Trust
by Pan
Family
When Anita came home from work, the first thing she noticed was her sister’s car parked out the front.
She’d never been particularly close with her sister, but ever since marrying Ted three months earlier, it felt like Bianca was always visiting. Often when Anita was out, strangely.
As she approached the house, she noticed that the front door was open. Not great for the environment, she told herself—Ted liked to keep the air conditioner on. Leaving the door like that open was so wasteful.
Closing the door behind her, the next thing she noticed was the clothing strewn throughout the hall. She recognized her husband’s suit and tie, of course—it was the tie that she’d gotten him for their one-year anniversary—but the dress on the floor wasn’t hers, and the bra laying just a few feet away from it was far too big for Anita.
How odd, she thought to herself, trying to work out why there would be another woman’s bra on the floor.
Many women would’ve immediately been suspicious, but Anita knew her husband. She trusted him.
He loved her. He’d never cheat on her.
Even as she walked into the living room and found Ted sitting naked on the couch, an equally-unclothed woman laying face-down beside him, she still knew—she knew—that there had to be a reasonable explanation for it.
There always was.
“Ahem,” she said, and at the sound of her voice, Ted looked up, his face red. It’s funny, she thought to herself. That looks like a used condom in his hand.
But of course, that couldn’t be what it was.
Ted would never do that to her.
“Anita!” he said. “You’re home early.”
“The meeting ran short,” she said, craning her neck. Sure enough, that was her sister, laying naked beside Ted on the couch. That must’ve been whose bra it was—Anita’s sister was far bustier than her. Younger, too, by half a decade. It had never quite felt fair, having a younger sister who was several cup-sizes larger than you...but, Anita thought smugly, she’d landed Ted, while Bianca was still single.
“Hi, sis,” Bianca said sheepishly, and Anita gave her a small half-wave.
“I suspect you’re wondering what we’re doing...” Ted said, running his hand through his head. He was sweating, as he often did after sex. Not that this was ‘after sex’, of course—she’d been at work all day, and Ted would never cheat on her.
He would never cheat on her.
“I was a little curious,” Anita admitted, hoping she didn’t sound too possessive or jealous. She loved her husband, and he loved her—they had a great sex life, making love three or four times a week. She’d never been so happy in a relationship before.
She trusted him completely.
“Your sister, uh, came over because her back hurt.”
“That’s right,” Bianca nodded, causing her large chest to bounce. “I needed your husband.”
As she spoke, she moved her hand to Ted’s bare leg. Anita couldn’t help but smile—it was so good to see her sister and husband getting along so well.
“So, um...” Ted said, smiling nervously.
“You gave her one of your famous massages,” Anita interrupted. “Say no more.”
“That’s right,” Ted beamed, and Anita felt relief spread throughout her body.
Not, of course, that she’d suspected anything untoward.
Ted would never do that to her.
She trusted him.
“It must have been urgent,” Anita continued thoughtfully. “If you stripped off in the hall, Bianca.”
“Oh, I needed it bad,” her sister said, and Anita nodded. That made sense. Except...
“But why were you naked, honey?” she asked, her mouth twisted.
The couple on the couch—well, not couple—looked at each other with an expression that almost looked like panic. After a lengthy pause, Ted turned back to her.
“I was in my suit,” he explained. “And if I was going to...massage...your sister, I couldn’t risk getting any oil on the suit.”
“Of course,” Anita said with a nod. That explained everything.
“Actually, sis,” Bianca said, a look on her face—one that Anita hadn’t seen in years, a sort of ‘I can’t believe I’m getting away with this’ look that she used to get as a kid—“my back is still feeling a little sore, would you mind if your husband gave me...another massage?”
“Of course not,” Anita replied immediately, standing up from the couch. “I’ll give you some space.”
“Great,” Bianca said gratefully. “Maybe don’t come back for...forty minutes or so?”
“Better make it an hour,” Ted added. “I might even have two massages in me.”
“Say no more,” Anita chuckled. Her sister really did love Ted’s massages. She headed downstairs to collect their clothes and start cooking—perhaps Bianca would stay for dinner.
It wasn’t until she’d finished chopping the vegetables that something occurred to her.
Neither of them had massage oil on them?
Before she could finish the thought, the sound of her sister’s obvious pleasure came from upstairs, distracting her.
Ted really was a very good masseuse
“Can you drive?” Ted asked. “I’m going to sit in the back with your mother.”
“Oh!” Anita replied. The drive to the beach house was almost an hour, and she’d just assumed that...well, her husband would be sitting beside her as they travelled.
As soon as the word came out of her mouth, she realized how selfish she was being. Ted was just being a gentleman, as he always was. She didn’t want to be sitting by herself for …such a long drive so obviously her mother would feel the same way.
“Of course,” she said, forcing a bright smile to her face. Really, she should consider herself lucky that her husband liked spending time with her family. A lot of her friends would kill to be married to a man who voluntarily went and visited his mother-in-law, sometimes several times in a week.
“Thanks, honey,” her mother said, squeezing her arm gently. “You’ve got a good man.”
“I know I do.”
As they began the long drive up the coast, Anita tried—several times—to make conversation, but...well, sound traveled surprisingly badly between the front and back of the car. And despite her husband’s height, she couldn’t even see him in the rear-view mirror; it was like he was leaning directly over her mother, whispering in her ear.
A few sounds did make their way from the back seat...it almost sounded like gentle moans of pleasure.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Anita asked, and it was several moments before her mother responded.
“Mmm-hmm,” she moaned. “Just, um...just talking to your husband.”
“Oh.”
For a moment, Anita wondered if she should be hurt. She could easily have been included in the conversation, but her husband and mother were...it was almost felt as though they were deliberately excluding her.
No, she told herself. They’ve got their own relationship, separate to yours. Of course they’d have things to talk about that don’t include you.
To distract herself, she put on some music.
“Oh!” her mother cried out, a few minutes later. “Oh, god.“
Anita couldn’t help but smile. She really knew her Mom—she’d put on a David Bowie album, her mother’s favorite artist. And it sounded like her kindness was paying off; her mother was enjoying the music loudly from the back seat.
“Oh, fuck,” her mother cried out, and Anita blushed. She had underestimated her mother’s love for Bowie, apparently.
In the few seconds of quiet between tracks, she heard a long, satisfied sigh from her mother.
“Having a good time back there?” she teased, but was met with nothing but silence.
Silence, and an occasional moan of pleasure from her mother.
A less trusting woman would’ve found the entire situation quite suspicious. But Anita knew her husband, and she knew her Mom. When he went over to her house, she knew that they were just catching up. Even the time she’d dropped by her mother’s house after work and been surprised to find Ted there.
She’d been even more surprised to find her mother in front of him on her knees, both of them naked…but she’d waited for the explanation before jumping to conclusions.
And she was glad she had. The explanation, when it haltingly came, had been so simple that she would’ve been embarrassed if she’d assumed the worst. Ted had spilled some soup on his pants (and had to remove them, of course)—and when Anita’s mother had taken the pants, she’d gotten the soup on her clothes. Then, when she’d stripped off and handed them back, Ted had gotten the soup on his shirt...and of course, once they were both naked, Anita’s mother had realized that the soup might have burned Ted’s crotch, and gotten on her knees to check.
Even now, Anita chuckled thinking about it. What a pair of fools, she thought fondly.
Eventually, she reached the end of the Bowie album—the last song was a slow, melancholy ballad that allowed her to hear some strange noises coming from the back set—a sort of wet, sucking noise.
Looking in the rear view mirror, she realized that her husband was sitting up straight once more...but he must have been tired, because his eyes were closed.
Anita tried to keep her focus on the road, but it was hard. She was just so in love! She and Ted had a connection like she’d never had with anyone else, he got along so well with her family, and she trusted him. Unconditionally.
As she watched, she realized that her husband must drifted off...and in his slumber, he must have been having a very good dream. Every now and again, he’d let out a small sigh or a moan, and the smile never left his face.
Her heart was full. He worked so hard—sometimes staying back late with his secretary three or four times a week—and deserved to relax. She just hoped that he wouldn’t be awoken by whatever that strange noise was. It sounded almost like...
Anita blushed as she realized what it sounded like. God, she hoped her mother didn’t have the dirty mind that she did, or else she’d be thinking the same thing. And if there was one thing that Anita never, ever wanted to consider, it was her mother thinking about…well, that.
“You doing okay back there, Mom?” she asked softly, when the album ended. The strange sucking noise stopped for a moment, and her mother responded with a cheerful “Yes, darling.”
“Keep it down a little, okay?” Anita whispered. “I think Ted’s having a little nap.”
“Don’t you worry,” her mother responded, a cheeky note in her voice. “I’ll take very good care of him.“
For a brief moment Anita thought that the sound, whatever it was, had ended...but as soon as she stopped talking to her mother, it returned. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be disturbing her husband’s sleep—in fact, the louder the noise got, the bigger his grin.
“Oh, fuck,” he moaned, and—despite Anita’s mother having a similar reaction to the Bowie album—the young woman felt like she had to say something.
“Language, honey,” she admonished, and her husband opened his eyes, staring at her in the rearview mirror as he twitched and his eyelids trembled, almost as though he was having a stroke.
Anita was almost worried, but a few seconds later he stopped, and his eyes came back into focus.
“Good nap?” she said, and he just nodded, sweat pouring off his brow. “This is our exit!”
Distracted by the route off the highway and onto the beach, it was several minutes before Anita noticed that her husband had disappeared from the rearview mirror once more. The noise was back, except...well, this one was subtly different. It was harder to hear, too, over the sounds of her mother’s light moans.
“We’re here!” she declared, turning around to find—to her great surprise—the source of the second noise. Her husband and her mother were making out in the backseat of the car!
No, Anita told herself. It only LOOKS like they’re making out. I’m sure there’s a completely rational explanation for this.
“Oh, hey Anita,” her mother said, her voice husky as she pulled back and shot her daughter a smile.
“We’re here?” Ted said, as if coming back to reality. Whatever he’d been doing had apparently held all of his attention for the last several minutes.
“Whatcha doing?” Anita said, and Ted’s charming smile immediately made her feel better.
She trusted him. Completely.
“Your mother...never learned CPR,” he explained.
“So we figured since we weren’t doing anything in the back seat anyway...”
“Of course,” Anita said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Perfect time for a lesson!”
“Now that we’re here,” Ted said, “why don’t you go for a walk on the beach?”
“You’re not going to come with me?” Anita pouted, and Ted shook his head.
“Your Mom is pooped. She wants to lie down, and...well, I could use a nap too. Maybe...an hour?”
“That’s a long walk,” Anita demurred, but Ted stuck out his lip pleadingly, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Fine,” she said, reaching out and ruffling his hair. Although it already looked quite ruffled, actually. “I’ll go for a walk, you sleep with my Mom.”
At that, Anita’s mother burst into giggles. Wow, Anita thought. She really does need to sleep. Laughing at an ambiguous phrase like that isn’t like her at all.
She was twenty minutes away from the house when she remembered the sucking noise. I’ll have to get Ted to look at that, she thought to herself. Maybe he can take it to our neighbor. She’s always flirting with him, I’m sure she’ll be happy to check it out for him.
Many women would be reluctant to send their husband to visit a busty neighbor who clearly had a crush on him. But not Anita.
She trusted him.