The Next Door Couple

for five years.

“Oh, darling, not much,” Sara said lightly, as she pulled five baggage stubs from her purse and handed them to a porter.

“My God, not much… how can you afford to drag all those clothes around with you?”

“Very easily. I must have them, darling. I have to look my best, you know.”

Joan shook her head when she saw the huge color-matched blue suitcases the porter put on a cart and started to push across the room toward them.

“The car’s in the parking lot. You can wait out front while I go get it.”

“All right,” Sara turned immediately and struck up an animated conversation with the blond-haired young man who was following with her bags.

Joan was back with the car in five minutes, and she handed the key to the porter when he opened the door for Sara to get into the car beside her. When the young man brought the key back to Sara’s window, he said. “See you when you go back to Frisco, ma’am.”

“Thank you, lover. And you remember what I said,” she patted him familiarly on the cheek as he turned away from the open window.

“Well, what was that all about?” Joan asked, curious.

“Oh, we just had a little talk about his girl friend,” Sara said, then added, “He’s such a nice boy.”

“They all are, aren’t they?” Joan grinned as she swung the car into the traffic lane and onto the freeway heading toward Newport Beach.

The dark-haired older woman had more energy than anyone Joan had ever known. She chatted unceasingly until they saw the off-ramp for Newport Beach.

“I love Newport,” she suddenly whispered, in an awe-struck voice. “Your uncle and I used to come here just to get away from it all. Many times we never even saw you.”

“Do you still miss him, Aunt Sara?”

“Yes, darling, I do, very much,” she sighed. “He was such a good man, and sexually virile until about six months before he died. I only found out after his heart attack that he’d been in pain during that time, suffering the damned.”

Sara rode silently for several blocks, and then sighed deeply again. “But you can’t let things get you down. I have to live without him, and there’s only one way I can live… that’s with a man.”

“Then why don’t you get married again?” Momentarily, Joan felt sad for her aunt, but then she smiled as she heard the vivacious older woman continue.

“Hah! I’ll never get married again. I prefer several men now, instead of just one.” She laughed. “You should try it sometime. It deepens your sensitivity.”

“Aunt Sara,” Joan giggled, a little shocked, “you’re really something! You know John is more than I can take care of, and, besides, he’s all I want.”

“I don’t understand how you could be satisfied with a common ordinary sexual life,” the older aunt sighed, “Don’t you want to be sexually liberated?”

“But, John and I are ‘sexually liberated.’

We believe in the modern philosophy… and always have.”

“Oh no!” Sara exclaimed, “You don’t call what you two have together ‘liberation?’ You’re so tied together, you remind me of the dark ages.”

Joan frowned and thought. But we’re happy together and we don ‘t have any hangups about sex with each other, at all. I thought that was all we needed to be sexually well adjusted. Aloud, she simply said, “Then, what are we doing wrong?”

“Wrong? I didn’t say you were doing anything wrong, darling. That’s not being sexually free. Liberation is when nothing is wrong… anything really, anything goes.

I’m sure you’re liberated in your own little way, but haven’t you ever wondered about ‘husband swapping?’…”

“Of course not,” Joan said defensively, “that’s only for people who are unhappy.”

“No, darling. Now that’s where you’re wrong,” Sara said to her niece, just as they arrived in front of the house and stopped in the driveway.

“Then, what do you mean?” Joan whispered curiously, feeling something that could have been anger or excitement pounding in her brain. She wanted to be “liberated” and thought she always had been, but maybe the experienced older woman- knew something she didn’t. After all, Sara was right in one respect. Even though she and John had a completely happy marriage, there were times when she wondered what it would be like to go to bed with another man, and she’d heard John’s comments about other women – even Laurie next door – when he’d wondered what they’d be like in bed. Still, though, what did she really know? John was her first and only male; he claimed she was his first and only female. What would sex with someone else be like?

“All I’m saying, Joan,” Sara was continuing in all seriousness, “is that it wouldn’t be a sin to share John with another woman. Providing it was done for altruistic reasons and not out of emotional involvement.”

“But, that’s what makes sex so wonderful… being in love with someone.” Joan was confused, and, as she continued to sit in the car, not wanting the conversation to end without understanding what her aunt was trying to say, she added, “Sex with a stranger would be no different. than using a dildo. Why take the chance on diseases, and, besides, you never know when someone might get emotionally involved with you… and then he’d be hurt.!”

“Joan, all I can tell you, is that sex can also be beautiful with someone you are not in love with,” Sara said patiently. “I’ve been fucked by a dozen different men in the past four months and it was wonderful… but there was never a chance of falling in love with any of them.”

“I don’t know, Aunt Sara! I wouldn’t like it, but I don’t think I’d stop loving John if he had another woman.” She thought for a second, her hand resting on the car handle, then added. “That’s if he didn’t care anything about her.”

“See what I mean? Now that’s the first step to true sexual liberation.” Laughingly, Sara opened her door and was halfway out of the car before Joan answered.

“Yes… I see… I really do… but I don’t know…”

“I only need one bag for now. We’ll leave the rest for John to bring in when he comes home,” Sara said abruptly taking command and walking up to the house.

After the prolonged conversation about liberation with Aunt Sara on the trip home from the airport, Joan felt mentally exhausted. She needed to relax before John came home so, turning to the older woman, she said, “Why don’t you rest until John gets home. I'm going to get a hot shower and change clothes.”

“Oh darling, I don’t need to rest, but I do need a hot bath myself.” She turned toward the den and added, “Don’t you have a bar in here?”

“I’m sorry, Aunt Sara, I’m a terrible hostess,” Joan said as she went to the bar. “I bet you can use a drink after that trip. What would you like?”

“Please, honey, let me do it. You go ahead and get your shower. I can find the guest room myself.”

Joan kissed her raven-haired aunt on the cheek and hugged her, saying, “Thanks. You’re very sweet and kind. See you in about an hour.”

“Two minutes later, the naked young blonde was in the shower. The hot sting of the needle-like spray soothed her confusion, and her mixed-up thoughts suddenly congealed. All this time I thought we were really liberated… but now I know better. We’ve been so snug in our happiness with each other, we’ve never tried anything new. I wonder if John ever thinks about trying group sex… or wife swapping? I think I’ll just ask him one day… but what if we don’t like it? What happens then?

She wished she’d brought a drink for herself into the bathroom, because now she was thirsty and felt the need of a drink to calm her nerves. As a result she cut her shower short.

Quickly, she dressed in a sensual curve-clinging white jumpsuit, silver thong sandals and tied her long blonde hair back with a lime green chiffon scarf. She was just mixing a vodka martini when Sara returned to the den.

“Wowee,” the older woman chortled, “You look stunning, darling. I can see why John has never thought of another woman.”

“Thank you,” she dimpled and made a quick curtsy. “You look fantastic, too.” She wasn’t exaggerating, the