Karma Comes

Chapter 2

The early morning rays distracted Jake enough to wake him up. He thought to himself, "Maybe I need to get better blinds." Jake had planned to sleep all day and night to compensate for the sleep he had lost in the days before. But Jake forced himself to wake up because he had to surprise his parents and also ask them why there were changes in the house. Jake got out of his bed and dressed like his usual self at home — boxers and a T-shirt. He wouldn't have worn the T-shirt a few years ago, but he was more mature now. Jake walked out of the door to the smell of coffee. He knew his mom was awake. Jake slowly made his way to the kitchen. He hid behind the wall and scanned the kitchen. He first spotted his mom. Her blonde hair was allowed to flow down, and she wore a bathrobe. But he noticed a few more unusual things in the kitchen. There were new containers filled with red, yellow, and brown things. Jake was confused, but he had a target in front of him, and he was deciding how to surprise Emily.

Jake jumped around the corner and quickly yelled an emphatic, "Surprise, Mom!" Emily was stunned and shrieked at the sight. She was not expecting to see her son for another week, and here he was jumping out of nowhere. Emily's startled mind was quickly pulled back when Jake came running toward her for a hug. Emily knew she had to be careful about what she was going to do next.

As Jake came forward, he hugged his mom from behind, as he always did. After the hug, Jake decided to sit down next to his mom. Emily was still stunned, and Jake said, "Why do you look so shocked, Mom? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

With a mixture of motherly love and happiness mixed with a pinch of fear, Emily replied, "Oh, honey, this was your best surprise yet. What are you doing here so early? I didn't expect you back for another week."

"I decided to surprise you and Dad. Speaking of Dad, where is he? And what happened to his car?"

Emily knew she was in trouble but decided the best way forward was to deflect. "Oh, you know Dad — he's gone out of town for a few days. But how are you? How is college? You've become so thin, honey."

"Mom, I am in the best shape of my life, but I have been skipping a few meals because of exams. Maybe that's why. But the college girls clearly dig it, and I plan on going to the gym before I go back, so I can find you a daughter-in-law soon."

They both smirked at that. Jake noticed something on his mom's neck, and his brain immediately refused to process it further. Some things a son just doesn't need to think about.

The next hour was filled with Jake and Emily talking about college, his life in Indianapolis, and his various girlfriends. Emily brilliantly dodged every question about what was happening in her own life. Jake didn't suspect a thing. Throughout the conversation, Emily's mind was braced for the inevitable. She also took great care to cover up her hickey and to not act suspicious.

Emily finally got up and asked Jake if he wanted more coffee. Jake agreed, and she went to make it. As Emily rose from her seat, she heard a footstep on the staircase. She knew her two worlds were now on a collision course, and things were about to get very ugly. What would her son think of her when this happened?

The footsteps reached the ground floor, and a voice boomed from the hallway. "Where are you, babe? Last night was too good."

Then a ghost of Jake's past walked into the room. Jake and Emily both froze. It was Rishi Patel — the Rishi Patel Jake had bullied in school. Rishi was as heavyset as he had been in school. His dark skin now had a little more hair on it, and he had a patchy beard. Jake felt sick. Then, suddenly, a thought came to his mind: he had been a fool. There were clear signs of an Indian presence in the house and he had ignored every one of them. But the worst of all — the sounds he had heard last night were not his parents'. It was his mom, with another man. Jake was angry, stunned, and didn't know what to say.

Rishi saw Jake and noticed his stare as he crossed the room to Emily. He reached her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Emily was still frozen, and she didn't know what to do. The awkward silence was broken by Rishi saying, "Hi, Jake. I know this might seem weird, but I'm kind of dating your mom now."

Jake felt sick — the hickeys, the sounds, and now the kiss. He looked at his mom and Rishi with complete disgust. He turned to his mom, and the only words that escaped his mouth were, "What the hell is going on here?"

Rishi replied, "I know it's a lot to process, Jake, but if you need space, we can go back to the bedroom."

Jake clenched his fist. "No one is going anywhere until I get some answers."

Emily finally regained her composure and stepped forward to comfort her son. As she moved to hug him, Jake stepped back and asked, "Why is he the same age as your own son?" Emily was stung by this, but the only words that escaped her mouth were, "He was the only one there for me."

Emily told Jake and Rishi to sit down. The three of them sat around the kitchen table and looked at one another with a cocktail of emotion. Jake spoke first. "Mom, where is Dad?"

Rishi said that Mark had gone somewhere for his own good. Emily shushed Rishi and answered Jake's question herself. She explained how a lot of things had happened since Jake left for college. She had wanted to tell him before but hadn't had the courage, and she was so sorry, and she knew it was a lot to process.

Jake got up and asked her directly whether Rishi was replacing his dad and had moved in. Rishi answered, "Yes, I've moved in. As for replacing him — that's up to you." The two men moved toward each other with clenched fists, a fight looking imminent.

Emily screamed at the top of her voice and stepped between them. She told Rishi to be quiet and told Jake that Rishi had moved into her house and that she didn't owe him an explanation for every choice she had made.

Jake was furious. His mom — the person he cared about most in the world — was now telling him her life was none of his business. Jake wanted answers, and he knew he needed to control his emotions if he was going to get any. He took a breath and said, "Okay. Your life is your own. But can you at least tell me where my dad is?"

Emily calmed down, and a wave of sadness washed over her. She was sorry for screaming at the son she loved more than anyone. She asked Rishi to give them some time. Rishi agreed and left the room quietly.

Both Jake and Emily were in tears. Emily began to explain. "Your dad developed a drinking problem after you left. It actually started near the end of your high school days. Every late-night 'meeting' was him passed out somewhere. Things got bad enough that I felt completely unheard. I tried to make it work, Jake. I really did. But then he started hitting me, and I felt like a stranger in my own home. So I told Jane's dad about it. We got Mark into a place where he can get the help he needs."

They both cried as she spoke. Jake still had many questions, but he understood that they both needed space. He got up, told Emily he needed some air, and went to his room to change.

Emily was a mess. She was bawling her eyes out, but she understood her son needed time. She watched Jake heading for the front door and called his name. She hugged him and told him she knew he had a lot of questions and that she was willing to answer every single one. She begged him not to hate her.

Jake left the house without saying a word in reply.

As the door slammed shut, the quiet of the house returned faster than Emily could process what had just happened. This was the moment she had dreaded since the day she met Rishi. But she hoped Jake would come back. She hoped he would be ready to hear everything.

Emily wiped her eyes and made her way back to the bedroom. She found Rishi in their bed, scrolling through Instagram reels on his phone. As soon as he saw her, he put the phone down and looked up. Emily was angry and sad all at once. She sat beside him on the bed and said, "You shouldn't have been so hard on him, Rishi. He had a lot to process. For crying out loud, he had just found out his mom is seeing one of his old classmates."

Rishi nodded. "I understand. But when he spoke to you like that, I couldn't control myself."

By the time he finished the sentence, Emily had already laid down beside him. Hearing his words, she scooted closer. Rishi raised his arm so she could settle in, placing his hand on her back to draw her near. With his other hand, he wiped her tears.

"Do you think he'll hate me and never come back?" Emily asked.

"You're too easy to love for that," Rishi said softly.

Emily blushed, but quickly turned serious. "I think he'll come back with more questions. I think we should be open with him — but explain things in small pieces."

"Agreed," Rishi said, drawing slow circles on her back. Emily leaned in for a deep kiss.

His lips felt like relief against everything that was pressing down on her. As his tongue gently met hers, she thought of how Rishi always seemed to know exactly how to ease her mind.

Suddenly, Rishi broke the kiss and shifted. "I think you deserve a stress reliever," he said.

He positioned himself and parted her bathrobe gently. Emily thought of protesting, but she genuinely needed her mind somewhere else, so she let herself relax into it.

Rishi lifted her legs and began raining kisses from her toes to her inner thighs. He slowly drew her toes into his mouth and she gasped. Then he made his way back down and hovered just outside the fabric of her underwear, kissing and grazing the surrounding skin.

He slowly removed her underwear and set it aside. She felt the cool air against her, and it felt refreshing. He drew his tongue in slow circles around her, and she began to feel the warmth of arousal rising. She tried to move her legs, but Rishi held them gently in place. Soft moans escaped her lips as he finally brought his tongue to where she needed it most and began his slow, deliberate rhythm.

She thought of how long it had been since she had felt this kind of attention, and here it was now, coming from someone barely older than her own son — a dark-skinned Indian boy who looked completely out of place against her pale, slender legs.

Rishi was relentless, working his tongue up and down and side to side, determined to give her as much pleasure as possible. As he continued, he brought his fingers to her entrance and began tracing slow circles there as well. At this, Emily could no longer hold back. She moaned openly and pleaded with him not to stop. He held his pace steady and unhurried. Occasionally, his hand drifted lower and teased there too.

Emily felt her orgasm building and cried out as it crested over her. As the release swept through her, a deep calm followed — though she knew, somehow, that this was only the calm before the storm.