The Special Gifts

Howard was married to a fine woman, Janna, before the war. It was Janna who introduced a 16 years old Caroline to Jordan at a church social. Caroline was opposed to the war, feeling that it was better to make love, not war. But she found a kinship in the quiet

veteran. With her help, Jordan gladly accepted God as his savior. They were engaged two months after they met. They would wait to get married until Caroline had finished nursing school. They were married in the summer of 1971.

They bought a 5 bedroom two-story house in West Stockton. Jordan had saved all of his money to make a huge down payment on the house. They agreed to start a family

right away.

About a year ago, Janna asked Howard to leave. She so desperately wanted to have children, yet Howard didn't. After 16 years, they divorce. Janna got the house & half of their savings. Howard got his truck & only two years of alimony payments.

It was Jordan who offers a place to stay for his friend. Howard didn't want to impose on the young family. But Jordan convinced his friend that it would work out. He owed it to him. He also didn't want his best friend living in some cheap boarding house. Howard finally agreed to stop the pestering.

Howard lived in the guestroom on the first floor. It had it's own bathroom & private entrance. They seldom saw him except at Sunday dinners & Wednesday Bible studies in their living room. Jordan insisted that Caroline tidy up his room & do his laundry. Howard secretly gave her 50 dollars for her work. Jordan wouldn't approve, so Howard slipped the money into the cookie jar. Everything was fine.

* * * * *

Caroline was so tired. Jordan had called her to let her know that his truck had blown a piston just as her reached Portland. The mechanic didn't think he could have it ready until the next day. He claimed he was sorry. But Caroline suspected that Jordan was having a night out on the town. She had heard a couple of rumors that placed both Jordan & Howard went to strip bars in Portland. She had seen the credit card bills from a strip bar in Portland. Yet she didn't say anything. It was things that men did. He needed to vent off some stream & after her inability to satisfy him this morning, she really didn't blame him. She brushed away those thoughts. They would only upset her. She was too tired to stay awake.Caroline's body ached from all of the day's hard work. She decided to take a hot bath to ease her tired muscles. It seemed to work, as she almost had to drag herself to her bed.

When she pulled back the sheets, Caroline was surprised to find the box resting

there. Apparently, the boys didn't take much time trying to find a hiding place for their game. She was too tired to even care. She lifted the present & set it beside the bed. It opened slightly. This caught her eye. She felt an overwhelming urge to simply touch the smooth fabric of the garment. But decided that that might not be a wise idea. She stepped away & put on her flannel nightgown. She hopped into bed, pulling the covers up to her neck. She reached over & switched off the light.

But sleep didn't come to her. Her mind kept thinking about Jordan going to a strip

bar. Having one of those girls shaking their stuff at him. She knew Jordan was easily

arouse & quick on the draw when it came to that thing in his pants. She wondered if he had ever been with another woman. It would explain why at times he would want to do different

things in bed. This thought troubled her.

Then Caroline thought that she heard someone call her name. She bolted up, thinking that it was one of the boys. But she didn't hear it again. Her hand rests upon something smooth & silky. She immediately recognized the warm & tingly sensation that ran up her arm. It was that wonderful garment. She smiled as that pleasurable feeling went right to her most inmate parts. She stroked the fabric for several second, enjoying herself deeply.

Then in a flurry of motion, Caroline jumped out of bed. She removed her night- clothes & eagerly slipped into the lingerie. She couldn't wait for the wondrous way this glorious garment felt on her. She let of a sigh of pleasure as she the waves of heat that flowed all through her. She let her desires take over her better judgement as her hand slipped into the waistband of her panties, stroking the delicate flesh there.

Carol let out moans of pleasure. If men can do these things to relax & pleasure themselves, why not her? Electrical waves of pleasure rocked her. It felt so damn good, yet.

She hears a sound from downstairs. It was the TV set running. Howard must not be able to sleep again. He had such a hard time going to sleep, She remembers hearing him tell Jordan that he missed having someone to sleep next to him. Then a thought occurred to her. A naughty grin spread across her face. She knew what she needed to do as she left the room, heading downstairs.

Once again, the sensation of darkness fell upon. But it wasn't sleep that came over her. It was something more primal and powerful that would drive her.

* * * * *

When Caroline awoke the following morning, her body was convulsing & shaking violently. For a second, she was afraid that something was seriously wrong with her, but her mind told her to enjoy it. This was pleasure. She held on her pillow & rode out the waves of unfamiliar, yet pleasurable assault on her body. After a few minutes, her seizure subsided. She was both scared & gratified. It felt as if every nerve in her body had come alive, all at once, by some mysterious force. It left her breathless, yet incredible glad that it did happened.

Caroline thought about what she was dreaming of before she woke up. It came to as a vague image. It was a romantic encounter between two people. They were intertwined in a heated passionate embrace, seeming unable to get enough of the others touch & body. They moaned loudly in pleasure as they made fast & enthusiastic love to each other. Caroline felt a mounting tension building in her as the scene unfolded in her mind. She pressed on with the dream; her body trembled with increasing pressure to the point that she was sure that she would explode. As the final scene played out, her body was rocked by another seizure. This time it was even more pleasurable that the last one. She had to bury her face in the pillow to silence those screams that escape her.

She had a problem. She realized that the woman in the dream was she, yet the man wasn't Jordan, it was Howard. Her pleasure faded to disgust & shock at her self for having some dirty & immoral thoughts about Howard. She berated herself doing such a horrible thing. Yet she wondered why she had such a vivid dream?

Caroline stretched out. A sharp pain was in the small of her back. She reached under & pulled out the garter belt. How did that get there? The faint memory that she had slipped on the lingerie before she had fallen asleep. She shrugged as if it was that.

She heard movement downstairs. This meant that Howard was up & from the sound of it, making breakfast. That was her job. Didn't he sneak her money into the cookie jar for that? She didn't take any money didn't earn. She needed to get her lazy bottom out of bed & go to work.

When she did, a few things shocked Caroline. First off, she was completely nude. This was something that she never ever did. Not even after making love with Jordan, she always gotten into her nightgown. She noticed that the silk stockings were waddled up at the foot of the bed. The final item was a huge wet stain under where she had laid. Had she wet the bed in her sleep? She was a little child when she had last had such an accident. She sniffed at the area, it vaguely reminded her of something other than urine. Caroline suddenly felt very dirty; she shakily went to the shower to get clean. She scrubbed herself clean as quickly as she could. She had to get dressed & head downstairs to make breakfast.

When she got downstairs, the coffee was already brewed; the boys were happily eating oatmeal & Howard was making scrambled eggs & bacon. He was humming & smiling unlike anytime that she had seen since he had moved into her home. He was usually very glum & quiet.

Caroline's mouth fell open when she glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 8:00. She had overslept by nearly an hour & a half. This was so unlike her.

"You should have awaken me." She yawned deeply, " I would have made you and the boys some breakfast."

"It's alright. I don't mind." Howard's soft voice reminded her of her junior high school librarian, Mr. Whitehead, "I figured that you needed the rest."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Caroline walked over to him & poured a cup of coffee for her self.

"Well," he leaned over close to her & whispered, "Especially after what happened last night. I figured that you were wiped out. I know I am."

"What," A heavy weight dropped into the pit of her stomach, "do you mean by that?"

"Hmmm, I don't think that it would be wise to talk of it right now." He nodded toward the boys. He handed her a streaming plate of food. " Go on & eat. We'll talk about it some more later, maybe even have a repeat performance, that's is if you are up to it?"

Caroline was dumbfounded. Once again, something strange happened to her that she didn't remember a thing about. She took her plate to the table & picked at the food. Her mind kept trying to figure out what the world was going on to her. Had she suddenly develop a sleep disorder that made her do things while she slept? Was she going mentally unstable? She didn't know. First, Jordan claimed that she had become some sort of lovemaking machine, but she couldn't recall any of it. Now, Howard hinted that she had another such occurrence again last night. Had she gone insane? Did some demonic force possess her? She didn't know. But she was going to find out.

Thankfully, the neighbors, Fran & Oliver Sanders were planning to take the boys with them to the zoo in San Francisco. They would make a day of it, sending the night at a nice hotel. They won't be back until later tomorrow. Enough time to deal this whole thing out. She would have to be patience until she could talk to Howard about what did happen. She agreed that the boys wouldn't understand this whole thing. She wasn't sure if she did herself.

Caroline didn't touch her food. She felt antsy. She got up to do something. She got the boys things ready for their trip. Doing this kept her mind busy. She was afraid if she didn't would scream. She kept chanting the phrase; "A busy mind is a happy mind." But she was like a caged animal. She cleaned up the dishes & got the boys dressed. Yet she got done by 8:30 & the Sanders weren't going to pick up the boys by 8:45. Time dragged. She kept looking out the window every few seconds, hoping that the Sanders' station wagon would pull up in their driveway.

When they did, Caroline hurried the boys off. Gave kisses & hugs, getting promises of them to be good for the Sanders. She waved to them as they drove away. Now She would go inside & the answers she needed about what had happened last night.

When She reentered the house, Caroline saw Howard putting money in the cookie

jar. Just as he usually did, except it seemed to be a larger wad. He turned to her & smiled broadly.

"I'm putting in a little extra in for last night. Just like you told me."

"Just what did happened last night?' Caroline crossed her arms over her chest

"You don't mean…" he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "you forgot? No. That isn't likely. Not the way we went at it. I can't believe that."

"Let's say that I don't know?" Using anger to control the building terror inside of her. "So just tell me."

"Well, I guess if you want to hear it. I certainly won't mind telling you. " He licked his lips eagerly, "But you want to sit down, it will knock off your feet. It did me. Just promise not to stop me until the end."

Caroline nodded & did as he asked. She had the sneaky feeling that this was going to shock her. Shock her to the very core of her soul.

* * * * *

"Well it was about 1 a.m., I was watching TV. I couldn't sleep. Then you came down. I tell you I was sorry that I woke you. She told me that this wasn't the first time that you couldn't sleep. You had something on your mind you wanted to tell me. I asked what it was. You sat down on the arm of the sofa. I noticed that you were wearing robe & high heels. I thought that it looked strange. I had never seen you wearing heels before. I thought it was usually, so I asked if you were all right. You told me that you were fine, damn fine", Caroline tried to interrupt him, but he waved her off with a hand, "please don't interrupt, I asked you not to. You told me that you had a great way knocking me out."

"You started to dance, very suggestively, in front of me. Flashing opens your robe, showing me that you had on some sexy lingerie. I tried to protest, but you kept on dancing, leaning down to show me your boobs –ah- breasts. You dropped the robe started to pull up the sides of your panties, revealing your butt to me." She shook her head negatively, "yeah I knew that this wasn't you, but I have to tell you the truth, you were turning me on. I couldn't stop watching you."

"I decided to stop you. But you pushed back to the sofa & then sat my lap. You started to rub against my lap while you kissed my neck & unbuttoned my pajama top. It was driving me wild."

"I haven't felt this feeling in a long time. Janna wasn't willing to try anything new in the sexual area. She only did it a couple of ways. Near the end, it had become so mechanical & so very boring."

"Oh, really?" Caroline felt she was about to cry, not for him, but a seed of memory had been awaken in her. She vaguely remembered going downstairs. Yet she didn't want to tell him this, "It must have been so difficult for you?"

"It was." He tried to reach out & take hold of her hand, but she pulled it away savagely, " I've always thought of you as a sweet girl. Never as a sexy woman as you was acting then. You attacked me with such wild abandonment. Never in my life had I ever had such an intensely pleasurable night with a woman before. When I thought I was spent, you brought back my old gun back for some more. We made love many times last night & this morning."

"NNNOOOOO! You're lying to me. You seduced me somehow."

"No, I didn't. You were the one who started at me."

"NOOOOO!" Caroline shouted as she stood up, knocking the chair to the ground, " You gave me something. I don't know what to act this immoral way. Did I drink anything?"

"You took a couple of sips from my beer."

"That's it! Demon alcohol", she tried to rations this mess, " It was that to make me do such a thing."

"No, You started it by dancing, sitting on my lap & riding me until I came. I was so shocked by what you did. I didn't resist when you led me by my penis into my room where we kept doing it over & over again."

"No! You took advantage of me after you drugged me with alcohol."

"Not true. You were the one who stripped me of my clothes & made love to me. You seemed to be wild & uninhibited. It was so mysterious."

"Mysterious?" This piques her curiosity, " How so?"

"Well, While me were doing it, I was completely nude, but you insisted that you had to keep on some article of clothing on. We settled on the garter belt & stockings."

A chill ran down her spine as she remembered waking up nude with the garter belt under her hips & the stockings at her feet.

"We kept at it until about 5:00. You got up to leave, you told me if I had enjoyed myself; I was to leave some money in the cookie jar. You told me if it was enough we could have a repeat performance later. You told me that you were going upstairs & left, walking in a very sexy manner. "

"I laid there for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts. I was so confused by your sudden turn around. I needed to know. So I got into my pajama bottoms & went upstairs to talk to you."

"When I got there I could heard you moaning. I thought that maybe Jordan had gotten home. The door was open a bit, so I peeked in to see you –ah- playing with yourself. You suddenly jumped off the bed & opened the door. You pulled me into the room & told me you need more of me. You screwed me twice more before you collapsed & I sneaked away. I took a quick shower, ready to head back to you but I hear the boys waking up. So I took care of them for you."

Caroline thought about what Howard had told her. His story had explained a great

deal of things, especially the wet spot on her bed. No, she decided that it must have been that she made water while she slept. But what about those strange & wonderful sensations & the vivid dream that causes them?

A sudden anger washed over her. She refused to believe the story that Howard had told him.

"NO! You are a liar!" She shouted at him, "I would never do such vile things with you. I'm a God fearing Christian. I would never behave in such a sinful and immoral manner and then ask you to pay me like a filthy whore." Her hands shot out and slap Howard's face, "you made up this story after getting me drunk and you raped me."

"Raped you?" he rubbed his cheek, If it was rape, it was you who was the aggressor. You were the one who raped me."

"I don't believe you!" She placed her hands over her ears, "I refuse to believe a word that you say."

"But it happened"

"No, it can't be! It is all a horrible nightmare sent by Satan!" She spoke in a hurry as a panic overtook her, "That would explain it. Yes! A nightmare sent by Satan."

"It wasn't a nightmare or a dream." Howard grabbed his jacket, heading toward the door, "It was all real, Caroline. The sad part is that you known deep down that what I'm saying is true."

With that, Howard left the house, slamming the door as he left. All Caroline could do was cry. She did know that what Howard had said was true. Yet this would mean that she had committed adultery with her husband's best friend. She threw herself to her knees and began praying to God to forgive her for the sin that she had unknowingly committed. But she soon fell asleep.

* * * * *

Caroline had slept for nearly an hour. She awoke sore and still. It wasn't a good idea to sleep on the hard surface of the floor. She accepted her discomfort as a partial payment for the sins that she had done. God would deal the rest of her punishment on Judgment Day. She limped as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. She would have to suffer the stiffness in her joints while she completed her household chores. The nagging

Pain would remain her that she had allowed Satan to guide her.

The final room that Caroline had to clean was Howard's. She resisted from going into there for fear that she might find something that would remind her of her activities last night. But she knew that God was protecting her with His Love. Nothing could harm her.

As she entered, Caroline wasn't assaulted by any of those memories of the encounter. It seemed to be just another day of cleaning. She tidied up his things. She decided to gather up his dirty clothes to laundry them. As she picked up his discarded garments, a faint glimmer of something caught her eye. She turned her head toward the direction and nearly fainted when she saw what it was. It was the red satin panties.

Her hand shook as she reaches down to pick to pick up the article of clothing. She touches the fabric, all the vivid memories of last night returned to her. She brought the garment up to her nose, smelling the mixture of her and Howard's scents. She felt a strange feeling overcome her, a mixture of desire and anguish.

A thought occurred to her. If she did have sex with Howard, the bed sheet would be soiled in a certain way. Caroline slowly pulled back the bedcover, discovering the awful truth. The bed sheet had numerous stains, proving the fact that Howard had been right.