Kimmydonn Week 59: Need to Talk

Kimmydon
Wednesday


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Picture 2


Kimmydon's Choice: Picutre 2


Title: Need to Talk

“Mom? Can I talk to you?” I did a quick double take. Sarah was so lucky Peter was out of town for a conference. He would have conniptions if he saw her out on the roof. Mind you, if Peter were home, he probably wouldn’t like me out here either. Sarah’s aunt and namesake had died by falling from this very roof and we both knew how that made her father feel, but we came out anyway. I noticed her pick her steps very cautiously until she sat across from me, crossing her legs. “Please?”

It must have been important. “Why here?” I asked, wishing she’d asked a couple of hours ago instead of while I was watching the sunset.

“Working up the nerve,” she admitted, giving herself a little shake. “You remember I went out with Jake last weekend?”

I nodded. She went out with Jacob every weekend. It made me smile. I never had a steady boyfriend in high school, constantly sending mixed or too subtle signals. Sarah had never had that problem. She’d been very forward with boys since she was sure they didn’t have cooties, around the age of twelve. She and Jacob had been on again, off again, on again for years. They were both due to graduate this year. I knew their friendship would survive distance but not their other feelings.

“Well... we kinda...” Sarah took a deep breath and turned red in the face. What? Was something wrong? “Had sex,” she finally managed to get out.

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. I’d long since moved away from home before I lost my virginity, several years older than Sarah was now. I couldn’t imagine telling my mom about it. I’d told my best friend, Jamie immediately, and she’d already guessed by the look of shock on my face what had happened, but Mom?

“Yeah,” Sarah said looking at her hands. “We were careful and everything, but it hurt, a lot.” She still wasn’t meeting my eye. “Is it supposed to hurt? I thought it would feel good.”

I sighed a little in relief. This was the kind of question I could answer. “It will. It’s like a lot of things. It takes some getting used to. You were careful?” I asked, smirking slightly.

“Yeah, he used a condom. I think that made it worse though. It was very... scratchy?” Her nose wrinkled, showing her dissatisfaction with that word.

“Sticky?” I suggested, and she nodded. “Yeah, that can happen. It’ll get better with practice.” My eyes narrowed, slightly angrily. “I hope you won’t be practicing again soon.”

She chuckled. “Not soon, no. It was... well more of a goodbye.” she turned around to sit beside me, looking out over the lights of town. Her head rested on my shoulder. “We didn’t know if we’d stick it out, going to different schools and him moving away, but we wanted to do it together before he did.”

I put an arm around her shoulders and leaned my head atop hers. “I understand. That sounds like a good reason. You two will stay in touch,” I assured her. “You are too close as friends not to.”

I felt her cheek twitch in a smile. “Yeah. Remember when his brother doused him at the water park because he thought I gave Jake cooties?” She laughed. I snorted at the memory.

“I do. I also remember him taking you to your junior high prom.”

“And him and Dad being stupid at that barbecue we had.”

“And his brother setting off a firecracker when he tried to kiss you.”

That made Sarah laugh hard enough to sit up. “I thought I was going to pee my pants, he scared me so bad. What a brat!”

“Nothing can take those memories away, Sarah. You’ll make new ones, not lose the old ones,” I assured her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too. Now let’s get inside. I can feel your Dad’s blood pressure rising a state away.”

She laughed but followed me in off the roof.