Step Three.

Following Lisa and Tim’s little romp in the hay on their first day as lovers, the two of them showered and had a quick breakfast. Lisa needed to get home and the two of them decided to tell her mom of their new-found love. This was not going to be easy for any of the three of them. Since Tim’s dad, Jack, had shot himself, Lisa’s mom, Vickie, had taken to drink. She was what could best be described as a functioning alcoholic. She arrived for work on time each day, did her job properly, left at quitting time, then bought a bottle of Quervo and sucked it down like water.

Vickie loved and cared for her daughter and Tim as well. She had no clue that Tim knew about his true lineage. She thought Tim still believed her to be his mother. Lisa would be crushed if she learned the truth, or so Vickie thought. The fact was that Tim and Lisa were on their way to her home at that very minute to tell her that the two of them DID know the truth about their parents. Worse still, they would reveal the fact that they were now in love with each other. In fact, they had consumated that love the previous night (and again this morning).

Tim drove slowly through Lisa’s neighborhood as they neared her house. Both were afraid of what mom would say when she learned about the two of them. Tim said, “mom already drinks too much. I know you must have noticed”. Lisa replied, “she does it so quietly. She is never loud or obnoxious. One would hardly have a clue unless they lived with her”. “Still”, Tim continued, “she is probably gonna tie on a big one when we tell her our news”. “God, I hope not”, Lisa sighed as Tim pulled the car in front of her house.

Lisa and her mom lived in a small, two bedroom home in a fairly nice location. Not Fifth Avenue by any means, but not the projects either. Tim exited the car and opened the door for Lisa. She stood on the curb and looked at Tim with a troubled expression. “What do we say? What do we do?”, she said. Tim replied, “we just tell mom the truth. We know that we are NOT brother and sister, but we are in love”. Lisa slumped a bit and said, “I guess that’s all we can do. Let’s just see if she freaks or what. I hope she will be happy for us, but I don’t see it happening”. “Me either”, Tim said.

Vickie was waiting at the window as she saw Lisa and Tim arrive. Deep inside her she knew that something was different…was it the way that the two of them were standing? Was it the way that Lisa hung her head? Vickie just wasn’t sure. She watched as Tim placed his arm around Lisa’s shoulders as they climbed the stairs to the front porch. Vickie saw Lisa lean into Tim’s side as they crossed the few feet from the stairs to the front door. Suddenly, she knew……

Vickie practically flew to the front door before either Tim or Lisa could touch the knob. “What the hell do you two think you are doing?”, Vickie shouted at the pair even before they crossed the threshold. “Mom”, both Lisa and Tim said at once. “Don’t ‘mom’ me”, exclaimed Vickie and the two young people were taken aback.

“I know what is going on.