'Of course the little monster's not going to keep it,' Heather interrupted in a patronizingly mature tone of voice. 'We both-well, what Timmy's trying to tell you, Is just that you've made Daddy happier than we've seen him ever since Mom-our real mother- died-and I guess we were off base trying to make life hell for you. So I'm apologizing for us both right now, if it's okay.'
'We'll just forget all about it,' Rachel Woodling softly replied. 'I know very well how much you both loved your mother, and I -didn't come here with any intention of making either of you give up any part of that love. Fact is, I think It proved what a really wonderful wife and mother she must have been to have made you both so loyal to her. I only hope some day someone will say the same nice things about me.
'Nobody better say you aren't okay while I'm around to hear it,' young Tim suddenly fiercely interposed, then again colored self-consciously.
'Hear, hear,' Heather giggled. Then, squirming in her chair, she drawled, 'You know, I once called you a strictly amateur headshrink. Only now, well, seems to me you're a lot better than the pros. I certainly couldn't have found a terrific guy like Arnold on my own. And I can see why Timmy here isn't bothering about his collection of dirty books and movies, now that he's been fixed up right and proper.
'Aw, dry up, for criyi, Sis,' Tim pleadingly groaned.
But Heather maliciously persisted: 'Only trouble is, now what are you going to do when your heartthrob's going to get married-that's right, isn't it, Mother?'
'Quite right, dear,' Rachel smilingly put in. 'Dinah told me just this morning she and Mr. Gregory are going to be married in two weeks and then spend their honeymoon in Hawaii, where your father and I had ours.'
'Mom, I've sort of been thinking,' the blond adolescent hesitantly interposed.
'Now there's a switch!' came from Heather.
'Aw, cut it out, Sis-hey, Mom, tell her I've got the floor… look, I figured maybe this fall I could transfer to Senn High. I've sort'a fed up with Chicago Latin anyway. And-well, there's lots of cute girls over at Senn, and I'd have lots more chances to date than where I am now. What do you think, Mom?'
'I think a public school would be a very worthwhile experience for you, Tim dear. Now what about that banana split? I've got maraschino cherries and some whipped cream, and it won't take a minute to put some pecans through the grinder.'
Rachel had gone to her room to change into a Chinese blue silk cheong-san, slashed high along her left thigh to show a daring glimpse of the darker top of her smoke-hued nylon stocking, and donned a new pair of elegant black leather pumps with three-inch spike heels. Timothy Woodling's plane had been delayed by mechanical trouble, and he hadn't got home till quarter past eleven, by which time Heather and young Tim had retired to their rooms And, learning that he hadn't had much of a meal aboard the plane because the heating system had broken down so that the food containers had turned cold, she had insisted on preparing scrambled eggs with mushrooms and some whole wheat toast and coffee for the handsome gray-haired advertising executive.
He had insisted on helping her with the few dishes and followed her into the kitchen. 'I'm happy to say that this is the last trip to New York for a long while, if I have anything to do with it, honey;' he declared.
This time, I brought along Max Colby, and they like him well enough to let him rep us for the agency out there. Which means I'll have more time for you.
Slyly, he reached over to untie the apron strings so that the lace-trimmed apron fluttered to the floor. 'Hey, honey, I like this Chinese thing you've got on. I can sneak my hand up-' he suited action to word, gliding his right palm along the slit of the glossy blue garment till it disappeared along the welt of her nylon stocking.
'Not yet, you naughty boy you! I do declare, feed a man and he turns out to be a sex fiend in his own kitchen,' Rachel laughed contentedly as she gently pushed his hand away and moved a few steps out of reach.
'Not in the kitchen, woman. I'm still the old-fashioned kind of lecher who prefers the privacy of the bedroom.'
'And that's where we're going in a jiffy, darling. Mmm, but I'm happy to have you back home,' Rachel turned and swiftly hugged him, her lips pressing amorously to his.
When the kiss ended, Timothy Woodling's face was flushed. 'I'll let you in on a little secret, Rachel darling. Time was when I used to be a little scared to come back home. But the last week or so, this house seems to have had some very gratifying changes. For instance, the news about Heather-I think that architect's perfect for her.'
'Probably, darling, because he reminds her so much of you.'
He held her by the hips, his eyes searching her lovely face. 'You've been psychoanalyzing around here, woman. Well, I won't ask for any details, I'm just happy about the results. Heather's been calling you 'Mother' and even Timmy calls you 'Mom,' and now that they've accepted you, you and I can start being selfish and think about ourselves.'
'That's exactly what I've been hoping for, dearest, and that's why I've used a little basic psychology, to quote from your expression. Even with Timmy.'
'What about that boy? Last weekend, he practically floored me by asking if I'd let him transfer to Senn. That'll save me a handsome annual tuition fee, I can tell you. And he doesn't seem to pal around any more with that Jeff Morley, whom I never did think was too healthy an influence on the boy.'
She stroked his cheek tenderly, kissed him on the tip of his nose. 'Tim might just resent your calling him a boy anymore, darling. I've been a bit responsible for his change in attitude, you might say.
'Now there I'm going to ask about your methods. Whatever they were, they worked like a charm.'
She crinkled her dainty nose at him. 'It was simple. I just fixed him up with his first girl. You know my sexy receptionist down at the shop, the one with the golden hair and the pink skin-'
'And the big tits-sorry, that slipped out,' he grinned.
'I'll forgive you. Well, Dinah and Timmy got together and she made a man of him, so he doesn't feel rejected any more and he doesn't have to lock himself up in his room with naughty books and movies. I rather think at Senn he'll be finding himself a steady girlfriend.'
'You're amazing, Rachel!'
'Then you're not angry at me for meddling? And there'll be no serious involvement for Timmy; Dinah's getting married any day now.'
'I'll only be angry at you if we don't get to bed damn fast, young woman!' and once again he slyly tried to slip his hand up the slit in her cheong-san.
'Oh, all right, you impatient, wicked, sinful rapist you, come along to bed,' she giggled, taking him by the hand and leading him out of the kitchen.
Once they were inside his bedroom, the door safely locked behind them, she turned to Timothy Woodling, fused her mouth to his, her left arm round his waist, and 'foraged with her other hand to yank down his zipper till he groaned to feel her slim long fingers tantalizingly clasp the head of his already violently swollen cock. 'My God- oh, Rachel, I swear you're making a new man out of me,' Timothy Woodling gasped. Then he groaned again: as he kissed her again, her soft tongue unexpectedly flickered between his lips, while her soft fingertips nuzzled the aching head of his cock. 'Rachel-what's come over you anyway?'
'I just happen to be very much in love with my husband, dearest. And in lust with him, too. Any objections?'
'If this were Midvictorian times, you could be divorced as a fallen woman, young lady,' he hoarsely joked, his hands rising to knead her pear-firm breasts through the clinging cheong-san. 'Thank God we're a hundred years away from those double standards!'
She reached back to undo the oval bun of raven hair at the back of her head; she had let her hair grow long the last few weeks so that it would look much more feminine. Now, loosening it and letting it fall in a glossy black cascade past her shoulders, and seeing the flickering glow in his narrowed eyes, she smiled at the justification of that change. 'Take off all your clothes, then undress me, Tim dearest,' she urged in a throaty whisper, her eyes fixing on the swollen shaft that thrust out boldly from his unzippered fly. 'Tonight I'm going to be your own private call girl.'
'Rachel! God, you're so beautiful tonight and how I want you!' he said thickly as he hurriedly undressed. She watched him, her face rich with color, her superb pear-firm bosom rising and falling erratically against the tight embrace of the cheong-san.
As he let his shorts slip down, he turned to the light switch at the side of the door, but Rachel stopped him with a husky 'No, leave them on, please, lover! Your New York redhead kept hers on, didn't she? Now you come
