Kevin looked up from the paper as Sheila's heels clicked across the kitchen floor. "I put the number of the hotel by the phone. Also, there is that casserole in the fridge and I put a Post-It with instructions on how to heat it up on the oven. Don't forget to pick up.... "
Kevin tuned out the rest. They'd been married 20 years, but his wife still seemed to think he couldn't find his way around the house without instructions. He let her handle such chores ordinarily because he didn't want to, not because he didn't know how.
He suppressed a sigh and tossed in the occasional "yes, dear" at the appropriate pauses. 20 years of practice made him an expert on feigning attention in his wife's conversation.
Sheila was particularly fired up today because she was headed out of town. Her mother was having gallbladder surgery tomorrow, so Sheila and her sister, Paige, were driving up to look after their parents. Apparently all of the women in Sheila's family regarded men as barely functional at caregiving, so the sisters weren't going to leave it to their father to handle things while their mom recovered.
Kevin was staying home and glad to do it. His father-in-law no longer intimidated him the way he had when Kevin was still a wet-behind-the-ears college student, but the man still regarded his son-in-law with stony disdain. Trying to make conversation with him was like squeezing water from a stone. Kevin suspected that he'd never be fully forgiven for knocking up the man's daughter.
That certainly had not been Kevin's plan, either. Sheila had just been a particularly attractive stranger at one of his fraternity's spring parties. Seeing a new face at their parties was hardly unusual; the campus contained nearly 15,000 students after all. So he'd had no clue when he sidled up to this unknown hot piece of ass that she was from a nearby high school and therefore considerably underage for a frat house keg party.
Kevin had not been one for "relationships" back then. His good looks and rakish charm made him very appealing to the ladies and the tipsy co-eds tossing back jello shots and cheap beer were generally not in attendance hoping to find a nice gentleman suitor. His general practice at such events was to find a new conquest. They might have a one-night stand only, or they might screw each others' brains out for a few weeks till either she got clingy or he got bored. However it played out, he was not in this for the long term. So when Sheila gathered up her underwear and put on her clothes afterwards, he wouldn't have been surprised never to see her again.
Instead, he'd seen her pretty much every day of his life since. The condom failed (Sheila had fumbled with it putting it on him, so Kevin had long suspected that she'd nicked it with a fingernail) and she'd gotten pregnant. She'd also immediately told her parents, which earned Kevin a sit-down with her impassive father who menacingly inquired whether Kevin planned to "make an honest woman out of her". The man wasn't actually armed at the time, but to call it a "shotgun wedding" wouldn't have been far off given the murderous look in on the face of his now father-in-law.
Things had mostly worked out, though. Kevin had never been a big believer in true love, thinking that a thing for fairy tales and cheap romance novels. So while Sheila didn't set his heart ablaze, she proved to be a good cook, a dutiful homemaker, and a devoted mother. Plus, even after twenty years, she still adored having sex with him. Given all those qualities, staying with her for the last two decades and change hadn't been nearly as difficult as he'd expected.
It didn't hurt that Sheila had worked hard to keep her figure. Kevin looked up over his reading glasses (one of the few signs on his encroaching middle age) and admired the taut ass and slender thigh molded in denim as Sheila strode past. His wife had turned 39 (for the 3rd time - Sheila wasn't eager about middle age), but could still fit in her high school cheerleading uniform - a fact she had recently demonstrated just a few nights ago.
Part of it was vanity on her part - she liked being the hottest mom on the PTA. But part of it was definitely a concern that Kevin's interest was tied to her looks. Kevin had found that showing even mild interest in an attractive female could set Sheila on edge. Her standard response was to prove to him just how sexually attractive he still was. During one night out, he'd naturally taken repeated note of the rather plunging neckline on their waitress' outfit; as soon as they got back to the car, Sheila fished his cock out and proceeded to blow him then and there. Nothing quite inspired her passion like jealousy.
Of course, Sheila wasn't entirely off-base on that score. Kevin had never quite fully tamed his wandering eye. He'd traveled a lot for work in those early years and being alone on the road for days on end would make him crave a little companionship. Such random encounters had been easy to conceal, but he'd rolled the dice a few times with ones closer to home. He'd always been exceedingly careful and provided no concrete evidence of his infidelity. Still, Kevin wondered if Sheila suspected on a subconscious level all the same and hence felt the need to repeatedly prove how desirable she was.
Kevin tuned back in again slightly at the sound of his name. "And Kev, don't let Kathryn talk her way out of her punishment just because I'm gone and we've got company. She's still grounded. Back me up here, honey." ,
"Yes, dear," he murmured agreeably, turning his attention back to the paper. The other major reason that he was getting to stay home was to look after their daughter, Kathryn. It was odd to think of their third child as being the problematic one. Growing up, her older brothers Bryan and particularly William had been the ones inclined to get into mischief. Kathryn, by consequence, had always been the quiet, obedient one.
All of that had changed in the last couple years, though, particularly between Kathryn and her mother. It seemed to Kevin that a day rarely went by without one or both yelling at the other.
Kevin had his own personal theory as to why the sudden change in dynamic. When Kathryn had been very young, Sheila had dressed her up like a little doll. She was undoubtedly adorable and even won a few of those kiddy pageants.
But as Kathryn got into her pre-teens, she didn't quite lose that apple-cheeked toddler look, which gave her a bit of a plump look. Her pediatrician assured them that Kathryn was a perfectly healthy weight, but Sheila never quite bought on. Kevin could see that at some level it bothered Sheila that her daughter lacked the svelete figure of her mother. And though Sheila wasn't exactly blatant about it, Kevin could see Kathryn picked up on that subtle disapproval.
But a few years ago, adolescence finally caught up with Kathryn in a big way. Her compact, slightly plump form expanded upwards at a significant rate. These days Kathryn was nearly on par with Sheila in bare feet and had the same slender, willowy frame and the same incredible pair of legs.
Kevin had initially thought that this would solve things. Sheila had her beautiful daughter and Kathryn could feel confident that she was as lovely as her mother. But instead it had flared into acrimony. It'd taken him awhile to figure out the new vibe: competition. Having lived in her mother's gorgeous shadow all these years, Kathryn was determined now to prove that she was now the prettier. And though he doubted Sheila would admit it, she seemed to regard her daughter as a rival.
Things had really come to a boil a few days ago. Kathryn often browsed her mother's closet for clothes (another source of irritation as to who wore what better) and apparently stumbled across Sheila's cheerleading uniform. Kathryn had strode in wearing it to show it off to her parents. Kevin had to admit that his daughter looked incredible in it. Seeing her long legs gave a similar twitch in his groin to the time he'd first seen Sheila - that hot stranger in the tight skirt across the crowded room.
However, the primary difference lay higher up; Sheila had a modest bosom, but Kathryn took more after her busty aunt Caroline. Consequently, where the cheerleading top would have hinted at Sheila's pert breasts, Kathryn's larger chest bulged noticeably against the confining fabric. Kathryn then rubbed salt in the wound by telling her mother that the outfit fit perfectly "except for being a bit small in the chest". Sheila hadn't taken that well and soon a full-on argument had raged, ending in some tears, slammed doors, and a grounded daughter.
"You about ready to go, sis?" Kevin's reverie was interrupted by the arrival of his sister-in-law, Caroline. Kevin looked up over his glasses to watch her enter the kitchen.
Sheila and Caroline bore a strong familial resemblance in their nose and mouth and Caroline's hair was only slightly darker than Sheila's. Still, most would be slow to recognize them as sisters. Sheila stood a good 4" taller than her younger sibling and often a bit more given her predilection for high heels that emphasized her seemingly endless legs. Those passers-by not immediately entranced by Sheila's gorgeous gams would likely be focused on Caroline's prodigious bosom. Clearly the extra inches Sheila had in height had been transferred to Caroline's chest.
Casting his glance between the two, Kevin felt a lustful warmth in his groin. Both were excellent examples of female beauty in his mind. Plus, it had been a couple days since his last time with Sheila. Worrying about her mother's surgery and packing for the trip had kept her distracted.
"I just checked in on the girls and they're both still asleep. Probably stayed up chatting half the night like they used to do when they were 6."
"The girls" referred to Kathryn and Natalie - Caroline's daughter. Sheila and Caroline had both been pregnant at the same time and wound up being born just a few days apart. They had been close friends since they were able to walk. They even looked remarkably alike. Their hair color was a shiny auburn that hinted at a true red. Both had green eyes and prominent cheek bones. Now both in their late teens, they had become stunning young women. Both stood 5'7" (and a bit, in Kathryn's case) and were clearly related to Caroline given their prominent breasts. Their full lips were invariably stretched wide into girlish grins - Kevin often referred to them as the Giggle Twins. The two cousins looked more like sisters than even Sheila and Caroline.
Of course, Kevin conceded, such surprising similarity between the girls might not entirely be coincidence. Caroline's marriage had always been turbulent. Kevin thought the guy to be a jerk, though his primary sin was not one Kevin could readily throw stones at: infidelity. Still, Kevin could always defend himself as being careful about it; Caroline's Mark was the type who'd come home with lipstick on his collar while smelling of bourbon and perfume.
At any rate, Caroline had a particularly heated fight with Mark after his latest affair and came running to Sheila. The two stayed up late commiserating, so Sheila was sound asleep when Kevin got up at 6 for his morning swim. Caroline, however, was sitting out by the pool in her nightgown, still to upset to sleep.
Talking with emotionally distraught women wasn't his forte, but Kevin gave it a shot. Caroline was soon on the verge of tears, wondering why Mark would be unfaithful. Did he not find her attractive? Kevin, perhaps unwisely, started to praise Caroline, who pressed for specifics. Kevin soon found that he couldn't talk about how hot a man would find Caroline's body without getting turned on himself. The stiffening lump in his swim trunks caught her attention and, rather than being shocked or embarrassed, she was flattered. And also intensely curious if all her sister's tales about Kevin's skill were true. Kevin had never been all that monogamous in the face of temptation, so soon he had Caroline's thighs spread wide as he pounded her curvy form into a deck chair.
Caroline returned to her home after another couple days (and a quick midnight session in the kitchen where Kevin perched her on the countertop and stroked into her as she bit her lip to contain her moans of pleasure). Mark persuaded her to reconcile after a week and a month later she told Sheila she was pregnant.
Kevin had never asked and Caroline had never volunteered who was Natalie's father. He wasn't sure if Caroline knew herself; she'd likely slept with Mark in the same window of time. Still, the resemblance between Kathryn and Natalie was certainly uncanny unless you also posited they might be half-sisters. But if Caroline chose to stay silent on the matter, Kevin figured he should let that sleeping dog lie.
Caroline would be accompanying Sheila up to their parents' place, leaving Kevin behind to keep an eye on the girls. It'd been quite awhile since he'd had to look after the two of them on his own, but he was confident. He'd take good care of the girls.
