An Upside-down “Y”

copyright ©2009 by A_Satori. All rights reserved.

(Author's note: This is a story of love and desire that could have been placed in a number of story categories.)

***************

SATURDAY MORNING

Bing! "3" appeared on the display. Ted placed his palm on Kyli's lower back.

"Is this our level?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

The elevator opened on the third floor of the concrete parking structure. They smiled as they held the doors open to allow a forty-ish guy carrying a couple blueprint tubes and a briefcase, probably with his college age son handling the loaded baggage cart to exit first. Ted had noticed both of them checking out Kyli, not leering, just noting her beauty in an appreciative manner. Without thinking, his own eyes drifted down to her apple ass as he pulled his hand off her back and they stepped out. He had been gawking at her butt for fourteen years, since she was twelve and he was sixteen.

The fabric of the pleated, cotton, hiking shorts hugged her bottom. Even wearing those she looked beautiful, hot, and seductive to him. His gaze lowered to her smooth, slender, toned legs. She was petite, with dark brunette, nearly black hair, not as long as it was when she was twelve, barely reaching her shoulder blades now. Her breasts were small but proportional to her slender figure, maybe because of her it always seemed odd when he'd see Asian chicks with big boobs. She had a very pretty and cute face, and her dark, almond shaped eyes laced an exotic quality into her beauty and sexiness. Her eyelids even had that second crease that was supposed to be a prized beauty trait among Asian girls.

He was always amazed at how she could still look like a teenager sometimes, and failing that, she always looked younger than her age. The most remarkable thing about her was that she never seemed to be aware of how beautiful she was, which added another attractive quality to her.

He forced his eyes away from her ass and glanced down the aisle for the car. He felt his cock stirring and hated himself for allowing it to take notice of her again. He waited until it calmed down before he put his arm around her shoulders.

He smiled. "So... wha'd'ya think? Will they have a good time?"

Kyli folded her arms over her chest and watched her feet as she walked. She nodded as a small smile formed on her mouth. "Uh-huh." Her brow pinched as she looked at Ted. "But... did Dad seem nervous to you?"

"Yeah, I think he was, but not about the flight if that's what you're thinking."

"What was he nervous about?"

"His colitis. He was concerned it might be a problem. He made some jokes about it yesterday, but I think he's worried it'll get in the way of them having their dream trip. He really wants Mom to have a perfect three weeks." Ted smiled. "I think the first phrase he learned in that Berlitz book was, 'Where's the toilet?'"

"I thought his med was taking care of it. He told me that at Easter." She had gotten so scared a year ago when she visited and saw her father had lost thirty pounds. Her first thought had beencancer. He hadn't gained all the weight back. He actually looked younger now. He and Mom had joined a health club last fall. She had slimmed down and toned up, although Mom had never been overweight. They both looked younger now.

"Yeah, it does for the most part, but I think he has days where it doesn't work very well." Ted grinned. "I can imagine worrying about it. I'd hate to be in the Sistine Chapel, gazing up at the ceiling and suddenly be a moment away from droppin' a load of personally bio processed veal parmesan and pasta alfredo in my pants."

Kyli's left arm moved swiftly. She lightly swatted her brother's thigh. "Don't becrass." Her arm returned to her chest. "He'll be fine. You know, I..." She sighed.

"Huh?" He pulled his arm from around her shoulders and fished out the car keys from the pocket of his jeans.

"Mom and Dad really love each other, but... but it's not just that, it's... they... they're stillinlove. I think that's very rare, very... beautiful."

Ted figured she was comparing their marriage to her own failed one. It was only five months or so since the divorce was final. "You're right. They still arein loveand itisreally rare." He wondered if he'd ever find that kind of relationship with any chick. He used the remote to unlock his parents' sedan. Beep! For the hell of it, he opened the passenger door for Kyli.

"Thanks." She didn't notice Ted gazing at her legs as she got into the car.

He closed the door and walked around the rear. Kyli pushed the door open for him. He got in and started the engine. They buckled their seat belts. He backed out of the parking slot and headed to the exit ramp. "Mind if we just roll the windows down and leave the AC off? It's warm out but hopefully we'll be moving fast on the tollway. There hasn't been much traffic for some reason." He didn't think she'd object. She liked it warm and he liked the air blowing in.

"No, that's fine." She looked out the door window as it rolled down, her thoughts were still on her parents, how much fun they'd have spending three weeks in Italy. It had been their dream since before Mom had gotten pregnant with Ted, which was why they hadn't done it thirty years ago. Her mother was 53, her dad was 55 and had just taken early retirement. Mom had told her they wanted to do the trip before they were too old to enjoy it.

The small smile now laced with a bit of sadness, returned to her lips. Mom and Dad didn't seem very old to her at all. Last night when she had walked into the family area of the house, Mom had been sitting on Dad's lap. They had been kissing and when she happened upon them, Mom had blushed the way she always had when they'd get caught kissing, but she had stayed on Dad's lap just as she had in the past too.

It had never been like that with Raymond during their time together before they were married nor during their two years of marriage. She had wanted it to be that way, had wanted her other needs met too, and had hoped they would be. She had been a fool. The first part Ray had thought was silly and unnecessary, the second part he had said was perverted when she had opened up a little to him. Why had she married him? Because he was Chinese American? Was that it?

She had met Ray her college senior year when she had gotten it into her head that she needed to 'find herself,' to be more in tune with her ethnic heritage. Mom and Dad had always tried to provide that, celebrating dumb Chinese holidays when she was young, making a dozen trips to the Art Institute and the Oriental Museum downtown, going to a handful of festivals in Chinatown, and other somewhat silly but well intentioned attempts to make her aware of her ethnicity. It had never been very important to her until senior year in college. Junior year she had been going out with Tom for nearly six months when they broke up just before summer. The ending had been acrimonious. They had quarreled, and he had called her a "slant eyed Chink bitch." It had hurt her to her core, and then she had gotten ashamed about how little she knew and how little she had cared about her ethnic and racial background. It was after that she had started thinking of herself as a hyphenated American.

Senior year she had joined the Asian Student Union. That was how she met Ray. He was first generation American. He spoke Mandarin. His parents had emigrated from Taiwan. He was good looking and smart, and she had enjoyed visiting his parents. His mother had been so nice and fun, laughing with her at her pronunciation when she had tried to teach her Mandarin phrases and words. Raymond's father had been very nice too, more formal, yet he also had a sense of humor. Whenever they spoke Chinese to each other in front of her, one or the other would tell her what they had said, usually it was some funny comment or joke, about Raymond, or her, or themselves. Ray wasn't like them or his sister, Lian, who had also been nice, funny, and sweet. He was always so serious, and never impulsive. He always had to have everything planned out.

Ray's parents were a little like her own. Humor was part of both her parents' personalities, they were always laughing about something. They had tried to make Raymond feel welcome, and then feel he was part of the family. She knew without being told that they were disappointed that, although very polite, Ray didn't reciprocate their warmth. She could see now that his attitude towards them had been at least somewhat condescending.

A couple months before the wedding, Ted had taken her out to dinner, just them. She could see something was on his mind. When she had finally asked him what it was, he had responded with questions of his own--Are you sure you want to marry this guy? Are you sure he loves you?It now seemed as if Ted had seen something in Ray she had been oblivious to.

Since the final divorce papers were signed five months ago, she had been trying to remember if not truly understand, why exactly she had said yes to Raymond's marriage proposal. He had been interesting, and attentive to her before they were married, and he had even been somewhat romantic giving her flowers or little gifts at appropriate times. She wasn't even sure now why she had thought she loved him. Her eyes teared. It had been a mistake. Her eyes welled more. When she had finally opened up to him, Ray had called her a pervert. She reached for a tissue from the box on the console. She really didn't want to cry in front of Ted.

Ted sighed within. He imagined Kyli was comparing Mom and Dad to her marriage to that arrogant asshole Ray. He waited until she wiped her eyes and blew her nose, then he reached for her hand and held it firmly. She squeezed it but didn't turn her face to him. "You okay?"

She nodded but kept looking out the window. "Uh-huh. Sorry."

He wanted to tell her that Ray was a self-centered, carrot up his ass, down his nose looking, smug, asshole, fucking prick, but he didn't think that would help her mood. She gave his hand another squeeze, then pulled hers away. He glanced at her slender legs and pretty feet in the leather flip flops. He had a vision of licking from her toes all the way up to her pussy, then pushing his tongue between her labs. He had always thought they'd be thin and delicate, an exotic, erotic flower, just like the rest of her. He felt his cock stir again. He hated himself once more for his lack of control over it.

He put both his hands on the steering wheel. "So... tonight, what about dinner? I was thinking of us driving into the city, maybe hitting Pietro's Pizza for stuffed, or... maybe that Thai place by the el station on Western. Wha'd'ya feel like?"

The corner of Kyli's mouth curled. Ted was teaching at the university downstate and whenever he was in the Chicago area he'd drive all over creation for different ethnic foods, or his true gastronomic craving, Chicago hot dogs with a 'full garden' on top. She liked them too, but not every day. She laughed softly and finally turned her face to him. "I'm surprised you aren't suggesting hot dogs."

Ted grinned. "Well... that'salwayson the list of possibilities. Ooooh... what about driving into the city, down to Taylor Street to Ally's for an Italian beef? Then drive up to Armitage to that Italian ice place I'm sure I've mentioned before." He had really enjoyed living in the city for two years. He wished he still was but he couldn't pass up the tenure track assistant professorship when it was offered. It was the ultimate 'survival job.'

"Do we have to decide right now?"

He looked at the dashboard clock. It was a few minutes before noon. "Nah, we got a lot of time. Maybe I'll stop at Porti's, get a dog to tide me over. I should have had breakfast with you guys. You hungry?" He grinned again when Kyli laughed.

"You aresopredictable."

"You really think that? A few girlfriends have told me I was fairly spontaneous."

Her smile faded. She looked out the window. She knew what he probably meant and she thought he probably was. "I didn't say predictable ineverything, just food."

"Hmmm... I'll take that as a compliment."

Kyli realized she was clenching her pussy. She told herself to relax, and then told herself to stop thinking about being adopted and that Ted wasn't related to her by blood. She wondered why she was thinking about that again. It had been years.

Ted inhaled deeply. "Mmmm... I love this part of the expressway."

Kyli was still deep in thought. "Huh?"

He dramatically inhaled again. "Before home, let's stop at the grocery store and get a few Butterfingers and Baby Ruths."

Kyli looked to her right and smiled. They were driving past the Curtis Candy factory. The scent of sugary chocolate was thick in the air. She giggled. "Okay, let's. After you have yourhot dog."

He glanced at the dashboard again. "I think I better get two dogs. Dinner won't be for another six hours."

Kyli rolled her eyes, then shook her head slowly as she softly laughed.

***

SATURDAY NIGHT

Kyli squirmed her hips getting a little more comfy on the cushion of the redwood chaise. She felt relaxed for the first time in months. They had driven into the city to have dinner at a small storefront Thai restaurant Ted knew. The food had been excellent. Playing CDs and relaxing in the afternoon, then the drive into the city, dinner, then a delicious Italian ice at a little place on Armitage, the drive back home -- it was just like it had always been when they spent an evening together. They talked about a hundred different subjects, from very personal to politics, art, music, to teasing and kidding around.

If it had been a date, it would have the best one of her life. They had arguments and fights as kids and as teenagers, but she knew that he had always been her best friend when she really needed one. She had been the same towards him. They truly cared about each other. They always had. She took a slow breath and sighed.

They only had the underwater pool light on. It gave an eerie blue, tinted glow to the stone patio. It seemed to cool the humid, warm air. She tilted her head back. She could only make out the brightest stars. She wished they hadn't turned on the light. She heard the sliding patio door opening. She leaned to the side and looked back at the house. Ted had two glasses in his hands and was closing the door with his elbow. "Ted? Turn the pool light off, okay?"

"Don't you want some light out here?"

"I want to look at the stars."

"Oh... yeah, good idea." He stepped inside again and switched off the pool light.

Kyli turned around and gazed skyward again. She knew with the naked eye only a million or so stars were visible, but now without the light it seemed more like agazillionstars. She smiled at her thought. She had used that word when she was little.

Ted handed her the seven-seven, actually it was a seven and bourbon. His was bourbon on the rocks. He had been surprised earlier when Ky had wanted a mixed drink, her usual was a single glass of wine. He sat down in the chaise next to hers and took a sip from his glass. He hadn't had bourbon in a while. Maybe they'd both get wasted on whiskey tonight. He had never seen Kyli drunk. He looked up at the sky. Venus was shining brightly. Or was it Jupiter? Ky would know.

Kyli sipped her drink. It tasted strong but she hadn't had a seven-seven in ages. She looked at the stars again. She spoke softly, "Remember 'a gazillion?'"

"Huh? A gazillion what?"

Her small smile grew a bit more. "A gazillionanything. When I was little I heard you say it once, and then... well, I started using it. I guess it wasn't..."

He interrupted with a chuckle. "That's right. It was your favorite word for about a year."

"I think it was longer than a year and then... then you told..."

He interrupted again, "I told you it wasn't a real word."

"Uh-huh. I... I got somadat you when you told me that. I remember looking it up in the dictionary with Mom and you were right, then I got madder at you thinking you had tricked me into believing it was a word, and I felt sodumb."

"I didn'ttrick youinto believing it was a real word." He chuckled again.

"I know you didn't. I... I don't know why I thought that. I overheard you using it a couple times, and thought it was... oh... that you wererealsmart, and it was a, you know, a smart,intelligentword, so I started using it too."

"I don't remember ever saying that word."

"I guess... maybe you only used it like... maybe twice. At least twice because the second time I asked what it meant and you said it meant ahuge number. Something like that. I thought you weresosmart."

He laughed. "Yeah, maybe it was something like that. I guess that shows you howdumbyou were, thinkingIwas smart."

Her smile faded. She took another sip from her glass. "You were and are smart. You know you are."

"I think you got the brains in the fam, Ky. I'm just a glorified blue collar guy." He took a gulp of his bourbon. "I work with my hands making art that'll never sell well enough to make any sort of a living from, so I have a survival job teaching drawing and painting to college kids who don't comprehend the work ethic. You can do calculus, physics, and all that brainiac stuff."

"I teach eighth graders math, Ted."

"I always thought you should have finished grad school and gotten that doctorate in physics instead of..." He stopped talking.Shit!

"Instead of getting married?"

He sipped his drink. "Instead of dropping out of the program."

She sadly smiled. "Yeah, then I might be teachingphysicsin somehighschool."

"Maybe, or you might be working for NASA or at some research accelerator or some place like that. You know you're smart enough. I remember you talking about being an astronaut when you were... what? Ten or so?"

"Uh-huh, around that age." She sighed. "I like kids. I enjoy teaching." She sipped her drink. "Maybe it's being home again, or... or what's happened in my life recentlyandbeing home again, but the past week here, helping Mom get ready for the trip, I... I've been thinking a lot about... about when I was a girl, about us as kids."

"Yeah. I guess I do too when I visit."

"The other day I remembered a time when I was ten, Mom and Dad were going out for the evening and they told me you'd be the baby-sitter." She smiled and shook her head. "I was somadwhen Mom and Dad told me that, said you'd be 'baby-sitting'me. I mean, it wouldn't have gotten me angry if they had just said you werein chargewhile they were out at that party. I thought since I was ten, it wasn'tbaby-sitting."

Ted softly chuckled. "I was probably pissed too. I never got paid for baby-sitting you."

"Itwasn'tbaby-sitting." She took a breath. "And then... then you became my hero that night."

"Huh? Wha'd'ya mean?"

"Katie was over and we were... oh... I don't know, listening to music, maybe playing a game on that Mac I had, doingsomething, and I thought going out to get a slurpy was what we justhadto do. So, we went downstairs and I asked you to take us over to the 7-Eleven because it was near dark outside and Mom and Dad wouldn't let me walk there after dark, but I knew you could take us there. You... you were playing your Nintendo and didn't want to be bothered, but I..." She grinned. "I kept nagging you and then when that didn't work, I started begging you, sayingpleeeeeeze, Teddy, pleeeeeze take us.Remember?"

Ted blinked. It was coming back to him. "Oh man... that was the night..."

Kyli broke in, "Un-huh,thatnight. So youfinallyagreed to go with us. We were a block or so from Ogden Avenue walking on the sidewalk, you were ahead of us a few steps, Katie and I were talkingnonstopaboutsomething, and those two bigger high school kids came up on bicycles really quietly behind us, and that one guy bumped his front tire against the back of my foot on purpose and I fell down, then he... he called me a... a stupidgook."