Home Again
by An Douglas
A.C. Delaney stared up at the tree that had been the bane of his
teenage years. Not many blocks in this part of Brooklyn had trees like
this, so a lot of activities had circulated around it. It was home base
for playing hide and seek. It was the place you all hung out under on a
hot summer day. Most importantly, it was the site of "the dare". Ten
years ago at the age of twelve, that had been the focus of the most
terrifying moment of his young life. That was the day he'd completed one
of the neighborhood rites of passage and had climbed to the top of the old
oak tree.
Funny, the tree didn't seem so imposing now. Then again, the last
decade had seen him go from a skinny 110 pound teenager to a six foot 190
pound adult. He'd discovered a passion for baseball in high school and
long hours practicing with his father had transformed him into a starting
first baseman both in high school then later at State .
Sports had only been a means to an end however, a way out of the old
neighborhood. The degree in business he'd earned last year had been his
highest priority. For a while it looked like it was going to be a hard
decision turning down the offer to turn pro, but a leg injury his senior
year took that decision out of his hands. In a way he was glad that fate
had intervened, it meant he'd never have to look back with regret.
A group of teenagers were playing stickball, using the manhole covers as
bases. It seemed like a hundred years since he'd played that game.
"Hey mister, the ball!" one of the kids yelled as the rubber ball
bounced in front of him.
In a quick motion he caught the ball on the first hop and tossed it back
to the batter. The action had been instinctive. A smile came to his lips
as he thought some things you never forgot.
Watching the game for another ten minutes, A.C. was glad he decided to
spend an extra day here. After he came home for his father's funeral over
a year ago, he decided that there was never going to be a reason to again
walk these streets. But Arthur Charles Delaney Sr. had been buried over
sixteen months before and it was only now that the lawyers had finally
settled his estate. He'd come all the way up from Florida just to close on
the sale of his families house. He could've just left it all to the
lawyers, but he felt it was something he owed to his dad to see done
personally.
The block held so many memories. His own house was down on the corner.
On the other end of the block was Jerry Wilson's house. He and Jerry had
gone off to State together. A grin filled his face as he looked at a
second floor window across the street from the tree and remembered when it
was Jenny Wilson's bedroom.
How long ago was that night he and Josh Austin were using Josh's new
telescope to look at the moon. They accidentally turned it right into
Jenny's room - just when she was getting dressed for bed. They couldn't
have been more than 13 or 14 at the time. Jenny had been one of the first
neighborhood girls to develop breasts and that had been the first time A.C.
had seen a topless girl in anything other than a magazine. He laughed
softly as he remembered how angry Josh had been cause he waited so long to
give him a turn that Josh only got a brief glimpse.
A few years later A.C. got repeated opportunities to examine those
breasts more closely. He dated Jenny all through high school as his own
body developed into that of an athlete. She was the first girl who ever
gave him a blow job and on the night of the senior prom they traded
cherries. Things went downhill between them after that when they went to
separate school. Last he heard, she was married and already had two kids.
Thinking of Jenny made him think of her older sister Karen, or as most
of the boys thought of her "Kleenex Karen." Two years older than Jenny, she
was nowhere near as developed as her little sister. In fact, she really
never passed an A cup. Talk about mixed genes.
Anyway, Karen's solution was to stuff an oversized bra with tissues.
Not the most original of solutions but one that was time honored. The
problem was that she wasn't satisfied with just giving herself a slight
improvement. No, she had to be as well endowed as Jenny. It became a big
joke among everyone in school as she always denied it. Finally someone
decided to settle the matter.
One day during her senior year Sally Johnson bumped into her and stuck a
inch and a half straight pin into her left breast. By the time the
afternoon bell rang, almost everyone in school had heard about it. Jenny
had told him that when Karen found the pin that night she was furious, but
she'd never mentioned it to anyone else. She just went on as she was and
made believe that it had never happened. Rather than go to college, Karen
had used her savings to get a boob job and now worked as a receptionist
somewhere in the city.
"I should get something to eat." A.C. said to himself as he realized
that he'd skipped both breakfast and lunch. "Might as well make the day
complete and have dinner up at Mario's"
Mario's was the diner on the corner. Calling it a diner used to be a
charity when A.C. was younger. The food sometimes bordered on the
inedible. But it was a neighborhood classic and had been there since his
father had been a teenager. Generations had brought their dates there
after the movies or some other activity. That, A.C. knew was due more to
the big dark booths in the back of the restaurant than the dinner fare.
"Who am I to argue with tradition." he finally concluded as he began to
walk up the block.
It came as a surprise to find that the diner was closed. He couldn't
ever remember a day it hadn't been open. In fact, it look like it hadn't
been opened in months. Then he noticed a small notice in the window. It
looked to be well worn but he could still make out the words Department of
Health.
"Why am I not surprised." the sandy haired young man chuckled. "I hope
the deli over on Wilson is still open."
"You weren't really planning to have dinner there were you?" asked a
female voice from behind A.C.
The voice was very familiar and A.C. turned with a smile on his face.
"Hi Mrs. Austin." he grinned.
The woman in front of him was in her mid 40's, about 5'7" and weighed in
at 152 lbs. Very attractive for her age, she had dirty blonde hair cut
short and carefully styled. A full figured woman, her weight was pretty
evenly distributed across her body as to give her a full bodied figure.
The most striking feature of which was a set of 38D breasts.
"Hi Mrs. Austin..." the short blonde haired woman repeated. "That's
the way you say hello? Is that what they taught you up in that fancy
school?"
With that, A.C. practically picked up the smaller woman and gave her a
hug and affectionate kiss on the cheek.
"That's better." Mary Austin said. "And what's with this Mrs. Austin
crap. You're an adult now, you can call me Mary."
"Okay Mary." A.C. said, feeling very strange to have her first name
come from his lips after a lifetime of referring to her as Mrs. Austin.
"My, you have filled out." the 45 year old noted as she took a good look
at her son's friend. "And I know you didn't get that way eating at places
like this."
"Well, I was hungry and..."
"And you couldn't take five minutes to stop by the house." Mary
interrupted.
A.C. considered lying for a moment, saying that he'd rang the bell but
got no answer. After all, she had obviously been out shopping and hadn't
been home. Then he thought better of the idea. Mary had known him since
he was 6 years old and always knew when he'd been lying.
"I'm sorry.." he said.
"And well you should be, I know your father raised you better than
that." Mary replied.
"Can I make it up to you with dinner?" A.C. said, displaying the charm
that worked his way into dozens of beds back in college.
"Only if I make it." Mary answered, ignoring his obvious charms. "What
would Josh say if I let you go without bringing you home for dinner. I
know he'd love to see you."
"OK, you win." A.C. surrendered. Actually the idea of seeing Josh
again seemed like a pretty good idea. In fact, just seeing Mrs. Austin
again made him feel pretty good.
"That's settled then." Mary grinned triumphantly. "Now make yourself
useful and take some of these packages."
"Yes Mam....err Mary." he quickly corrected himself as he picked up the
two largest bundles.
Half an hour later, sitting at the kitchen table of the Austin
Household, A.C. could honestly say he was enjoying myself. How many
dinners had he had at this very table. Mary Austin had been like a second
mother to him. He probably spent more time in this house as a child than
his own. Lost in thought he didn't hear the phone ring at first.
"Could you answer that, A.C.?" Mary asked as she stirred a boiling pot.
"Sure." A.C. said as he got to his feet and reached for the wall phone.
"Josh!" A.C. said excitedly as he recognized the voice on the phone,
"How are you?"
It took Josh Austin a few moments to realize who he was talking to, then
his voice became just as excited.
"What are you doing there?" his old friend asked.
A.C. explained why he'd come back to New York and how he'd run into
Josh's mother.
"Your Mom invited me to have dinner," he said. "Actually it was more
like a command." he laughed.
"That's my Mom." Josh laughed back.
"So when you gonna be home, pal?" A.C. asked. "Your Mom's making
enough food to put another ten pounds on me."
"Shit, this timing sucks." Josh lamented. "I'm stuck at work, we have
to redo a magazine layout from scratch. I'm gonna be here all night."
"Damn, that does suck." A.C. agreed. "I was really hoping to catch up
a little."
"Better let me talk to my Mom so I can explain it."
"OK buddy." he replied as he handed off the phone.
The conversion between Josh and Mary was brief. She listened for a few
minutes and then simply said. "All right honey, take care of business and
I'll see you in the morning."
"Well looks like it's just you and me kid." Mary said as she hung up the
phone.
"What about Dawn Marie?" A.C. asked.
"Dawn Marie moved out and in with her boyfriend the day after she turned
18." Mary said in a tone that said that it wasn't a subject for discussion.
"Two it is." A.C. said as he opened a cabinet and took out table
settings for two.
As he laid out the dishes and utensils, A.C. looked into the living
room to see if the pictures of a younger Dawn Marie were still on the wall.
They were. Whatever had happened between her and her mother hadn't gone
that far.
Dawn Marie Austin had been another of those early bloomers. By the time
she was 14 she'd put Jenny Wilson to shame. By the time she was 16 she'd
lost her virginity in a big way. Every guy in the neighborhood was trying
to get into her pants and more than a few succeeded. If A.C. was totally
honest with himself, he admitted that if he was younger and Dawn wasn't
Josh's sister - he'd want to fuck her too.
"Dinners served." Mary said as she carried two full dishes to the table.
The meal was as good as A.C. remembered meals at the Austin's to be.
It was only the absence of familiar faces from around the table that made
him a little sad.
"Something the matter?" Mary asked as she noticed the look on his face.
"I was just thinking that I'm sorry I wasn't able to be here when Mr.
Austin.... I mean."
"That's all right A.C.," Mary said in an understanding tone. "We all
knew how hard it was on you when your own Dad died. No one wanted to see
you go thought all that again so soon."
"Still, maybe I should've....."
"I'm not going to hear anymore of that, Arthur!" Mary said in a strong
tone. The fact that she called him Arthur instead of A.C. produced a more
serious reaction than the tone.
A.C. closed his mouth without finishing the sentence.
"Besides, you did send that beautiful letter saying how much the time
you spent in this house still meant to you. I really loved that letter, it
made me think of much happier days."
"It wasn't enough, just words." said A.C.
"Sometimes just words can mean a great deal. I saved that letter you
know, I keep it in my night table. I've read it many times."
The rest of the conversation was confined to more mundane topics. How
did he like where he lived. Was he seeing anyone? Why not?
"That was a great meal, better than I've had in a long time." A.C. said
as he put down his fork for the last time. "I couldn't eat another bite."
"Well it's nice to hear someone say that for a change." Mary beamed.
A.C. remembered that Josh wasn't known for noticing the little things
his mother did for him. Things like cooking his meals, cleaning his
clothes, cleaning his room and basically being there whenever he came up
short of cash. Which in Josh's case happened quite often.
"I really hate to eat and run, but I still have to get a motel room for
the night." A.C. apologized. "My flight doesn't get take off until
tomorrow afternoon and I don't have a place to sleep."
"Motel room indeed, not when I have two empty bedrooms upstairs." Mary
cut him off. "Now you go out to that rental car of yours and get your bag.
You can use Josh's room and hopefully he'll be home in time for the two of
you to have breakfast together."
Sixteen years of dealing with Mrs. Austin told him this was another
argument he was going to loose. All things considered, a comfortable bed
and the prospect of one of Mary's breakfasts didn't seem like a bad
consolation prize. He thanked her and went out to get his bag.
"You know were the room is." Mary called out from the kitchen as he came
back into the house. "Unpack your stuff while I put these dishes in the
washer."
Josh's room was immaculate, something which surprised A.C. They'd gone
away together once his first year in college and by the time the week was
over, Josh's half of the room looked like a flop house. If he ever decided
to marry that girlfriend he was always mentioning in his letters, he was in
for a big awakening. A.C. was sure she wasn't the type to pick up after
him like his Mom.
"Hmm, I wonder." A.C. said as he slid the top draw of Josh's desk all
the way out and looked at the small space beneath it.
Hidden there were copies of Hustler, High Society and Playboy. Some
things never changed he thought as he laughed. That was a great advantage
of having his own apartment, he didn't have to hide such things if he
wanted them.
A.C. took the time to change into a comfortable pair of shorts and a
T-shirt. No sense sitting around the rest of the night in a shirt and tie.
Naked women pictures that should be banned from the net!
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