My son and I were driving to Shenandoah Mountains Park through Skyline Drive. We had come this way a hundred times before, when he was a boy, when his father and I bought a vacation home on the other side of the mountains. Our home on the Piedmont of Virginia was a model of the American nuclear home. My son Paul, his older sister Anne, and our baby Andrew, the five of us four or five times a year driving up here to our escape from the world. My ex husband Ray was a good man. He was busy so much, as the Regional Vice President for a major retail chain. His job during the week was in Baltimore, and the hours were so long that he most often only came home on the weekends, and then visiting his stores on the weekends even precluded that. He stayed in an apartment, so we saw him usually 2 weekends a month, more in the winter when the stores weren't so busy, much less, sometimes once a month on a week day, in the spring and summer when the stores were busy.
As the nuclear family broke apart, and the children got older, the problems that come from single parent homes and missing fathers began to surface and grow. Anne got rowdy and took up drugs. Fortunately, she was the oldest, and had benefitted from her earliest years having the family complete. She went on to college and is now a legislator in her home state of West Virginia. Paul, too, had his father's influence while he was in primary and middle school, so he turned out great as well. He was a handful as a high schooler, but is now an assistant coach with a local Division I university football team. Andrew, on the other hand. He didn't get hardly any time with his father. He was born the same year Ray got promoted from district manager to RVP. By the time Andrew could walk, Ray was around maybe 50 days a year, when Andrew started school, we saw Ray 20 days a year. When Andrew started at the Mill School, Ray and I had started our divorce.
When Ray and I got divorced, it's nothing like you'd think. Neither of us were cheating, neither of us beat the other, or the kids. He just had this new life he was immersed in, and I wanted my 2.5 children family. My kids were moving on, two were in college and the other in high school, and I really wanted to have a husband. Ray couldn't and wouldn't leave his job. He was offered by the company, while he was going through the family trouble, to take a local position as district manager. The work was difficult of course, and he had done it before, but it meant 9 stores instead of 80, and an area of 20 miles radius instead of 150. And he could be home. Live, at home. But he had already had that job, and was not going to take a demotion, as he called it. He kept his job, and lost his family. I guess officially, on paper, I lost a husband, but I had lost him 16 years ago.
So now, Andrew and I were on our way to Bryce. We hadn't been here in two years, between the divorce and pending property settlement, and Andrew getting used to his new school, and the other two being so involved in their colleges and sports, we just never got around to it. But this last Christmas, Andrew mentioned it, how he wished we could spend Christmas at Bryce, like we used to. I dedicated myself to this mission for the whole year, saving and fighting in court for that property, for the kids. I got it, and here we are, driving to our family vacation home, just the two of us, all that was left of my 2.5 children nuclear (nukuler?) family.
I wanted, since I was a little girl, to be a mommy. When I had my babies, I was so happy. I still am, at this part of my life. But being a mommy involved pleasing a husband too, a husband who worshipped his wife. I haven't had this in years. I felt empty in this way, that my husband never loved me, never worshipped me. I never got to please my husband either. Yes, I raised his kids, but he never knew half of their achievements or even anything about them. He bought his kids Walmart gift cards for every holiday and birthday for the last ten years. Who does this? He gave me a gift card to his store chain one year for Christmas, of course I knew he had forgotten it was Christmas and bought it the day before.
Now, my last child was a man. He graduated this past Spring, and was taking a year off to attend this academy that better prepared students for University. He didn't get in to any of the schools he wanted to attend, and he wasn't a sport star like his older brother. Andrew was 18, and was 6-2 and 220lbs. He was built like you would be certain he was on his way to a big school to be a linebacker or halfback, but he wasn't coordinated in any way. When he and his brother would throw the football around, it ended up in 4 minutes with the older one storming off in disappointment that his brother was such a klutz.
Being the way he was, Andrew wasn't always popular, wasn't dating as often as I'd hoped he would be. He was big, he was good looking, but he was clumsy in action and in his speech. He just never came off smooth or clever or funny. He wasn't bullied, but he wasn't ever accepted, either. I tell you all of this because maybe you will understand what happened next.
When we got to Bryce, it was different. Two years is a long time in some places. The landscaping was completely different. All the houses were painted two years ago after the last time we were here, and the color was just too "fresh" looking for this kind of area in the mountains. The place looked like a cardboard cutout: useless shutters and shades of plastic grey. We unpacked, ready for a week of Christmas as a family.
After a day, even Andrew acknowledged that it didn't feel like a family Christmas. "Mom, since it doesn't feel like Christmas, and there's no snow even, let's go down to the pool and have a swim." He had already changed into his swim trunks. Andrew was cut up, his abs and pecs were bulging. I don't normally have a thing for muscle guys, but even I was a little stirred by his muscularity.
"Andrew, you know I didn't pack anything to swim in," I diverted my eyes, to not be caught ogling my son.
"Mom, I bet there's a suit still in the closet upstairs!" He ran up there, bounding up the stairs like he did when he was ten. I knew there was probably several suits up there, but they were years old, some hardly fit me right even then. Today I'm fifty, and I'm not fat, but I'm definitely curvy. My thighs and butt are round for sure, and my belly doesn't have rolls, but it's not flat like, well, like Andrew's. I kept thinking of those abs. Mmmm I've got a thing for abs. My next husband (giggle) will have to have abs.
"Ok Andrew you grab me a few, I might not fit the first one!"
Then, he shouted down to me, "Ah mommy you'll look great in any of them!" Of course I knew he was being playful and complementary to his mother, and I should have blushed and moved on, but it gave me a flutter, in my groin. I had just stared at my son's hot abs and now I was maybe getting a wettie from him telling me I could wear the same swimsuit I wore when he was learning to swim.
In just a minute or two, Andrew came to the railing, and held four suits, all one-piece jobs, held them up like he'd just snared four rabbits in the woods for dinner, and brought them down to me. I again blushed, and was sure I was about to embarrass myself. I held each up to my body, trying to make it obvious for Andrew that none would fit and I would just join him in regular clothes and watch him swim. "Well, go try one on and let's get going!" Andrew was insistent. Ah well, it wasn't like the whole world would see my shame. I'd just put the closest one on, show him it wasn't going to happen, and then get on with the day.
I went into the half bath and took two of the suits I knew were more recent with me. I took off my shirt, unhooked my bra, and let my little boobies free. They were certainly nothing like they were when I was pregnant. When I was pregnant these things were big. Really big. Now, they were firm, but a B cup at best. I dropped my pants, and my unflattering underpants, and stepped into the suit. It was cute, it was black with green leaves all over it like a tropical rainforest theme, some red and yellow and blue flowers over the breasts and the crotch area. As I pulled it up, I remembered why I hadn't worn a swimsuit in two years. I did not look good. Again, I wasn't fat, but my legs and belly and rear were not for this suit. This was for a mother in her thirties, not a soon to be grandmother at 50. My pubic area was not groomed for this kind of suit either. It was a high cut job, maybe an inch wide at the hairy area. My black and grey pubes poking out the side were extremely unflattering. I was determined to prove to my son that I didn't have a good suit to swim in, so we could go on with our day without swimming.
I held my pile of clothes in front of my crotch, and exited the bath. As I appeared, Andrew was right there, waiting. Now, I got a tingle, being so very exposed like this in front of my son, my masculine, muscled, 3/4 nude son. My stud son.
"Come on mom, let me see!" He pushed playfully at my clothes pile, trying to knock them away from my shame. I fought a little, pushing him back. He got a little aggressive then, grabbing the clothes and actually succeeding in getting my shirt and my underwear, but not my bra and jeans, which protected my modesty. He stepped back, letting me recover from the mock battle we'd had.
"Andrew stop messing around, this suit doesn't fit, and I'm not going to show you why. Just look at the butt!" I turned, and showed him how my butt had turned a full back suit almost into a thong. My butt was firm, no cellulite, but it was not a small butt like a young girl he might be attracted to. It was that of an old woman, a mother of three, a woman of 50. As I turned around quickly, I saw something that shocked me in a way I can't say I'd ever been shocked before. My son, my stud son, my little baby boy, had my panties up to his face! He quickly pulled them away, but I caught him. He had to know he was caught. He threw the pile of clothes to the floor, and came at me again. He was pulling at the remaining clothes protecting my privacy. "Andrew what are you doing! I told you this thing isn't going to fit and I'm not going to wear it!"