Dad made lots of money as a stockbroker and insisted his wife shouldn’t work.
Mom stayed home in a comfortable house, in many ways a stereotypical 1950s housewife.
Now that she was divorced, Mom had no idea what to do with herself. Thanks to his money and connections, Dad had achieved an amazingly quick divorce: he’d wanted to retire and start traveling ASAP with his cradle-robbed sexpot. He’d easily gotten the divorce because Mom was too disheartened to put up much of a fight, and anyway why fight to keep a man who no longer loved you, but he didn’t get everything he wanted. Thanks to a perceptive judge money wouldn’t ever be a problem for Mom, but she felt cast adrift: what was she for?
Conner, my brother, was at college.
I was in my senior year of high school and would be leaving for college in less than a year.
I knew empty nest syndrome was going to hit her really hard. Dad, Conner and I had always been her entire life.
The heartless bastard I used to call Dad had abandoned her… and me, but I didn’t give a fuck, I was glad he was gone. He’d abandoned her during the holiday season, which only made him a bigger dick than I’d already thought he was.
He was one of the reasons I was a lesbian.
Oh sure, sexual attraction was the main one, but my hatred for the way my dad had treated Mom my entire life had generalised itself into a very early dislike for men, thus boys, and at eighteen I was definitely one hundred percent lesbian. He didn’t make me into a lesbian, but he sure made it easier for me to accept that any great love in my life would definitely be wearing a skirt. Or wearing a whatever; you know what I mean.
Mom didn’t know I was lez.
I was perceived by Mom and by most people who knew me as a sweet, shy, nerdy young woman. I was far from that, but I didn’t mind letting most people think I was. Shy around boys vs couldn’t care less about boys didn’t look so different from the outside. Either way I wasn’t dating any, or even flirting.
Few, besides my best friend and partner in crime Amanda, a still in the closet athlete Brittany (I knew where her closet was and visited her there regularly), a neighbour Mrs. Benson, a teacher Mrs. Walker, and a few other trusted souls had any clue that I was a lesbian.
I hadn’t originally planned on seducing my Mom, but one thing led to another and… well… here’s the story of the craziest life-altering Valentine’s Day ever.
***
I came home from school, and although she smiled resolutely as she greeted me, it was obvious Mom had been crying… again… and it broke my heart… again.
I asked the stupid question, “Are you okay, Mom?”
“I’m fine, honey,” she answered like she always did, as she wiped away some streaks of evidence to the contrary, attempting to be casual. Today was Valentine’s Day and it was her first one since Dad had left two months ago. She was obviously feeling extra sad she was alone on the Day of Love, while her ex was drinking Mai Tais on the beaches of Hawaii with his new slutfriend (something we’d learned from Facebook pictures).