A New Way of Seeing Things Pt. 02 Ch. 10

Standard disclaimer—this story takes place in a world where STDs don't exist and only babies planned for and wanted do—in other words, a fantasy world. Any resemblance to real-life people is purely coincidental.

Chapter 10

Gwen returned to the barn to find Dart already unsaddled, Gwen noting with appreciation that her young friend had properly arranged both horses' saddles in the proper places. The two horses were turned loose in the paddock a short time later, Dancer making her annoyance over their disappearance known.

"How about a swim before I start making dinner?" Gwen asked as she shut the gate.

"Before WE start making dinner," Cricket corrected. "At least let me help you. I'm not fancy in the kitchen, but I've cooked for myself since I could reach the stove and most of the time I don't burn stuff. A swim would be nice, but I don't have anything I could wear. There's one of Daniel's business suits in the car that I picked up from the cleaners before...well, before, but no bathing suit."

"I'm sure we can take care of that. I've got some things that might be a little big for you but should fit alright in a pinch, and maybe Ali has something. C'mon in the house." The women crossed the yard to the kitchen and went straight to the master bedroom. "I've got a bikini top that might work for you," Gwen told the young woman, "and I'm not sure how you feel about wearing someone else's bottoms, so how about a pair of gym shorts?"

"If you clean your clothes as well as you clean your house, I'm sure the bottoms will be fine," Cricket told her. "I doubt a top of yours is going to fit me, though. You're pretty well-endowed compared to me. I'm in between an A and a B cup." The young woman began to volunteer that she would be fine in her sports bra, but hesitated, unsure how her host might feel about her husband seeing her in it should he return early.

"I'm just a B cup myself," the older woman said as she pulled a bikini from its hiding spot in her underwear drawer. "Try these on and—" she ducked into the closet for a beach wrap—here's something extra if you like. Bathroom's through there, just leave your clothes on the floor and I'll throw them in the wash before we eat."

The young woman looked at her uncertainly, then headed for the open door on the other side of the bedroom. "Be right out."

Gwen began to strip as soon as the door closed, ignoring the Lady's suggestion to use the other bathroom, the one with a lock on it, to change. She was settling her breasts into the cups of her own bikini when the bathroom door opened.

"The top's a little big, but it should work," Cricket said uncertainly. "Are you sure you don't mind me wearing this?"

"Of course I'm sure," Gwen reassured her. "Are the bottoms okay?"

"They're fine." Cricket eyed the older woman, and decided that Gwen's lack of coverup meant she could go without as well.

"Do you drink alcohol?" Gwen asked over her shoulder as she collected some towels and headed for the kitchen.

"Sometimes. Beer and wine. Mostly wine. "

"Wine it is, then. White or red?"

"Uhh, red, but please don't make a fuss."

A bottle and two glasses were collected, and the women went up the hill together. "What a lovely spot," Cricket said softly as they stepped through the gate.

"Thank you. Tim built it for me and the children right after KD was born. It helps that's he's a contractor—he called in some favors and he and his friends worked on it on weekends. We paid them in beer and got the materials at cost. The barn got here the same way, even before the pool."

"You're very lucky." The younger woman's tone made it clear that she was thinking of her own situation, and Gwen didn't know how to respond.

"Thank you," she finally repeated and handed Cricket a full glass. Gwen was the first in the pool, wading in until she was waist-deep. Cricket followed behind her, diving forward as soon as the water turned deep enough, a strong kick sending her gliding halfway across the pool floor before turning back to Gwen as the bottom fell off quickly. With a strong push, she broke the surface. The top was indeed a little too big, and the cups covering the young woman's breasts resisted the flow of water between excess fabric and flesh and pulled the bikini down. Pert breasts topped with delicate pink nipples glistened in the sunlight.

I guess she is a little smaller than me, Gwen mused as it took the young woman a moment to realize she was completely exposed from the waist up. "Whoops!" she cried, dropping back down below the surface while scrambling to rearrange the top and cover herself. "This is so embarrassing! I'm really sorry!"

Gwen laughed. "Don't be. They're just breasts. I have them, too—you saw mine, remember?" The Lady clucked reproachfully over the casualness of it all.

"Yes, but I asked to see yours—you didn't just up and flash me!"

"I offered to show you mine. It's fine, please don't be embarrassed. I've seen breasts before. As a matter of fact, if you're comfortable without the top on, feel free to just take it off."

Cricket eyed her curiously, as if weighing her decision. "No, I really shouldn't..."

"Then let me help you tie it a little tighter," Gwen told her as she began to wade across the pool. "C'mon, turn around."

The rest of the swim passed without any further wardrobe malfunctions, the young woman more cautious in her movements, Gwen talking with her as if nothing had happened. They had changed and started dinner by the time Tim returned.

The wine and fatigue loosened Cricket's tongue as the trio sat on the deck and ate, Tim clearing the plates while the women talked horses and riding, the failed marriage discussed in vague terms. The sun had set and the young woman's words had begun to slur a bit by the time Tim excused himself and made his way across the yard to bed down the horses for the evening.

"He seems like a really good man," Cricket said as she watched him walk across the grass. "Not that I'm an expert. You're very lucky."

"He is, and I am." More than you could ever imagine, she added silently.

"Did he, uhh, like it when you took those pictures?"

"I think he did, yes."

"No, I mean, REALLY like them? Like, did he, uhh, show you how much, in there?" Cricket flicked her eyes at the house behind her, and Gwen correctly assumed she didn't mean the kitchen. She surprised herself by not being too offended or embarrassed to answer.

"He did," Gwen admitted with a smile. "I was... I was nervous he wouldn't like them, but it made things—made me—more fun...which I think he especially liked."

"I was hoping I would be able do the same for Daniel," Cricket replied, again glancing back at the house meaningfully. "I'm the one who was looking for a little more excitement. He didn't seem to like doing...that...very much...kind of made it seem like it was a chore and that I was a pervert even for wanting to make things a little more exciting."

"A good sex life is important," Gwen reassured her. "It took me a long time to understand that. Just because you wanted your husband's attention in there—"Gwen's eye motion mimicked the young woman's and Cricket laughed—"doesn't make you a pervert."

"I bet if he would have been more interested if I had told him I was off my birth control...at least until he knocked me up..." the young woman's eyelids began to sag.

"How long since you last slept?"

Her eyes remained partially closed. "An hour or two a night since he left...wasn't sleeping really well even before that."

Gwen gently took the wineglass from her hand. "Time for bed. Sleep as late as you want, we'll ride whenever you feel like getting up."

Cricket didn't fight her, rising from her chair. "I'll try, I don't know if I can..."

Gwen smiled and led her to Ali's room. "I left one of her nightshirts on the bed for you. Bathroom's across the hall if you need it. Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen. Sleep well." She smiled and shut the door behind her.

Gwen next stop was the laundry room to sort out Cricket's now-clean clothes. While her outer attire was top of the line, her underwear was worn and frayed, almost in danger of falling apart. She sensed the young woman's tales of young married life-induced poverty had not been exaggerated.

The owners of the house tiptoed through it as they prepared for bed, not wishing to wake their guest. On impulse, Gwen peeked in to Cricket's room, as she had for her own daughters so many times. The young woman had managed to change into what had been laid out for her but had not been able or willing to climb under the covers and now lay sprawled on her stomach, fast asleep. The shirt had ridden up to reveal the fact that Cricket had elected not to wear her shorts to sleep in, and Gwen looked down appreciatively at a well-toned bare bottom. With a smile, she took a blanket from a nearby chair and laid it over the sleeping woman to help keep her warm and preserve her modesty, then quietly shut the door behind her.

She found Tim in their bedroom, already lying down, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. She again smiled, remembering it had been months since he had worn anything to bed, then stripped down to just her t-shirt and joined him.

"She asleep?" he whispered, knowing Gwen had always tried to keep things as quiet as possible on this side of the house when Ali and KD had been younger, recalling the time she demanded he do something to silence the squeaking of the bedsprings during their Saturday night lovemaking sessions. She had not been terribly happy about the outlay of cash for the memory foam mattress that had been his solution, although he thought it a good investment if it at least meant him getting laid once a week.

Gwen nodded, paused as if in thought, then pulled down the front of his gym shorts and bent at the waist to deliver a kiss to the tip of his slumbering cock. The soft length began to awaken as she took the pink head between her lips. Now confident her advances were welcome, she worked at pushing down the waistband just far enough to give her complete access to his member while leaving the shorts on should they be interrupted.

Tim looked down at the head lying on his stomach, somewhat befuddled by Gwen's aggressiveness. Lovemaking when the girls had been here was always under the covers, in the dark, long after their daughters had gone to bed. And yet, the fact a guest—really, a stranger, lay sleeping just one room over didn't seem to bother her at all. He was only too happy to go with the flow this evening and his hand began to work its way between her asscheeks, headed for what was between her legs. "Aren't you afraid Cricket might come in?"

Gwen hips shifted to make herself more available to his exploring fingers. "She'll knock."

Despite the presence of their guest just down the hall, Gwen took her time, teasing and tempting and bringing him close to orgasm before backing him down, Tim pleasantly frustrated by this new tactic. It was some time before she stopped teasing and gave him his release, her husband's semen seeming to fill her mouth before she disposed of it with a gulp even as her tongue continued to clean his spongy head. The perverted act triggered her own orgasm, and she struggled not to clamp down on the flesh between her lips. Natalie's right, the Slut mused as his penis began to soften. Not too terrible to swallow. Not great, but not bad. A very slutty thing to do. The thought pleased her.

Gwen looked up to see her husband with his eyes closed, a grin on his face. "What was that for?" he whispered.

"Because you're a really good man."

***

"Hey Mom, I'm coming up riding this morning. You going to be around?" Ali's voice, perky and energetic even at 7am, was loud and clear through the telephone handset.

"Well, you're up early this morning."

"Yeah, Jason's going golfing and he got me up with him." The young woman didn't volunteer that the reason he had awoken her was to deliver a primal doggystyle fucking in the belief that pre-golf sex helped a man's game. It was a ritual she certainly had no problems reinforcing. "So, are you free?"

"Well, I have a guest here, once she gets up we're going for a ride. If you want to come with us, you're more than welcome."

"A guest? Anyone I know?" My mother has a guest? That's new...

"Oh, I doubt it. Somebody I met recently. She's been having a tough time and wanted to go riding to take her mind off things, so I offered to let her take Tigger out yesterday. She stayed the night and we're going around the other side of the ridge this morning."

Is this my mother I'm talking to? Ali asked herself. A "guest", in her home, near her horses? "Yeah, that would be great. I'll be over in a little bit. Wait for me?"

"We will. Cricket isn't up yet, and I'm hoping she sleeps in this morning—I think she needs it."

Cricket. My mother has somebody named Cricket sleeping in her house. This I have to see.

The young houseguest had not arisen by the time Ali arrived forty five minutes later. "I didn't see daddy's truck," the young woman said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"He's went fishing with Mr. Culbertson this morning," She had warned Tim about staying away from the beaches with the naked people, to which he reminded her with a shrug and a smile that it was Charlie's boat, and Charlie was driving.

"So, where'd you meet...Cricket?" Alison as she sat down at the table.

Gwen paused. "She was at the photographer's the same time as your Aunt and I. We, uhh, struck up a conversation and she mentioned she rode. I told her if she ever wanted to get out for a bit to let me know, and she called a couple of days ago."

"Uh-huh. And any topics of discussion I should avoid talking about?" The blank look on Gwen's face prompted Ali to be more specific. "You said she was having a rough time. Anything she might not want to hear?"

"You don't have to tiptoe around me," Cricket said quietly as she appeared around the corner. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. My husband left me this week," she said matter-of-factly, "and a couple of things reduced me to a blubbering wreck yesterday—sorry again, Gwen--but your mother's hospitality, a good meal with a little too much wine and a decent night's sleep have gotten me over the shock, at least I think so."

Gwen rose from the table. "Cricket, you're up! I'd like you to meet my daughter—"

"Alison," her guest said, extending her hand. "I recognized you from the pictures in your room."

"I'm sorry to hear about your...well, troubles. Men can be such jerks sometimes."

"Thank you, but I'm feeling better today other than this touch of a hangover, thanks to your mother, although I can't guarantee there aren't more crying fits in my future."

"Alison called this morning and wanted to come up to ride," Gwen told the young woman. "Do you mind if she comes with us?"

"Of course not! If you'd rather it be just a mother-daughter thing, I can just get dressed and go..."

Don't be silly! We want you to come along with us! I was just starting to pack some lunches—I think we'll be out a while. What would you like for breakfast and for later?"

The trio finished their preparations and headed for the barn, Gwen and Alison to their own horses, Cricket to a seemingly pleased Tigger. "So, Mom said you two met at the photographer's when you were looking at pictures?" Ali asked over her shoulder as she hefted a saddle onto Dancer's back.

"Yes, your mother let me look through her album to see if it was something I felt comfortable doing for my hus—for Daniel."

Gwen panicked, desperately trying to figure out a way to keep her secret from being exposed. Alison looked at her mother quizzically. "Wait—you never said you and Aunt Natalie were there to see photos of you?"

"We weren't. Your Aunt—" Gwen began before the Lady screamed for her to stay quiet. "Can we talk about this later?" she asked weakly.

Cricket looked at the panicked face of the older woman, then back at the smile of her daughter. "Oh God, I shouldn't have said anything—I'm so sorry—I didn't stop to think—I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Gwen soothed. "You didn't know. Yes, Alison, I had some photos taken by this photographer. Your aunt recommended him. Can we finish saddling up and ride, please?"

"What kind of photos? And why were you there with Aunt Natalie?" Alison would not let go of that damnable I've got you smile...

"Later Alison, please?" The young woman nodded, her smile still there, then went back to cinching her saddle.

The tension dissipated as they made their way up the hill, the women riding through the morning and into early afternoon, pausing for breaks here and there. Gwen was thankful for her daughter's presence as Ali's efforts to get their companion talking was mostly successful, bringing Cricket out of her shell just a little at a time. She never seemed to steer the conversation towards the topic of relationships and yet it just seemed to occasionally land there among the talk of regional shows and noted trainers, Gwen feeling like she learned more about her Alison's love life in one ride than she had during all of her daughter's years at home. Cricket's too; it seemed her husband made even the old Gwen positively wild and daring by comparison.

The riders made their way out of the treeline and down to the barn in the early afternoon's blazing sun. The horses were groomed and turned out, happy to be back in their paddock after an unusually long ride.

"A swim and a glass of wine by the pool?" Ali suggested as they trudged across the lawn.

"Sure, why not," her mother replied. "Cricket, are you joining us?"

"Maybe one glass," she said after a moment's hesitation. "as much as I'd like to, I can't stay here forever."

"You can stay as long as you like," Gwen insisted. "C'mon, let's get our suits."

The trio eventually straggled back into the kitchen from their respective changing spots. Ali looked at her mother and laughed. "Well, Cricket, I'd say you've earned Mom's trust. My mother has worn a one-piece granny suit ever since I can remember, so the bikini she's in right now is really stepping out for her!"

"Alison, stop that!" The older woman admonished. "This is nothing out of the ordinary."

"Given that I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you wearing it, I'd say it is."

"She wore one yesterday," Cricket volunteered as if to stand up for her new-found friend, "and she loaned me this one. I think I shocked her when my top slipped off."

Alison arched her eyebrows in surprise. "Mother! What exactly we're you two doing yesterday?"

"Stop that! It wasn't tied tightly enough, that's all! She doesn't have my middle-aged spread to help keep it up!"

Alison laughed at her mother's discomfort and leaned into Cricket conspiratorally "Don't worry, a little flashing is nothing to be ashamed of around here. Mom may not flaunt it when she's around family and friends, but when it's just her and Daddy she doesn't wear anything at all to swim in."

"Alison Marie Nelson, I swear if you don't—"

Her daughter laughed again and held up her hands in self-defense. "Alright, alright, sorry, probably too much information. Shall we go cool off?"

The women alternated between wading, paddling and sunning for the next hour, not talking much, just enjoying the sun and the wine. "Well, I should really be going," Alison finally announced. "Need to go grocery shopping before the week starts." The women wrapped themselves in their towels and made their way down to the house.

"C'mon," Alison said as she led the way, "we'll get you something clean and dry to wear for your drive home." Mother, daughter, and guest, now all dressed, met back in the kitchen a few minutes later.

"I really have to get going. Cricket, it was really nice to meet you," Alison said, extending her hand. "I hope you come back again."