Chapter 9: More Than a Kiss

Anna and I agreed to make breakfast for the kids in the morning and she suggested a recipe for baked apple French toast. We ran out to the IGA at midnight to get what we needed while Hayden held down the fort. We had to get up fairly early to get it assembled and in the oven before the kids got up.

We’d gone upstairs quietly to peek in on the kids again. They all had their heads pointed to the center and were in various positions, some rather close to others, but they were all dressed and didn’t seem to be in the midst of an orgy. I was pretty sure that there would be a lot of scrambling going on in an hour when girls woke up and realized boys were seeing what they look like in the morning for the first time. I’d even spent ten minutes in the bathroom brushing my hair and putting on just a touch of makeup before I went to the kitchen to meet Anna.

We were chatting while Hayden read the newspaper and we all drank coffee. When Brian and Hannah came in from the barn, Anna was shocked to see them up so early and outside.

“Mom! You don’t have to be up cooking for us. I said I’d do it,” Brian said when he saw us making breakfast.

“Anna had this great recipe that she told me about for baked French toast. We went out right after we got back from the hayride and got bread and eggs. We cut up the rest of the apples. I’m sure you’ll love this. We are adult women and know how to cook.”

“Mom, I’m sorry. Do I take away from your enjoyment of the kitchen by cooking so much?”

“No, honeybunch, but sometimes a mother likes to surprise her son. Now go get your girlfriends and boyfriends up. I want to have them fed before their parents get here.”

“I’ll take him home with me,” Anna said. “If he cooks as much and as well as you say it doesn’t seem like sacrificing my daughter to him would be too big a problem.” We laughed, but I was thinking about what it would be like to all live together. Sacrificing my son wouldn’t be too big a problem.

When Anna took her girls home that afternoon, we shared a tight hug and I brushed my lips across her soft cheek. Hayden took my cue and gave her the same treatment. We watched them drive away and then rushed inside to make love.

I kept an eye on what the dating group was up to. The parents had mostly agreed that ‘dating’ was limited to school events and dates accompanied by at least one set of parents. I was impressed that it was Ken and Claudia Harris who double-dated with their daughter Rhiannon and Brian. The report I got was favorable deportment on all parts. Claudia’s sister was in a community theater production of a musical in Fort Wayne and it made for a great evening.

We found that three new members had been added to the group and were supplied with a fresh copy of the amended agreement. I think all the parents breathed a sigh of relief when the ‘no penetration’ clause was tightened to no skin to skin genital contact. I wanted something a little more restrictive than that, but Brian explained there was contact in everyday life—hugging and kissing—and they didn’t want to have to spell out all the circumstances in which a touch was or wasn’t appropriate. The clause was simple and did relieve most of the burden.

And I supposed that the older girls were used to a little more contact. Renee had joined the group and was Brian’s date to homecoming. She’s so pretty. They came home early and sat in the family room to ‘talk.’ I glanced in and saw that she was sitting on my son’s lap in the recliner as they kissed.

I rushed into the bedroom and crushed myself into Hayden’s chest. I couldn’t explain to him why I was crying. Soon after we got the recliner, I’d discovered that it was big enough for me to settle into Hayden’s lap. It was our favorite position for cuddle time. And our son was using it for the same thing. It made me feel ... old.

Anna made me feel young. And she did so by suggesting we get together for coffee one afternoon. We decided on Rochester as being about halfway between her house and mine and I arranged my work schedule so I could take off early on Tuesday afternoon.

Two weeks and two days after the overnight party—but who’s counting?—Anna and I rushed into a hug with exactly the same enthusiasm as when we parted that Sunday afternoon. The corner restaurant where we met was between the lunch and dinner crowds, so they didn’t mind having a couple of women sitting in a corner booth with pie and coffee scarcely touched in front of them for two hours.

We caught up on all the happenings with our children and then with each other. As we talked, our hands touched more and more frequently—just feather-light touches as we made a point or asked a question. My entire arm was tingling.

“This was such a good idea, Anna,” I said. “We need to do this regularly.”

“Oh, would you, Marilyn? We might want to check out some other places to meet, too, but I would love to see you more often.”

“Well, this was about halfway between our houses, but we don’t need to be exact. And we don’t need to drink coffee in order to be together. Perhaps there are also some parks or walking trails we could find.”

“Maybe we should take up riding and go to Starbridge,” Anna laughed. “It seemed to work for our children. Um ... Not that we’re trying to make something work ... like our children ... but...”

“Anna,” I dropped my voice so we had to lean in toward each other to be heard, “I don’t know what we are doing. Hayden and I both like you. Both. A lot. If we lived next door to each other, I’d see us having afternoon coffee every day, watching each other’s children ... I think you’d be my best friend. That’s something I haven’t really had in my adult life. I’m just discovering what it might be like. So, in a way, we are ... or at least I am ... trying to make something work.”

While I unburdened my heart, my hand slipped into hers. She squeezed it and I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Instead of letting go, we just lowered our hands beneath the table.

I went home with Anna’s kiss on my cheek. I truly felt like I had a girlfriend.

Of course, adult life doesn’t give the opportunity for dating like teen life. Especially, when trying to coordinate three adult schedules around the schedules of three teens. We weren’t telling the teens we were getting together, either. Maybe that was sneaking around, but I just didn’t want to have to cart my son with me every time I went to see Anna. Not that there were that many times.

Thanksgiving was the next weekend and I had to drag my entire family to Louisville for my cousin’s daughter’s wedding. My mother had convinced me that I needed to go, even though we didn’t see that part of the family more than once every three or four years. Betts was downright angry that she had to spend her Thanksgiving break in the back seat with her brother as we tried unsuccessfully to draw her out about college life.

The one bright spot was that we stopped at Bob Evans in Kokomo for lunch to ‘meet Brian’s girlfriends.’ Betts sulked. Brian, Jennifer, and Courtney were so into each other that they didn’t notice how I’d subtly arranged for Hayden to sit between Anna and me, nor that there were frequent under the table touches among the three of us. Nor did they observe us arranging to get together for Hayden’s birthday on the first.

“It’s an important birthday, honeybunch,” I said to Brian when we’d finally settled down Sunday night. “Your father is finally becoming an adult.”

“Are you saying I’m not going to be an adult until I’m forty?” he squeaked. It was adorable that his voice still occasionally broke into two octaves.

“Yes,” Hayden said. “We hadn’t intended to let you date until you were forty, but we slipped up on that one. Your sister still hasn’t forgiven us.”

“She sure gave us the stink-eye when we stopped to see Jennifer and Courtney. Thanks for that, by the way,” Brian said.

“Well, I think she was slightly mollified by having Doreen drive her back to Lafayette. But if your father and I slip away tomorrow night, we need to know that you will be responsible. I don’t need to hire a babysitter, do I?”

“Mom! I can sit myself. Basketball practice is kicking my butt and I still have homework. In fact, teachers have been increasing the load all term. I’ll come straight home, eat dinner, do homework, and go to bed. I promise.”

“We believe you, son. You’ve never let us down,” Hayden said.

“What are we doing, Marilyn?” my husband asked about the time we passed Peru. He’d driven in silence ever since getting off work. “Are we crazy to think so much about a woman a hundred miles and one heartbeat away?”

“That was poetic, love. I think that shows exactly what we are doing.”

“I hurt you once. I never want to hurt you again. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to Anna but, Marilyn, you are the love of my life. I will never do anything to hurt you again.”

“I feel the same way. That’s why ... why it’s so important that if we do anything, we do it together. Hayden, other than agreeing that we want to be best of friends, we don’t really know that Anna wants anything more. I just know that when I’m with her, I want to hold her hand. I want to kiss her cheek. And I imagine your hand and your lips joining mine. I’ve never been attracted to a woman before ... never even had a best girlfriend. I’m floundering a little. I want you to hold my hand so I don’t drown.”

He reached across the seat an took my hand in his. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid over to the center of the big bench seat and fastened that belt so I could lean against my husband while he drove.

Bill and Crystal Price joined us at Anna’s house. It was Hayden’s first opportunity to meet them and they hit it off well.