The Legal Problem: the Beginning

I thank HKF999 for editing this story. Any mistakes remaining in the story are all mine.

This is the first part of a 3 part story. This is a slow starter.

Series Outline:

part-1: Carla and Robby learn about their secret lovers.

part-2: Robby brings Jason into fold.

part-3: Jason returns the favor.

Everything in this story is just a figment of my imagination. All characters are 18+. No scene depicting sex involves underage characters. The author strongly discourages any illegal sex in real life.

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Part-1: The Beginning

Monday, 14th February, 2011

On that wretched day, I was going through another round of depression as my feet led me to my place. My landlady, whom I had then known as only Mrs. Smith, was about to close the door as I finally reached my place. She saw me coming and was waiting for me to come in, so that she did not have to lock the door.

"Mr. Miller, are you OK?"

"Mrs. Smith, I am fine. Thank you."

Maybe it was the look on my face, or maybe it was my tone -- there was concern in her face. The less I talked with anyone, the better it was for me. I maintained a fair distance from her, always speaking formally.

"You don't look fine. Anyways, Jason has gone out with his friends. When he comes back, can you tell him that I will be late? Food is in the fridge. Help yourself."

"Okay."

She moved away, letting me inside. I was relieved to know that I was alone. I was still deep in my thoughts walking towards my room, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I hadn't realized that I had reached the stairs, and forgot to close the door behind me. It definitely was not my day.

"Mr. Miller, if there is something bothering you, you can talk to me. It helps." Seeing no response from me, she continued, "If you are not going anywhere, then I'll lock the door." I heard her lock the door behind me.

It had been three years since I had moved in to Mrs. Smith's place. She was a relative of my boss. My boss had referred me to stay with them, when I had told him that I was looking for simple accommodation. I was somewhere between a tenant and a paying guest. I was unaware of the actual rent, as my boss promised me that he would pay it from my bonuses. We had a very simple deal. I got the entire second floor. Mrs. Smith would provide me food, if I asked for it. I could use the kitchen to make food for myself. I should help them whenever they needed it. And I had to teach Jason math. In return, I got complete privacy. I could bring anyone home, not that I needed to. I got the spare key to the home. I assured my boss that Mrs. Smith was well, and in return I got a place where I wouldn't be disturbed.

Our relationship had been pretty simple till then. If they needed something, they would call my cell phone and I took care of it. I did their shopping, and Mrs. Smith made food for me. The only thing Mrs. Smith was strict about was alcohol. She had a strict 'No alcohol in the home' policy. Jason and I had a simple deal: I gave him whatever he wanted, and he drove me to and from a bar whenever I felt like boozing. I kept myself aloof from their affairs, and they didn't disturb me in the second floor.

On that day, I desperately needed to drown myself in alcohol. I was hoping that Jason would drop me at the usual bar at the other end of the town. Unfortunately he was not here. I tried calling Jason. The phone was ringing, but he was not picking up.

Shit, there goes my booze plan.

I switched off my cell, and slumped on my bed. My hand went for the remote and TV was kept at full volume. I was really thinking of making myself busy somehow. I thought,

I need to see the day through. And porn is totally out of question today. It will only hurt me more.

I was immersed in my own thoughts when I heard the phone ringing downstairs. For want of a distraction, I thought I might as well answer it.

"Mr. Miller, thank God you picked up the phone. Can you check whether I turned off the stove?" It was Mrs. Smith.

"Hold on a sec." I went into the kitchen to check the stove. It was turned off. That woman had always had this fear of the stove, whenever she went out.

"Mrs. Smith, I checked. Everything is all right."

"Thank you. By the way, how are you feeling now? If you are sick or something, I can buy medicines for you. I am in front of a pharmacy right now."

"No thanks. I'm okay. I just need to rest for a while." I hung up and went back to my bed.

By the time I reached my bed, I heard the phone ringing again. The phone was diverting my attention from my dark feelings. I walked to the ground floor again, and picked up the phone.

"Hey buddy. What happened to your phone? I was trying to reach you for the past half an hour." Alan was concerned.

"Alan? Sorry man, I'd switched off the phone."

"I had called your office, and Mark told me that you left early today."

"Hmmm"

I heard his voice change a little, taking his fatherly tone.

"I know today's February 14th. That's why I called you. I just wanted to check out how you are feeling today."

"It's the same."

The silence that ensued reflected my mood.

"Come on, man. It's been a long time. It's what, seven years?"

"Eight."

I just kept the phone pressed to my ears. The pain was there. But Alan was there as well.

"I am not going to ask you to move on. I know how you feel."

I kept silent for a while. He never hung up. I could hear the background noise. He must be in traffic. Then I started to sob. The good thing about Alan is that he knows when to keep his mouth shut. Right then, all I needed was someone to be there with me. I was crying for another maybe ten minutes.

I got myself into some semblance of control and said, "Thanks for calling me."

"In friendship, there is no thanks. You told me that."

I was silent for a while thinking,

He knows my problem. Today, I'll do whatever he says.

"Bob, can I say something?"

"Yes."

He always knew what I needed. Even if I didn't know it, I was too numb to think about it.

"Why don't you to go out for dinner with someone?"

That was not what I was expecting. Before I could respond, he continued, "Not a date. Just go out with somebody for dinner. If somebody is sitting opposite you, at least you won't be thinking of it."

It made sense, but I was still silent.

"Listen... all you have to do is to ask someone to go out with you today. You can say beforehand that this is not a date. You just want to go out and have food. Mark and I had gone to this Chinese restaurant three blocks away from your office when I met you last time. It's a new one. The food is not bad. But they do serve shark fin soup."

I was still silent. But I started thinking of Chinese food. Alan knew my weaknesses. Shark fin soup was definitely a motivating agent.

"If you don't want to go with someone, at least walk to the restaurant, just eat and come back. You will at least kill some time with walking. And you can go for one more round, when you get back to your room."

His words were slowly motivating me. After thinking about things for a while, I agreed to his idea. We said our byes and I hung up.

My problem was that I didn't have any friends in town. In fact, the very reason I came was because no one knew me around this town. I only maintained a strict professional interaction with everyone in the office. Mark, my boss, was the only person with whom I had something akin to a personal relationship. He sends me wishes for my birthday. I visited his home for Christmas and New Years. The only reason why I did that was because he was a friend of Alan's. In fact, Alan had recommended me to Mark. And, if I didn't go to his home, Alan had told me that he wouldn't talk to me. I had lost too much; I could not lose my only friend as well. But on that day, I could not call Mark for food. He would find out. I myself would blurt it out to him. I didn't want anyone to know the reasons for my depression.

I was still thinking about my conversation with Alan when Mrs. Smith walked in.

"Mr. Miller, you don't have to stand near the stove. Once it's off, it can't burn on its own."

Immersed in my thoughts I had ended up walking back into the kitchen. "Sorry Mrs. Smith. I had too much on my mind."

"You still don't look good. I have some sleeping pills left, if you want some. Are you sure that you are not sick?"

When I glanced at the wall clock, it was well past seven in the evening. I thought about what Alan had said. I then made what turned out to be the best decision of my life.

"Mrs. Smith... Ca.. I mean wil... errr... can you come with me for dinner?"

I was nervous. But then, she appeared to be shocked hearing my request, especially on that date. The brief silence that ensued gave me time to realize how I had ended up sounding.

"No," I clarified, "that's not what I meant." Remembering Alan's words, I emphasized, "Strictly dinner. This is not a date. I just want to go out and have food with someone other than me."

She thought for a while, and I started feeling bad about asking her. She finally replied, "Okay. Give me sometime. I need to take care of a few things, before we can go. In the meantime, I think you need to change your clothes. You look like you have been wearing them for the past four days."

She was, in fact, correct. I had been wearing the same clothes. It was exactly four days ago that I heard the bad news. That year was even worse for me than the previous years because of that news.

"Okay. I will change and come down. We can go whenever you are ready."

I went back to my room. The next twenty minutes were quite mechanical. I had a quick shower and grabbed the next set of office clothes. The good thing about office clothes is that I always wear formals. In fact, all through my life it has been like that. Casuals are for home and friends, and formals for office. It tends to divide my life into two separate compartments, keeping my personal life totally away from my professional life.

I was waiting on the couch for more than ten minutes when Mrs. Smith came down. She was dressed for a date. She was wearing a black satin dress, and had put on makeup. At least, my mind could decipher that much.

"Mrs. Smith, I told you this is not a date. I will set my terms for tonight straightaway. We just go to a restaurant. Have food. And come back."

I might have shouted at her, as her next words felt tentative.

"Oh no.... It was nothing like that. I just put this on, because I have not worn this for a very long time."

"I am sorry. I must have sounded very rude to you." I was ashamed of myself for being rude to her. I didn't want to look at her. I was not that strong that day.

There was an awkward silence between us. She seemed to sense that something was wrong. She broke the silence by saying, "Shall we go?"

I just nodded my head. After she locked the door behind us, she asked, "Where are we going?"

It was then that I realized that I didn't have the address of the Chinese restaurant. In fact, I didn't know the name of any restaurant in the town. Apart from home, the only other places I knew were my office, Mark's home, and the bar I visited across town. My blank face seemed to tell her my predicament.

"Shall I drive to one of my favorite places?"

I simply nodded, thankful that she was taking charge of things.

In another half an hour, she had driven to an Italian restaurant. I followed her to our table. When the waiter brought the menu, I thought it was in Greek. My mind was still frozen. Just for the sake of it, I stared at the menu.

She again took over for me. "May I?"

I simply replied yes, thankful that I didn't have to choose the food. She ordered a four course meal for us. I was preoccupied with waiting for the food, and munching it down when it came. All through dinner, she made some odd remarks about what she was ordering. If she had said more than that I wasn’t aware. Luckily for me, she didn't ask me many questions. By the time the bill came, I was conscious enough to give my card.

After that we went back to her car to drive back home. She was taking a different route this time, at least that's what I thought. We were driving for a while, before I noticed that we were driving near water.

"Can we stop here for a while?" I requested.

She parked the car in a quiet spot. I just walked out and stood near what seemed to be a stream. The sound of water flowing was definitely soothing. I sensed her standing near me. After a few minutes deep in my thoughts, I felt like sitting somewhere. I found a bench under the street light and went and sat there. To my relief, she sat near me. I don't know for how long we were sitting like that. After what seemed to me like an hour or two, I felt that I was calm enough to go back home. She walked with me back to the car. Once we got home, I got out of the car. The change of air definitely helped me.

"Oh shit, I broke my own curfew. It's already 1 o'clock." Her carefully chosen, innocent-looking words made me I realize that the day was over. I sighed, happy that the ordeal of the day was over.

It was a fresh day, and things would look better. She was still standing near me when I looked around. I looked at her sweet face for the first time. If things were different, I might have loved to go on a date with her. She was maybe in her late 30s or early 40s. She was definitely beautiful. I might have even said hot, if I had looked at other parts of her body.

I composed myself and said, "Thank you Mrs. Smith, for coming with me."

She simply smiled at me as we went inside.

Over the next eight months, our 'dates' continued on every Monday and every day I requested. She would always drive me to some restaurant that she wanted to go to. I soon recognized a few of the frequent ones. The Italian restaurant seemed to be her favorite. That was the only restaurant we went to most often and we ordered the same things there. After food, she would stop near the stream, or a park, or some other place with fresh air. If we finished food early, she used to take me to a farm outside town. The only additional thing to our first dinner happened a few weeks after that first trip. I was having a very bad day emotionally, and asked her whether I could hold her hand. She only smiled and squeezed my hand. Soon, our dinners became part of my routine.

*****

Friday, 14th October, 2011

I was surprised, when one day she came into my room. That was a very rare thing; she never came into my room if there was no emergency.

"Mr. Miller, if you don't mind, can you take me to dinner tonight?"

I looked at her. Her words were simple and direct. But she seemed to be not her usual self on that day. I felt a sense of sadness in her eyes.

"Give me a call when you're ready," I quickly replied. This was another thing we started doing on Mondays initially, and then every time we planned for dinner.

She was leaving my room, when she suddenly turned back and said, "I'll pay today."

That was new. I always paid, and that was not going to change. "No, I always pay for our dinner. And besides, our dinners are the only expense I really have." Seeing my gentle smile, she simply sighed.

Did I sound possessive? I thought. Whatever it is, it felt good.

I finished my work fast. Then, for the first time, I prepared for our dinner. Me being not in a bad mood, I dressed well for our dinner. As soon as I got ready, I went downstairs and waited for her on the couch.

When I came down, I saw Jason sitting on the couch. "Are you dating my mom now?"

This was the first time, he asked the question since we started going for dinner. I replied, "No. We are just going out for dinner."

"Yeah, eating till after midnight."

There was a sting in his words. Okay, I was not possessive, at least, when compared with Jason. Maybe it was not possessiveness; he just didn't want to picture me, a 28-year-old, marrying his mother. I thought he only needed reassurance.

"Okay," I said. "I am going to talk to you about this now, and I won't talk to you about this anymore. We go out strictly for dinner. I have certain issues, which I will not discuss with anyone. The reason why we came back late is because your mother knows that I can't return to my room before midnight. She ensures that I don't have to talk about it, but she still gives me some sense of consolation. For the entire duration of our dinner the only conversations we have are 'Can we have dinner tonight?' 'Shall I drive?' 'Oh shit, I broke my own curfew' and 'Thank you Mrs. Smith, for coming with me'".

"I still don't understand why you call my mother Mrs. Smith. You are the only person who calls her that."

"The conversation is over." I didn't want to listen to any more of his words.

"So you are not having sex with my mother?" he tried to continue the conversation.

"I said, the conversation is over." I have never sounded sterner. And that was the end of our discussion. Hindsight never comes when you need it. If I had known, I would have been softer.

"Mr. Miller?"

I was dumbstruck when I turned around to see Mrs. Smith in the black satin dress. It was the first time that I truly realized how beautiful she really was. She was 5' 10", an inch taller than me. If I hadn't known that she had an eighteen year old son, I would have said late twenties. Flawless skin. Two large perfect hemispheres in front. I am not a boob man, yet all I could think was that they were more than a handful. When I got a glimpse of her ass on her way towards me, I was thunderstruck. Her ass cheeks were demanding 'take me'. I had been taking one of the most beautiful women for dinner these past eight months and I didn't realize it.

I filled my head with thoughts,

Control yourself. She had asked me to take her out for dinner today. I should take care of her, like the way she has taken care of me.

In the calmest voice I could muster, I asked her, "Shall I drive?"

She nodded her head. I opened the car door for her, and waited for her to get in.

I knew where I was going to take her the moment I sat in the driver's seat. I drove to the same Italian restaurant. I walked with her to our table. We were regulars, and now we were given special preference. We were taken to the dimly lit corner that we preferred. As usual, Tom came to us with the menu. Before he could talk, I repeated our usual order right down to the modifications she wanted in some of the dishes.

"And Tom, give us wine today."

Tom knew what wine we preferred. In fact, often all she said was 'The usual.' But this day, it was Mrs. Smith's day off. And I knew that she loved her wine. She had ordered it whenever she felt that I was not too depressed. When we finished our dinner, I paid as usual. Then we went to the car.

That was when she talked for the first time since we left home. "Take me to the farm." I nodded.

I drove her to the farm. It was something of a regular too. She invariably took me to this farm at least once a month. In fact, we came once at the beginning of every month. It felt as if this place was part of her life.

When we reached the farm, there was another first for the day. She walked towards the farm house. I was not even aware that there was a farm house. I walked with her, giving her the sense of companionship that she had given me. When we reached the farmhouse, she reached for my hand. I gently held her, giving her a light squeeze. We were staring at the house for some ten minutes. Then she turned back, still holding my hand. We walked back towards our car.

When we reached the car, I was about to let her into the car. She turned again and walked back to the house. All the while, I was holding her hand. As we reached the house, she took her hand away from me. She walked towards a pot, put her hand inside it, and walked towards the door. I made sure that I was standing near her. She passed the key to me and again held my left hand. I unlocked the the door and opened it for her. She took me inside the house.