Changes Ch. 01

Judging by the sounds coming from the kitchen, his mother was busy preparing away at the fabulous dinner which Jessica would love -- but not compliment on. For some reason his aunt never complimented her sister.

"So, you a virgin?"

The question made him shift suddenly enough to make the sun lounger almost fold up beneath him. "What?"

"Virgin." She repeated "Ever done a girl?" Her smile was mischievous enough -- she knew exactly what she'd done to him.

"I...no." he said.

"Aw. Too bad. Well, don't worry -- you will soon enough!"

The way she said that made his throat dry -- as if she would see to it personally. The last time his aunt had visited, he'd had trouble seeing beyond how annoying she was, how she pissed off his mom. This time, five years later, his thoughts went in entirely different directions.

Characteristics that had pissed him off now seemed part of a more typical 'bad-girl'-attitude that...appealed to him. The way every second word out of her mouth seemed laced with sexual innuendo made him wish she would talk more, rather than less.

Wasn't a bad idea to follow her out after all. Free peepshow. And screw those who would call it perverted. In most ways, the woman next to him was a stranger. He'd seen her perhaps...four or five times that he could remember.

"Watcha thinking about?"

He started, his eyes focusing on her. Drifting away like a moron. "Oh...just...what's for dinner, that's all. Pot roast."

"Ooh, I love your mom's potroast." She brimmed. "It's good en-"

"Jessica! What the....HELL! What are you doing?"

They turned as one on their chairs, his aunt slower than him in following suit.

To her grace, his aunt blushed -- a little. "What?" She demanded nonchalantly.

His mom's face was a thundercloud, her eyes...if looks could burn, Jessica would be a pile of ash.

"Jesus - cover yourself!" With a disgusted growl, his mother threw the upper part of her sister's two-piece in Jessica's face.

"You're such a prude. It's not like he's never seen tits before. Besides, I don't want to get friggin tan lines, okay? If I'm gonna live here, you'll have to get used to me!"

"I invited you here because you have nowhere else to you!" Aileen spat. "You follow my rules, do you understand? This is my house. Not yours! You won't lie about naked like some hooker! Especially not in front of my son!" She stabbed an accusing finger his way.

Jessica opened her mouth, saw his mother's expression and closed it again. She re-tied her bikini and glowered. For a moment his mother's fourteen years older age was apparent.

Aileen gave a firm, satisfied nod. "Food'll be done in a little while. Come inside in ten -- with clothes on." And she turned and left.

"Told you." Adam grinned, feeling oddly elated for having been caught ogling his aunt. Sure mom saw.

"Whatever." Jessica had crossed her arms, pushing her chest out. "Lee's waaaay too uptight and we both know it."

Dinner was heaven. His mother was a truly good cook -- for a time, she'd worked a stint at a restaurant, and his aunt tore into what was served -- even the vegetables -- as though she was eating her last meal. True to tradition, his mother served water with dinner, but Jessica bolted down the cellar and found one of the bottles of red wine -- which her mother snatched and refused to give back.

They spoke at length, and for most of the dinner, things between his mother and her sister seemed civil enough. They laughed of old happenings in the town, what her classmates were doing and about his mother's latest hobby -- gilding, of all things, which Jess made fun of.

"goin' upstairs." He announced and rose when dusk had long since passed and it was dark outside. They'd talked of his time in school as well as the work and hobbies he pursued at home.

"Mhm. Sweet dreams, If I don't see you until tomorrow, alright?" His mom squeezed his hand.

"Sure thing."

His aunt rolled her eyes. "You still kiss him goodnight too? Such a..." her voice faded as he walked upstairs and into his room.

Those two can talk for days. Well, at least until they start fighting.

He checked facebook for a while, watched some YouTube-clips and wrote a short bit of code for a piece of software hoe was working on. The clock on the computer showed 11.20 PM when he leaned back and frowned.

Something crash downstairs? He rose.

"...need to watch the hell out!" His mother's irritated voice came from the kitchen.

He slowly descended the stairs, frowning.

"Blablabla."

A peek inside and he saw his aunt sitting by the table. The wine bottle his mom had snatched earlier was opened, and judging by the amount of wine spilled on the floor from the broken bottle, someone had drunk most of it.

"Soooo fucking perfect, huh? Well... I've good qualities too!" Judging by her voice, that someone had been his aunt.

No surprise there. He grimaced and turned to head back upstairs.

"Of course you do. I know you do. You're just too busy doing stupid stuff for people to see them."

Mom complimenting Aunt Jessica? That's rare. He turned to stay, to keep listening to the conversation.

"Yeah? Stupid stuff? Like fucking what!"

"What've you been doing with the past eight years of your life, Jess?" Mom's voice was quiet -- he moved closer still.

"Seen the world, Lee. I've seen things and places you couldn't even imagine!"

"You rode around the world on some millionaire's yacht as one of his play-pretties." His mom corrected her.

"Play-pretties?" There was a mean sneer to his aunt's voice. "Can't you even say what you fucking mean?"

"Fine then. His whore. Happy? You whore." The quietness with which she said it shut Jessica up -- at least for a moment.

She cleared her throat "I've studied..." Her voice was thick.

"Half a term of art history." Mom finished for her. "Where will you go with that, Jess? What sort of savings do you have? Got a house, a place to stay? A lead on a job? Anything of gods-damned value?"

"So fucking perfect." His aunt's tipsy voice was dark. "You know I have no savings. I'm sure I could find a job if I wanted one though. Easy!"

"Oh? One that doesn't involve you letting men do shots off your goddamn tits and belly, maybe?" A pause. "Yeah, I saw the pictures -- I wish I hadn't, believe me. Christ. You're an embarrassment, Jess. Such an embarassment."

"I was drunk." Jess muttered.

"Yeah. Like always."

"And I have somewhere to stay." Another pause, then a quiet addition. "Here. Can't i?"

This time it was perhaps a minute before his mom answered, but when she did, her voice was markedly softer than before. Even a bit gentle. "Of course, Jess. You can stay here for as long as you want. As long as you need."

"Thanks." His aunt's voice was still thick.

"Just...don't give Adam any ideas, okay? And for gods sake, don't try to teach him anything about women - your kind of women. I want him to meet someone decent."

"Godamnit, he's a guy, Lee." Her voice was slurry with wine. "Even if you don't see it, he just needs to get his dick wet, alright? It'll do him good to mount some willing little thing from high school and get it done." She mimicked a cat's meow.

He could almost feel the tension in the other room, and though he couldn't see inside, he could easily imagine his mom's glare.

"Jessica. You don't talk like that about my son -- ever. Got it? Like he's some asshole or one of your shithead friends. You fucking, two-bit slut! You whore, coming into my house, - don't you fucking-"

"Whoa, whoa! Holy crap, Lee! I'm...sorry. I...I didn't mean it like that."

Adam blinked. Did mom just curse? What the hell?

"I want what's best for him too. You know that, right?"

Mom must have nodded. "I just don't want him to end up with someone like...well...you. No offense. Or..." A painful pause. "Tom. Fuck."

"Lee, Adam isn't your ex. Adam isn't his dad." Jess's voice was quiet, and remarkably sober, at least for the moment. Even kind. "He won't ever be."

"Well, I picked like crap, remember? Who's to say he won't?"

"Because you chased away the last girl he tried to nail. With a broom! Out of your house. Here. Like, for real." She deadpanned each statement, punctuating it firmly. Not until she was done did she giggle.

"Okay. Look. Just for the record, I didn't chase her out! Adam always exaggerates...I just...helped her with her jacket, you know."

"Mhm. Sure."

"It's just...god, you should've seen her, Jess. She looked like...she looked like..."

"Me? At age seventeen?" His aunt suggested.

"Well..." a pause. "Yeah. Kinda." A sigh. "Jess. Christ. I'm sorry I cussed at you. Really. You can stay here as long as you want, you know that, right? And if you want to...help Adam...well, find him someone good. Not someone like that. I could almost see her seven months later, pregnant and living here. Christ."

"I'll do my best." A laugh, a soft one. "But honestly, it might be too late. You ruined him already. He didn't even glance at me twice outside. He might be doomed to a life with some four-eyed librarian named Rita-- or something - who spends her Friday nights crocheting...well, you know. Stuff like that." Jess sounded amused, and more than tipsy and gave an unsteady giggle.

He blushed where he stood. Is that what she thinks of me? Christ. He felt ashamed, and odd for feeling ashamed in the first place. What, she wants me to fucking ogle her? Grab at her? She's my aunt, for fucks sake!

"If she's nice and decent, I wouldn't mind." His mom muttered.

"Well, maybe-" Jess voice faded as he went back upstairs.

He slammed the door to his room, perhaps a little harder than he should have. The din of voices downstairs quieted for a second or two before picking back up again. If anything, he felt pissed. His aunt talking about him like that as though he was doomed to a life of...well, she made it sound like failure! Not that he'd mind a librarian. One of the girls at school he had a particular liking for had glasses and spent a lot of time at the library, though she looked nothing like your typical librarian.

Bitch.

He fumed, glaring at his door as though he could see all the way downstairs. Going back to his computer, he resumed programming -- with headphones this time, while listening to one of his favorite rock compilations.