Ex-Rated Wedding

Finally, I prepared myself to go back into the fray. I had to go back to that table…it was where my jacket was. We males are a territorial breed. Just as I was taking a preparatory breath, I felt a hand on my elbow.

I turned and was relieved to see Kate standing next to me.

"It is so good to see you, Mark."

"It's fantastic to see you, really, fantastic." I said. I wasn't kidding either.

"So tell me what you've been up to."

I ordered her a drink and we walked back to her table. I brought her up to speed on the incredible changes that had occurred in my life since I had last seen her. It took about four minutes. Telling her about my new cat took most of that time. I wasn't completely pathetic, but I was certainly on my way.

"And what about you?" I asked. "What have you been doing?"

"Oh, after the divorce, I decided to take some ‘me' time. I took a leave of absence from my job and traveled around Europe for a month. I ended up in an artist's colony just outside of Nice, France and I learned how to paint landscapes. It was a fascinating experience."

Her conversation continued along this same route: fascinating things in exotic locales, breathtaking insights into herself as a person and a new understanding about the world around her.

I decided not to remind her that I had gotten a new cat.

Kate then leaned in close to me and whispered, "You know, I've always had a bit of a crush on you." She reached out on touched the tip of my nose with her finger. "Need a drink?"

"Eh?" I shook my head slightly and looked down at my untouched bottle of beer. "No I'm fine."

"Well, I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere?"

I sat riveted to my chair. She had a crush on me? I rationalized that she must have been teasing me, or kidding. There was no possible way that a woman of Kate's charms and obvious worldliness would find me remotely…

"Hey, man!"

I looked up at Tom, standing over me, swaying slightly.

"Hey, Tom," I said. He slumped down on a chair next to me.

"You are the greatest guy, you know that?"

"Thanks, Tom," I sighed. I had found that drunk people were always much more amusing when I was drunk myself. Otherwise, they more or less irritated me. But this was the groom and I was willing to put up with a lot from the groom.

"I'm serious, man. You are so good to be here, what with that witch of a sister of mine…"

"Tom, don't say that about your sister."

"Ah, it's true. Even my old man's finally coming around. He used to blame you for the whole divorce thing, but then he had a big argument with her and now he thinks you're a great guy for putting up with her as long as you did!" Tom was talking pretty loud and people at nearby tables were smirking.

"That's good, really Tom." I tried tactic number one. "So where's the honeymoon?"

"I'm not kidding. And my mom, man, she sticks up for you all the time. I think she has the hots for you Markie boy." This was said blessedly, a bit quieter. Tom poked me lightly on the chest. "You're a stud, man."

"Yes, well…" It was time for tactic number two. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. Don't go anywhere!"

I went down the hall and into the bathroom. When I returned to the hall, I saw Jane and Doctor Don sitting at Kate's table. I decided to go and sit back at my original table but it was occupied by a group of overweight ladies in ghastly hats.

I then caught Ellen's eye and she got up and came over to me.

"How are you doing, Mark? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I am. The wedding was lovely."

"Yes, it was a beautiful service." She looked around me a bit. "Where's your date?"

"Oh, I had a hard time finding one for the long weekend."

"So you're here all by yourself? Oh, come and join us."

"That's okay, Ellen, I was just going to get a drink."

Just then the room dimmed and a slow song came on. "Why, Mark, I do believe you owe me a dance."

"I do, indeed."

We danced as well as we could on the crowded dance floor. Ellen talked to me leaning back and looking up at me. The outfit she was wearing gave me a surprisingly attractive view of her cleavage. I had always known that my mother-in-law was a very sensual woman. I had repressed it, but it was the truth. She kept herself in good condition, dressed well, and always looked stunning.

"You know, I've missed you terribly, Mark."

"I missed you too Ellen."

"We used to have such delightful talks." She was right, we did. I would often go over for family gatherings and Ellen and I would end up chatting in the kitchen over coffee. She was easy to talk to and a good listener. She always gave me the impression that she was intensely interested in everything I had to say. I wanted to tell her about my cat. She of all people would appreciate it without trying to one-up me with painting lessons abroad.

"You know, John never thought you were good enough for Jane."

"Well, apparently neither did Jane," I said.

"When he found out that you two were getting married, he became very critical of you. And then with that fiasco of the Daughter-and-Dad weekend…"

"Oh god…" I remembered it well. Jane and her father had held a long-standing tradition that they went away together on the first weekend of June, just the two of them. They would usually go to Toronto or Boston or New York and tour the sights. I don't know how the other two siblings felt about this, but I was under the impression that Tom especially just liked having the old man out of the house for a weekend. The first year we were married, my parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary which fell on the first weekend in June. My family put on a big celebration and Jane told her father that they would have to reschedule their weekend for another time. Well, he went into a fury, accusing me of trying to drive a wedge between him and his daughter, saying that I was exercising my authority over his independent little girl. After that episode, our relationship deteriorated.

"My marriage with John has pretty much gone downhill since you and Jane got married," Ellen said. "Even after the divorce it became pretty obvious that Jane was the center of his attention and not me. When she moved back, I felt as if the two of them were constantly conspiring against me. John and I have separate lives now. We just happen to share a house and a last name. Tom and Kelly are my kids, Jane is his."

I looked at her and saw her eyes were shiny with tears. "I'm sorry to hear that Ellen."

"Well, if anyone would understand, it would be you. I remember, at the end, just before the divorce, you and I talked. At Christmas, remember?" I nodded. "You told me that being single and lonely was hard, but being married and lonely was heartbreaking." She put her head on my shoulder and sighed. "I know exactly how you felt, Mark."

She gave me a warm hug as the song ended, but the hug seemed to linger a bit, and she pressed herself against me. She looked up at me, slightly embarrassed. "Well, that was hardly appropriate, was it?" Her voice was a throaty whisper.

"I enjoyed it." I said, seriously.

"Mark, often I wished that I were a few years younger. You'd have to watch out for yourself then."

"You don't need to be any younger, Ellen. You're stunning just as you are."

She smiled sweetly at me and rejoined her family at her table. Another slow song started and I watched Jane and Don leave Kate and head up to the dance floor.

"Kate," I said, extending my hand, "would you honour me with a dance?"

"I would love to," she said, with that winning smile.

We danced close, her cheek brushing mine and talked in quiet tones.

"You're a wonderful dancer," she said.

"No, I'm not, but it's so nice of you to say."

We danced close, not speaking. I enjoyed holding her close to me, and she pressed herself against me in a most delightful way. So delightful, in fact, that I actually had to pull a part of me away from her, so as not to reveal just how delightful I found it. As the song ended we drifted back to the table and sipped at our drinks in contemplative silence. Finally, Kate leaned close to me, her eyes sparkling.

"I was wondering, Mark. If things were different, if I wasn't related to Jane or if we met under different circumstances, would you be interested in me as…you know, more than a friend?"

My heart suddenly thumped in my chest. I was completely stunned. It was quickly becoming a night of revelations. "Kate, you being related to my ex-wife really doesn't matter to me."

"Really?" She leaned back a bit and our eyes met. It was one of those electrical moments, a moment that movie directors feel the need to surge loud swirling music around.

"Does me being the ex-husband of your cousin bother you?"

"No." She sipped her drink and we just looked at each other. Suddenly Jane and Donald plopped down at our table.

"Well, here is where the lonely heart's club is holding their meeting." Jane said with a laugh. Kate's eyes met mine and we shared a smile.

"So, Donald," Kate said, "I hear you retired from the hospital."

"Yes, finally," said Donald. "And the old adage is true; I'm busier now than I was when I was working full-time."

"I bet," said Kate. "You're what, fifty-five?" I almost choked on my drink.

"Fifty-seven, I wanted to retire last year, but with all the restructuring going on at the cancer facility, I just couldn't get away."

"I think it's great to retire when you are young enough to enjoy it," I said. Kate gave me a sideways glance.

"Oh yeah," Donald replied, "I couldn't wait until I was sixty-five. I'd be a broken-down old horse by then."

"That's true," said Kate, "and you'd never be able to keep up with Jane, here." Kate and Donald laughed. Jane sat and seethed with a tight smile on her face.

"Can I get anyone a drink?" I asked, putting down my empty bottle. Everyone declined and I got up and went to the bar. Halfway there, I felt a hand grip my arm.

"What the hell are you pulling?" Jane hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh please, you two couldn't contain yourselves, could you? Let me tell you something Mark, it is absolutely refreshing having someone mature around for a change. Being married to you was like living my life with a teenager."

"There was a time when you said I was youthful and energetic. You didn't mind me being youthful and energetic in the sack."

"Don't be crass."

"So, is Donald a real Doctor Feelgood in the bedroom?"

"Mark, that's none of your business. This may surprise you, but there is more to a relationship than just sex."

"Ah," I said, "translation: no."

"You are such a pig." Jane spun on her heel and started to walk away, then whirled back. "You know, I thought I could come here and be civil, I thought that we could put things behind us and at least be able to converse reasonably together."

"Do you think calling Kate and I the Lonely Hearts Club," I said, "is a good example of civility?"

"I was just teasing," Jane said.

I smiled at her. She held my gaze steadily for a long moment and then dropped her eyes. "Okay, okay," she said, "I'm sorry."

For the first time all evening, I saw a glimpse of the Jane I remembered from long ago. We made our way to the bar and I bought us both a drink.

"So, how are things with you and Donald anyway?"

"I don't think we have any legs, if you know what I mean. He's a nice guy, but he just isn't what I'm looking for."

"Does the age difference bother you?"

"It didn't at first, or at least I wouldn't allow it to bother me. I didn't want to be that petty and let something as mundane as age come between me and a good relationship. But after a while, it sort of began to tell on me. We come from different generations, we have different values, different cultural references. And," she looked at me with a sheepish grin, "different energy levels."

"Ah."

"That's all you're going to say? ‘Ah'?"

"Well, it was only natural that you should feel a bit neglected. After all, you were spoiled rotten when you were with me."

"You're awful," she said and slugged me on the arm.

"That's not what you used to cry out in the dark."

Jane laughed and then was silent for a long moment. Finally she looked up at me. "There were times…really hard times, when I wanted to call you and see if we could get together for just one last…you know."

"No kidding?"

"No kidding," Jane said. "But of course we couldn't. I couldn't let myself call you and you wouldn't have agreed to it."

"Oh…I don't know." I remembered some pretty hard times myself.

"Well, that way madness lies," Jane said, gathering herself together. "Something like that would open up old wounds, I would think."

I looked at Jane and took a drink. I was suddenly thirsty.

By telling this story, you just know that someone is going to have sex with someone; otherwise it would be in the non-erotic section (and depending on how well my writing is, it may still end up there). And at this point in the evening, even I figured that at the very least I was going to end up with a solid lead on a future rendezvous. But at the moment, I had no idea who I was going to wind up my night with, if anyone.

Just then Ellen bustled up to us with a forced grin on her face. "Mark, Jane, so nice to see you two being sociable." She looked at me with a pleading expression, "Mark, I was wondering if you could help me with a bit of a problem." I nodded and followed Ellen dutifully into a corridor. We stopped in front of a door and she sighed heavily. Behind the door I could hear a muffled groan.

I opened the door to the stall in the women's washroom and saw Kate curled up around the toilet.

"Kate?" I asked. "Are you okay?" She looked up at me blearily, smiled then dunked her head into the toilet bowl and made some entirely unpleasant sound effects.

"I don't think she drinks very much," Ellen said to me in a respectful whisper.

"Well, she throws up like a pro," I said.

I handed Kate a glass of water and she drank it down with a lopsided smile. "What room number are you in?" I asked.

She told me, but added, "I don't want to leave the party; I was just starting to have fun!"

"Kate, you ARE the party. Wherever you go, the party follows." I helped her to her feet and Ellen and I supported her weight between us. Carefully, so as not to jostle her too much, we helped Kate up the elevator and into her room. I laid her on the bed and Ellen carefully undressed her while I waited in the front room. After a few minutes, Ellen joined me.

"She's already asleep and I put a waste paper basket next to the bed."

"Okay." I reached for the door handle, but Ellen's hand rested on my wrist. I looked at her and a long moment passed between us. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine in a deep, warm kiss. I was surprised by her response, and even more so by my own. I kissed her back, slipping my tongue to touch hers. She moaned into my mouth and then drew back.

"Thank you for making my evening, Mark," she said in a breathless voice. I looked at her and leaned forward and kissed her again, this time with more passion.

"My room," I said, my voice muffled by her lips, "is just down the hall on the right, number 330." I broke the kiss and exited out into the hall.

Standing in my room, waiting for that knock at the door was one of the longest and most unsettling moments of my life. My mind was whirling with a jumble of thoughts. I could not believe what I had done and what I was preparing to do. If she knocked on the door, a whole new situation would open up. If she didn't, I didn't know how I was going to face her the next day.

I listened intently for footsteps in the hall, but heard none. The silence was infuriating. I was listening so closely that when the knock did come it seemed loud and jarring, causing me to jump out of my skin.

I opened the door and she stepped in quickly, with a nervous glance down the hall. "We don't have much time," she said lunging forward and kissing me hotly.

There was a lot of motion then, her pushing me towards the bed, then her unbuttoning my shirt deftly. In an instant it seemed that I was lying on the bed with my shirt open and my pants down while her hands slid up and down my chest. She was still completely dressed and I reached up and unzipped her dress at the neck.

With a shrug and a smile, the dress slid over her shoulders and revealed a silver bra, full and sensual. My hands swept up and cupped her breasts kneading them gently and marveling how they filled my palms.

In a moment she had discarded her dress and was straddling me, looking down with an expression that drove me mad with desire. She had a mischievous grin on her face with one eyebrow raised. With a swift, determined motion, she pulled my boxer briefs down over my thighs and wrapped her hand around my painfully rigid shaft.

"You're a bigger than I expected," she said looking down. After a bit of awkward wrestling, I managed to get her panties off.

I took a moment to look at her. She was fit and curvy, a delightfully full-figured woman with full breasts and flared hips. She was unshaved below, and natural. Her hair down there was auburn with flecks of grey. It was a most erotic sight to me and I felt myself pulse in her palm.

"We really don't have much time," she repeated and lay down on the bed. I quickly joined her and she slid her leg over me. She guided me into her and I felt the intense heat as I slipped into her pussy.

With one urgent lunge, I was buried deep inside her. I watched as Ellen's eyes closed tight.

"It feels incredible," she whispered. "You have no idea how long I've wanted you, Mark."

I reached beneath her and grasped her ass, hoisting her up and pounding into her. She began to cry out, a soft but insistent wail that made me increase my tempo. I felt the sweat prickle across my back as I slid in and out of her. She clung to me like a soft fist, and I was lost in the rhythm of our passion.

I changed angles slightly so my hard cock was sawing against the top of her slit and sliding across her clit. The effect was immediate. Ellen gasped and cried out loud. In ten strokes she snapped her eyes open and pleaded with me not to stop.

"Oh god, oh my god, I'm going to cum, I'm going to...oh my..." and with that she began thrashing around on the bed, grunting and panting. Suddenly she froze and I felt her sex clamp down on me as she shuddered through her orgasm.

The feeling was so intense that I felt myself going over the edge. I warned her that I was about to cum and she gave me a most evil smile. I couldn't help but laugh but then I threw my head back, growled loudly and began to erupt within her.

We didn't have much time to bask in the afterglow. In a few moments she was up and getting dressed.

I helped Ellen back on with her dress. As I stood behind her, pulling the zipper up, she leaned back against me and turned her head.

"I can feel you seeping out of me," she said. "It feels so decadent."

She swayed out of the room, leaving me with a scent of elegant perfume and sex. I jumped quickly into the shower and rinsed myself off, carefully leaving my hair dry.

Stepping back into the party, dressed and refreshed, I glanced at my watch. Forty-five minutes had passed and it had felt like hours. I caught a wicked smile from Ellen who was busily chatting up the guests. With the sudden change in venue, the lights, the music, the relatives...I felt a sudden sense of vertigo. What had just happened between me and my ex-mother-in-law felt so disconnected, so unreal, as if it had been just a vivid fantasy...

I needed a beer. In fact, where one would do fine, several would do better. As I headed towards the bar, I was headed off by Jane. I looked at her and felt a wave of guilt crash over me.

"How's Kate?" she asked.