Chapter 4

The rumors did die down eventually. They had one lasting affect, though. My reputation was made. I think I could have asked out any girl in school, who wasn't going steady, and she'd have gone out with me. I didn't ask any of them out.

In January, I got my drivers license, and Becky and I bought a car. It wasn't anything fancy, just basic transportation. It's main advantage was that we didn't have to ride the school bus.

On the first of February, we got word that Dad had been killed in an accident on the job. He had been working on a high-rise in Houston, and he fell from the tenth floor.

Some of the guys he worked with said he had been drinking. Others said that the engineer in charge of the project had deliberately left out some to the safety precautions to speed up the job. The OSHA investigators declared the site to be unsafe, and shut down the job until it was brought up to standard.

Mom told us that she really wasn't that upset about Dad getting killed. She said he had told her he was leaving us as soon as this job was finished. It didn't bother Becky or me that much either. We hardly knew the guy.

One good thing came out of it. Dad had a good sized insurance policy through his union, and he hadn't changed the beneficiary as yet. Another good thing was that the construction company Dad was working for at the time was very anxious to settle without a lawsuit. Mom got a lawyer to do the negotiations for us, and he did a very good job of it. When the dust had settled, we weren't rich, but we were certainly comfortable.

The evening after Mom had accepted the company's settlement offer, she asked Becky and me to sit down and talk with her.

"I want to get off of this damned farm," Mom told us. "My question for you guys is, do we do it now, or do we wait until school is out? It will probably mean changing schools, since I want to move closer to town."

Becky and I looked at each other and smiled. "Now," I said.

"Okay, I'll start looking tomorrow. I'll give you guys a chance to look at anything I'm interested in before I make an offer."

"This is going to be your house, probably for a long time, Mom. Jed and I will be moving out within three years. You really don't have to consult us," Becky informed her.

"Yes I do," Mom said. "Wherever I am will always be your home, even if you aren't living there."

It took Mom over a month to find just what she wanted in a house. Becky and I agreed it was a nice place. By the time all of the closing was done, it was the middle of May, so we decided to make the move when school was out. Mom put the farm up for sale, and we were surprised that it sold by the time we moved.

Mom had gone all out on the house. It was a three bedroom ranch style, with cedar and stone, and a lot of glass. It had three large bedrooms, two baths, and it was on a five acre lot. The place had a pool and a hot tub and a back yard that was completely enclosed by trees. It was almost as private as being on the farm.

Moving wasn't all that difficult. Mom had bought all new furniture for the new house, so she contacted a dealer and sold all of our old furniture to him. All we really had to move was our clothes, kitchen stuff, and things like that.

I liked our next door neighbor from the moment I saw her. Karen Coffman was a very pretty girl, but she didn't act like she knew it. Becky liked her too, and the two of them quickly became friends. The good thing was, they seemed to want to include me any time they got together.

Karen proved to me right away that she had a mind of her own. She absolutely refused to call me Jed. To her I was, then and always, "Johnny". I kind of liked that. Mom or Becky would sometimes called me, Johnny, and I had always liked that, too.

Becky and I spent a lot of time with Karen that summer. We swam together; soaked in the hot tub; rode bicycles; took drives; and talked. God, did we talk. We discussed everything under the sun. Karen was as much a free thinker as Becky and I were.

By the middle of summer. I knew I was in love with Karen. One night, as we were snuggling in bed, I brought it up to Becky.

"Becks, what do you think of Karen?" I asked.

Becky giggled, and said, "I think that someday we'll probably marry her. If she can live with the fact that I'll be part of the marriage, that is."

"Pretty sure of yourself, aren't you," I teased.

"Damned straight."

Becky and I still hadn't gone all the way. We had oral sex a couple of times a week and we masturbated each other more often than that. Something had always held us back from having intercourse.

Becky and I started thinking seriously about Karen. I knew I was falling for her, so I asked Becky how she felt about her.

"I think Karen is very special. I think I feel about the same as you do about her. I'm just afraid that if we bring it up to her, she'll freak out. How should we go about this?" Becky asked.

"It might be best if I approached her first," I said. "Maybe it would be better if I told her I was in love with her, before we ever mentioned that you feel the same way."

Neither of us were thrilled with going about it that way, but both of us thought it was the best approach.

We were supposed to meet Karen for a bike ride the next morning. Becky stayed home, so I would have a chance to talk with Karen by myself.

She was a little bit surprised to see me show up without Becky, but didn't hesitate to go with me. We rode down to the park, and sat down on our favorite bench, overlooking the duck pond. Even though there was plenty of room on the bench, Karen sat fairly close to me.

"Karen, I know we've only known each other for a little over month, but I've come to like you an awful lot during that time. Not only are you one of the prettiest girls have I ever seen, but you're also smart and funny, and a pleasure to be around. I don't want to scare you off, but in this short time, I've fallen in love with you," I told her.

Karen sat there for a couple of minutes, quietly thinking about what I told her. Finally, she took my hand in hers, and said, "Your telling me you love me certainly doesn't scare me off. I don't think I've ever been around two people I felt closer to, then you and Becky. Am I in love with you?" She looked up into my eyes and smiled before she went on, "Yes, I am, with all of my heart."

Karen and I put our arms around each other for the first time. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world as we leaned together and our lips met. It wasn't a passionate kiss; it was a very loving kiss. It was a kiss of promise. A kiss of things to come.

"So, is this why Becky was conveniently not feeling well this morning?" Karen asked with a big grin.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," I answered truthfully. "She didn't want to be in our way if you said you liked me, too."

We kissed again, and then sat holding each other for several minutes. Finally, Karen said, "I've been wondering for some time about you and Becky. It's seems to me that you are much closer than a brother and sister. It's almost like you are a boyfriend and girlfriend. Is that correct, or am I misunderstanding your relationship?"

"I don't know what to say, Karen. Becky and I are much closer than most brothers and sisters. This is something the three of us should probably talk about together."

"How does Becky feel about me? Is she in love with me, too?"

"Yes, I guess she is. Becky isn't a lesbian, but she is physically attracted to you as well. Does that scare the crap out of you?"

Karen giggled, which did marvelous things to her wonderful breast that was pressing into my side. "I guess it should scare me, but it doesn't. I'm not a lesbian either," she said as she hugged me tighter, "but, I'm attracted to her, too. I guess if I admit it, I'm more than a little bit in love with her, too. That has to be the strangest thing I've ever said. I would have never even thought I could love another woman."