Dorsai - Taxi

When they decided they were ready to leave, Helen and Sarah were with me as we swung by the bar so I could thank the bartender, Mike, for the club sodas. At six and a half feet tall, built like a power weightlifter, bald, and black as the darkest night, he looked like someone you'd want to make sure you stayed on the good side of; the truth of the matter was that he was happily married to a cop that worked the same hours he did, had a couple of kids, and was as easy-going and friendly as you could ask. After I thanked him, he just waved it off and told me to watch out. I assured him I would, and he gave me another wave and smile.

Helen and Sarah opted to go to the cab with me rather than wait for me to pick them up; both were a little tipsy, but certainly not drunk – and having obviously had a great time. When we got close to my hack, Helen told me "Jim, we've had about enough fun for tonight, I think. If we stay out much longer, I think we will be taking the chance of meeting up with some of the drunk drivers that I'm sure are going to be out tonight. So if you'd be kind enough to take us home? Or at least, back to where you got us?" – her small joke drawing more laughter from both of them that I thought it really deserved (I did say they were tipsy, didn't I?)

On the way back to their cabin, both of them repeatedly told me how much fun they'd had in the Shot Glass, and thanked me several times for taking them there. They also spent a few minutes huddled together and whispering; comparing notes on the night, I figured.

When we got there, I got the door opened for both of them, and when they were standing Helen asks me "Would you mind coming inside with us? There's something I'd like to give you."

I figure she just wants to give me a tip, and agree easily enough. I follow them to the door, and it's Sarah that pulls the key out from someplace I can't see – but wish I could. Once we're all inside, I see that the cabin is decorated in Expensive Rustic: there's all this exposed wood paneling, the furniture looks like the kind of thing you'd find in a frontier cabin (only a lot nicer), and all the fabric I can see has generic-Southwest designs on it. Looking around, I can see that it's the kind of place that somebody with money (and plenty of it) would really go for.

While I'm checking the place out, Sarah leaves the room while Helen goes over to where her purse is laying on a table. She rummages around inside for a bit before finding what she's looking for. When she stands up, I can see it's her billfold; she opens it and pulls out a couple of bills before closing it again. My first thought is that maybe it's twenties, and that I'm getting a pretty nice tip. But when she comes back over and hands them to me, I see that they're fifties, and that 'pretty nice' tip suddenly turns into outstanding. I sincerely thank her, and she answers "You earned it, easily, between your excellent driving and service, helping get us away from that idiot, and being kind enough to take us where you go to drink. That was by far the best place we went tonight, and Sarah and I both had much more fun that we expected tonight."

I thanked her again, after I told her "Well, I hope the two of you enjoy the rest of your stay…" with the obvious intention of leaving them. Helen put her hand on my arm and said "Would you mind staying for a few moments? There's something else that Sarah and I would like you to have."

Puzzled, I asked "What would that be, Ma'am?"

Just then, a very naked Sarah entered the room, and came over to stand next to Helen, who promptly told me "Us."

Trying my best not to stare at the delectable Sarah, I could only say "Ma'am?"

Both of them smiled and Helen told me "What Sarah and I, both, would like you to have is… us."

Having said that, Helen calmly proceeded to shed what little bit of her Lady Godiva look that wasn't actually her – and there was less of it that was costume than I'd thought. When she was as naked as her daughter, Helen told me "James, my husband and Sarah's father, Tom, died nearly a year ago. He was a stock broker, and spent the vast majority of his time and energy on his work. I suppose that God must have a sense of irony, or justice, because Tom died of a massive coronary while working the stock floor one day. From what I was told, he wouldn't have lived through it if it had happened while he was in the best hospital in the world; he was simply living with too much stress, coffee, and fatty food, and not enough exercise or home life."

Gesturing to Sarah, Helen went on "Both of us loved him, deeply, even though neither of us got to see him, or spend time with him, as much as we would have liked. For Sarah, it was her gymnastics and swimming meets that he missed, as well as tucking her in, reading her stories, and all the rest. For me, it was pretty much everything involved in being married – and that includes the bedroom. Because of who Tom was, and what he did, and the people we know in… our home town, I wasn't willing to take any kind of lover, even if I hadn't been as serious about my marriage vows as I was – though I'm a fairly passionate woman, physically. For similar reasons, Sarah wasn't inclined to become too physically involved with any of the boyfriends she's had. She isn't a virgin, but that change didn't happen all that long ago, either."

I was listening closely as she continued "So what you have, then, is two women – neither of whom is lacking in physical desires – with virtually no outlet for their passions, no real source of comfort or consolation, and little or no prospect of a solution. Except that they did find a solution – each other." It took me a few seconds to get it; when I did, Helen saw the change in my expression and said "Yes, that's right. Sarah and I, mother and daughter, became lovers. But before that, we were family, and even more importantly, friends. I raised Sarah virtually by myself, and I remembered, all too well, the fear and anxiety and embarrassment that I went through when I was growing up. So as I raised Sarah, I made it a point to avoid inflicting all the misinformation, uncertainties, and hidden answers that I'd been subjected to. She grew up learning about the human body, and the changes that would happen to hers, sex, and all the rest of it. I apparently managed to get it right because I don't think she has ever been reluctant or afraid to come to me with problems – no matter what they've been. And because of her maturity, she's been able to understand what I was going through, as well. Both of us had tried using different… devices, but neither of us found them completely satisfactory; what both of us found missing was the involvement of a real, live human being. So after the two of us got to talking one night, it was she who asked if I was sure that there really wasn't anything wrong with two women making love. I'd already told her that lesbianism was different, but not wrong; no more than it is between men, if both are agreeable. When I affirmed that I'd meant what I said, it was her idea that perhaps the two of us could 'help' each other, as she put it."

Helen took a deep breath before continuing "As you might expect, the idea was something of a surprise, and rather shocking to me. I mean, no matter how else one tries to pretty it up, it's still incest – and like almost any other person,that was something I had a deep,deep aversion to. But I simply told Sarah that I'd have to think about it – and more to the point, why. She wasn't old enough to understand it quite the same way a grown adult would; but she was mature enough to understand it well enough. So she simply waited for me to give her an answer when I had made a decision. weeks went by as I argued it with myself; all of my arguments of the pros and cons of it finally boiled down to a few simple facts: that I was neither forcing nor soliciting any such relationship – it had been her idea, after all. Obviously, the risk of pregnancy wasn't an issue, nor was her age; as I said, she was easily more grown up emotionally and mentally than her physical age. The thing that finally settled it for me, though, was the simple fact that she IS my daughter – and that I love her. Enough so that I was willing to do whatever it took to relieve her of as much of the heartache and loneliness and, yes, unfulfilled desires as I could. That isn't to say, though, that there still wasn't some nervousness and awkwardness the first time we were together" – that last part causing both of them to look at each other and smile with their shared memories.