Chapter 1

My son and daughter hold hands!

They hold hands all the time. That, along with the look of satisfaction on their faces makes me wonder ... if they’re doing more than just holding hands.

Tom’s two years older than his sister Susan – she’s 15, which makes him 17.

I first noticed this back when he was 12 and she was 10 – too young for them to realistically be doing anything naughty with one another. They could be kissing ... or possibly even touching each other? That almost makes me feel sick inside to even think about.

I’m not real sure I should bring up the subject – I’ve yet to talk to my husband about any of this.

Tom picks his sister up from elementary school everyday. He says he does this so he can help her with her homework – but I’m not real sure. He’s always been an ‘A’ student, while Susan’s a ‘B’ student with the occasional ‘A’ tossed in.

Oh, they’re coming in the house right now – it’s quite cute the way he opens doors for her but quickly grabs her hand as they walk towards me.

“Hey, Mom,” Tom said. “Hey Mommy,” his sister added.

“Hey kids,” I said back, “I guess it’s safe to assume you’ve both done your homework already?”

“Mom, Sue has got a report to do, so we’ll be in her room looking up stuff on the Internet and taking notes. Call if you need either of us for anything,” Tom said.

“OK, leave the door open, so you’ll hear me,” I countered waiting for either a remark or a shift in body language. They glanced at each other as Tom turned and said, “Sure thing, Beautiful,” leaving me in the kitchen. I noticed that when he’s not holding her hand, he’s got his hand on her back. Hmmmm?

I’ve an older brother, and I remember his way of looking out for me was holding my hand and putting his hand on my back just like I saw Tommy do. It may be the time to separate the two and have a conversation. Maybe I should call my brother?

I had a good friend with a similar set of kids, so I decided to sit down and call her on my cell.

“Hello, this is Valerie?”

“Hi, Val – it’s Janet, can you talk?”

“Sure, what’s up, Jan?”

“Well, this’s going to sound a bit strange, but do your kids hold hands?”

“What do you mean exactly, hold hands?” my slightly younger friend replied.

“When they’re going from place to place, or around the house, how do they walk next to one another? Holding hands? Does Joe touch the back and direct his sister to where they’re going, like our husbands do with us?”

“Now that I think about it, I do see that! Sometimes though their hands are by their side, but I’ve noticed the back of their hands click one another, and Joe almost tries to hold her hand, but Dina seems to brush it away. Are you suggesting ... what I think you’re suggesting?”

“I ... really don’t know about Joe and Dina, but Tom and Susan seem to always be holding hands. I’m not sure what to make of it. The last thing I want to do is to make ‘that’ kind of accusation and be wrong. In my mind, I think they might be kissing or touching each other, but finding out I’m right worries me as much as finding out I’m wrong!”

“Jan, when I was their age, my brother was in charge of me a lot – he’s four years older – He was always taking and holding my hand, as we went from place to place. It never felt odd to me. To be honest, he was my first kiss – but it never got any more than that.”