Tanya got the house and full custody of Elliott in the divorce. Her husband had moved to a big city on the other side of the state, which was fine with her. She’d been raising Elliott on her own ever since, and doing her best to give them a good life. Her job as a free-lance graphic designer allowed her to work from home, which worked out well for looking after Elliott. Between her job and with the divorce settlement signed and sealed, she and her son were pretty well off. She wanted the design job more to break up the boredom of the daily routine than for the money, so she generally ended up taking jobs of her choice and working a few hours here and there, whenever she pleased. Financially, she didn’t really need the job, but felt she should be doing something constructive, at least part of the time. Yes, the freedom she and Elliott had when it came to the money situation suited her perfectly.
And so, the school year had started and, once again, she was worried about her sweet, young boy. He’d always been small, and somewhat delicate. Other kids had picked on him his whole life, and she’d hoped that would have stopped when he got to high school, but instead, it seemed to be worse. He’d told her bits and pieces about the three boys who seemed to be the ones bullying him, and she knew he was trying to be strong, but her heart went out to him just the same. She hoped Elliott had steered clear of them today and would make it home in a good mood.
Tanya looked forward to the two of them having a nice Friday night together and enjoy the weekend in peace and quiet. Their usual Friday night routine was to order a pizza and watch a movie. She’d put her work aside today when her younger sister had called and asked if she wanted to go golfing. Tanya had made sure they finished their round in time for her to be back when her boy arrived home from school. He’d be home soon so she took another look at herself in the full-length hallway mirror, wanting to make sure she looked presentable, even if it was just for her 18-year old son.
“Not bad for an old girl,” she thought to herself as she looked at her reflection. Tanya had turned 40 a few months back, and thought she still looked pretty good, compared to most women she saw out in the world. She stood 5′-4″ tall and packed a lot of curves on her 120-pound frame. She thought the sleeveless pink golf shirt and white golf skirt looked good on her, the light pastel colors showing off her tan. She’d even painted her fingernails a soft pink to match. Her delicate feet were clad in a pair of strappy white sandals which she had changed into after the round of golf. The pretty, flat sandals worked perfectly with her outfit. She pulled the pink scrunchie out of her hair, shaking out her long honey-blonde locks. Her hair was parted slightly to one side, and framed her pretty face appealingly. Her blue eyes sparkled with life, and she thought the pink eyeshadow she’d chosen to go with her outfit looked pretty and feminine. The pink lip gloss she was wearing accentuated her wide full mouth, her pillowy heart-shaped lips one of her best features. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing it out as it fell past her shoulders.
She smiled to herself as she’d raised her arms, the upward motion causing her breasts to jiggle beneath the pink top, the material stretched taut over her impressive chest. She didn’t remember her top fitting that tight before, but she’d felt the same when she’d put her bra on earlier. The heavily reinforced 34E bra didn’t fit her like it used to, the ample mounds of tit-flesh had seemed to swell over the top edge of the lacy reinforced cups as she’d slid her girls into it. She figured she must have gained a bit of weight up top lately and knew an F cup was likely necessary from now on. She gave herself a wry smile as she adjusted her boobs slightly, figuring that extra bit of weight gain up there was just one of those things that happened to women when they hit 40.
She turned sideways, looking at the way her curvy rump thrust out behind her. It looked like two round beach balls nestled side by side. Again, she figured that was another place she’d gained a few pounds. “But it doesn’t look bad either, does it?” she asked herself as she turned a little more, looking at her backside from over her shoulder. She adjusted her feet slightly to each side, making the back of the short, white golf skirt stretch tightly across the curvy mounds. From this angle she could see her prominent breasts in profile at the same time, her upper body twisted around for her to see. Her gaze travelled down her body to below the hem of her skirt, taking in the tanned skin of her full, creamy thighs. She was pleased that her legs still looked great at this age, her thighs and calves full and meaty, while her dimpled knees and trim ankles emphasized the sexy tone of her legs, just like her waist. Tanya had worked hard to keep her abs flat and her waist trim. Those stomach crunches and time she spent at the gym with her sister had definitely paid off. She had a shapely hourglass figure that most women would die for. “Yeah, not too bad at all,” she thought to herself. “You’re holding up pretty well, for an old girl.”
She heard the door open and with a final satisfied look in the mirror, headed towards the front of the house. “Elliott, is that you, sweetie?” she called out, rounding the corner into the front hallway. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her son was holding his left arm. The area around the bicep below the sleeve of his T-shirt looked red and sore. His eyes were swimming with tears as he turned to her. “Honey, are you all right?” Tanya hurried over to him, taking his arm in her hands. The skin looked roughed up and almost glowed red. She had him move it and flex it, which he could do okay. There was no break or muscle tear of any kind. It was just sore. She was sure he’d have a bruise coming there. “What… what happened?”
Elliott sniffed and had to cough before he spoke. “It was… it was those guys again. Jamal and the other two.”
“Those boys that’ve been bullying you?” Tanya asked, having heard her son speak about them before.
“Yeah. They were waiting for me by the store on the way home.”
Tanya knew her son wouldn’t have done anything to provoke this type of behavior. “Why, what did they want? What did they do?”
“The two other guys, Gunner and Zeke, they held me while Jamal threatened me.”
Tanya felt her heart go out to her son. He’d always been teased ever since he started school, whether it was about his name, his small stature, or his meek personality. Knowing that he had to face that type of behavior from others, it made her love him even more. It was because people were always treating him like that that she would do whatever she could to make his life better, to protect him, to try to make him happier. “Threatened you? How? Did that Jamal boy do this to your arm?”
Elliott shook his head. “No, he never hit me. He never laid a finger on me. But the other two guys, Gunner and Zeke, they held me while Jamal stood in front of me. They were both squeezing my arms pretty hard.”
“Why did they do this? What did they want?”
“Jamal’s in my English class and we’ve got a paper due next week. He wants me to write it for him. He said if he doesn’t get at least a B+ it’ll be bad news for me. And Gunner and Zeke want me to do their math homework for them too.” Elliott paused, sniffing again as he tried to compose himself. “Mom, I… I don’t know what to do.”
Tanya felt herself melting as she looked at her trembling son. She knew she had to help somehow, and she wanted to talk to these boys, to see what their problem with her son was all about. At the same time, she didn’t want Elliott to feel like a little baby who went crying to his mother. The beginnings of a plan quickly came to mind. Maybe if they gave it a shot, things just might turn around. “Sweetie, these boys, you said they’re from the neighborhood on the other side of the river, right?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“Do you know anything about them? What their families are like? Do you think their home lives might not be the best?”
Elliott shrugged. “I’ve just heard bits and pieces. Apparently Jamal’s dad just got out of prison a couple of months ago. Gunner’s dad’s a drunk and his parents fight all the time, and word has it that Zeke’s mom is raising five kids on her own, and two of his brothers are drug dealers, and one of them’s in jail too.”
“Oh my, that sounds terrible.” Tanya paused as she looked around at their home, the opulence of it making her feel guilty after what Elliott had just told her. She turned on her heel and reached for her purse, her mind made up. “Come on, we’re going to go and have a talk with those boys.”
“Mom, no!”
“It’ll be all right,” Tanya said, taking Elliott’s hand and pulling him towards the door that led into the garage. “I just want to talk to them. I promise I won’t embarrass you.”
“But Mom, that won’t help. They won’t listen to you. Look, these are not nice guys.”
“Elliott, you’ve heard the expression, ‘You get more bees with honey than vinegar,’ haven’t you?”
“Yes. But I don’t see-”
“Just trust me.” Tanya stopped and turned to her son. She saw the worry in his eyes as she softened her voice. “Elliott, you want this to stop, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then you have to trust me. All right?”
“Okay, okay.”
“All right then,” Tanya said as they climbed into her SUV. “You don’t need to say anything, but just follow my lead in what I say.”
Uncertain, Elliott grudgingly nodded his head as his mother backed out of the driveway. Within minutes the variety store came into view, and he spotted the three boys standing near one corner, laughing and talking. “That’s them,” Elliott said, pointing.
“Which one is which?” Tanya said as she pulled over to the curb.
“The big black guy in the middle is Jamal. The blonde one is Gunner, and Zeke’s the one in the black T-shirt.”