Love is Not a Game

Lenora smiled back at her and shook her hands. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear Caroline, keep making your father, and your son proud of you. I for one, know that you can do it!"

Both woman then talked for while like they had been longtime friends, Lenora openly told Caroline about her own struggles in the past, how she too, as a single mother went through periods of her life where she felt all alone. It felt good to Caroline to finally talk to someone again, to socialize a bit with another woman of her age after being more of a workaholic for the past few years.

"So Caroline, what I would advise you to do is to take a few weeks off work. Do stuff with your son, socialize a bit more with other people. Maybe your hobbies could help with that, although... Reading and painting don't really allow for much interactivity with others..." Suggest Lenora after their friendly talk.

Caroline started to fidget with her fingers, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well... Besides those hobbies I still have another one that I did not told you of yet..."

Lenora looked up at her quite surprised. "Oh? Well, tell me about it, why wouldn't you mention it to me before?"

"I... Uh... I think it's a bit embarrassing for me, a thirty-seven-year-old woman to still be doing that..." Caroline quietly responded.

"Oh that's nonsense Caroline, why would you be embarrassed of something you enjoy doing? I mean, it's two-thousand-and-eighteen now, a lot of people have different hobbies that go in all sorts of directions." Said Lenora to reassure her.

"Oh... Well, now that you mention it like that... Okay, I still like to play video games. Although I didn't have much time for them the last few years, I would like to give it a shot again. I was very fond of them as a little girl, and I have to admit, I still crave to being able to pick them up once again." Explained Caroline.

Lenora clapped her hands together. "Then go for it Caroline! Who's stopping you? Nowadays video games are so advanced that whole groups of people can play at the same time, and interact with each other too, at least that's what my own son explained to me. Maybe that's a good place to start becoming more social again? You know, find one of those online games where you can group up with people, I bet that there are much more women like you who play games than you think!"

A smile returned to Caroline's face again. "You know what Lenora? Why not! I could get my son to help me out with it, he's just as much of geek as I am!" She said with a giggle.

Lenora stood up out of her chair and reached out her hand. "That's exactly what I want to hear and see Caroline! Just have some time for yourself, for both of you. I really think this will set you back on the right track!"

Caroline also stood up and shook Lenora's hand. "I have a good feeling about it so I will give it ago. Thanks for listening to me Lenora, and for pushing me into the right direction. I seriously needed to hear this from another single mom like me!" She said excited.

Lenora started to laugh. "Well, that's what I'm here for! Now, get your behind home, relax and spend some time with your son. Take it easy and I swear that you will feel much better after a week or two. Just let me know how everything is going and, if you ever feel down again, you know how to reach me."

Both woman then said their goodbyes. A freshly awoken Caroline, almost reborn, walked out of the building, ready to get her life back on rails. She looked forward to being able to do her long lost hobby again, and to share more time with her son, who had always been looking out for her after her father passed away, just like he had promised him.

*****

Kevin came home early after finishing his classes at the university. As he was munching on a sandwich in their apartment's kitchen he was thinking about how everything would be going with his mother, now that he had finally managed to convince her to seek help for her problems.

Seeing his mother spiraling down after his grandfather's death had a deep impact on him as well. He was so concerned for her that his own priorities suffered greatly, he couldn't concentrate in his classes, he made stupid mistakes at his part time job at a local IT shop and often forgot to properly take care of himself. He wanted to be there for her as much as possible, even when she became distant to him. As 'the man of the house' he had to keep his promise that he made to his grandfather.

"I just hope that that woman manages to talk some sense into her... She seemed alright, friendly too, totally the type for Mom to get into a conversation with." He said to himself before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Just as he was about to finish his sandwich he heard the front door of their apartment opening, followed by the clicking sounds of his mother's heels and a very familiar humming tune that she only made when she was happy.

He then turned himself around to the opening to see his mother standing in front of him with a big smile on her face, looking very cute in her low-cut summer dress that showed off her curvy body.

They kept looking each other in the eyes for a few seconds when suddenly Caroline leapt forward with a happily sounded yelp, crashing against her son's body before giving him a long kiss on his cheek.

Kevin started to blush from her sudden outburst, he could feel her firm breasts mashing against his chest, and the combination of her soft lips on his skin and that sweet female fragrance of her made his cock tingle.

After his grandfather's death he started to see her in a different way, not only as his mother but also as a beautiful, cute single woman that he would protect no matter what. He had always loved her to death but the sudden changes in their lives made him feel so much more for her, he slowly started to long for her in a way that a son never should have.

"Wow! I guess your appointment was an effective one?" Asked Kevin excited as he held her close to him.

Caroline let go and looked up to her son again. "Honey, I'm so glad that I took your advice! Lenora... Uh... Ms. Lorenz knew exactly what was going on in my mind. It just clicked immediately after she told me what she suspected what my problem was, it was like talking to my best friend!"

Kevin smiled at her and hugged her again. "I told you it would be a good idea! Mom, I'm so proud of you!"

Caroline hugged him back. "And I'm proud of you baby, I'm such a lucky mother to have such an amazing son."

Kevin started to blush even more. "You know I would do anything for you Mom..." He responded softly as their embrace kept on going for a while.

Mother and son had taken a seat in the living room after Kevin washed his plate and cutlery. Kevin sat in the corner of their couch with his mother right next to him. Caroline had her legs tucked under her body and was leaning against her son, just like they used to sit together. She told him in full detail what she and Lenora had discussed, what advice she received from her and how much of a relief it was for her to pour her heart out to someone else of her own age, someone that went through her own set of difficulties as a single mother.

"So this means that I'm going to see my gamer Mom in all of her glory again?" Said Kevin excited after learning that she was going to pick up one of her biggest hobbies again.

Caroline giggled and smiled at him. "It's what the doctor ordered honey! And to be honest... I kind of missed playing games, it made me realize how much time I spend on work stuff instead of enjoying myself once in a while."

"So have you already taken days off from work? I can help with setting up stuff, I can probably score some gamer rig pretty cheap from work, I mean, no offense but that work laptop you are using now is way outdated." Said Kevin.

Caroline placed her hand on her son's thigh before speaking. "You don't have to do that for me sweetheart, and I start with a couple of weeks leave after Friday, I promised to attend an important meeting so that will be the last thing work related for a while."

"Alright... But I'm serious Mom, I want to help you out with this." Responded Kevin as he placed his hand on top of his mother's, feeling her soft skin. "What did you have in mind to play anyway, she mentioned that interaction with others was important, so I guess an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) or something?"

A soft giggle came from Caroline as her son asked her that question. "You hit the nail on the head baby, I was thinking to get back into Eternia Online... I still have my account info from all those years ago, so that might be the perfect thing for me."

Kevin looked up to her in disbelieve. "No way Mom! You played Eternia? Since when?" He asked curiously.

"At the launch of the game twenty-one years ago, a year before you were born." Said Caroline with a big smile. "Your mother is a Eternia player from the first hour sweetie!"

"Damn! I never knew that, my Mom is a classic gamer girl! You know, the game has had a complete overhaul the past few years and it still is going strong with a large dedicated fan-base, this would indeed be perfect for you to start again." Responded Kevin.

Caroline nodded her head. "To be true, I stopped playing it after you were born, I couldn't keep up with the game because I had to help Dad, take care of you and my school. But I never really 'left' the game sort to speak, I kept up to date with the changes and always followed its development cycle till this very day. I wanted to give it a try again but I was so focused on work that it never came to it."

"Until today that is... Ha! I can't wait to see the all serious you again, I know how you can get when you put your soul into it." Said Kevin with a grin. "I might even be able to play together with you sometimes. Although I have a lot of Uni work, I think I can squeeze some hours in."

"You know... I would like that darling, just the two of us again... Having a good time together." Said Caroline with her motherly voice before cuddling up to her son further.

She then placed another long lasting kiss on the corner of Kevin's mouth, her impressive bust brushing against his arm. One hand still on his thigh and the other caressing his cheek.

"Y-yeah... I would like that too Mom..." Responded Kevin to her with a new blush across his face, the affective touch of his mother stirring his cock again.

Caroline giggled again after seeing her son blush. "You are just so cute Kev... I love you..." She whispered to him as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I... I love you too Mom..." Whispered Kevin back to her, his right arm now wrapped around her body, pulling her closer so they could cuddle even more.

"Honey... I... I'm sorry for acting the way I did... I... I didn't mean to but everything was so... so..." Stammered Caroline to say, still feeling a bit guilty about her behavior.

Kevin kissed the top of her head and gently rubbed her arm. "It's okay Mom... No need to apologize, I can understand how you felt... I wasn't the same too you know?"

Caroline started to turn her head to respond to her son, but she quickly dropped it back onto his shoulder again before letting out a soft sigh. "It was a hard time for us... But that's in the past now, so let's make the best of it... Let's just... Cuddle for a while longer, okay?"

Kevin kissed the top of her head again and held her body close to him, not saying a word as the two of them just enjoyed each other's presence. And so mother and son were reunited again, starting with a clean slate.

*****

Kevin woke up with a loud yawn, today he was going to set the plan in motion that he came up with last night in bed. His mother would be gone till late so he had all the time to complete his surprise for her.

His palm slammed onto his alarm clock to shut off the annoying beep. Usually he would have been grumpy, turning himself around for an extra five minutes or so. But this time he shot out of bed, grabbed his clean clothes that he readied the day before and went straight to the bathroom for his morning shower.

Passing the hallway to the bathroom he saw the spare room he and his mother used to store stuff in, that very room was his main goal today. He wanted to give it a makeover, to make it into a room where he and his mother could enjoy their favorite hobby together.

After a quick shower he had a simple 'grab and snack' breakfast and after he was done with that he went straight back to the room he looked at before going into the bathroom.

He started with removing the items they had stored over time that had no use for either of them anymore. Once he was busy with that he smirked to himself, thinking about how much useless items people can store and pile up over the years without simply throwing them away. So with garbage bags at the ready he made short work of that, he still had to pick up other equipment for the room later so he might as well make a detour to the waste disposal facility on the way.

Kevin let out a long sigh after finally getting rid of the piles of useless stuff. He scanned around the now rather clean looking room, sweeping from left to right until he spotted something that made him smile. There was some old furniture that he could easily use for the room he had in mind, two modern looking, comfy chairs and a thin wood table that would fit perfectly against one of the walls in the room. Although it was thin it was very sturdy, perfect for him to put their gaming rigs and monitors on, along with the additional electronic devices.

"Mom is totally gonna love this!" Said Kevin to himself as he visualized their finished gaming room. With the added enthusiasm he started with cleaning the nearly empty room from top to bottom before moving on with putting the furniture in its proper place. After that came placing power strips, wiring Ethernet cables from the modem in the living room to their little game domain through the wall and setting up a wireless router specific for their other electronic devices. The whole morning was used on renovating the room, and once he was done with that he could start part two of his plan.

At the same time Caroline was having a hard time keeping focus on the meeting she was attending with her colleagues. Her mind was occupied on what she was going to do when her weeks off work started. First and foremost was spending time with her son, and second came the advice Lenora had given her.

She was ready to pick up her long lost hobby again, only she had no clue where to start with it. As a girl she had access to the newest of the newest PC's and other gaming related things, thanks to her father, but this time she had to start from scratch and they weren't exactly swimming in money.

"You okay Caroline?" She suddenly heard coming next from her.

She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly refocused herself on the meeting.

"Y-yes James... Sorry about that, my mind was somewhere else." She said with an apologizing tone.

James, her boss, nodded and smiled at her. "You must be looking forward to those weeks off, don't you? I completely understand but I do need you to stay with us this last day, it's important stuff that we will have to deal with in the following months. If you don't feel good, we can take a break if you want?"

"No, no need for that... I am indeed looking forward to those weeks off, but you are right." She then straightened her skirt and took a sip of her coffee before her bright smile returned. "Let's finish this so we can all go home early, okay?"

"That's the Caroline we know!" Said her other colleague.

The meeting resumed and Caroline attended it without any more distractions, only looking forward to the days to come.

Back at the Felton apartment, Kevin was giving the renovated room the finishing touches before he could start part two of his gaming room plan.

With the fully filled garbage bags in hand he made his way outside to his mother's car. Caroline rather used her bicycle to get to her work as it helped her staying fit, the car was a last resort for her if the weather decided to show its ugly side.

Kevin placed the garbage bags in the back and quickly made his way behind the steering wheel. First stop was the waste disposal facility followed by the store where he had his part-time job and last but not least the photography studio where he had ordered the last remaining surprise for his mother.

"Alright Kev, make it a bit hasty but drive safely. If everything goes according to plan, then I will have just enough time to set up everything before Mom returns home." He said to himself as he started the car and took off.

The first part of the trip was taken care of rather quickly, he then drove off to the little IT store where he would be picking up one of the big surprises for his mother.

Once arrived he entered the store through the backdoor as he was one of the employees that had the keys for opening and closing the store.

As he entered he was immediately greeted by the impressive gaming rig that he had built himself from the ground up, the rig that would be his mother's after today. The day before he had made sure that it was ready to be picked up, all cables and necessary accessories where placed right next to it so he surely wouldn't forget any of them.

Kevin had a short talk with one of his colleague's that was working today before heading off to the last destination. He had already paid for the gaming rig the day before and thanks to the benefits of being an employee it also didn't cost nearly as much as it should have been, it was still a big chunk of income but since it was for his mother he didn't really care about it.

As he pulled up to the photography studio he waited a few seconds to admire it. It had recently been opened by two young women that had immediately made a name for themselves due to their incredible quality services. They had turned an old, depressing looking store into one of the most appreciated ones in a short time span.

Once inside he was greeted by a beautiful and bright young woman with fierce red hair that had a big smile on her face.

She offered her hand as she spoke to him. "Hi! I'm Stephanie! And you must be Kevin Felton, coming to pick up that adorable mother and son family picture?" She said happily.

Kevin shook her hand and nodded his head. "Indeed I am; I hope it wasn't a problem for you two to make it in such a short period of time?" He asked with an equally bright smile on his face.

Stephanie shook her head. "No, not at all! Vanessa really worked her magic and I have to say that it looks splendid, I'm sure your mother will appreciate it. Here, let me show you the final result." She answered as she signaled to Kevin to come further into the studio.

Suddenly Kevin noticed a small, red-headed girl that looked awfully familiar to Stephanie standing on her toes, trying to grab a jar that spelled 'cookies' across it from a counter.

"Ahem!" Fake-coughed Stephanie as she placed her hands on her hips and faced towards the little girl's direction. "Olivia Judith Caldwell, what are we trying to achieve here?" She asked with a stern, motherly voice.

The little girl froze on the spot, stood still for a few seconds and then quickly darted off to another room while she giggled.

Stephanie let out a giggle herself. "My daughter, she sure is a feisty one." She said to Kevin who smiled back at her. "Anyway, here it is Kevin. Take a good look at it. I hope it is to your likings, we always strive for the very best, especially when it involves families which is also something very important to me." Said Stephanie as she carefully held up the enlarged, framed picture towards Kevin.

Kevin watched it quietly for a few seconds, a handful of emotions running through his whole body as looked at himself and his mother, hugging and smiling together on a park bench, it was one of the last pictures that his grandfather took from them before he passed away. He wanted to place this beautiful framed picture in the very room he had renovated, to also bring a little bit of his grandfather's spirit into it. This was his last surprise for his mother, and possibly also the most emotional one.