The Neighbor Could Have Been His Mother, and He Couldn’t Resist

When the three young people disappeared upstairs, Marlene lowered her voice and leaned across the table toward her new neighbor.

—You told me to bring you a résumé. Do you really think I have any chance of getting a job at your hospital? —she asked.

—If only the hospital were mine —Pilar laughed—. But yes, I think you have a shot. You just need to have your degree validated and sign up for the job pool. Right now there are lab openings, and you may get called in a few weeks.

—I’ve already had my degree validated. I started the paperwork before the divorce even happened. My daughters and I were dead set on moving here —Marlene explained, and she bit her lip before adding more softly—: I’m eager to start over. If I’m left with nothing to do, I get overwhelmed.

—Tomorrow, if you want, I’ll introduce you to HR. I go into clinic at ten. —Pilar studied her for a moment—. Forgive my curiosity, but if you’ve always worked, how did you manage with two girls the same age?

Marlene turned her glass between her fingers before answering.

—My ex-husband hired a nanny, Remedios, a Spanish woman who took care of them until a year ago. I studied, built a career, and never lacked work. That side of me was, to a large extent, what broke the marriage. I’m not much for domestic life; I never felt like a traditional mother. I love them madly, but sometimes I feel like we’re more sisters than mother and daughters.

—And what did he say about that?

—That I was bland and boring in bed. —She said it without anger, almost amused—. And that why should I work if his income was more than enough. Now he’s with his secretary, an office girl with huge tits who, according to him, is a wildcat. He’s promised to give up everything for her and give her the son I never wanted to give him. She got pregnant before we’d even signed the papers.

—If you were so proper —Pilar said, frowning with a smile—, how come his family accuses you of seducing him?

Marlene glanced sideways toward the staircase the boys had gone up. She lowered her voice even more, uneasy, like someone confessing a secret she’d kept for years.

—Because I did seduce him. But only out of curiosity, because of the reputation men from the south have. The thing is, I… I like women. Well, men too, I enjoyed myself with him. But a woman catches my attention much more. I’ve only been with one in my life, and maybe that doubt was what made me, as he used to say, dull. My daughters don’t know anything about this.

—Well, if that’s the problem, you just need to add a little salt to life —Pilar laughed, and rested her hand on her forearm a moment too long—. And look, I’m an expert at that. Since I was widowed I haven’t been with anyone again, but I’ve helped a few indecisive friends find the right partner. If you want, I can help you with that too.

Marlene opened her mouth to answer, but the doorbell cut her off.

—The pizzas —she said, standing up—. Tomorrow you’ll tell me everything. I’m very curious.

***

They ate dinner in the garden, the two women and the three young people. Adrián, Pilar’s son, barely looked up from his plate whenever Saskia or Lena spoke to him. They were twins, one blonde and one brunette, dressed identically even down to the socks, and so beautiful it was hard to look at them straight on. It was agreed that the next morning the two mothers would go into the city to sort out the hospital paperwork, and Adrián would stay with the girls to finish the internet hookups in the new house.

—Behave yourselves and don’t make the boy’s life miserable —Marlene told her daughters—. And no making holes in the walls.

—Yes, ma’am, Captain —Adrián replied, and the twins’ laughter made him feel, for the first time that night, that maybe he wasn’t so invisible after all.

Back home, Adrián said goodnight to his mother and, without turning on the light, peeked through the gap in the shutter toward the house across the street. The sisters had closed theirs. That night he dreamed of things he found hard to admit even in sleep: in his dreams it wasn’t only Saskia and Lena, but also Marlene, their mother, naked in front of a mirror.

***

His mother woke him by pounding on the door. There were five minutes left before the alarm was due to go off and he was still dragging through the dream, a vivid image of Marlene looking at herself naked through a pair of binoculars he’d bought online himself and that were arriving that very day. He showered, put on a new pair of sports shorts, a matching T-shirt, and worked himself up in front of the mirror so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

—Behave yourself with Marlene’s daughters —Pilar told him as they left—, but don’t let them push you around. They’re way too pretty and they’ll try to boss you. You’re handsome enough not to look out of place between those two.

They dropped Marlene off at the door of her house, where she was already waiting for them in a spotless skirt suit. Adrián took his toolbox out of the car while she settled into the seat he had just vacated.

—The girls have already had breakfast and are waiting upstairs —Marlene told him, leaning out of the window—. Don’t let my two little devils intimidate you.

He remained on the sidewalk watching the car drive away, feeling an uncomfortable tug in his groin that the memory of the dream did nothing to calm. He went up to the twins’ bedroom, which he already knew, and froze in the doorway. They were finishing making the bed wearing only short camisole tops and blue panties that were barely covered.

—Hi, Adrián. Have you had breakfast? —Lena greeted him, waving as if nothing were wrong.

—Yeah… I already ate —he replied, not believing those two creatures weren’t the least bit bothered by being nearly naked. He picked up one of the nightstands they had to take down to the basement—. I’ll take this one down; I’ll come back for the other.

—Can you manage on your own? —Saskia asked with a smile that was innocent and provocative at the same time—. If you want, I’ll help you.

—I can manage, better to take them one by one down the stairs —he answered, and practically fled.

When he reached the landing he realized the state he was in: the sports shorts had an inner mesh and he wasn’t wearing underwear, and the erection was impossible to hide. He made four unnecessary trips, carrying furniture and boxes, just to keep away from them until they got dressed. They didn’t get dressed. When he came back from the last one, the twins were still in their panties, standing there waiting for him.

—Where do we start? —they said almost in unison.

—First, a ladder to reach the ceiling access panels —he explained, pointing upward without daring to drop his eyes to their legs—. I’ll run a guide wire from the living room and you let me know when the tip comes through.

I need to find an excuse to go home and put on tight boxers, he thought, or this is going to end in a monumental embarrassment.

He texted the group he’d just created with their numbers —“I forgot something, back in five minutes”— and took off like a shot. When he returned, with his underwear changed and one extra tool to justify the absence, the twins had put on tiny shorts to open the door. That didn’t last long. As soon as they went upstairs, they were back in their panties.

—I suppose you don’t mind us being comfortable —Saskia said with a half-smile—. It’s much hotter here than in our city.

—You’re in your own home —he replied, this time with his hard-on a little more under control.

***

The job consisted of running three cables from one access panel to another with a guide wire and a rope. Adrián pushed from below and one of the sisters pulled from the top of an aluminum ladder. When it was Lena’s turn to climb up, arms raised, her short top separated from her body, and from the floor Adrián had a direct view of her breasts swaying to the rhythm of his pushing the guide wire, the nipples strangely hard.

—What’s wrong? —she asked when she heard him curse—. Did the rope break?

—No, nothing, I hit my finger —he lied, dazed—. Just keep pushing slowly, no rush.

—It’s coming through! —Lena said after a while, and when she looked down she found him ecstatic. She smiled as if it meant nothing—. And now what?

—Upstairs, to do the same thing —he replied, quickly averting his eyes.

In the other bedroom the scene repeated itself with Saskia, the blonde, with breasts almost identical to her sister’s but whiter, the same exact sway. When the rope finally reached Marlene’s room, they called the job done, waiting for the delivery man.

—I had a great time —Saskia said, laughing—. I liked that from below you were directing me without taking your eyes off me.

—And me —added Lena—. It looked like you were afraid we’d do something wrong. Let’s get pretty to go out to eat, since your mother said we were going to make you the envy of the restaurant.

***

They went to lunch at a restaurant two kilometers away, where Pilar had reserved a table for them. Beforehand, Adrián had picked up a package at a nearby gas station and hidden it in the driver’s seat: the long-range binoculars he’d had diverted there so his mother wouldn’t see them arrive at the house.

The place was packed. The arrival of the two identical, devastating twins caused such a stir that even the waiter stumbled while pulling out their chairs. Adrián, far from feeling proud as his mother had predicted, was uncomfortable being the center of everyone’s attention. His discomfort turned to panic when Lena asked:

—What’s the package you left in the car?

—A part to connect my two computers —he lied outright—. In case one breaks, so I don’t lose the programs.

—Well, we could use that —Saskia said—. You have to show us your computers. We don’t have secrets; we share everything: programs, photos, even the same videos.

They ordered paella and, at the twins’ insistence, a bottle of white wine. Between glasses, they told him about their lives. Their mother, they said, they loved more like an older sister; the one who had really raised them was Remedios, the Spanish nanny.

—We’re sure Remedios was involved with our father —Saskia confessed, lowering her voice—. A year ago she left crying, but most likely he told her he’d fallen in love with his secretary, whom he’s now marrying.

—If your mother is so beautiful, how could he cheat on her? —Adrián asked, astonished—. There aren’t many women as gorgeous as Marlene.

—Oh, fuck off —Lena laughed—. If you like our mother, you’ll like Saskia too, because she’s her clone, just younger.

—No… that’s not it… —he stammered, red to the ears, until he gave in—. Well, yes. I like Marlene, I’m not going to deny it. She’s gorgeous, just like Saskia. But you, Lena, are no slouch either. You’re even prettier.

—Finally he says it without stuttering —Lena celebrated—. We’d already noticed you liked us, especially when you tried to look at our tits from under the stairs.

—I can’t deny the obvious —he admitted, now bolder seeing that the twins weren’t offended—. But you still haven’t answered me: why did he cheat on her?

—For two reasons —Saskia said with an amused expression—. The first, because men are a bit stupid and go crazy over a pair of tits. The second, and more important, because Marlene wasn’t giving him what he wanted. We think our mother likes women more than men.

Adrián stared at them, amazed that they were talking like that about their own mother. But what came next left him speechless. Saskia brought her mouth close to his ear, as if confiding a secret.

—Last night we talked it over. We saw the way Marlene looked at your mother. And we came up with a plan to confirm it.

—And that’s where you come in —Lena continued—. This morning, seeing how excitedly she dressed up to go with your mother, we have almost no doubts left. But we want to confirm it. We’re going to help you win Marlene over. Or at least try to.

—You’re crazy! —he exclaimed, horrified—. Marlene could be my mother!

—But she’s hot as hell, and you just confirmed it for us —Saskia shot back, very serious—. And you’re young, handsome, and, we think, tender. She likes you. If your mother doesn’t beat you to it, maybe you can bang her and clear up our doubts.

—How do you mean, if my mother doesn’t beat me to it?

—Last night she gave us some very special kisses —Lena said—. And the way she looked at our assets leaves no room for doubt. But we could be wrong. Does your mother have a boyfriend, or friends?

Adrián thought about it. The few times his mother went out for dinner or a weekend away, it was always “with colleagues.” Maybe they were right.

—Let’s make a deal —he said at last, looking at them differently—. I’ll try with Marlene, even if she tells me to fuck off. But you help me with my mother and, when you’re sure of what you’re implying, you tell me. And I’ll tell you in advance that I wouldn’t mind. Can you imagine if Marlene and my mother ended up hooking up?

—Holy shit, it’s true —Saskia laughed—. We could be stepbrothers. And hey, they wouldn’t make a bad couple, the blonde and the redhead. Your mother is a stunner.

—A milf who makes you turn your head —Lena finished—. And you, even if she’s your mother, aren’t blind.

—Of course I know my mother looks good, just like yours —he cut in, uncomfortable—. But let’s drop the conjectures and get going; we still have to set up the connections.

***

The twins left first with the car keys while he paid at the bar. When he got to the parking lot he froze: they had taken the binoculars box out of the wrapping and were reading its features curiously. When they saw him, they apologized at the same time, embarrassed.

—Sorry we snooped —Lena said—, but we were curious. What do you want binoculars like these for, and why did you lie to us?

Adrián, whose timidity was offset by a quick mind, put the box in the back seat, started the car, and made up a story about a video game in which his avatar was an eagle and the binoculars were for going up to the mountains to watch birds flying up close, improve the character, that kind of thing. He told it with such composure that the twins swallowed it whole.

—What a coincidence —said Saskia—, we play with animal avatars too. I’m a fox and my sister’s a wolf. You have to show us that game.

—Whenever you want —he replied, relieved that the lie had worked.

They arrived at the house and he parked the car in the exact same spot in the garage. He grabbed the binoculars box and told them that while they changed clothes he’d go to his house for a minute to get better-quality connectors and electrical tape. He took off like a shot.

He went up to his room, pointed the binoculars through the gap in the shutter, and confirmed, heart racing, that the twins’ bed —now that they’d moved it— could be seen in its entirety. If they didn’t lower the shutter tonight, he’d be able to watch them getting into that enormous mattress, almost as wide as it was long. The wardrobe and the nightstands were out of his angle, but not the bed. He hid the binoculars under his own bed, gathered the connectors and tape, and, pleased with himself, thinking of the view that awaited him that night, went back to the house across the street.

***