Secrets of the Suburbs Ch. 05

Dear Readers: This is Chapter 5 of a 5 chapter story. All of the chapters are now up. In Chapter 1, the McCall family moved into a new neighborhood that already had three other families. Frankie McCall, an 18-year old high school student, stumbled upon his neighbors, Claudia Park and her son Kurt, having sex. In Chapter 2, Alyssa McCall walked in on another set of neighbors, Carl Hart and his daughters June and Lacy, having sex. In Chapter 3, Susan McCall watched as her final set of neighbors, James and Joy Liston and their children Bethany and Martin, had sex. In Chapter 4, the McCall family succumbed to their own desires. If you need more than that, read the first four chapters.

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Chapter 5: The Block Party

The following Saturday, the three members of the McCall family were making their way across the cul-de-sac towards the Hart family house. Frankie was carrying a casserole dish and they all wore the expressions of mourners on their way to a funeral. In the days since their...encounter, they'd never spoken of what had happened. They'd all woken up, locked together and naked. They'd felt sheepish and uncertain. Eventually, without speaking they'd all rose and walked separately out of the room, finding their own bedrooms and bathrooms to clean up and to try to come to terms with what had happened.

All three had gone through a similar set of realizations as they gained some distance from their sexual experience. They all relived the event in their minds, running over each event that happened and reviewing their thoughts and feelings about it. They were all, of course, shocked by what had happened. Ever since they had stumbled upon their neighbors, they had been subconsciously thinking about it. But it had seemed distant, taboo, and unthinkable. And so they had all repressed it. But somehow, it had happened. They each tried to trace back the event to the beginning, to see what had kicked it off. But it didn't seem to make sense. They'd done something they were never supposed to do.

But they were all three surprised by their own reaction to their family orgy. As the afterglow of the orgasm faded from each of their bodies and they retreated into solitude, they all felt a sense of foreboding. Anxiety. They were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were waiting for the guilt and the embarrassment to come on. They knew that what they had done was objectively wrong and they waited for the shame that they deserved. But Susan, Alyssa, and Frankie each found, to their shock, that it didn't come. After a while, the sense of foreboding dissipated.

The feeling was almost euphoric. None of them regretted what had happened. It had been naughty and fun in a way that sex had never been before. It felt more right than wrong. What was more, they each felt like they had been needing this for a long time, beyond the sexual release. Frankie found that he felt closer to his mother than he ever had before, with an added bonus that he felt a similar connection to his sister, something he'd never expected. Alyssa found that the grudge she'd felt against her mother and her brother was gone, torn out root and branch. The forgiveness she'd given in her moment of ecstasy had been, surprising even to her, sincere. Susan simply felt that she had pulled her children back into her sphere. She no longer had the sense that they were pulling away from her. She could feel it even when they weren't around.

And so they'd all come back together later that night. Susan cooked another, late dinner to replace the one they'd ignored earlier. They had all showered and changed. None of them spoke a word about what had happened just a few hours earlier. Surprisingly, they did not feel their cheeks blush, they didn't feel any sort of need to avert their eyes, everything felt normal. No, not normal. Better than normal. They spoke at dinner in a way that hadn't in months, maybe years. They talked about their lives and they laughed at one another's stories. They learned more about one another in an evening than they'd ever hoped to learn in their remaining lives. When dinner was finished, they stayed together at the table, talking until the sun went down and their eyes grew heavy.

They'd maintained that momentum through the next few days. They met together at the breakfast table the next morning and talked. Susan ditched work and her children cut school to go into town and visit a museum. The connection as still there, growing stronger. The following days they returned to work and school, but always found each other again in the evening. None of them wanted to go back and none of them wanted the euphoria to end.

The only fear that lurked in each of their hearts was apprehension that the other two were not as content. Susan feared that her children were ashamed of themselves, even if they didn't show it. That they wished it had never happened. Frankie and Alyssa felt the same way about their mother and about each other. They all wondered if this sudden re-connection was a delicate balance that could be thrown off at any moment. And that was why, despite the fact that all three fantasized about it constantly, none of them broached the subject of sex again. And it was further why they were so anxious as they crossed the towards the Hart's home. They knew the people that awaited them there. The thoughts those people would raise. They knew that this might be the final thing that broke their post-coital euphoria, and sent them spiraling apart again forever.

"Oh hi welcome!" Carl Hart said from the front door. The door was open, but there screen door, partially obscuring Carl from their view. All three members of the McCall family jumped, they hadn't seen him there. Alyssa felt her cheeks get very red and she darted her eyes down. But in her mind, she was picturing Carl having sex with his two daughters, and it made her breath catch in the throat.

"Hi..." Susan said, her voice sounding weaker than she'd expected. She cleared her throat and wondered where the Liston family was.

"We're all really glad you could make it," Carl said, opening the door and walking outside. He was wearing a pair of flip flops and had a t-shirt tucked into a pair of khaki shorts, "We really take pride in being a community here in the cul-de-sac. Why don't you all go ahead around back? Everyone is there already. I just need to grab a case of Pepsi from my trunk and I will be right back out," he explained. Frankie and Susan nodded uncomfortably and then started to shuffle off towards the driveway. Alyssa followed behind them, trying not to think about anything.

"Oh hey," Carl said, "Go around the other side of the house. There's a lot of bushes and stuff on this side, hard to get back there." As Carl said this, Alyssa remembered walking through those bushes before. And the scene she'd walked in on beyond them. She looked up slightly and saw Carl looking at her. Her eyes darted back down again, wondering if it meant that he knew.

The McCall family quickly made their way back around the house and into the back yard. They could heard the low hum of voices and could smell barbeque. They all felt a similar tightness in their chests and a weakness in their limbs.

"Mom, why don't we leave?" Alyssa said, still shaken from her experience.

"They are just going to keep inviting us to stuff. They apparently do this every month. We can ignore them forever," Susan said, although she desperately wanted to follow her daughter's advice.

"They will take the hint eventually," Frankie said and Alyssa nodded in agreement. Susan shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's too late now, Mr. Hart has already sent us back. What do we do? Just disappear? If you all didn't want to go, you should've told me earlier." She said. But of course, they couldn't before. Not without explaining why, not without discussing their fears. And so they passed into the backyard.

"Oh hi, it's the new neighbors!" Joy Liston said excitedly and Susan could almost hear the woman moaning in pleasure as her son fucked her. The heads of all those present turned and looked at the McCall family. Of course there was Joy Liston, standing next to her husband James next to the back door. Bethany Liston was reclining on a chair, in fact THE chair Alyssa had seen before, with Lacy and June standing next to her, chatting easily. Claudia Park was standing next to the grill, a few yards from the deck, talking to her son Kurt and Martin Liston as the two boys tried to cook hotdogs. Why they all looked, Carl Liston completed the picture by popping out from the back door. He set a cooler down on the deck.

"Hello," Susan said flatly. Frankie lifted up the casserole dish. For one heart stopping moment, all three members of the McCall family felt like something terrible was going to happen. They squirmed under the eyes of the people they'd accidentally spied on. They worried that their voyeurism was known and resented. Worse, they were afraid of what would happen inside of their own family. That these people would say something that would shatter their new-found sense of wellbeing. Susan, Alyssa, and Frankie were not breathing, they felt weak, and the tension was rising inside of them. They were twitching to turn and run, and the eyes burned deeper into them.

"Would you all like something to drink?" James Liston said, opening the cooler and reaching inside. And just like that, the spell was broken. Kurt, Martin, and Claudia turned back to the grill, Bethany, Lacy, and June resumed their conversation, and James, Joy, and Carl walked down from the deck to greet the McCalls. The tension seemed to burn away.

For the next hour or two, the McCall family found that they were engaged in a rather...normal barbeque. The various neighbors came up to them and introduced themselves, offered them drinks and food, and were generally polite. They made small talk and asked about the recent move and their lives before their arrival on the cul-de-sac. At first Susan, Alyssa, and Frankie stayed close to one another, deferring to one another when a particularly "troublesome" neighbor arrived. Frankie, in particular, had a hard time speaking with Claudia.

But over time, they began to realize that their worst fears were not going to be realized. The neighbors, whatever they did in the privacy of their own homes, were relatively normal in public. And they didn't seem to suspect anything. Eventually, Susan even became comfortable talking to the Listons, Frankie to the Parks, and Alyssa to the Harts. Finally, they even felt comfortable splitting up, having conversations and interactions on their own with their neighbors. In fact, the sense of relief that they felt made them even more gregarious and comfortable than they might've been otherwise. They all wondered if this normal picnic would serve as a bookend on the recent, bizarre events in their life. Maybe the strange, sexual interlude in their lives was over and things would go back to normal. Normal only better, because the sex had served its purpose. They all just felt relieved by that idea but...wistful also. It had been fun...

It was some time after Lacy and June had cleaned up the dessert trays and Carl brought out the sweet wine that the McCall's learned that they were wrong. About everything.

When it happened, Frankie was down in the corner of the yard with Kurt, Lacy, and Joy playing a game of horseshoes. Alyssa was sitting next to the grill in some lawn chairs, talking to Claudia and Bethany. Susan was up on the porch, sitting at the picnic table with Carl, June, Martin, and Joy, smiling lightly and enjoying the cool evening air. The only person not talking comfortably with the neighbors was James Liston. None of the McCalls had noticed that in particular until suddenly, from the center of the backyard, they heard his gentle baritone voice.

"Alright everyone, let's gather around," he said, "It's time to get things started." He wasn't really loud enough to overcome the other voices around the yard. Nonetheless, as soon as he started talking, everyone became quiet, listening. As soon as he had finished his simple remarks, everyone (except for Susan, Alyssa, and Frankie) rose quickly from wherever they were and moved towards the center of the yard, where James was standing.

Susan felt a sudden pang in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what was going on, this was certainly not normal picnic behavior. There wasn't necessarily anything...wrong with what was happening. But Susan felt a sense of foreboding that she couldn't explain. Her eyes darted around the yard, looking first at Frankie and then Alyssa. She saw the same nervousness in their eyes that she felt in herself. She wanted to go to them now, but the McCalls were scattered around the yard, separated by their neighbors. They all froze, watching everyone move towards James Liston.

"Well everyone," James said when everyone was standing around him in a loose circle, "It has been far too long since we've all had a chance to be together. We all missed those you who couldn't make the last meeting. We are particularly honored that the Harts have agreed to host us this time."

"My pleasure," Carl said. They all spoke as though the McCalls were not there. Or, worse, that they figured the McCalls understood what was going on.

"Well I know you have all been waiting for dinner to end so that festivities can start. So let's not waste any more time. The sunlight won't last much longer," James said. And with that, he reached down and slowly started to unbutton his shirt. The other neighbors began to follow his lead, lifting their shirts over their heads and unzipping their shorts. Susan and her children watched in stunned silence. It was like all of their worst nightmares were coming true all at once. They needed to escape. But their defenses had been lowered and they were separated, they couldn't move. In a matter of moments, all nine of their neighbors were totally and completely naked in the middle of the backyard. They began to mill around slowly and casually, separating into families and finding their own, unique spots. The McCall family's eyes moved around their neighbor's bodies, involuntarily drinking in their skin and their bodies, feeling the effect that it was having on them, triggering memories of what they'd seen before. What they'd done before. When all of the families had moved into their own areas, James suddenly turned and looked at Susan. She felt ice water run in her veins.

"Are you not joining us?" he asked simply. Susan's eyes went wide.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a tiny voice. She heard some slight giggling. As she looked around, she saw that the other families had...come together. Joy Liston had her arms around both of her children and she was alternating kissing them. Claudia was kissing her son's neck and running her hand down his thigh. June and Lacy were kissing desperately while their father rubbed their backs lovingly. It didn't seem there was any mystery about what was happening. It had just happened so fast...Susan's mind was reeling. Her children, if anything, were doing worse. They looked on at their mother, scared, hoping she could figure out how to get them out of this.

"We are making love to our families," James said matter-of-factly. As though he was saying they were going to play trivial pursuit.

"What?" Susan asked, more because she felt like she had to say something than because she wanted to know.

"Oh don't tease them daddy," Joy said.

"Why does your wife call you daddy?" Susan asked quickly. She'd nearly forgotten about that. How could she forget that?

"Because I am her father and she is my daughter," he said. Susan felt like the air came out of her lungs. She knew that this was a possibility, she supposed. But she'd never really believed it was possible.

"But...you're married," she said. James smiled and looked at Joy lovingly.

"Well, the legal formalities have never been conducted. We are married, spiritually. And we have been for over 17 years now," he said. Susan didn't even understand what he meant.

"And Bethany and Martin?" Susan asked, looking at the children as they kissed their mother.

"My grandchildren," he said.

"And your...?" Susan asked, unable to bring herself to say it. James smiled more broadly and shook his head.

"I wish they were, I assure you," James said, "But they are only my grandchildren. Well, not 'only.' You know, maybe explaining that will help you understand the rest of this better. Would you like that?" James said. As he did so, he took a couple of steps in Susan's direction. She naturally felt herself recoiling. But she couldn't leave. She needed to know. She looked around at her children as well, they were looking at James intently. They felt the same curiosity their mother felt.

"What is going on?" she asked finally. James crossed the yard towards her and took a seat across from her at the picnic table, still naked. He leaned back comfortably, as though they were friends sitting at a sidewalk café for a friendly chat.

"My first wife, Joy's mother, she died when Joy was very young. It was just the two of us when she was growing up. And we were very close. I mean we were normal in every sense of the word not like..." and he spread his arm out across the yard, "Not like this. But close. Joy was my entire world. And then, one day, she was an adult. I didn't even realize it had happened. Then she was away at college and then she was married. And then she had two young children with her husband. I was devastated when she left and I kept waiting for it to get better. But it never did," he said. Susan felt a pang of sympathy for the man that she hadn't expected. She knew that fear and anticipated that pain.

"And then, one day, my daughter Joy came back to me. She had left her husband, learning what I had always known: he wasn't good enough for her. And when she came back... it was like my life had meaning again. It was better, in fact, because she'd brought her two beautiful children with her. And for a few months...it was just wonderful.

"But then my daughter got a new job. Her no-fault divorce went through, and she started to get over it all. I knew that eventually, she would need to get on with her life. That she would leave me again. She wanted a family. She was a beautiful young woman, she wanted love. She wanted things that...I couldn't give her." James spoke with real feeling. Susan slumped in her chair, it was like she'd been punched in the gut. It was like James was speaking of Susan's fear for the future: her desire to keep her family close but her knowledge that they were adults and would have adult needs.

"Or could I?" James said. Susan's eyes shifted back to him and he was smiling, looking back at his wife/daughter, "I won't pretend I wasn't conflicted. I hadn't been with a woman since Joy's mother died and I wasn't sure that my...feelings were pure. But I knew that the only way that I could keep my family together was to give my daughter everything that she needed. And one night...it happened," James' eyes grew glassy, "I won't share that memory with you now. It is...that's just for me and for my wife. But that night we learned that we could remain together forever. I could keep my family and Joy knew that she would always have everything...everything that she needs. We decided we never wanted to be apart."

"And then, as her children grew, and Joy began to have the same fears that I had once had...we decided that there was no reason our solution wouldn't work again. When each of my grandchildren turned 18, Joy and I initiated them into adulthood, binding them here to us," James explained. Susan's mind was whirling. Hadn't she being thinking something along the same lines? And wasn't this confirmation that everything she'd been thinking was right.