Dirk tried to stretch out the conversation because Bloemfontein was still some distance away. “By the way, did your mom ever enter into other relationships?”
Steve was caught a bit off guard by this question. “Not really, she had a handful of dates over the years, but nothing got serious; except for… maybe, I shouldn’t.”
Dirk pounced on the opportunity to get back at Steve after he endured Steve’s interrogation about his feelings towards his stepmom. “No, no, no, spill the beans. You asked lots of questions regarding Ingrid earlier this morning!”
Steve bit his tongue before he responded, “Sis actually told me only recently about this, and only because she heard it at Sandra’s games night. I told you that Mom started to go to the gym when Sis started Grade Eight. She had more free time because in secondary school, the school arranged transport to and from sports events. While Sis was still in primary school, Mom had to do all the driving.
“She ended up with a very young and charismatic instructor, who asked Mom if he could board with us because our house was close to the gym so Mom took him in and he stayed in the guest room. Now this is where the detail get fuzzy. Apparently, soon after he moved into the guest room, he started to pay Mom nightly visits.”
Steve chuckled, “His name was ‘Tom’, which suited him fine because he was actually very ‘common’, like in ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’. He was a ‘dick’ when it came to personality, and it got worse the longer he stayed. He started to act as if he was my father and boss, even though he wasn’t more than seven years older than I.
Dirk connected some dots “He probably thought he could boss you around because he slept with your mother!”
Steve smiled, “Shit man, I think you are right! I caught him one night in front of my mother’s bedroom door. When I asked him what he was doing, he headed to the kitchen, saying he got thirsty. I’ll bet he was on his way to see Mom!”
Dirk noticed how Steve’s smile grew even larger. “A penny for your thoughts!”
Steve chuckled. “Mom sent me the next morning to oil the hinges of the guest room’s door. As I sat down to apply oil to the bottom hinge, Tom saw me and asked what I was doing. I jokingly told him the squeak of the hinges wake me up at night. He jumped up, grabbed me effortlessly under the arms and slammed my back against the wall and told me to mind my own business.
“I guess I unknowingly scratched a nerve. He must have thought that I knew of his nightly visits to Mom. He used a very bombastic and intimidating voice to tell me to keep quiet ‘about it’. I innocently thought it was about him going to the kitchen at night, but in hindsight, he must have meant that I should keep quiet about his nightly visits to Mom’s bedroom. I also thought he wanted to show me that he was the ‘man of the house’.
“So I didn’t oil the hinges on the guest room’s door and they still squeak. I did all the others hinges in the house except mine. It makes a single crack, I used it as warning when someone enters my room.
“I started to mock him. You must remember that until Tom’s arrival, I was responsible for doing all the ‘man-of-the-house’ tasks. I got quite handy with hammer and nails, screwdrivers. Even an electric drill. Mom continued to ask me to do stuff in and around the house. So, whenever Mom gave me ‘man’s job’, I waited until Tom was in the area where I was supposed to work before I started. I could see that it got onto his nerves and he would leave.”
Steve couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Once Mom was around and suggested to Tom to help me. Tom said something that I was big and strong enough to do it myself and disappeared into the house.
“Luckily, Mom caught him shortly afterwards in the shower with one of the female instructors, which was about six months after he moved in with us. Sis and I were at a sports event and we wouldn’t be home until late. Mom had a meeting after school and also wasn’t expected home until late. However, she left documents at home and caught the two in the act when she collected the documents.”
It was Dirk’s chance to assert himself as worthy detective. “I’ll bet that she suspected something like this and forgot the documents on purpose!”
“Shit man, I think you are right. There was some tension in their relationship at the time. Anyway, she kicked him out of the house, telling him to move in with the instructor, who was apparently married. Thinking back about it, I guess she wanted to protect herself from STDs and to protect Sis. If he was dipping his dick into other pussies, he may have well started to consider Sis. At the time, I couldn’t understand why Mom considered going to a different gym, but Tom disappeared shortly thereafter.”
Dirk couldn’t help to show off more detective skills. “I’ll bet the woman’s husband also heard about the incident and paid him a visit at the gym!”
“Fuck man, that makes sense, I think you are spot on.” Steve paused, momentarily, to consider if he should disclose more. He resolved that he wouldn’t be able to hide the obvious and continued. “However, the whole saga took a lot out of Mom. Although she tried to deal with it, it eventually caught up with her in my matric year. She had a boob job done to restore her confidence. You’ll see, it’s hard to miss. I don’t know why she did it because she was done with men afterwards.”
Dirk realized there was something that Steve wasn’t telling and looked at him questioningly.
Uneasy, Steve continued, “She now gets her relief from a vibrator. I heard some humming from her room one night and found a vibrator in her bedside drawer when my curiosity got the better of me when she wasn’t home.”
There was still some road to kill, and Dirk asked another question, “What is Sis’ and your mom’s real names?”
“Martie, but everyone calls her Sis. And Mom’s name is Laura.”
“And do you think Mithrada will be at your home as promised?”
Steve smiled. “I’m not sure, but do I sense that you hope for a chance with her?”
Dirk blushed before reacting. “I did not think so, but now that you mention it…”
Steve shifted uneasily in the seat. “Well, I hope she doesn’t pitch. I told you that Sis is inquisitive, and I already sensed that she wanted to find out more about the ‘Lost Valley’ and I will be left without maneuvering space if Mithrada is there.”
They drove into the suburbs of Bloemfontein and Steve started to give directions to Dirk to get to his house, making sure they fuel up along the way. It was already deep dawn with several stars shining in the sky when they arrived at Steve’s home. Sis rushed towards the Golf when they drove into the driveway and parked to greet her brother. Dirk was disappointed because Mithrada wasn’t there, while Steve gave a sigh of relief at the same observation.
Sis was about five foot three with ginger blonde hair which was tied into a pony tail. She wore a black and white camisole top with a conservative neckline that revealed little cleavage of her C-cup breasts. She wore white shorts low on her 34-inch hips, exposing a small part of belly flesh. Steve gave Martie an extended hug and it was clear to Dirk, that Steve was much attached to his sister.