Serial - Suddenly Daddy Part 26

You keep your eyes on Jeremy for a moment.  This was getting serious with him.  When you had the chance you had to have a long talk with him, and his mom too.  You finally turn to greet the women.

You see Poppy was dressed to go out again, much the same as she had been last night.  She snickers as she sees you and Jeremy hand in hand.  Claire on the other hand smiles proudly, she has an expression as if to say “that's sweet”.  You find the first opportunity you could to pull your hand back again.

Poppy runs up to you and kisses you on the cheek.  “Hey big Daddy!”  Jeremy is glaring at her, she is smiling smugly back at him.  “Thank you for playing with me Daddy Ted.  It was so much...”

Poppy suddenly stands up straight, she looks over the table.  “Hey!  Where's my food?”

Jeremy just shoots her the middle finger.

“Jeremy!  Please!”  Claire scolds.  She shakes her head and looks at her daughter.  “Poppy, you told me you were going out anyways.”

“Yeah, but he didn't know that!”  She points at Jeremy.  “That's the second time he's done this to me.  You purposely didn't make me any you little...”

Claire puts up her hands.  “Please, not tonight guys.  I've had a hard day.”

Jeremy still glowered at his sister but he was staying quiet.

Poppy snorts at his food in derision.  “Fine.  I didn't want this shit anyways.”  She leans back down and hold you around the shoulders, she gives you another kiss to the cheek.  A finger plays through your short hair.  You don't return her affections.  She purrs.  “Mmmmm.  We'll have to do that again Daddy Ted.  Any time you want a real girl.”  She kisses you again.

Jeremy's hands were in fists on the table.  He was staring straight ahead now, trying to block out Poppy fawning over you.  His shoulders rise and fall as he attempts to control his breathing.

In the blink of an eye Poppy is standing again.  “Okay fam, catch you later.”  She giggles.  “He he he!  Don't wait up!” 

“Bye dear, have fun.”  Claire says.  Poppy leans and gives her mother a kiss as well.  A long firm kiss full on the lips...a bit odd to say the least but, well, these guys were odd.  She waves goodbye as she skips out of the room.

You grunt a curt.  “See ya later Poppy.”

Jeremy doesn't even acknowledge her as she leaves.  

With Poppy gone the atmosphere soon relaxes as it had the night before.  The three of you had an easy chemistry.  You enjoy an absolutely delicious meal together, the kid could cook.  Much of the conversation that night is between Claire and Jeremy.  First she has a long discussion with him asking about why he'd broken up with his partner.  Jeremy patiently tells her about how he had been less and less happy with the other boy recently.  That he didn't see a future with him.  He doesn't touch on any specifics but says all the usual things one might say to a nosy parent after a breakup.  Claire still seemed unsure about it but there really wasn't much she could say.  They spoke freely and openly, it was evident that they were beginning to really relax around you.  You were more than just company now.

She also wanted to hear all about his day as a garbage man.  Jeremy positively comes alive as he recounts his exciting day with you.  He tells her about the steel toed boots and some of the sights he saw and people he met.  He is extra proud when he tells her about dumping the bin on his own.  Claire was loving this, not so much the details but seeing her son so happy was touching her heart.  She looks at you with a look of deep appreciation.  For you it was funny to hear your daily routine retold from a fresh perspective.  He was truly beaming as he told her about the old country songs you had sung together along the way.

Claire is leaning back laughing yet her expression was one of horror.  “Oh my god!  No!  You did not subject my son to that redneck music!?”

You belt out.  “When the sun's comin up I got cakes on the griddle.  Life ain't nothin but a funny funny riddlllle!”

“Thank God I'm a country boy!”  Jeremy hoots, finishing the lyric.

“Whooeeee!”  You yelp southern style.

“Heeeyah!”  Jeremy echoes.

She closes her eyes and shakes her head as you and Jeremy share a good laugh.  “Oh my god...what have you done to him?”  She jokes then joins in the laughter.

As the mirth subsides Jeremy states out of the blue.  “I'm going to go to cooking school next year.”  He waits a second to watch both of your reactions before he continues.  The reaction was positive if surprised.  He goes on.  “We have one of the best Culinary Institutes in the country here.  I'm going to try to get in there I think.”  He is smiling at his mother but his sideways gaze is on you.  “I'm going to go talk with them next week.”

You reach out and grip his shoulder.  “Wow, that's great Jeremy!  They'll be lucky to have you.”  He blushes.

Claire raises her eyebrows.  “Wow indeed.  What brought this on all of a sudden?  Ted didn't pressure you did he?”

He shakes his head.  “No, no.  I've been thinking about it for a while now.  It's what I really want.”

Claire is quiet and looking at the pair of you.  There was an enigmatic look in her deep blue eyes, a smile playing at the corners of her full ruby lips.  Her tongue wets her lips and she takes another drink of her chardonnay.  “Well, you have my full support no matter what you want to do Jeremy.  You know that.”

When the meal is over Jeremy hurries to clean off the table as you and Claire drink and chat.  It is not long before he rejoins you.  His hand slips into yours as he takes his seat.  You give it a little squeeze and the pair of you share a friendly glance.

Claire pours herself another glass of wine, emptying the bottle.  She was hitting it pretty hard tonight.  This was the second bottle the pair of you had drank, not including the wine she'd had earlier, and you only had a couple of glasses.  The stress of the day no doubt.  She was starting to slur her words, her gaze getting uneven and unfocused.  She wasn't drunk but she was well tipsy.  She was touching you more, laughing more, shifting her chair closer to you.  Claire was thirsty in more ways than one.  Another passionate night with Claire surely not far off.  God damn, you'd never gotten so much tail in your life!

She is smiling at the two of you, laughing lightly.  Her face had the pink blush of being in her cups as her chuckles pick up.  She seemed to be enjoying a private joke.  You and Jeremy look at each other then you look back to her.  With a light chuckle yourself you ask.  “What's so funny?”

Her crooked grin widens.  She shakes her head.  “Nothing.”

“Come on now!  Out with it.”  You insist.

She looks from your face to Jeremy's and back to yours again.  “You two...you guys are SO CUTE together!  Look at you two getting along so well.  REALLY getting along!  Ha ha ha!  Doing it behind my back.  Literally behind my back!”  All three of you burst out laughing at that.  She continues on, getting serious.  Her seductive eyes running over you.  “You don't have to you know.  You don't have to hide.”  She looks you square in the eye.  “I wouldn't mind...watching.”

You stop your chuckling.  You look at her closely...she was being absolutely serious!  Something Claire had said to you the first night you were here echoes in your ears.  “I look forward to watching you with one of them...”  She had said that to you when she first told you about their peculiar way of life.  You shift uncomfortably.  You weren't sure how you felt about this.  Everything about this was already so fucking weird!  You were still wrestling with the fact that you now partook of homosexual sex, it still didn't seem real somehow.  And now someone wanted to watch you do it!?  Not just anyone...your partner's mother!?  Jesus, this nutty family.  Just when you thought you hit peak crazy they take it up another notch.

Jeremy rolls his eyes as if he'd been asked to take out the garbage when he didn't want to.  “Awww Mom.  No way.  Do we have to?  It's always so lame when you watch.  You always start telling us what to do and stuff.  You are a huge distraction, you know that right?”

She takes another sip of wine.  “I'll be quiet.”  Her eyes were full of twisted intent.  You see a bit of that impish twinkle of the eye that you saw in Poppy, you see her nibble her bottom lip the way Jeremy did.  You were starting to see another side of your Claire.  “I'll be quiet as a little mouse.”  She promises.  “A teeny tiny voyeuristic mouse.”  She giggles.

“No you won't.”  Jeremy gripes, seeming to know better.  He begins stroking your hand as gives you a happy look.  “But...if you want to Dad, I'm willing.”

You are looking between them, both of them were looking at you expectantly.  “Uh...guys, this...this is too much...this is too weird...”

Claire reaches out and strokes your shoulder.  “Come on Ted.  Don't be like that.  You've been with him already, with my blessing no less.  The least you could do is let me watch you guys.  My two sexy men...whooo...”  That flush in her cheeks wasn't just from the alcohol.  Her hand then comes up to just under her chin, the tips of her fingers unconsciously strokes back and forth across her collarbone.  “I think that would be so hot.  Sooo hot.”  A heavy sigh escapes her as she gives you a smoky sultry gaze.  “Come on Ted, what do you say?”

They wait for your answer.