Juliana's Summer of Lost Innocence

Note: This is a follow-up to "Life Imitates Art...Sort Of," published in the First Time section on 5/1/16. It helps if you read that one first but not crucial. The following can stand well enough on its own. Enjoy.

*

In June of 1968, the nation was reeling from a spate of tragic events. In dozens of American cities, the charred remains of buildings stood as a grim reminder of the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. Then, on June 5th, presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy met the fate of his older brother when he was gunned down in Los Angeles following his victory in the California primary. And then there was that senseless war in Vietnam where almost half a million American troops remained mired in a seemingly endless conflict.

Juliana Wilcox, home from Brandeis University, braced herself for what she thought could be a long, hot summer, both on a personal level and for the country as a whole. Her city might once again explode in rioting as cities across the nation had done every summer since the Watts conflagration three years before. Then she had to contend with her parents who barely spoke to each other and a mom jealous of her relationship with Wendell Perdofsky, her neighbor and her mom's ex-lover. As she told Wendell, her mom Janet could be a dead ringer for Mrs. Robinson, the hot, alcoholic older woman who seduces her friends' son in "The Graduate," a movie still popular with moviegoers months after its initial release. In the movie, Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, runs off with Ben Braddock immediately after exchanging marriage vows with a guy approved by her parents. In the final scene, Ben and Elaine, still in her wedding gown, hop aboard a bus, all smiles, fate and destination unknown. Juliana didn't have another guy in her life—just Wendell Perdofsky, "cute and charming" in Juliana's eyes and a virgin up until the time Janet ignited a torrid affair that Wendell broke off so he could date Juliana.

Tension reigned 24/7 in the Wilcox household during those first few weeks of June. Following her first date with Wendell, Juliana confronted Janet in the kitchen. "Be honest, mom. You not wanting me to see Wendell has nothing to do with him not being good enough for me and everything to do with the fact that you'll now be forced to get your extracurricular nookie from someone else."

Janet, her chestnut hair piled high in a bun and attired in a short yellow house dress and sandals, put away the last of the dishes. "Look, you want to see Wendell, see him. But don't you talk to me like that. Not when you're still living under my roof. I deserve more respect. "

Juliana, barefoot and dressed in white shorts and a short-sleeve blue v-neck, grunted in a bemused laugh and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Respect?! Mom, how can you talk about respect while you carry on with a guy young enough to be your son?"

Janet folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the counter. "This is beginning to sound like a damn soap opera. Look, naïve one, there might come a time in your life when you'll understand why people do things in marriage that aren't exactly kosher. It's no secret that your father and I haven't been happy with each other over the past few years. We've talked about divorce, and maybe someday we'll go through with it. Meanwhile, like many married people, unfulfilled in certain ways, we look for fulfillment elsewhere."

"But with Wendell Perdofsky? Why him of all people?"

"Well, honey bun, that's for me to know and perhaps for you to find out. Obviously you don't yet know or you wouldn't have asked."

Juliana shook her head. "Spare me the messy details."

"Oh, don't worry. I have no intention of going into the minutia of what went on between Wendell and I while you were away at school. What did he say about it?"

"No minutia. Just that it was over."

"Yes, much to my chagrin. Like I said, maybe you'll find out. But just remember this. Whatever fun you might have with Wendell is due largely to my largesse to a kid who had barely dated, much less...well, use your imagination." She lifted her dress and began to rub her crotch. "Sorry, Julie, don't mean to embarrass you, but I'm soaked just thinking about it."

Juliana's jaw dropped. At the moment, she could do little more than stare, watching Janet, her tan, bare legs slightly bent, rub her pussy over her thin blue panties. She wanted to run from the room. But she couldn't. She felt frozen in her chair, mesmerized by what transpired before her pretty green eyes, outrageous, wholly inappropriate—and undeniably erotic.

Janet, who had heretofore looked serious, began to smile, for she was beginning to sense what her daughter was feeling. She was her mom, after all. "I don't mean to be presumptuous. But if I didn't know better, I'd say your own little twat might be making some noises right about now. Am I right?"

Swallowing hard, Juliana continued to stare. "Ah, um, well, I—"

She chuckled. "It's okay, honey, I know you're not a lesbian. And neither am I, just to set the record straight. However, I don't suppose you...no, never mind." She shook her head and dropped her dress.

Juliana, suddenly conscious of her dry mouth and labored breathing, swallowed hard once again. "You don't suppose what, mom?"

"Forget it. I think I've traumatized you enough already."

"You wanted me to lick your pussy, didn't you?"

"Oh, you naughty girl, you. Dirty minds think alike. Actually, I'd prefer if Wendell did it. He got very good at it. Maybe you'll see just how good before the summer's out." She shoved her hand up her dress and gave her pussy a quick once over. "Ohmygod, Julie, I'm soaked and practically coming on my feet. You'll have to excuse me. Nature calls."

Naïve in some respects she might be, but Juliana knew where her mom was headed. Over winter break, right before the affair with Wendell, she accidentally discovered Janet's glass dildo in the bathroom. She didn't say anything, nor did she blame her mom. Women needed to relieve themselves too, especially sex-deprived women in bad marriages. Juliana was no stranger to masturbation herself, though she had never used anything but her fingers. What troubled her now as she sat alone in the kitchen was the offbeat way she had reacted to her mom's offbeat behavior. It should have repulsed her—and in a way it did. But it also turned her on, got her twat to make those figurative noises Janet had referred to. No, she wasn't a lesbian. But, as she just learned, human sexuality can be a strange thing, can take unexpected turns. The sight of her mom lifting her dress, exposing her tan, shapely legs, and then pleasuring herself almost drove her to bounce from her chair and do what lesbians typically do to pleasure their lovers.

The thought made her head swim and her stomach tingle. She burned with desire, desire that trumped her usual rational thinking and bourgeoisie sense of morality. "I can't believe what I'm about to do," she whispered to herself.

Upon leaving the kitchen, she checked the den to see if her dad was still there. He was, doing a crossword puzzle and working on his coin collection. Then she went upstairs, held her ear against the bathroom door and heard the faint sounds of her mom moaning on the toilet. Soon, she found herself touching her crotch, rubbing her pussy through her shorts. "Mom, can I come in?" No answer. "Mom?"

"I'm busy."

"Yes, I know, but I thought I could..." She couldn't say it.

"Thought what, Julie? You've got to know what I'm doing."

"Right, I do, and wondered if maybe I could help."

She heard a sigh. Then, seconds later, the door cracked open. "Your father's downstairs," Janet whispered.

In her own whisper, Juliana said, "Yes, engrossed in his hobbies. He barely noticed me. Have you...I mean did you—"

"Come yet?" Juliana nodded. "I was just about to when you knocked."

"Sorry."

Janet looked at her intently, dildo in hand. Her hair, no longer up, hung loosely below her shoulders. "Honey, are you sure you want to, um, help me?"

"Mom, my panties are soaked as well. I may not be in Wendell's league, but I'd like to try."

Janet laughed. "You'll' give it the old college try, huh?"

"The what?"

"Just an expression, honey bun. Before your time. Okay, come in. But we've got to keep it down."

Janet lifted her dress, slid her panties down to her ankle and resumed her seat on the toilet. "Guess I won't need this," she said, rolling the dildo into the sink.

Juliana got on her knees and stared at Janet's wet pussy. She could smell the sweet/sour odor of her juices, could see her dark public hair saturated with it. "I must confess, cunnilingus is totally new to me."

"I figured as much. What about fellatio?"

"Once. In the car with a guy I met at Brandeis. But I didn't finish it."

"Why not?"

"I passed out. Right on the front seat of his Chevelle. He got mad and drove me back to the dorm."

"Well, I don't want you passing out here, honey bun," Janet said, chuckling. "We'd have a tough time explaining that to your father. Sure you're okay with this?"

Juliana gave a tentative nod. She stared a few seconds longer before moving in. The smell got more pungent as she inched closer. Only millimeters away, she closed her eyes, stuck out her tongue and with just the tip of it made contact. Then she jerked back, opened her eyes and looked up. "Bear with me here."

Janet nodded. "Take your time. But not too much time. He might come up any second."

Janet inched forward on the toilet seat and spread her legs wider. Juliana moved in again, slowly like last time only this time she didn't retreat. One lick followed another and then another, her rhythm akin to licking a lollipop, one lick at a time, slow but sure. The licking soon evolved into sword-like stabbing in and around her mom's pussy and over her clit.

The central AC did little to keep Juliana cool. Inside and out, she was burning up. Impulsively,she lifted her blouse and bra over her boobs and dropped her shorts and panties to her knees. She worked over her mom's cunt with her tongue while also indulging herself in the process, messaging her small but firm boobs and giving her pussy a furious finger-fucking. She was the picture of pure carnal energy at its most incendiary.

Janet closed her eyes, threw her head back and moaned with delight. She was on the edge of an orgasmic trance, yet conscious enough to muffle her moans as best she could. She wanted to scream out her pleasure, especially when Juliana hooked her arms under her smooth thighs, lifting her slightly for greater leverage and penetration. "Ohmygod!" Janet cried. "Oh fuck! Julie, the room's starting to spin. Much more of this and you might have ME passing out."

She didn't pass out. But she came close, crying out in a muffles scream, then keeling over sideways against the blue-tiled wall of the bathroom when she climaxed. Juliana stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders for support. Janet leaned forward, placed a hand over the back of her neck and shook her head. "Honey, that was beyond fabulous. You're a quick study in everything it appears."

Juliana smiled. "Good as Wendell?"

"Close. Very close. Remember, he's had more practice. I'll say this. You're first time was better than his first time. In fact—" She stopped upon hearing hubby Nathan coming up the stairs.

Juliana heard him too and rushed to fix her clothes. Janet followed suit, slipping her panties over her foot, then stuffing them and the dildo inside her dress pocket.

Nathan knocked on the door. "Juliana, are you in there?"

"Oh shit," she whispered. "Yes, dad, what is it?"

"I'm stuck on a word and thought you might be able to help so I can complete this puzzle."

"Um, I might be awhile. Can it wait?"

"Well, where's your mother? She used to be good at these things."

Janet rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm right here, Nathan. Be out in a sec." Turning toward Juliana, she whispered, "Talk about close calls."

"Guess one of you couldn't wait," Nathan joked when Janet opened the door. "Maybe we should install another toilet in there."

Ignoring the comment, mom and daughter stepped out into the hall and studied the missing spaces, a ten letter word on vertical. "A type of walking stick associated with the Irish," Janet read aloud. She shook her head and deferred to Juliana. "Haven't a clue. What say you, brainy Brandeis girl?"

"Shillelagh," Juliana said without missing a beat.

Nathan winced. "Sha-what? How do you spell that?"

Juliana went to her room, grabbed a dictionary and returned flipping pages. "Ah, here it is. Shillelagh. S-h-i-l-l-e-l-a-g-h. There's your ten words, dad. Fits like a glove."

"Whew! You're good, you're real good," Nathan gushed.

"She certainly is," Janet said, flashing Juliana a knowing smile. "We've got a very talented daughter."

Nathan scratched his paunchy belly over his grey T-shirt, looking clueless as he watched his wife and daughter giggle like two young schoolgirls. "Inside joke, I gather," he said. He then shrugged and went back downstairs.

When Nathan was out of earshot, Juliana turned to her mom and said, "I kind of expected this to be a long, hot summer. Now it looks like it's going to be hotter than I anticipated."

Janet smiled roguishly. "You still have the hots for Wendell, I gather."

"I'd like to get to know him better. The hots? That's a stretch. Like I've said, I find him cute and charming."

"Well, he wasn't so cute and charming the way he dumped me," Janet said, not bothering to hide hostility that lingered like the odor of spoiled milk.

"Dumped you?! Mom, you talk as if he was your steady boyfriend. What did he mean to you other than a horny young guy who gave you what dad can't or won't?"

"Shhh, keep it down," Janet whispered, finger over her mouth. "What he gave me was quite a lot, young lady. Look, if you two don't mesh, you can send him back my way. You did great, honey, but I still crave that wonderful appendage of his." She rubbed her crotch. "Oh lord, don't get me started again. Not unless you want to go another round."

Juliana sighed. "You still resent me for wanting to see him, don't you? You're still bitter over this." Janet stared in cold silence. "You are, aren't you?"

"Damn right I am! Wendell and I had a great thing going. He filled a void in my life, fulfilled needs that had for too long gone unfulfilled. Then you come home and it's all over. So yes, to be truthful, I'm still bitter. Who in my shoes wouldn't be?"

Juliana shook her head. "Not many women your age would step into those shoes to begin with, mom."

"Look, don't judge me, okay?"

"I'm not judging you," Juliana said, softening her tone.

"It sure sounds like it."

They glared at one another in the hall. "Look, if you miss Wendell that much," Juliana said, attempting to diffuse the tension, "you can have him all to yourself."

Janet threw her hands on her hips. "Now you're patronizing me."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Not."

"Are."

Juliana squeezed a handful of her thick chestnut hair. "Oh geez. Mom, is this the way it's going to be for the next couple months, us sniping at each other?"

"Well, you said it was going to be a long, hot summer. And maybe it will be, in more ways than one, I'm afraid."

******

Juliana was starting to feel like someone who had jumped out of her own skin. She never did subscribe to the current if-it-feels-good-it's-okay thinking of some among her generation. Sure, on a purely erotic level, that incestuous episode had felt more than good—it felt beyond any superlative she could think of. Yet it left her confused and guilt-ridden. Her last few days of freshman year at Brandeis had been filled with heady anticipation. She looked forward to seeing Wendell again, getting to know him better, resuming their stimulating political discussions of the Nixon-Humphrey presidential race and trying to make sense of the mess the country found itself in, the assassinations, riots, air pollution, Vietnam, etc. The last thing she expected was becoming aroused from watching her mom pleasure herself and then taking it to the outer limits. She had to face an ugly truth: Her family, while "normal" and respectable on the outside, had become dysfunctional.

She could barely think straight when Wendell picked her up in his Le Mans for their next date, another lovely June evening. It wasn't a date, exactly. Desperate to confide in someone, Juliana had called him the following night and requested that he pick her up: "I know it's the spur of the moment, but could we drive somewhere?"

She went along with his suggestion that they go for ice cream at Champs , a popular suburban drive-in owned by an ex-NFL football player. On weekend nights, kids with hot cars, Vets, T-Birds, GTOs and such, made the scene there, driving around the octagon-shaped structure that looked like something out of Tomorrow Land. It was a throwback to an earlier time, before the anti-materialistic zeitgeist of the hippy movement took hold. It wasn't a place where Juliana would normally frequent. Still, she felt that doing something outside her usual experience might do her good.

Wendell pulled up next to one of the speakers and ordered two chocolate cones. The place crackled with young hormonal energy in the balmy June air. Horns honked and people shouted to one another from their cars. The young couple beside them in the white Ford Falcon was all over each other. "You'd think they'd come up for air already," Wendell joked. Juliana, dressed in a yellow mini-skirt and matching blouse, didn't laugh. Wendell stopped smiling. "Something really IS bothering you. Does it have to do with Nixon being ahead in the polls?"

Juliana frowned. "Hardly. Nor is it related to the riots or Bobby Kennedy's assassination, as horribly tragic as that is."

A blonde, pony-tailed waitress dressed in a blue and white cheerleader's getup approached with their cones. "Hmmm, no roller skates," Juliana said, unable to resist a stab at humor.

"Only in California," Wendell said.

Juliana nodded. "Wish I was there now, even with Reagan as governor. Anywhere but here."

"What's wrong with here?" he said, stabbing his tongue into his cone.

From the bottom up, Juliana started licking her ice cream. "My family's here. My mom who's still bitter because in her mind I stole you away from her. My dad who's chief concern seems to be his coin collection. And then there's me. Of course, we can't run away from ourselves, can we?"

Wendell cocked his head to the side and adjusted his glasses. "So what's wrong with you? By the way, I like your hair that way, twisted into a side pony tail. Cool."

"Thanks. It's the Kathy Garver influence."

"Who?"

"She plays Cissy on Family Affair."

"Never saw it. Okay, so back to my question. What would you be running away from?"

"See the way I'm licking this cone?"

"Okay."

"Well, it's the same way I..."

He held his cone chest high, an inch from his madras button down shirt, his mouth slightly open, bracing himself for words that Juliana couldn't seem to speak. "The same way you...what?"

She shook her head. "Wendell, I'm not the straight-laced girl I thought I was or the girl you might think I am."

"You're not?"

"No. Wendell, you're looking at the duchess of kink, the not so famous offspring of the queen of kink, namely, my mom, Janet Wilcox."

"AKA Mrs. Robinson."

"Yes, Mrs. Robinson who only seduced her friend's college age son, not Elaine, her own daughter. That wasn't in the script."

"That kind of script would never have made it past our state's Puritanical movie censor board."

She leaned closer to him. "Wendell, do you see where I'm going with this?"