Story 77 Mothers Know Everything

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Hi from the New Zealand Team. Shanti here. 
            We all send our regards to the Indian Team. Most of all we want to say a big thank you to Hansini for another good story. We all enjoyed it a lot.

            That evening you, Hansini and Brian were together, I hear Mootie and Mega were together as well, also having a separate sexy adventure. I understand this is coming in your next letter, but there is one question we are all wondering about. Who will write that story, Mootie or Mega?           

            I did some looking for an adult – clothing optional resort that could cater for smaller children, but they are almost impossible to find. Obviously, adult resorts and children do not go together and so I had almost given up on the idea.
           Then I got a phone call from Sharon. It seems Steve has also been doing some research on the internet and we think we have found a resort in Australia, which caters for families and children but also has an adult side as well. They advertise very good childcare services, so parents can get away and relax as well. Sounds like just what we are looking for doesn't it.

            We have sent an e-mail to them asking for more details and the possibility of booking a large group in February next year. At present, we are waiting to hear back from them. As soon as we do, we will contact you. So are you guys OK for us to book in February?

            Now over to Lizamoa who has a story to tell you. 

Hi, its Lizamoa here.

I want to tell you this story because I am sure many of you will enjoy it as it is not often that somebody gets the best of Shanti. You know of our Shanti, always in control of herself and all those around her. Always knowing what is going on, always ready and able to deal with it. Well, recently I was able to witness to an occasion when this wasn’t the case.

Now just one more thing; before you begin reading this story you may like to read Letter –43  Shanti was Painfully Shy. And you should read part of Letter - 56 Story Night. The part of this second letter of concern here is when we were reading and discussing Letter 43. 

The situation – we were at Shanti’s parent's place. As you know recently her father has become very sick with cancer. To tell you the truth it is not looking very good for him so I want to warn you all we could be hearing some very bad news before very long. A pity, he is such a nice man. Since coming to New Zealand, I have come to know him and he has always treated me as if I was his daughter.

Well on with the story.

Shanti, my mother-in-law Greeshma and I went up to visit Shanti’s parents, particularly her father who was sick in bed. We were out of the room discussing the idea that Greeshma had of moving in with Shanti’s parents. She wanted to help look after Shanti’s dad.
Meanwhile, Shanti was sitting, talking with her father while she held his hand.

Suddenly he said to her, “Tell me Shanti. What was it that changed you so much? There you were so shy and then suddenly you were so outgoing, so confident and your speech problem was gone. What happened, Shanti?”

“I think that it was because I got a boyfriend. I started going out with Mike. It gave me so much more confidence. I think that was what…..”

“No! No Shanti,” he interrupted me. “It was much more than that.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“Well Shanti, didn’t your relationship quickly go beyond just boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“You mean……..?”

“Exactly! You and Mike were in a sexual relationship almost from the very start.”

It wasn’t a question it was a statement. Her father had told her directly, what she had always thought she had hidden; what she always thought was a secret.

“How did you know?” she asked, totally shocked.

A voice behind her said, “Oh we saw the signs, the sudden changes in you. Not just your speech, other changes as well.”

Shanti turned to find her mother, Greeshma and I had entered the room.

“Mum!” said Shanti in surprise.

Her mother went on. “Your father and I have often debated when it first happened. Was it the second date or the third date?”

“You did? When did you find out?”

Her father said, “At first it was the sudden changes in you. We discussed it and your mother said she was sure it was a physical relationship.” He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued. “Of course, you, being my little girl….. I couldn’t believe it at first. That is….. until your mother brought me proof.”

Now Shanti’s mother took up the story again.

“You remember that little hiding place? You know under the loose board in the corner of your bedroom…. Where you kept all your little treasures. Well, I checked there and I found a packet. You were on the pill.”

“You knew about that place too?”

“Yes, of course, dear. When we redecorated your room when you were a little girl, your father wanted to nail that loose board down again but then we discovered it was your little hiding place so we left it.”

“Oh! I didn’t know you knew.”

“Of course we knew,” she said putting her arm around Shanti. “Of course we knew, dear. Didn’t I always tell you, mothers know everything?”

“Yes, but I always thought that was just mother’s talk. I didn’t for a moment think it was true.”

“Oh my dear Shanti, you didn’t believe your mother,” her mother said with a smile. “Well now you know it is true, don’t you? Mother’s do know everything.”

“I guess they do,” said Shanti quietly. 
 I had to smile at that.

Her mother went on. “Well finding the pill in your room sort of confirmed our suspicions but we wanted to be sure. Next time I was at the doctor I asked him. Of course, he was unable to tell me anything about you and being a friend of ours I think I might have put him in a bit of an awkward position.

Finally, he just said, “I’m telling you more now….., more than I really should be, but please believe me. Shanti is taking good care of herself.” 

            “You mean she is……?”

He just nodded slightly.

That also confirmed what we were thinking.”

Shanti just sat there, not knowing what to say. The rest of us were listening too. In my case, I was as shocked as Shanti. I remembered them telling that story in India, where Mike and Shanti were so confident her parents never found out about their sexual relationship and here they were now telling us, that they knew all along.           

Then Shanti’s mother continued, “I asked your sister Hasina but she was not very helpful. ‘What that little mouse.’ She said. ‘She’d run a mile if a guy even tried to kiss her.’

When I told her that you had a boyfriend called Mike.

‘Really? I just thought they sat together at lunch. Mike is a nice guy, a bit young, but a nice guy.’

‘Didn’t you know they were dating?’ I asked her.

She replied, ‘It seems like my little sister is holding out on me. This is big news. Wait until I tell everyone at school.’

‘No! No,’ I told her. ‘Don’t tell anybody. They seem to want to keep it quiet. The last thing your sister needs right now is more embarrassment at school.’

She agreed with me and as far as I know she kept her promise.” 

When she had finished, Shanti was just sitting there silent. It was almost as of she was in shock. I was shocked too, but I must admit, by this time also I bit amused too. 

“So Shanti,” her father said. “Back to our question…. When did it happen? Which date was it? The second date or the third?”

Shanti didn’t reply. She still probably didn't know what to say.

There was a pause for a few moments and then Greeshma spoke. “I think I can help you there. It wasn’t the second or the third date. It was the first date.”

“The first date?” her mother asked. Now it was her turn to be surprised.

“Yes,” said Shanti lowering her head like a naughty little school girl, her voice almost a whisper. “It was the first date.”

“How did you know that, Greeshma?” asked Shanti’s father.

“Well for years Shanti and my Joseph have been exchanging letters. They have kept all these letters and put them into a book. One day while I was cleaning I found the book.”

“Why didn’t either of you say something to me?” Shanti asked her parents.

“Actually honey we did,” replied her father. “You remember that fishing trip we went on together, just the two of us. I tried to talk with you then but you just avoided the subject.”

“Oh, yes,” said Shanti. “At the time I was a bit surprised. I thought you were very close to the mark. For a while, I wondered if maybe you had found me out, but then nothing more came of it.”

He continued, “And your mother tried too. She asked you about going on the pill. And your reply was ‘What would I ever need to be on the pill for?’

We realised that this was what had made such a difference, so we decided not to push the issue. Our main concern was with Mike.”

“What do you mean, with Mike?” Shanti asked.

“We were worried that if one day he ends things with you. Suddenly you might get hurt. We were worried that you would go back to how you were before. You know with your speech and everything.”

Suddenly Shanti’s eyes widened, “Oh, now it makes sense. Mike and I could never work out that strange conversation you had with him, Dad. He said you asked him that he had to tell you before he ever broke off our relationship.  Mike did think it would have been because you didn’t want me to get to hurt.”

“Yes, I asked Mike to talk with me first so we could be there to support you through the hurt but of course it never happened.” 

So there she was, Shanti sitting there, totally shocked. All this time they had known about her relationship and never said anything. Now, that was rather interesting?

Then she remembered. “That hiding place in my old room. Is that still there?”

“Yes. When we changed the room into a guest bedroom we placed the old dresser over it but it is still there.”

“And is there anything still in it?”

“Yes Shanti,” said her mother. “It is still in there. I never took it out.”

“Took what out? Oh, my little notebook……. Is that still there?”

“Yes, it is. Do you want it? We can move the dresser.”

“Yes, I would. I haven’t seen that book in years.”

So leaving Greeshma sitting beside the bed, we went up to Shanti’s old bedroom. The dresser was easy for us to pull aside and Shanti kneeled down on the floor. One of the floorboards was loose and slipped out easily. There was a cavity under the floor. Shanti reached in and pulled out two small boxes, a cloth bag tied with a string, and a small notebook.

Cross-legged, like a little girl, she sat on the floor looking at her treasures. First in one box was four photos of young teenage boys. “These were my pretend boyfriends,” she confessed. “They were boys at school that I really liked but I never had the nerve to even speak to them.”
Shanti's mother looked at one of the photos. "Didn't you sister Hasina date this boy?"
"Yes, she did."
"I thought you didn't like Indian boys, Shanti?"
"When he came here he was always nice to me. That is why I liked him. I was angry with Hasina when she dropped him," Shanti explained.

She then lifted out a fifth photo. “This is Mike,” she said handing the photo to me. “I cut it from the school magazine.”

I took the photo, a photo that looked like it’d been cut from a magazine. It was creased slightly torn and been handled a lot. I handed it back to her and she took it gently, lovingly handling it as if it was made of gold. Then to our surprise, she brought the photo to her lips, kissing it, before she looked up at me smiling. “This is m….m…my fir…fir…first ph….ph….photo of Mike,” she whispered.

“The second box was empty. “This bo…bo….box was wh…. where I kept the two bikinis Mike brought for me. I didn’t w…w…  want Mum to find them.” Then she looked at her mother, “I s…suppose you ko…. Ko…. knew about those too?”

He mother didn’t reply. She just nodded, giving a slight smile.

Now she picked up the little cloth bag. It clinked as she handled it. Opening it, she poured the contents out on the carpet. Each item was carefully wrapped in tissue paper. She carefully unwrapped each item laying them out neatly on the floor in front of her.

There was a steel ball, another couple of colourful glass marbles, three coloured stones, a piece of tree bark with an unusual texture, two beautiful seashells and a glass crystal. She appeared to be so engrossed in what she was doing laying them out neatly in a circle, that for a while I am sure she forgot we were still standing there watching. I realised that this little procedure must have been acted out many times before.

“M…. My…. My ma…magic treasures,” she said looking up at me. “I….I…I always believed that as long as I had these I would fi….fi….find the most handsome man in the wo….world. They di….di….. did work, didn’t they?” She said wiping a tear from her eye.

Now she picked up a notebook. I thought this might have been a diary or something but no, it was actually a poem book. She had written all the poems herself. She turned to a page near the end of the book.

“Here it is,” she said as she began to read. 

                         To Mike
           I sit beside him at the flagpole,
                He talks to me and I love to listen,
                     The sound of his voice, his words I hear.
           I wish I could reply to him,
                I’d talk to him and tell him how I feel,
                     But before I could, my stutter will appear.

           He tries to help with my speech,
                But all these things I have tried before,
                     So I know it’s no good doing them again,
           But I want him to stay beside me,
                I want to be with him for lunch each day,
                     So I keep trying hoping he will remain.

           How can I tell him I love him?
                My words would come out ruined and wrong,
                     So how can I say how much I care?
           So I just long for our time together,
                I can’t wait for the lunch bell to go,
                     And so at the flagpole we both sit there.

Looking up at us there were tears running down her cheeks. She smiled and then said, “thaaa…ta.. ta… ta… that….. was me. I….I….I  wro… wro …wro…. wrote ta …ta…. this,” she said.

I was suddenly fearful because her stutter had come back. It was now so bad she could hardly speak. But I  needn't have worried, Shanti knew how to control it now.

She looked sad for a moment and then taking a deep breath she said, “That, that was mmm…..me when I first  ca …ca… ca.  When I…I fi…first knew Mike.”

“Before you discovered your miracle cure,” I said.

“Yes,” she said smiling at her mother and I. “Before I….I…..” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Before I discovered my miracle cure.”

Shanti collected up her treasures to take with her and we replace the loose floorboard and the dresser. 

When we went back downstairs Greeshma told us that she had decided to move in with Shanti’s parents as soon as she could. Shanti’s mother agreed and told her she could stay in Shanti’s old room. We decided to get the boys to move her that evening when they came home from work. 

On the way home in the car, I asked Greeshma about The Letters Book.

“Oh, I found that when I stayed with you before we left for New Zealand. I remember the story about Shanti was one the last in the book. I thought it was such a nice story. I was very happy when I came to New Zealand to know you better Shanti.”

“Did you read all the stories?” I asked.

“No not very many because I only found that book once.”

“Oh,” I said feeling a bit relieved.

“But I saw enough to be knowing what most of the letters were about. That is why I wasn’t surprised about that sex session in the mud the other day.”

“Oh,” was all I said again. It was my turn to be shocked now. I was wondering how much she actually had read but to tell you the truth I was too scared to ask.

“It was just some fun in the mud,” I told her.

“No honey. I know, I was watching. I saw you with Peter.”

Now I really was shocked. Totally shocked!

 “You saw what Peter and I did?”

“Yes dear. I saw everything. That was very sexy, you and him......All covered in mud.....Doing like that.” 

Well, that night when Mike and Joseph came home from work we took the small amount of gear Greeshma had and loaded it into the car as she was planning to move straight away. After we had visited with them so the boys could see Shanti’s Dad for a while, we left to go home. We didn’t have time to cook so we brought something and took it back to our place.

Over the meal, Shanti told Mike and Joseph about what had happened during the day. Mike was at first a bit surprised but like Shanti, he soon realised that her parents had shown that they knew something.

Finally, he said, “We really need to put this one into The Letters Book.”

“Why?” asked Shanti.

“We do not often see you lost for words Shanti. The others all have read the story about us and so I’m sure they will enjoy this one too.”

“Yes,” added Joseph. “Shanti speechless! That is a very important story. We will all be happy to read that story”

“Come on you guys. You are so cruel. Leave poor Shanti alone,” I said. “She has had enough for one day.”

So that is how we decided to include this story in The Letters Book. They quickly decided that since I was there for most of the story that I should write it. Later when Shanti read it, she added a few more bits as well. 

When Mike read the story, he said it wasn’t very sexy at all but very emotionally charged. I agree with him there as even when I was typing it, at one point, I had tears coming to my eyes. 

So that is all from me in this letter.

            We all send our love, Lizamoa.

 Index of Letters       Story 77 Background        Back to Story 76 Part One

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