What a wild dream, she thought to herself, half pretending to believe it.
The entire family was a little drowsier than usual at breakfast that morning, each for her own separate reason. And Jerri, of course, would've been quite surprised to know that she wasn't the only one whose sleepy eyes were due, in one way or another, to the secret delights of sex. She sat munching her cereal with smug thoughts of what she'd let Rodney do to her, with no idea of the precocious interests of her two younger sisters or of the reawakening her mother had undergone in the realm of sensual activities.
Jane noticed that Jerri still apparently intended to go without a bra in spite of their little talk the day before. She didn't mind so much, though. As long as Karen didn't take a notion to follow her example, it was okay. And Kathie was hardly old enough for it to make any difference one way or the other.
The year Jerri had just been away at college was the main topic of conversation, of course. But that was only while Jane remained at the table. Later on when she left to bring out a platter of hot rolls, Kathie and Karen pounced on their big sister for more details about a certain part of campus activities not yet touched on.
"Jerri, how about the boys at school? Do you have lots of boyfriends? Do you go out on dates a lot? Do you-" Karen commenced.
"Yeah, and how about the guy you went out with last night?" Kathie broke in. "We didn't even get to see him. Is he cute? Do you like him?”
"Hey, slow down a minute," answered Jerri, smiling. "What's got you two kids so interested in boys all of a sudden? Last year the only thing you ever asked me was when I'd take you swimming.”
"I don't know," chirped Kathie. "I just think they're groovy.”
But Karen was miffed. "Maybe Kathie's still just a kid, but don't call us both that," she huffily retorted. "I'm not exactly a kid anymore.”
As she spoke, Karen sat up in her chair and unconsciously pressed forward the mounds of her budding new breasts. Jerri could see that her pride had been wounded. She barely had time to apologize for her poor choice of words before Jane returned with the platter of rolls.
That afternoon when Jane went to the grocery, the girls again tried to worm information out of Jerri about "grown-up things.”
"You're getting there, Sis," Jerri said to Karen, "but I don't think you're quite old enough yet to be in on all my secrets, are you?”
And to Kathie, she said, "Honey, you don't need to know anything about boys for a long time yet. When I was ten I didn't even want to play with them, much less think about them as much as you do.”
"Awww," whined Kathie, disappointed but still not ready to abandon the subject.
Karen was more specific, "I don't mean the dumb old stuff about having babies and all that. I already know about that," she replied, straightening herself to her full height.
"Yeah, me too," chimed in Kathie.
Jerri looked from one to the other of them in undisguised amazement.
"What I want to know about is the other stuff," continued Karen. "You know, the stuff that's fun. The things a boy can-”
Kathie nodded her head in vigorous agreement, her eyes bright with anticipation.
"Listen, I think you're both getting too big for your britches," declared Jerri. "You better not ever let Mom catch you talking about things like that.”
"I know, I know," exclaimed Karen, 'that's why I'm talking to you about it.”
But Jerri was saved by the bell. She picked up the phone, discovered that it was Rodney, and shooed the girls away.
"You spoiled everything, Kathie," Jerri heard Karen say as they walked up the stairs. "If you hadn't been there I bet she would have told me all kind of stuff." From her position at the telephone, Jerri could see the younger girl stick her tongue out at Karen and make a face at her as she dashed up the stairs ahead of her.
Rodney asked right away if Jerri could go out with him that night. He'd been thinking all day about how hot she'd been with him the night before and he couldn't wait to have another go at it. Her answer surprised him. Not only did she agree to see him, but suggested that he come to her house. Her mother was going to some club meeting, she told him, and they would have the house to themselves.
"A patch of grass in the park may be okay once in a while," she said huskily, "but I think you'll groove on a real bed more, huh?”
"Wow! Outasite-but I thought you had two little sisters. Won't they be in the way?”
Actually, Jerri had forgotten about Kathie and Karen. But it was only because of her excitement at the prospect of being under the sheets with Rodney instead of on dewy grass. And the opportunity was too good to miss. "Forget about them,” she said, "They'll be in their room all the time. I won't let them bug us.”
On the second floor, Kathie was bending her head over the rail and hearing every word. She tiptoed back to her room and told Karen the news. For once she was glad to hear what her little sister had to say. That kind of news was worth plenty.
"Well, this could be super!" she told Katie. "It'll have to be her bedroom where they wind up. Listen, here's what we'll do… ”
While Jerri finished talking to Rodney and her sisters plotted to take part in the night's activities, Jane sat with a friend at a posh downtown department store. Her groceries were sitting in the car and she was finding herself being talked into going out with her friend's cousin from out of town. As her friend sat trying on shoes, she filled her in on the details.
He was tall and good-looking, as well as being a "real nice guy." And he would only be in town for the weekend. Jane realized that this would be the first real date she had had since the death of her husband. But the idea of him being new and from out of town somehow appealed to her and she agreed to to it. She had no way of guessing the things being planned for the same night by her daughters.
Late afternoon was a busy time around the Spicer household. Jane was putting away groceries and trying to decide what to wear for her blind date and Jerri was tie-dying a bunch of tee shirts. Kathie and Karen contributed their little bit by endlessly whizzing in and out of the house and making general nuisances of themselves. Jance couldn't imagine why the pair had so much to giggle about.
Once as she passed the bathroom and saw one of Jerri's shirts hanging up to dry, she did a double take and stopped in her tracks.
"I thought you were doing those shirts for yourself, Jerri. Did the girls talk you into doing some for them?" she asked. "The one hanging there to dry is way too small for you.”
Jerri looked back over her shoulder with a frown on her face and Jane realized that the girl had thought she was razzing her.
She threw up her hands and walked away, calling back to Jerri over her shoulder. "Okay, I should have known. It isn't enough that you've thrown all your bras away. You have to run around with a skimpy little tee shirt on that's barely big enough to cover your chest.”
" 'Breasts,’ Mom, not 'chest’," retorted Jerri, unable to resist the quip. "I wasn't kidding yesterday when I told you you ought to start going without a bra, Mom," she continued. "Let me make you a tie-dye tee shirt. You'd look great in one, really, Mom.”
There was no answer from the kitchen. Oh well, thought Jerri, guess I shouldn't bitch too much about Mom. Most of the chicks I know have mothers a lot worse than she is.
Jane drove that night to her friend's house to meet her blind date. She'd had to cancel going to the club meeting to make it, but she didn't really mind doing that. And why bother to tell the children "where she was going or who with? She would still be gone the same length of time, so neither her destination or companion should be important to them.