From the large window in his father’s second floor home office Jay Greg could see the edge of the garden. Likewise, he could his young stepmother, Puppies, reclining on a chaise lounge in the sun as her daughter Gabbana played with a yellow bouncy ball nearby.

Jeffrey, however, could see neither his wife or young daughter; his back was to the window and his face buried in the notebook he used for brainstorming and planning. He was an old-fashioned man; the office was full of handwritten notebooks just like the one he currently utilized and apart from the corded desk phone and the lights above them, there was not a piece of electrical equipment present. With not much to do but sit as Jeffrey wrote, Jay Greg stared longingly outside.

“I think we should have balloon arches in every doorway of the house,” said Jeffrey and he scribbled something, “that way, no matter where one is they are reminded of the date. Now, the tricky question is what color balloon arches. I am thinking a mix of them, maybe with each of our favorite colors. But since I don’t have a favorite color, it will be up to Puppies to let me know what her favorite colors are and we can work with that.”

He glanced dryly in Jay Greg’s direction. “Are you listening to me? Any thoughts?”

“What?” Jay Greg’s focused returned to his father. “What you said is good, yeah.”

Jeffrey let out a frustrated sigh. “You are here to help me, Jay Greg. Not just sit there daydreaming! Jesus Christ, you’re a grown man and you can’t even pay attention long enough to tell me your thoughts on balloon arches?”

“Sorry,” Jay Greg shifted in his seat. From outside, he could see Gabbana rolling her ball before her and wandering away from her mother. Puppies was alone now- just how he wanted to find her so he could speak to her candidly!

“Well? Do you think we should have balloon arches in every doorway? Or will that just cause balloon fatigue in everyone?” pressed Jeffrey, tapping his pen on the paper before him.

Jay Greg had to get out of that office and to Puppies. He had to talk to her.

“Sorry, dad, my stomach’s doing something weird,” he fibbed, trying to make a pained expression. “I think I need to go number two. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Stomach problems? At this hour?” his father sounded indignant. “Fine, go! But hurry back, I have many ideas I need at least some form of a human to speak to and sound off. You better focus up on this anniversary work after that visit to the john, Jay Greg!”

Jay Greg rushed from the room and down the stairs. He raced through the hall and passed Madeline, the maid, who was carrying out the dirty tablecloth from the dining room table. She quickly stepped back to avoid colliding with him.

“You’re fast for a man your age,” she remarked, though Jay Greg did not hear her.

He threw open the back door to the garden and rushed out.

Hearing his approach, Puppies turned to see him.

“Greggy?” she said with a look of bewilderment, “what’s going on? Why are you running?”

Jay Greg opened his mouth to speak, but the fact that he was not a sprinter had kicked in. He leaned forward, breathing heavy to catch his breath.

“Greggy?” Puppies repeated with concern, “are you okay?”

Jay Greg wave his hand to try and calm her. “I’m fine, just…there, I’m fine. I…I need to talk…to talk to you…”

“Talk to me? About what?”

“Are…are we alone? Is…Gabbana gone?”

Puppies looked around. “Huh, she was just here playing with something. I was wondering why I was finally beginning to relax a bit.” Her tone then changed to more dry and sarcastic. “I suppose the responsible thing would be to go and find her, wouldn’t it?”

“Hang on,” Jay Greg pleaded as he was regaining his composure, “I need to talk to you alone.”

A devious smile crossed the young woman’s face. “Baby, if you wanted to talk alone, you could have waited until eleven. I believe that’s when we’ve arranged to meet in the second floor guestroom walk-in closet?” She raised her eyebrows playfully.

“No, no,” Jay Greg shook his head, turning slightly red from her response. He once more glanced about but did not see anyone else nearby. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. It…It has to end.”

There was a moment of tense silence.

“Wait, are we…are we talking about the same thing?” asked Puppies with a blank look.

“The fact that we’ve been having an affair? Yes. That has to end.”

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The tense silence returned.

“…why?” Puppies lowered her head with a stern look. “Did someone find out? Did you tell someone?”

“No, I didn’t, and no one knows, but-“

“Then…why? Just yesterday when you were in my arms you told me how you never wanted it to end. Did I do something wrong?” She began to scratch her head. “I didn’t think I did anything that was different from all the other times…”

“No, it’s not that, you’re great, I…” Jay Greg let out a sigh. “I just…I can’t do it anymore. I just feel too guilty.”

“Too guilty? Jay Greg, we’ve been doing this for, what, nearly ten years, and now you feel guilty?”

She narrowed her eyes. It made Jay Greg feel slightly uncomfortable.

“It’s…it’s just my dad, your husband,” he replied, “he’s upstairs planning an anniversary celebration for you. He never would have done anything like that for my mom. And this celebration- it’s not just going to be any celebration, it is going to be THE celebration to top all celebrations. Do you know what that means? He is clearly very, very in love with you, Puppies.”

The woman chuckled, leaving Jay Greg feeling uneasy all over again.

“Of course he is very much in love with me,” Puppies answered, “that’s why he left that cow of a first wife and married me!” She paused a moment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply bad things about your mother, but…surely you can see why your father chose me over her. In fact, you know that better from first-hand experience than anyone else in this family.”

“Yes, you are a very attractive woman,” Jay Greg nodded.

“So, then…I still don’t understand why you feel guilty all of a sudden.”

“I don’t think it’s all of a sudden- I obviously have always known our encounters were…wrong. You are, after all, my stepmother.”

Puppies shivered in disgust. “Ugh, don’t call me that. Makes me feel old and weird about everything.”

“I mean, legally, that’s what it is.”

“Is that all you see me as? Your stepmother?”

“No, I mean…no…but…” Jay Greg waffled a moment. “You are first and foremost, my father’s wife. What we’ve been doing, when we’re doing it, I see you as a lovely and willing woman, but you’ve always been his wife at the end of the day.”

Puppies shook her head, clearly not appreciating what she was hearing. “So, I’m just your naughty stepmother, is that it?”

“No, I didn’t mean-“

“And what about Gabbana? Think about how long we’ve been having our affair, and when she was conceived. You know she could be as much your child as your father’s child. Yet you still only see me as just your stepmother and not as the possible mother of your daughter?”

Jay Greg swallowed hard.

“Do…do we know that I am Gabbana’s father? I mean, for sure?” he inquired.

“Um, how would I get a paternity test without raising suspicion? I said she possibly could be yours, as much as she could be…”

“You trailed off there, Puppies. Were you going to say ‘as much as she could be my father’s’?”

Puppies didn’t reply. She just let out a snort.

“Look, what I’m trying to get at is I’ve always known this relationship between us wasn’t right, but this morning at breakfast, to hear my father announce that he is planning an anniversary celebration for you has more than confirmed we have to end this. My father loves so little, but it is obvious you are the most cherished person in his life. He certainly doesn’t like us kids despite all we’ve been through with him…”

“So then why care if our ‘relationship’ continues? You just said yourself your father has no regard for you. I can, in fact, recall more times than I can count him complaining about you and your sisters to me. Especially Theresa. Man, she’s really made an enemy of Jeffy…”

“He’s still my father,” said Jay Greg, “and you are his wife. Regardless of how poor he treats me, it is clear he loves you dearly, and I cannot…I cannot allow us to continue like this, knowing now just how much he loves you. I’m sorry, but it’s over.”

Before anyone could speak further, a loud rustling came from the sizable hedges to their left. Both Jay Greg and Puppies nearly jumped from fright as a figure emerged from beneath the green boughs.

It was Walter Winters, the property’s gardener. He was an older man though his face was less wrinkled than some men his age. At present, however, his face was quite red from sunburn and his clothing quite disheveled. He stumbled out of the shrubbery; in his right hand was an empty glass bottle.

“ ‘Morning,” he slurred with a big smile on his face.

“Walter, you…you’ve been in the bushes?” Jay Greg sputtered and turned with a horrified glance to Puppies.

“This whole time,” the gardener replied, holding up the object in his hand. “Guess I spent the night in there too. Good thing your talking roused me or else I’d probably have slept the day away.”

“So…so you could hear our conversation?” Jay Greg nervously asked.

“I could what now?” the old man cupped a hand over his ear. “You know I’m hard of hearing. Speak up!”

“You said our talking woke you? Did you hear our conversation? “ Puppies, with an equal nervousness, inquired.

“What? Oh no, no, no,” Walter waved his empty hand with a playful motion. “No, I couldn’t hear a damn thing you two were saying. Too much drink, I think. No, I woke up because I heard talking.”

Jay Greg and Puppies looked at each other.

“So then…you didn’t just hear us…what we were saying, I mean…” Jay Greg tried to clarify.

“What?”

Jay Greg raised his voice. “You didn’t hear us?”

“What, I can hear you now just fine. No need to yell.”

“But earlier, did you hear us?”

“What?”

As Jay Greg and Walter tried to make sense of one another, Puppies was suddenly overcome with the feeling of being sick to her stomach. It wasn’t that she felt unwell because her secret affair with her stepson may have been overheard or even that their affair was about to end; it was legitimate queasiness and she had to vomit. Covering her mouth, she quickly hopped to her feet and ran off towards the far side of the mansion.

“Where’s she going?” pointed Walter. Jay Greg turned to watch her go.

“What- what’s wrong?” he called after her. Before he could make a move, the back door opened once more.

“WHAT are you doing?!” snapped Jeffrey, standing in its frame. “I thought you said you had to take a dump! Instead I find you outside chatting with the gardener?! What about planning for this anniversary party do you not understand?”

Jeffrey had apparently just missed Puppies’ departure.

“I was… I…” Jay Greg began.

“He woke me from my sleep!” giggled Walter, “too much drink! Ha ha!”

Jeffrey scowled at both men before him. It was bad enough the gardener was a drunk. Even worse was that Jay Greg would rather waste time in conversation with such a man than assist his own father- the man who had provided for him all his life and let him still live in his house- with planning a fine anniversary party. He shot a bitter glare at his son.

“Jay Greg,” he said in a stern voice, “come back to my home office with me. We need to talk.”

Jay Greg did not like Jeffrey’s tone.