Like Father, Like Son

"Tyler! Hi. Please come in!"

He was wearing a very nice jacket and a dressy, button-down shirt under it along with a pair of jeans and Sarah thought he looked even more handsome than she'd remembered.

"Had I know you were dressing up, I'd have changed into something nicer myself," she said not wanting to admit she'd already changed once.

"Nicer than what you're wearing now? Wow. I'd like to see that," he said with a smile. "You look amazing, by the way."

"Oh, well...thank you. May I say you look very dapper? I really like the jacket."

"Thank you. I'm not a jacket kind of guy. Not very often, anyway," he said with a smile.

Like his father, Tyler was just a shade under 6'2" tall and had a very nice physique. He wasn't muscular, per se, but she could tell he'd look nice in...well...anything.

"Please come in and I'll get us a glass of wine," she said trying once again to recover. She was used to being in control of herself and this...feeling...was all very new to her.

"I really like your home," he said as he looked around.

"Oh, thanks. I can take credit for decorating it, but Savannah was right when she said my husband made sure we were taken care of financially. I'm truly grateful for his planning and forethought. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been had he not thought ahead."

"Is it too personal to ask what happened?" Tyler asked delicately as he followed her to the kitchen.

"No. Not at all," she told him as she pulled the bottle of wine from a cooler on the granite countertop.

"Have you seen the TV show where they go crab fishing up in Alaska?" she asked as she found the opener.

"Oh, sure. Deadliest Catch. I rarely watch TV, but that's the kind of thing I enjoy whenever I have time. I binge-watched two seasons on spring break a couple of years ago. I know, I'm a real party animal, right?"

Sarah laughed as she pulled the cork out.

"Well, I actually was a bit of party girl when I was an undergrad. I worked in a bar where a lot of the guys who work the boats hang out in their off season. That's where I met my husband, Kevin. I was very young and he was quite handsome. A year later we were married and a year after that, Savannah was born."

"Was he ever featured on the show?"

"No. In fact, there are a lot of boats that didn't want camera crews on board filming 24/7. Kevin was a deckhand for years. Five years after we got married he got his own boat, and had been a captain for quite a while before the TV crews started showing up. He was 100% against it and never wanted them onboard."

She handed him a glass then said, "Anyway, I had no idea just how dangerous crab fishing was until the show started airing on TV because Kevin hid it from me. Once I saw the show I knew why. He'd known quite a few guys who didn't come home and around the time Savannah turned 10, he insisted on getting a life insurance policy."

She asked Tyler to sit down across from her then continued.

"A very big life insurance policy. That was because one of his best friends also owned a boat, and he and his entire crew went down somewhere in the Bering Sea and no one was ever found. He never told me about it, but around the same time he took out the policy, he wrote me a letter. You know, in case something happened. After the worst possible 'something' happened, I read it, and that's when I found out about Charlie's boat—his good buddy of many years—who died during a terrible storm and how Kevin wanted to be sure we'd be taken care of for life."

"Oh, my God. So your husband's boat. It sank, too?"

"Yes. The Coast Guard received a mayday call about a half hour before they went under. By the time they got there...."

"Hey, that's okay," Tyler said when he saw her fighting back tears. "You don't have to say anything else, Sarah."

She turned away and said, "Sorry. Savannah told me to have good time tonight and here I am spoiling it."

Sarah got up and went to grab a paper towel off the countertop. As she reached for it, she became aware Tyler was standing behind her. He was so moved by her hurt, he couldn't help but want to comfort her and gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Please don't apologize. And thank you for sharing that with me. I...I can't imagine how difficult that had to be."

"Thank you," she said as she dried her eyes. "It really was awful. I won't try and pretend it wasn't very hard for me, but Savannah was the one who was really devastated, you know? She was a daddy's girl for sure. Her whole world was turned upside down in a moment."

Tyler ran his hands gently up and down her upper arms and said, "Feel free to share as much as you like, but if you'd like to move on, I'll understand."

"I think that might be best," she said as she set the paper towel down.

Tyler lowered his arms as she turned around but didn't have room to step back leaving them face to face.

Sarah looked so small and fragile and...beautiful...to him.

She looked up into his eyes then quickly looked away.

"Sorry," she said.

"No. It's okay. I'm the one crowding you," he told her as he put his hands behind her upper arms.

"Tyler, I...I should...."

"You are so beautiful," he told her sincerely.

"Oh. Um, I um...I didn't really have time to dress nicely or...."

She tried not to look up at him again, but his eyes were like magnets drawing hers to them. As hers met his, her body trembled in anticipation as he lowered his head and softly kissed her. Initially stunned, Sarah stood there motionless. As his lips pressed against hers, she raised her arms and placed her hands under his forearms then kissed him back for perhaps a second or possibly two before feeling very foolish.

"Tyler. I'm...I'm not ready for this. I'm very sorry. Between the wine and talking about Kevin...."

He didn't want to mention they'd only each taken one sip. He was so sure he'd read the signals correctly, but then again, she was sharing the most horrific event of her life. He had no intention of taking advantage of the situation, but if Sarah really felt that way and wasn't ready, he had no one to blame but himself.

"I think I just zigged when I should have zagged. Did I just ruin what might have been a very pleasant evening?" he asked with genuine concern.

"No. You didn't ruin anything, Tyler. I just wasn't ready...for that."

"I know a lot of guys who love science tend to be very socially awkward. I'm not usually one of them. I truly didn't mean to be...a dumb ass."

Sarah laughed when he used the word o' the day for her and Savannah.

"You're laughing," Tyler said. "That's a good thing, right?"

"I am laughing and yes, it is a good thing."

"Just one question. Are you by any chance laughing...at me?"

"Oh, heavens no! No, of course not. It's an inside joke between Savannah and me. It's silly, really."

"Care to share?" he asked with a goofy smile.

"Only if we can get back to our wine. The way things are going, I may need a second glass before long," Sarah told him before explaining the recent flurry of 'ass' comments.

Once that was out of the way, she asked him to try and explain his work to her in layman's terms; in part because she was genuinely interested but mostly to move on from what had just happened and to give her time to sort through how it made her feel.

He laid out the case for traveling faster than the speed of light in an extremely simple, straightforward way that made a dry, very dull subject a lot more interesting than it would normally seem. Not to Tyler or his dad, but to anyone not interested in the esoteric mathematical details of the theory.

Sarah was finishing her first glass of wine around the time Tyler summed up his dissertation on wormholes, and she was now genuinely fascinated by it all.

"Is it true that if someone traveled faster than the speed of light they'd go backward in time and be younger again?" she asked.

Tyler smiled then said, "No, sorry. No such luck. That's not what relatively teaches us. It just says that the speed of light is constant at all times everywhere in the universe. You would age more slowly relative to someone on earth or anyone traveling slower than you, but you wouldn't get any younger."

"Oh. That's too bad," she mused.

"Why is that?" Tyler asked.

"Oh, I don't know," she said shaking her head. "Were I younger then perhaps...."

She stopped talking in mid-sentence, smiled then told him, "I think I might have that second glass now. Would you like a little more?"

Tyler had taken two or three sips but said, "Sure. Yes, please."

"Your work is unbelievably interesting," she told him as she poured.

She laughed then added, "And I'm not saying that to make you feel good."

Sarah's tone of voice changed as she continued speaking. "I often wish I'd worked. I have all this education and never really did anything with it."

"You seem to have raised a pretty amazing daughter," he told her sincerely.

"She is kind of awesome, huh?" Sarah agreed with another smile. "I'd say your dad did a pretty great job, too."

"Thanks but he's the great guy. My hero, to be honest."

"It's obvious you two are very close. So are Savannah and I."

"That's a good thing, right?" Tyler said to be supportive.

"Oh, definitely. It's silly, I know, but I dread her leaving me."

"Leaving you?"

"Yes. To get married. I know, I know. We raise our children to become independent adults so they can start their own families, and she is very independent. I just wish she would slow down a little."

"How serious do you think they are?" Tyler asked to try and get Sarah's sense of where things we were between her daughter and his father.

"Very?" she offered as a kind of question without explanation. She wasn't about to tell Tyler Savannah had used the 'L' word.

"Yeah, I agree," Tyler said.

"You do?" she said her voice filled with concern. "Is there something you know you're not telling me?"

She was feeling guilty for wanting him to now share things he might not be able to share after being unwilling to do so herself just moments ago.

"Like I said, I've never seen my dad like this before. But it's not some kind of silly, giddy, puppy-love thing, you know? I think he really loves your daughter."

"Oh, God," Sarah said dejectedly before trying to recover almost as quickly. "Tyler? I'm so sorry. That had to sound terrible. What I meant was that I...."

Tyler laughed quietly and said, "It's okay. I get it. She's your little girl and always will be. You feel like you're losing her and if that's not bad enough it's to some...old guy you don't know, and you can't make sense out it. I guess maybe I have a similar concern with my dad. It's not the same, of course, but it will definitely be different if they, you know, get...."

"Don't say it. Please, don't say it out loud, okay?" Sarah asked.

"Okay. I won't say it, but you might want to consider getting mentally prepared for what seems to be inevitable."

"Okay, now you just ruined what was otherwise a very pleasant evening," Sarah said making sure to be smile even though she felt like she'd just been kicked in the stomach.

"As long as me, you know, kissing you, didn't ruin the evening, I guess I can live with ruining it by mentioning the unmentionable," Tyler said smiling back. His smile was genuine and Sarah knew it.

"You didn't ruin anything, Tyler. In fact, it was well, rather...pleasant. Very unexpected but still very nice," she said now smiling sincerely, too.

"You know, Sarah. You could always marry me and that way we could keep this...all in the family."

Sarah was in the middle of taking a sip of wine and spewed when she heard what Tyler said. It wasn't a 'TV spew' that was clearly faked. This was the real deal.

"Oh, my gosh! You did not just say that!" she exclaimed.

"I kinda did," he said now laughing rather loudly.

Sarah looked at him and when she did, there was that flutter thingy again. She looked away immediately and said she needed something to clean up the mess. She grabbed a soft cloth from the kitchen, came back and wiped up the spill, then returned the cloth where she found it.

On the way back into the living room, she walked right by Tyler who reached out for her hand.

"Tyler. Seriously?" she said trying to sound offended. And yet when he gently pulled her toward him she didn't resist. At all. In a second she was on his lap and once again looking into his eyes.

"Yes. Seriously," he told her.

"Tyler, I can't go back in time. Not even if your invention or theory or whatever it is eventually works. You understand that, right?" she said sweetly.

"I wouldn't want you to," he told her as he ran one hand slowly up and down the middle of her back.

Sarah didn't reply but she did hold his gaze this time.

"And why would I want you to?" he said basically repeating himself. "When I told you you're beautiful, I didn't say you'd be beautiful if.... I meant you're beautiful right now just the way you are."

He softly stroked her hair then said, "You are, you know."

"I don't...feel beautiful," she said quietly.

Tyler took his hands and starting touching her here and there and Sarah said, "Okay, what are you doing now?"

"I'm checking," he said as he kept it up.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what it is you're...checking."

"I'm just verifying what I observed. See, you do...feel beautiful!"

"Oh, my goodness! That was unbelievably corny!" she said giving him a playful push.

"Okay. Then it was corny. But it's still true," he told her as he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"Tyler, please. That's not such a good i...."

She stopped protesting and once their lips met again she let him kiss her. Within a second she kissed back and after another second or two found her arms sliding around his neck as his wrapped around her tight, narrow waist. The presence of his tongue initially surprised her but only briefly before she offered hers in return as the kiss grew deeper and more passionate.

"You know what this is, right?" Sarah said quietly when the kiss was over.

"Kissing?"

"Nooo.... We're acting out," she informed him.

"Oh, I see. Except that I don't...see."

Sarah was still sitting on his lap as she explained.

"My daughter is dating your father, right?"

"Okay, I'm with you so far," Tyler said.

"Well, neither one of us is particularly happy with that arrangement so it's obvious that we're doing this as a way of getting back at them."

"Oh, okay. Well, now it makes sense."

Tyler turned his head, pretended to cough and said as he faux coughed, "Not!"

"Hey! I heard that!" Sarah said putting on a pout for show.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're sitting on my lap. How could you not hear?" he said now smiling much too happily.

"Do you have a better idea, Mr. Scientist Man?" she asked with a bit of sass.

"We scientists have...theories," he informed her.

"Oh! Theories. Woo-ooo!" she said 'twinkling' her fingers. "So tell me. What is this...theory of yours?"

"Well, my careful observations tell me that you enjoyed being kissed rather than it being some kind of...what? Retribution?"

"Oh, really? And what makes you think I enjoyed being kissed by someone my daughter's age, O' Wise One?"

"Let's see. Well, there was the part where your lips pressed back against mine. Oh, and then there was the whole tongue thing. Also, I submit for evidence the fact that you are still sitting on my lap," Tyler informed her.

"Counterpoint?" she said getting ready to make her case.

"Please."

"First, you kissed me. Second, you started the tongue thing. I was just being a good hostess. And as I recall, you pulled me onto your lap. That's how I recall this."

"Interesting take," Tyler said. "All right. Then what you're saying is you would like to get up and for me to not kiss you again. Do I have that right?"

"Hey! Don't put words in my mouth!" she said trying to sound offended. "I didn't say that. Exactly."

"Is that what you'd like?" Tyler asked.

"Maybe," she said coyly.

"Or...maybe not?" he said as he pulled her closer.

"Maybe not," she said as she felt the now-familiar flutter again when he smiled and looked right into her eyes. "But if I let you kiss me again, what can we blame it on?"

"I'd say the law of gravity."

"Hmmm. That sounds promising. I think. Okay, I don't get it. Please explain," she said as she pulled her legs up and put her arms back around his neck again.

"Well, okay. Any two bodies with mass are gravitationally attracted. I won't bore you with the inverse square law. We'll just stick with the basics of attraction."

"Okay. That makes sense," she said. "But...the mass part? Did you just call me fat?"

Tyler tried not to laugh but couldn't help it.

"What? What's so funny about that? Oh, wait! You do think I'm fat, don't you?" she said as she pulled back a little.

When she did, their eyes met again and neither of them said a word for a second or two.

"It's definitely the attraction thing, isn't it?" Sarah finally said.

"I'm afraid it is," Tyler told her as he put a hand behind her head and gently pulled her toward him.

Sarah stopped him briefly before saying, "Tyler? I'm afraid, too, and that doesn't mean this isn't just as weird as your father and Savannah."

"Please stop talking and kiss me," Tyler said.

"Okay, okay. Don't get pushy already!" she said her eyes twinkling brightly.

This time, Sarah offered her tongue the moment their lips met.

"See, I really am a good hostess," she said after the first kiss before devouring her young lover.

It was around midnight and the new couple had just finished making love for the second time when Tyler asked, "Do you really believe we might be acting out?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Why?" Sarah asked as she raised her head to look into his gorgeous eyes.

"I suppose when I really think about it, you may have had a good point."

He paused for a moment as she continued looking at him then added, "And yet I don't really care because I really, really like you, Sarah."

"Hmmm. I'm glad because I really, really like you too, Tyler."

She sat up, looked down at him then said, "I'm going to modify what I said and claim that my daughter—and your father—inspired us."

Tyler reached up and touched her pretty face as she smiled at him and told her, "I like the way you think." He smiled back then said, "And look. And make love."

She laid on top of him then said, "Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've done that?"

"I won't say something silly because I have this feeling your answer will be serious."

"Sadly, it is." She kissed him once then told him she hadn't made love since her husband left home for his final trip to Alaska.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that, Sarah. I just hope I wasn't a disappointment."

"Oh, now you're just fishing for a compliment."

"How so?" he asked.

"I'm not the world's most experienced love maker by any stretch, but you were amazing in every sense of the word. Attentive, seductive, slow, delicious, and I had no idea a man could, you know, last that long."

"Whew! That was the thing I was most concerned about. But you did cum so...."

"Oh, I came all right. Five times and...counting?" she asked as she reached for him.

She was delighted when he grew so quickly in her hand. "Mmmm. I guess so!"

Things were equally steamy at the Turner home. This wasn't the happy couple's first time or anywhere close to it, but it was perhaps the most loving and tender session they'd enjoyed together.

It happened because Michael told her he not only loved her but that he was in love with her. Deeply in love.

Savannah fought back tears when he told her then said, "I told my mom today I loved you, and you can't imagine how badly I wanted you to say it first, Michael."

She then kissed him for a very long time before saying it back.