Chapter 4

While Hanna's suffering did not go away immediately, her attitude about school and life in general improved substantially following her long conversation with her mother, and her mother's admission that she too had slept with her own brother as a teen. Her mother had encouraged, almost insisted, that Hanna begin dating her high school classmates. Hanna's weekends became scheduled with movies, parties and dances with her friends. After a number of dates with different boys, Hanna began to understand what her mother had told her about finding the right kind of boy for her. Within a handful of weeks, she had dated a very shy boy who barely spoke, but looked at her in awe for some reason, two different guys who were more impressed with their cars than her, a starting player on the high school basketball team who seemed to think that his star status gave him the undeniable right to, in almost one single smooth motion, put his arm around her in his car, pull her close to him, hold her there, and then with his free hand, unbutton her blouse, flip her bra up over her breasts and then slide his hand down inside her panties and begin to finger her clit. It happened so quickly and smoothly that Hanna really didn't realize what all he had done until she felt his finger enter her vagina.

To her credit, she hit him with a closed fist, square in the face, just to the side of his nose, causing him to jump backward and remove his hand from her crotch immediately.

Mad as mad could be, she looked at her date, and with the most threatening voice she could muster said, "If you ever want to play another basketball game in your life, you will take me home right now. If you don't believe me, we can stay here as long as you want and you can keep doing whatever you need to, and then, if you're lucky, you will wake up in the hospital tomorrow." He started the car and drove immediately to her house.

As she left the car she added, "And you better tell all your goofy friends that I and I alone will decide who gets to put their hand in my pants!"

Her dates for the next weekend, also both star student athletes, mysteriously both cancelled before the weekend. Early in the week, the hyper-aggressive basketball player found himself being teased a lot about his badly discolored and swollen left eye area.

By the time the snow had melted for the season, Hanna had begin dating a boy in her English class. Chris was polite, treated her respectfully, actually opened the car door for her, and walked her to her front door at midnight. By the fourth date, he had managed to kiss her goodnight, and put his arm around her in the car as they drove, but made no effort to go beyond that. On a Saturday afternoon a few weeks later, they went for a picnic in one of the state parks. Hand in hand, picnic basket, sandwiches, soda and a blanket to sit on, Hanna and her date found a quiet spot overlooking a ravine and a unique rock formation. It was private, for sure, and it was not long before they were embracing and she had moved his hand to her breasts. Hanna had been required to initiate each step of their journey. She had worn the only front opening bra that she owned, just to ease that challenge, and her shorts were elastic waist, needing only to be pushed over her hips It was only when she unzipped his pants that he finally got the idea that something more was required of him. Minutes later he pushed his shorts to his ankles also, and slid in between her legs. It was his first time, and as expected, his staying power was extremely limited. Hanna was barely excited when she felt the first blast of his cum. He immediately apologized for his quick trigger, and after a few minutes, did much better at his second attempt. Hanna actually enjoyed a minor orgasm, nothing like what she was hoping for, but enough to realize that a sexual life did exist for her beyond her brother.

Over the next several weeks, Hanna taught Chris how to caress her for maximum benefit, encouraged him to kiss her nipples and breasts and even decided to give him a blow job without his having to ask. By the middle of Spring, she was able to tell her mother that her infatuation with Erik had passed and that she now understood the message that her mother and grandmother had shared with their daughters. She was even bold enough to tell her mother that she thought she would be able to train Chris to be a pretty good lover!

Her mother feigned shock, but by that time, Hanna was already walking away, laughing.

Caitlin and her parents had visited three different campuses on three successive weekends. Two of the three schools offered to extend her class credit for the advanced classes she had already completed. Caitlin would begin college, at least at those schools, as a sophomore. Her counsellor at the high school had asked her to meet with her each week as the end of school neared, to expedite all of the forms and paperwork for her graduation.

"Caitlin, this has nothing to do with college, but I see on the roster of attendees, that you have not indicated that you will be going to the prom. This is an important evening in a young girl's life, and I would think it would be especially meaningful and significant for you."

"Mrs. Sanford, I think it would as well, but the rules say that I can only attend with someone from our school, and that he must be either a third or fourth year student."

"Yes, those are the rules."

"Well, then I will not be able to attend, because the person I would like to escort me is no longer a student at this school, and he is the only person that I would want to accompany me."

"Where does this boy go to school now?"

"He is in college, at the University of Michigan."

"How do you know him?"

"He is my best friend's brother. He graduated from this school also, if that makes a difference."

"He did? What is his name? Do I know him?"

"His name is Erik Peterson. He is Hanna's brother."

"I remember Erik. He is a fine young man." Mrs. Sanford was beaming. "He was always so polite and considerate of others."

"Yes, Ma'am. He is all that."

"This would be a major stretch of the rules, and I will have to ask permission of the Principal, but with as many other rules as we are breaking on your behalf, allowing you to attend your Senior Prom with the boy of your choice doesn't seem to be too big of a stretch. Have you asked him yet?"

"No, because I didn't think you would allow it."

Later that evening, Caitlin called me for the first time since Spring break. While we had each written several times, it was the first time that she had heard my voice. She was so emotional, just about making the telephone call that she barely responded when I picked up the phone.

I had said "Hello," three times and was about to hang up when she finally found the ability to speak.

In a soft voice, with a strong hint of Irish, she answered, "This is Caitlin."

And it was the strong hint of Irish that got to me, directly to me! I sat silently, holding the phone to my ear, while my mind was flooded with her beauty, her innocence and her charm. I remembered her fragrance and her smile and her green eyes and copper hair, and I finally, finally said something again.

I started and stopped and started again, without ever really saying "Hi", or "How are you?" or anything like that. "Caitlin," and then I paused again, and then begin," there is an old saying about 'Out of sight, out of mind!', and there is another about "Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' When I left you off after our trip and Mickey and I returned here, I couldn't really see you, and so I was able to think about other things, like my studies. But now, when I hear your voice for the first time since then, it made me remember you, all of you--your perfume, your hair, your wonderful laugh, and the Irish that returns when you are excited. And it makes me realize just how much I miss you."