Whispers and Murmurs

This story has been posted to Literotica.Com with the full knowledge of the original author, JimBob44. No part or whole of this story may be reprinted in any other format or on any other web site without the express written consent of the original author.

Author's Note: Any and all persons engaging in any sexual activity are at least eighteen years of age.

Disclaimers: This story has been edited by myself, utilizing Microsoft Spell-check. You have been forewarned; expect to find mistakes.

* * * * *

"...Wonder if Robert knows?" Robert O'Neil heard as he felt around under his desk for the Parker pen.

Whereas everyone else was happiest using their computer to jot down ideas, the newest employee of Edwards & Elswell Marketing Group preferred to take a small legal pad and scribble out his ideas. The fancy ball point pen had been a gift from his wife, Donna, given to him when he'd graduated from the University of Louisiana at DeGarde with a Bachelor's in Mass Communication.

"...Peter, right down the street..." Robert heard the other coworker respond.

"That sleaze-bag lawyer..." the first person asked as their voices faded away.

Robert located the pen and hit the back of his head on the underside of his desk when he tried to wiggle out from under the heavy piece of furniture. When he sat up, rubbing his head, the two women were no longer in sight.

He frowned deeply. His name was Robert, his wife's name was Donna, and the lawyer down the street, Peter Neulin was indeed a sleazebag. Peter was almost as despicable as his wife Charlene, Charlotte, Chandelle, whatever her name was. He found the husband and wife to be arrogant, self-aggrandizing and untrustworthy and avoided any interaction with either one of them at any neighborhood functions.

After a long moment, Robert returned to the problem Valerie Elswell had dropped in his lap. Saladelights, a restaurant that served salads and other health-conscious foods had once been a trendy place for those that wanted to avoid the carbs and fats and grease associated with fast-food establishments. But, as of late, they'd fallen out of favor. They'd seen their sales dropping. Most restaurants experienced slight shifts in their clientele but Saladelights had seen a steady and significant decline in the past quarter.

With the Parker in hand, Robert doodled a rabbit and a head of iceberg lettuce.

"Salads...it's not just for rabbits anymore..." Robert mused aloud.

"That's oh come on, that's terrible," Aderyn, the cute receptionist tittered as she hustled past his open doorway.

Robert smiled. The bubbly eighteen year old girl was six months pregnant and spent more time in the bathroom than she did sitting in the lobby of the small marketing firm. Which meant, several times a day, she waddled past his doorway, treating him to the sight of her happily smiling face, large breasts, juicy round backside, and distended belly.

The petite girl wore maternity dresses, even though Connie Edwards had told Aderyn that she could wear maternity slacks and tops if she wished. Her dresses were always a soft material, in pleasing colors; she was a picture of feminine grace and womanly beauty.

"God damned lucky bastard," Robert said, thinking of whomever may have impregnated the petite blonde beauty.

Robert did not know who the father of Aderyn's baby might be. He'd overheard the women in the building chatting pleasantly with the mother-to-be, talking about pregnancy, child-birth, and motherhood. He could not remember the young woman ever saying who her boyfriend was, though.

But, Robert could imagine this young receptionist reclining on a couch while a nameless, faceless young man rubbed her heavy belly, applying Vitamin E cream into her belly to minimize stretch marks. He could envision Aderyn hefting the hem of her dress up, revealing the pale belly, plain white cotton panties bunched up underneath the big, beautiful belly, her heavy bra-clad breasts resting against the swollen stomach.

The lucky man would smear the thick cream into her stomach while she lay with her blonde head in his lap. Her big brown eyes would look up into his face, her beatific smile on her face. She would close those eyes and purr happily as his hand lovingly rubbed her tummy.

"Oh! You! Bad boy, bad boy," she would giggle as her boyfriend's had would push the panties down, revealing the sparse tendrils of her blonde pubic hair.

"Mm hmm," her man would agree as he combed his fingers through her light blonde muff, searching for her wet slit.

"Oh!" Aderyn would moan as her boyfriend fingered her to a quick orgasm.

"I swear, I'm about to pop then I get there and...nothing," Aderyn complained, waddling past Robert's office, heading toward the lobby.

Robert looked up, smiling at the girl. Looking back down, he saw that he had drawn an anthropomorphized bunny rabbit with large breasts, a heavily pregnant belly and a thick triangle of bunny fur between her legs. The bunny had Aderyn's large eyes, small upturned nose and delightful smile. Robert quickly tore that sheet off and crumpled it tightly before tossing it into the wastebasket.

"Two points," Valerie Elswell complimented, stepping into his office. "So...what you got for me?"

"Donna said Frank? Guy in her office?" someone said from behind Valerie's back.

"...Hung like a donkey?" another female asked.

Robert tried to peer around his boss, but could not see who the two women were. Even Valerie turned to see whom had been speaking before returning her attention to Robert.

"Salads...It's not just for rabbits anymore," Robert suggested, smiling tightly at his boss.

"Uh. No," Valerie said.

"As long as she's been doing it? Surely Robert's caught on by now?" Robert heard another female voice say as he and Valerie regarded one another.

"But, you know? Rabbits, bunnies, bunnies are cute," Valerie pondered. "Part of the problem? Somehow, Saladelights, they picked up a reputation of being stuffy."

"Uh? Their prices don't help. Their furniture sucks too. And, have you ever tried having a normal conversation in there?" Robert ticked off on his fingers.

"Hmm," Valerie agreed.

At ten fifteen, Robert went into the break room to grab a cup of coffee. He smiled as he stood behind Aderyn; they were waiting for Katrina to finish fixing her mocha latte.

"By the way, that is such a pretty color on you," Robert blurted out, admiring the soft peach color of Aderyn's dress.

"Oh! Thanks!" Aderyn said, turning and smiling brightly.

She held up her arm for him to appreciate the peach colored garment. He smiled into her happy face.

"Feel, feel," she ordered. "It is so soft; it's almost like wearing a cloud."

Robert did gently pinch the material of the sleeve and nodded with agreement. Katrina finally finished and moved so Aderyn turned to prepare her cup of green tea with a tablespoon of local wild honey. While she worked, Robert covertly admired the way the dress molded to her backside. With a jolt, he realized he could not see any panty lines in the clingy material.

She finished her ministrations and stepped aside so he could prepare his Big & Bold dark roast coffee. Turning, Robert saw that Aderyn was standing, ever-resent smile on her cute face.

"You always grab your coffee and run on out of here," she admonished him. "Come on and sit with me. Please?"

"Know what? That problem will still be there when I get back," Robert agreed and her smile went from happy to delighted.

Robert helped Aderyn take a seat at a small table then sat across from her. She again indicated her dress and Robert again admired the soft garment and the peach color.

"The Ministry of Faith has all kind of maternity dresses; I mean, they got other stuff too, but I have always been a dress kind of girl," she explained.

"Ministry of Faith?" Robert asked. "That building on Banks Street?"

"Yes!" she said happily. "See, the Baptist and Methodist churches, oh, oh, and the Lutheran church over in, mm, I think it's Elgee? They all got together to run it. In fact, the only ones that don't help out are the Catholic churches and that Jewish place."

"So, are you Baptist or..." Robert started to ask.

"Uh? Hernandez? I got no choice," she laughed. "I have to be Catholic. But I don't like nothing at that St. Vincent DePaul's store."

"Hernandez? What? How does a cute little blonde get a name like Hernandez?" Robert asked, smiling.

"Like fiftieth generation or something," she laughed. "But I volunteer there every Saturday? So they always set aside the stuff they think I might like. They are just so sweet."

After a cautious sip of her steaming tea, Aderyn asked Robert about himself. He told her of being a less than stellar student, only figuring out in the latter part of his senior year in high school that he was doing himself no favors by slacking off. Fortunately for him, his dad and his grandparents had set up a college fund for him when he was born so he was able to attend the university without garnering serious student loan debt.

"O'Neil's. Like O'Neil's Furniture?" Aderyn asked, making the connection.

"Yep. Of course, it really should be Thibodaux's Furniture now," Robert admitted. "When my Uncle Bob died, my dad sold his share. Said Uncle Bob's death was his wake up call; life's too short. But what about you?"

"Kind of the same as you," she admitted, large brown eyes fixed on his.

"...Donna...three way..." Robert heard a woman's voice say from directly behind him.

"What?" Robert demanded, whirling in his seat.

"Uh?" Makeda McMann, a heavy set African-American woman snapped at him. "It even look like we was talking to you?"

"No, but I heard..." Robert snapped in reply.

"Oh! You was listening in on us? Ain't none yo didness," Makeda snapped and she and her companion noisily got up and stomped out of the break room.

"God damned mil..." Robert started, then stopped himself before he could say anything that would jeopardize his employment.

"Was a terrible student, was always drinking, smoking a lot of weed; why's it called weed anyway?" Aderyn confessed after the two women had clattered and slammed and bumped their way out from the break room.

"You know, I really don't know. Tried it a couple of times," Robert said. "Really? Stuff just made me feel stupid."

"Kind of the whole idea," Aderyn laughed, then grew serious. "Went to this party, met Brian and he feeds me all this stuff about love at first sight. Of course? Minute he's done? He is DONE."

"Huh," Robert said, covertly looking at his watch.

"Guess love at first sight don't mean nothing when you turn up all preggers. Twins, believe that?" Aderyn said. "But, quit drinking and smoking, went ahead, got my GED and then Miss Elswell hired me."

"Oh? How do you know Ms. Elswell?" Robert asked, verifying he had four more minutes of break time.

"Bobby Elswell. Her brother; he's the owner or something at Parasols Magazine," Aderyn admitted, struggling to get to her feet. "I'm going to be in the May magazine; Mother's Day. Sorry, but I really got to tinkle."

Even knowing Donna would throw a major fit, Robert planned to grab the May issue of the magazine. He helped Aderyn to her feet and promised to take care of her mug of tea. He watched her cute backside as she scurried for the door.

"Thanks, Robert," she smiled just before the door closed.

He rinsed her cup and used the soapy sponge on her cup, her cute Mickey Mouse spoon and his own cup. Placing both into the rack next to the sink, Robert nodded to the two women that entered the break room.

Just before the door of the break room closed, he heard one woman say, "...both of them? At the same time? GIRL! That Donna is a freak, know what I'm saying?"

"What?" Robert demanded, barging into the room again.

"Uh? This is an A B conversation? So why you don't just C your way on out of this?" one of the women said, tone of voice and facial expression both sneering.

"Another false alarm," Aderyn giggled, passing Robert as he exited the break room.

"Hey, here's an idea. Why don't we just move your phone into the ladies room?" Robert teased and she shot him a pretend scowl.

Her giggle negated the scowl, though. Robert stood at his doorway, admiring her physique for a long moment before sitting behind his desk again.

"Salad...it's not just for bunnies anymore..." Robert mused.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Giggling, Donna let herself into the rented home she and her husband shared. They'd met on the campus of the University of Louisiana at DeGarde, and while it had not been love at first sight, Donna had grown to love Robert. Their personalities were polar opposites; he was meticulous, organized, and introspective. She was outgoing, free-spirited, impulsive.

"You need to loosen up," she had said on more than one occasion.

"No. No, I really don't need to 'loosen up' as you say," Robert would respond.

"You also need to pay more attention to your wife," she'd also said frequently after he began working at Edwards & Elswell.

"You want a new BMW, you want that house on Cross Circle, you want that vacation where we hike the glaciers, but you also want me to pay more attention to you?" Robert snapped the last time she made this observation. "Okay, tell me which one of your desires we can put on the back burner. Which one of these things can we do without for a little while?"

"Oh. Shut up," Donna had snapped.

Robert really was too tightly wrapped. If the television remote wasn't in the exact spot he'd left it in, he threw a fit. If dishes were left in the sink, he threw a fit. And, oh dear God, the dishwasher. According to Robert, there was a correct way to load the dishwasher.

"It's a dishwasher. You put the dishes in, you turn it on, they get washed, Robert," Donna had yelled that very morning as he'd complained about how she'd put the breakfast dishes into the bottom rack.

"Start at the back, work your way forward. Know how nasty it is getting ketchup on a shirt sleeve just because you just put the plate any which way it'll fit in there?" Robert had said. "And why is there ketchup on the plate? You need to rinse the plates before you just stuff them into the dishwasher."

"I need to get you to put a lump of coal up your ass," Donna had responded. "God, just think of how big a diamond you could make? And really? We need to wash the dishes before we put them in the dishwasher? Then why do we even got a dishwasher?""

April fool's Day was the perfect opportunity to loosen some of the nights that held her husband together. It was also the perfect opportunity to show Robert he really did need to pay more attention to his wife. If he wouldn't, there were plenty of men willing to pay her all kind of attention.

The moment Robert left their rented house that morning, Donna had called the offices of Edwards & Elswell. Some girl listened, giggling as Donna explained what she wanted and promised she'd do her best to help Donna.

"Hmm, should've got her name," Donna mused as she started on their dinner.

Robert would come in, accuse her of having an affair with that cute lawyer or her coworker Frank. Donna would then yell 'April Fool!' Whoever answered the phone at his job could back up Donna's claim. And after he got over his little tiff, she'd remind him he needed to loosen up. She'd also remind him, after some hot sex to start their weekend off right that he needed to keep his eye on the ball. He needed to make sure his wife always came first.

Six o'clock rolled around; even if Robert had gone to the gym, he should have been home by now. Six thirty, she put the hot chicken salad on the table and checked her cell phone. There were no messages, no voice mail.

"Hey, where are you?" she sent to his cell phone.

Donna ate her dinner, perking up the few times she heard a car on their fairly quiet street. After putting her dish into the dishwasher, purposefully not rinsing it and putting the plate sideways into the rack, Donna called Robert's cell phone.

"Hey, Sweetheart, where, where are you?" Donna asked.

At eight thirty, Donna called Miss Peggy, Robert's mother. The normally warm and gregarious woman snarled a greeting. Donna stared at the cell phone for a split second, wondering if she might have the wrong number.

"Miss Peggy, Robert there? He should've been home already and..." Donna asked.

"Well, why don't you ask Peter or who's the other one, Frank where he is?" Peggy O'Neil snarled and ended the call.

A second call to her mother in law's cell phone went directly to voice mail. Donna explained it had all been an April fool's Day prank.

The call to Tim O'Neil, Robert's father went straight to voice mail. A text message sent to both Miss Peggy and Tim, explaining again how it was all just a prank, an April fool's Day joke was unanswered.

Donna did not bother calling Robert's brother Timmy. When she'd first met the oldest O'Neil child, Donna had trouble believing that Robert and Timmy were brothers. Robert was quiet, thoughtful, and compassionate. Timmy was an arrogant prick, a true narcissist. Unless it directly benefited him, Timmy would not help Donna. The sibling rivalry was extreme; if it hurt Robert, Timmy reveled in his brother's misery.

A call to Ciara, Robert's older sister earned Donna a 'Fuck you; don't call me no more.' The text message sent to Ciara's phone, explaining that it had all been an April fool's joke earned Donna a 'Yeah. Right. Blocking your number now, Bitch.'

Apparently the baby of the family, Aine O'Neil had already blocked Donna's phone number. Donna again tried Robert's phone but once more got his voice mail. She left a message, explaining it was all an April fool's joke but obviously Robert had far too thin a skin to handle it.

Donna tried to watch a reality show on TLC; it was a show that Robert hated. Whenever he happened into the room, Robert would point out how none of these people seemed to take any responsibilities for their lot in life. They all seemed to want to blame someone else for their misery and misfortune. Donna could not concentrate on the television show and shut it off twelve minutes into the program. She got to her feet and wobbled to the bedroom.

"Shit!" she exclaimed; Robert always checked that the doors were locked, the oven and stove turned off.

And Saturday was garbage pick-up day in their neighborhood. Checking the garbage can under the sink, Donna saw that it was more than half full. She dragged the can out, then remembered, Robert always started off upstairs, with the master bathroom wastebasket. Then, whether they'd had a guest over or not, he checked the wastebasket in the guest bathroom. Then, garbage bag or bags in hand, he would trot down the stairs and duck into the half-bath at the foot of the stairs and check that wastebasket as well. Even if there was just one tissue in there, he would pull the liner out. Finally, he would take the kitchen garbage can out, put the bathroom garbage bags into the kitchen garbage can and lug it into the garage where their large outdoor garbage can sat, wedged against the far wall.

"God damn lot of work," Donna grumbled, marching around their house.

Stomping into their garage, Donna looked at the space where Robert's practical, ordinary, plain Ford Focus normally sat. Then, dropping everything into the garbage can, Donna hit the switch for the garage door. She remembered, she'd removed her bra the moment she'd arrived home; obviously she'd gained a few pounds since purchasing the bra. Her bras cut into her back and shoulders, especially after a long day's work. Throwing an arm over her unfettered breasts, Donna rolled the garbage can out to the curb. She then hurried back into the garage, breasts bobbling and bouncing as she briskly walked.

Halfway up the stairs, Donna again remembered, she needed to check all the doors, check the oven and stove. After all of that, she turned and saw that she'd again left the coffee pot on. The coffee maker had sat all day, burner scorching the class carafe. Since there'd been no coffee in the pot, just touching the overheated coffee carafe caused it to shatter.