There was no doubt about it. Cindy too. It was them. He felt the urge to beat off again and forced it down. He mowed the lawn. Then he weeded the garden. By the time he had cleaned out the garage he was so tired he thought he might be able to take a nap.
He awoke a short time later to the sound of the front door slamming and Mark yelling out. "Cat? Dad? Anybody home?"
He saw Mark go by the doorway to the living room. "Mark!" he barked. He modulated his voice. "I need to ask you a question."
The teenager backpedaled to the doorway. "Shoot, Dad," said his son.
"Where's Cathy? Didn't she leave with you?"
Mark's eyes drifted away. "Yeah, we went shopping for a birthday present, and then I dropped her off at Cindy's. I thought she'd be home by now. Is that all?"
Jim needed more information before he invited Mark to join his hunt. "I need to ask you some questions. They might seem strange, but trust me, OK?" When his son nodded he went on "OK. Well, the thing is ... you've gone out double dating with Cathy sometimes, right?"
Mark had a football in his hands. He threw it up in the air, spinning it, and caught it again. "Yeah, sometimes," he said.
"Who did Cathy go out with?"
Mark caught the ball and didn't throw it again. "Huh?" he said.
"Who did your sister go out with on those dates?"
Mark darted his eyes around the room. "Uh ... gosh dad ... I don't really remember. You know. I was with my own date. I guess I didn't pay that much attention."
Jim wasn't buying it. "Come on Mark. You went to the same place. Did the same things. Who was she with? Are you telling me you abandoned her? Did you and your date go off and leave her alone with some boy?" Jim was getting mad now.
"Dad! Chill out! No. I mean of course not. OK. Let me think. Um... OK maybe it was Randy Stokes? Why Dad? What's wrong?" Mark was looking at him queerly.
"Stokes!" Jim said under his breath. "Randy Stokes. Who is he? Where does he live? What's he look like?" Jim didn't know it, but he looked dangerous while he asked these questions.
Mark backed up a step. "He's gone, Dad. He moved away. Last year. I mean this summer."
Jim asked again. "What does this Randy look like? Build? Hair? Stuff like that."
Again, had Jim been thinking more clearly, he might have found it odd that Mark didn't seem to be curious as to why Jim was obviously out to find - and probably punish - one Randy Stokes. But, as we've already established, Jim wasn't up to par at this time in his life.
"Gosh dad. I dunno. I guess he's kind of thin. You know. Redish hair maybe? He's just a kid from school. What's going on Dad? What are we really talking about here?"
Jim couldn't take it any more. "I think your sister's been ... sexually active." He couldn't bring himself to say to his son that his sister had been fucked bowlegged by some guy who filled her unprotected pussy with his spooge.
Mark stared at him.
"What?" he said.