Melody came down first and sat at the kitchen table where I sipped another cup of coffee. “Bill?”
“Hmm?”
“How much did you really hear last night?”
Ah, shit, I thought we were past that. What do I say to her?
“You're thinking too long. Please be honest. Do you know what happened and what was said?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“A lot.”
“So you know.”
“I know what?”
“You know none of us are virgins.”
“I know that technically, you still are.”
“If you mean being with a guy, yes. I'm not sure how I feel about that. How do you feel about it?”
“Me? It's not my concern. I'm not your father. You're an adult. Make adult decisions.”
“But what if I don't know what I want? What if I can't decide? What if I'm scared?”
“That's what friends and family are for, honey.”
“I can't really talk to my friends about it. They think I'm weird enough as it is – the flat-chested little girl who's never been on a date. Dad thinks it's great. He stopped understanding me when he took the training wheels off my bike. He likes the fact that I'm like a little girl. Me feeling like a woman would give him a coronary. Mom and I always talk about everything, but I can't go to her with this.”
The gentleman in me said, “I'll listen if you like.”
“It's a guy. He'd never want me, but I can't stop thinking about him. I love him, and he loves me, but we're not IN LOVE or anything. That would never work. But I want him. All he'd have to do is ask, and I'd let him do anything to me.”
Oh, no. No. I'm already doing enough stupid things. I'm not going there.
Jamie appeared at exactly the right time, plunking a baseball cap on Melody's head. “Perfect! Let's go!” She grabbed the car keys and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I'll make us all lunch when we get back.” Kiersten arrived in time to see Jamie's kiss, so she followed suit. They looked at their friend.
Melody turned the baseball cap around and gave me a nice warm kiss and hug. “Can we talk later?” she murmured in my ear.
“Of course.”
She kissed me again, and the trio went out the door.
By the time I finished weekend chores, I was baking. In the shower again, I thought the rest of the day should be spent in air conditioning.
The Three Musketeers – what all the parents called them – straggled in the door shortly after I came downstairs.
“Phew! It's hot out there!” Jamie exclaimed.
“I'm staying inside the rest of the day,” I said.
“Not us!” Kiersten chirped. She pulled a tube of sunscreen from a bag. “This is all any of us bought. The cool clothes in my size make me look dumpy, the stuff in Jamie's size makes her look too skinny, and there was nothing in Melody's size.”
“No, the cutesie-p*o, makes-me-look-like-a-c***d stuff was there, all right,” Melody sneered. “Not clothes a college girl would wear. Looks like I'm shopping online again.”