Christie's Gone

It was late in the slate gray afternoon when Diane returned from church, but she was full of the spirit as she opened the front door and turned on the lights in the foyer of her beautiful home. Nearly fifteen years after the miracle, and she still felt blessed every time she entered the four bedroom, two living room exurban beauty. Never more than at this time of year, as the weather turned colder and it was such a joy to be inside!

Or maybe it was just that Tim was due in just another hour or so.

Though she still felt horribly guilty about it, Diane no longer even tried to deny the tingling between her thighs as the clock wound down to Tim. Checking her watch, she even wondered if there was time to do anything about that tingling. She ought to at least change into a sexier outfit, she thought, looking down at her dowdy skirt and blouse. Something better suited to Halloween, at least. But then she didn't want to come on too hard to poor, sweet Tim.

Or did she?

That Diane had felt compelled to go talk to Father Atkins on a Friday afternoon was most directly related to the impending arrival of her daughter's old friend for the holiday weekend. The poor dear simply didn't like staying on campus when things got so crazy there, and Diane needed someone to rearrange some of the books in her newly remodeled library. It had been so very easy to convince his parents to let her welcome him to her home while they were off on their second honeymoon in the Caribbean. It had been even easier to invite her daughter home for the weekend as well, knowing perfectly well that Christie was not going to fly back from London just to see the boy she had so foolishly kept at arm's length all through high school.

It had not been so easy for Diane to deny her own prurient interest in having the young man to herself. But she had done so, instead couching her guilt in terms of her past instead of her immediate future. "Sometimes I still get panicked if I wake up at night," she had told Father Atkins that afternoon. "If I open my eyes I'm sure I'm going to find myself back in one of those dives I used to live in, and Christie sleeping next to me instead of in her own room!"

"I think we all feel that way now and then, Diane," he'd said. "After what you and Christie had to live through before you came here, it's perfectly natural to be scared of going back. Have you tried reminding yourself that it was your own hard work and pluck that got you here?"

Have I ever tried that! Diane thought now, as she hung up her coat and set about making last minute preparations for Tim's visit. Only every minute of every day for the past fifteen years! But now was a time for being grateful rather than questioning. It was her home, all right, and she wanted everything perfect for Tim.

And what a home it is, Diane thought to herself as she took a look around the brightly colored room and savored her peaceful sanctuary. The big and expensive house was filled throughout with only the most tasteful and economical of furniture, though there was plenty of it. Since the miracle, with one exception she had avoided the rags-to-riches temptations to a garish, tasteless lifestyle. The one exception was that, after years of subsisting on peanut butter and canned soup at the end of each month, she had taken to eating a lot, and it showed in her full figure. Diane had made some efforts to diet early on, but had come to realize she enjoyed being plump after the many lean years. There was something almost empowering in having a large behind and a robust belly and not being ashamed. Most of all, the F-cup breasts that jutted majestically out from her chest were a kick, although they did mean her days of going braless even at home were over. But she welcomed that inconvenience for the most part.

She had caught Tim admiring them out of the corner of his eye enough times to know he thought so too. Now, as Diane retired to the kitchen to make sure she had put a bottle of chardonnay in to chill (Tim was not quite twenty, but he'd always been quite mature for his age, and after all it was their private party at home), she couldn't resist imagining his gentle young hands caressing them. Diane put two glasses in the freezer to finalize the preparations, and then decided she just had to get one off before he arrived.

Before she had even made it out of the kitchen, though, the doorbell rang. He was early! Diane was a bit disappointed that there was no time to change into anything sexier, but maybe Tim still liked the businesswoman look? She did seem to recall him admiring her in her work clothes more than once in the past. She slipped off her shoes to add a touch of intimacy to her formal appearance, and opened the door.

There he stood on the stoop, with that shy grin that had always melted Diane's heart but had somehow never gotten through to her daughter. Older now, no more the gangly awkward teenager she remembered so well, but still unmistakably the sweet boy who'd been so very good to Christie whenever some silly jock had blown her off again. "Hi, Ms. Prentiss," he said, and extended his hand.

"Tim!" she exclaimed, beckoning him inside. "You're not getting away with just a handshake, you know that!" She enveloped him in a smothering embrace and had no qualms about hanging on much longer than she would have with an ordinary hello. "It's so lovely to see you! I'm just sorry Christie isn't here to see you as well!" A white lie, but then Christie never knew the treasure she'd had in Tim anyway.

"How is Christie?" he asked when she had finally released him.

"Loving every bit of her trip. She sends her regards and she's sorry she couldn't be here for the weekend as well." Another lie; the silly girl had only said she couldn't come home just for the weekend, not even a word of regret for missing Tim.

"That's sweet, thanks," Tim said. "I was hoping she'd make it back for the weekend, too. But I don't suppose she dresses up for Halloween anymore?"

"She did last year," Diane said. "But enough about that, Tim..."

"Right, of course," he said. "The books. Let's get started."

"No!" she said. "Tim, you just got here and we've got all weekend for that! Come sit for a while first! I want to catch up, and honestly, I just want to get a look at you!" Truer word was never spoken, she thought, taking a seat on the couch and patting the cushion next to her. "You've grown so much, you know."

"Well, thanks!" Tim looked a bit nervous, but he did sit down as directed. "It's nice to see you too, Ms. Prentiss, but I have to admit I wasn't expecting this. I figured I was just doing you a favor with the books."

"Call me Diane. I'm not just your friend's mother, I'm your friend too." At least.

"Diane." Tim rolled her name around on his tongue and then grinned nervously at her. "That'll take a little getting used to when you knew me since I was thirteen, but I'll try! Thanks!"

"Thirteen?" Diane asked. "Were you really that young the first time Christie brought you home?"

"I'm pretty sure I was. Seventh grade. Hated that school, the new kid in town and everyone else being so rich while my parents were brand new in the money. Christie was practically the only one who didn't look down on me, you know."

"I always did remind her where we came from," Diane said. "She was barely out of diapers when I got my big break, you know, so she didn't remember being poor, thank God. But I made sure she knew we had been poor, and never to give anyone a hard time about it."

"You did a good job, Diane," Tim said; she could see he had to force himself to use her first name as directed.

"Thank you. But you know..." Diane stood up and walked to the mantelpiece, and picked up her beloved senior prom photo of Christie with Tim, "I'm afraid she tended to make the same dumb mistakes with boys that I did when I was her age, as different as our upbringings were. Like mother like daughter, I guess. I always hoped you two would end up together, and I was thrilled when you stepped in for the prom. But even then, the silly girl couldn't see what a treasure she had!"

"Oh, Diane, stop!" Tim was smiling down shyly at his lap now. "We were just kids. I realized that within about a month at college, you know? She was a nice girl -- still is, I'm sure -- but it wasn't meant to be. No offense, I know you didn't go to college, but when you do, you see a lot of these things differently. Suddenly what came before doesn't matter at all anymore. Everything changes overnight."

"It certainly changed for you, Tim," Diane acknowledged, setting the photograph back down and returning to the couch. "I hope it's not inappropriate for me to say so," she said with a grin, knowing full well how very inappropriate it really was, "But the ugly duckling has definitely grown into a beautiful swan here."

"Aw..." Tim grinned and averted his eyes again. "I've got to confess, Diane, I was really hoping Christie would see me that way after the prom. But I don't think she ever got past the nerd in glasses and braces who followed her home to help with that stupid science project."

"She loved that nerd more than you know, Tim," Diane said. "And you know, for a week after the prom she wouldn't stop talking about what a perfect gentleman you were. Nothing like that boy Craig would've been; even she knew that. I pretended to be heartbroken for Christie when he changed his mind about taking her, but honestly, I was elated that he was out of her life!"

"So was I," Tim agreed. "Craig used to threaten to beat the daylights out of me every time he saw me with Christie in the hallway."

"Oh, Tim!" Diane couldn't resist throwing her arms around him. "I love my daughter, but she made the same dumb mistakes with guys that I did when I was her age. It makes all too much sense, that's how she was born in the first place!" It was her memoir of being a pregnant teenager that had ultimately found its way to Hollywood and made her rich, but that couldn't stop Christie from falling a bit too close to the apple tree.

"Thanks, Diane." To her delight, Tim returned the embrace with no sign of discomfort.

They held each other for a minute or two, and for a wonderful moment Diane thought something might come to pass right there on the couch. It was either that or break the spell right away, she mused as she thrilled to his arms around her. Tim evidently thought the same, and he chose the latter. "Well," he said matter-of-factly, pulling back from her at last. "The books?"

"We can get started on that if you want. But we do have all weekend."

"You're not doing the Halloween party at the community center this year?" Tim asked. Diane had long been known for her elaborate costumes and rapport with the kids.

"We could, but I didn't think you'd want to. Didn't you come home this weekend because you didn't want to bother with the Halloween parties at school?"

"That's different," Tim said. "It's a bunch of college kids getting drunk. It's depressing and it takes all the fun out of it. Really, I was hoping we could go. It'd be a nice reminder of all I used to like about Halloween."

As she got up to lead Tim to the library, Diane was already hatching a plan.

She offered to help Tim with the books, but he noted rightly that she wasn't dressed for the job. "It is what I came here for anyway," he said. "Just have a seat and let me know what to do."

"Bless your heart." Diane deliberately flopped down a bit sloppily on the leather couch near the library door, hoping she'd given him a glimpse up her skirt.

It was a fairly big job, and she had nearly an hour to probe for hints about how to seduce him tomorrow. "I suppose even if you don't like the dorm parties, some of the girls must wear costumes that'll turn your head," she said about ten minutes in.

"A little too much sometimes!" Tim agreed with a quick glance at her as he lugged an armful of books from shelf to shelf. "I don't mean to sound like a prude, but if there's a super smart gal from my bio lab, it's a little weird seeing her dressed like a stripper, you know?"

"You don't sound like a prude, Tim, you sound like a young man with great taste. I don't think I'd find a stripper very sexy either. Smart is sexy without being forced, isn't it?"

"Amen! Now, if that gal from bio went as a librarian for Halloween, then I'd be head over heels!"

"You like the librarian look!" Diane laughed. "That's adorable, Tim."

"It is?"

"Absolutely it is. I always liked that motif myself, to tell you the truth. The whole idea that you can look as super-serious as you want, and still smolder underneath!"

"Exactly," Tim said with a nervous laugh. "I hope you don't mind learning that about me, Diane."

"Mind? Tim, I think it's wonderful." Although it did, she reflected, make it a bit more difficult to identify the right costume for tomorrow. No use in dressing like a librarian when she already tended to do that every day.

But first things first, Diane relaxed and admired her young friend as he went about the job she'd set for him. She had recently had some new shelves installed, and all the books were piled against the far wall after she had foolishly told the workers she'd rather re-shelve them herself. Three months later she had never even tried to tackle that job, so now it was left to Tim. It was a fairly big job, and Diane had nearly an hour to admire his lithe form and probe for hints about the young man he'd grown to be. The small talk was of college and finals and just a little bit about dating, and Diane was delighted to learn he wasn't spoken for. "There was someone," he said just as he was getting the last of the books squared away, "But she said I was too mature for her."

"Too mature?"

"She said I was husband material, and she wasn't ready to settle down."

"Silly girl. She'll regret it someday!"

"You're too sweet, Mrs. -- I mean Diane." He sat down at the vintage teacher's desk she had purchased just a week before, a safe distance from her, she mused, after that embrace on the couch had skated so close to the line. "Way too sweet."

"No such thing, if you ask me, Tim," Diane said, standing up. "Lovely job with the books. Want to shower before dinner?"

"If there's time," Tim said.

"Of course there is. Remember I was expecting you later!" He stood up too, and she guided him to the door. "I've made up the bedroom across the hall from Christie's for you," she said as she led him down the hallway. "Oh, and that reminds me, I'm having my bathroom remodeled at the moment, so you'll have to share the hallway one with me. I hope that's all right."

"Of course that's fine," he said. "Do you want to shower before dinner too?"

Diane nodded as she ushered him into the guest bedroom. "Hope you don't mind, the bathroom is right next door, so you can hear the shower running when you have the closet door open." She swung it open then, and in the dimness Tim saw a tiny circle of light on the wall. He almost pointed it out to Diane, but thought better -- or perhaps worse -- of it.

"I'm sure it's fine, Diane," he said, setting his suitcase down by the bed.

"Then go ahead and unpack while I shower," Diane said. "I won't be but a few minutes!"

Tim smiled and sat on the neatly made bed as he watched his friend's mother retreat. He smiled through a frustrating dilemma that the hole in the closet wall had brought on.

As he heard the bathroom door close a second later, he tried to resist -- this was his dear friend's mother, and she was putting him up for free in her home! But she was also Diane, whose enormous breasts he'd been lusting after for years. What harm would one look at them be, if that hole was even big enough and at the right angle to see anything anyway? With his cock as hard as could be in his pants, he knew all at once he'd never forgive himself for sneaking a peak...or for not doing so!

Chances are he wouldn't be able to see anything through the hole anyway, he told himself as he lay down on the closet floor and positioned his eye by the hole.

See, though, he could. Diane was almost facing the hole, at only a slight angle as she unzipped her skirt. She slid it off with the flair of an overworked woman who was delighted to be free of it at last. Or was that only Tim's imagination? He couldn't be sure, but he was sure he saw that she also took a playful flick at each of the buttons of her blouse as she peeled it away and flung it in the corner.

His reservations gone, Tim could only thank his lucky stars she hadn't tossed her blouse over the hole. He was all but catatonic at the sight of Diane in her cream-colored lingerie and black stockings. Her panties betrayed a playful wisp of pubic hair here and there, rather more so as she lifted her legs one at a time to slide her stockings off, and he enjoyed the promise of more there. But it was, of course, her breasts that held the greatest promise. Cupped tightly in a lacy bra, they hung heavy with promise against the bulging delicate-looking material even before she freed them. Tim could almost feel the supple warmth in his hands as he imagined himself helping her out of her bra.

He was just clearheaded enough to know that would be the last thing she would remove -- no doubt she wanted the support until the last moment -- and so he wasn't surprised that she slid her panties off first. He was surprised at the giant bush she revealed, hip-to-hip and gloriously thick. Those few hints hadn't been the half of it! Tim longed to run his fingers through all that hair nearly as much as he longed to play with her breasts now.

But that was nearly forgotten -- nearly, but not quite -- when Diane did at last reach back and unhook the marvel of engineering that was her bra. Years of wondering what those massive globes looked like were satisfied at last, and Tim could barely contain himself from whistling with appreciation. They were heavy and sagged a bit, but they were beautiful -- seemingly acres of creamy white flesh tipped with thick round nipples that almost seemed to be pointing at him for that wonderful long moment that she stood utterly naked in his view.

Diane turned away toward the shower, but not before Tim got a fleeting glimpse of her rubbing her breasts just the way he'd wanted to do for so long. Though he could no longer see her very clearly once she'd shut the glass door, Tim didn't move. He would, after all, want another glimpse when she got out!

Keeping his eye on the now-obscure view as the bathroom filled with steam, Tim, fished his handkerchief out of his back pocket and then unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. To think he'd seriously considered not taking a look! Even without seeing her, he could ever so easily imagine Diane shampooing her big bush, lovingly rinsing out the suds, and the hot water dripping so enticingly among the hair. But then, Diane herself probably hadn't seen her own bush in years, he reflected with a laugh through his intense frigging. How could she see anything over those two melons? And what else could a person want to see anyway? They were magnificent. She was magnificent, and beautiful, and Tim's guilt was out the window. Though it hurt to know he'd never get to touch her or see her like this again, how lucky that it had happened this time! Thank heavens her own bathroom was out of commission!

And just what was up with that embrace on the couch? Tim couldn't be sure, and he didn't want to be greedy and assume anything...but she had seemed all too willing to hold on just as long as he wanted her to. Now that he knew what he knew about her body, "as long as he wanted her to" had just become quite a bit longer!

Tim stroked himself firmly but slowly until the he heard Diane turn the water off. He did not want to come until he'd seen her body again, no matter how fleeting the second look. It was fleeting, but he did get another great look at her vast triangle and pendulous breasts just before she bent over to dry herself off. When she was done, there was one last glimpse as she wrapped her hair in the towel and stepped out of his sight to collect her bathrobe. Tim got what he wanted, in any event, a lingering gaze at her gorgeous body as he enjoyed the most intense orgasm he'd had since he didn't know when.