The Big Bang! Theory - A fourth--and final--short, erotic encounter of the Judy Banger kind Read Online Free PDF Page B

and possibly
a bit teary-eyed.
    "What happened?"
    “ Nothing awful. The truth
is Mom flew to Minnesota for Aunt Jean's granddaughter's wedding
and then the two of them visited family in Chicago." She paused.
"Judy, I don't know how to explain it. Those two weeks were
probably the best Pete and I have had in years. Years," she
repeated. Now, her voice sounded youthful and giddy. "We came and
went as we pleased. Saw a few movies. We laughed more, slept
better, made love for the first time in months. We ate peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches for supper one night. You know what Mom
would have said if we’d tried to give her that."
    Judy shuddered. Mom was big
on ritual. The evening meal was a sit down affair. At least three
dishes with bread and butter. And you cleaned your plate—even if
the food tasted like cardboard. Mom wasn’t a great cook. She
scrimped too much—even on spices.
    Nancy went on. “On a whim,
we started looking at some of the independent living centers around
here. But the cost anywhere in the Bay area is out of sight. So, I
called Heritage House. Guess what? They have an
opening.”
    Buddy’s room?
    “ And they said they'd move
her name to the top of the list because of you.”
    Me? Because they feel
guilty about screwing me over? "I don't
work there any more, Nanc."
    “ I know. But, if for any
reason Mom calls you, don't tell her, okay? One of the reasons
she’s agreed to go is because she thinks it will hurt me to think
of her bonding with you."
    "I'm her way of punishing
you? That's sick."
    "That's Mom." Nancy sighed.
"The fact you’re not there is a good thing. I would have felt
guilty sending her to you. I feel like someone with Stockholm
syndrome, Judy. I let her control me. I don’t want to be that
person anymore.”
    It wasn’t just
me , Judy thought. Her brain struggled to
process everything her sister was saying. If the perfect sister
couldn't handle Mom's negativity and belittling attitude, what hope
would Judy ever have had in maintaining a relationship with the
woman who bore her?
    "Does this mean I’m not as
bad as Mom always said I was?"
    "Oh, Judy," Nancy cried,
suddenly bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry. I was your big sister.
I should have stood up for you instead of saying nothing when Mom
cut you down. I'm a horrible person, but I'm going to change. I
mean that. Pete and I are going to counseling as soon as we get
back from Mazatlan."
    "You're going to therapy? I
mean...Mexico?" She'd practically thrown the therapist's card in
Wilson Canby's face. Maybe she'd been a bit hasty. If her
sister--the perfect one--felt the need to seek counseling, who was
Judy to turn up her nose at a little help?
    "Yep. A friend's
time-share. As far as Mom knows, there are no phone connections
whatsoever. We're making a clean break. We think it will be best
for everyone."
    Judy couldn't argue with
that logic. She'd used the same rationale when she married Shawn.
At the time, she'd thought she'd found someone to love her for who
she was. Eventually, she realized she'd replaced her mother with
someone just as mean-spirited and negative--only the method of
belittling had changed.
    “ What if she wants to move
back?”
    “ The house is already up
for sale. Screw the market. We're downsizing.”
    A lot of that going on
right now, she thought, looking around. Perhaps the loss of equity
would be worth it. Southern California was looking better and
better.
    ~~~
    The unseasonably hot dry
wind pushed back every step of his run. His twenty-plus year habit
had lost any sense of joy or accomplishment. Wiley ran because it
ate up two hours of his day. Two hours he didn't have to think or
worry or weigh the fate of wrongdoers. He'd been an athlete in
college. He'd been proud of his body, his looks. He'd had his
choice of women, but he'd never slept around. As ridiculous as it
sounded, he'd been with three women in his life. Two, he'd married.
One, a mistake he blamed on grief.
    When Judy Banger handed