It had been over 6 months since Donny and I, Rudy and Debbie had our winter skiing getaway in the mountains (see ‘A Relatively Fun Weekend’). Things had cooled between the four of us, mostly due to our various schedules, kids, etc. Actually, I believe none of us was prepared to take the ‘open marriage’ thing to the next level. I looked back on that experience more as a singular circumstance of chance, fascinating indeed, but not life changing. The whole spouse-swapping lifestyle just simply wasn’t worth pursuing.
Nothing was said by any of us, but it became kind of an unwritten law that we wouldn’t pair off with each other’s spouse, if at all possible. Our greater need was to preserve the lasting relationship between us and our families. We still saw each other on the rare occasion throughout the past 6 months, but always in the context of family outings and holidays.
We planned an upcoming dual family outing for July. Donny and I and our 19-year-old daughter, Meg were to join Rudy, Debbie and their two younger kids for a weekend of nature hiking and swimming. My brother’s kids and our daughter always got along famously, so having Meg join us would be like having a built-in babysitter for the weekend. All the arrangements and lodgings were finalized for the upcoming weekend, as the seven of us looked forward to a break in our summer routine. That was until we got a Tuesday night phone call.
“Well Babe, I’m afraid this weekend might be off,” said Donny, hanging up the phone.
“What do you mean?” I worried.
“Just talked to Rudy; Debbie’s Great Uncle passed away today in Boston. Even though she wasn’t very close to him, her family expects her to fly in for the funeral,” he said sadly.
“Dam, that’s a shame! We were so looking forward to… oh well –stuff happens,” I shrugged. “What did you mean, MIGHT be off?” I wondered.
“Rudy mentioned that Debbie said we should just go ahead with our plans without her,” Donny said.
“That’s nice of her. I mean we DO have reservations and all. What do you think?” I asked.
“I guess, if Rudy and the kids are OK with it…hell yes, we might as well go ahead,” Donny figured.
“Fine then; I’ll call him back and tell him we’re still ON!” I said, with renewed excitement.
Rudy and the kids were elated at our decision to go ahead with the trip.
“So glad you guys decided to go. I think we would have felt guilty about leaving without Debbie, thanks Sis,” Rudy said.
“As long as we have her blessing, we can’t see any harm in going,” I added.
Working as a private contractor for a computer consulting company, my husband’s free time was at a premium lately. After two solid months working with his current client, he was finally ready to get them up and running.
“I’m so ready to put this Hazelton thing to bed and get away this weekend!” Exclaimed Donny.
“So, it’s finally a done-deal? I know, you’ve spent a lot of extra time with them,” I added.
“Yeah, there were a couple of tough nuts to crack in Accounting, but everything should be ready by Friday,” he said, with a sigh of relief.
Meg and I packed for warm weather, considering the recent heat wave. A sophomore in college, Meg hardly needed my attention or advice regarding just about anything. So I was taken back, when she started discussing her latest boyfriend, Steve.
“He really likes me in this one,” she said winking; holding up a tiny white string bikini.
“Oh, I’m SURE he does, Meg –doesn’t leave much for the imagination, does it?” I laughed.
“Come on Mom, I’m sure you wore stuff like this, when you were my age,” she suggested.
“Nothing quite THAT revealing!” I stated, trying to imagine her tight petite frame in the skimpy suit.
Steve is Meg’s latest, greatest summer suitor, whom her father and I have yet to meet. Since the two of them have been pretty much stuck like glue lately, I was somewhat surprised she found time to spend this weekend with us. I found out later, the young stud had previous plans for the weekend.
“Here’s a black bikini, Mom. It’s too big for me, but I bet it would fit you,” she said, handing me what looked like the remnants of a handkerchief.
“Meg, you can’t be serious. I’ve got worn out dish rags bigger than that!” I snickered.
“Oh come on Mom. Take it along. Dad would love to see you in that,” she spouted.
“Yeah… right!” I said, shaking my head and tucking it in my suitcase to appease her.
We finished the rest of our packing without incident. As was our ritual, we sprawled out on our king-size bed to relax and discuss the latest the latest gossip, etc. I was privileged to hear, yet one more time, what a great lover Steve was and the latest nonsense her sorority sisters were up to. Call it female bonding, whatever. We both cherished these stolen moments; just being together and hanging out.
“Seeing how we’ve got to be up with the birds, we’d better get some sleep, Baby,” I yawned and began to undress for bed.
Meg was plenty tired, but was slow to pull herself off to bed. She continued chatting away, as I threw off my clothes and shimmied into a nightgown. I could tell by her disjointed comments, she was past tired.
“So Mom, did your friends ever make fun of your big boobs?” She asked out of nowhere.
“God, where did THAT come from?” I asked slipping under the covers.
“It’s just that some of the girls give me a fair amount of grief about mine,” she admitted, gazing down at her 32C chest.
“Oh, those girls are just jealous, Baby,” I quickly reasoned, trying to end the conversation and get some sleep.
“You’re probably right. They’ve just been acting strange lately, you know,” she started.
“I’m sure that’s all it is, Meg. Don’t let them bother you. Now let’s get some sleep. We’ve got to be on the road by 9:00 am,” I prompted her.
As she slinked off to her bedroom, I could sense there was more she wanted to share. However, with a nice long weekend facing us, I was sure there would be plenty of time to discuss whatever it was. I slipped off to sleep and only lightly stirred when Donny slipped in next to me. Our blurry digital clock read 4:00 am.
FRIDAY
“God Donny, what time did you get in last night?” I said, turning off the alarm.
“Geez, I don’t know –3 o’clock I think,” he mumbled and rolled over to hide his eyes from the morning light.
“How about four? What’s wrong; not that Hazelton thing?”
“Afraid so Babe. Some idiot accountant threw a wrench into everything last night. I don’t see how we’ll hit our deadline for transition, unless we work all weekend. Sorry Barb,” he answered.
My heart sank. I knew he had to be pissed. I was pissed. Laying back down in disgust, I stared up at the ceiling and tried to reason a way to make our plans still work. A tear found its way down my cheek when Donny rolled over to face me.
“Listen you guys and the kids have waited and planned this trip for so long. I think you should go ahead and have a good time,” he said softly and wiped away my tear of despair.
“What, first Debbie and now you? I think the gods are trying to tell us something; don’t you think?”
“Don’t be silly. You guys go on and have a great time. No point in destroying everybody’s weekend, right?” He reasoned.
I agreed with him. Majority rules, I suppose. My spirits were conditionally lifted, as I woke Meg and fixed breakfast. I called my brother to let him know the change in plans, but there was no answer.
“They surely have left by now for the woods,” I guessed.
“Come on Mom. Dad would want us to have a good time, right?” Asked Meg, loading the car.
“He did say exactly that, yes,” I agreed.
It wasn’t until we were on the interstate, that it finally dawned on me that Rudy and I would be alone, with the kids of course. I’ll just have to make sure not to put myself in any compromising circumstances. Meg carried on a fairly one-sided conversation in the car.
Several hours and a pit stop later we arrived at the park and recreation area. Driving down by the beach to check things out, Rudy’s kids came running up to our car. They had been there for an hour or so. They were elated to see Meg and quickly invited her to join them for a swim.
“What’s up with your Dad?” I asked, not seeing him.
“He said he would check in the hotel and then said something about taking a hike,” answered Darin.
My brother’s kids were hardly ‘kids’ anymore. Rachel is 13 and Darin 12; definitely old enough to be by themselves. I cautioned them to listen to Meg and headed for the hotel to check in. Considering the 93-degree heat, I sifted through my suitcase for something light to put on. I picked out a light white cotton blouse and jean shorts. As I laid them out I caught sight of the black string bikini Meg insisted I bring. I smiled, picked it up and started to cast it aside, when I got a strange urge to try it on.
Stripping out of my hot clothes, I wrapped the skimpy black top around me and tied it. I crammed my broad thighs into the matching thong and took stock of myself in a floor length mirror. I couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of my 50-something body scrunched into swimwear meant for a much younger and less voluptuous woman. My big boobs virtually poured out of the bra top, while the French-cut thong revealed my every bulge and age line. I was still posing for the mirror, when a knock on the door interrupted.
“You in there, Sis?” Asked my brother.
“Ah y-yeah –Rudy is that you? Just a second,” I stuttered and scrambled to cover the ill-fitting ensemble.
I quickly buttoned up a white blouse and wiggled into my jeans.
“Hey, you guys made it, great!” He exclaimed, as I opened the door to let him in.
“Yeah well, Meg and I made it.”
“What about Donny?”
“Oh, that goofy client of his pulled some lame-brain crap on him, so he’s stuck with them all weekend.”