Mom, That Was You?

Author's Note: Welcome to my entry in Literotica's April Fools Day Story Contest 2023. Being an April fool myself, it's my favorite to enter. There are several aspects to choose from in the contest and for this story I'm using 'chance'. Usual disclaimer that this is my usual style of slow burn. Enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Hey Viv," Carla answered the incoming call as she wearily eyed the line of dead stop traffic between her and the exit. "What's going on?"

"Wow, you sound exhausted!" Her best friend since junior year of high school replied. "Tell me you're not working tonight?"

"No, Tuesdays and Fridays are my nights off," she laughed. "Only the nine hours in the office today, I'm slacking."

"You need to slow down, girlfriend," Viv told her. "You really need those three nights on your feet selling make up at a damn mall kiosk?"

"I'm not having this conversation again. Henry stuck me with the house, Brandon's tuition and our joint credit cards he maxed before he vanished with that skank."

"Not just any skank, his friend's wife," Viv sighed. "I was never a huge fan of his, but Christ that was as sleazy as it gets. Cheated on you and fucked over one of his best friends."

"And bailed on Brandon, we've been over this a hundred times since he left last year."

"Sorry, I just get upset that you're killing yourself and that creep isn't doing a damn thing to help his son."

"He's in Florida where all the other deadbeat dregs run, he didn't fall off the Earth," Carla grunted. "Be better if he did that way I wouldn't be tempted to hunt him down."

"I'll help!" Viv laughed. "I'll hold the gun while you beat the crap out of him."

"Not worth it. At least he signed off on the house so its in my name and he can't touch it."

"So he could get out of having to pay part of the mortgage, and because he conned you into taking money out for him to start his own practice so you don't even have equity. You let him off too easy."

"I want nothing from him and that includes talking about him," she paused and added, "Again."

"Point taken, again," Viv responded. "I guess I'm just bitter for you and Brandon. He's a great kid, deserves a lot better."

"He has better, he has just me now which means its all about him not his middle-aged Peter Pan needy father who wanted everything to revolve around him."

"True, but it sucks he has to work while going to school now. He should be having fun with his friends. College only comes once." She giggled. "And we came a lot in college didn't we?"

"Probably more than I did during my marriage." Carla complained. "Brandon works because he wants to help. I keep telling him to quit, but he insists on making some money and buying things for the house. I gave up talking him out of it."

"Stubborn like his mom. Responsible, and doesn't want a free ride."

"More of a man than his dad ever was." Carla nodded as she spotted an opening in the next lane and shot into it.

"Kid takes better care of you than his father did, that's for sure."

"Yeah, he thinks he's the man of the house now," she cut back across two lanes earning some angry horn blaring but finally able to take the exit. "I swear he does more housework than I do these days."

"Doesn't take much," Viv snickered.

"Thanks. Did you call for something other than dig up old wounds and insult me?"

"I did and was trying to get there when I joked about college. You get Robin's message on Facebook?"

"The 25th anniversary of Sis?"

"Yup, twenty-five years ago we founded our little off campus sorority, Sisters in Sin."

"Six out of eight of us still live here." She shrugged while taking a left off the exit. "Guess all our talk about getting out of Rhode Island was just talk."

"Robin wants us to get together to celebrate."

"I know, it was in the message, lunch at Twin Oaks on Sunday."

"You're going I hope."

"Supposed to work 12-5," Carla wasn't sure she was up to catching up with people she hadn't seen in person in a long time and having to rehash the crappy last year of her life for them.

"Oh, come on! We do this once every five years, take it off. Get that young ditz that works with you to cover it."

"I don't feel like talking about Henry."

"You're the fifth one out of the six of us to get divorced, and I never married. They've been there and it's the reason I never went there at all," she laughed. "Life is a series of men for me."

"Whatever."

"Besides," her tone grew sly, "Only thing we'll be talking about is the other event Robin has planned."

"What event? We going to do some female mid life crap and go see male strippers?"

"Seeing you're off tonight, how about I come by for some coffee later. I want to tell you in person."

"Oh, Jesus," Carla rolled her dark eyes. "Just tell me now."

"Nope, in person and seeing it's this Friday and this is your only other night off we need to talk tonight."

"I think from the tone I'm saying no without knowing."

"Carla, we've been best friends since we were sixteen. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"You got us arrested once, almost expelled from High school and put on probation at URI."

"Good times!" Viv laughed. "Come on, Carla at least hear me out, please?"

"Fine, come by around seven. Can I at least get a hint?"

"All I'll say is out of all of us, you're the one who needs this the most." Viv giggled. "See you at seven!"

Chapter 2

"Don't tell me he did it without me!" Carla mumbled when she pulled up to the house and saw the garage door wide open and several trash bags in the driveway.

Sure enough, as soon as she parked, Brandon came out carrying a large cardboard box marked "Good will" and brought it to the old black Ford Ranger pick up he wouldn't part with even though it had high miles, had been dinged up in an accident, and she'd offered to help him get something newer.

"Honey, what are you doing?" she demanded as she exited her Black Rav 4. "I told you we'd do this together on the weekend!"

"Yeah, I know," Brandon dropped the box into the bed of the pickup with several others and closed the tailgate. "That's why I did it now."

"The why being you don't listen?" She followed him as he headed back into the garage, her heels clicking on the cement.

"The why being you're working the mall on Sunday and don't need to spend your one day off cleaning this out."

Brandon plucked a bottle of water out of the small cooler on the floor and chugged half of it.

"You only have one day off too between work and school. Why's it okay for you?"

"I'm younger," he gave her a wicked smirk. "Duh!"

"Watch it, smart ass!" Carla looked around the garage which had been a mess for

months and was now completely organized and even the floor swept.

"Yes, ma'am," he paused to finish the water. "You want me to mess it up again so you can say you cleaned it too?"

"I said watch it," Carla told him. "But thank you, Brandon. I appreciate it."

"I know you do, and I appreciate all you do." He tossed the bottle in the recycling.

"I'm sure Miss Givens across the street appreciates you out here in tight jeans and no shirt."

"Its hot as hell in here even with the door open, and I can't help it if the horny housewife across the street gets a free show." He made a show of flexing.

"Oh, please." Carla rolled her eyes, then laughed when Bandon broke into some awkward dance moves singing;

"Look at that body, look at that body, I'm sexy and I know it!"

"Oh my god, stop that!" she playfully whacked his arm, but couldn't stop smiling. "That's awful."

"Awfully true!" he gave her an exaggerated wink, "How you doin, hot stuff?"

"I'm doin' better now," she wiped at her eye. "You always know how to make me laugh."

"Yeah, but I was being serious. After all, I come from a modeling pedigree. It's in the blood!" He managed a straight face for a few seconds before breaking into a big smile.

"Okay, not really, but I like seeing you happy. You're way too serious these days."

"I can say that about you too," she replied while watching him grab the broom from where he'd leaned it against the work bench and put it on the rack with the rake and other gardening tools.

Brandon may have been kidding about his looks, but that was because he was a grounded and humble kid. The reality was her son was a damn fine looking young man. His shock of thick short, naturally wavy black hair coupled with his father's odd shade of ice blue eyes, was a sexy combination.

His features were rugged, and he tended to have an intense look on his face even when he was relaxed. That look along with a carefully maintained scruff of growth on his face gave him a bad boy appeal.

Adding to that were the two large tattoos, one on each arm going from his shoulder to his elbow. Both were creepy demon things, and Carla wasn't a fan, but he loved horror and paid for them himself.

Brandon didn't smoke, or even drink, didn't party and had never been in any trouble so she figured if that was the worst he did, it wasn't that big of a deal. In addition to the intense look and dark ink, her son's physique could gain the attention of any woman.

Years of playing football, hitting the gym and now his night job loading trucks at UPS had contributed to a thickly muscled upper body, and she was sure it wasn't just Lori Givens across the street who watched him when he jogged in just a pair of shorts in the summer.

All in all, Brandon wasn't just attractive, but had the kind of bad boy appeal women of all ages swooned for. It was an ironic look considering he was an absolute sweetheart with a goofy sense of humor, a generous heart, and a gentle nature.

He was a gentleman with the girls, and never got into any fights or trouble with other guys. Part of that might be his looks didn't make him a desirable target, but it was also the fact he'd always seemed mature beyond his years and took nothing anyone said to heart, a bit of an old soul as her mother would say.

Carla's eyes lowered to his jeans which to a mother's eyes were too tight, showing off his ass, and when he turned to face her, she couldn't help noticing the front was as well filled out as the back.

It wasn't a proper thought to have, but it was why she didn't care much for him dressing that way. It was also the thought of a woman because Carla was aware that if Brandon was any young man but her son, she'd be gawking as much as Milf wannabe Lori who had blatantly flirted with Brandon on several occasions.

If she had any doubt about her son's looks, last year when he attended her firms' annual picnic at Goddard Park with her put them to rest. Every woman from young interns around his age to women older than her had been looking him over, and several had remarked to her how attractive he was.

One young girl had done more than remark. Carla hadn't been able to spot him at the picnic area or beach for over an hour and conspicuously absent was Cindy, the niece of one of her co-workers.

When Carla had teased him later about it, he'd said they'd gone swimming on the other side of the grounds. When she asked if that's all they did, he'd said of course, but couldn't look her in the eye and had blushed.

Carla hadn't been mad; he was 19 and a good looking happy go lucky kid enjoying life. As Viv had joked, Carla had her share of wild and sexy times in high school and college until she'd met Henry just after she graduated and settled down.

That was last year when Brandon went to school, was on the football team, hung with his friends and had a slew of girlfriends. He never saw more than one girl at a time but didn't last more than a couple of months with any of them.

Carla would have liked to see him get serious with someone, but the only thing she pushed on him was never cheat on or use a girl, if you're dating that's it, and if you want more, then break it off.

Good thing he'd listened to her and not gone by his father's example of carrying on a two year affair with a friend's wife before leaving one night with his computer, clothes and a few personal effects and leaving her a note about how he couldn't live a lie anymore and fled the state with a woman who was as big of a sleazy immoral disgusting piece of shit as he was.

The year since then had caused a big, and understandable, change in Brandon. He quit football so he could work, both were things she'd been adamant he didn't do, but he was hellbent on picking up his father's slack and helping her pay the bills she'd been stuck with.

The only time he spent with friends was online playing games after work, and she hadn't seen him with a girl in months. His grades were still excellent, probably because she'd warned him if they dipped she'd quit his damn job for him.

Between studying, working, and doing far more than his share around the house, Brandon had no life when he should be having the time of his life. The only times she saw him act the way he just had, clowning around, and laughing, were around her to keep her from being "Mama misery".

He called her that when she sank into her bitter moods over Henry and what he'd stuck her with and how he'd left without even a face to face goodbye, slinking out while she was at an overnight conference in New York and Brandon had an out of state football game.

"Hey, over there!" Carla blinked, then flinched when Brandon waved his hand in front of her face. "You having a senior moment?"

"You're not going to live to be a senior you keep going with the old jokes." Carla quipped. "I was just thinking you should be out with your friends, not cleaning the garage."

"I had a good time," he gestured to the pickup. "All those boxes are the shit dickhead left behind. Good to finally get rid of it."

"I'm supposed to tell you not to call your father a dickhead, but..." she gave him a tight smile. "Can't always do what we're supposed to."

"True, and I'm not the only one who needs to do things with friends, you know."

"Viv is coming over later, and I might go out to lunch with her and a few friends Sunday, so there."

"Touché'," he nodded. "What about another kind of friend?"

"I told you that's not up for discussion. I'm not ready."

"It's been a year."

"I know, and..."

"And for two years before that, dickhead was boning his slut and barely paying attention to you."

"Brandon, enough!" she snapped. "I know, I was there and don't need to be reminded."

'Sorry," he lowered his head. "I just get mad because he's living it up and you're working and moping a year later."

She put her arm around his bare shoulders. "I'm mad for you too. You should be playing ball and chasing girls. You need that other kind of friend too."

"Hey, I spend every Friday night with a smoking hot cougar!"

"Jeez, and here I am in heels and not my boots." Carla waved him off.

"Seriously, Mom, you were a damn model in your twenties, and you could still do it now if you wanted to. You are way too young and too hot to be alone."

"I'm hot?" she frowned. "Not sure I like you saying that." Then again, hadn't she just been thinking that about him, and only in the purely clinical sense of him being attractive?

"Then find someone else to tell you you're beautiful."

"Wow, now I'm hot and beautiful! Okay, you don't have to flatter me. I'll head in and get dinner started."

"Done," he told her.

"Done? You made dinner?"

"Damn straight I did. I went right into the..." he lowered his voice. "Deli at Dave's and bought the premade lasagna you like. But! I, with my own two hands, went into the house and put it into the oven and set the timer about five minutes before you came home.

He pulled his phone from his hip. "It'll be done in twenty minutes."

"You're awesome, you know that?" she kissed his cheek.

"Got an awesome mom." He grinned. "Hot and gorgeous too."

"Gorgeous." She raised her eyebrows,

"Hey, only a beautiful woman could make a guy as fine as me."

"Get your ass in the house and shower, you're all sweaty and dirty, and make it quick before I eat all the lasagna."

"I threw some of those Pillsbury rolls in there too."

"Have I told you, you're the best son ever?"

"Yes, but keep doing it, I have low self esteem."

"I can tell, mister sexy and he knows it."

"And you're miss sexy who needs to know it."

"Shower," she shooed him away with her fingers.

"I'm going," he picked up the remote closing the garage door, and Carla followed him through the side door that led into the breezeway, then into the kitchen.

"What's with the compliments today?" she asked before he left the room to go upstairs.

"I don't know, I just want you to know that you have a lot to offer someone."

"I feel like there's more to that."

"Because last week made a year and you haven't even been on a damn date. You need to have some fun mom, and I mean that kind of fun."

"Overstepping the bounds there, mister," she warned him.

"You're 45 not 65, and if you don't want dating or drama then just you know, hook up."

"Brandon! I'm your mother."

"You're also a woman, and deserve to be taken care of, and that includes the bedroom."

"Seriously, you're pushing the boundaries of a mom son conversation."

"And it's been way more than a year. God knows that selfish tool wasn't taking care of you."

Carla blinked in surprise at not just the conversation, but the heat in his tone. She'd just been thinking how good natured and laid back he was but had forgotten that his demeanor changed entirely when discussing his father.

"That's not your business, Brandon. I know you're an adult, but what I do in the bedroom is..."

"Or didn't do," he put his hands out. "Look, I heard you griping to Viv on the phone a couple times. Telling her how dad didn't want it and how you were using toys."

"Whoa!" Carla raised her voice. "This stops now, young man!"

He paused and seemed to realize what he was saying. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk like that. I just want you to get out there and live, Mom. Meet a nice guy or find a mister right now and just have a good time. I just want you to be happy."

"I appreciate that, but a woman my age, let alone a mom, just doesn't go on Tinder and hook up."

"Why?"

"Huh?" The way he asked had caught her off guard.

"You're single, and I'm twenty, I'm a grown ass man, not like I'm six and need mommy to tuck me in."

"You think a lot different than most kids your age, I'll give you that." She gave him a weak attempt at a smile. "You going to set up a tinder profile for me?"

"Nah, I was wrong about that." He winked. "Maybe more like silver singles, you know for all the old people."

"Shower!" she snapped, pointing upstairs, then swinging at his arm.

With a laugh he dodged her hand and ran out of the room.

Carla sniffed, then hurried over and opened the oven. The rolls were golden brown, cooked well before the lasagna, something Brandon hadn't thought of. With a smile she grabbed a potholder and pulled out the pan.

After covering it with a cloth placemat to keep them warm, Carla left the kitchen and went down the hall into her bedroom. The room had once been the guest bedroom, but after Henry left and she discovered she'd been his sloppy seconds for two years and had slept next to a cheating lying dog, she didn't want to be there anymore.

The room was decent sized, big enough for her to have room for a new queen-sized bed, her grandmother's bureau, and armoire, and had a walk in closet that had formerly been full of Henry's golf clubs, skis and fishing gear, proving she was the hobby he'd been least interested in the last few years.

He'd had the nerve to call her and ask her if he could send one of his friends by to pick it up, but by then Brandon, in a move she loved him for, had taken pictures of everything and sold it all on Craig's list.