Audrey's Road Trip

by Susan Bella Ikin

  I looked around my old bedroom. Mum had obviously been in here in the three months I had been away, as it was dust free and tidy. I looked around and could barely comprehend how it hadn’t changed, and yet I had changed so much. I sat on my old bed. While comfortable, I knew I was going to be lonely in it tonight, I had so easily become accustomed to falling asleep wrapped in James’ arms, his warm body pressed close to mine, and had really enjoyed the way he always woke up with an erection, responding to which I always found a far more pleasant way to wake up than to a jangling alarm clock.

  I went into the bathroom for a quick, cool shower, to freshen up, to wake up, and to cool off a little, and went into the kitchen still with wet hair from my shower, which caused Mum to cluck like a mother hen.

  “Audrey, you’re not in the desert now! It’s still cold outside and you’ll catch a cold if you walk around with wet hair – go and dry it!”

  I smiled at Dad – Mum had not changed and would probably always fuss over her ‘little girls’ – and went back to the bathroom where I turned the hairdryer on high and blasted my hair until it was dry except for the little curls against my neck. I returned to the kitchen, and spun around for Mum’s inspection.

  “How’s that? Good enough?”

  “Much better, now sit. I’ve made you a nice coffee and cut a piece of cake” – it was more like a slab – “you can tell about some of the things you saw, and tell me how Emily was the last time you saw her”.

  The last thing was easy, I told them that Emily had driven me to the airport, and that she had looked well, and then I fetched my laptop and scrolled through the photos that I had already downloaded onto it.

  My parents looked through the photos with me, exclaiming at all the well known landmarks they saw, and inspecting the photos of lesser known places, and when I closed the laptop, Dad sat back, took a deep sip of his coffee – which was cold by now – and regarded me with a serious look in his eye.

  “That James is in a lot of your photos. Are you going to keep seeing him?”

  I regarded my father, thankful that he had not enquired too much into exactly how close James and I had become, and nodded.

  “Yes, I will. James and I got quite close, especially in Las Vegas with all that drama over Emily and we want to see each other here. You didn’t really get much of a chance to get to know him, but you will over time. He’s really nice, and I think you’ll like him”.

  Mum patted my hand and surprised me by saying:

  “I’m sure we will Audrey. You were always much more level headed than Emily, she was such a flighty one. I really despaired she would ever meet someone decent, that last one was such a loser. But, that Richard really loves her, and she loves him, and I am so happy that things have finally worked out for her, she never seemed to take anything seriously until now. You on the other hand, were always so serious and considered everything before you did it, that I’m sure if you like James, then he is a good man”.

  I sat back, astounded. I had never been aware that Mum thought of me like that, but she was probably right. I was always very serious and would quickly stop seeing a boy if I didn’t think he was right for me. I hadn’t got to the ripe old age of twenty two and still been a virgin by accident, there had been plenty of offers since my teen years, but I hadn’t been interested enough in any of the boys, and later – men, to be bothered. It had been James who had attracted me sufficiently to make me interested in him sexually, and I had clearly been right about my choice. From the conversations I had overheard and the reading I had done, everyone else seemed to find their first time as a bit of a chore, just something to be done, no-one seemed to have any fun about it. I on the other hand had not one but two orgasms, and if James and I had talked to each other a bit more, instead of misunderstanding each other, I am sure that I would have had more that night.

  Clearly I had chosen someone who was sexually attractive to me, and our relationship had only become sexual towards the end of our road trip, when I had already established that James was, as Mum put it, a good man.

  I went to my room and started sorting through my backpack, gathering up my dirty washing and putting it in the machine. I then returned and was organizing the presents I had bought into piles for different people, when Mum’s soft voice at the doorway made me start.

  “Audrey, is it ok if I come in?”

  “Yes, of course it is”, I said as I dropped a jacket over the presents – it would be no fun if Mum saw hers before I was ready to give them to her.

  Mum sat on the edge of the bed, and fidgeted uncomfortably for a minute.

  “Audrey, I know we have had a few chats over the years, but I think your relationship with James just has your Dad and me a little concerned. Now, don’t get defensive, we do like him, but you’re our child and we are concerned about your welfare. Do you still take the pill for your hormonal problems?” and she looked me in the eye at last.

  I started laughing.

  “Yes Mum, I do. You don’t need to worry, there won’t be any babies popping along anytime soon”, and I got serious at that point and sat next to her, putting my arm through hers, “and even if there were, James wouldn’t abandon me, so you don’t need to worry about him”.

  “So… there could have been babies if you weren’t on the pill?”

  I slapped Mum’s hand gently. “Mum, don’t beat around the bush now. Yes, James and I had sex. Is that what you wanted to know? Yes, I am on the pill. And yes, James and I will continue to have sex, Mum, I think I love him and I love being with him. Did you have this conversation with Emily by the way?”

  Mum snorted, “I have no idea when I should have had this conversation with Emily, probably a lot earlier than I did. I was so relieved when she had that implant put in, you have no idea. Look, your father and I aren’t fuddy duddies, we were young and in love ourselves once you know, I do have some idea about what you are going through. We know our girls are going to experiment, we just want them to be safe doing it. So long as you are safe, and aren’t pushed into anything you aren’t ready for, that is all we worry about”.

  She stood up, and reached down to kiss me on the top of my head.

  “Get some rest. Ring your young man. Do whatever you want to do, but know that sometime soon, he needs to come over for dinner so we can check him out properly”, and with that vague threat, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Oh dear, James was just going to love this. I picked up my phone and dialed his number. When I told him about my parents, he chuckled.

  “Well, so they want to check me out? Fair enough. You on the other hand, seem to have made a good impression with my folks. They wanted to know all about you and asked when I was going to see you again. I’m staying with them tonight, just to catch up on all my news, and because I’m too tired to go shopping as there’s nothing to eat in my flat. I’m going back to my flat tomorrow though, do you want me to come and pick you up so that you can come back to my place, eat the crummy dinner I plan to cook you, and stay the night? When I bring you back the next day, maybe we can have that dinner with your parents and get it over with?”

  I agreed with James' plan. Not so much about the dinner he had threatened me with - but about what we would probably get up to afterwards. I was also interested to see where he lived and to spend time making plans for how we were going to be 'us' now that we were back home.

  So that night I just enjoyed being back at home, being Mum and Dad's 'little girl' for a while. Who knew for how much longer I would be in this role anyway? I hung out my washing when it was done, gave my parents their presents and we talked about my trip. When I told them I would not be home tomorrow night, but would be bringing James home for dinner the following night, they exchanged knowing looks, but did not say anything. At least not to me.

  The next day was sunny, but still cool. I packed an overnight bag and helped Mum with a few chores around the house while I was waiting for James. Mum had arranged a couple of days off work
to spend with me when I returned - Dad could only have yesterday off - so I had asked James to pick me up late in the afternoon so I could spend time with Mum. Then I started to worry about how would James expect to pick me up? I hoped he wouldn't just sit out in the car and toot - I knew that would not go down well with Mum, or with Dad either, when he heard about it. It didn't sound like something James would do, and thankfully I was right. James came to the door, and although when Mum invited him in he accepted, he gently said that we couldn't stay long as he had groceries in the car. He did agree we could stay long enough for a quick cuppa, obviously knowing that Mum wanted to check him out a bit more before I went off with him, and I could tell by Mum's body language that she liked James, and when we left, she waved us off happily.

  "Phew", James said as he started up the car, "One down, one to go", and he smiled at me broadly.

  I laughed. "Dad will be cool. He relies on Mum's judgement a lot, and since she obviously likes you, she will tell him you are ok. They already spent a bit of time with you in Las Vegas, I know they were worried about Emily so didn’t pay much attention to us, but it’s not like you’re a stranger. It will be fine.”

  After what seemed only a few minutes, but may have been a bit longer, I was enjoying being with James again so much that time didn’t seem to pass at all, we were pulling up in the communal parking lot of an older style block of flats. When James opened the boot, I slung my overnight bag over my shoulder and grabbed some grocery bags, as James still had his travelling bag to carry. He obviously had not been home yet, and like me, had spent his time with his parents.

  We climbed one flight of stairs, and James opened the door. James at first seemed hesitant, then walked in, going to the kitchen table and picking up a piece of paper left on it. I looked around, pleasantly surprised. Since the flat had been shut up for the last three months, I had expected it to be dusty, and probably to smell a bit stale too, but it was clean and fresh. Then I heard James say:

  "I think I owe my sister in law a big thanks - and probably a favour or two! I left a key with my brother in case anything went wrong while I was gone, and she came here the day before we got back to clean and air the place for me. She even says" - and he walked to the fridge and opened the door - "yes, she put milk in here so I could at least have a coffee when I got home. Lucky she came, because I cleaned out the fridge before I left and turned it off, leaving the door open so it didn't smell when I got back, it wouldn't have been cold if Judy hadn't come by", and he started putting away the groceries. I offered to help, but the kitchen was too small for two people, so I pulled up a stool and watched. I liked to watch James move, he had an economical way of moving that belied the energy that he actually had. I suddenly started feeling warm, thinking about the times James had shown me how much energy he actually had. I thought it best to distract myself from my thoughts, so asked:

  "So, what are you cooking for dinner, masterchef?"

  James turned and smiled at me.

  "Well, I can only do really basic cooking to be honest, seeing as I am only used to cooking for myself. I was going to put some chicken fillets in the oven to bake, and pair them with some roasted vegetables, if that's ok with you?"

  I laughed then. "It sounds wonderful. All the cooking genes in our family seem to have gone to Emily, I swear I can burn water, so I propose that you cook, and I do the dishes afterwards, if I go near the kitchen before the food is cooked, I guarantee it will be inedible".

  James turned and smiled at me softly. "That suits me just fine. I hate doing the dishes. I have to confess that I often leave them piled up to the next day, hoping that somehow a magic dishwashing fairy will take care of them all for me, but so far I have been very disappointed.”

  I had to laugh at the image conjured up by James, and then made a comment about how I was happy to play the role of fairy, at which point James nearly dropped the roasting pan he was getting out of the cupboard.

  "That's not fair", he said, only half jokingly, "How am I going to cook, thinking of you playing dress ups?"

  I swallowed nervously, as James made the comment about dress ups, I started imagining him wearing different clothing, perhaps a firefighter? or a pirate? and my palms started sweating.

  "I'm going to leave you to put that food on, if that's ok with you, and take my bag into the bedroom".

  I got off the stool and walked shakily to the bedroom, where I dropped my bag on the bed and then walked into the little bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror for a long time, then bent to splash some water on my face.

  When I stood up, I saw James in the mirror, leaning against the doorjamb and regarding me silently. Our eyes met, and I turned to face him.

  "Did I cross a line or something? I don't have any particular fetishes you know, but you made me think about role playing, and I just blurted the words out without thinking".

  "No", I replied, "The problem is, when you said that, I started thinking about you role playing and that got me a bit hot and bothered".

  James walked to me silently, looking at me as he walked, and then put his hands on my hips. I saw the ghost of a smile tug at his lips.

  "So, if you had a choice, what would you like me to wear?"

  I gulped nervously, Hollywood had a lot to answer for.

  "Well, I could see you as a pirate, you know, with long curly hair and one of those blousy shirts..." and I reached a hand up to his hair, brushing it from his face.

  "Hmmm, that could work, but only if you were wearing something bosomy - which you didn't mind getting damaged - I think they call that game "bodice ripping" don't they?" and he lowered his head to mine, gently teasing my lips until I parted them on a sigh. I had missed him, and it had only been one day.

  Afterwards, we lay in each other's embrace lazily talking, and then James suddenly leapt out of the bed and ran into the kitchen shouting "my chicken's burning!"

  I followed him into the kitchen, to see him standing there looking forlornly at some shrivelled chicken fillets and blackened vegetables. The fact that he was stark naked and unconscious of that fact struck me as unbelievably funny, and I started to laugh, only becoming aware of my own nudity when I saw James' eyes focus on my chest. He then raised his eyes and looked at the mirth in mine, and then joined me in laughter.

  "Well, it looks like we are going to have to go out for dinner. So much for me trying to impress you".

  I turned to the bedroom but said over my shoulder wickedly:

  "You already did that. But I'm hungry now, so I'm getting dressed".

  James followed me to the bedroom and selected some clothing, and we left his flat, leaving the kitchen window slightly ajar to let the smell of smoke vent from the flat while we were gone.

  As James lived in an older style block in one of the inner suburbs, he told me that we could walk to the nearest strip shopping area, where there were a few choices for food, we wouldn't need to take the car. We arrived there and walked into a pizza parlour. Suddenly James tensed beside me, and I followed his gaze to see what - or who - had caused him to tense up, and saw Maddy. It took a few moments to register that she wasn't eating, she was waitressing. That was not what I would have expected.

  Maddy looked over at us, and I could tell by the look on her face that she recognized James, her gaze slipped over me as if I wasn't even there. She sashayed over to us, and almost purred James' name. I grabbed James' hand and held on for dear life. If Maddy thought she could just walk over and beckon to James, and that he would come running at her call, she was in for a fight. James must have been woken from his trance when he felt the pressure of my hand, as he turned to look down at me, and squeezed my hand reassuringly before speaking.

  "Maddy, fancy seeing you here. Is there a table free tonight?"

  Maddy looked confused, and then seemed to notice me for the first time, narrowing her eyes, and then turning and walking to the seating area, obviously expecting us to follow. I couldn't help but notice her butt swaying provocatively as she
walked, and felt an uncharacteristic urge to trip her over.

  We walked to the booth indicated, and James waited while I sat down, and smoothly managed to take the menus from Maddy, dismissing her with a request for water for us both to drink while we made our choices.

  As soon as she was out of earshot we both started to speak at once:

  "Honestly, Audrey, I had no idea..."

  "This is a bit awkward, James...."

  We both looked at each other and smiled, I indicated to James that he should go first.

  "I didn't know she was working here, I haven't seen her since graduation, honestly Audrey", and he reached across the table for my hand before continuing, "It was a long time ago, and the situation was different. I almost wonder what I ever saw in her, but to be honest, I remember what it was, and it holds no interest for me anymore. Maddy and I only ever had casual sex in common, there was nothing deeper and when she broke it off with me, I wasn't upset. Maddy wanted to move on to bigger and better things - I guess it didn't work out if she is waitressing here - and I was secretly relieved that it wasn't me she was after. If Maddy hadn't broken up with me, eventually I would have broken up with her. So if you’re bothered by being here, I don't have a problem with leaving, I'd rather be with you anywhere else, than somewhere that you are uncomfortable".

  As I was about to reply, Maddy came over with the water, and asked if we wanted to order. She actually asked if we "wanted anything" looking at James the whole time, trying to look pouty and seductive, but she just looked silly. I decided to take the initiative, placing an order for a half and half pizza, and making sure that Maddy looked at me as I did it.

  "James", I almost purred, "last time we had pizza, we couldn't agree whether to have an Hawaiian or a barbecue chicken pizza, and we had that silly fight over it" - at this point I flashed James a look suggestive of how we might have made up after such a fight - "So why don't we get a large pizza and have it half and half so we don't end up fighting tonight". At this point I looked directly at Maddy and tried out my best ingénue expression.