Like Father, Like Son

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One May-December romance leads to another.
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komrad1156
komrad1156
3,777 Followers

*Author's Note: Two things:

One: I recently broke down and bought a new car. The guy who sold it to me mentioned he was in his mid-40s and his wife in her early 20s. He showed me a few pics and she was a very attractive young woman! I didn't mention my May-December love stories or my own personal experiences, but I did actually meet a real couple separated by more than 20 years. Well, half a couple anyway.

Two: A reader emailed me a couple of months ago and graciously informed me I was a good writer. He was kind of enough to also point out (I just the love 'pointer outers'—see my story entitled Literotica) how I would never be a great one unless I did two things. First, I had to write shorter stories. Evidently, only shorter stories are 'great'. Second, I had to stop letting my (fictional) characters fall in love so fast. That doesn't happen in real life so allowing it to happen in a (fictional) story must also be a bad thing. Maybe even a very bad thing. Ummm...my bad?

Since this one has two couples falling in love on a truncated timeline, I guess I'm content to stay a good writer rather than strive to be a great one. (Dang it!)

I've written a few stories with sad endings, but I much prefer happy endings between couples who meet at a time when they're ready and willing to fall in love again after either death or divorce. Oh, and they're often way too far apart in age to be realistic. You know, like my car salesman and his wife.

Ah, shucks. Who knows? Maybe I'm really only an average writer. Oh well. C'est la vie, no?

I hope you enjoy it. :-)

*****

"I don't even know what to say."

"Say you'll meet him, Mom. Please?"

"Savannah, I don't think I can."

"Mom, you raised me with good values. You've always trusted me. I've never betrayed your trust even when my friends were acting out. Can't you at least agree to sit down and just say hello? I really like him, Mom."

"Honey, he's my age for goodness sake! If your father was still alive he'd be this man's age, too! How can you even think about being in a relationship like this? How, Savannah? How?"

"I know it seems...unorthodox. But once you meet him you'll understand. He's smart and funny and...."

"Rich?" her mother said filling in the blank with what she thought was coming next.

"No. He's not rich. He's just...very attractive. In fact, he's freakin' gorg...."

"Don't say it! Please, just don't even say it, okay? Did I mention this man is your father's age?"

Her daughter came over and sat next to her mother and put her hand on her mom's.

"Daddy's been gone for four years, Mom. I loved him with all my heart, and I still miss him every day. But this isn't some...daddy thing. I don't see Michael as my father. I see him as my...."

Again, her mom put up her hands and said, "Savannah? Can we please talk about something else? Your last semester of college maybe? Where you want to work? Anything but...this?"

"Mom? I think I love him and pretending it will just go away won't make it happen."

She put her arm around her mom then said, "Please don't make me beg, okay? Just agree to meet him for dinner or maybe even drinks."

Her mother sighed then finally said, "I'll...think about it, okay?"

Her daughter hugged her and tried not to squeal with delight.

"Thanks, Mom! You know I love you, right?"

Her mom cut her eyes toward her 21-year old college senior and said, "I love you, too. But just barely."

Both of them laughed when she used the line her late husband used to say when Savannah had done something to severely test his patience. He'd always smile then say, "Savannah? I still love you but just barely."

"I miss your father too, honey," Sarah Winter said finally softening her tone.

"You really should be more open to finding someone, Mom. Daddy would want you to, you know."

"It sounds easy, honey. But actually finding someone isn't. It's just such a pain in the a...you know."

"I think I'm old enough to hear you say 'ass' now, Mom. I'm not your baby girl anymore, remember?"

"You'll always be my baby girl, Savannah. But yes, you are all grown up now. So smart and so beautiful. Smart enough to know that dating a man twice your age is crazy!"

"Ugh! Mother! Please!" she said as the battle continued.

******

"She's not one of my students, Tyler. She never was. In fact, I didn't know she attended the university until we met. She was applying for an internship in another department, and I actually voted 'no'. She was bold enough to ask me why once the vote was taken and I found that admirable. We talked for a while, and I found her to be charming and well spoken. So it wasn't like this relationship was planned let alone something...nefarious."

"Dad, I'm not trying to tell you whom to date or fall in love with. I'm just asking you to be careful. The way Mom hurt you was inexcusable. She'll always be my mother and I'll always love her, but I find it incredibly difficult to respect her because of what she did. It still angers me and I'm not the one she did it to."

"In a way you were, son. Her actions affected all of us, but please try not to be overly harsh. If anyone has a right to hate her, it's me. I don't. I...I pity her. I'm not letting her off the hook. She did it and she's responsible. I just can't bring myself to hate the mother of my only child."

Tyler Turner deeply admired his father. He'd been his hero and role model all his life. A tenured professor of physics at the University of Washington in Seattle, he'd been a part of a lot of cutting-edge research into quantum mechanics. To an outsider it was less interesting than watching paint dry. But to a recent graduate of the physics department of MIT like Tyler, it really was the stuff dreams are made of. It was beyond interesting. It was inspiring, and Tyler's dream was to build on his father's work and take it to places where, well...no man had gone before.

He'd grown up watching reruns of the Original Star Trek series with William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. The show had allowed him to imagine things he later used in his studies, especially the acceleration of particles beyond the speed of light which was often called the 'speed limit of the universe.'

Hypothetically, nothing could travel faster than the speed of light because it would take an infinite amount of energy to propel anything with mass beyond the speed of light. But what if objects with mass could be rendered massless via the laws of quantum mechanics? What if space-time could be curved around on itself allowing a modern-day Starship Enterprise to move through a 'wormhole' in time, covering unimaginably large distances in the blink of an eye?

Tyler's thesis had been on the former possibility and had garnered widespread support in the arcane world of particle physics. His father was not only impressed, he'd pulled out all the stops to bring in funding for a university-led program which worked with the U.S. government to develop the capability of one day traveling at 'warp' speed. Tyler had come home to Seattle to work with his father on just that.

He'd been too busy at MIT to pay much attention to the new love interest in his father's life even though his dad, 43-year old Dr. Michael Turner, had mentioned her numerous times. He'd even told his son she was only 21, but none of it had really registered until they'd sat down back at their home in upscale Bellevue, Washington.

"I appreciate your concern, Tyler. Frankly, I'd be even more concerned if it didn't concern you," the older Turner said. "Did I use the word 'concern' enough to give you concern?" he joked.

Tyler forced a laugh then said, "It's not a son's place to tell his father how to live his life. But as your friend, your best friend, I have to tell you I am, well...concerned."

"She's willing to sign a pre-nup, Tyler. Does that help?" his dad told him.

"A pre-nup? You're not seriously considering getting married to this girl are you?" Tyler said with utter incredulity.

"It's crossed my mind more than once," his father told him truthfully.

"Why her, Dad? What's so special about this girl? And she is a girl. You understand that, right?"

"She's 21 and by every measure that makes her an adult, but your point is well taken. I know what you're really saying, and all I can tell you is that you should withhold judgment until you meet her."

"Dad, I'm not judging her. Or you. I just don't want to see you get hurt again. That's all."

"Thank you for caring, Tyler. And you are my best friend, by the way," he said with a smile. "But no one can guarantee that were I to fall in love with someone who was, say...40...that I wouldn't get hurt again. You should know by now there are no guarantees in life."

"I know, I know. Except one. Death. You see, Dad, I was paying attention to you growing up around here."

Michael Turner had sad that very thing many times over the course of Tyler's lifetime and he'd internalized it as a boy and personally validated it as a man. Then again, at 22, was it fair to refer to himself as a man while calling a 21-year old female a girl? His logical mind knew the answer, but he also knew that love was a thing of the heart.

Tyler laughed out loud when he realized the heart did only one thing—pump blood. It didn't love or care or feel any emotion. That was the purview of the brain and while brain states weren't fully understood, it seemed very clear that love or any other emotion was explainable as a brain state. That wasn't very romantic, but to Tyler Turner, it was the gospel truth.

"What's so funny?" his dad asked.

"Just thinking, Dad. That's all."

Tyler stood up then sighed loudly.

"Okay. I'll meet her. But don't expect me to rubber stamp this."

He knew that his father knew it made little difference whether he 'rubber stamped' his newfound love or tried to veto it. It was his dad's life and his decision to make. Tyler didn't get a vote. An opinion? Yes. A vote? Oh, hell no.

"If it makes you feel any better, Savannah's mother is even less thrilled about our relationship than you are," Michael said.

"Well, someone else with a little common sense! I may just like her," his son quipped trying not to smile.

"Come on. Let's get to work. I've got a couple of new ideas regarding quark-mass reduction and acceleration. Let me show you the equations first and then you can tell me what you think."

The two headed toward the rather spacious study which served as a home office that was equipped with some very sophisticated computational machinery and spent the next twelve hours pouring over the math, tweaking and refining the theoretical concepts.

*****

Three Days Later

"Savannah! Hi. Please come in!" Michael said as they settled for a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You must be Mrs. Winter. I'm Mike Turner," he said extending a hand to the woman who followed Savannah inside.

The icy stare was palpable as the very attractive woman accepted it.

"I am. And it's Sarah," she said doing her level best to be civil.

"All right. Sarah it is. Sarah? Savannah? Please allow me to introduce you both to my son."

Michael turned and extended his arm toward Tyler who was standing a couple of feet away.

"Ladies, this is my son, Tyler. Tyler? Sarah and Savannah Winter."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Savannah," Tyler said also forcing himself to be civil as he managed a weak smile.

"Likewise," she said smiling brightly. "Your dad talks about you all the time."

"Oh, boy. I'm in real trouble then, huh?" he said being polite.

"Not at all."

Savannah leaned over as though she was sharing a secret, but spoke loudly enough for everyone else to hear. "He almost seems to worship you."

"Hah! Well, that's news to me," Tyler said warming slightly to this extremely attractive 'girl' who was essentially the same age as him.

She stepped aside and said, "Mom?"

Sarah moved closer and offered her hand.

"I've heard about your research, Tyler. I have to admit I don't understand it in the least, but I know enough to know that it's very significant. I believe congratulations are in order."

Tyler shook her hand and saw the physical resemblance in the two women. Sarah was certainly over 40 but looked much closer to 30. Were he forced to choose just one word to describe each of them, Savannah would be 'hot' while her mother would be 'beautiful.'

"That's very kind of you, Sarah. Thank you for saying that. As they say, time will tell."

Tyler then leaned closer to Sarah and also said rather loudly, "Oh, by the way, it's nice to meet someone else with some sanity."

Sarah pulled her hand back to cover her mouth as she laughed. She didn't want to laugh, she just couldn't help herself. Savannah shot her a dagger-of-death look as her mother tried to control herself.

She glanced at Michael then said, "I'm really very sorry. That was rude, but well, it did strike me as funny."

"No offense taken," he assured her. "Just promise me you won't gang up on us with my son."

Sarah looked at Tyler who smiled and said, "I don't know, Dad. It's hard to resist the allure of a beautiful woman."

Savannah shot him a slightly less caustic look while Sarah smiled and said while looking at Tyler, "Sane, handsome, and a real judge of character. I believe you and I may get along quite well!"

"May I?" Tyler asked as he offered to help Sarah with her coat and then again when he offered her his arm.

She thanked him for his help with her coat then said, "You may," as she ceremoniously hooked her arm inside his.

"Looks like the gang has formed," Michael said to Savannah.

"I'm ready for them," she said sweetly as Michael offered her his hand.

Over a glass of very expensive merlot, the four of them tried to tread lightly as they got to know one another.

Inevitably, the question of what Sarah did for a living and what Savannah's plans were came up.

"I understand it's 2017 and that it's rather unusual for a woman not to have a career, but I don't have a paying job," Sarah said.

"My father passed away four years ago and well, he had a very substantial life insurance policy," Savannah said looking at her mother to gauge her reaction. She didn't like discussing this and her daughter was well aware of it.

"Mom has a master's degree in philosophy and is quite possibly the smartest, most intelligent person I know. Well, make that one of the two most intelligent people I know," she added looking at Michael.

"Tyler's an MIT graduate and not exactly chopped liver," Sarah said.

"Maybe I should stop digging this hole before I bury myself." Savannah smiled then said, "Would that make it a black hole if I couldn't get out?"

There was polite laughter at the attempted humor and that, plus the wine, helped to reduce the heavy blanket of tension in the room.

"My dad tells me your finishing your BA or BS this summer, Savannah. What are you majoring in and do you know what you'd like to do yet?"

"I'm an art major," she replied.

"Savannah is incredibly talented, Tyler. Her paintings are amazing and she's very good at several other things to include sculpting."

"So...opposites really do attract?" Tyler said drawing a laugh from everyone but Sarah.

"Opposites. Yes. Speaking of opposites...."

"Mom, please," Savannah said.

"Honey, it's the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room. I'm sorry, but...."

"Your mom's right, Savannah. We do need to discuss this. Please, Sarah. Go ahead," Michael said in a pleasant, gentle way.

She looked at her daughter and Michael who were sitting next to one another on the sofa across from her before speaking.

"I just don't understand," she began.

"Anything specific?" Michael asked.

"All of it. Any of it. My daughter is half your age, Michael. You're a scientist and a tenured professor. She's an artist and...half your age! This not only makes no sense to me, it just seems...wrong...on every level."

Sarah wasn't angry. She kept her voice calm and her tone level.

"So...where am I going wrong?" she asked, her eyes darting around the room looking for answers.

"Tyler? Are you okay with...with...this?" she asked gesturing toward them.

"Not really," he began. "Well, maybe. I...I don't really know. I have the same concerns you mentioned and yet I do want my dad to be happy. I guess I need more time before I can really say."

"Mom? Isn't that a reasonable position to take? Can't you just give this some time?" Savannah asked imploringly.

Sarah seemed uncomfortable and Michael stepped in and tried to help.

"I don't want your mom feeling like she really is being ganged up on. Her concerns are perfectly legitimate and I suppose I'd feel the same way were the roles reversed. I guess I never really thought about it until I envisioned Tyler bringing your mom home to meet me under the same circumstances."

"Thank you," Sarah replied.

She looked around again before saying, "Please don't take this the wrong way, Michael. You're an attractive man. I won't deny that. But being attractive and from what I can see, a rather successful man, why in the world wouldn't you look for a woman who's you know...."

"Closer to your age?" Savannah chimed in.

"Well, yes. To be blunt, yes. Someone who's...I don't know. At least...thirty?"

"I didn't set out to fall in...to...like someone half my age," Michael said trying to explain.

"Oh, no. Please don't tell me 'it just happened'. I hate when people have an affair and the guilty party claims it just happened. Our clothes don't just 'happen' to fall off and people definitely don't end up in bed by accident."

Tyler looked over at his father knowing that he'd come home to find his former wife in bed with someone half her age a little over five years ago. He'd been devastated because he'd been such a dedicated and devoted husband to her. She'd given no indication she was unhappy or bored or anything else people often claim led them to have an affair.

"On that we agree completely," Michael said as he looked at Savannah.

"I never told her, honey," she said back.

Sarah blanched upon hearing her daughter call this older man 'honey' but didn't say anything for a moment.

"Told me what...honey?" she said to her daughter, unable not to sound sarcastic.

"Do you mind?" Savannah asked her boyfriend.

"No. It's okay," he said as he looked over at Tyler who wasn't sure how this would go.

Savannah recounted what Michael had shared with her and suddenly Sarah had a very different take on things.

"I...I had no idea. I didn't mean to say anything hurtful. I really didn't know," she said sincerely. "Now I feel awful for...."

"Don't," Michael said interrupting her. "It happened. It's over, and I try not to dwell on the past. The point is, this really did mostly...just happen."

Michael explained the internship request, how he sat on that particular committee for the university, Savannah's need for an explanation, and how things began between them.

"So I wasn't looking for a younger woman. In fact, I've never dated anyone more than three years younger than me since my divorce, and honestly, I wasn't even looking at all when we met. I'd sort of promised myself never to get that close to anyone again, and I threw myself into my work completely. Well, that and trying to be there for my son."

"You seem to have done a pretty fantastic job, Michael," Sarah said as she looked over at Tyler.

"And you, as well," he said as Savannah smiled warmly first at him then at her mother.

"So could you please just agree to give this some time?" Savannah asked again.

Sarah looked over again at Tyler who shrugged and said, "I'm game."

She turned back to her daughter then looked right at Michael.

"I've always prided myself on being open-minded and tried to raise Savannah to be like that, too. But in this case, I'm having a very difficult time doing that."

komrad1156
komrad1156
3,777 Followers