Susan Helmand pulled into her own driveway and, just as she expected, saw Jim's car. She smiled, a little. What the hell was going on here exactly? What sort of game were they playing. She knew. What she also knew, after thinking about it on her way home was that Jim had grown into the sort of man his father had not been. Jim was a hard-charging student, about to finish an MBA after completing a difficult double major. He had executive written all over him, inside where it really counted and outside where people thought it counted. He also had the desire to please a woman, inherited from his father, ingrained in him. It wasn't that he'd noticed the way his father served her as much as he just assumed that's how it should be. The way he was last night was an example of it. When she suggested he go handle the food delivery, he hopped up and took care of it without question or hesitation. And when she got back from the bathroom, he'd had the food already laid out by the water's edge. It wasn't a conscious effort for him to serve, it was natural and easy.
She must be losing her mind. "Practical insanity indeed," she thought. She was driving up to the house with thoughts of seducing her own son and using him as a slave. "Gee Susan, what could possibly go wrong with that idea? Surely a reasonable person couldn't find fault with it," she said sarcastically to herself. If she followed through with this idiotic idea, she'd be as bad – no, worse – than many of her patients. That book she was considering about practical insanity, might turn into an autobiography.
"Ok, enough of this nonsense. I'm going in there to have a nice dinner with my son and that's it. We're going to use last night and tonight to start developing a healthy mother/son relationship like we should have had all along if I hadn't been so damned preoccupied with being successful."
He had left the front door unlocked for her. She smiled. The neighborhood was safe enough and he was home. It was a nice touch.
"Hey mom. I finished my studying." That wasn't a lie exactly, since he had finished it – a couple of days ago. He had been careful to leave a few books on the coffee table though, to keep up appearances. "I made us a couple of drinks. I figured since we had beer last night, something mixed might be a nice change this evening."
"Oh, what did you make for us?"
"Jack and Ginger. I remember you used to like those occasionally."
She raised an eyebrow. He remembered right. And it seemed like he was going to adopt the "Liquor is Quicker" strategy. In spite of her better judgment, she was curious. Would he really try to seduce her? What would it be like? She chased the thoughts from her mind and decided that a good stiff drink was just the thing she needed to unwind from the long slow day she'd just endured.
"Thank you, honey. That was very thoughtful. Bring it to me out by the pool." Damn. Had she just done that? Yes, she'd just given him an order, not a request. Had she done it intentionally or was her subconscious pushing her into this?
They sat out on the patio and made small talk about the day and how it had gone. For Jim this was key to his plan. The plan was a simple one. He was going to get a couple of drinks in her and then see if he could get her to wear the new swimsuit he'd gotten for her earlier today. After that, the plan was a little vague, consisting mostly of "play it by ear." So far, so good. She was enjoying the drinks and the conversation and didn't seem to suspect a thing.
"What would you like to eat this evening, Jim?"
"I'm not really starving or anything. I was thinking maybe just snacks. I saw a couple of avocados in the fridge, so I made some guacamole. I was thinking drinks, chips, drinks, dessert, something like that. Do you need a more substantial dinner?"
"Sounds perfect sweetheart." She was starting to feel the drinks and he'd just mixed up the third round. Better slow this down a notch or two.
