Chapter 2

New York City summers run hot and humid, but the summer that things really started to change was especially so. There was no air conditioning in my room (or my sister’s) and it was uncomfortable just sleeping alone in bed, let alone entangled together in flannel pajamas. Lily was still coming into the bed every night without fail, of course, but we weren’t sleeping with our arms around each other because of the sticky heat. And, damn it, I missed it - sleeping in close contact with my sister was so natural at this point that it felt to me like the world was out of balance went we didn’t. The heat didn’t help. I had enough of a sense of modesty not to even think of taking my pajamas off - it wouldn’t have occurred to me even if Lily didn’t sleep with me. Nudity just wasn’t really a thing in our family - outside of the bath everyone were always wearing something, clothes in the daytime, pajamas at night. Again, that was just how our parents raised us.

But somehow, despite that, it was actually Mom who came in to our room (I’d long ago stopped thinking of it as “my” room even though Lily still would start every night by changing and going to bed in her own room) and solved the problem. It was the night of the big blackout. It was sweltering, and now that I think about it I realize that the air conditioning in our parents’ bedroom wouldn’t have been working, so they were feeling the heat too, and must have realized how uncomfortable we’d be. Mom seemed to be wearing only lingerie and had a flashlight. She touched my forehead gently as I blinked at the unexpected light, then said “Robbie, Lily, it’s really hot, you’re sweating. You should take off your PJs and sleep in your underwear.” Lily didn’t respond; she was still sleeping. I was embarrassed even to think of taking my pajamas off in front of my mom, so I asked her to go out. She smiled and left, closing the door. I sat there and thought a bit about it. Finally, I gently shook Lily’s shoulder to wake her up. “Lily...” I whispered. “Mom said we should sleep in our underwear.” If I’d worried that Lily would be nonplussed, I’d worried unnecessarily. She simply smiled and said “That’s a good idea Robbie!” Then she pulled her PJ top over her head. In the dark, I couldn’t see anything. The usual lights from outside were out and there was almost no moonlight. I took my PJ top off too, then inwardly shrugged and shed my bottoms as well, leaving me wearing only briefs. Lily obediently followed suit. I felt a sudden intense curiosity as to what she was wearing under the PJs, but I couldn’t really see anything. We lay back down. I felt a tremendous urge to put my arms around Lily, as I always had before, but felt uncertain. Maybe she wouldn’t like it when she was undressed. Plus, even with our PJs off, it was still hot. I needn’t have worried. After a short pause Lily scooted over and gently settled against me. I felt goosebumps all over. I put my arms around her and she sighed happily and relaxed into my embrace. It felt like the universe was expanding in radiant joy in front of me. I swear that I almost saw blinding lights and colors even in the pitch black, and heard a roaring in my ears. I had never felt such a wonderful feeling as her chest against mine, her chubby tummy against mine, my hands on her backside, her warm, sweet breath mixing with mine. I felt that this, this was the thing I’d been missing all my life, that I had never known that simple skin-to-skin contact could bring such joy. We both fell asleep almost immediately, my head swimming with the new sensations.