My Brother was the Man of the House

My mother was the first to react. She flung her arms around my brother, crying into his shoulder. Then I joined her. And while I hadn't meant to, I began crying, also. I half-expected my brother to tease me; instead, he draped his arm around me, embracing the two of us.

I don't know when my father joined us. Several minutes had passed, at least. But then he rubbed my brother's back, mumbling, again and again, "Well done. Well done."

My mother and I were still sobbing. My brother kissed both of us on the forehead, as if we were children that he was trying to placate. Then he lifted my mother's chin and kissed her on the mouth.

The kiss wasn't hard or sexy; it was gentle, pacifying.

In some cultures, a mother will kiss her child's mouth. But, for a son to offer the kiss to his mother in adulthood, for her to receive the kiss so nakedly, was nothing short of beautiful.

They kissed for less than a minute, but it felt longer. Time had become syrupy, melting and stretching as my father and I watched Noah kiss his wife. We were both blushing at the intimacy but neither of us interjected.

When they finally came apart, I thought they would laugh to break any lingering awkwardness. But, they just looked into each other's eyes, exchanging a hidden message, before my mother rested her head on my brother's chest again, smiling.

I had never seen my mother look so happy.

3

Over the next few months, my brother released an Indie game to mild success.

We used his earnings to repay our remaining debts and save up an emergency fund.

The day my brother made the last payments to our parents' credit cards, my father was out looking for jobs. He had started submitting applications to neighboring towns, which meant that he spent a lot of time away from home.

When the computer screen told us that we had zero dollars on our last open credit card, my mother peppered my brother's cheek with kisses.

"Mom, stop, Cass is here," my brother said.

"I don't mind." Then, because I knew they were worried about me reporting back to my father, "I won't tell dad."

My brother and mother exchanged a look before bursting out laughing. I wasn't sure what was so funny. But maybe they laughed because it wasn't funny. Like someone laughing at a macabre play.

I thought they would dismiss me. Instead, my mother pulled her son into a kiss.

We were all sitting on the couch, my mother and I on either side of my brother. I had to lean forward to watch as my mother explored my brother's mouth with her tongue. I wondered how many times they had kissed like this.

When they separated, they looked at me, like two dancers awaiting their score.

I wasn't sure what to say so I asked them how it felt.

"Are you interested?" My mother asked.

I thought about it.

"I'm fine with watching."

My mother swung her hips so that she was sitting on my brother's lap. They kissed again. I was trying to focus on them but I found myself looking away sometimes. I felt suddenly shy.

She started gyrating on his lap. She smashed her tits into my brother's chest, deepening their kiss. It was like watching two high school kids making out.

At some point, I started touching myself. Underneath my sweatpants. I knew they could see me, even though they didn't make it obvious. Their movements became more performative. My mother started moaning down her son's throat.

I flicked my clit furiously, angrily. I was ashamed by how wet I was.

"Fuck, this is hot," Noah whispered.

He started groping my mother's ass, pulling her towards him and then pushing her away. Towards. Away. Towards. Away. He was masturbating with his mother's ass, which she seemed fine with.

I saw my brother's boner pushing from underneath his pants. It was slightly above average. Which is a weird thought to have about your brother's penis, I know.

Meanwhile, my mother was urging him on, saying how he deserved this treatment for taking such good care of her over the past several months. He had become a good man.

"Cass, stay down here," my brother said suddenly.

I stopped stroking my clit. My mother stopped gyrating on Noah's lap.

"Let's go upstairs, mom," Noah said.

"What?--Noah." I said, shocked.

My mother didn't say anything as she got off my brother's lap. But, she looked, if not uncomfortable, then uncertain. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just told her that they couldn't go too far, that dad would be home soon.

"Yes, Noah, maybe she's right," my mother said. But, Noah ignored her and pulled her with him. Upstairs. Towards our parents room.

I followed. Noah seemed too distracted to tell me to stay downstairs.

They started kissing again when we were all inside. I closed the door behind us as they made their way to the bed.

My moms clothes were quickly removed.

I watched as Noah buried his head between my mother's legs. Her eyes shot up, stars bursting behind them.

Most men are reluctant to eat out a woman. And if they do, they make a quick job of it.

Not Noah.

Noah ate pussy like it was the last supper. He lifted my mother's ass as he sampled her flower. He sucked her nub, licked her petal. When she finally came, thirty minutes had already passed. By this point, I was sitting on the floor, burying two fingers inside my crotch. I realized I had never been so wet in my life. I had already orgasmed once. When my mom screamed as her climax finally released, I orgasmed again.

Then Noah pulled his pants down and I saw his penis for the first time since we became adults. I was right earlier when i thought the length of his penis was only slightly above average. What I didn't realize was that it also had a lot of girth. It looked strangely intimidating.

Then, I heard keys jingling. I thought maybe I had misheard but Noah and my mom froze, too.

From behind a lusty haze, I heard my mom say that maybe they ought to stop.

"Cass, go downstairs," my brother said.

"Noah--" I started.

"Just get out," he hissed.

At the same time, my mother looked between us. She looked so uncertain but she said nothing. Before I closed the door behind me, I heard my mother's soft moan as her son entered her for the first time as a man.

When I got downstairs, my dad was searching the fridge. I knew he was looking for a beer--his favorite drink after a day looking for work. Over the months, he had lost a lot of weight. Now he wore a suit which was too big for him but which had been a perfect fit just the previous year.

When he saw me, he smiled, thinly. It was hard to believe that this man had once been the Alchemist of Wall Street. He looked like if he had ever worked on wall street, it was as a beggar. Books will sometimes mention a man being the shell of his former self to indicate that, while he looked the same, he had none of the substance which had once defined him. That described my dad perfectly.

"Where's your mom and brother?" He asked after locating his Heineken.

"Upstairs," I said.

And something passed between us. I'm not sure what but it seemed then he knew what was happening.

We sat on the couch together, not really saying anything, him just nursing his drink.

From above, we could hear my mother moaning. I could tell that she was trying to be quiet. But, the walls in this house were just too thin. My dad glanced up the stairs but just as quickly returned to his beer. He started crying. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

Our family didn't fall apart that day. I think our parents tried to make things work. But, Noah just wouldn't allow things to go back to normal.

And I couldn't blame him. By claiming his father's wife, Noah had upended the nuclear family. We all knew that there was no going back.

When my father finally left, I considered going with him. He had just climbed into the car and we were all seeing him off. Noah had an arm wrapped around our mother's waist.

My father looked at me and there was a moment when I think we both expected me to ask if I could join him. The moment passed. He seemed to deflate. Then he left.

That same night, I lay next to my mom as Noah fucked her in the bed she and dad had once shared. We kissed as Noah pistoned her. Then Noah and I kissed. It was not a very sexy kiss. It was an awkward, weird first kiss. But, we kept kissing until Noah came inside her.

I went back to my room to give them some privacy. About an hour later, Noah joined me. He had put clothes on and was standing at my door.

"We'll probably end up fucking one day," I said, surprised to hear myself saying that.

"I know. And when we do, it'll probably be awkward as hell."

"But, it'll get better."

He smiled and sat next to me on the bed. We held hands.

"I want you to call me 'Daddy'".

I thought he was joking but he looked serious.

"At least when it's just the three of us, And I already told mom that I'll be using her first name from now on."

"That might be hard for me," I said.

"It'll be an adjustment," Noah agreed.

We were silent for a long time.

"You should go back to your woman, Daddy."

I tried to keep a straight face but we both laughed. He kissed my cheek and went back to our mom, closing the door behind him.