All in the Family (15 page)

Bobby sat up, rigid in the chair, trying not to act suspicious. Herman noticed a change in his deportment but didn’t say anything.
If he had been involved,
Herman thought,
he didn’t get caught, and that was really all that mattered right now.

“What crushes the bones?” asked Bobby, changing the subject.

“Oh,” Herman said, excitement in his voice. Bobby was finally taking interest, now would be the time to teach him the family business. “Well, you saw how I loaded the bodies in the incinerators here. We’ve updated them, so they are automated now, and the afterburner takes care of any fragments that don’t get burned up to start with. When this is done, I scrape the bones and leftovers into a try. I then take these to a machine called a ball mil. After dumping the bones into the machine, I simply turn it on, and the bones are crushed into fine dust by heavy steel balls. This is what people call the ashes.”

Bobby nodded, acting interested. At least it got his dad off the subject of the other boy. Herman went on to tell him a more detailed history of cremation and why some cultures preserve their dead rather than burn them, but Bobby was not interested, he just used it to pass the time.

* * * *

Roy panted, lying on the bed beside her. She had brought him to the brink of orgasm twice, and he had made her stop. What the hell was he waiting for, an invitation? Jessica was tired, her lips numb and her jaw sore. Taking his member from her mouth, she rolled on her side, stretching. She just wanted him to hurry so she could get something to eat. Her stomach growled, but only she could hear it.

He began to fondle her breast through her top. She pushed his hand away, but it came right back. He reached under her blouse, finding her naked breasts; she had always hated to wear bras. He rolled her nipple between his fingers. He was still rock hard and now poking her in the back.

Her lips parted, and a slight moan escaped them. The sensations flowing through her body were outstanding. She felt tingling like lightning coursing over her skin. Electricity coursed through her blood. Every heartbeat pumped liquid fire through her veins. Sensations quickening, she could taste the lust in the air. She could feel something building deep in her midsection, like a dam about to break. She wanted it to break, wanted the river to flow.

Roy scooted down, and with his free hand gripped his erection and forced it between her legs. Expecting slick bliss, he was surprised to hit something else, not slick bliss, but damp cloth. She wore panties? She dressed the way she did and wore panties? What the hell? He rubbed himself there for a moment; she moaned more loudly this time. Then he tried to work around the fabric. She suddenly scooted forward, away from him; he kept a grip on her. She squirmed on her back, feeling helpless.

“I didn’t say you could do that,” she said in a quivering whisper.

“I want it,” he said and gripped her tighter.

“Stop, you’re hurting me.” Jessica slapped at his hands.

He only gripped even tighter and pulled her back to him.

“I’m saving it for marriage,” she said with a whimper. “I’m not ready for this yet. I want to save it for that special someone.”

“Are you saying I’m not special?” asked Roy in an annoyed voice.

“Not special enough for that.” She pulled away from him, but he kept hold on her. He forced himself against the fabric, against her. She felt a tearing pain begin to burn, and she wanted to cry.

* * * *

Loretta stood bent over the bench seat, straddling it, the same place she had been for quite some time. He had been pumping away like a dog in heat.
Like a dog,
she thought. She turned and looked at him, he watched the action on the screen, and for a moment he almost really looked like a dog humping someone’s leg. The way they stared off into space. She forced back a giggle.

Turning back, she decided she’d had enough, decided that it was time. She could do that with him; she knew how to push his buttons, knew what he really liked. She began to moan and be loud. He gripped her hips tighter. She began to work it, forcing him to come into rhythm with her. She worked it good. He lowered himself as she worked it, and his butt met the cold bench seat. She continued to work and moan. She could feel him pulsing. He would explode any time. She waited for it and didn’t have to wait long.

“Oh, baby,” he said, “you’re gonna make me come.”

She straightened, sitting up on his love rod, squeezing with everything she had as she rode. He grabbed her around the waist.
Hold on tight,
she thought with a smile. Her fingers worked below.

He exploded, the first burst filling her with burning hot liquid. That sent her over. She moaned, nearly screamed while it happened, and in unison, they came together.

When she was dressed again, she dug her cell phone out of her purse. Herman didn’t know she had it, but she had bought a prepaid cell phone when she first started going out on him so she could call a ride if she needed one. The phone rang on the other end, rang and rang until Barbra’s voice mail picked up.
Barbra, you whore,
she thought.

“Hey, you’ve reached Barbra, leave a message.”

“Barbra, you weren’t supposed to do this to me again.” Loretta pressed the ‘end’ button and tossed the phone back into her purse. She sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Glenn asked, buttoning his shirt.

After a moment of silence she answered, “Barbra was supposed to give me a ride home after we got finished, but it seems she’s busy with her own agenda.”

Glenn smiled at her. “I could give you a ride.”

“In your cruiser? Would you handcuff me and take me in?” she asked seductively, leaning in for a kiss. “I think we would be better off if I was to walk home. I don’t know if
he
will be home, and we have company. Oh, Lord, and if my daughter saw me getting out of your car, it would be all over.” She thought about how Jessica would react. Jessica would demand to know what was going on. She’d use it to her advantage because she knew how that kind of thing worked. She would get her way, and that would be the end of it. If she didn’t get her way, she would tell Herman, and that would be the beginning of a disaster.

“At least let me give you a ride most of the way, you can walk a block or two all by yourself, but that’s a long walk otherwise. That’s not the kind of walk you would want to do in this weather.” Glenn gently caressed her shoulders.

It was a hell of a walk. It certainly was not the walk that she wanted to make in heels, not any of it if she were honest. With the temperature dropping slowly, and the wind picking up, anyone could tell a storm was on its way. It swept in from the west, the warmer air and the cooler air meeting; it was like starting a war. The two would twist and swirl together, a bitter fight as they mixed, leaving a path of destruction along the way. Loretta had seen her fair share of tornados when she was a child. She remembered taking shelter in the cellar. She remembered the cellar doors blowing off and one of her neighbors being swept away. It was night then as well, a dark night—black as pitch. They had found that man the next day impaled on a fence row, his face and body mangled from the high winds.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I suppose you could take me most of the way, we just have to be careful.”

“You weren’t worried about being careful on the way over here.” Glenn laughed.

“I was horny then,” she said with a smile.

* * * *

Jessica lay on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. Roy had left the room to clean up and said he wouldn’t be back in there tonight, but that he looked forward to having her to himself again soon. She was sad, shocked and depressed. The pain had been slightly more than she had imagined it would be. It was a shock to her how he had torn through her panties. It was more than she could handle at the time, so she had taken herself out of the situation. She had gone into her own world and fantasized about all kinds of different things. What Christmas would bring. What the New Year would bring. She only came back to reality when he finished. She felt the heat of it as he grunted, announced that he was coming and his rhythm stopped. A few thrusts, a hot feeling inside, and he was spent.

He kissed her and caressed her and assured her that it was alright, but it was not alright. She had been betrayed and hurt by him. He took something that was rightfully hers without permission, and there was no way he could give it back. His pleasure had not come without a warning.
“Don’t tell anyone, he had said. If you know what’s good for you, don’t tell anyone.”

Jessica bit down on the pillow hard. She would tell, and he would be sorry for what he had done.

* * * *

As they approached the nearest four-way stop that felt comfortable to her, Loretta thanked him for a nice evening and promised to do it again sometime. After a long kiss, she stepped out into the windy night. The wind swept up her skirt, chilling her damp vagina. It sent a shiver up her spine. She shook it off, and after she watched his car pull away down the next street, she started her walk. She knew she’d only have to walk for near to five full minutes before arriving, but she swore she would freeze before then.

The front porch light was a beacon of hope, its twinkling light calling to her from a short distance away. Her hair was windblown. She knew she now looked like she had just gotten through with a roll in the hay; not the way she wanted to look and not the way she had looked when they were finished.

She entered the foyer and heard the faint sound of a television. It sounded like an action movie. Her suspicion was confirmed when she peeked into the family room. On screen, a building exploded and men fired guns at each other. Probably over some woman, Loretta giggled to herself. Roy sat on the couch, his head hanging back snoring.

She heard nothing else, the house sounded empty, dead. Herman and Bobby were obviously still gone. She hoped they got rid of the bodies. Jessica must have been at her study group. Though Loretta secretly suspected that there was more to it, she didn’t bother to tell Herman for fear of his overreaction. Besides, as long as Jessica was passing school, what could she complain about?

She walked to the kitchen and flung open the freezer door. A small tub of rocky-road ice cream was in the back. She grabbed it and a spoon from the drawer of silverware then plopped down at the table. The wooden chair became slick with the moisture of her crotch through her skirt. She slid around playfully. Stop it, you’ll just have to clean that up too, she told herself.

Before she had gotten three bites into the ice cream, she heard the faint sound of running water and then the toilet flushing. She froze, taken off guard. Surely Herman was still gone. Surely Jessica was gone. Surely Roy didn’t have someone in her house. She sat silently listening. She heard a door close from down the hallway.

She was frightened, but knew she had to investigate. Should she wake Roy? That man was nearly useless. He could get his ass kicked by a one-legged man; she remembered how many fights he had lost over the years.

As she rounded the corner to the hallway, she glanced into the family room, Roy still slept on the couch, and the hallway was dark.

The basement door was closed. It stayed closed though, and she was almost certain that it was locked. She tried the knob to be sure. It didn’t budge. The next door was a guest bedroom turned office. Herman had a small desk in there to take care of what little work didn’t get done at the mortuary. Her bedroom door was open. She peeked inside anyway. Empty. Bobby’s room was next, and its door stood open too. Inside, it was empty save for a bluish glow from a television. The boy would never learn to turn off his television or to even keep his room clean for that matter.

To the left, across the hall from Bobby’s room, was Jessica’s bedroom. The door stood closed. Loretta walked to the door and hesitated. Should she knock and risk alerting an intruder or barge in and risk walking in on her daughter in the buff? Against her better judgment, she lifted her hand to knock. Before her knuckles could reach the door, she heard a faint whimper come from inside. She immediately grabbed the handle and shoved the door open. It was dark, and she heard movement near the bed. The whimpering became louder sobs. It was female.

“Jessica? Is that you sweetheart?” Loretta asked.

The sobs stopped. Through a crackling voice Jessica replied, “Yes,” trying to sound strong.

Loretta’s eyes were adjusting to the darkness as she made her way to the bedside. She sat. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did that teacher do something to you?”

“No.”

“Did he threaten you?”

“No.”

“Then, baby, tell me what’s wrong,” Loretta begged.

After a moment of hesitation, tension growing thick in the air, she answered, “It was Roy.” Jessica crawled forward and hugged her mother’s neck.

“Roy?” Loretta asked. “What did he do?”

“He took it from me.”

“Took what from you?”

“He forced himself in me and...and...took my virginity. Mom, I was saving it,” Jessica said between sobs.

Loretta’s face became stone, cold and heartless. She was angry. She held Jessica for a long time, her mind racing, but ultimately focused on one thing, the abuse of Roy. Roy had abused her when they were younger; he had always had a thing for the vulnerable female. She knew this and was angry not only at Roy, but somewhat at herself because she knew his perversion. She had hoped the years had changed him. She should have known better. She tried to be the caring sister; she tried to help him in his hour of need, and this was the thanks she got. This was stupidity on her part. It was his choice, she argued in her mind. It was all him, the blame should be on his head. He should pay for his insolence. God, if Herman was to find out, he’d do the deed himself; he would cut the man’s throat on the couch, not even give him a chance to wake up or defend himself.