Though I have already briefly mentioned my two girlfriend’s jobs I do feel it is a good time to clarify a little about their different backgrounds and education as it does help explain a little about their characters and future careers.
At school, Sarah was always in the top class but never one that stood out as a potential future star. She was pretty and had a small, tight-knit group of friends, Lisa being her closest and her one true confidant. She was lucky as her parents were relatively well off and never had the need to move. Therefore Sarah’s friends are generally village girls whom she has known all her life.
In her final exams, she got eight ‘O’-levels which was good, actually very good, but she had enough of education. It was a time in her life when she was regularly fucked by Jerry, her old boyfriend, with the emphasis being on the old as he was the same age as her father. It was a time in her life when her head and for that matter; her legs were all in the wrong places.
Sarah was always a beautiful-looking girl but she just failed to see it. Apart from when she was with Jerry, Sarah tended to dress down; it was because she was not looking for other male attention. She only wanted Jerry. With the affair and her short pregnancy over, she just went into her protective shell and with it, came depression. To this day, Sarah blames herself for the baby’s loss, a miscarriage, and at the time she had wanted to keep the baby.
It was only now, nine months since her pregnancy and six months of putting up with yours truly, that she was re-emerging from that protective shell. With encouragement from me, she was slowly realising that she was beautiful, with the perfect figure, deep blue eyes and that photogenic quality that can only be relished by a few women.
Sarah is one hot sexy woman and I am now beginning to see the true Sarah, the same sexy Sarah who would sneak out of her parent’s house for wild sex with Jerry; details of which were still mostly unknown to me even today.
Sarah could have easily gone to college and even university but no she had had enough of education and wanted to get out into the big bad world. If I had known her earlier, I would have encouraged her to stay in education and to go to college.
However, by the time Jerry had left the scene and I had emerged, that option had long gone, but I did encourage Sarah to enrol on a summer evening course to learn to speak French. That had become very important to her as she readjusted to the world. It turned out that she was very good at French. Sarah passed the course and gained a certificate that represents so much more to her than the final test she took.
It represented a huge step in getting back to normal.
Learning basic French was a good start and we were now talking about Sarah going to evening school to her French oral to another level, to become fluent in the language. It was something that I had agreed to help her with, and fund, but that final decision to sign onto the course had still yet to be made, though in my heart I already knew she would be going.
Sarah currently worked in an office for a large furniture removal company, where she was well-liked and popular amongst the staff. It was a good first job after her depression especially as she lived locally, actually within a short walking distance from her parent’s home. It had helped her get back on her feet. She was paid fairly well but it was a dead-end job, the only added advantage was she only worked a four-and-a-half-day week, not having to work Friday afternoons.
Clare was different as she was never beautiful as a child. She was gangly, a tomboy, and during the time she lived in Germany, she was the only girl in a gang of boys. Their parents were all in the army and the gang were often in minor trouble much to Clare’s parent’s despair.
As a child, Clare had frequently moved home both in the United Kingdom and occasionally abroad. Her family did not have that much money as her father was in the army. The regular changing of friends and schools did affect Clare. She went a little wild and got up to things she shouldn’t, most unbeknown to her family. It was a form of self-harm and more importantly to Clare, rebellion. She just wanted a settled life, the same school to go to and above all friends that would remain friends for more than a few months.
When she was fourteen, nearly fifteen, Clare’s father bought himself out of the army so that they could settle as a family in one place. It also represented a chance for Clare to change.
The first time I met Clare at my local beach was just before that final move to the local large city. Though at the time of our brief meeting, Clare did not know where she was moving to or even if this was her final house move.
Four years later she is still living in the same house on the edge of that city, the first time she lived anywhere for more than eighteen months. She had a large group of friends and was also something of a social butterfly, and always popular with the crowd.
Clare only really got her beauty, figure and confidence once she turned eighteen. Yes, there were hints of her future beauty in those early years but she was a good example of a true late bloomer, the ugly duckling becoming the beautiful swan.
She has become a truly sexy and stunning woman though perhaps she still had not grasped just how beautiful she truly is. At eighteen, with her long legs, pert bottom, sexy womanly figure, pretty face, and above all, her unique multi-coloured hair she had become the sort of woman that grasped men’s (and sometimes woman’s) attention where ever she went. She simply had a grace, an aura about her that brought everyone’s attention when she walked into a room.
At school Clare was always near the top of the class, she was bright and left school with nine ‘O’- levels which, coincidently, was the same as me. She then went on to take three ‘A’-levels but though she passed all in the first year she only passed two in the final year having failed chemistry.
By this time she was with her boyfriend Alan, but after nearly a year together she was regularly meeting and fucking other guy’s behind his back. She knew she was bisexual and had a secret and casual, long-time girlfriend, Jaz. She was her first lesbian sex partner. They are still best friends and their relationship is still there and going strong today but both have just reached a point in their relationship where they need to explore their sexuality further.
By the summer of 1987, Clare had in all honestly become bored with college and education. Just like Sarah, she wanted to get out into the world and get a job. But things changed, a chance piece of career advice from one of her teachers, and maybe, the fact that I had also appeared on the scene and had advised her to go back to college, led her to reconsider what she was going to do and where she was going in life.
Clare currently had a well-paid and local summer job working in a factory. There was also the offer of a permanent position should she choose not to go back to college. Though with a little advice from me and a lot of thought, she decided to go back to college and study A-level maths, a subject she was very good at. To get her college hours up which was a condition of her having further free college education she would also take a basic management accounting course.
As I drove to Clare’s and unbeknown to me, she was telling Ruth, her mum, that she was going to do one more year at college. A Maths A-level and she had an exemption from the first year due to her existing qualifications. She also told her mum that she would then look to go on to an accountancy course hopefully with sponsorship from a local company.
This is exactly what her mum wanted to hear and somewhere in their discussion, and again unbeknown to me; I was getting some credit for talking Clare into coming to this right decision.
This last part only happened as I pulled up outside Clare’s, the time being six-fifteen pm on Thursday evening.
I found myself being a little anxious as I pushed the doorbell button. After all, I was going to meet Clare’s mum for the first time and I may only be a friend...
But I was also very guilty of fucking her daughter behind her boyfriend's back!
*****
Clare opened the door with a smile but no kiss. I realised that Clare and therefore me needed to be on our best behaviour!
“It's good to see you, David, come in and meet my mum. My dad is out the back and may pop in a little later.”
Clare’s words felt a little staged but in some ways, this first parent meeting was always going to be like the first act of a play.
Clare showed me down the hall, past the stairs to our left and into the kitchen at the back of the house. It overlooked a fairly long back garden and I could see Clare’s father who I knew was called John at the bottom of it guarding a small bonfire. With that I heard some noise behind me of someone coming down the stairs, it was Clare’s mum.
As she entered the kitchen I was somewhat taken aback by the beautiful young woman that stood before me. I knew she must be Clare’s mum as I had seen her once before but then it was from distance. However, she was so much younger than I remembered. She didn’t even look to be in her mid-thirties. All I could think of was that she must have had Clare at a very early age.
I also now understood where Clare got her beauty from though the hair colour and eyes were completely different. Clare’s mum was a blonde, with blue eyes. Clare's hair was brown, stroke red, with a few natural blonde streaks and her eyes, a chocolate brown.
“Hi, I am Clare’s friend David,” I quickly said, before sticking out my hand for a handshake.
She shook my hand and said in quick succession, “I am Ruth, Clare’s mum. Thank you for dropping in. I wanted to meet you.”
Then she quickly added, as if by instinct, “I put the kettle on.”
I looked over towards Clare. She was smiling at me. It was probably obvious to her that I had been a little caught out by her mum’s age and beauty, but I also felt more confident as I also sensed that Ruth was actually a little more nervous than me.
As the kettle and cups were prepared I looked over at Ruth. I noticed she was about Clare’s height and had a slender figure. She was also wearing jeans and a smart red blouse but as much as I wanted to, I did not want to get caught ogling her. So my eyes went back to Clare. For me, this meeting was all about giving Ruth confidence in me.
“I guess you do not know anything about me,” I said thinking it is better to get the conversation moving. I always preferred to lead any discussions that were important to me.
I noticed Ruth had looked round at me, so I continued…
“I live in (my home town) with my parents though I will have my own place soon.”
That was news to Clare but she stayed silent, though smiled.
“I am twenty-two and work in engineering though we have sort of met once before. It was four years ago on (my local beach). That is where Clare and I first met perhaps you remember me from then?”
Ruth looked back at me blankly. I knew it was unlikely she would remember that fleeting meeting especially as we only looked at one another from some distance and didn’t speak.
“Sorry I do not remember,” Ruth genuinely replied as she busied herself making the tea.
“To be honest, Clare’s not said much about you at all other than you met in Majorca and that you lived in (my home town), but I wanted to meet you as you seemed to be seeing a lot of my daughter lately.”
I kept a neutral face and if Clare blushed at that comment, she hid it well, as I was seeing a lot of her daughter.
Ruth poured the tea and John popped in to say “Hello” and perhaps more importantly, grab a cup of tea. We shook hands before he disappeared back to his bonfire. He was taller than Ruth, had broad shoulders and seemed very pleasant and relaxed and perhaps most importantly; he did not seem to mind my presence at all.
As we drank our tea, Ruth and I chatted while Clare just looked on and I got the distinct impression that she just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and if I was honest, so did I.
I knew that there was one thing Ruth wanted to ask me but was way too polite to do so. That was, what are my future intentions with Clare?
Even if Ruth had directly asked me that question I was not too sure what I could say. After all, Clare had a boyfriend. As far as I was concerned it was easier if I just said we were friends, but I did suspect that if Ruth dug deep she would know that we were more than just friends.
I knew that we were giving out plenty of clues to Ruth just sitting there, clues that were shouting out that we were way more than just friends.
The last part of our chat was a little bit comical, and maybe our play had just become a farce. Ruth grabbed an obviously preplaced photo album to show me its contents; it was very much to Clare’s embarrassment.
She thumbed through the photos showing Clare at lots of different ages. This I did find very amusing especially the not-so-flattering photos of her when she looked and dressed more like a boy than a girl. You certainly had a hard job seeing how she came to be the beautiful sexy woman that she was today.
When I looked up I could not help but smile at Clare. She was cringing with every turn of the page and from then on, mainly for my self-preservation, I tried my best not to comment or even smile at her photos. Though I need to say, there were plenty of gems that deserved my humour.
Eventually, we came to a page that I am sure was the real reason this family album came out. Two photos of Clare with a man who I guess was Alan. One was of them arm in arm and the other was of them snuggled up together on a park bench.
Ruth said, “And this is Clare with her boyfriend Alan.”
Ruth paused. I knew she was waiting for a reaction from me but the truth was. Seeing Clare with Alan had started giving me an erection and I thought, that certainly was not the sort of reaction Ruth was looking for!
For some reason in my makeup, I found seeing Clare with another man, somewhat sexually exciting.
It was my deepest sexual secret, the thought of seeing my girlfriend(s) flirting or being with another man, or woman, and it now seemed entirely possible that this might happen. Though as I sat there in Ruth’s kitchen, I was still not sure if I actually wanted that to happen.
Ruth turned to the next page and there were more pictures of Clare and Alan. My cock was now fully erect though hidden beneath the table. Then Ruth went on again about Alan being her boyfriend and I thought I better say something.
“I never met Alan but I know he is Clare’s boyfriend,” I muttered.
That as far as I was concerned was all I needed to say. I appreciate that as Clare’s mother, all Ruth was trying to do was her best to protect her daughter, and I also knew that Clare was not the easiest daughter to bring up!
However, the way I looked at it was. If she was that worried why not just talk to Clare? I did hope that they had that sort of relationship and I made a point to ask Clare later.
Thankfully the photograph album was put away and my cock went back to its normal flaccid self. Clare dashed off to get ready for us to go out leaving me with Ruth. There was a small pregnant pause in the conversation but then we began to chat about small things. It was nice and not awkward at all.
It was just before Clare came back down that Ruth turned towards me and then thanked me for helping persuade Clare to go back to college.
I just smiled and I am ashamed to say, I took all of Ruth’s thanks and credit that I could get, as I felt anything that keeps me on the right side of Clare’s mum could only be a good thing!
I need to also add that when I told Clare later that evening she was not impressed at all, her reaction which I found funny but left me supporting a sore arm after another Clare nudge.
We said our goodbyes and left for the evening, Clare promising she would not be home too late.
While I was pleased that I had met Clare’s family I also thought the time was near when Clare needed to sit down and chat with her mum. It was something she could not put off forever. She needed to tell her about Alan, about her sexuality and above all, about us!
*****
Later that evening, Clare and I sat outside a seaside pub called, “The Captain’s Retreat.” Our seats came with a nice view of the sandy beach and the little huts that lined it.
I asked, “What was the meeting with your mum all really about?” Though, I thought I knew why.
Clare thought for a short while and said, “My mum was just trying to protect me, maybe protect Alan’s interest in me. As you may have guessed my mum and I do not have the sort of relationship where I can discuss personal things with her.”
“She will always say no, object, or find fault. She has never encouraged me to do things I want to do. Part of it is I think is because I am the oldest and she not adapting as fast as I am, to me growing up.”
I smiled but spoke before Clare had time to react.
“That will change Clare. Maybe starting and having a private chat with mum will help see that you have become an adult. It is part of that growing-up lifecycle. You got things you need to discuss with her and not just about Alan and us, whether you are really bisexual or even gay. It is far better, that your mum should hear about it from you than she finds out later from a stranger.”
I knew as I said these things, I was trying to be wise, but the truth was I was being hypercritical, as I had no intention of telling my parents about Clare.
“Yes, I know you are right. It’s just finding the right moment but I will tell her very soon as I do want to phone Brenda later or tomorrow and arrange a meeting at a neutral place. As per your suggestion, David, I was thinking of a coffee shop at the big shopping centre near where I live.”
Clare, then quickly changed the conversation subject by asking…
“What was that about you getting a place?” I smiled, as she wanted not to discuss herself.
“I answer that in a minute, but I need to ask you something. Your dad seemed very chilled about me being there this evening. He did not ask me a single question. Does he not like Alan?”
It was Clare’s turn to smile.
“It is not that. He likes Alan but he leaves everything to my mum when it comes to me and my sister. He accepts Alan but has only met him a couple of times and if pressed I suggest he thinks I am old enough to make my own choices in life. I know he is there if I need him and actually, I think he will be okay when I tell him that I am gay. It will be my mum that takes it badly.”
“So you going to tell your parents you are gay, not bisexual,” I asked surprisingly and thinking Clare is certainly complicated.
“I think so as it will make our meeting up easier. Knowing my mum, I think you will be encouraged to visit and take me out. She will try to adopt you and support you in your new job role, to turn me straight again.”
I laughed but didn’t really see her point. However, Clare knew her mum much better than I did.