I was twenty-two years old when I first slept with my mother. It was a surreal and completely unexpected experience. It began with a phone call from my Aunt Doreen. She broke the news that Great Aunt Judy was in the hospital and unlikely to pull through. Mum was visibly upset and made immediate plans to visit Judy, who lived in Hastings, a seaside town on the English Sussex coast. Dad was away on business, and Mum didn’t...

Linda The woman looked nervous. Constantly teasing a lock of dark hair in her finger, then pulling down on the hem of her short dress. “It’s years since I’ve been on a date, let alone tried to pick up a guy. Who will be interested in me?” Beth Carter said plaintively. “Lots of men,” Linda assured her. They were standing around a small raised table in a corner slot of Glyde’s Brasserie. Linda leaned on the table, took anot...