Chapter 21

Roberta, Fran, and I talked all afternoon. They acted like they had nowhere to be, nothing pressing to do, and nobody for whom to do it. Talking for hours and hours lets you start to understand someone, and as I got to know the two of them, I found myself wanting to know them better.

I passed the time hearing Roberta tell me about her childhood and early adult years. "My father left us when I was small, and mom had to work crazy hours to keep the roof over our heads. If it hadn't been for Aunt Fran I would had to raise myself. As it was, she was always looking out for me. I'd come home from school and find the phone ringing. Aunt Fran would be checking to make sure I got home Ok, and was starting my homework. Then she'd come by and start dinner so that when my mother arrived, there was something to eat available.

"It was years before I understood that my Aunt Fran was buying the groceries, and making supper every night. Mom worked seven days a week, for months on end, in a terrible job, but I had a wonderful childhood because of my Aunt." She looked at Fran with so much love in her eyes, that I wanted to be part of it.

"She was my babysitter, confidant, best friend, and role model. My mother was nearly invisible, because if she wasn't sleeping, she was at work - period. It took every waking minute of her life to keep us together, and Aunt Fran filled all the other roles in my life."

Fran glowed as Roberta lavished praise on her for helping her through childhood. She was proud she had to intervene. "Roberta was the perfect child." That got her a look from Roberta. "She was," Fran said convincingly. "Roberta kept her room picked up, did the laundry, ran the vacuum, did the dishes, and helped me with dinner. She got straight A's, never acted up in school, loved learning, reading, and striving to achieve.

"I used to work my calendar around to attend when she was competing in scholastic events whenever possible. My niece was a winner from the moment she grew out of diapers ... still is, and I think you can see why, David." Her joy was so obvious; it made me lonely for a family again.

Roberta got a serious look, and said, "You didn't feel that way when I was dating Kenny."

Fran's face darkened. "Kenny Short was a snake. I should have shot that boy instead of thinking you needed the freedom to figure it out for yourself."

She turned to me. "Roberta's first great love was a twit named Kenny Short. He was as dense as an oak tree, dumb as an ox, horny as a billy-goat, and had the good sense of a shaft of wheat. The only thing on his mind was what was under Roberta's panties." She grimaced when she aid that, and Roberta blushed red.

"Kenny Small was in my tenth grade science class. For some reason the teacher thought that if he assigned us as lab partners, the walking tree stump would actually learn something.

"He did.

"He learned that I was a virgin, and had no experience with boys, and that as long as he said he loved me, he could take care of my hymen, and keep right on going to the next naive girl in the sophomore class..."

She would have elaborated but Fran interrupted. "I let myself in to the apartment to find Kenny pulling Roberta's panties off while holding her down and trying to fit his penis inside her..."

SHE would have continued but Roberta was going to have her say. "Fran heard me begging Kenny to stop, and without pausing, kicked him in the exposed testicles so hard, his parents threatened to sue my mother for damage to his reproductive prospects."

"I worked at a large-ish law firm in town in those days and our senior partner thought the world of Roberta. When I told him what happened and what his parents were threatening, he had Kenny arrested, printed, and entered into the system to get their attention. When they discovered the facts, Kenny's father nearly beat him to death in my office. Needless to say, we never heard another word from that snake and his parents." Fran was still mad. Good for her.

Roberta was ready to change the subject, and before she could turn to me, I said, "Fran, how about you? What was your childhood like?"

She squirmed for just a second, or two. I guessed she was trying to decide what to tell, and what to keep to herself. "I was the second child of two enormously successful lawyers. My father was a tyrant. Mom lived in abject fear of his temper, especially when he was drinking.

"I was safe from his outbursts because I was the brainiest child in the family. My grades guaranteed me a place at Harvard Law, and I never considered another career. That was mostly because my father would have beaten me into submission and sent me there, anyway.

"As it was, there was no one home to kick his testicles when he took my virginity in a drunken rage..."

Roberta gasped, clearly never having heard that story before.

Fran looked stricken for springing that on Roberta unprepared. "I was home alone. It was one of those oddball days off the public schools give for teachers to schedule meetings with parents, or whatever. I was in my room studying for a test coming up, and I heard the front door open and slam really hard, so I went to discover what was going on.