Chapter 5

Matt didn't see Kristin at the pool until Wednesday, but when she arrived, she came directly to his platform.

"Hi. Remember that puzzle that we had?"

"Yeaaaah," he said slowly, not really able to pinpoint anything they designated as a puzzle.

"Well, I got 'em, but they take a month to work."

"Oh, that puzzle!! Yes. Very good! Wow! That didn't take long. It must not have been as hard as you thought."

"Well, it was plenty hard until I talked to my aunt. She told me what to do. But she wants to meet you, too. So I said we could drive over there some night when you are off."

"OK, that's not a problem, unless she has a gun in her hand or something, waiting for me to show up. Are you sure she isn't going to tell your mom?"

"Yes, she promised me that she wouldn't."

"Where does she live?"

"Not far from your lake house. Maybe we could run over that way tonight?"

"And then make a stop on the way back!"

Kristin blushed and then agreed.

"I'll pick you up at seven."

As they pulled into the drive of Kristin's aunt's home, she was outside tending to some flowers. Kristin introduced Matt to her aunt as they walked through her garden.

"I wanted to see this guy that Kristin talks about constantly. I guess I need to understand how it is that she suddenly needs birth control when she is barely fourteen."

Matt had anticipated the antagonistic attitude. He wasn't happy about having to go through this, and had never before faced an adult to discuss having sex with their young relative. He was cool and calm with his response.

"Lots of things have changed in recent years from what they were, even in the short time since you were in school. Today, most kids in high school are under a lot of stress--for grades, for social life, for appearance, for clothes, for other stuff and everything else that you are as well. One of the things that kids today have written off is the pressure about virginity and marriage. Who cares? Most people don't stay married to the same person anymore anyway, so who cares if you are a virgin or not? In college, they have mixed sex dorms, and kids sleep with their roommates. In high school, at least where we go, nobody wants to deal with sexual pressure. If a guy or a girl doesn't want to have sex, nobody cares, nobody makes them. But if they do, nobody makes a big deal about it either. And for a lot of people, having sex is a great way to relieve some of the other tensions that we encounter. Kristin and I have had sex, but I told her I didn't want to any more unless she got on birth control, because I didn't want to make her pregnant, and I sure don't want to be a dad right now. So, it was her choice. I didn't make her, and I don't think I put any pressure on her either. I care for her. She is a nice girl. She's cute, fun, and seems to be pretty bright too. So she came to you. The one thing I do know is that most parents, and probably hers as well, would never understand this, and would probably want to string me up from a tree."

Kristin's aunt, who herself did not appear to be much over thirty years old if that, did not respond right away. Kristin just sat there silently, waiting for some one to say something.

"Well, that was quite a speech. I'm surprised, but then again, I'm not, after hearing what you had to say. You are certainly not the typical predator teen looking to add a mark on your scorecard. And yes, I know how it is in colleges today. It has not been that long since I was attending one. You are absolutely correct about dorms and room mates and sex everywhere. I just have a hard time realizing that it has migrated down to the high school level already."

Matt, choosing his words carefully, responded. "I have heard that in the years that you would have been in high school, most girls lost theirs at their first prom. My cousin told me that when he was in school, all the motels were sold out for miles whenever the school had a big dance."

As he mentioned losing their cherries at a prom, Kristin's aunt blushed. She didn't say anything, but she reacted as if he knew something about her that he shouldn't know. Obviously he had, by luck, found the right chord to hit. Her silence made Matt think that the aunt was actually recalling a certain prom night.

Finally she said, "You have really thought this out, haven't you? I can't argue with anything you have said. I won't tell her mom anything, and if she needs anything else, she knows she can always come to me. But I will tell you this, Matt. Don't even think about doing anything to hurt her. We all know that you will probably not last as a couple, forever. Heck, you probably won't stay together through high school. But she is young, and you can hurt her easily, and then you will have hurt me, and I'm lots older and tougher."

"I understand what you are saying. I really do. Thank you for being so understanding of us."

As always, Matt opened the car door for Kristin and they drove back.

"I think she really liked you," she said.

"She's ok. I didn't think it would go that well."

"Do you want to stop at your cabin tonight for a while? I sorta told you we could."