"Thanks." I grinned at her. "She won’t be in Katherine’s room tonight, by the way."
"That I figured out," she laughed.
"Night, Mom." I headed up the stairs.
When I got there, Natalie had fallen asleep, nude, spread out on my bed. I nudged her to one side-gently-and snuggled up behind her. She opened her eyes half-way, looked me, smiled, and settled into my arms, falling back asleep right away. I soon joined her.
PART SIX SATURDAY
I woke up, a bit disoriented, until I realized that Ed was wrapped all around me.
Oh, man, did that feel nice!
I could’ve stayed there forever. Well, almost. The ol’ bladder pressure eliminated that thought. I quietly extricated myself from Ed’s arms-he didn’t even stir, he was still out-threw on my clothes, and went to find the bathroom.
Ed’s Mom was there. OK, so I blushed. Coming out of my boyfriend’s bedroom in the morning and running into his Mother was another new experience.
"Good Morning, Natalie? Sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Bauer."
"Where’s Ed?"
"Still out like a light," I laughed. "I’m looking for the bathroom."
"Right there," she pointed. "If you want, come on down when you’re done. I’ll put coffee on." And down the stairs she went.
I did my business, went back and checked on Ed-still out-and decided to go downstairs. I had a feeling Mrs. Bauer wanted to talk to me.
I came downstairs and she had the coffee done, and was reaching for cups. "How do you take your coffee, Natalie?" she asked.
"Light and sweet," I giggled. "I like the caffeine but try to dilute the taste." She laughed, and fixed the coffees. Pointing to the kitchen table, she sat down. I joined her.
"When Ed asked if you could stay over, I was a little worried that your mother didn’t like the idea. So, Ed told me your whole history. I just wanted you to know that I knew."
"That’s fine," I smiled. "If your son is going out with someone, you deserve to know how screwed up she is."
"From meeting you, and talking to Ed, I don’t get the impression that you’re screwed up. You seem to me to be a very bright young lady trying to pick her way through a life that hasn’t been very kind."
"Thank you," I said. "Ed tells me you and Mr. Bauer are great parents. Wise, open, non-judgmental, all that good stuff."
She laughed and looked up at the ceiling, "Why, thank you, Ed."
I laughed and continued, "You’ve never tried to, I don’t know, brainwash your kids or anything."
"No."
"I’ve found out it’s easy to do. I’ve found out it’s hard to break once it’s been done to you. I’m still figuring some of that out. I guess that’s why I feel a little screwed up."
"Ed tells me you hit it off with Amanda Frazier."
"Yeah, she’s great," I smiled. "Jared, too."
"Amanda, from what I understand, had some of her own brainwashing to break through when she entered the program."
"I know a little of that. Maybe I’ll talk to her more about it."
"Natalie," she said, "if things are that bad at home, maybe you should find another place to live. I told Ed last night that you’re always welcome here."
Oh, man, how sweet is that? "Thank you so much, that’s very generous. I’ll keep it in mind. For right now, I think I’m all right. I’m just not going to buckle under to her demands anymore, or listen to her ridiculous ideas. But I’ll stay there for the time being." I grinned. "I love your son, but living together is a wee bit premature."
"You could stay in Ed’s sister’s room until she gets home from college."
"Nah, that wouldn’t happen." Then I realized what I said. I blushed purple.
Mrs. Bauer just laughed. "Ed told me you two made love for the first time last night."
"Yeah," I admitted.
"He also said it was something of a breakthrough for you."
"You could say that," I blushed deeper.
"It was for him, too, you know," she said. I looked up, startled. "When he told me about it, those were the words he used-made love. Ed doesn’t make love, he has sex. Yeah, it’s hair-splitting, but, with Ed, it’s a pretty strong semantical point. Ed doesn’t use the L-word," she grinned. "Not since…" and then she trailed off.
"Not since Annie. I know," I smiled. "He said it, you know. That he loves me."
"You are kidding," she gasped. "Natalie, honey, I don’t want to alarm you, but I wonder if you know how hard it was for him to say that."
"I have an idea," I grinned. "It was hard for me to say. Though he made it easier by saying it first." She giggled at that. "But, yes, I know about Annie-but I’ve never said it to anybody. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever felt it. And that includes my mother. This is new, everything about this is new. Being in love, having friends-heck, enjoying sex." I blushed again. "You’re easy to talk to," I said.
"Thank you. That’s nice to hear, considering my son takes all his problems to Ellie Kirkland," she laughed. "That’s a joke-Ellie’s the best."
"I’ve never met her. Ed’s suggested I should. I’m worried that she’d get protective services involved."
"Not if you do it informally. Besides which, wouldn’t that be a good thing? You’re being abused, Natalie. Let’s call it what it is-abuse and neglect."
"Marginal abuse, at best," I contended. "Neglect? Yeah. But I’m almost 17. I don’t want to go to foster care at my age. Besides which," I sighed, "though college is my way of getting out, part of me is worried what’s going to happen when I’m gone."
"To you?"
"No, to Mom. Mrs. Bauer, she’s incapable of taking care of herself. I do all the cooking, cleaning, shopping, everything. She’s either at work, passed out drunk, or with a guy-or watching TV. When I leave, she’s going to go straight downhill. I know she’s done some nasty things to me, but she is my mother."
Mrs. Bauer looked at me. "Now I know why you and Ed hooked up. You’re both givers. However, I’m going to tell you something that I told Ed when he was going through that whole Annie mess-keep a little bit for yourself. Ed didn’t, with Annie, and it cost him. I don’t think you have to worry about Ed, because with him you’ll get back everything you give."
"Moreso," I grinned.
"I agree, but I’m biased," she laughed. "But when it comes to your mother? Keep a little bit for yourself."
"That’s what I’m learning to do," I admitted.
Just then, Ed came downstairs and walked into the kitchen. "Oh, no. My mother and my new girlfriend having a coffee klatch. Shoot me now. How far are we into the Embarrass Ed stories? Is it almost time for the embarrassingly cute baby pictures? I know how this stuff works." His mother and I were both giggling. He came up behind me, leaned down, and kissed me on the cheek. "Morning."
"Morning," I smiled back.
He headed for the coffee, and went back into it. "I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that Katherine isn’t here. She’s got a treasure trove of Embarrass Ed stories, and no hesitation about telling them. Hell, I think she’s working on a book." He sat down with us at the table. "So, tell me, Natalie. What horrible things do you now know about me?"
"Nothing," I smiled. "No embarrassing stories."
"Yet," his mother said with a laugh. "I’ve got plenty of time for that."
"Remind me to burn all the baby pictures," Ed quipped. "So, where’s Dad?"
"Where else? It’s Saturday morning," his Mom said.
"Ah, yes. Dad plays golf," he told me. "Golf-the only sport whose practitioners make baseball players look like they’re in shape!"
"I don’t know," I said impishly, "I didn’t notice any stamina problems." Then I remembered his mother was there. I blushed bright red. "Oops."