Thanksgiving 2000, Part 2

Thanksgiving 2000 (part 2 of 2)
an4@anon.lelnet.com

They walked back to the car together, arm in arm, kissing and enjoying one 
another while juggling her full load of packages, which barely fit into his 
trunk.
    She had moved her car close enough to watch them. She was hoping that he 
would start the car, drive away, and at least spare her something awful.
    He did not. She watched them until they moved from the front seat to the 
back and then-
    
    He looked around nervously. It had started to snow, big flakes at first 
but it would be steady enough soon. They would have to move to the back seat 
at the rate things were progressing, but there was a part of him that thought 
that the back seat of his car in a mall parking lot was not the place to fuck.
    'You know, Kevin, it turns me on more when we do it someplace like this- 
out in the open, where someone might see us.'
    He actually physically bit his tongue rather than reply and say the 
obvious which would put it all back in her mind. But he could think it. Of 
course she wanted to do it out in the open, where someone might see them or 
hear them or whatever. Not that they hadn't been risking exposure all 
afternoon.
    Still, it was just the trailer trash aspect of fucking in a mall parking 
lot that made him a little edgy.
    One hand was inside his pants, the other managed to locate cigarettes and 
lighter. She continued to pull her hand gently back and forth, hardening him, 
while she lit the cigarette and then they shared another in a long series of 
increasingly steamy kisses.

    It was almost six when she heard the car drive in. She'd parked on the 
next street so that there would be no chance that he would know that she was 
already home. The house was dark except for the glow of her monitor as she 
played a game she'd stopped seeing half an hour ago.
    Paula was thinking about how it would go. He would walk into the house 
and she would surprise him by being home. He would act innocent, she would 
mention how he smelled smoky and he would say that was just from this morning 
and then-
    She was sure he would never admit it. She would have to tell him what she 
had seen, have to humiliate herself by admit that up until she had seen it 
with her own eyes, she had actually had no idea whatsoever that her fiancée 
was fucking around.
    As often happened when she was deep into a game- even one she was playing 
on autopilot- she'd forgotten all about smoking. As she heard the car door 
slam, she lit a cigarette, stood up and stretched out, and then walked over 
towards the door so that she would be there to greet him. She drew deeply on  
the cigarette, forcing smoke into her lungs  at the same time that she forced 
all of her instincts down.
    Kevin almost walked right into her.
    'Jesus, Paula, what are you doing home ?'
    She reached out, stroked him much as she had done this morning. 'Did you 
keep that ready for me like I told you to  ?' she asked, her voice dry and 
sultry. She pressed up against him, put her nose to his neck. 'Mmm, you smell 
smoky, hon. Anything I should know about ?'
    Paula was doing her level best to play a part, and little did she 
understand how successfully she was managing it.
    Kevin heard that question echo through what he felt like was his empty 
head, and all at once he simply cracked. Eight weeks of lies and deceptions, 
eight weeks of often having sex with two different women in the same day, one 
who was oblivious to it all and the one whom he thought until this moment was 
responsible for all his guilt-

    And still he had lied. He watched the girls- they were on their third 
cigarettes- lighting up again. He wasn't even sure exactly who the last lie 
was told for, but he'd told it and now they were here in this place- a place 
where his wife felt she had to stand out in the freezing cold with two 
teenagers just so that she could smoke, a place where he stood transfixed, 
getting hard watching her smoke, watching her sister and another teenager he 
hardly knew, and all three of them were making him crazy.
    Had he ever thought the fetish would go away if Paula stopped smoking or 
had that just been the desperate rationalisation he'd come up with to explain 
why he'd had an affair with Monica.
    Didn't he still sometimes pretend Paula was Monica ? And when he did, 
wasn't Monica always smoking ?
    Just then, a strong hand clapped him on the back.
    'How's it going, Kevin ?'
    He didn't turn. That strong hand and that deep voice, well, it could only 
be dad. And right now he didn't want to try and look him in the eyes. He had 
been able to lie to the man's daughter's face for eight solid weeks and more 
than once since, but not him. No, he couldn't look this man in the face and 
tell a lie.
    'Same old, Dad. You know how it is.'
    'Yeah, I do. That's why I'm here, son. I'm going drop the amiable 
civility you and I usually trade back and forth and be honest with you for a 
minute, if that's okay.'
    Kevin struggled with his usual feelings about Paula's father. He wanted 
to like him, because he seemed like a great guy, but he couldn't because-
    The guy didn'˜t like him. It was as though he knew his dark secret, like 
he knew on some autonomic gut level that his son-in-law was a cheat and a 
liar.
    And a fool.
    'Shoot,' Kevin said.
    Father and son-in-law stared out the window at the woman they were both 
thinking about. She laughed at something Diane said and trimmed the ash from 
her cigarette before planting it squarely between her lips for the sort of 
deep pull that made Kevin shiver.
    'I don't really know all the ins and outs of what happened between you 
and my daughter, Kevin. I can tell you this much- I know something happened. 
Paula hasn't been right- you and Paula haven't been right- since before you 
got married. I'm betting one of you slept around and I have a feeling that it 
was you, but I don't want to know. That's between you and my daughter. All I 
know is what I see when we get together, and that isn't pretty. You-'
    'I don't treat her right,' Kevin said, and he did tear himself away from 
watching his wife and her young friends smoke long enough to look his 
father-in-law in the eyes.
    'You don't, son. And I want you to understand. After today, no more. If 
you can't make my daughter happy, I don't want to see you here anymore. You 
come into my house, you tell my family what they can and can't do- I heard 
you complaining earlier about how I'm raising Rachel and I don't appreciate 
that in the least. No more. I-' 
    Kevin waved his hand. 'That whole no smoking thing. Forget about it. 
That's-'
    'Part of the problem,' he finished. 'I can't begin to imagine how that 
factors in, but-'
    'Look, you're right. So my question is, can you spare one of your cigars 
to help me solve this problem ?'
    'Son, if you know how to start making my daughter happy again, I can 
spare you a whole box of Cubans.'

    Kevin walked out of the house and as Paula saw him she instinctively 
started to toss her cigarette aside out of reflex, but she stopped, 
transfixed as she saw the cigar in his right hand. It was lit, and she 
watched him lift it to his mouth and draw on it.
    When he spoke, smoke trailed out of his mouth.
    'Honey, how about coming with me  ? Your parents need something from the 
store. They said the convenience store out on Gary Road is open.'
    'Sure, Kev.'
    They walked to the car, Paula in a bit of a daze. She continued to smoke 
her cigarette, and she heard the girls behind them talking, their voices 
amazed. She watched Kevin draw on the cigar two more times and was sure he 
was actually smoking it.
    'Mom and Dad don '˜t need anything at the store, do they ?'
    'No,' he answered as they got in the car. 'I want to go and buy you a 
carton of cigarettes. It's time we put my problems behind us and I let you 
live your life and enjoy it.'
    'All this time- you never-'
    'No. I stood there today, watching you smoke, and-'
    'You realise that you've wasted all this time, all this time that we 
could have- that you could have '" you know how miserable the sex has been the 
last year ? And what's with the cigar ?'
    Kevin had made some decisions and this was going to be the hardest- to 
tell his wife what he had never told her- to admit after demanding that she 
not smoke that he had smoked with Monica.
    'I used to smoke when I was with Monica. It turned her on. Mostly 
cigarettes, but cigars sometimes too. I've been such an asshole. All this 
time, trying to keep you from smoking-'
    Paula laughed. 'I've been in the closet ever since we got married, but 
don't worry, hardly a day has gone by that I haven't had at least one 
cigarette, honey. But still, I owe you, let me tell you.'
    'Any chance I can eat enough humble pie to make up for it ?'
    'It depends on whether or not you can eat it in  front of my family.'
    'I think that can be arranged. Wait until they see me light a cigarette 
for you- They're in for a surprise.'
    'So are you. I saw you with her that day. The day you told me- I saw you 
smoking with her, so I've known you smoked all along.'
    Fortunately for both of them he narrowly avoided driving off the road as 
she told him that and more.
    

    Diane picked up the phone on the second ring.
    'Grandma get drunk yet ?' the voice at the other end of the phone asked, 
 mockingly.
    'Actually no. I'm barricaded up her in my room with the window open 
smoking. This family thing sucks for both of us.'
    'Not me,' Rachel said. 'I don't know exactly what happened, and Paula 
hasn't been far enough away from Kevin to talk about it, but I think they've 
made up, and the good news is that he doesn't have a boner about people 
smoking in the house.'
    'Or he's got a boner about it the good way. Does this mean you're 
inviting me over ?'
    'Can you get away ?'
    'It's either that or I can freeze my ass off up here. I just hope Mom 
doesn't insist on coming along.'
    Rachel met her outside. 'You can't believe how different it is in this 
house tonight. It's like a spring thaw. I mean, people are actually laughing.'
    Diane drew on her cigarette, blew a thick stream of smoke which danced in 
the porch light.
    'You think they might actually have a chance of being happy now ?'
    Rachel laughed, pulled a cigarette out, and lit it quickly.
    'I think I'm freezing my ass off out here and I want to go inside. You 
can see it for yourself.'
    They walked through the house to the family room and everyone was there- 
Mom and Dad, Kevin and Paula, Rachel's other older sister Janice and her 
girlfriend Helen, Uncle Dave and Aunt Nora and the cousins.                   
                                      
    Rachel and Diane sat down by the fireplace and Diane quickly realised 
that Rachel was right. The room just felt different. It was a lot more than 
the fact that everyone was free to smoke- although it was clear people were 
definitely more relaxed. They were talking in groups of three and four, and 
as Rachel started telling her the latest gossip about Tina Flores, Kevin 
looked at her and nodded once.
    She understood the gesture entirely, a simple thank you for being there 
for his wife.
    Diane responded by taking a long pull on her cigarette and smiling as he 
watched her perfect nose exhale. She saw that certain something in his eyes- 
appreciation mostly- and it all made sense in a way she thought must usually 
be reserved for adults.
    She decided then and there when the time came, she was going to enjoy 
being an adult.

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