All was right in my world.
My naked body was stretched out so comfortably on a plush mattress; completely reposed in a deep and peaceful slumber following a night of raw sexual frenzy with my girlfriend, Amy. The sheets of my bed were soaked with sweat as the humid odor of sex still hung heavy in the air. Amy's warm and luscious naked body was cuddled up beside me; her silky and succulent flesh pressing intimately against my own as her arm draped over my chest. The last condom I'd worn remained slipped over my now flaccid eight inches of manhood with a bountiful sample of my ejaculate still trapped inside. The bedroom was cool, dark and silent.
When all of the sudden:
Blinding bright light violently pierced the soothing darkness and tranquility of my dream state. Amy, who had been lying as equally motionless and peaceful as I just a moment before, was now in a frantic flurry of movement.
"Justin," she said as she shook me out of my slumber. "Justin! Justin, wake up!"
"What?" I babbled; still about three quarters asleep. "What is it? What time is it?
"It's just after five," she replied.
"Five? As in five o'clock in the morning?" I murmured.
"Yes," she answered.
"What the fuck?" I questioned. "What the hell are you doing?"
"We need to talk," she told me solemnly.
Oh shit! No conversation between a guy and his girlfriend has ever turned out well when started like this!
"Right now?" I mumbled. "Can't this at least wait till after breakfast?"
"No," she stated matter of factly. "We need to talk now."
So, she did. Talk that is.
And before I even knew what the hell was going on, Amy was dressed and out the door. Not a single tear was shed nor was there any begging, pleading, compromise or conditions. One minute we were destiny and the next, history! After nearly five years together, our relationship was over in the blink of a sleepy eye.
Happy Fucking Birthday to you, Justin!
Well actually; it was yesterday. Amy and I had spent a wonderful day together, which was followed up by a night of some of the most passionate lovemaking we'd ever experienced together. Or at least, so it seemed to me. But apparently not! Hell, I even brought her to her first multiple orgasm last night.
For the next couple of hours, I stared blankly up at the ceiling of my bedroom, replaying Amy's words in my mind. I live in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. I was due to graduate in May with a bachelors' in Engineering and planned to go for a masters' after that.
Now I wish I could say that I was heartbroken over the situation. But the fact is, I wasn't. In actuality, my heart felt nothing at all. It was my mind that was hurting; from being so goddamn boggled. And with every rerun of Amy's words through it, my brain-ache only got worse.
"You're just not there for me anymore, Justin. You haven't been for more than a year now. I don't know what's happened. And I not talking physically. I mean emotionally, mentally and spiritually. You're so distracted, distant and inattentive. It's like you're always somewhere else. Or rather, always with someone else. No, I am not accusing you of being unfaithful or cheating on me. At least, not in the conventional sense. But it's clear to me that your heart, mind and soul belong to another woman. You may not even know who she is, but you and I both know she's not me. So, I'm not dumping you, so much as releasing you. Whoever this woman is, she already has your heart, mind and soul. Now you're free to give her your body too. She deserves all of you!"
By seven-thirty, I had mind-fucked myself silly over the situation and fell back to sleep, totally exhausted. Fuck going to class today.
*
My phone ringing snapped me out of a mediocre snooze a couple of hours later. I instantly knew who the caller was based on the ringtone, which was
I Love You Always Forever
by Donna Lewis. Thus, I was only too happy to stir. Opening my eyes, my iPhone's screen was displaying the stunning face, the thick maim of long and flowing auburn hair, the dazzling sapphire blue eyes and the radiant, pearly white smile of the most beautiful woman I'd ever known and my best friend in the whole world:
Mom!
Debra Lynn Ream; or Debbie, as she prefers, was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She was the only child of two very kind, sensible, liberal and successful white-collar professionals. As such, Mom had every financial advantage as well as every social, scholastic and extra-curricular opportunity. However, while she was academically very intelligent, Mom had virtually no common sense, or "street smarts", in her youth. That has changed dramatically over the years since. But the lack of it at the time greatly contributed to her being so very young when she gave birth to me:
Justin Anthony Ream.
As fate would have it, Mom and I share the same birth date:
February 19th
. So, as I just celebrated my twenty-first birthday yesterday, Mom celebrated her thirty-seventh birthday.
The story of me began nearly twenty-two years ago, when Mom went to a party one night at her best friend's house; and it was there that she met a young U.S. Marine who was home on leave. After a few beers, she willingly surrendered her virginity to him in the backseat of his car. The next morning, she came to on the swing seat of her friend's front porch. She never even knew his name and never saw him again. All she remembered about him was that he was tall, strong, blonde and incredibly handsome.
Just like me!
And while my grandparents weren't particularly thrilled about Mom's pregnancy, they did not abandon her or disown her. Instead, they fully supported her and went above and beyond the call of duty to love, provide for and assist their daughter in any and every way they could.
My grandparents quietly pulled Mom out of school early in her pregnancy; just before the start of her junior year, in order to spare her the harsh ridicule she was sure to endure. Then not long after I was born, the four of us relocated from Portland to Seattle where Mom was re-enrolled at a new High School that Fall where nobody knew her, nor anything about her past. She ultimately graduated high school at the age of nineteen, and then went on to attend the University of Washington.
Unfortunately, her collegian career did not last very long, for over the semester break of her first year, Mom's parents were killed in a car accident. And as all four of her grandparents were deceased and both her parents were only children, Mom and I were suddenly all alone in the world; and the only family the other had. Being the sole beneficiary, Mom inherited her parent's entire estate, which was quite large and considerably valuable. She also received several large life insurance payouts and sold their time-share property in Aspen, Colorado.
At that point, Mom planned for her and me to stay in her parent's house as there was more than enough money for her to continue to go to school full time without working and to put me into full time daycare. But a new accountant with the brokerage firm that managed her parent's finances, took advantage of Mom's naivety. Tricking her into signing full power of attorney of the estate over to him, he ultimately robbed her blind.
Except for her car and about $10,000 in a special savings account, Mom lost everything!
We ended up moving to a small apartment in Tacoma where Mom got a job at an insurance agency. It was a very sad, scary and trying time for her. But over the course of the following sixteen years, my Mom became the greatest hero a little boy could ever dream of having; as well as proving herself to be one of the smartest, strongest, savviest and most resilient women I've ever known. We became an incredible team; a true dynamic duo.
