Prologue

I have to tell you, I'd started getting a little worried about my daughter.

Tiffany was sixteen and a great kid, a very nice girl that I felt very proud of, but something wasn't quite right. She never had a boyfriend, for one thing. She looked so pretty too. Tiff was growing into a beautiful young woman, tall and lithe and graceful like a dancer. With her long blonde hair and soft blue eyes complimenting a rather well-developed body, she really should have had a boyfriend long before then.

I knew for a fact Tiffany had plenty of admirers, like the boys attending the nearby high school, of course, but also a number of handsome young men from our church as well. It would have been good seeing her with a nice catholic boy from church, I thought. The altar boys always seemed so serious and well behaved. I mentioned it to her, just in passing sometimes, but Tiffany was always non-committal, apathetic even. It worried me.

Being a single mother, I tried to raise her as best I could. I thought perhaps her remoteness might have been caused by that, by the fact that she'd never known a father figure, or had a male role-model to demonstrate the qualities she should be looking for in a young man. I blamed myself for that. I'd had opportunities to remarry when Tiffany had still been a child. Men found me attractive, responsible, and outgoing. Too responsible maybe, as I'd resisted those men who'd shown real interest in building a future with my daughter and me.

I thought now that I'd been mistaken doing that, selfish perhaps, and Tiffany was the one paying the price. I felt that burden, that guilt, and perhaps it was undeserved, but also quite impossible to shed. I couldn't let it go while I watched my daughter grow up lonely, without a date or even a first kiss and that seemed hardly fair.

"I'm not lonely, Mom." Tiffany smiled at me patiently, but I could see the frustration in her eyes. We were having another one of our mother-daughter chats, another of my attempts to get her interested in some sort of social life, and I think Tiffany had grown bored with them.

"You should be outside, with your friends," I suggested gently one afternoon after Tiffany had come home after school. "Meeting a boy, maybe..."

"A boyfriend, Mom?" She laughed softly. "I already have one ... Don't I, Lick?"

She sat on her bed with Licorice, our big black lab. Well, he was her dog really, not ours, but he was part of the family and they were so close, Tiffany and Lick. It was one of the few comforts I had, knowing my daughter had at least the dog to comfort her, but that could be worrisome at times too. Tiffany treated the dog like he was a real person.

"Give me a kiss, Lick," Tiffany giggled. "Show Mommy how much you love me."

I smiled indulgently while Lick used his tongue to caress my daughter's beautiful face.

"Don't let him do that," I sighed, staring as Tiffany opened her mouth, letting Lick push his long red tongue between her soft lips.

"Mmmppph..." Tiffany began sucking the dog's tongue while he pulled it away. It was a game they liked and I always worried about germs, even though the vet assured me it was probably okay.

"He likes it," she giggled, licking her lips and hugging the dog while I sat nearby. "He loves me, don't you, Licorice? Yes, you do."

"Whatever," I shook my head. "I just think you need other friends, real friends..."

"What?" Tiffany glanced at me. "Lick is real, and he's my best friend. I can tell him anything."

"You know what I mean, Tiffany." I tugged at my earlobe nervously. "Don't you want a boyfriend? Ummm ... A kiss?"

"A kiss?" She laughed some more. "You don't sound like most of the moms I ever heard about."

"Well, most girls your age are at least curious," I said with a tiny blush, thinking perhaps I made it sound like I wanted her to get pregnant or something.

"I just don't like boys," Tiffany shrugged. "I love Lick."

She pushed him back until the large dog collapsed on the bed, lying down beneath Tiffany's insistent hands. She more or less fell down beside him, lying on her side so she could face the animal. I watched as she stroked the short black fur on his chest and down to his soft belly, which had a little white on it. Lick was clean, I had no worries about that and Tiff really took care of him. I only wished she would redirect some of that interest towards other people.

"Are you..." I paused, pursing my lips because I felt somewhat embarrassed by the thoughts suddenly in my head.

"Am I what, Mom?" Tiffany glanced at me and she'd started stroking the dog's furry sheath and I frowned at that.

"Don't play with him there," I told her, taking the opportunity to put off what I really wanted to ask my daughter.

"He likes it," Tiffany smiled. "He goes to sleep when I do it just right..."

She moved her hand slowly, back and forth, pulling the dog's foreskin back just enough so we could see the pink taper of his penis. Tiffany had never been shy with the animal, so far as touching him that way and I tried my best not to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't anything to get excited about, since Lick was just a dog, but it still made me vaguely uncomfortable seeing Tiffany massaging him like that.

"Well..." I sniffed.

"What were you going to ask me?"

"Oh ... Uh..." There would be no easy way, so I took a deep breath and just asked. "Are you gay, Tiffany? A lesbian, I mean?"

My little girl stared at me and I hastened to explain my feelings on the subject.

"I mean, if you have feelings for other, uh ... girls, it's okay," I nodded my head, speaking quickly.

Tiffany laughed and Licorice lifted his head at the sound.

"Go back to sleep, baby," Tiffany whispered, giving his open mouth a little tongue of her own.

"I understand," I continued. "Sometimes a girl can feel like that and I'm not mad or anything, I just..."

"No, Mom. I'm definitely not a lesbian," Tiffany shook her head and her eyes were bright, twinkling with cheerful amusement.

"Oh, um..." I nodded some more. "Okay then, well ... I just wondered."

"I just like Lick, that's all," she shrugged. "He's my boyfriend, Mom."

"I know. I know he's your friend," I assured her. "I like him too, but there's so much to do outside, with kids your own age."