Chapter 12

March 23, 2018

The tall young girl sitting in the back-left seat of a car leaned forward and said, “I think I have something to say ... about me, but I’m not sure it says anything that we didn’t already know. Mom, I really like Brett, but I think just as a friend. He doesn’t ... feel any different than the girls, so I guess I don’t feel anything particularly special for him, but he’s the only boy that I consider a really good friend. But I think I still like at least a couple of the girls, particularly Beth, more ... or ... differently than I like Brett.”

The girl’s mom looked across the front seat to the girl’s father, then turned to face her daughter and asked, “Can you explain how or why you like him?”

“He’s such a great ... The girls call him a ‘great guy,’ and that’s how I see him. He’s really friendly and smart and funny. When he’s just hanging with us, he’s almost always got a smile on his face and he takes part in our conversations and doesn’t mind that sometimes they’re ... a bit girly. He often says something funny enough to get us all laughing. It’s ... just ... I guess ... comfortable with him hanging with us. While the boy that sometimes eats lunch with us at school, Jason, talks to or with us, it doesn’t feel as comfortable as when Brett’s with us. Maren and I have talked about that, and she agrees that Brett just feels different. I mean, when Brit’s doing nails for the girls, he not only doesn’t mind getting his nails painted, but he makes sure that he gets them done, and thanks Brit for the cool pattern. Is it just because he’s older than the boys I know at school?”

The mother grinned at the guy driving and said, “I think this is a good one for Jeff to answer.”

“Thanks a lot. I thought you liked me.” The two grinned at each other, then Jeff looked in the rearview mirror and answered, “No, it’s not just because he’s older. Typical guys are still very concerned with being seen as ... guys, as boys, as young men. Very few are comfortable enough with their ... sexuality, and probably even fewer show such little concern about what others ... specifically, what other boys think of them.

“Civia, from what we’ve seen of him, we get the same impression: that he’s comfortable having most of his best friends being girls. Some might take those data and infer that he’s probably gay, which could be a reason that he hangs with girls, but I think that ... interpretation would be incorrect. I’ve seen only suggestions, and those I’ve seen may not be definitive. However, he cares for those girls, a lot. It could be just that’s the way he is with all his best friends and that it just happens that his best friends are girls. Please don’t pass this on, particularly since I have no solid data. I suspect that he’s interested in at least some of those girls, particularly Beth.”

“You mean like boyfriend-girlfriend?”

“Yes. But, again, I could be wrong, as I’ve not seen him with anyone but those girls.”

“Oh, I see. At practice, he’s ... nice to everyone. He’s obviously better friends with the gang than the other girls on the team, but he treats everyone well and is always very helpful. He’s ... just nice, so I don’t wonder why the gang likes him so much. The whole team likes him and Meka said that the high-school team really liked and appreciated him, and most of those girls are older than he is, although many are only a year older.”

The girl’s mother stated, “It’s good that you have a boy that’s a good friend, as that could help you figure out where your sexual interests lie. You said that you still like Beth most of all and specifically more than Brett. So, keep that in mind, but also keep analyzing your feelings for him. See if they change.”

“I understand, and that’s a good idea. He is ... Well, I think he’s not as handsome as Dad, but lots of girls obviously think he’s quite good-looking, as some of the girls ... on both teams made comments about him like that.”

“You think Jeff’s more handsome than Brett?”

“Yes, but I think that Dad, Charlie, and Brett are the three nicest-looking guys I know.”

The girl’s mother looked at her with a small smile, then said, “I think I agree with you about all three.”

April 16, 2018

“Mom, do you have time to talk?”

The tall, young girl’s mother looked at her daughter, raised an eyebrow slightly at something she seemed to see in her daughter’s face or carriage or something, then replied, “Hang on a minute. Let me finish this.”

The girl sat at the kitchen table and watched her mom finish cooling hard-boiled eggs and placing them into an egg carton. After she placed the carton in the refrigerator, the woman wiped her hands on a towel, then sat around the corner of the table from her daughter.

“This will be ... a bit difficult, so please let me get it all out before you ... react.” At the girl’s questioning look, the mother nodded her head once, at which the girl breathed deeply and then started, “I learned something from the Go5 that I ... really liked and began doing in my room. I ... When I’m ... in my room ... with my d-door closed, I’m usually ... n-n-naked.”

Whether the daughter noticed or not, the woman slowly released a breath she had been holding since early in the girl’s words and seemed to have a relieved look on her face. The woman’s eyes moved within the sockets quite a few times as she apparently was trying to figure out how to begin responding.

“Why do you ... like that?”

“I think there are two reasons. The first is that ... the air feels nice on my skin, but mainly because it feels ... like ... freedom.” She grimaced as she worked at expressing her feelings, then added, “I feel ... free, not that I’m not free. It’s ... it’s a ... maybe a figurative thing, but it’s something that’s ... not ... normal, I think, but I can choose to live naked if I want, even if it’s not normal. Does that make sense?”

“It does. Yes, it’s probably not normal and...”

The woman stopped, thought, then a slow smile crept across her face, then asked, “Did you ask me before your dad got home because you didn’t want him involved or be...”

“No! I admit that it’s slightly less uncomfortable talking to you about this than with Dad, but I always figured that you’d both be involved.”

“Okay. Why don’t we set this aside until Jeff gets home? We can put dinner off a little for you to explain this to us.”

“You’re not mad?”

“No, Honey, but I’m a bit confused. However, something you said made me think of how we can include teaching you something almost unrelated to the topic, and Jeff would be better at that than I.” When her daughter nodded in agreement, she finished, “Why don’t you help me with dinner?”

With dinner simmering on the stove, the tall, young girl’s mother said, “Jeff, Civia wanted to tell us something ... about her life. She started with me, but she used ‘normal’ in such a way, that it enabled me to put her off until you got home because I knew you could use this discussion for a lesson about that word. Civia, why don’t you start again?”

Civia breathed deeply, then got out more cleanly, “The Go5 taught me that living naked is ... enjoyable. When they were still living in the W, they lived naked upstairs and in the whole house when the parents weren’t home. I liked it so much that I adopted it here, and I’m now naked in my room whenever my door is closed.”

She got that out rapidly and her mother seemed to have a twinkle in her eye as her daughter rushed through her statement.

After a slight pause, Civia continued, “I said that living like that probably wasn’t normal, but I really like the element of freedom it gives me, in addition to the air feeling nice on my skin.”

Jeff showed barely any sign of amusement, but Civia picked up on it and complained slightly, “Are you laughing at me?”

“No, Dear, but I was amused at your mom, as she was right, as usual. We know how much you enjoy learning and I understand why she wanted me involved. However, let’s treat what you’re telling us and leave the lesson for after dinner. Is that okay?”

When the girl nodded, her mother stated, “What are the situations in which you’re naked with the girls and do you still do that now that there are so many other girls living in the J?”