Chapter 12: Does Your Mother Know

Sophia bounded down the stairs early the next morning. Her mother sat in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hi Mom!" Sophia said cheerfully.

"Why good morning, Soph. What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right, I forgot to tell you. I'm skating again."

"You are?"

"Yeah," Sophia smiled broadly. "With Warren. I found out he used to be a competitive skater, too. In singles. He stopped competing because he never mastered the jumps, but still took lessons. He took me with him last week, and I suggested he try dance. So, we're going to take lessons and skate on Saturdays and see what happens. Just casual for now, but I missed skating, and skating with him is lots of fun. And he might not be much of a jumper, but his basic skating is very strong. We're well matched physically, not to mention emotionally"--her Mom smiled at that--"so we're going to give it a shot."

Ellen Kovach was amazed. This was the longest speech she had heard out of her oldest daughter in a long time. "Well, you seem to be happy with the decision. I think it's great."

"I think it's great, too. And I'm just generally happy, lately. Anyhow, Warren will be here, soon. I'm going to go meet him. See you!" and she bounded out the door.

Ellen Kovach watched her daughter bounce out the door. My oh my, she thought, Sophia was positively glowing this morning. And Ellen had an idea why.

Sophia breezed back into the house shortly after one. "Hi, Mom! You had lunch yet? I'm gonna make grilled ham and cheese. You want one?"

"Sure, honey, that would be nice." Ellen Kovach was amazed. "You want me to cook it?"

"Nah, I got it."

"How was skating?"

"Great. It was only our second time together, so we're still trying to get basic steps down, but he's a very quick study," Sophia said. Ellen noticed a little gleam in her daughter's eye.

There was a knock on the door. "Soph? You home?"

"Come on in, Jess!" Jessie entered and took off her jacked. "You're just in time," Sophia continued. "Want some lunch? I'm doing grilled ham and cheese."

"Sure. Hi, Mrs. Kovach."

"Hi, Jessie."

"What, Soph, you cookin' for everybody? When the hell did you become so freakin' domestic?"

"Ah, 'snothin'. I was making for myself, so why not make for everyone?" Sophia hummed a snatch of some song or other. "It's no big deal."

Jessie looked at Ellen. "What has gotten into her? My best friend is positively bubbly!"

"I dunno, Jess. She's been like this all morning. She woke up like this, if you can believe that!"

Jessie snorted, "It's this whole 'she's in luuuuuuuv' thing. It's positively disgusting, I tell ya."

Ellen laughed. "Oh, I think it's more than that. She's been in luuuuuuv, as you put it, for a month now. Nope, this is different. In fact, I'd be willing to put money down that we are looking at a girl who had her first orgasm last night." And she winked at Jessie.

Jessie's jaw hit the table.

And Sophia's eyes widened, and she dropped the plate she had been carrying, shattering it into multiple pieces on the floor. "MOTHER!!!!!"

"Oh, come on, Sophie, do you think I'm stupid? I know you're not a virgin. Do you think I bought that story you handed me last year--here, sign this, so I can go on the pill for "medical reasons"? Yeah, right. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that you've been having sex since... what was his name, Dork?"

Sophie just stared in disbelief. Jessie cracked up. "Dirk, but Dork is close enough, believe me."

"Right," Ellen continued. "I also know that your previous boyfriends were assholes. Assholes out of bed tend to be assholes in bed. It takes a special guy to help a girl reach orgasm. Believe me, I know. Warren's a special guy. So, I put two and two together--added by the fact that you are glowing like a small sun--and made a guess."

Sophia still couldn't believe it. "Since when did you get so open minded?"

Ellen laughed, "I always have been to some degree. Listen, the drugs and booze worry me, and your inability to use the brains that God gave you in school frustrates me more than you could possibly know. But I know what hormones are. I have them too, you know. I wasn't much older than you are now when I lost my virginity." Sophia stared. She never knew that. "No, I wasn't really upset you were having sex--although I would have preferred you had waited. No, I was upset with who you were having sex with. I knew Scott was bad news from day one. Not that you listened to me."

Sophia looked down. "I should have. Boy, should I have."

"Ah, well, no use crying over spilled milk--or broken plates." They all laughed. "Trust me, dear, I have no such premonitions about Warren. He treats you like gold."

"That he does. Mom, you're amazing. Thanks for being understanding."

"Well, you should try me more. I'm more understanding than you think. You just never communicate. That's why I brought it up. At least I got a rise out of you."

Sophia laughed. "That you did. I think I'm purple right now." She sighed. "I have to clean this up, I suppose. Where's the broom and dustpan?"

"Hall closet."

Sophia turned towards the door. "Hey, Soph?" Jessie called. "Was your mother right? Did Prep Boy actually give you your first orgasm last night?"

Sophia stopped at the door, looked back at them, smiled, and said. " My first... and my second... and my third!" and then walked down the hall.

Jess and Ellen looked at each other in amazement. "Oh, Soph," Jess said. "You don't suppose that Prep Boy might perhaps have a friend, do you?"

It was a few hours later. Jessie had gone home, and Sophia had spent some time in her room reading. She came out to the kitchen, fixed a pot of tea, poured herself a cup, and wandered out to the living room, where her mother was watching TV.

"Made a pot of tea if you want some."

"Actually, that sounds lovely." Ellen went to the kitchen, grabbed a cup, filled it, and went back to the living room. "Mmmm," she sipped. "Earl Grey?"

"My favorite."

"Some things never change." Sophia chuckled. "What are you reading?" Sophia showed her the book. "A Comedy Of Errors? Shakespeare? I'm impressed, Sophie."

"Blame Prep Boy and his evil influence on me. He's got me hooked on Shakespeare, of all things."

Ellen smiled. "He's got you reading again, he's got you skating. Jesus, what else of your virtuous past has he managed to dredge up?"

Sophia laughed. "Well, after we did... you know... last night, we came down here and he thoroughly whipped my behind at chess. Boy, am I rusty at that. But it was fun to play."

"Well, I'd bet your mind wasn't completely on the chess game."

"That's no excuse, because neither was his. It might have been my first orgasm last night, but it was his first anything."

Ellen stared. "Warren was a virgin?"

"Oh, he was more than a virgin. He'd never had his hand up a girl's shirt before last night. He went from your basic kissing to boinking me all in one night."

"And he made you come three times???????"

"I'm telling you, Mom, the boy is good."

"How did he last so long, if he was a virgin? That's unheard of!"

"Oh, only the last orgasm was that way. First two were foreplay."

"Ay yi yi."

"Don't I know it." She took a sip of her tea, and sighed. "I guess I can't quite believe that I'm not even fifteen years old yet and I'm discussing graphic details of my sex life with my Mother."

Ellen looked at Sophia wryly. "Sophia, any time that I can get you talking to your mother about anything is a good thing.:"

Sophia thought about that for a minute. She sipped her tea, and put her book down. She stared into space for a minute, and then said, softly, "I guess I've been pretty rough on you the past couple of years."

Ellen looked at her daughter. "It's been mutual. Neither of us have been communicating. There have been so many things I should have told you, long before this--things about myself. It might have helped, but I didn't know how to go about it."

"What are you talking about, Mom?"

"I remember the first guy that made me orgasm. I was seventeen. Like I said, I lost my virginity shortly after my fifteenth birthday, but it took one special guy to make me orgasm."

"And you fell head over heels."

"You got it."

"What happened?"

"He got me pregnant before I even graduated high school, so I married him."