28 Morning Struggles

Arnold woke up the next morning, dressed, and went downstairs. He saw his mother groggily walk around the kitchen and he walked over to her to hug her.

“Good morning.” Arnold said and moved to kiss her.

“WAIT!” Annie yelled, fully awake now. “Did you brush your teeth?”

“Yes.” Arnold said.

“Okay, then. Good morning.” Annie said and gave him a kiss on the lips. She tasted spearmint and let out a relieved sigh. “Any time you perform oral sex, unless you keep performing it or other kinds of sex, you should go to the nearest bathroom to rinse out your mouth and brush your teeth afterwards.”

“Okay.” Arnold said. Now that his mother had reminded him, he remembered Heather doing that the first time she had given him oral sex.

“Sit and I'll cook you some grilled cheese.” Annie said.

Arnold nodded and sat at the kitchen table to wait.

*

Claire woke up at the sound of her alarm and was quite sore. The contortions and bends she had done in the car the night before had given her the most pleasurable sex she had had in a while; but, now she was paying for it. She decided that she actually needed a day off. Not from working, since she had things to do. She needed a day off from Arnold.

Claire sighed and went downstairs and made some tea, then sat at the breakfast nook and thought about the dilemma she was in. If she had counted properly, she knew that she had more sex with Heather's boyfriend than Heather had. She admitted to herself that it was a horrible thing to have done, especially since she was now guilty of doing to Heather what Heather had done to her. She has snuck around and performed sex acts behind her daughter's back.

Claire sighed and sipped her tea. Do as I say, not as I do. She thought, then she remembered how good it had felt to have a handsome young man make love to her. My boyfriend made love to me. She thought with a smile. He had done everything she asked, exactly how she wanted him to do it, and she really, really enjoyed that. More than she should have. A lot more.

She had indulged herself once in the bathroom, because she was horny and he was willing. Later when he wanted her in the car, she gave in immediately and let him indulge himself with her. That wasn't really the problem she had.

The problem was, it was wonderful.

Like Heather said, having a man that would do anything that you wanted, was the best man to have. Claire thought and sighed again. She finished her tea and then went to the counter to start making breakfast. Heather and Kelly would be up soon and they would need a ride to school.

Claire wasn't sure what she was going to do about Arnold, so she put it aside for now. Or, that's what she told herself. Arnold was temptation itself and had declared that she was his girlfriend. She knew it was stupid to like that kind of thing at her age, and yet, it touched her heart that he wanted her. She couldn't help her smile at the thought and knew that as soon as she could, she wanted to feel her eighteen year old boyfriend inside of her again.

I am such a bad mother. Claire thought, then successfully hid her guilt and regret as her daughter and her friend came into the kitchen to eat the delicious smelling food she was cooking for them.

*

Amy sat up in bed when her alarm went off and kicked herself for not turning it off. The professor had given her the morning off and she was still up early to go to work.

“Ugh.” Amy grunted and tossed her blanket aside, then walked over to the small bathroom. She didn't have a roommate and was grateful for that, because the dorm rooms were small enough as it was. She didn't need to be bumping into another girl while trying to fight for room at the one small mirror in the bathroom.

Amy looked at her reflection and her short black hair looked fine in the tight weave she had painstakingly put it in the night before. It meant she wasn't going to be able to wash it for as long as she had it in, and she was fine with that. She had cleansing rubs to keep the hair in the tightly wrapped miniature braids healthy, and the deodorant hairspray ready to use in a couple days if the sweat built up too much and started to smell.

She never kept the same weave for more than a week though, just so she could give her hair a proper shampoo and add the conditioner it needed. She picked up her shower cap and put it on, then hopped in the tiny cubicle shower. There wasn't room for a full tub in such a small space and she regretted not being able to soak. That was one of the reasons she liked making the trip home once a month to visit. She liked having a proper bath.

Amy stepped out of the shower and dried off, then grabbed her make-up kit. She was a natural beauty and had huge eyelashes, so all she added was a bit of dark eye shadow to highlight her dark brown eyes. She thought about adding some of the blush powder to add a bit of color to her cheeks, then laughed. Her dark skinned reflection laughed back at her and she nodded.

This awesome ebony color don't need no extra color! Amy thought and walked out of the bathroom and went to her closet, then she wondered what she should wear. It didn't take her long to pick a nice pair of red thigh length tight bike shorts, stripped on the sides to draw the eyes to her hips. She grabbed a sports bra that matched the shorts and slipped it on, then thought about the best way to get a guy's attention.

Amy skipped the obvious baggy t-shirt option, since that was a bit contrived, and went with a stylish white vest with a high collar on the sides and back. When buttoned up most of the way and combined with the sports bra, it gave her a good down-the-blouse cleavage shot, which she had always used to full advantage. It also gave her some scrumptious side-boob when she checked herself in the mirror on the back of the closet door.

Nice. Amy thought and grabbed a white pair of running shoes that she never ran in, then put on her jewellery. A thin chain around her neck designed to catch the eye and two inch round hoop earrings were applied in seconds. She checked her nails automatically, even though she knew the state they were in.

She was prohibited from growing them out and from painting them, since she needed 'clean' hands to work in the lab, even though she always wore rubber gloves. She had to ignore her lacking fingernails for now, to her dismay, and left her room.

“Fareena!” A female voice called out from down the hall.

Amy sighed and turned to look at the much too boisterously happy young lady that walked towards her. “It's too early for me to want to see you, Cissily.”

Cissily laughed as she shook her head and her short and stylish afro didn't move at all. “Hey, I was just wondering where you were going dressed like that.” She said and gave Amy a head to toe leer. “There's no way the stuck up little prick would let you wear that to the lab!”

“I've got the morning off.” Amy said and ignored her friend's insult, because she insulted everybody, then she remembered the package that she was supposed to deliver. “Dammit, I almost forgot it!” She said and unlocked her room and grabbed the package. “I would have looked pretty stupid trying to deliver this with it back in my dorm room. Thanks for reminding me.”

“I didn't say anything; but, I'll take the credit.” Cissily said. “What is it?”

“Package for a potential assistant.” Amy said. She thought about lying and decided it wasn't worth it.

Cissily gasped. “No! Don't tell me he's tired of his star assistant already?”

Amy laughed and shook her head. “No, he wants me to stay, too.”

“Ooo, this new person must be great for the professor to ignore the unwritten rule of only one assistant per subject.” Cissily said. “I'll walk you out and you can tell me all about it.”

Amy sighed and they started walking. “I don't know much...”

Cissily listened to her friend and was just as intrigued by the new guy as Amy was. “He's still in high school and the professor wants to recruit him anyway?” She asked, a little surprised.

“The professor was actually upset that he wasn't told about him sooner.” Amy admitted.

“Damn, girl!” Cissily exclaimed, now that she understood her friend's outfit. “You're trying to do him!”

“I am not!” Amy retorted. “I'm just trying to gain his interest so that we can work well together.”

Cissily laughed. “I think it would be better for you to just tell him upfront that you're just gonna use him and then lose him.”

Amy wanted to respond, then decided to keep her mouth shut. She wouldn't admit out loud that she really would drop him as soon as he became boring.

Cissily put an arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the student parking lot. “You don't even know what he looks like and you're already planning to pop his college cherry.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing.” Amy said and Cissily laughed.

“If he's wearing inch thick glasses and has a huge overbite, make sure to keep your eyes closed when he goes down on you.” Cissily grinned. “It's scary having big buck teeth near your bud! Ha ha!”

Amy laughed as she opened her car door. “You're so crass!”

“Yeah, and you love it.” Cissily said and started to walk away. “See you around, cradle robber!”

“He's eighteen, dammit!” Amy countered and Cissily's laugh echoed in the parking lot as she disappeared from sight.

*

“Claire didn't say that she needed you to help spread out the mulch?” Annie asked her son when he was finished breakfast.

Arnold shook his head. “She mentioned on Saturday about seeding the lawn and adding fertilizer.”

“Hmm. I wonder why she didn't ask for your help today after taking yesterday off?” Annie asked.

Arnold shrugged and had no idea why.

“Well, I guess that means you're not working today.” Annie said. “Want to watch some television with me?”

Arnold shrugged again and his mother chuckled and took his hand, then led him into the living room and they sat together on the couch.

“It's a little weird to have someone else here during the day.” Annie said, then she put her arm around her son. “Why don't you lay down and relax?”

Arnold nodded and instead of moving away from her and laying down with his head on the arm of the couch like she assumed, he put his head down onto her lap and his feet went to the arm of the couch.

Annie didn't comment and rested her hand on his chest as she used the other hand to work the remote and turned on the television. She put it on the first channel in her daily routine and then relaxed. For the first time since Arnold was a little kid that was too young to go to school, the two of them watched television together.

*

“Well, they say it was an actual accident.” A woman said as she looked down at the file the police had faxed over. “He was drunk of course.”

“Good.” The company head said. “Our life insurance policy specifically states that they can't collect on the accident clause if it was intentional.”

The woman chuckled. “I can't believe we actually got away with putting that clause into the policy.”

The man smiled. “Yes, an intentional accident. Imagine the odds of that happening?”

The woman had to laugh. “It was a death, though... so we have to pay off the policy.”

“Only give the base rate.” The man warned her. “We aren't running a charity.”

The woman looked at the policy and shook her head. “Sir, we can't get away with that in this case.”

“Why not?” He asked.

“We were partially negligent and liable.”

The man looked like he was about to vehemently argue, so she handed him the witness statements from their own company about how Gerald was drunk pretty much every day when he returned to work from lunch and despite the reports, no one had ever said anything to Gerald. The man read a few of them and then he let out an angry sigh.

“All right.” He looked at her angrily. “Make sure to milk as much publicity out of the extra benefits as you can.”

“Sir, I've already notified the local papers about your generosity in this tragic matter.” The woman said. “They've already altered the obituary in the company's favor.”

The man gave her a discerning look, then he smiled. “I knew you were the best woman for the job.”

“That's why you pay me the big bucks, sir.” The woman said. “Should I make the call?”

“No, if we're going to milk it for what it's worth anyway, we might as well get the local newspaper to send over a cub reporter and maybe a still camera or something.” He said. “A picture of the grieving widow receiving her benefits will make a great interest story.”

“Sir, I'll handle it myself.” The woman said and picked up the file folder and left the office.

*

“Arnold's not working today?” Heather asked, surprised. “But, mom...”

“Yes, I know the mulch needs to be spread.” Claire said and led the two girls to the car. “I've got things to do for the store and I can't stay at home today.”

“Did you tell Arnold?” Kelly asked as she put her suitcase in the trunk.

“Oh, damn. I knew I forgot something.” Claire said and took out her cell phone. “Give me a minute.”

Heather and Kelly sat in the back seat and waited while Claire called Arnold.

“Hi, Annie.” Claire said. “I'm sorry, I forgot to tell him yesterday that I was busy today.” She said. “Uh huh. Yes.” She waited for a moment. “For the store.” She said. “I honestly did forget until just this moment when Kelly asked me if he knew.” She chuckled. “Yes, really.” She said. “Okay, I have to go. I'll see you both tomorrow morning.”

Claire shook her head at her own forgetfulness and climbed into the front seat. “Thanks for reminding me, Kelly.”

“I'm glad I thought of it.” Kelly said and looked at Heather. “Imagine if he sat there all day and waited for your mom to come and pick him up.”

“Oh, poor Arnold.” Heather said. “Mom...”

“I just told Annie that I forgot until Kelly told me.” Claire said and started the car. “Yes, I apologized.”

Heather just nodded and Kelly didn't say anything else. Claire drove them to the school and told Kelly to leave her suitcase in the trunk and she could grab it when Claire came back to pick up Heather that afternoon. The two girls got out and went into the school and prepped their backpacks for the morning classes. They had both gotten the idea from Arnold to take a bit more each time.

They spent the extra time talking, rather than go back to their lockers at the beginning of every class to get the next set of books. They didn't waste that time and talked about how well Arnold did using the VR setup Heather had at her place. Heather had wanted to talk about other things and Kelly had flatly refused to discuss anything that referenced Heather's bedroom antics. In public, anyway.

In private, she knew Heather got a thrill describing what she did, and Kelly had to admit that her descriptions were pretty vivid and gave her clear mental images. Of course, that was also bad for Kelly, because she could also put herself into those situations, specifically because Heather described them so well. It was a double-edged sword and Kelly wasn't sure if she wanted to keep cutting herself on it.

Of course, one of the guys nearby heard them talking about Arnold and his VR skills. He planned to rush out of class like normal and instead of going to his locker, he would go right to where Brad hung out. If Arnold was playing VR games at Heather's place, then Brad would definitely want to know about it.