The Barnstable Chronicles - Book 6: The Barnstable Cowboy - 13. A Family Transformed

The next few days were spent with Mom and me taking long walks on the beach and talking through shit. I was glad that it wasn’t too cold and windy. I think Mom was glad for the time outside of the house.

The first time we walked was the hardest. Neither of us knew how to start the conversation we both needed to happen. Hell, I don’t think we even knew where to start. But, after we turned around to head back, Mom was the one to get the ball rollin’.

“Hunter, you should know that I never was ashamed of you—not like your father was. I know he would tell you his feelings all the time. I never did. But you should also know that I kept quiet—not because of you, but because of him. He scared the Hell out of me, and I was terrified to contradict him.”

“Did he ever hurt you—I mean, physically hurt you?”

“No—well, he never hurt me. But there were a few times that he would push me around. But he would always stop before he did something dangerous.”

“I want to kill that bastard.”

Mom huffed and said, “There now, we have something in common!”

“You know, bein’ in that house was like walkin’ on eggshells. I think both of us were afraid to say what we wanted—or what we felt—just to keep him off our backs.”

“Hunter—did he ever hurt you?”

“Did he hit me? Yeah—quite a few times. Did he hurt me? Hell no. I’m a helluva lot stronger than he is.”

“I’m so sorry, Hunter. If I had only known what he—”

“No, no, no, no! No more regrets, Mom. We can talk about the past, but we get to let go of it once we do. No more hurtin’—no more regrets. Okay?”

“Whatever you want, Hunter. Whatever you want.”

“You get to want it, too. Mom—you have to remember that it’s just not you and me creating this fresh start thing together. It’s you, too. You’re pretty much makin’ this whole new life for yourself. Do it for you, Mom. I promise you this—the minute you decide to create your new life for yourself, it’s the most freeing thing you’ll ever experience in your entire life.”

“And you know this how?”

“I know this because the minute I landed in Boston, I made that decision. Vic Greenley gave me another chance at living a great life—with a little help from Jaime, of course.”

We kept talking about shit that we felt bad about—along with a lot of things we said and did that hurt the other person. We got back to the house and continued for another few hours. Perry would come in with fresh cups of coffee and go back into the kitchen.

The next day’s conversations were much more comfortable than the first day. Things were more insightful—there was a lot of realization—a lot of understanding. Of course, there was a lot more coffee—this time with some of that Bailey’s shit that Ginny turned me on to.

Speakin’ of Ginny—she took today off to spend a “girl’s day” with Mom. Last night at dinner, she said she wanted to help kick-start Mom’s new life. That’s when it hit me—Ginny and Mom are almost the same age! Whoa! Mom looked like she was fifteen years older.

So, here we are. Ginny just came over and took Mom away. I was sitting in the kitchen with my second cup of coffee and reading the news on my iPad.

I had just buttered my last piece of toast when a very naked—and a very hard—Perry came bounding into the kitchen. He slid everything on the table to the other end, leaned over, and pushed his hot ass in front of my face.

“The moms are gone for the day—and this horny little ass needs some serious cowboy action!”

Oh, fuck! I leaned forward and buried my face in Perry’s amazing ass, plunging my tongue in and out of his tight little hole. I reached around to play with his cock, but Perry slapped my hand away.

“Don’t! I don’t want to nut until I’m riding you! I sure as fuck hope you’re ready!”

I opened my bathrobe, exposing my throbbing cock. Shit! “We need lube!”

“No, we don’t!” Perry reached into the butter and grabbed a bit ol’ chunk. He slathered it onto my cock and put some more in his ass. He told—no, ordered—me to scoot down in my chair a bit, and he moved in.

Perry grabbed the base of my butter-slicked cock and positioned himself over it. I love the sounds he makes and the look on his face when Perry lowers himself onto me. I love the way he works his talented ass around me as I slide in deeper and deeper.

Once I was all the way inside my boy, Perry grabbed my head and kissed me hard—and deep! While we were kissing, he began raising and lowering his ass. God! I love it when Perry becomes this aggressive bottom! He takes me places I never want to leave! He sends me—

“Ummm—hi, guys. Don’t let me interrupt!”

Shit! Vic was standing in the doorway to the kitchen! I totally forgot he was coming back today! Perry looked over and grinned, “Hey Vic! Welcome home! Sorry we can’t hug you right now, but you see—I’m a little busy with this cowboy’s cock!”

I looked over to Vic, smiled, and gave a slight nod. Vic grinned and started ripping his clothes off. In no time at all, my second-favorite Yankee boy was standing beside us as Perry took his cock into his mouth.

Perry lifted himself slightly as he worked Vic’s cock, so I started thrusting upward and slamming into his ass.

“Don’t be so greedy, Perry! Hunter? You want a taste of this?”

“Fuck yeah!”

Perry let go of Vic’s cock and began bouncing on mine again. I turned my head and welcomed Vic into my mouth. So. Fucking. Hot!

I pulled my mouth off of Vic, grabbed Perry, and brought him in for a kiss. While we were kissing, I reached for Vic’s cock and pushed him in between our mouths.

“Oh, fuuuuuck!” Vic had begun face-fucking both of us while Perry was bouncing on my cock. Perry’s cock was wedged between us and leaking fountains of pre. I haven’t been this fuckin’ turned on in a long, long time!

Perry was the first to blast his nut, which caused me to explode inside his hot ass. Vic then pulled his cock from our mouths and began stroking.

“Oh, Fuuuuuuuck! Gonna nut!”

Vic blasted his nut all over our faces, which Perry and I licked and cleaned while moaning our satisfaction.

“Welcome home, Yankee boy!”

“Yeah! Did you forget?”

“Sure did. I’m sorry—you wouldn’t believe all the shit that’s been going on!”

“Let’s clean up and then talk. Shower?”

“Gonna have to be yours. I don’t think three will fit in ours.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

The three of us went through Vic’s room and into his bathroom. Once the water was nice and warm, the three of us stepped in. We cleaned each other, stroked another load outta each other, and did a shitload of kissin’. God, it was sure nice having Vic back home!

We got dressed (Perry didn’t know when our moms would be back) and sat in the living room.

“You guys looked so fucking hot when I walked in! I’m just glad Mom fell asleep in the car. She had wanted to come in and wish you a Merry Christmas. I don’t think she would have quite understood if I told her that Hunter was stuffing his turkey!”

“Oh, shit! I think I would have died right there in the chair—right there with Perry riding me like a Six Flags roller coaster!”

“You said you had a lot of shit going on?”

“Yeah—you’ll never guess who Ginny has taken out on a girl’s spa day.”

“You’re right—so just tell me.”

“Margaret fucking Landry! Mom’s been here for the last five days—she and I have been talkin’ through a lot—and I mean a lot of shit. We’re startin’ fresh—clean slate. It’s weird as fuck, but still—kinda nice.”

“I don’t—I mean—It’s—Fuck! Are you kidding me? How did this come about?”

At the same time, Perry and I answered Vic with, “Jaime!”

Perry continued, “As far as we can tell, Jaime pulled a Dicken’s thing and gave her the Christmas Carol treatment. He showed her all kinds of shit. Freaked her out to the point that she called Christmas morning and said she needed to see Hunter so she could fix things.”

“And she loves the fuck outta Perry. Did you ever think you would see the day that my mother would like my boyfriend?”

“What about your dad? What’s he got to say about all of this?”

“Mom left him! She fucking walked out on his ass and is going to take him for half of everything once he sells the ranch!”

“So, how was New York?”

“Well, Perry—I had a surprise or two myself.”

“Oh?”

“Room service. Antonio. Four hours of some of the hottest, non-stop sex I’ve ever had!”

“No way! Didn’t we see that on Pornhub back in Austin?”

“Yeah! I know—it was like being in my own damned porn scene. But I’ll tell ya—when Tony has a cock inside him, he nuts—hands-free—over and over again. It never stops!”

“Hey, how about we hit the diner from some lunch? It’s kinda nice not having to entertain a couple of moms for a change.”

“Sounds great! I’m driving, but one of you lovebirds has to sit in the front with me. I’m not going to be your fucking chauffeur!”

We had an excellent lunch. Perry was happy because his favorite server, Donna, waited on us hand and foot. Donna and I were teasing each other about our accents, and Vic just seemed to watch everything with a huge grin plastered on his face.

“So, Hunter—if things work out with you and your mother, does that mean you’ll move her here to the Cape?”

“No—don’t think that’s going to happen. Besides, it’s lookin’ more and more like I’m gonna be movin’ to New York with Perry. So that means I’ll probably be gone for at least four years.”

“Wow! This is great news! Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Maybe because we hadn’t really talked about it until a couple of days ago. Mom brought it up during Christmas breakfast, and that started the conversation. Do you need us to find you another roommate for when Hunter is gone?”

“No. I don’t need a roommate—well, except for the company—I do like having someone in the house with me.”

“You know—New York isn’t that far away. We’ll be back for visits all through the year—and you know you can always come down and visit us when you have a break.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that I’ve been enjoying having you here. My life is always better with a cowboy in it.”

“Jesus! Don’t I know! I have an entire list of things that are better with a cowboy in them!” We all laughed at Perry when there was a knock at the door.

Vic answered the door and found Ginny. “Ginny! Merry Christmas—a little late.”

“Welcome home, Vic. We’re here to see Perry and Hunter.”

“Well, come in—we were just sitting in the kitchen.”

I heard Vic introduce himself to whoever was with Ginny, but since I was sitting in the chair furthest from the kitchen entrance—I couldn’t see shit.

“Hunter, there’s someone I would like you to meet. Ginny came into the kitchen and reached for my hand. That confused the fuck outta me, but I let her lead me into the dining room.

“Alright, boys. Margaret and I had a wonderful day at the spa, the hairdresser, and we did a little shopping at the mall in Hyannis—only Margaret didn’t come home with me.”

“What?? Where is she?”

“Hunter, I would like to introduce you to my new friend Maggie Landrey.”

Holy. Fucking. Mother. Of. God. What??? Instead of my mother, Vic walked out of the living room with a beautiful—no—stunning woman. She had straight hair, parted at the side, and had blonde highlights. It was cut short to just below her jawline.

Her makeup was beautiful—especially her eyes—which were glowing! Really! Her smile was radiant. Her lips matched the deep red in her manicured nails. This woman was wearing tan pants that showed off her shape down to her knees—where they flared out. She also had this stunning white blouse and a forest green blazer. Who was this woman??

“Hunter? Say something?”

“Who—who are you? I mean—I know you’re my mother, but whoah! How—I mean—You’re beautiful!”

“You really think so?”

“Mom! Have you looked in a mirror?”

She started to giggle like a schoolgirl, “I can’t stop looking in mirrors! I can’t believe it myself!”

Perry was still standing beside me—totally at a loss for word, with his eyes bulging out. He finally said, “Mom—I think you’re in the wrong damned business! Mrs. Landrey looks—oh, wow!—she looks amazing!”

“Perry, I think you can call me Marga—I mean, Maggie. I definitely don’t feel like a Margaret anymore. And Mrs. Landry is my mother-in-law.”

We all went into the living room and continued gawking, oohing, and ahhing at this beautiful woman who, apparently, used to be my mother. Mom was gushing all over Ginny for all she had done.

“Stop it, Maggie. All I did was take you for a haircut, a mani/pedi, and then went over to Cape Cod Mall and hit the Macy’s makeup counter. All we did was let the real you make an appearance.”

“You know, back in high school, I used to do myself up like this all the time. That’s why I wanted to be a model—I thought I might have had a chance. Well, that all changed when I got married. I was stuck in what was, at best, a very mediocre marriage—and in a house I hated living in—and a boy I didn’t know how to love. The last thing on my mind was how I looked. Ginny brought all that back. And now—I don’t look like I could be Ginny’s older aunt—or even mother!”

Now, I just have to say that when Vic told me about his college boyfriend Andy, he would talk about how amazing his transformation was. I was always a little jealous that I had never seen anything like that. Well—here it is—my mom is turning into this beautiful woman. And I’m talking about a lot more than her makeover! She’s finding this cool and awesome person she should have been for the last twenty years!

We talked for a few more hours, and then Mom announced that she was taking us all out for dinner. We went to the Brazilian Grill over in Hyannis. Now, this is my kind of restaurant—it’s all about meat! But the thing that surprised me the most was that the night was all about our futures.

Perry and I confirmed that we would be moving to New York in June. He wanted to get settled in the city a couple of months before he started school. Vic was excited to be leading the lifeguard program at the Community Pool this summer.

But the biggest surprise came from Mom. She decided that she was going to make a huge change in her life. She said that she’d been thinking about what she could do—now that she was a single woman. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that all she really had a talent for was home-cooking.

Mom decided that once the divorce was settled, she would use her money to open a restaurant that served good old-fashioned comfort food. Then Vic had to ruin everything—by opening his fucking mouth!

“I think you should open that restaurant here on the Cape. There’s nothing like that here, and you should really think about moving as far away from your old life as you can. I sure worked out for Hunter!” I shot Vic a look that would’ve stopped a herd of wild horses.

“What?? I’m just saying that it’s something to think about. It’s not like you’re gonna be here. But at least when you do visit the cape, you might get to see your mom—or Maggie—or whoever this beautiful woman might be.”

And that started the ball rolling. Mom was going to go back to Texas. I can’t believe this is the same woman who made my life so miserable. And, to be honest, I did my share to make hers pretty rotten, too.

The next morning, Mom called and said she wanted to take me out for breakfast—just me—for one more short talk before she went back to Texas. Here’s the weird thing—normally, I would be full of all sorts of dread. This morning? I was looking forward to it. But I think the weirdest thing was I was feelin’ kinda sad that Mom was goin’ back to Texas this afternoon! What the Hell?

Once we ordered our breakfast, Mom and I were sitting at the table, looking at each other. Mom was smiling—strange, but this new smile on my Mom’s face made her even more beautiful.

“Hunter, I want to thank you for letting me come to Barnstable. You didn’t have to do that—you really didn’t have a reason to—but you did. And it changed our lives. With your help—well, and Ginny’s—I found the person I had always wished I had been. The funny thing is that I was always resentful that I never had the chance to try that modeling career. But last night—as I was laying in bed—it came to me. I didn’t resent that lost career—I hated myself for allowing the person I truly was to be buried in that shell of a woman I’ve been for the last twenty years.”

“Mom—I don’t think—”

“No, please let me finish, Hunter.”

“Okay.”

“As you grew into your teens—you became more independent. As you grew to be closer with Jaime, you became more distant with me. I don’t blame you—why on earth would you want to share the happiest and most important parts of your life with that bitter woman back home?”

“You weren’t that bad.”

“Oh, shush! I was miserable. I hated myself. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned this week, it’s that no one—absolutely no one—will ever love me more than I love myself.”

“Well, I love you.”

“I know that. And I’m sure that’s a pretty new thing for you, isn’t it?”

“Well—Yeah—Maybe a little.”

“And that’s my point, Hunter. You couldn’t love me—no matter how badly you wanted to—until I could learn to forgive myself and move on—which has led me to love myself. And to be honest, I’m still learning how to do that.”

“I get it. It’s been quite a week, huh?”

“Yes, Hunter—it has been. And I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me when I see you with Perry. He’s perfect for you—and you’re pretty darn perfect for him. The two of you have the kind of love that so many people can only wish for—and very few ever get close to achieving. Promise me you’ll always be good to Perry—I promise he’ll be good to you in return.”

“Well, that’s probably the easiest promise I’ve been able to make in the last month or so.”

Our breakfasts came, and we started to eat. Everything was good, but I can honestly say it can’t even begin to compare to the shit my mom makes. And right then—as if she could read my mind—“Be honest with me now. What are your thoughts on me coming back to Barnstable and starting a restaurant?”

“Funny—I was just thinking about that. You know—two weeks ago, I would have done everything and said anything to make you change your mind. Now? Not so much. My worry is that openin’ a restaurant involves so much more than makin’ excellent food. So I’m thinkin’ that you might want to keep your eye out for a diner-type of place that might pop up on the market. You could take it over, keep the staff that can do what you need them to do, and build on what they had.”

“Oh! That’s an excellent idea. Of course, I’ll need someone in the business to run the business side of the restaurant so that I can just worry about making great food.”

“Don’t look at me! All I know about restaurants is eatin’ in ‘em! I’d kill your dreams so danged fast!”

“Don’t worry, Hunter. I’m just getting my son back into my life. There’s no way I would risk the progress we’ve made by hiring you to work with me. Besides—you’re on your way to a wonderful career in Physical Therapy. Ginny brags on your work all the time!”

“She’s prolly a little prejudice.”

“I don’t think so, Hunter. Ginny Evans is all business and no-nonsense when it comes to work and career. Now—we never got to my question. Are you okay with my returning to Barnstable?”

“Yeah. I am. It’ll be so freakin’ cool to have you around. Wow! Can you believe those words just came outta my mouth?”

“No, I can honestly say I can’t—but those are the most beautiful words I’ve heard in about twenty years. Thank you, Hunter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

It’s funny—I’m lookin’ at my Mom as she’s walking toward the TSA people. The woman walking away is nothing at all like the woman who walked in almost a week ago. Margar—oops—Maggie Landrey is a woman transformed—and way more transformed on the inside than on the outside.

Just as tears—what? What the fuck?—start to well up in my eyes, Perry wraps an arm around my waist and whispers in my ear, “You were so fucking awesome this week. You changed lives, baby. Watching you do that was incredibly special. I’m so fucking lucky I got to be there.

Mom turned around, smiled, and waved right before she went into the TSA area. I smiled, waved right back, and said five words I never imagined would come outta my mouth, “I’m gonna miss my mom.”

So--I have to say that I saw some transformations on a morning talk show, and that inspired this chapter. I hadn't planned on any kind of reconciliation with Margaret. One of me readers called me an organic writer. Ha! I always thought I was just scattered!
So--after I decided to write this chapter, I went and searched some before and after transformation pics. I found the perfect one which shows my idea of what Maggie has done:

This was an actual makeover from Hoda and Kathie Lee a few years ago.
Now that we've transformed a family, it's time to get our boys' hot little asses to New York. I'm pretty sure some (okay, one) of my readers is going to love spending time in one of his fave cities!
Thanks for all you love, support, and comments!
-Geoff