Snowed In Ch. 01

“That is correct. Go to the head of the class.”

“Kewl.”

They stood together by the window, looking at it.

“So obviously it got pretty damned cold last night,” Neal said. “Hope you remembered to check your antifreeze.”

“Oh yeah -- no prob.”

Neal nodded. Silly question, really. His son so worshipped that Charger, he would keep the engine warm with his naked ass if he had to.

A minute later, while Josh stood munching his Lucky Charms, Nessa came down. She was grinning from ear to ear, and raining happy told-you-so’s all over him. She was also wearing (he could not help but notice) only an oversized Donald Duck T shirt and some pale blue panties. When she hugged him there beside the window he tried hard not to notice the delicious warmth of her body against him, or the way her tits bounced around beneath her shirt.

One very strange moment came when Nessa was walking into the kitchen; Neal’s eyes were following the twitch-twitch of her blue-pantied cheeks when they met Josh’s. The boy’s eyebrows were raised in a familiar, “between men” signal.Nice, huh? they seemed to say.

Ten minutes later, sipping coffee with her, he was trying seriously to convince himself that he wasn’t lusting after his daughter, that he was only hard up for Melanie, that he wasn’t becoming a genuine pervert, when Sherry finally came down. Of course, she would find something negative to say.

“Oh crap.”

“What?”

“Well, I’ve got stuff to do today, stuff to buy, stuff to cook.” She had immediately moved to the sink for some water, and was now taking a pill which, Neal noted, looked like a Valium. “And how am I gonna do it, I don’t want to drive in this!”

“I’ll take you, Ma,” Josh offered.

“Oh . . . no, sweetie. You don’t need to do that.”

“No, it’s okay. Really.”

“I think she means that you don’t drive safe even on warm days,” said Nessa, sniggering.

“Oh hell.”

“Sherry,” Neal interrupted, his voice sounding more annoyed than he had intended, “I’ll take you, it’s no big thing.”

She shot him a wry smile.

“Oh, will you? Well, aren’t I lucky -- my hero.”

“Okay, then I won’t.”

“If you want anything to eat tomorrow, you will --”

“You know what? I would gladly eat . . . turtle shit if it would stop your crappy attitude.”

The kids laughed. She didn’t.

“Come on, I said I’d take you. It’s not far, we’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Nessa added, giggling, “you guys go. I don’t wanna eat turtle shit for Christmas.”

Neal busted out laughing too, ignoring Sherry’s petulant expression. He realized, of course, that it wasn’t just her unceasing negativity that had annoyed him. It was her smell.

The kids probably (hopefully!) hadn’t noticed, but he caught it. He knew that scent, had known it ever since their honeymoon: the musky scent of her freshly fucked pussy. She was so ripe he could smell her across the room.

Kee-rist, he thought, has she been diddling herself?

With what, a truck?

Minutes after their parents had stormed out of the house together, Vanessa appeared in the doorway.

“Hey,” she said, “get your clothes on, fast.”

“Get ‘em on or get ‘em off?” he said, grinning his cocky smile.

“Go on, dumbass!”

“What the hell for?”

“You’re taking me to the store -- I got Christmas shopping to do!”

***

The grocery store was ten miles away. In half that distance Sherry had spotted four cars in the ditch. Even at the crawling pace Neal had adopted, their own car tried to fishtail on the slick pavement. When he braked in front of the post office, the car kept on going for a good ten feet.

“Jesus, Neal!” she muttered. “Be careful!”

“I’m being careful, Sherry! I don’t have any chains, you know.”

“So what the hell are we doing out, then, if we’ve gotta have chains?”

“I told you, this is barely anything -- nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, tell that to those people in the ditch. Why do we keep sliding? I thought you knew how to do this.”

“Aw, for God’s sake! We’re doing fine, shut up about it!”

They continued in angry silence for half a mile.

“Were you doing yourself last night?” Neal asked suddenly.

Sherry blushed, then smiled confidently.

“Were you?” she replied.

Neal glanced at her, his face registering guilty surprise, just before they careened off the road.

***

Josh and Vanessa finally mounted the back steps, sighing wearily, puffing out frost. It had started snowing again, very softly. And they had only walked a mile or so. But they were Florida kids, so a mile’s trudge in light snow made them feel like arctic explorers. Jasper met them at the door, sniffling the snowflakes on their clothes suspiciously.

“Oh my god,” Vanessa panted as she plunked down her shopping bag. “That was seriously fucked up.”

“Sorry,” said Josh. “I’m not gonna drive it if it’s overheating.”

“Yeah, Josh, I know you love your fucking car but I am fucking pregnant, you know!”

“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t what’s wrong with it. I carried the heavy stuff.”

“I know you did. Okay . . . they’ll be home soon -- help me get this crap up to my room so we can wrap it.”

“I don’t know how to wrap shit.”

“Well, you’re gonna learn.”

“You think it’ll be okay there?” he asked her, as she curled the ends of a red ribbon. “The car, I mean. Maybe I should get it towed.”

“Josh, your precious car is fine. It’s only a mile away and it’s off the road and locked. When this shit outside melts you and Dad can start it up and drive it home.”

“I’m not driving it if it’s over --”

“Yes, yes, I know -- then you can push it home, okay?”

“’Kay.” He reached across the bed for a small plain bag, one he didn’t remember from their shopping. “What’s in this one?”

“No, not that!” Vanessa said sharply, snatching it away from him just as he touched it. “I’ll wrap that myself.”

“Uh oh, what is it?” he leered, making a grab at it. “It’s for me, ain’t it?”

“No, it isn’t. It’s for Mom and you can’t see it.”

“What -- you get her some tampons or something?”

His sister laughed, shook her head pityingly.

“Oh, you are such a dipshit.”

Josh let her have the bag, returned to making a mess out of wrapping the cologne for their dad. It was kind of cool, being in his sister’s old room again. All of her girly things lying about -- bras on the floor, pantyhose hanging from the doorknob, her discarded Denny’s uniform draped over a chair. It was almost like she’d never left.One thing that was weird about her now: the way she had suddenly taken to wearing next to nothing around the house. His sister had always dressed a little slutty, but ever since she got knocked up, it was like she just didn’t care anymore -- she let it all hang out. Maybe she got used to hanging around Goofy Brad’s trailer in the nude or something; now that she was home again she just couldn’t seem to keep her clothes on.

He wasn’t complaining.

He hurried to tape the package shut and moved around behind her, surveying her. She had shed all her layers of clothes by now, and was wearing only a big tee shirt, some Florida Gator butt shorts and little white socks. He cupped both of her ass cheeks tightly, unable to resist touching her. She swatted at his hand once, half-heartedly. He couldn’t feel any panties beneath the satiny shorts, and wondered if --

“Speaking of dipshits, dipshit,” she said, breaking his thoughts. “Have you called Jeanie yet?”

The question caught him off guard.

“When?”

“Last night, this morning. Who cares, have you called her?”

“Why?” he demanded.

“To invite her over for Christmas or something.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because. Why do you want me to call her?”

“Josh,” Vanessa said impatiently, “you need to hang onto her. She’s a good girlfriend for you. For one thing she’s more mature than you.”

He grunted noncommittally. Quickly, experimentally, he ran one hand up inside the leg of her shorts along her crotch. Warm, furry slit, as he expected. God, what a teasing little slut she was.

“Why did you break up with her?” she asked.

“I didn’t,” he said distractedly, feeling himself growing hard as his fingertips touched her treasure. “She broke up with me.”

“Oh crap.” She stopped wrapping and stood up to face him. “What’d you do?”

“Ah shit, Vanessa! What’s it to you anyway, why are you pestering me about this?”

“Because. What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“You did something. Are you going to tell me?”

“No,” he said, then added, “Not right now.”

She pouted and sighed, turned back to the rustling of paper. He immediately resumed playing with her ass and crotch.

“Josh, you’re supposed to be helping me wrap packages.”

He chuckled.

“And don’t say you’ve got a package for me to unwrap. I’m not in the mood.”

“You’re always in the mood, Ness,” he said, stepping up behind her. He pressed his hardness up against her ass insistently, and reached around to grope her tits through her shirt. “That’s why I love you.”

For a moment she straightened to give him a better feel, let her head fall back against his shoulder. He kissed that oh so sweet spot behind her ear, along her neck. She even wiggled her ass a little against him.

“You need to call her,” she said softly. “Today. She’s a good girlfriend for you.”

“I don’t want a good girlfriend, I want you,” he growled into her ear. He could see the hairs on the back of her neck stiffen. “I’m so glad you’re home again.”

“Yeah, but I won’t be for long.” She pulled the hem of her shirt away from her belly, let him slide his hands up inside.

“Why did you have to hook up with that guy anyway?”

“Josh, you know why. Now come on -- stop it and help me wrap some more.”

But her hands were closed over his own, making him fondle her huge, warm tits.

“Huh uh,” he said, pulling and stroking the stalky nipples. “I’m not stopping.”

For a few minutes she rolled her head against his shoulder sensually, little sounds of pleasure welling up from deep inside her. He remained pressed against her, hard and happy, massaging her breasts.

“Oh fuck,” she said at last, in fidgety resignation. With one swift yank she bared her ass and dropped the shorts to the floor. Before he knew it she had stepped away from him, across the room to the frosty window. She hoisted herself onto the top of her dresser with a grunt, swiveled around and spread her legs; in no time he was looking at her slim little pussy.

“C’mere and lick me,” she ordered peremptorily. “I’ll keep watch.”

Minutes later, when his lips and chin were covered with her juice, and his jaw was aching, she slapped him on the head.

“Oh shit,” she said, staring fixedly out the window. “Go clean up -- hurry.”

“Why?”

“It’s Mom and Dad. In a taxi.”

***

She took the empty plate from her father and kissed the top of his head before taking it to the kitchen. His head was hot -- he was obviously still very angry. She clucked to herself and resolved to make the best of it. She was going to calm them down and make them be nice to each other if it fucking killed her.

They had a hard time understanding her, her parents. Hell, they had a hard time understanding anything these days, especially each other. It didn’t take much to throw them for a loop -- die your hair orange one time, get a tattoo, listen to Manson. They started thinking you were an alien, started treating you like a headcase, tiptoeing around you. But she wasn’t so strange; she just didn’t have any prejudices. Not against race, creed, or sexual orientation, certainly -- but also, not against making things work. Learning to live with things, improving, moving on.

She knew, for example, that they were both dead set on fucking up their whole relationship. Because her dad had found him a piece on the side, they were both going to let everything go to hell. Vanessa had decided, weeks before, that she wasn’t about to let that happen. Not if she could help them find what they needed, could nudge them in each other’s direction again.

It wasn’t that she didn’t take their anger or their pain seriously. No, their anger was genuine enough, especially tonight. Apparently they’d lost her father’s car in the ditch, which left only her mother’s mysteriously ailing Volkswagen in the drive. So they were now officially stranded, forced to coexist within the same walls, and hating every minute of it. It was absurd; they’d been coexisting for years, and happily too. For all their adult problems, she thought, they were behaving like children.

Now her dad was sulking in front of the television. Her mom was slinging things about in the kitchen, cursing a blue streak. If they could only see themselves . . .

Vanessa hurriedly washed up the plate, edged close enough to her mother to kiss her, and then hastily retreated to her room. The packages she had wrapped -- and the two her brother had sort of wrapped -- were arrayed on the bed, waiting for the dead of night. She inspected each one carefully, insuring that it was labeled and that the paper was tight and smooth.

So her dad wanted some excitement, some variety. That surely wasn’t so hard to understand -- he was just a man, after all. He apparently was determined to rob the cradle too, if that girl was as young as Mom said. Well, there had to be some way to satisfy him, even if she couldn’t think of one at the moment. She thought they might become swingers, but rather doubted her mom would go along with that one.

As for her mom -- Vanessa knewexactly what she needed, at least for the present. The noises that came drifting through the wall the night before told her the whole story. At first she’d hoped for the best -- that her dad had snuck up to give her one in the night. But their nastiness to each other that morning had convinced her she was wrong. The only alternative, though it was a surprising one at first, was that Mom had been taking care of business, all by herself.

Good for her, she thought. More power to her busy little fingers. If that was helping her out, Vanessa wanted to help her help herself out. And so she would give her this little present tonight . . .

Vanessa shook the box thoughtfully and smiled. What they failed to understand, her parents, and what she had already learned from life, was that sex solved almost everything. Take care of yourself sexually, and there really wasn’t much else you had to take care of. Good sex gave you the confidence and the bearing to handle just about anything else. And especially in their situation, so obviously a sexual crisis . . . well, anyway. She would do her best for them, whatever it took. They would split up only over her dead body. Until she saw them before a judge, with her own eyes, she refused to believe it would happen. They would find a way, even if she had to find it for them.

Firmly resolved, she lay back on the bed, sighing. Now if she could only straighten out her little brother. She smirked, remembering that afternoon. Actually, “straightening him out” was never a problem for her.

***

After a bitter lunch and a worse supper, after cleaning in the kitchen and prepping the turkey for the next day, after either fighting with or ignoring her husband for most of the long, dreary day, Sherry was finally at her wit’s end, and decided that all her intentions of sharing a relaxing family Christmas had been flights of lunacy. She gave it all up, consigned it to the winds, washed her hands of it. She’d cook tomorrow but that was it. Neal could go fuck himself.

To top things off -- just a little twist of the knife from God -- the cable had gone out just an hour earlier, apparently due to the snow. How that could happen, she didn’t know -- she was born in Florida, yes, but she certainly didn’t see how cold shit falling from the sky could knock out the cable. Oh well, said God, it can. So her cherished plan for her evening’s release (there was no fucking way Neal was coming to bed with her tonight!) now had a major kink in it. She had hoped to catch some more porn tonight and get herself off again. She had enjoyed herself the night before, and had doubly enjoyed Neal’s aggravated questioning about it. Hilarious. He had an affair for months, but he was jealous of her intimacy with a remote control.

Disgusted with the whole damned day, and highly dubious that the morrow would bring them any “peace on earth,” Sherry took a Valium, turned off the lights on her pathetic little tree and headed for the stairs. On the landing she met Vanessa, coming out of her room with a wrapped box in her hand.

“Hey!” she chirped. “What’s wrong -- where you going?”

Sherry stopped and shook her head wearily.

“To bed. I . . . I don’t feel very good --”

The sob in her voice started her off; she fell into her daughter’s arms and let herself be held, crying against her shoulder. Her daughter -- now an unfamiliar set of protrusions against her body, all tits and tummy -- held her tightly.

“What happened?” she asked, the warmth in her tone surprising Sherry.

“It’s all so fucking disastrous, so stupid and hurtful . . . I can’t stand it anymore! I just want out.”

“I’m sorry, Mom . . . God, I’m so sorry. I should have come back down sooner.”

“Oh, it’s not you,” said Sherry, releasing her, a little ashamed of herself. “I’ll be okay -- I just need to sleep. And forget about it.”

Forget about it -- sure, she thought. And how do you propose to do that?

“Okay, well . . . I know we usually open one gift on Christmas Eve. So I . . . ”

“Oh baby, look -- I shot that in the foot this year. You’re sweet but . . . just save it till tomorrow, okay? I’m not really in the mood right now.”

“No, listen,” her daughter countered, pressing the package against her. “Just take it with you. Um, open it in your room, tonight. It’s just a little something from me to you.”

She smiled, that beautiful rosy smile, even prettier now that she was pregnant. Sherry nodded quietly and took the package. Her daughter kissed her cheek and started down the stairs.

“Open it now, okay?” she called back. “In your room.”

“Okay, baby.”

“I love you.”

Minutes later, Sherry stared in awe at what lay before her on her bed, there amid the colorful shredded wrapping. Next to the long gold necktie box that had contained it, and the box that read The Big Bear, and the little card that read TO MOM FROM NESSA -- SOMETHING EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.

It was a dildo, she thought.

More, it was a vibrating dildo.

More, it was a long pink gel vibrating dildo, with a realistic penis head, three speeds, and a handle shaped like a teddy bear.

Sherry had never been so embarrassed, nor so gratified, in her entire life.

***

That night Neal pulled the cushions off the couch and slept on the floor atop them -- a slight improvement. He jerked himself off while thinking about Melanie, but he had a long, intensely wicked dream about Vanessa. He awoke from it hard and throbbing.

If he could have, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have driven to Melanie’s apartment that very night, even if it meant leaving Sherry forever. Things were getting too difficult around here.

Josh fell asleep stroking his meat, waiting to hear Vanessa coming to bed. Instead he listened to his mother in the next room, getting off again. As he played with himself, he thought of Jeanie, her sister Wendy, his ex-ex-girlfriend Sarah, his mother, his sister, a girl behind the bakery counter at the Winn Dixie and Katie Couric. It was a mixed-up world.

Vanessa stayed downstairs forthree hours after giving her mom the gift, trying to let the poor old girl have a little privacy. When she did go to bed, she was surprised, but delighted, to hear Sherry still going at it next door. Everything finally fell quiet about twelve-thirty; she snuck downstairs to put her presents under the tree, and returned to bed with Jasper in tow by one o’clock. She then had such vicious sex with Laurence Fishburne that it shook the bed and made Jasper whine.