Cugina et Cugino Ch. 07

I think I was more nervous about meeting up with your father and Joan than getting it on with Tom. I don't know what I would have done if I had found out that your father had problems, you know what I mean, or if he suddenly thought of me as a slut and couldn't trust anymore. Fortunately, when I saw his smile and felt him hug and kiss me, I knew all was well. That night when we got home, we were both so horny we went at it even though we had thought we were totally spent earlier in the evening. I think we both were turned on by the fact that we had been with somebody else, but that we still felt so connected to each other."

"So, what happened after that?" Maria asked. "Was that it or did you do it again?"

Mom laughed out loud. "Oh, my dear Maria, we were together almost every weekend for many months. At first, we did it in separate motel rooms again, but then we decided that we were comfortable enough with our relationship to share one room. Sometimes we had two separate beds in the room. A couple of times we had a king-sized bed, and we did it side by side in the same bed. I think seeing each other and hearing each other doing things with somebody else was a spectacular turn on for all of us. There were a few times I felt a little guilty, but not about having sex with somebody else. To be honest, I perhaps felt guilty for enjoying it so much. I had been brought up in a very traditional Catholic way, and this sort of thing was treated as a mortal sin. Yet, somehow, it didn't seem that way because we were all in agreement with our relationship. It wasn't like we were cheating on each other or anything like that. In a strange sort of way, it was almost as if we were all married to each other."

"You shouldn't have felt guilty Aunt Theresa," Maria said. "I mean some people recognize that such activity can be good for a marriage and not something that has to harm it. You understood that you weren't hurting each other or betraying each other. You had made decisions that were best for you and not just because of what the church or your parents tell you. I suppose I still don't understand why you think this impacts Gino and me, and what makes you think we're doing something crazy that's driven by this 'sangue caldo' you believe we have."

My mother got this very strange smile on her face and took Maria's hand.

"Sweetheart," she said. "I'm nowhere near done with my story. Stay tuned as they always say on TV.

The four of us continued as regular friends and sex partners for over a year. It became quite easy and natural for us. It became so natural that we didn't even think of it as anything out of the ordinary. We got very used to watching each other as we had all sorts of sex together. It became part of our lives. That's probably why I slipped up the way I did.

One day at a family birthday party for one of the nieces, I was out on the porch of our house sharing some wine with my sister, your mother. We probably both had a bit too much to drink, and she started telling me that she and Frank were going through those common 'sexual doldrums'. She asked me how Joe and I keep it interesting and passionate. I never was able to hold my tongue when I'm a bit drunk, so without even realizing it, I told her that Joe and I swapped regularly with another couple. No sooner had the words come out of my mouth when I realized what a stupid thing I had done."

"My God," Maria said with astonishment, "you told my super Catholic mom that you and Uncle Joe were swinging with another couple. You probably shocked the hell out of her."

"First off," my mom said quietly to Maria. "As I already told you, Uncle Joe and I as well as Tom and Joan never considered ourselves swingers. I think that now days they use the term 'polyamorous' to perhaps describe the sort of relationship we had. We were not out and about having indiscriminate sex with lots of people. We were good friends that trusted each other and cared for each other. We were dear friends that liked to experiment and enjoyed sharing our bodies in a non-monogamous way. I know that it probably sounds a bit high and mighty, but we thought of ourselves as somehow above what we would have considered sleazy swinging.

Secondly, there are some things you should know about my sister, your mother, that may surprise you. She wasn't always some church-going, candle-lighting, super Catholic all her life. In truth, I was the older 'good girl' that followed the rules. Your mother was a couple of years younger than me and was the wild child of the two of us. She had a lot more boyfriends than I did. I also know that more was going on with her and her boyfriends than I ever did. When she was in college, I knew that she had actually 'done the deed' with at least half a dozen guys she was dating before she met and married your father. Those were only the ones she told me about. I'm betting there were more. I think she had more of that 'sangue caldo' in her veins than I did.

In any case, I had let the cat out of the bag. After her initial shock, Connie tells me that she 'wants in'. She says that she and Frank had discussed the option of bringing another couple into their marriage. The fact that her own sister and brother-in-law were indeed having it sort of thing with another couple seemed like the perfect entry for her and Frank. She confided that she had always thought that Joe was sexy and could tell that Frank had the hots for me. Frankly, I think that's fairly common, but most in-laws are smart enough to keep it to themselves.

I told her that it wasn't just a simple matter of bringing her and Frank into our group like it was a movie date. I told her that I'd needed to talk to Joe about it, but in doing so, it certainly would let HER cat out of the bag. She and Frank would have to be prepared for the reaction that might happen. I couldn't be certain how Joe would react. Secondly, I'd have to talk to Tom and Joan about introducing another couple into our little group. How could I know if they would be comfortable with it."

"Good Lord," Maria said unable to hide the shock in her voice. "I find it hard to believe that my mom would be part of this sort of thing. It seems so unlike the mother I know and grew up with."

"How much do we ever know about other people, including those in our family," my mom said. "People put on one face for the public but behind the scenes they are completely different. That doesn't make them bad people. It just makes them imperfect. It makes them human.

To continue, I talked to Joe about the notion of swapping with his sister-in-law and brother-in-law as well as introducing them to Tom and Joan. I know Joe well enough that his positive reaction didn't surprise me. He was 100% for it but agreed that we'd have to talk to Tom and Joan before anything could progress. Not surprisingly, they also were interested. So, we had a little 'meet and greet' at our house just for dinner. It was agreed that nothing was going to happen immediately because we all had to understand what we expected and would be comfortable with. None of us wanted to feel pressured or surprised. I must admit, the thought of having sex with Frank turned me on, but I also worried that it could be a bit awkward if my sister changed her mind.

Not surprisingly, the dinner went well, and subsequent separate discussions concluded that Connie and Frank would be part of our little F and S group."

"Can I assume that F and S stands for what I think it does?" I asked my mom.

"It does," she answered chuckling. "It thought you might be upset hearing me use words like fuck and suck. Seriously Gino. Let's just agree that we're going to be open and honest about all this. We've come this far in our discussion. We don't have to pretend like we don't know what it's all about."

"OK," I said shaking my head. "I asked for that. I can pretty much guess what happened next."

"Yes," my mom said. "It shouldn't be a surprise that we started taking the next steps. We thought it would be best initially if your father and I got together with Connie and Frank just to make sure they could feel comfortable with the situation before having Tom and Joan in the mix. Obviously, we wanted Tom and Joan to know the plan. We felt that it would be unfair to act like we were sneaking around without them knowing. Being open about it was important to all of us. The first time out, we repeated the separate rooms process at the motel as we had done initially with Tom and Joan."

"So, you're saying," Maria jumped in, "that my mother went to a motel room with Uncle Joe while my dad and you went to another room to have sex with each other? I can hardly believe that. My parents were such religious prudes."

"Obviously you didn't know your mom and dad that well," I said to Maria. "It seems that neither of us knew our parents very well."

"Get a life, you two," my mom responded. "By now you should realize that we were not the saints you thought we were. Given what I'm pretty sure you two are up to, you should accept and understand that people have all sorts of needs and desires that they don't discuss with others, especially their families.

Anyway, things went well between us as I suspected they would. As I said before, Connie was always the more adventurous of the two of us, so if I could become comfortable with having sex with somebody other than your father, Connie would have no problem at all. Besides, we had all been close for a long time, it didn't seem all that strange that we could enjoy the 'f and s' time together."

"OK, so when did this other couple, Tom and Joan, join the party."

"It was a couple of weeks later," my mom continued. "Tom and Joan arranged to have their kids out of the house and taken care of by friends. We all went there for our gathering. We had asked Connie and Frank if they wanted to go off privately to separate rooms as we had done initially. They said that they had discussed the options and felt that they could handle an open gathering. Since Connie and Frank hadn't been with Tom and Joan yet, we made sure that they were going to match up with them. However, we had all had a fair amount to drink so in our tipsy condition, we somehow decided that it would be good to have everybody really get to know each other upfront and personal with a daisy chain. That's an oral sex thing where you all get on the floor and...."

"It's ok Mom," I interjected catching Maria's eye. "You don't have to describe the nitty gritty details. I think we understand what a daisy chain is."

"Alright," my mother nodded. "I suppose you would. In any case, we did that through lots of different combinations before Connie and Frank and Tom and Joan paired off. Lou and I kept to ourselves for a time, but I remember that we really got turned on watching the four of them go at it.

However, after a while, we decided to do a little thing that we referred to as 'round the clock'. We basically developed a variety of little games. In this one, the women laid down on their backs with their heads nearly touching and the guys moved 'round the clock' every few minutes doing each of us. We had other things that we did while blindfolded or in total darkness where everything was by touch. We all found that it was kind of erotic not knowing who you were doing stuff with."

"It's ok," Maria said. "I think we can imagine many ways of playing little sex games. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around you with my dad or my mom with Uncle Joe or this other guy Tom. It just seems so unlike how I've always thought of you guys, especially my mom."

"Oh Maria," my mom said taking her hand. "Over the years, I couldn't put a number on the times your father 'parked his car in all three of my garages' so to speak. Your mom was in the same situation with Uncle Joe and Tom."

Despite the rising tension I was feeling about the whole story, I couldn't help laughing and exclaiming, "His car in all three of your garages? Seriously Mom, where do you come up with your little euphemisms? "

"I thought you might be amused by my garages," my mom said smiling.

"Sometimes," my mother added, "the four of us would take a little vacation trip together. Sometimes, we'd go up to Deep Bottom Lake for the weekend. Back then, it wasn't all built up and developed then like it is now. Tom and Joan had a little house up there. They had this decent sized boat as well. We'd all have a great time up there because it was quiet and not many people around. We even used to go skinny dipping in the lake and then have very erotic parties back at the house. Sometimes we'd even get it on out on the porch if the weather was nice."

I couldn't help looking at Maria and caught her looking right back at me. Our eyes locked, and I knew that she was thinking the same thing I was about Greg and Carol's house at the lake. It was hard to imagine my parents, my aunt and uncle, and another couple doing pretty much what we did there. The difference is that I had zero intention of ever letting my parents or Maria's mother know about our recent cugini con benefici escapades.

"Unfortunately," my mother continued, circumstances made it more and more difficult to get together. We were all in the same boat in trying to find time to all find unencumbered time. Eventually, Tom had to relocate for his job. Then the worst thing that could happen was that Frank became seriously ill. I think Connie somehow blamed our 'reckless behavior' for his illness, but in truth, his cancer was most certainly the result of his job or him being a smoker. Our fun and games had nothing to do with it, but Connie's guilty conscience started to show its ugly head.

Basically, that's when Connie's 'church going' activity started, and she became very religious. She truly thought it could save Frank. Who knows, maybe it did help him go on for as long as he did. I certainly won't disparage it. Even after Frank passed away, Connie continued as the staunch religious person as we know her today. On the other hand, I become more cynical and doubtful."

"I guess I don't much remember her being any other way," Maria said quietly. "It's hard for me to think of her and my dad as the free spirits I just heard about."

After a few moments of silence, I looked at my mom and spoke. "So, I guess I'll have to ask again, why are you telling us all this nearly 40 years after the fact? We obviously never had any inkling about all this adventure from long ago. Why lay it all out now? Maybe sleeping dogs should have just been let to snooze."

My mother looked at me and then Maria and said, "Because I want you to understand that I'm not some naïve old prude with crazy notions about you two. Both Connie and I were influenced by that 'sangue caldo' that runs in this family. I know it. I'm pretty sure you two were feeling it for a long time and you never acted on it. Perhaps it was percolating while you were still married to other people, and it just never came to the surface. Now that you're both unattached and have had the opportunity to connect, I'd bet five years of my life that you two are doing things I would never want anybody else in this family to find out about.

I suppose I told you about our past so you'd realize that I have no right to judge you or act all high and mighty and pure. I'm no saint. Neither is Connie or Lou or Frank. But we also aren't bad people. We're just human. I understand and accept what I feel in my bones about you two. I'm not going to expect you to confess. Why would I? I don't necessarily condemn you for it. Hell, I'm sure it's wonderful for you and keeps you happy and satisfied in many ways. All I'm saying is that if it's obvious to me, it's probably at least a bit apparent to others. Hell Dino, you must know that your sister suspects. She's even said things to me. I brush it off and tell her that she's being silly. The truth is that she understands 'sangue caldo', has seen its influence on her own husband, and on herself for that matter. I happen to know that both of them have played a little motel mambo with others, but that's another story, and it goes no farther than that statement.

If you guys are going to be, what's the term now days, 'friends with benefits', then for God's sake be as careful as possible. I would be very unhappy and upset if Lou found out that you knew about us in the past. It would probably kill Connie if she found out. I really don't think she suspects anything about you two. She's too deep into that religious state of mind. Also, for the love of God, neither of you can ever say a word to her about what I've told you regarding our past behavior. Let her think you both see her as some sort of saint. You know she's been a good mother and good aunt."

"That's going to be a little tough, Aunt Theresa," Maria said. "Every time I look at her now, I'm going to think about the past and her with Uncle Lou or this guy Tom between her legs or part of that daisy chain. I don't know how I'm going to feel around Uncle Lou anymore. It's all a bit creepy."

"It's not creepy," my mother countered. "It's part of life. It's about what people go through at stages of their lives. We change, we evolve, we grow. I'd like to think that none of us, including you, is in no position to judge anyone else. Real love is accepting people despite their imperfections. In fact, I often think that the imperfections ate what make people truly interesting. Understanding that nobody is perfect is what makes people capable of real unconditional love if they open their heart to it. Frankly, I don't want to be around a lot of self-proclaimed saintly people who think they're holier than I am. The best thing we all can all learn in life is to accept, to understand, and especially to forgive. You two must never say anything to my sister or to Lou when he comes back from the store. They are both people that love you guys and would give their lives for you. Give them the respect that you'd expect them to give to you. When Lou gets back, we're going to enjoy ice cream and cake and wish him happy birthday. We'll go on with our lives like this conversation we've had for the past 20 minutes never happened. Then, regardless of whatever you two do in private, you're going to be as careful as hell not to give anybody any reason to suspect you aren't just very friendly cousins. Capite? Do you both understand?"

We both nodded our heads. As if on some strange cue at that very moment, my father knocked on the door, opened it, and came in.

"Where are you guys?" he said walking back into the kitchen holding a plastic supermarket sack and a box. "Lord that store was crowded. You'd think they were giving stuff away. This is the only type of cake that looked appealing to me, and since it's MY birthday, I figured I got to choose. Also, I decided on vanilla ice cream. You can pour some amaretto or other stuff on if you want something with more pizzazz."

"It's fine Lou," my mom said taking the box and bag, and giving my dad a little peck on the cheek. "We appreciate that you went to get it. Dino, get some plates and forks and a knife."

The next 30 minutes or so were spent having cake and ice cream and talking about a dozen things that had nothing to do with what my mom told us about during the half hour my dad was out of the house. It was strange having such banal chit chat after what my mother had laid on us about their past adventures. It was rather tense for me and I'm assuming the same for Maria. I couldn't help looking at my dad and imagining him engaged in all sorts of sex with Maria's mom and some woman named Joan while my mom was going at it with other guys at the same time. Good lord, the thought of him and my mom and my aunt and uncle in daisy chains and other sorts of sex games was still hard for my brain to process.

Finally, my parents decided they should leave despite the feigned protests by me and Maria. We all hugged and talked about the big family birthday party planned for the following weekend. Maria waved as they got into their car and drove off.