with Lucy. Thinking back to the panic from an hour prior, Bette remembered grabbing the bag and hiding it back in it's spot in the closet. Lucy looked for a moment at the empty place on the nightstand, summoning her courage. She couldn't believe that she was doing this, but felt compelled for some reason to continue this chase.
"Mom, you need to go get it." Those words, although not purposefully chosen by Lucy, carried great weight with Bette. She really did need to get the bag. She needed to feel the pleasures and pains contained within it. She needed to be transported to that place deep inside herself where she no longer felt the tragic loss of Bill. She needed to feel another human being's warmth once again. She needed contact. Quietly, almost on tiptoes, Bette went to the closet and fetched the ominous bag. It felt to her like it weighed fifty pounds as the last bit of resistance she had left held it down. Resigning herself to the moment, Bette tossed the bag onto the bed next to Lucy.
"No judgments from now on, okay?" Lucy stated aloud, wondering if it was more for her mother or herself. Holding her breath, she opened the bag and there on top was the same smooth black object she had held before. She pulled it out of the bag for the second time. This time she held it in her palm and noted that it was almost as long as her hand, and indeed quite thick at the widest part. She glanced again at Bette, who had moved closer to her and was now squatting beside her on the floor. A strange look had overtaken her mother, almost as if she were in a trance as she stared at the toy.
Lucy had obviously never seen her mother like this before. Bette had always been the pillar of strength in the family. Now, she appeared small as she squatted beside the bed. Or was she kneeling? Lucy's instincts began to take over.
Growing up, she had always been able to use her good looks and charm to get the boys to do her bidding. As she blossomed into a woman, she had found that what had been goods looks and charm as a little girl had transformed into sexuality as an adult. This powerful force had manifested itself in many profitable ways in her life. Everything seems to fall in line for a woman that exudes this type of aura. Business deals seem to close more quickly. Boyfriends seem to be more available. The man at the ice cream stand seems to always give an extra scoop.