Bent & Broken Ch. 02

Claire saw the look on Mom's face. "Beth? What's wrong?"

"Jimmy, go upstairs so Claire and I can talk," she said.

"Right." As I stood, I pulled my shirt over myself and tried not to look at her as I passed. Even so, I felt the glare. She had to have seen just how utterly mortified I was.

I ran up the stairs, and then I went straight into our living room.

It had a floor vent. The same vent happened to vent down into the apartment's den. I put my ear up to it. I missed the first part of the conversation.

"Beth, she's gone for the day. So, I asked Jimmy to help," I heard Claire say.

Mom didn't respond.

"Beth, what the hell is wrong?"

"Claire, I come downstairs to see how you're doing, and I see you half naked..."

"I'm not half naked!"

"...and your on your hands and knees. Jimmy is right behind you, his hands are underneath you, and..."

"That's what he's supposed to do. I told him to do that."

"..and his penis is sticking out of his boxers..."

"Oh."

"...and he's got a giant erection."

"Oh, no. Oh, my goodness."

"Yes!"

"Beth, I had no idea." There it was. I had been thrown under the bus. Still, I realized, what the hell else is she going to say? Damn, I was not looking forward to my conversation with Mom.

"What the hell do you expect, Claire? He's 19 years old."

"I'm so sorry. Beth, it's my fault."

"No. It's mine for letting you talk me into a part time nurse. When does she come back?"

"Monday morning."

"Monday! You mean, Jimmy was going to have to take care of you all weekend?"

"I can do almost everything myself, now, Beth."

"Well, that's it. Jimmy is out. I'm going to help you this weekend."

Claire didn't respond.

"Oh, shit, Claire! What the hell do I say to him—he's going to be so ashamed!"

"Beth, don't tell him that I know. Spare him that. Then he can act normal around me."

Mom hesitated. Then, she said, "You're right. I won't tell him you know." I heard a huge sigh, and she yelled, "Fuck!"

"Beth, are you able to laugh about something?"

"No."

"You just said your son had a giant erection."

"Oh, shit, I know," she said, and there was a hint of mirth in her voice. Claire began to laugh, and Mom joined. "Let me help you back to bed."

I got up, thinking fast. I needed to look helpful and busy. I walked to the garage and grabbed Mom's bags. I hauled them upstairs and put them in her room.

A few minutes later, Mom knocked on the door of my room.

"Come in."

She entered, and I could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Mom, can I talk first?"

She sighed. "Go ahead, Jimmy."

"I'm sorry about...what you saw. It wasn't like that—like what you might think. I was wearing boxers, and it just happened. I wasn't trying to...to take advantage of Claire—Aunt Claire."

Mom eyed me and hesitated, and then her face washed over with calm. "I know how things are with young men, Jimmy, and how sometimes your body may not be entirely in your control. But, don't tell me it just happened to be sticking all the way out your boxers. You helped it out, didn't you?"

She was an attorney, damn it. "Yes, but it was all cramped up in there. I was going to put it away—hide it."

"What if she had seen it, Jimmy? What would you have done?"

"She doesn't know?"

Mom shook her head.

"Thanks, Mom."

She nodded. "You haven't answered my question."

"I don't know what I would have done."

"She's your Aunt. Think about it. Would you ever again feel like you could have a normal conversation with her?"

"No." I donned my most sheepish expression and posture when I said it.

Mom sighed, "I expect you to make better decisions."

"I know."

"I'm going to take care of Claire this weekend; consider yourself free to be with your friends."

"Thanks, Mom."

She smiled; it was forced.

"Hey, Mom?"

She lifted her chin.

"I'm glad your back."

She smiled, forced again.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Good. Let's talk later, okay?"

"Right."

She walked to the door and then stopped. She turned back to me, one hand resting on the door jamb. "Jimmy, what I saw—before—is that...that's okay, right? You're normal?"

"What?'

She shook her head. "Forget it." Then, she left.

I knew what she was asking about. I just wanted to make her say it.

Sleep didn't come easily. I kept thinking about Claire. Was it over? I didn't know, but what was very clear to me was that Mom did not want me anywhere near Claire for the weekend, and maybe longer. I wondered if Claire was now looking at our little fling through a new set of eyes. She had sucked her nephew's cock; she'd let him hump her and cum on her shorts, right up against her pussy. Did she see that, now, as embarrassing or even revolting?

And what if my Mom had walked in a minute earlier and seen Claire's mouth on my dick?

What kind of coolness under fire did Claire have, to be caught in such a compromising scenario and come out clean by pleading ignorance? Any normal person, surprised as we had been, would have given away their guilt—a shocked yell, a flinch, something. Not Claire.

And my Mom—she'd had some kind of reaction to seeing my cock. What the fuck was that about?

***

On a hunch, the next day, when Mom was downstairs, I took her phone and unlocked it—I knew her usual codes and passwords. I checked her history on Safari. She had been looking up curved penises on medical sites. She'd even done an image search. Uh, shit. I closed those tabs.

What took me aback, however, was the last search: "sex with curved penis." She had gone to some women's sexual health forum, and I scrolled down it, finding several anecdotes from ladies extolling the pleasures derivable from equipment like mine. Geez, Mom.

I guess she wanted to make sure it wasn't a medical or sexual problem for me.

***

On Sunday afternoon, Mom called me downstairs. "Jimmy, I've got a strategy call in a few minutes. Can you hang out with Claire? Take her for a walk or something. I'll be an hour or so."

"Let's walk," Claire said, cheerfully, when I asked her if she wanted to do anything.

She got up by herself and we left out the basement door. Neither of us spoke until we hit the sidewalk.

She started. "Jimmy, I'm so sorry that I couldn't cover for you on Friday."

"Forget it, Claire. Everything's fine between Mom and me. Shit, you had no choice." She didn't say anything. "Actually, I kind of thought you were amazing."

She smiled.

"How's Mom been for you?" I asked.

"She's fine. Not as much fun as you."

We looked at each other. I grinned. "She still in the dark about the nurses?"

Claire nodded.

"How about you? You look like you're doing great."

She sighed. "Jimmy, my last good pill is tonight. After that, it's Advil."

"The pain? Still bad?"

"Not really."

"Then, what?"

"I think I'm addicted. I get nervous just thinking about not having any more."

"Will it be bad?"

"I've been able to use my tablet a little, so I looked it up, and yes, it's going to suck for a couple days."

"I'm here for you."

"Are you? Really?"

"Sure."

"I may turn into a bitch."

"We'll get through."

"Okay," she said, some relief in her voice.

We turned around and started back for home, and she took my hand.

"What did Mom say about me helping you?"

"We got in a fight about night nurses. I refused to have one. She was pissed. Told me not to have you help with anything other than eating. Told me to call her if something came up. Said she was going to have you sleep upstairs."

"Yeah?"

"Then, she asked me about curvy penises."

I stopped. "Shut up. No, she didn't."

Claire smiled, "I shit you not."

I dropped her hand, titled my head back, and groaned, "Fuck."

"She explained what she saw and asked me if I had ever—you know—had one before."

"What did you say?"

"I told her yes—yours."

"Claire."

"Yeah, no. I didn't say that."

I started walking again in silence.

"Jimmy, it seemed like she just wanted to make sure it was normal—or, not normal—what you have is not normal. But, she wanted to make sure you were okay, sexually. Don't worry about it."

"Right. Shit." After a few seconds, I asked her if she thought we were still okay.

She smiled, "We're good, college boy."

We held hands all the way back home.