"Mama started it, dating young guys. I got to thinking…"
"You’re sleeping with your mother?" Sally exclaimed, shocked.
"No, no! Pipe down!" He slid forward and dropped his legs into the water again, then took her hand and pulled her up beside him. "I did some research," he announced, dipping his finger into the water, then drawing a vertical and a horizontal line on the tile with his wet finger. "Girls mature sexually around twelve, on average, but their interest in sex and their ability to have it and enjoy it slopes up gradually. Lots of girls just aren’t that interested when they’re teenagers — or not right away, anyway. But it builds to a peak at about twice our age…" He drew another line — one that swept up to a peak immediately, then tended downward slowly from there. "This is guys. We’re horny from the minute the equipment works, and basically, the only thing that slows us down is age! Now, what does that mean?"
Sally considered the graph that was slowly melting from the tile from the sun’s heat. "Um, young guys are best handled by older women?"
"Bingo!"
"Soooo…" Sally had no more dots to connect.
"Guys our age don’t meet older women — and when we do, it’s not exactly in a dating situation, usually. But we know women who are here," he marked the female peak area with his finger, "and don’t have husbands — and whom we’ve met socially — and who have obviously HAD sex…"
Sally frowned. "Who?"
"Coincidentally, this is just about twice our ages…" Lon pointed at the mark. "I have friends whose mothers aren’t married or anything. They have seventeen-year-old sons, so sex isn’t anything new — but they aren’t getting any. I know THEM, socially, because I know their sons … The last ingredient is to get help and support from my friends, instead of having them interfere — which is easy, since they’re horny, too…"
"You’re having sex with somebody’s mother?" Sally was aghast.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Lon shrugged. "Arguably, it still is. Generally, it’s a no-strings situation — the people who need it the most get their ashes hauled … We get experience — from a woman who HAS experience…"
"What do you need a girlfriend for?" Sally asked.
"I can’t date — we can’t get emotionally involved … There are things that aren’t dealt with. Guys my age fall in love, too, you know. This other thing isn’t a relationship — it’s just mutual relief." 'Well, except for Toby and Jean, ' Lon thought — but THAT was best swept under the rug, for now. The general case was complicated enough… "Love, romance, sharing, being with someone — those aren’t really part of the picture. It’s more like swinging, or wife-swapping — except nobody has a wife."
"What do I do about this?" Sally asked, more or less rhetorically.
"I dunno," Lon replied, musing. "There are a couple of obvious paths … We don’t know how much you like sex — you might want help…" He looked away. "I need a lot of sex…" He looked back at her, "Or, I can put the other thing away." He looked away again, "Or you can tell me to go jump off a cliff."
Sally eyed him. This was heavy-duty — did she want to get into this? "How many?"
"Women?"
"Yes."
"Three."
"Wow!" If Lon was having regular sex with three other women, what would be left for her? "That’s a lot of…"
"Well, it’s shared," Lon elaborated. "There are other guys…"
This brought up a number of lurid visions… "Lon, maybe you better take me…"
"What? Aw, dammit!" Lon backed off, rubbing his face in despair. NOW what? "Look, it’s all history! You can’t pop me for the past! I’ll just pass…"
Sally scrubbed her cheeks with her hands. "My brain is mush! It’s too much to take in! I need a second opinion!"
"From who? Teela?" Shit! Rick’s gonna get hosed, too!
"No, maybe not…" Sally thought about it. "Let’s go inside."
"Okay." Lon got up and wrapped her in her towel, then gathered his. Taking her hand, he led her inside. "Do you want your clothes?"
"Not just yet." Lon’s mother was lounging in the next room, watching television. "Does she know?"
"Do I know what, Hon?"
Lon nodded. Sally answered, "About the women."
Candace sat up. "Yeah, I know about it — Hell, I’m in the pool!" Sally flashed an amazed look at Lon; Candace picked it up and moved into the breach. "What has he told you?"
"Your mother?" Sally burst out.
"No, Honey, if you’re thinking that Lon and I…" Candace threw out her hands. "Ummm, family fun is against the group’s charter. I don’t do Lon — or vice-versa."
"You said three…"
"Not counting Mama," Lon clarified.
"I don’t know what to say about this," Sally moaned.
"So I gather that this isn’t going as well as hoped?" Candace frowned, eyeing Lon. "What’s the problem, Hon?"
"Well, I can’t understand why he’s bothering, I guess…" Sally replied.
"Sounds like Jean," Candace rolled her eyes. "What has he given you for a reason?"
"Umm, that what he’s doing isn’t a relationship."
"It isn’t," Candace agreed. "More than anything else, it’s mutual relief. But it’s a learning situation, too — he’s not fumbling in some back seat with a girl who knows even less than he does…"
"Three women…"
"I’d say one, primarily, at this point, Hon." Candace turned to Lon. "Why don’t you call Beth and have her talk to her? I’m probably not your best representative."
"Good idea!" Lon picked up the phone and dialed Tolliver’s. "Beth?"
"Oh, hi Sweetie!" Beth oozed. "What can I do for you?"
"Umm, well, I brought my girlfriend home, and we’re kind of in heavy weather. Rick said something about the group…"
"Uh oh…"
"Yeah. Mama thinks you might say something that would help; Sally’s … confused…"
"Well, I’ll try, Sweetie — no promises…"
"Thanks, Beth." Lon handed Sally the phone. "This is Beth. She might give you better answers than most…"
"Hello?" Sally took the phone tentatively.
"Hi — Sally, is it?"
"Yes…"
"I just heard about you today. Lonnie is going to have real issues trying to get a girlfriend under the circumstances…" Beth paused a moment, "So Lonnie told you he was having sex with an old fat woman…"
"Well, no, not like that…" Sally flashed a glance at Lon.
"He wouldn’t — he’s a sweetheart. But it’s what’s happening."
Sally covered the mouthpiece. "She says she’s fat!"
Lon rolled his eyes. Candace produced a twisted grin and replied, "She’s a little chunky — and has a self-image worse than yours, Hon."
"Okay…" Sally said carefully into the phone.
"How can I help you, Sweetie?" Beth asked.
"Ummm, well, I’m having trouble seeing the up-side of all this…"
"Hmmmm, well, you can be sure that he’s not just playing you for sex…" Beth replied.
"I can?"
"Oh, yeah," Beth insisted. "I’m no catch; I went without for YEARS! But I love the stuff — which makes me kind of a slut." She paused. "Lonnie is a sweetheart; as far as I’m concerned, he need NEVER do without, because I’ll spread for him any time he wants it — so he really must have other reasons for wanting to be with you!"
"Well, I’d heard something like that…" Sally mused. "He says he would stop…"
"Oh." Beth grunted. "That would, well, suck…" She perked up. "But it makes my point. Why would he give up a sure thing? Are you two having sex?"
"Uh, no…"