Drew's Story

"I had a really rough day and was just not in the mood. I kind of blew up on him. I looked at Drew and told him I wasn't his personal Barbie doll that he could dress and undress as he pleased. I told him this wasn't what normal couples do! I wadded up the pantyhose, jammed them down deep into the garbage can and threw the heels down the hallway and went back upstairs.

"After that night, he never again mentioned wearing nylons for him anymore. There were no longer any notes, no packages of expensive hose left out for me. Our sex life slowed and then stopped altogether."

"Maggie," Joyce began, her hands resting on Maggie's knees, "Who defines normal? God, I wished Eric would grope on me like that when I wear thigh high nylons."

Joyce looked around again, making sure no one could hear her or Maggie speaking.

Joyce spoke very low, leaned toward Maggie, and said, "Eric...He likes taking me in the rear. I thought this can't be normal, too. Maggie, my Eric is a good man. He's a great father and provider and a great lover. So he enjoys anal sex...Is that normal? Who really cares? And you know what? I'm enjoying it too now!"

Maggie looked surprised by Joyce's boldness about her husband.

Maggie continued, "Last night I went to his room and laid down beside him wearing just some thigh high hose for him. I put his hands down on my thighs were he liked to touch me. Joyce, Drew asked me why he had to wait till he was lying in hospital bed to see me like that. That's why I wore this outfit today. Even though he only glanced at me, he knew I did it just for him."

"You know Maggie you should give Drew what he enjoys." Joyce said.

Then Joyce added, "Men, if they don't get what they need at home, they'll find it someplace else. A wondering eye can produce roaming hands! Life is too short. Besides, it could be a lot worst!"

"How?" Maggie inquired.

Joyce smiled and said, "Whips and chains!"

Just then, Avery walked into the waiting room. Her long red hair tied up in a ponytail swung about her sweatshirt. Her faded jeans had holes in them, and the sound of her flip-flops could be heard on the carpeted floor.

"Aunt Joyce! You here to see dad?"

"Yeah, your mother and I were just talking. I need to run now. Maggie, please think over what we talked about. Let me know if there is any news with Drew."

Joyce gave Avery and Maggie a big hug then walked out of the waiting room.

"God mom! You look really good. Why so dressed up?" Avery said with a surprised look on her face.

"Well your dad always liked me to look nice for him. It's something I kind of got out of doing. I know it made him feel good about us. It made him feel good.

"Does it really make that much difference?"

"Let me tell you something about men Avery. They seek out what they like. If whatever it is they like is at home, they'll come home. If not, well then they'll go out looking for it."

Maggie's voice trailed off, thinking of what Joyce had said a few minutes earlier.

"But I've noticed you two don't seem to be as, well as happy as you were say five years ago. What happened mom?"

"Avery, it's just life. Your dad had been so busy with his company and me with my work we had no time to be with each other. We drifted apart like two ships in the night. We would pass by each other without paying any attention. We both knew each other was there, but we couldn't find the time...We didn't make the time for each other.

"Sometimes Avery, the fires of love are like a campfire. The fire can burn so hot, it can boil water—then after the water boiled away, there's nothing left to heat up. All the fuel was consumed, and love starves. Other times, the flames burn too slowly and the embers cool. It's possible that unless something strokes these embers, love can die.

"A husband and wife need to find a balance. When you're young and madly in love, the fire burns the hottest, as you grow older, the flames die back.

"It got so bad...Avery, your father, and I have not been together in almost a year. When your dad had this heart attack, we almost lost him. He's still not out in the clear yet. There's that old saying, 'you never know the value of water till the well runs dry.' I'm simply not going to let this happen again between the two of us. I need to stroke the embers... we both need to stroke the fire..."

"Mom you still love dad then?"

"Oh Avery, more than ever! He's my world. I'm not about to give up on him," Maggie said as she dabbed her eyes dry with the back of her hand.

"And that's why the tailored jeans and heels then?"

"Yeah, just to let him know I'm thinking about him. Now I'm not going to do the dishes in a white chiffon dress with matching white high heels, but your dad likes to see me look nice for him. I guess for him, well that's just normal.

"Avery, sweetheart, we both made some mistakes. I plan on correcting the ones I've made. I know your dad will step up to the plate as well.

"When we first started dating, his company had all of about fifty employees, now there's over five hundred and there's several regional offices. Drew doesn't need to spend hours and hours worrying about how things run. He has employees that he pays to keep track of all that. I don't need to volunteer for every cause that asks me to help out either."

Avery looked around at the people in the waiting room, then turned toward Maggie, "Mom, I need to run back home. I'll be back here within an hour. It's going to be a few more hours before dad is taken into surgery anyway. I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you."

And with that Avery made a dash for the door and was soon out of sight. Maggie fell back into her chair, "I wonder what that was all about?" she said to herself as she picked up a magazine from the stack on the table.

****

The clock on the wall silently ticked down the seconds, and soon an hour had burnt away. Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw the image of a young woman approach her, without looking up, she moved over so the woman would have room to sit down. With her head still buried into the magazine, she heard her daughter's voice, "Mom, I'm back."

Maggie looked up from the magazine and there stood Avery. Her long red hair fell across her shoulders and cascaded down the front of her pastel blue short sleeved shirt. She stood before her mother wearing black heels that matched with her own pair of tailored blue jeans. Avery's makeup highlighted her cheekbones and the silver necklace about her neck caught the light in the waiting room. All the men in the waiting room turned their heads and watched Avery as she walked over and sat down.

"Avery, you look wonderful, simply stunning. But, why the change of clothes?" Maggie inquired.

"Because of what you said to me earlier, Justin will be stopping over to wait with us, and well since you prettied up a bit, I thought I'd do the same for Justin."

"Avery, have you told him yet?"

"Not yet mom, I felt that these past few days have been exciting enough without adding more drama to all our lives. I'll tell him tonight. We are planning to go out, and I'll let him know. I'm going to think this one through."

"I wonder how he'll take it?" Maggie inquired.

"Well mom, I don't know. But I love him. I really do."

"That maybe true, but does he have those same feelings toward you?"

"I don't know. I hope so..."

"Well I bet he does. After all, you're my daughter!"

Avery smiled and tossed her head to one side, sending her red hair flying across her face.

"Avery let me ask you. I've been thinking of letting my hair grow back out. Do you think I'm too old for long hair?"

"Of course not mom! I know dad would love to see your hair down on your shoulders again."

"How so?"

"He told me. He said he missed running his fingers through your hair as he did when you had it longer. That's how I know."

"You two are very close aren't you?"

"Yeah we are. I can talk to him about anything. I can talk to you too mom, but you get mad at me when dad doesn't. Dad said you see yourself in my eyes."

Avery reached out and touched her mother's hand.

"Mom, I'm sorry about dad. I never should have said anything without getting all the facts. I'm sorry..."

"Maggie reached up and stroked her daughter's hair softly, "It's okay Avery. We'll move on. Everything will work out fine."

Just then one of the staff walked over to the pair, "Mrs. Carter. There's going to be a delay in getting your husband into surgery. They're telling me about one hour, perhaps a bit less. I'll let you know if the situation changes."

"Is there something wrong? Is there a problem with my husband?"

"There's nothing wrong. This happens quite often. Some surgeries take a bit longer, and everything gets backed up a bit. I'll go up and check on him myself."

Maggie smiled back, "Yes, please let us both know."

The nurse turned and walked back toward the large doors and disappeared behind them.

"Well poop! I was hoping his surgery would be finished by now. This waiting is a killer," Maggie said as she looked at the clock on the wall.

"Avery walk with me."

"Where are we going mom?"

"You'll see when we get there."

As the two made their way down the hallways of the hospital, Avery turned to Maggie and said, "Mom, since we're going to be here for a while, can I ask you a personal question about you, dad and me?"

"Whatever you would like to know, if I can answer it, Sure."

"Well, I'd like to know whether I was a mistake, an accident?"

Maggie looked a bit shocked at the question, the turned toward Avery, "Why; of course, not. Neither one of those."

"That's what dad said, too."

"What else did dad say?" Maggie questioned.

"Well he said I was a good time," Avery replied with a grin on her face.

"Well I wouldn't have called it a good time. As a matter of fact, I'd say it was avery, verygood time."

Avery's face turned bright pink. Maggie looked over at Avery, "Well you did ask!"

"Mom that's so..."

"So what? We were both young once too."

As they both turned the corner, they came upon the hospital's chapel. "Here we are Avery."

"The chapel? I didn't think dad was into God or anything like that."

"Well Avery," Maggie begun, "Your father never subscribed to Protagoras' bias..."

"That man is the measure of all things, from the Greek philosopher Protagoras," Avery interrupted.

"Why Avery, I'm impressed..."

"I really did pay attention to my teachers in school!" Avery said with a grin.

Maggie smiled back and then said, "Avery, have a seat, and let me tell you about your dad and the night you were conceived."

They both sat down on a small bench by the door of the chapel. Maggie turned toward Avery and began to tell her how she came to be.

"We were up at the lake. Your dad always liked going up there, and on one hot humid summer night we pitched our tent. Avery, the air was so thick you could almost chew through it. Out in the distance, we could see a storm. Lightning filled the sky, but it was so far away we couldn't even hear the thunder.

"Your dad never seemed to be bothered by my small chest, but whenever we went to the lake to camp, he always had me take my shirt and bra off. It never really bothered me, as there is absolutely no one around up there but us. Don't ask me why he wanted this, as he never told me. It was just something he always had me do. I guess he wanted to start a tradition or something.

"Well as I said, it was a really muggy night, and the heat kind of beat me up. I laid down and took a short nap. When I woke up, I saw your dad sitting on a big rock by the fire pit. He was just staring up into the sky. I guess I wasn't quite fully awake, and I threw a shirt over my shoulders and walked up to him. I startled him somewhat as I approached from behind. I said, 'Whatcha doing?' Your father looked around and said, 'I'm talking to God.' Then he looked up at me and saw me standing there with my shirt wrapped around my shoulders.

"He got his wild look on his face and said, 'Lose the shirt.' I took it from my shoulders and just held it in my hand. 'Drop it!' Well I did as I was told, then he stared at me with this strange look on his face. 'Loose the shorts, too.' I protested a bit, but it was mostly an act on my part. I recall pulling my shorts down and stepping out of them as he watched my every move. He led me over by the fire, and we made love under the stars.

"Now Avery about a year before this all happened, I found out that the birth control pills I was taking were making me sick. The doctors tried several different ones, but I couldn't handle the side effects."

"What did the two of you do then?" Avery asked, her face still bright pink after hearing Maggie described the events that led up to her birth.

"Well, we sort of used good 'ol fashioned condoms," Maggie answered back. "They were cheap, and boy did we ever go though a lot of them!"

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!"

"You wanted to know! Anyway, while we were making love that night, I felt your father's seed pump into me. Something I've not felt for several years. I remembered saying something like, 'Drew you forgot...' He just smiled and said, 'I got my answer back from God.' We laid in each other's arms throughout the night and we watched the sunrise in the early dawn.

"Then on May 7th almost nine months to the date, we became parents. We named you Avery, after your dad's grandmother, and Joyce after my best friend. Avery Joyce Carter.

"So you see you weren't a mistake, an accident, or any other nonsense. You might say you were God's answer to your dad question. Either way, it was areally, reallygood time!"

"Mom quit it!"

Maggie laughed, the first time in several days she felt a warm smile grow upon her face. As she looked back at her daughter, Maggie said, "Let me ask you something now."

"Okay mom."

"When you're my age and sitting next to your daughter and she asks you whether she was a mistake or an accident, what are you going to tell her?"

Avery was taken aback by the question. She tilted her head back and forth several times and thought for several seconds. She started to speak and then grew silent as if the answer she had was not quite what she wanted. More seconds clicked by, and then she looked into her mother's eyes and said, "I tell her... I'll say... She was a child of love. She wasn't a mistake or an accident. I'll say to her she was avery, verygood time."

Maggie smiled and said, "Come, let's go inside and pray for your dad."

****

When they arrived back at the waiting room, the same nurse that had talked to them earlier greeted them.

"Your husband is in surgery. Everything is going smoothly. I have been informed that he will be out early."

Maggie smiled and said, "Thanks."

The two of them sat together and watched the clock as it slowly counted the day down. Avery looked up from her book, and she saw her boyfriend, Justin, walking down the hallway. She got up and raced down to meet him, wrapping her arms around his waist. They walked into the waiting room arms locked together. Avery sat down beside her mother, and Justin joined them.

"Wow! Look at you two, you could almost be twins. Mrs. Carter, I know now where Avery gets her good looks! Avery, God, you look good! What's the occasion?"

"Thanks Justin," Maggie said as she smiled toward Avery.

"Avery stood, "There's nothing special Justin, I just thought you'd like to see me in something other than sweats and flip-flops. I'm going to get us all some coffee. Mom do you want coffee or some tea?"

Maggie looked up with a surprise look on her face, "Since when did you start drinking coffee Avery?"

"Mom, I'm a grown woman, I'm no longer a child."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Tea would be fine."

"Justin you want to help me?"

"I would like to talk to your mom for a few minutes, to find out how Mr. Carter is doing if you don't mind."

"Okay, I'll be back in ten."

Avery's rich cinnamon hued ringlets of hair cascaded around her gorgeous face falling down her shoulders and across her back. She turned and started walking across the waiting room, her hips moving back and forth as she walked in her heels. Her long red hair swishing about her back moving in time with each step she took. She continued down the hallway as Justin watched her till she was out of sight.

"Justin, are you ogling my daughter?"

"Oh... no... well sort of I guess... Yeah, I find her very attractive. Mrs. Carter I'd like to speak with you about something."

"What's wrong Justin?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong. I really wanted to talk to your husband, but well I can't right now, and this won't really wait. I mean I can't wait. Mrs. Carter, I would like your permission to ask Avery to marry me. We've been dating now for almost two years. I'm in love with her. I want to marry her."

"Justin, are you sure? How are you going to support the two of you? Where are you going to stay?"

"My dad will hire me at the shop. I'll start at the bottom of the food chain. He said I need to learn how to get my hands dirty. I plan on finishing school. I want to be an architect.

"You know that small sports car I had? Well I sold it. I got Avery a ring; the most beautiful ring you ever saw. The rest of the money I put down for a security deposit and rent. I would like your blessing and your permission to marry your daughter, Avery."

Maggie turned sideways in her chair and took Justin's hands into hers. She looked into his eyes and leaned toward him. In a smoothing voice Maggie started to speak, "Justin, she's only twenty..."

"Mrs. Carter, Avery will be turning twenty-one next week," Justin interrupted.

"Well then twenty-one. That's awful young. Her father and I were in our mid twenties when we got married."

Justin interrupted again, "Haven't you ever been deeply in love when you were younger?"

Maggie sat back, still holding Justin's hands, and remembered the love she had for Scott and how young she was then. Maggie smiled and leaned back toward Justin.

"Justin...You promise me...You give me your word... you'll never hurt her. You promise me you'll never leave her side; you will always be there for her. If you do then yes, you have my blessing along with my husband's blessing."

Justin's eyes grew large, and he threw his arms around Maggie. "Oh, I promise! Thank you Mrs. Carter!"

Maggie's eyes were tearing up, and she tried to keep her composure, then asked, "Justin where do you plan on asking her?"

"Tonight when we go out for dinner."

"Oh, that'll never do," Maggie said, "Do you know where we took you two camping up on our property?"

"Yes."

"Back at our house there's camping gear stored in the garage. Take Avery up to the lake and propose to her there. It will be something both of you will remember all your lives together. Beats a restaurant any day! And there's another thing, and this is going to sound out of place especially coming from her mother, but I know you two won't be playing board games up there tonight."

Justin's face turned a bright beet red, and he stumbled for his words trying to come with something that would appease Maggie.

"What's the other thing you want me to do?"

This time it was Maggie's face that blushed as she said to Justin, "When you get there and after you get the camp set up, tell her she needs to take her shirt and bra off. Tell her it's a tradition."

Now you could have just push Justin over with a feather after what he heard Avery's mother say. Justin was speechless. Then Maggie gave him a hug and said, "It's mom now." That seemed to put Justin at ease with the conversation they just had.

Just then Avery popped through the door with the drinks. She passed them around and took a seat beside Justin. Justin took a few sips of his coffee then looked over to Avery.