Human Nature 1-5

by Lea

Chapter 1 – First step

Part 5 – Happiness

The next day, at the beach, my daughter bursts with joy when I accept Héléna's proposal. She turns to me and congratulates me on being able to change her father's mind. I don't answer her. I don't like to lie to her. In my head I blame my husband for that. Noémie and Sandra are already making plans. Our daughters will sleep in Noémie's room. Héléna bought an air mattress which should fit beside Noémie's bed. There's a guest room for me. Héléna is happy to see her daughter invest herself in the preparations to welcome us. I'm really happy, too, and impressed by my daughter who looks so enthusiastic.

Héléna and I exchange our phone numbers and addresses while our girls are kissing goodbye still giggling about the next week. We'll come at the beach tomorrow too, to make the last arrangements. On our way back to home, I ask Sandra to let me some time alone with her father. My daughter throws me a suspicious look.

Anyway, Alain gets back home very late tonight. Sandra kisses her father goodnight and goes to bed. I tell my husband I made my choice about our vacations with Sandra. I see all his anger in his eyes and in his way to sip his whisky glass. Whatever he shouts at me, he knows his daughter is happy about this stay at our friend's home. I don't mind all the other things he tells me. It doesn't matter as long as Sandra will spend nice vacations.

He sleeps on the couch and, alone in my bed, lots of things run in my mind. I don't sleep very much, not very well either. The Saturday morning I call Héléna, we won't go to the beach today; I'd like that Sandra spends time with her father before going to her place. Sandra doesn't understand why, as well as Héléna did.

Sunday noon, Alain goes lock himself in his office, like he did all the Saturday long. He doesn't even see that his daughter flees in her room, eyes reddened with tears. I'm so furious. I don't know why he's punishing our daughter like this. He acts as if she was guilty of something, or as if he was afraid of losing her.

After the diner, Alain tries to cuddle his daughter but she pushes him back. She goes to her bedroom soon after that. Alain throws me such a nasty look that I follow her. In my bed, I blame myself. I should find him excuses. I should plead his case with his daughter. I should be able to reconcile them. If I do so, I'm afraid she could believe that I'm on his side, that I think she's the one who's wrong. And there's this new link, this so thin link between her and me. And I want to preserve it at all cost.

Monday morning, at last, I find my daughter already dressed in the kitchen when I come for breakfast. She's not sad anymore. On the contrary, she's full of life and energy. I have to slow down the flow of her talk as long as my brain isn't fully awake yet. But even then, I still can't grasp all she's saying. And when Héléna opens her door to us, Noémie seems to be the same. Happily those two chatterboxes run upstairs into the Noémie's bedroom.

Héléna makes me a tour of her property. Indeed, this big house with this huge garden, a little away from the village, it can be called a property, not just a house. She sees I'm amazed; it makes her blush and explain herself. Her husband and her father left her a large sum of money. She wanted a house apart enough to not be bothered by neighbors. She wasn't looking for something so big but she fell in love with this villa. She already had to renovate some parts and, like I can see, it remains a few works to do.

All the ground floor has been redecorated. Upstairs, two of the four bedrooms are in good conditions. The other two and the office really look moldy, with wallpaper partly torn and a stained carpet. The Héléna's bedroom is one that needs to be redone. Sipping a pre-lunch drink, Héléna tells me how, because of her paternal education as a tomboy, she knows how to renovate almost everything and started to. But now, she's overwhelmed and doesn't have the energy to do it all alone. I'm sure Sandra will be pleased to help her. I'll try but my daughter is really more interested and skilled than me in manual works.

This leads us to talk about our daughters. Then about work, life in general, how things aren't going the way we wished. We complain about our fate until the girls join us. It's a happy lunch we share. Two moms, two daughters. Two blondes, two browns. An instant, I wonder what we look like all together. Two single-parent families, a couple maybe. I laugh at myself, a couple, what a funny idea!

During the afternoon, Héléna and I, we set up the last plans and usual arrangements for the week. The girls are playing in the pool, giggling and splashing. When they go out of the water to sunbath, we don't wait a minute before taking care of our daughters. Sandra is wriggling under my caresses. I don't really think about what I'm doing. I just realize it when Sandra stops moving. My fingers push down the waistband of her swimsuit, revealing a bit of her white bum. She seems tensed a second or two and then she relaxes when my hands continue their way down to her thighs.

Sandra glances at her friend. The little blonde doesn't complain when her mom brush her little wiggling bum. One hour or so later, girls dive in the pool again. It's already a bit late in the afternoon, and Héléna and I are waiting our daughters with towels when they go out. As she's used to now, Héléna unclasp the bra of her daughter while she rubs her back. Sandra surprises me then. As if it was all natural for her, she asks me to do the same. My mind races all of a sudden. Anyway, I don't ask any question and I obediently comply.

I don't know what amazes me the most; being able to see my bare daughter's chest or her lack of modesty. I don't even dare to put a finger on her tits whereas she's showing us her bare chest as if it was all normal. Her little breasts are so cute. They look like two small half peaches. So sweet, so smooth, her pink nipples are pointing mischievously. I wish I could kiss them. What a weird mom I am. She remains like this until we go out to a restaurant to celebrate our first day together. I must say that Noémie doesn't hide herself either.

We wander along the beach, looking round the shops which flourish during the summer. I like this kind of evening. All quiet, all simple. Héléna and I are talking, the girls are looking at all the trinkets on the stalls. No quarrels, no worries, it's just enjoyable. We go back to Héléna's house, all exhausted. I examine my room from my bed. Behind the wall, the girls should be putting their pajamas on. I'm thinking about them. I'm imagining their bodies, naked. Oh God, why do I get this kind of thoughts? I force myself to sleep but deep in the night, those images are still present in my dreams.

In the morning, I meet Héléna in the kitchen. She's wearing a nightie so cute that I'm ashamed of my poor night tee-shirt all stretched out. The fabric of her nightie is too thin to hide her undies if she'd wear any. She doesn't.

The girls enter the kitchen just behind me. Sleepy faces, half-closed eyes, Noémie kisses her mom hello, then me. Sandra surprisingly follows her. It's not at all in her habits to kiss anybody, whatever to say hello or goodbye, she doesn't like that. Anyway, I kiss her and Héléna, too. A bit later, the girls are in the pool and I try to find something suitable to help Héléna with the other guest room. Héléna repeats I can stay with the girls but I'm determined, the less I can do is to give her a hand. And there's no question that I did put on this sleeveless tee-shirt and those shorts for nothing.

Héléna laughs, maybe because she wears almost the same clothing or maybe because it's so obvious that I'm not used to be dressed like this. We empty the room that Héléna wants to renovate first. We are quickly sweaty. I spend my time pushing and pulling my bra. Weary, I remove it, but, immediately it's my tee-shirt which clings to my skin. Héléna notices it and smiles at me. Obviously she suffers the same problem; her breasts are quite visible underneath the wet fabric.

After the furniture, we attack the walls. Héléna explains to me how to soak the wallpaper to remove it all. It's so hot that I really don't care about water dripping on me. It's rather funny to let the water wet the carpet since we will remove it too. I catch, a few times, Héléna glancing at my soaked chest. To tell the truth, I'm not that much comfortable about it.

It's almost noon when the girls call us. I take a quick shower. Downstairs, I'm pleased to see that the girls have prepared the meal. It's a pleasure to see how well Sandra is integrated in our friend's house. I'm happily surprised that Sandra has befriended Noémie so easily.

We finish the walls of the room and we take our girls to the sea in the late afternoon. We help them to dry when they come back from their long swim. I like this ritual, especially now that Sandra asks me to get rid of her bra. I like to be able to take care of her the same way I used to when she was a little girl. Now, what is more, something in this intimate contact fascinates me, agitates me. And then, before getting up, Sandra gently kisses my cheek to thank me. I'm in heaven.

At home, the girls jump in the pool to remove the salt from their skin. Héléna and I are following them, we pick up their dress and go to hang out the towels and their swimsuit tops. Even as we are sipping a drink, it's difficult to turn my eyes away from those two nymphs with only their panties on. I notice Héléna is staring at them, too. When the girls eventually go out of the water, they don't consider useful to put something on. So there are two beautiful half-naked angels at the table with us for dinner.

Later tonight, Héléna confess me she was anxious about how our daughters could get along well. She's happy now to see how things are evolving. I can only agree.