Summary: As she was preparing to meet her son Stephen for a lust-
filled night of passion, Carly received a call from Paige, who wanted
Carly's counsel on her troubled marriage. As much as Carly wants
Stephen, she feels obliged to go to Paige, who drops some major
revelations on her mother in law. And she's not the only one.

Adults Only

laurenmom@writeme.com

Story: Carly Mom IX by LaurenMom (MF, no sex) (March 2008)

Carly made her way to Stephen and Paige's house. Rational thinker that
she was, she was able to put aside for the moment the thoughts and
feelings that had been plaguing her. She actually thought it was a
good idea to step-out of what had become lustful mania for a bit and
to refocus on something a bit more grounded in reality, like her son's
marriage. She would deal with her emotions later. For now Carly would
do her best to be a problem solver for her daughter in law.

"Hi," Paige said weepily as she opened the door to invite Carly into
their home. She seemed to want to say more, but clearly she was
holding back tears. As soon as Carly had set foot into the foyer and
Paige had shut the door, Paige threw her arms around her mother in law
and began to cry.

"Oh," Carly said in a genuinely soothing tone. "It's OK Honey." She
held Paige and stroked her back, Paige's face tight against her
shoulder. Carly sensed something different about Paige. Something
about her looked and seemed different but she couldn't place it. They
stood there for several minutes until Paige's crying settled. The two
pulled apart and Paige beckoned her mother in law into the living
room, where they took seats facing one another. "You're not doing so
good, huh Paige?"

"Not so good," Paige said shaking her head. "Um, Carly? Wh-What has
Stephen been saying to you?" If Carly could do one thing, it was think
on her feet. She considered which details she could share without
betraying her son, and certainly without revealing the course she and
Stephen had been on to this very day.

"Paige," Carly began, "He's really hurting. He feels lonely. He feels
very far from you." Paige gave her a painful look. "Paige, I'm not
judging you in any way. I don't know anything from your side, and
there are two sides to everything. I'm just giving you a basic idea of
what Stephen has shared with me."

"I don't know what to do," Paige said. "I don't know how things got
this way."

"Stephen said it seems like you're mad at him all the time," Carly
said. "Is that true?"

"Yes, lately," Paige said. "I don't know if I've been more mad at
Stephen or myself, though."

"Well, why are mad at Stephen?" Carly asked. "And why are you mad at
yourself?"

"Oh, it's so complicated," Paige said. "Things were just so different
before we got married. Everything was relaxed and fun. We played
around all the time. We were very physical." Paige looked at Carly and
reconsidered her words. "Oh, I'm sorry Carly! I'm sure you don't want
to hear physical details about your son!" Paige let a small laugh
escape her otherwise sad face. Carly laughed inside at the irony of
the statement, but simply smiled reassuringly at her daughter in law.

"It's OK, Honey," she said. "You can tell me whatever you need to.
Don't worry about it."

"OK," Paige said. "Thank you." She paused again to collect her
thoughts. "I just don't know what happened. We stopped talking. I
stopped wanting to come home. Stephen spent more time at the office. I
just felt so lonely."

"Well, Paige," Carly said. "That's pretty much what Stephen said to
me. He feels lonely. He wants to be close to you, but he feels like
you're pushing him away. Is there any truth to that?"

"Probably lately," Paige said. "In the last few months, mostly.
Something just kind of snapped in me three months ago." Carly recalled
that detail, that the couple had not had sex in three months. "That's
how long since we've been together...you know?" Carly nodded her head,
although Paige didn't really know that Carly already had that specific
information.

"Do you fight a lot, Paige?" Carly inquired. "Lots of arguments?
Yelling?"

"Sometimes," Paige said. "More often just silence. He doesn't want to
talk. He doesn't want to touch me." Carly was amazed at how much the
things she was saying were similar to the things Stephen had shared.

"Paige," Carly said, "I can tell you honestly that Stephen feels the
same way. He said almost the same things to me this week."

"Really?" Paige said, seeming to see a ray of hope. Carly meanwhile,
although feeling a sense of relief for her son's marriage, envisioned
herself having to find some diversion to deal with what looked like a
fleeting evening rendezvous. But again, she put this out of her mind
in favor of their marriage.

"Yes, Paige," Carly said. "I think you both need to talk honestly. You
have more in common in your feelings than you think."

"Carly?" Paige said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Paige," she said. "Anything. Anything at all."

"Is Stephen seeing someone?" Paige asked. Carly froze and stared at
Paige, working hard to maintain her calm.

"Um...why would you ask that, Paige?" Carly asked, trying to gather
more info.

"I don't know," Paige said. "It's just that, well, I've been really
cold to him. Like I said, we haven't been together for three months. I
sort of wouldn't blame him if he went somewhere else to get it." Carly
felt pressure in her chest, but she calmed herself and continued to
listen. She thought that Paige had something bigger she was waiting to
reveal. "And then, this week..." Carly's chest felt pressure again.
"He just seemed, different."

"How do you mean, different, Paige?" Carly asked.

"Just...I don't know...more relaxed," she said. "Not as angry. Not as
angry with me. We still didn't talk. And of course he was away for a
few days. I don't know. I just had the wild idea that he was feeling
better because he was seeing someone else." Carly fished in her brain
for an appropriate answer.

Stephen hadn't really started seeing someone else. He really just
flirted. Well, flirted and masturbated in a private room at the bank,
while his mother watched. And he sent her erotic emails. And got a
hotel room to be with her. But...now Carly thought she would put an
end to that. She found she could now answer honestly.

"I'm sure he's not been with anyone," Carly said. "I'm almost positive
he'd have told me."

"Yea," Paige said. "I'm sure he would tell you. He tells you
everything, doesn't he?" Carly tried to identify Paige's tone.

"What do you mean, Paige?" Carly asked.

"It's just that, he always talks about you," Paige said. "My mom this,
my mom that...she closed another deal, bought another building, got
her picture on another cover, doesn't she look amazing, she joined
another board." She paused, seeming like her mind was far away and she
was speaking to herself. "It seems like he's in love with you." The
words hung heavily in the air. Paige then seemed to come back from her
mental drift and she realized what she had just said. "Carly, I'm so
sorry! I didn't mean to say that! I really didn't. I don't know where
that came from."

"Paige," Carly said, "Stephen and I are very close. He thinks highly
of me and I do of him. But if somehow I'm getting in the way of your
relationship, I want to change that. I really do. Your marriage comes
first." Carly felt sadness saying this. She knew she was feeling more
alive because of Stephen's feelings for her. Hearing Paige say the
words that he was in love with her, with his mother, made Carly's
heart leap. But she knew she had to put these feelings away and focus
on the moment, on Stephen and Paige's relationship.

"No, it's OK," Paige said. "It's not like that. I didn't mean to say
it, really." Paige seemed sincere and Carly let it go. "But you're
sure he's not seeing someone?"

"Paige," Carly said, "I told you he's not. Why are you so worried
about that?" Thinking this reassurance would be good news for her
daughter in law, Carly was very surprised when Paige began to cry
again. "What is it, Honey? What's the matter?" Paige began shaking her
head.

"I've been so mean to him," she said. "So cold. I haven't let him
touch me. I haven't even let him see me naked for two months. He used
to love to see my body and now I don't want him to see it." Carly was
about to ask why that was. But suddenly she didn't need to. Carly knew
what was happening and why she was sure she recognized something
different about Paige when she came in the house.

"Paige," Carly began gently, "Have you been seeing someone?" Paige
looked at her and buried her face in her hands and began crying hard.
"Oh shit," Carly whispered to herself.

"I didn't mean to!" Paige said through her tears. "He was just
comforting me...just talking to me and listening...just holding me."

"But that didn't last, did it?" Carly asked. Paige shook her head.

"I really wasn't going to," she said again. "We were just alone and I
was really upset. He was so sweet and kind. He held me close. Let me
cry and cry. And I just...I just started kissing me. He didn't even
want to. But I kept going and finally he didn't tty to stop me
anymore. It just...happened." Carly knew all too well how that could
happen. And while she didn't want to tell Paige that, she gave her an
understanding smile.

"But there's more, isn't here, Honey?" Carly asked, again very gently.
Paige's face went back to her hands. She nodded. "You're pregnant,
aren't you Paige? That's why you don't want Stephen to see you naked.
That's why you've been as cold as you have...why you haven't wanted
him to touch you, isn't it?" She nodded again.

"What am I gonna do?" Paige said, lifting her face, which was now
streaked with tears and make-up.

"Oh, Honey," Carly said, at a loss for words. She paused and thought
for a few moments. "What do you want to do, Paige? Do you want to be
with Stephen?" Paige nodded her head energetically. "And what about
the other guy?"

"It's over," she said. "I swear. I want to be with Stephen."

"And you're sure the other man is the father of the baby?" Carly
inquired. "There's no way it's Stephen's?"

"No way," Paige said. "it's...it's his, not Stephen's."

"Paige," Carly said, "Stephen loves you very much. It won't be easy,
but I think it's possible that you could forgive each other. And you
could even raise the baby together. It's not a bad time for you to be
thinking about that. 25 isn't a bad age to start having children."
Carly had another thought. "Does the guy know you're pregnant?" Paige
nodded her head. "And what does he want?"

"He wants whatever I want," Paige said. "He's been really sweet. He
loves me, but he'll go along with whatever I say."

"Is he married?" Carly asked.

"Yes," Paige said.

"Does his wife know?" she asked.

"No way," Paige said.

"Well," Carly said, "That's all good. Honey, I think the next best
thing is for you to talk to Stephen. It will be really, really hard.
But don't forget, you've hurt each other..it's not just a one-way
street. That doesn't make your choices right. But you need forgiveness
on both sides. Of course I can't speak for Stephen, but I know he
loves you and he said just the beginning of this week that he wants
your marriage to be saved." Of course, Carly was well aware that
things had taken a turn later in the week, but she thought it best not
to mention that.

"So what should I do?" Paige asked.

"I'm going to go home," Carly said. "After I leave, call Stephen on
his cell phone and talk to him. See if he'll come here so you can talk
face to face. But even if it gets difficult, just hang in there. I'll
check-in with you both tomorrow and see how you're doing. Does that
sound OK? You think you can do that?" Paige looked weepy again as she
nodded her head. She got up from her seat, went to Carly and threw her
arms around her, this time burying her face in her mother in law's
neck and crying some more.

"Thank  you, Carly," she said. "Thank you so much." Carly just held
Paige and once more patted her back.

The two parted, shared several more hugs, then Carly left. She didn't
know what would happen next. She felt confident Paige would call
Stephen. She had no idea what chaos that might bring. Maybe Paige
would keep Carly's date with Stephen at the hotel and the taboo tryst
would turn into an evening of marital reconciliation. Carly began to
prepare herself mentally for whatever might come next.

When Carly returned home she was actually relieved to see her husband
Paul's car in the garage. She wasn't close to Paul physically, but
they were still close emotionally and they were friends. She knew she
could use someone to listen to her talk about Stephen and Paige's
situation. She came in and found Paul where he often was, in his
study.

"Hi Sweetheart," Carly said. Paul turned in his desk chair to face
her.

"Hi," Paul said.

"I was just with Paige," Carly said.

"You were?" Paul said. "With Paige? How come?"

"She called me," Carly said. "You know about the problems she and
Stephen have been having. I even asked you to talk to Stephen earlier
this week."

"Yes," Paul said. "Of course I know that. But why were you talking to
Paige?"

"I just told you," Carly said. "She called me. She needed to talk. Is
there something wrong with that?"

"No, of course not," Paul said. "It's just that Stephen talks to you
all the time, doesn't he? I didn't know you talked to Paige."

"I have talked mostly to Stephen about their problems," Carly said.
"Paige hasn't asked me to talk to her until today. Do you have some
kind of problem with that? What is with you?"

"Nothing," Paul replied. "Nothing. So, what's going on with them?"

"Paul," Carly said, "Big things. They're gonna have a rough time of
it."

"Is Stephen seeing someone?" Paul asked.

"Paul," Carly said, "Why would you ask that? No. Paige asked me the
same thing. Seriously, what is on your mind?"

"Nothing, Carly," Paul replied. "Really, it's nothing." Carly found
him unconvincing, but she continued.

"Well," she began, "He is not seeing someone." She paused. "But Paige
is." She waited for a response. "Did you hear me? Paige has been
seeing someone."

"Yes, I heard you," Paul said.

"That's all you have to say?" Carly said.

"What am I supposed to say?" Paul replied.

"I don't know!" Carly said. "How about Holy Shit? I thought it was a
big deal!"

"Of course it is," Paul said.

"And that's only half of it," Carly continued, determined to get the
news out before trying to figure out what Paul's problem was. "Paige
is pregnant."

"Is it Stephen's?" Paul asked.

"No," Carly answered. "Paige said there's no way it's Stephen's. You
know, I knew it as soon as I saw her? I knew there was something
different about her. It just took me a few minutes to figure it out."
Paul didn't speak. "Paul, what is going on with you? It's like you're
not even here. I just told you that our daughter in law is seeing
another man and that she's pregnant with that man's child. You act
like it's I'm reading you the business section."

"It's not nothing," Paul said hesitatingly, then blurted out, "It's
mine."

"What?" Carly said. "What are you talking about?"

"It's mine, Carly," Paul repeated. "I'm the father."

Carly couldn't comprehend her husband's words. She just stared at him.
It couldn't be. And yet it made perfect sense. They were both cold and
distant physically. Paige probably started talking to him the way
Stephen had talked to Carly. And as Carly knew, one thing could lead
to another. But Carly could not help but think that she and Stephen
had not carried through on their intentions. Paul not only slept with
Paige, he got her pregnant.

"You had sex with your daughter in law?" Carly finally said. Paul hung
his head. "How could you do that? She's half your age, Paul. She's our
son's wife!"

"I know, Carly," he said. "You think I don't feel horrible about this?
I do! But believe me, it just happened."

"She told me," Carly said, "She told me how you listened to her, how
you held her, how you comforted her. Only she didn't tell me it was
you. Shit! So what are you planning to do now?"

"I have no idea, Carly," Paul said. "It depends on what she wants to
do, I guess. And what Stephen wants to do."

"Well, I know what I'm going to do," Carly said. "I'm getting the hell
out of here. I don't know where I'm going, as long as it's somewhere
else. I can't believe you, Paul. This is just too much." Carly went
upstairs to change, then she came downstairs and headed straight for
the door without speaking another word to Paul.

Stephen was at the Inn, collecting his thoughts. He had spoken to his
wife and she revealed her infidelity, and that she was pregnant, but
not the identity of the father. In the room, Paul surveyed the dozen
roses he had sent for his rendezvous with Carly. He twirled the bottle
of champaign he had on ice. Stephen had a great deal on his mind. The
day had turned out very differently than expected. He hadn't even
heard a word from his mother. He didn't know where she was, but he
figured their meeting was off, which was fine with him at this point.
Nor did he know where his wife was, but he wasn't ready to go home to
her. Stephen then heard a knock at the door of his room. He got up and
peered through the peephole. He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the
door.

"What are you doing here?" he said to the woman standing in the hall.

To Be Continued...

laurenmom@writeme.com