Chapter 1: Tammy is My Mom’s Best Friend

Everyone has a best friend. In my case, it’s Beth but my mom’s best friend without a doubt is Tammy. They’re about the same age although Tammy is a few months older and have known each other since they were little girls. Unfortunately, Tammy’s husband was transferred to Oregon about seven years ago and since then they’ve relied mostly on phone calls to keep in touch. They still manage to meet each other at least once or twice a year for a week or so. Tammy’s husband travels a lot so she uses his frequent flier miles to get either her or my mom a plane ticket. My mom always looked forward to these visits but the last time Tammy came to our house, I got to know another side of her - and Tammy learned a few things about her best friend and her family as well.

Since then, schedules and such had kept Tammy from coming our way although my mom had visited her and her family a few times out in the Oregon high desert where they lived near a beautiful ski resort. As for me, I’d never been west of the Mississippi River so someday I hoped to join her on one of these trips but they were my mom’s special times and so I didn’t want to just butt in. Even so, Tammy would send photos of her family and judging by the looks of her husband and two boys, I couldn’t help but dream about making the trip!

My mom assured me that while Tammy may have experimented with me during her last visit, she was really just your typical housewife. Early in her marriage she had cheated once on her husband but those days were long past and they had a great marriage. Although Tammy’s husband had no idea that my dad had been Tammy’s first back in high school, he had no cause to worry when Tammy visited our home as my parents were both committed to their marriage and I was confident that they would never cheat with a woman outside the family, even if she was my mom’s best friend.

My mom had been planning a trip to Oregon later in the summer so it came as quite a surprise when we got a call from Tammy asking if she could join us for a couple of days. Apparently she was going to be in Pittsburgh for some sort of conference and was hoping to stop by and see my mom while she was here. Needless to say, my mom was thrilled and I couldn’t help but wonder how things would be between Tammy and me after her last visit. It was one outhouse things that never came up in conversation but like the proverbial elephant in the room, i couldn’t just forget about it.

Tammy’s conference schedule kept her busy during the week but rather than leave Friday night, she had delayed her flight home until Sunday so she could spend part of the weekend with us. I was out Friday evening and by the time I got home, Tammy had already arrived and was sound asleep in the guest room. The door was closed and my mom told me that she was exhausted from the long week and had gone to bed early. Well, that gave us some privacy for me to tell my mom all about my date - a tradition she had started from the time I first dated. Indeed, my mom’s the first to know I’d lost mu virginity.