Chapter 9: Tête-à-Têtes

It was the following Saturday. Stacy noticed that her mom was alone in the kitchen preparing supper. Her dad was safely outside doing some yard work. So Stacy walked up, placed herself beside her mom, and started washing the intermediate dishes that her mom had dirtied during her dinner preparation.

The mother looked over to her older daughter, and sort of did a double take, startled and surprised that this particular daughter of hers (the lazy one) had actually voluntarily started to help her out in the kitchen, and without having to be told.

“Mom, can I talk to you about something?”

Oh, oh. The mother thought. She wants something.

But like a dutiful mother, she replied back, “Sure.” And she went back to cutting the black olives for the casserole dish. “What do you want to talk about?”

“It’s about Shelly. Well, to be exact, it’s about Shelly and Tommy. I’ve been watching those two and I got a feeling that they’ve fallen pretty hard for each other.”

The mother froze her cutting, and then she slowly put down the knife and turned her head to look at the older sister. “Oh really?” She exclaimed in a somewhat curious tone.

“Yeah. --- Well, that’s what I’m worried about. You know kids that age. Especially two kids so new to this relationship thing.”

Stacy hesitated a little before she continued. “Kids like that; they like to experiment. I’m just worried that they may experiment too far without thinking about all the repercussions, and you know.”

Stacy put down the bowl she had washed into the rack, looked directly at her mom, and then added, “I just hope Shelly won’t find herself pregnant one day.”

The mother’s eyes bugged out. “You don’t think!”

“Well Mom.” Stacy replied back with a shrug of her shoulders. “You never know.”

Stacy put on her best straight face to finish this somewhat fictional narrative. “I do know Shelly is really, really, fond of him.”

The mother looked at her older daughter and started to suspect the older sibling was trying to get her younger one in trouble again, so she stated straight out, “Stacy, look at me!”

She waited for her older daughter to face her, and once Stacy had, she concisely said, “You’re not just saying this to get your sister in trouble. Are you?”

“Mom! No!” It almost hurt that her mom couldn’t even fathom that she might actually be looking out for her younger sister.

“I’m serious. I’m actually worried about this.”

Seeing no sign of subterfuge on her daughter’s part, the mother let out a sigh and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have allowed her to start dating so early.”

“Mom, no! --- Are you crazy?” Stacy quickly interjected to get her mom to stop that line of reasoning.

“That wouldn’t have stopped them!” She then shook her head and laid out her case “In fact, if you had done that, you’d only pushed them closer together. Hell, you know all about that stupid Romeo and Juliet story they forced all of us kids to read. It would just be just like that. And anyway, at least Tommy is a good kid and all.”

A slight grin started to grow on Stacy’s face as she admitted, “Believe me, he’s not anywhere near like some of the guys I’ve dated.” Her face changed back to her concerned sister’s look. “And Emily tells me he’s really smart and gets straight A’s in school. And beside that, he has another thing going for him.”

And what’s that?” The mother deadpanned back.

“He’s Emily’s stepbrother, Mom! You know Emily is really fond of Shelly. She’ll make sure Tommy treats her right.” In more ways than one! Stacy thought to herself amusingly.

The mother let out an exasperated sigh. “You know, it was bad enough going through this with you. Now it looks like I have to go do this all over again, with your sister.”

“Sorry Mom.” Stacy replied but then turned toward her mom, gave her mom a big glorified smile, and then added, “But I really didn’t turn out so bad. --- Did I?”

Her mother smirked and shook her head half-seriously. “The jury’s still out on that.” She then turned her head back down and stared at the olives and onions now laid out on the cutting board, and with a more serious expression, she said, “Ok, I’ll have a talk with her, and if it’s really gone as far as you think, then maybe I’ll get her on some birth control.”

Stacy’s face broke out in a controlled ‘Mission accomplished!’ grin, and she decided she’d better make a break for it before her mother asked her what more she knew about Shelly’s and Tommy’s love life, or worse, assign more work for her to do. So she quickly gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thanks, Mom. I think that would be for the best.” And scurried safely out of the kitchen.

Shelly sat there, uncomfortably, on the family room couch. She was there beside her mother, who had just called her down. Her mom had said she wanted a talk with her a minute before.

“Your sister told me you’ve been getting pretty serious with this Tommy boy. Is this true?”

Shelly fidgeted some and answered back with an uneasy, “Mom, you know we’ve been dating.” She lifted her head, stared back at her mother and added, “We’ve been going out with each other for quite awhile now.”

“Yes, I know you have been dating him, but what I’m interested in is what sort of physical relationship you’ve been having with him. Just how far have you gone with him?”

“Mom!” Shelly cried out in protest.

“I’m serious, Shelly.” Not budging in her tone of voice. “Just how far has this physical relationship gone?”

Shelly turned away and again stared down at the coffee table. She was silent, as she didn’t know what she should say or how she should say it.

The mother leaned forward so she could peer into her daughter’s eyes. “Shelly, have you two been having intercourse together?”

Shelly glanced back over apprehensively, and her mom immediately read the expression on her daughter’s face: “Oh Shelly!”

Shelly’s mother then launched herself back on the couch and slapped her palms on both her thighs in exasperation. After a silent pause and with no other response from her daughter, she again looked over at her youngest and proclaimed, “You’re too young!” She then demanded, “Did he force you into this?”

“WHAT!” Shelly yelled back and looked back at her mom in shock. “NO! --- Tommy’s not like that!” as she looked back at her mom in alarm.

“Shelly, you’ve only known this boy for how long? Weeks, months?”

“Mom, we’ve been dating for over four months. But I’ve known him since he transferred to our school.”

“Oh Shelly, I thought you were so much smarter than this. You’re not even in high school yet. What if you get pregnant? How do you expect that to affect your plans for college?”

“Mom! --- We’re not stupid!” Or at least Tommy wasn’t. Shelly thought uncomfortably and then added to their defense, “We used a condom.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, but my statement still stands; you’re much too young to be doing this now.”

“We just did it the one time.” Shelly lamely replied back.

When her mom continued to look at her like some kind of fallen angel, Shelly protested out loud. “Mom, don’t look at me like that! It’s not like I’m planning to do it with every guy out there.”

The mother closed her eyes and shook her head in frustration, knowing her daughter wasn’t getting it. Giving up on that tack for now, she decided to continue her investigation. “And where did you get the condoms?”

“Well...” Shelly hesitated. “ ... They were actually Emily’s.” She felt sort of bad having to throw Emily under the bus. “Tommy knew where she kept them.” It was a white lie, one that she thought she could get away with.

“Sigh ... I really wish you had waited. You’re such a smart girl, and I have such high hopes for you.”

“Mom!” Shelly’s own frustration had started to show, and she felt like she needed to defend herself. “It’s not like we’re getting married, or going to elope, or anything.” And then she added “And we just did it one time.” Shelly then corrected herself internally. Well, twice if you count the number of times we did it, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“I’m still not happy that you’re ... that you’re...” Now using her older daughter’s term for it. “ ... experimenting so soon. --- Understand!”

“Yeah, I understand.” Shelly replied back meekly and wondered nervously what was going to happen next.

“Now I’m not going to forbid you from seeing the boy, but one thing I’m going to do is forbid you from seeing each other whenever you two are alone. --- Understand!”

“Ok.” Shelly slowly nodded her head, and now she only wanted to get this talk over with.

“You could still go out on dates, but only out in public. And you are never, ever to go over his house when his parents aren’t present. And that applies both ways. He is never to be allowed over here unless your Dad or I are home. --- Understand!”

“Mom!” Shelly protested as she realized her young, flowering love life had just come to a complete and utterly screeching halt.

“Understand?!” The mother again questioned her young daughter, this time more firmly, as she stared straight into her daughter’s face.

Shelly saw that her mom wasn’t going to budge on this, so she gave in, and with a sigh she said resignedly, “Yes, Mom I understand.”

“If I find out you’ve visited this boy once, without supervision, I swear you’ll be grounded forever, and you will never be allowed to see him again. --- Understand!”

“Yeah, I understand, Mom.” Shelly replied, now resigned to her pre-virginal fate.

“Now, I don’t want you to think I’m condoning your actions or encouraging them, but I’m going to put you on birth control pills. I’m thinking they should help you with your monthly cramps. Again, Shelly don’t you think it’s a green card to have sex. It’s not! --- You understand!”

By now Shelly had started to hate the word ‘understand’, but she replied with the required recitation, “Yes Mom, I understand.” But she thought to herself. Well at least one good thing came out of all this. Resigned to her fate, she replied back with a humble, “And no Mom, I know it’s not.”

When her mother had no more to say, Shelly, wanting to make her escape, said softly, “Is that all Mom? Can I go now?”

Her mother let out a sigh before saying, “Yes, you may go.”

Shelly barged into her sister’s room, shut the door heavily behind her, and then turned toward the cause of all her troubles. The same person who now lay on her bed, phone in hand, totally self-absorbed and texting away.

“You told her! --- Didn’t you!?” Shelly lashed out.

Stacy slowly lifted her head from her phone, looked back at her irritated sibling and flat-out admitted, “Yeah. I told her. I said I would. Didn’t I?”

Stacy then added, completely nonplussed by her sister’s virulent stare. “Why? ... What happened?”

“Because of you, the only time I’ll get to see Tommy is someplace in public or with some ‘Adult’ supervision.” Shelly said, quoting the ‘Adult’ word with her fingers.

“So! What’s the problem with that?”

“You know what the problem is! Now Tommy and I won’t be able to ... well you know.”

“Oh, you mean you won’t be able to keep on screwing like rabbits?”

“Yeah.” Shelly replied back unabashedly with an unexpected force, and then after she turned her head to check on the closed door, making sure their mom was still downstairs. “Among those other things.”

“Well, did she get you on the pill?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I still don’t see what you are complaining about. Just do what I did. Tell her you’re going to see one of your girlfriends and then sneak over to your boyfriend’s instead.”

Shelly looked back to her sister in disbelief. “You know I can’t do that! Mom could always tell when I’m lying to her.”

Stacy barked out a laugh at her sister’s confession: “Well, that’s your problem, Shelly.” She then shrugged her shoulders and bragged. “I never had a problem with it.”

“God damn you, Stacy!”

Stacy realized what Shelly had just said was actually true. Her too goody, goody, two shoes, sister had never been able to get away with telling a lie. Especially when it came to their mom. So feeling a tad sorry for her, she offered, “Look I’ll make a deal with you; when Emily and I get back from Europe, we’ll be your chaperones.” Stacy cracked a grin. “After all we’re two responsible adults.”

“You two!” And Shelly let out a loud snark. “Yeah, sure!” Her head lowered down to the floor in despair.

“Hey, don’t forget that I was the one who ratted you out in the first place, and therefore Mom now thinks I’m now that responsible big sister, the one who is looking out for you. So when we get back, we’ll set everything up so you and Tommy could have some of that ‘alone time’ together. Just like we did last time.”

“You’ll do that?” Shelly replied back. Once again she had hope in her eyes.

“Sure.” Stacy answered her sister back, but then an evil smile grew on her face, and then she added, “But I’m going to want something in return.”

Shelly suddenly became wary. She knew her sister was up to something. The sneaky, conniving sister had now come back to the foreground, as if it magically seeped right out of the headboard’s woodwork and back into her sister’s body. Trepidatiously, she inquired, “What? ... What are you going to want in return?”

Stacy’s face broke out in a lecherous smile. “I want Tommy to go down on me again. After all, I only got to experience that tongue of his one time.”

When Shelly heard those words, it confirmed her suspicions to the worst degree: “What!” Her eyes blazed out in anger. “Are you crazy? Why should I ever agree to that, and why would Tommy even do you again?”

“Don’t you remember Shelly?” Stacy said, with a conniving smile. “He’s your slave now, and you could order him to do anything you want him to.”

Stacy’s smile grew larger as she added, “How’d it go now? Something like, ‘Shelly, I’ll be your slave whenever it’s just you, Emily, and Stacy in the room.’ ... Wasn’t that it?”

Shelly looked back furiously at her sister, but unfortunately, she knew her sister had her dead-to-rights, and worse, she knew that she had only herself to blame for it.

“Oh yeah, one more thing.” Stacy added. “Since I’ll be getting some, I think it’s only fair that Emily gets some too.”

“Emily too! --- Forget it!”

“Look Shelly.” The older sibling looked at the young sister as someone she needed to explain the facts of life. “We’re not trying to steal your boyfriend away. We’re just going to want to get some value for value. --- That’s all! And need I remind you, if it wasn’t for Emily and myself, you wouldn’t even have Tommy as a boyfriend right now. Hell, you’d still be that same uptight virgin I knew before, playing with that vibrator of mine. Every night, you’d only be dreaming of Tommy doing it to you instead of experiencing the real thing.”

Shelly stood there frozen, looking furiously back at her sister, but she did stay in the room. Her feet were still firmly planted on the floor.

Stacy, who noticed that Shelly had yet to storm out yet, asked again, “So how about it? Do we have a deal?”

“Damn you, Stacy!” Shelly cried out, as she knew she was now back to dealing with her evil sister.

Stacy shrugged her shoulders and replied back, “Well, it’s up to you. You don’t have to agree.” She then looked back down on her phone, finishing the text message she had been composing before her sister had so rudely interrupted her.

Shelly was still staring daggers at her sister, but all of it was to no avail. Her older sister just ignored her. Finally, she realized she had been backed into a corner. She let out an angry huff. and found herself capitulating, “Ok. But just the one time.”

Stacy looked up from her phone and back over to Shelly. Now with a wide smile, she amended her sister’s proposal; “Ok, one time, for every time we perform our chaperone duties.”

““No! --- Forget it!” Shelly shouted back, now completely fed up with her bossy, conniving sister.

“How about once for every two times we chaperone?”

“No!”

“Every three times?” Stacy asked hopefully.

Shelly shook her head no, stating firmly, “NO!”

“Ok, just the one time, but I want my payment in advance. --- Deal?”

Shelly just stood there, but came to the realization that this may be the only way she could have another one of those nights with Tommy. One that she had already started to fantasize about every night when she was in bed, especially on those nights she got to borrow her sister’s vibrator. And again, she realized her older sister had her completely cornered, so she replied back with a soft “Ok, deal.”

She saw her sister raise her head once again from the phone and give her that infuriating, gloating smile of hers. Not able to take any more of it, Shelly turned and opened the door, but before she walked out, she closed the door again and yelled back over her shoulder, all in an attempt to regain some pride. “But I want you two to do a lot of chaperoning. --- You hear me!”