First Date—Part One

Kenmore Middle School

Friday, April 26, 2002

2:50 PM

“You’re kidding me, right?” Lisa stared at Jenna as if she’d suddenly grown another head. “You mean he hasn’t asked you out yet?”

“Not yet,” Jenna said.

“Not to the movies or skating or anything?”  Lisa asked.

“No. Why?” Picking up her burger, she watched as Lisa and Christy exchanged glances. “Is that weird or something?”

“A little,” Lisa said. “I mean, you’ve known him for a month now, haven’t you?”

“A month and twenty days,” Jenna replied. “We mainly talk on the phone.”

Christy dipped her French fry into a pool of ketchup. “What do you mean mainly?  Has he come over to your house yet?”

“Well—no,” Jenna hedged—the thought of Chris coming over to the house with her dad there—Dad, whose face still turned several shades of red at the merest mention of the ‘b’ word. “But we did talk at the bowling alley and he emailed me his yearbook photo. And then when I called him last night he—”

“Wait a minute,” Lisa held up her hand. “You call him?”

“Sure I call him,” Jenna said.  “Sometimes I call him, and sometimes he calls me—that’s normal, isn’t it?” 

“Actually,” Lisa reached into her backpack as she spoke. “Now that you mention it—I found this book that used to belong to my big sister.”

“Oh no,” Christy moaned. “Not that, Lisa—you promised you wouldn’t bring that up.” 

“I had my fingers crossed,” Lisa shot back as she pulled out the tattered paperback. “Anyway, Jenna—it’s this book called ‘The Rules’—and it says in here that you never call a guy. You wait for him to call you.” 

“Never?”  Jenna repeated, a knot forming in her stomach. Had she been doing the wrong thing all this time? She didn’t think she had been—every time they talked they had a lot of fun—he enjoyed talking to her.

But on the other hand, it had been over a month and he hadn’t even suggested that they go anywhere. Was it because he didn’t want to? Maybe he was just being nice, humoring her—maybe he didn’t want to see her again.

She just wasn’t so sure anymore. Suddenly not hungry, Jenna placed her half-eaten burger back on the tray.

Christy snorted. “That’s got to be like the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s not dumb,” Lisa turned the pages. “It says here that guys like girls who play hard to get—they like the chase and a touch of mystery in a woman.”

“I’m not a woman,” Jenna told her friend. Not yet anyway. She certainly didn’t look like one—or feel like one.

“Women, girl—whatever,” Lisa said. “It’s still true.”

“Sense of mystery? This is 2002, Lisa—that book was written a long time ago.”  Christy said. “And personally, I think that boys appreciate a girl who is assertive. Maybe you should ask him out first, Jenna—maybe he’s just shy.” 

“Ask him out?”  Lisa sounded horrified.  “He needs to make the first move, Jenna. It’s still not too late for you to play hard-to-get, you know—there are things you can do—”

“Hard to get is just silly,” Christy insisted. “What she needs to do is—”

Ask him out—let him ask her—Jenna took a sip of her milk as Lisa and Christy continued talking—her mind racing wildly.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

4247 Maplewood Dr.

4:15 PM

“Hello?  Hello?”  Amanda said. 

Silence—for a moment she thought she could hear someone—soft breathing—but then there was a click and the line went dead. Looking at the phone’s caller ID Amanda saw the word ‘Unavailable’—no phone number given. Probably telemarketers, she thought—though lately these hang-ups had been coming more and more frequently. With a quiet sigh she replaced the cordless’ receiver back on the hook.

Now what had she been doing only a moment ago—she stared at the open oven. Of course. Using two potholders, she carefully lifted the glass casserole dish.

“Mom, can I ask you a question?” 

“You can ask me anything, sweetheart.” Amanda put the casserole into the oven, closing the door firmly. “What is it?”

“How do you know if a boy really likes you?” Jenna asked. “I know that sounds like a silly question and all—”

“No, it’s not a silly question.” Closing the oven door Amanda turned to look at her daughter, sitting at the table, pen in hand and her homework spread out in front of her. “When you say boy, do you mean Chris?”

Jenna hesitated. “Well there is Chris, yeah—but boys in general. How do you know?”

How to answer this? From Jenna’s expression and the tone in her voice she could tell how important it was. “A lot of times it depends on the boy,” Amanda began. “I remember when I was in third grade there was a boy—Timmy Andrews. He used to sit behind me in class shoot spitballs at me.”

Jenna made a face. “Oh mom, that sounds so gross. It doesn’t sound very nice, either.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Amanda agreed. “And I was really upset at the time—and your grandmother was furious.” Furious was an understatement—her mother had been ready to march down the block to the Andrews’ and give them a piece of her mind before her father had talked her out of it.

“I can imagine,” Jenna said.

“But as strange as it sounds,” Amanda replied. “That was actually Timmy’s way of saying that he liked me.”

“Oh.”  Comprehension dawned on Jenna’s features. “Like Kyle Robinson when I was nine and he put that gum in my hair.”

“Like that, yes.” The gum had taken forever to get out, Amanda recalled. They’d tried baby oil, olive oil, mayonnaise—even a paste of baking soda and water. They had been on the verge of cutting it out when Leatherneck had dropped by and suggested peanut butter, which had actually worked.

“Do you know the next day Kyle gave me a Valentine and a paper heart?”  Jenna shook her head. “Boys can be so weird.”

“Well I know it might seem that way, sweetheart,” Amanda sat down at the table beside her daughter.  “But you know, when boys do things that might seem ‘weird’, it’s only because they have trouble expressing their real feelings.” 

“Did Phillip and Jamie do those kinds of things?” 

“Sometimes—you know you can always ask them about it if you want.” 

“Yeah, I know.”  Jenna fell silent for a moment, her pen tapping methodically on the tabletop. “But boys my age—they don’t do stuff like gum and spitballs anymore, right?”

“Hopefully they don’t,” Amanda replied. “But you know every boy is different. Is this about Chris?”

A small shrug. “Yeah, kinda.”

“You’re wondering whether he likes you or not,” Amanda said.

Jenna nodded.

“He’s been calling you two or three times a week on the phone, for over a month now.” Amanda reminded her. “He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t like you, would he?”

“No, I guess not—but, Mom, what if he thinks I’m just like his buddy or something? What if he just likes me and doesn’t, you know, ‘like like’ me?”

Like like—teenage jargon sometimes. Amanda shook her head reflexively.  “Is there a difference?”

“Mom, of course there’s a difference,” Jenna replied, sounding as if that should be obvious. “Lisa says that if he ‘liked liked’ me he would’ve come over to the house or asked me to go out somewhere by now. It’s been over a month.” 

That’s not all that long, Amanda wanted to say, but then she stopped herself, remembering how when she was that age a month could seem like forever.

“Is that what Lisa thinks?”  She asked. “Or is that what you think?”  

“Maybe a little of both,” Jenna confessed, biting her lower lip. “I was starting to wonder about it myself, but when Lisa said that he should’ve asked me by now. I really started to worry. And then she said I wasn’t following the rules—”

“Wait a minute—what rules?” 

“It’s this crazy book she has called ‘The Rules’,”   Jenna said. “And it says that you should never call a guy—that you should always wait for him to call you.  It also says that guys like a girl who’s mysterious and plays ‘hard to get’. If that book is right, I’ve already screwed up majorly.” 

The Rules—Amanda vaguely remembered that book being touted on talk shows and morning television—sometime in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, wasn’t it? She also recalled a book of a similar nature written in the ‘70s that told women to never let their husbands see them without makeup and to occasionally greet them at the door wearing nothing but saran wrap—honestly, the things people came up with—

Realizing that Jenna was waiting for an answer—Amanda took her daughter’s hands in her own.

“Sweetheart, listen to me.  In my opinion, a boy will like you if you just be yourself. You shouldn’t have to play games.”

“I don’t want to play games, Mom—but I don’t want to make mistakes either.”

“Trust me,” she told Jenna. “If you’re true to yourself you should be just fine. And as for you calling him—didn’t he give you his phone number first?”

“Yeah.”

“So he wanted you to call him, didn’t he?” 

“I guess—but shouldn’t he have asked me out by now?”

“Not everyone goes on the same schedule,” Amanda replied.  Her ears registered the faint sound of the door opening and closing—Lee was home. “Maybe he’s just taking things slow, and that’s okay.”

“Christy says I should take the initiative and ask him to go out with me—she says that maybe he’s too shy to ask and that he’s waiting for me to do it. Do you think she’s right?”

“That depends. How do you feel about that?” 

“I feel—I mean, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking a boy out or anything,” Jenna said. “But I don’t want to rush things too much—and I don’t want him to feel like I’m pushing him. Does that make any sense?”  

Even though he wasn’t in the room Amanda could sense her husband nearby—she knew he was listening. “Perfect sense.” She squeezed Jenna’s hands.  “You do what you feel is right—don’t let anyone rush you.”

“Okay.”

“And just remember that it’s important to be good friends with a boy before you’re anything else. Right?”

Jenna smiled. “Right,” she repeated. “Thanks, Mom.” 

“Anytime, sweetheart.” Amanda pulled her daughter into a brief hug. “Now take this stuff upstairs, go wash your hands and then you can help me set the table. You can finish your homework after dinner.”

“I will.”  Jenna gathered her things together and stood, leaving the room. Amanda waited until she was sure that Jenna was completely upstairs—

“You can come out any time you want, Lee,” she called out.

“Not so loud, huh?”  Lee said as he came into the kitchen. “I don’t want Jenna to know that—”

“To know that you were spying on her?”  Amanda asked.

His face reddened. “Come on, that’s not exactly what I was doing, Amanda,” he said defensively. “I just walked in the house, that’s all. It wasn’t like she was hard to overhear.”

Amanda smiled. “Oh—I see.” Grabbing the oven mitts, she opened the oven door.

“Here—let me.”  Lee took the oven mitts from her—carefully he removed the casserole and placed it on the counter.  “What were you two talking about, anyway?  Was it about that boy?”  Amanda noticed the way her husband grimaced as he said ‘that boy’. 

“His name is Chris,” Amanda reminded him.

“Okay—okay —Chris. Was it about him?”

“Well yes—” Amanda opened the cabinet and took down three plates. Mother was having dinner with Captain Curt and wouldn’t be home until later. “—and no.”

“What does that mean?” 

Amanda set the plates down on the table. “It means that most of it was just about boys in general.”

“Boys in general?”  Lee repeated. A slight thud sounded upstairs—he lowered his voice. “Exactly what part of boys in general?”

“Lee, you did hear some of the conversation.”

“All I heard was something about Christy saying that Jenna should ask him out and Jenna telling you that she didn’t want to rush things.”

“Jenna!”  Amanda called. “I could really use your help down here, sweetheart.” 

“In a minute Mom,” came the reply. “I’m on the phone.” 

“She’s on the phone,” Lee said. “So just tell me. What was she talking about?”

“I don’t know—” Amanda said slowly. “The last time I told you something like this you didn’t exactly react well— in fact you kind of overreacted.”

“Something like what?”  Lee said.  “Amanda please—I want to know.”

“Well if you really want to know,” Amanda retrieved the glasses from the shelf above the sink and placed them on the counter. “She wanted to know how she could tell if a boy really liked her or not. I just told her that every boy was different.” 

“Was that it?” Lee asked. “That’s not so bad.”

How to tell him the rest?  “That’s not exactly all of it,” she replied. “Jenna was also worried that Chris doesn’t like her because he hasn’t asked her out yet—and Lisa and Christy have been giving her conflicting messages.” 

Lee’s face paled. “Asked her out?  You mean like on a—” he stopped, not able to say the actual word.

“Yes, that’s what I mean.”  Amanda watched as he slowly sank down into the kitchen chair.

“I really wish you hadn’t told me that,” he said.

“She is a teenager,” she told him. “You knew this was coming.”

Barely a teenager, Lee added silently. “Jenna’s only thirteen, Amanda. She’s too young to be doing this.”

“Lee—”

“She shouldn’t even be thinking about boys asking her out.” Lee kept his voice low, but Amanda could hear the force of emotion behind his words. “And especially not this ‘Chris’ person. We don’t know anything about him.”

“I’ve spoken to his mother on the phone,” Amanda said. “He goes to Williamsburg Middle—he’s in the Honor Society—”

“Next you’re going to tell me he used to be a Junior Trailblazer or something.” 

“He seems like a very nice boy.” 

“It doesn’t matter.”  Lee knew he was being unreasonable, but at this point he didn’t care. “Girls her age do not go out on dates!” 

“Phillip did.”  Amanda reminded him. “I took him and his girlfriend Linda to the movies and dropped them off.”

“Yeah, but Phillip was a little older, though—wasn’t he?”

“Actually he was a little younger,” Amanda said. “He had just turned thirteen the week before.” 

“Phillip is one thing, Amanda—”

“And didn’t you have girlfriends at that age?”

Girlfriends—oh yeah. Lee could remember quite a few—he could also recall with perfect clarity what had been on his mind at the time. The thought of Jenna—his child— going out with the type of boy that he’d been—he shuddered inwardly.

“This is not about me,” he insisted. “With Jenna it’s –it’s just different.”

“Different why?” Amanda asked quietly. “Is it different because she’s a girl, or because she’s your daughter?”

Lee fell silent for a few moments. 

“Both,” he replied finally. “Maybe—I don’t know.” All he did know for certain was that right now his gut was churning, his stomach busily twisting itself into tiny knots.

Amanda placed her hand on his shoulder. “Look, if it makes you feel any better he hasn’t actually asked her out yet.”

“Oh, he will,” Lee answered shortly. “Believe me.” It was like standing in the path of an approaching train—he knew this would be coming no matter what—all he could hope was that it didn’t hit too hard.

“At this age, it’s not even a real date,” Amanda told him. “Try to think of it more as a practice for the real thing.” 

“Practice?” Lee’s voice rose and Amanda shot him a warning look. “Just what does she need practice for?”  He asked, his voice falling to a near whisper.

“Well unless you plan on sending Jenna to a convent, I think she does need to learn how to deal with boys at some point.” Amanda rubbed his shoulder as she spoke, trying to calm him. “She’s growing up, you know—she’s not going to get any younger.”

Lee nodded.  “Yeah,” he agreed. “I guess—I know you’re right. Part of me was just hoping that this would hold off for a little while longer.” 

“How much longer?”

“Oh, until she was sixteen—maybe eighteen or so.”

“Or maybe even twenty?” 

He glanced up at his wife. “Would that really be so bad?”

“As much as you’d like to,” Amanda said. “You can’t keep her a little girl forever.”

Lee ran one hand back through his hair, letting out his breath in a sigh. “I know—but it’s not easy.” 

“Well no,” Amanda squeezed his shoulder. “But if and when this happens we’ll get through it—and it’ll be all right.”

“And we’ll get to meet this boy before he takes our daughter anywhere?” 

“That’s a promise, Stetson.” 

“Hey Mom, guess what!” Jenna ran into the kitchen, cell phone in hand. “I was on the phone with Lisa and Chris sent me—oh, hey Dad—I didn’t know you were here.” 

“I just came home, munchkin,” Lee tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. “What did Chris send you?”

“Nothing special,” Jenna twisted her fingers, not meeting his gaze suddenly.  “It was just a picture of himself—he sent it to me on his cell phone.” 

“Sweetheart, that’s wonderful,” Amanda said.

“Can we see the picture?” Lee asked. 

“Um—yeah, sure.” Jenna flipped open her phone and handed it to Lee. “It’s from last summer—he was in the backyard washing his dog Max, see?” She handed Lee the phone. “That’s him—doesn’t he look cute?” 

“That is a nice photo,” Amanda said.

Lee stared down silently at the photo of the sandy-haired boy standing there with a sudsy-looking German Shepherd. “He doesn’t have a shirt on,” he said.

“Well it was hot outside,” Jenna said. “And like I said he was washing his dog. But that’s not the point.  Doesn’t he look cute?”

“I—” Lee’s mouth opened and closed—he couldn’t seem to find the right words—or any words at all.

“Yes,” Amanda replied finally. “He certainly does—he looks very cute.” 

Jenna grinned. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Did you wash your hands?”  Amanda asked.

“Oh I knew I forgot something,” Jenna said. “I’ll be right back.” 

Lee stared down at the cell phone as he listened to Jenna’s footsteps running up the stairs.  “Amanda?”  He said finally.

“Yes?” 

“Where is the nearest convent, anyway?”

TBC

First Date—Part Two

Ballston Common Mall

Saturday, April 27, 2002

12:45 PM

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to buy that thing,” Lisa stared down at the CD that Christy held in her hands, a disgusted expression on her face.  “All the music in this store and that’s what you pick?”

“Oh please,” Christy retorted. “It’s not all that horrible. I liked the music and the movie was actually pretty good.” 

“Excuse me; did we see the same movie?” Lisa said. “Crossroads sucked. Majorly.”

“At least it was better than that Josie and the Pussycats movie you dragged me to see last year,” Christy replied.  “What do you think, Jenna?” 

Jenna’s head was down, looking through the CDs. Nothing new from the Barenaked Ladies, of course—not that she’d really expected anything, but it would’ve been nice anyway. “I didn’t see Josie and the Pussycats, remember?”  Actually she hadn’t seen a lot of anything last year—not with the hearings and then the trial—pop culture had just been one big blur.

Lisa sighed. “We know that.  But what did you think of Crossroads?” 

They were both looking at her expectantly now, waiting for her opinion. Jenna had a vague memory of the movie—three friends running away, a bunch of singing—it had dragged on—mostly she’d just looked at her watch and waited for it to be over. On the other hand Christy had loved the whole entire thing—she’d gushed about it endlessly as they’d left the theater.

“Jenna?” Christy said.

“Well I’m not a Britney fan, either,” Jenna said out loud.  “But I guess it’s Christy’s decision—she did like the movie.”

“So says Miss Diplomat,” Lisa joked. Jenna elbowed her sharply.

“Exactly—thank you, Jenna.”  Christy fished a twenty dollar bill out of her purse. “And my decision is that I’m going to get this CD, take it home and listen to it."

“As long as you don’t make me listen to it or anything,” Lisa replied with a grin. “I guess I’m good. You see anything you want, Jenna?”

Jenna shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Jenna always takes a million years before buying something, you know that,” Christy said as they went up to the front counter and stood in line. 

“I just want to make sure I buy the right thing, that’s all—something I really want.”  Looking out the window of the store Jenna saw Terri. The girl sat on the steps surrounding the mall fountain, talking to some boy.  Someone they knew? Jenna couldn’t quite tell; all she could see from this vantage point was the back of someone’s head.  Whoever it was, Terri definitely liked him—she talked animatedly, smiling brightly and tossing her long blond hair around the way she always did when she was flirting.

‘Bet she doesn’t have any trouble getting guys to ask her out.’ A nagging voice whispered. Jenna pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. 

“Speaking of things you really want, how are things on the C front?”

Lisa’s voice jerked Jenna from her reverie. She turned to stare at her friend. “The what?”

“You know what I mean,” Lisa said. “Chris. Has he asked you out yet?” 

“Not yet,” Jenna kept looking out the window, watching as Terri took the boy’s hand in hers. Did the girl have no shame at all?  “But he did call me yesterday. And he sent me a photo,” she fished her cell from her front pocket, flipping it open.  “See?” 

Christy whistled. “Wow—that is a nice photo.” 

“Photos are one thing,” Lisa said. “But the main thing we’ve gotta do is get him to ask her out. Now have you thought about the rules? There are tricks in there that you can use to make him want you.”

“How about taking charge and making the first move?”  Christy asked. “That’s what a woman of the nineties would do.” 

Lisa sighed. “Except this is the two-thousands.” 

“Same difference,” Christy said. “Have you thought about it?”

“Have you girls thought about paying for your merchandise?” asked the sales clerk, whose name was listed on his tag as ‘Chad’. “You can’t stand here forever, you know.”

“Oh yeah,” Lisa said.  “Christy’s the one buying something.” 

“That’s me,” Christy put the CD on the counter. “I just want to buy this.” 

“In that case,” Chad said. “Would you other two mind stepping to the side of the counter? The line is for customers. ”

“Sure—sorry.” Jenna said quickly. She and Lisa stepped to the side.

“So?”  Lisa leaned against the counter. “What are you going to do about Chris?” 

‘Be yourself—don’t let anyone rush you.’ Mom’s words sounded in her ears and Jenna knew that she was right. No matter what Lisa or Christy said, she had to make the best decision for herself.  Terri was still out there, tossing her head around. Maybe flirting was good for Terri, but it just wasn’t her—she simply wasn’t like that.

“I think he likes me,” she told Lisa.  “He wouldn’t keep calling me if he didn’t. And he wouldn’t send me pictures. ”

“And?”  Lisa raised her eyebrows.

“And I think he’ll ask me out when he’s ready,” Jenna said. “I don’t want to use tricks or push him into anything.”

“But Jenna, if you don’t do something he might go find someone else. “ Lisa said. “Have you ever thought of that? Rules Girls don’t waste time.”

Rules Girls?  Jenna was about to ask what in the world that meant when Chad broke in.

“Actually,” Chad put Christy’s CD in the plastic bag. “If you want my opinion, your friend’s doing the right thing.”

“She is?”  Christy asked. 

“Sure,” Chad replied. “Take it from me, guys don’t like games—and they don’t like to be pushed.  If he wants to ask her, he will.” 

“Thanks,” Jenna said—she could feel her cheeks burning now.

“Don’t mention it.” Chad handed Christy the bag and her change. “Have a good day.” 

“Well, it looks like you’re on the right track.”  Christy said as they left the store. “So much for rules, huh?”

Lisa sighed. “Whatever.”

They were moving in Terri’s direction—Jenna prayed that the girl wouldn’t notice them—Terri had left her alone for most of this year—the last thing she wanted or needed was a confrontation. 

At that moment the boy facing Terri stood up and turned around—Jenna’s stomach did flip flops as a pair of familiar eyes met her own.

“Hey, Jenna,” Chris said.  “Nice to see you.” 

“It’s nice to see you too,” Jenna replied.  He smiled at her and she found herself smiling back. 

“So are these your friends?”  Chris asked.

“Yeah,” Jenna pointed. “This is Lisa and this is Christy.”

“And we’ll be waiting for you at the Food Court,” Christy said. “Come on, Lisa.”

“But we’re not supposed to separ—” Lisa started to say when Christy punched her in the arm. 

“Have a nice talk,” Lisa said.

“Thanks, guys.”  Jenna watched as her friends disappeared around the corner.

“Interesting friends,” Chris said.

“You could say that, yeah,” Jenna replied.

“I think I’ll go too,” Terri stood—blue eyes glaring daggers—in all the excitement Jenna had almost completely forgotten about her. “See you later—Chris.”  With that she flounced off.

“Don’t mind her,” Chris said.  “Her mom’s a friend of my mom—she keeps trying to fix us up together.”

“Oh.” Jenna didn’t know what else to say. She had seen them holding hands but she didn’t think she should bring that up—it wasn’t like she had an actual claim over him or anything. 

“What do you think about her?”  She asked finally.

Chris shrugged. “She’s pretty and all—I just don’t like her that way. “

“Oh.”  That was the second time she’d said that—how could she carry on a relationship if they couldn’t have a single conversation?  She’d been more talkative at the bowling alley but it had been easier then—not so much pressure.

‘Do you like me that way?’ Jenna wondered, looking at him.  She nearly asked him outright but decided against it. 

“Do you like movies?”  

The sudden change of subject took her by surprise. “Sure,” she said. “I like watching movies.” 

“Spiderman comes out next week,” Chris said. “It’s supposed to be really good.” 

“Yeah,” Jenna replied. “I’ve heard that too. I’d—um—I’d love to see it.” That last sentence had come out of nowhere.  Was it too pushy to say that?  She held her breath—

Chris smiled. “I want to see it too.”

‘Going to ask me—he’s going to ask me. Please let him ask me…’  Her heart hammered loudly in her ribcage—but not from fear this time.  As if in slow motion Chris’ mouth opened—

“Well okay,” he said, looking at his watch. “I’ve really got to go now—my mom’s picking me up in five minutes. See you later?” 

It had been too pushy—she’d totally blown it. Jenna wished a hole would open up in the mall floor and let her drop through. “Later,” she said bleakly.

“I’ll call you,” Chris said. Jenna just stood there as he left, vanishing into the distance.  She looked down at her own watch.  Dad would be picking them up in another hour and a half.

For Jenna that time couldn’t come soon enough. All she wanted was to be back home.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

3:00 PM

Something was wrong.

Lee had known it the second his daughter had climbed into the minivan.  He could see it in the tense set of her shoulders, the way she’d stared down at her lap, twining her fingers together—and every question he’d asked so far had been met with stream of monosyllabic responses.

What was going on?   He pulled the Taurus to a slow stop in front of Lisa’s house.

“Here we are.” Lee said. “Have a good night, Lisa. Tell your mom and dad I said hi.”

“I will. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Stetson,” Lisa replied. “Talk to you later, okay Jenna?” 

“Later,” Jenna repeated flatly. “Sure.”

“I’ll call you.”  Lisa patted Jenna’s shoulder as she climbed out. Lee made sure that Lisa made it safely inside before he pulled away. 

“She’s a good friend to you,” Lee said.

“Yeah,” Jenna replied. “She is.”

More silence—it almost felt physical—like an invisible wall in between them. There had to be some way around it. Lee racked his brains, trying to think of what else he could say to draw her out a little more.

“So, did you buy anything?”

“No,” her voice was small.  A brief glance at him before her gaze returned to her lap. “I didn’t see anything I liked.”

The most words he’d gotten out of her so far—progress was progress. 

“Thought you wanted to get a CD or DVD or something.” 

“Well I changed my mind, all right?”  Her voice rose slightly. “I already said I didn’t see anything I wanted.” 

“I heard you.” Lee said. 

“Good,” Jenna said.  “You know, just because I go to the mall doesn’t mean I have to buy something. It’s not like I’m a shopaholic.” 

This wasn’t about shopping; it had nothing at all to do with it. “I know that, munchkin,” he told her. Calm, reasonable—getting excited wasn’t going to get him anywhere with her. “You don’t have to buy anything if you don’t want to.”

“Well, okay then.”

“Maybe you can save up your allowance and get something really nice the next time you go.”

An annoyed sigh.  “Maybe.” 

This wasn’t like her, Lee thought. It wasn’t like her at all—and frankly it was starting to worry him. What if something was really wrong? 

“You’ve been needing a new pair of jeans for a while,” he said. “You could even get that designer pair you wanted,” What were those jeans called again—he couldn’t remember. “Guest jeans, isn’t it?”

“Guess Jeans,” Jenna snapped. “Not Guest. Can we just drop this now?”

Stopping at the stop sign, Lee turned on his signal and made a left onto Maplewood. Almost home and still nothing—subtle was clearly not working.  He decided that it was time for the direct approach.

“Mind telling me what’s bothering you?” 

“Dad, nothing is bothering me,” Jenna replied. “Seriously.”

“Jenna, that has got to be the least convincing response I’ve ever heard,” Lee said. “It’s more than obvious that something is bugging you. Can’t you at least tell me what it is?”  

“Please—just drop this.” 

“No,” he shook his head.  “I care about you, and if something’s wrong I want to help.” More silence.  “You know you promised me you wouldn’t shut me out—remember that?” 

“That’s not what I’m doing.” 

“Isn’t it?”  Lee said.  “Look, I can keep going around this block as many times as I need to. We’re not going home until you tell me exactly what’s going on.” 

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Did something happen to you at the mall?” he asked. “Something that frightened you—or maybe—”

“Nothing happened!” Jenna looked at him, dark eyes filling with tears.  “Okay?  Nothing’s ever going to happen because I blew it, that’s why—totally messed it up—”

Now he was really confused.  “Messed what up?”  He asked, but Jenna just continued with her tirade, oblivious.

“And boys act like they really like you and then they just blow you off,” Jenna said. “All I said was I wanted to see to see the movie too. Is that so wrong to say?” 

“No, that doesn’t sound wrong to me, munch—”

“It must have been wrong because he didn’t ask me—he just walked away—why are you all so weird?” 

“Didn’t ask you what? Who are we talking about?” 

Jenna’s voice quavered—she wiped at her eyes.  “Men—boys—you all say you like someone and then you stick gum in their hair—or you throw spitballs at them—if this is the way guys are maybe those rules aren’t such a bad idea after all. ”

Spitballs—gum—rules—Lee began to feel like his head was spinning. What on earth was Jenna saying? This was getting to the point where it didn’t even make sense.  “Munchkin,” he began. “I don’t—”

“And I’m not a baby anymore, dad—I’m not a little girl and I’m not a munchkin.”

It felt like she’d hit him the stomach. Lee tried to think of something else he could say, but the words just wouldn’t come.

“Can we just go home right now?” Jenna said. “I just want to go home—please.”

SMK SMK SMK SMK 

4247 Maplewood Dr.

3:15 PM

“Hello, sweetheart,” Amanda met them at the door. “Did you have a good time at the—” Her voice faded away as Jenna pushed past her and dashed up the stairs—the slam of her bedroom door caused the entire house to shake.  Amanda looked towards her husband.

“Not good?” She asked.

“How should I know?” Lee replied. “I’m only her father, after all—or at least I think I used to be.” 

“Lee come on.” Amanda said.  “It’s not that bad.”

“Oh, isn’t it?”  Lee said.  “You weren’t there, Amanda—she just lashed out at me for no reason.” He sat down on the sofa, his head in his hands. “I’ve never seen her like that.”

Amanda took a seat beside him.  “There must have been some reason.”

Lee let out his breath in a whoosh, raking his hands back through his hair. “Damned if I know. She seemed upset when I picked her up—and after I dropped her friends off I tried to get her to open up a little.”

“Is that when she got so upset? When you tried to get her to open up?”

“That’s when,” Lee admitted. “I just don’t get it, Amanda. I was being very calm, reasonable—it wasn’t like I was pushing her or anything—and out of the blue she just blows up at me.”

“I’m not a baby anymore, dad—I’m not a little girl and I’m not a munchkin.” The words, those angry words kept repeating themselves in his mind. His eyes fell on the Halloween photo—Jenna dressed up as the Scarecrow and Lee as the Cowardly Lion.

‘What happened?’ he wondered to himself. ‘I used to be such a good dad.’

Amanda took his hands in hers.

“I know that you might not have felt that you were pushing her, sweetheart,” she began. “But you need to understand that Jenna might have felt differently.” 

“No,” Lee shook his head firmly. “It’s not like I’m a stranger to questioning people—I know how far I need to go.”

“And exactly how many thirteen year olds have you questioned?”  Amanda asked. Lee fell silent.  “Teenage girls are different—and right now Jenna is very sensitive about a lot of things.”

“That’s the problem,” Lee said. “I don’t even understand what was bothering her. She kept talking about how she messed something up by saying she wanted to see a movie, she asked me why boys were so weird—and then she just stopped making sense.”

“How did she stop making sense?”

“She started talking about boys and spitballs, about sticking gum in people’s hair—you make sense out of that, because I certainly can’t.” 

“I think I can,” Amanda said. “Jenna and I were talking last week about boys and the ways that boys show that they like you. Spitballs and gum happened to be part of the conversation.”

“Spitballs and gum—are you telling me that all of this is about that boy?”

“His name is Chris.”

“Fine. Chris,” Lee said. “This is all about him?”

“That would be my guess,” Amanda replied.  “Maybe she saw him at the mall and he said something or something happened.”

That did make sense, now that he thought about it. “Still, she could’ve at mentioned it instead of lashing out at me like that.”  Lee said. “I’m not to blame for every boy just because I’m a male.”

“Lee—”

“We used to be so close, you know?” Lee said. “Now it seems like everything thing I say is wrong—she even snapped at me for calling her munchkin. I’ve always called her munchkin. I just don’t understand.” 

Amanda squeezed his hands.  “I still remember when you gave her that nickname in the hospital.” 

“Yeah—it was the second day—they didn’t have any pink caps so they put a bright blue one on her. After that, the name kind of stuck.”  Lee recalled holding Jenna, a tiny little bundle in his hands—her dark eyes looking up at him, tiny hand encircling his finger, holding tight—his sweet little girl. Where had she gone?

“You can’t take this personally, you know,” Amanda told him. “Even though it might feel very personal—trust me, it’s not you.” 

“Then what is it?” 

“She’s a teenage girl,” Amanda tried to explain. “Her body is changing—everything’s changing so fast. Hormones are involved—trust me, all teenagers get moody. It’s just part of growing up.”

Part of growing up. Lee tried to think back to himself at Jenna’s age—thirteen years old. The arguments he’d had with the Colonel had been—

Then again that wasn’t exactly the same, was it? He’d always had those kinds of arguments with the Colonel—even when he had been much younger. That hadn’t changed as he’d reached adolescence, not really.  But on the other hand his childhood hadn’t exactly been what you’d call normal. 

“So this is what I have to look forward to?” he asked his wife. “Mood swings and outbursts?”

“Carl, she’s becoming a teenage girl—a strange and wonderful being—from another planet.” Amanda could remember overhearing her mother say that to her own father. “It’s part of growing up,” she said. “Part of puberty.”

“Puberty?”  Lee repeated.  “I know she’s a teenager, but isn’t it a little early to be mentioning that—that word?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Amanda said.  “She’s growing taller—she’s even starting to fill out a little more, though I don’t think she realizes that yet.”

Growing up and filling out. The still-present knot in Lee’s stomach contracted even further. “Has she—” he didn’t quite know how to ask this. “She hasn’t started her, you know, her periods yet—has she?”

“Not yet,” Amanda said. “But I’m betting it’s not so far away now. And I’ve bought her the things in case she needs them. “

Great, just great. Again Lee ran his hand back through his hair. If he thought she was moody now, wait until that hit.

“It’s not all bad. You know that, right?” Amanda told him. “I know it’s not easy, but growing up is what’s supposed to happen. And Jenna will grow up to be a beautiful woman one day.”

Lee ran his thumbs over the top of Amanda’s hands. “If she’s anything like her mother, she’ll be spectacular.” 

Amanda smiled and leaned towards him, their lips meeting in a brief but passionate kiss.

But Jenna becoming a woman was in the future— and right now it was a far cry from the angry and sullen girl who now sat upstairs in her bedroom. How to get from here to there? He just didn’t know.

“Maybe I should go up and talk to her,” Lee suggested. “Try and smooth things over.”

Amanda hesitated.  “Right now I think she might want her space,” she said. “Give her time and she’ll come to us—I guarantee it.” 

TBC

First Date—Part Three

4247 Maplewood Dr.

Saturday, April 27, 2002

4:40 PM

“Lee, would you get out the blue cheese dressing?” Amanda asked.”It’s Jenna’s favorite.”

Opening the fridge, Lee retrieved the plastic bottle, placing it on the table next to the ranch. “You’re assuming, of course, that she’ll even want to eat with us.”

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little?”  Amanda said as she laid three plates out on the table, spooning the tuna casserole out onto each plate. Mother was out to dinner with Captain Curt tonight—they’d been doing that a lot lately. Amanda suspected that a more permanent relationship might be in the works but she didn’t want to speculate.  

“Jenna, it’s time for dinner,” Amanda called out.

“I’m not hungry!”  Came the reply.

“There—you see?” Lee replied. “Tell me I’m overreacting now.”

Amanda took the salad out of the fridge. “You are.”

 “Oh?” Lee raised his eyebrows. “I wasn’t the one who ran upstairs and slammed my bedroom door. I’m not the one who won’t even come down for dinner.”

“No, you weren’t,” Amanda told him. “But then again, you also aren’t a teenager.”

“A-man-da,” Lee groaned.  She turned to face her husband, running her hands down his arms and willing his tense shoulders to relax. 

“Trust me,” Amanda told him. “This mood of hers—it will pass.”

“I certainly hope so,” Lee replied.

“Trust me—it will,” Amanda said. “And she’ll come down and we’ll all have a nice dinner—and after that, you and I—well, we’ll take it from there.”

“Take it from there…hmmm?” Lee smiled as he pulled her body closer. “I like the sound of that, Mrs. Stetson.”

Amanda smiled.  “Thought you might.” Suddenly Lee’s smile faded. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

“What if it doesn’t pass?”  His hazel eyes stared down at her—she could see the anxiety there. “What if she stays angry—what if she keeps pulling away from us?”

Pulling away from me, he added silently.  The thought of him and Jenna growing apart—not being able to talk without arguing—just like he and his—Amanda fell silent for a few moments.

“Can you think of any reason why she would do that?”  She asked quietly.

“Frankly, I can’t think of any reason why she did what she did to begin with.”

“Listen,” Amanda said. “When I was her age I could be in the dumps one minute and on cloud nine the next.”

“Really? That changeable?”

“Yeah,” Amanda said. “And look how I turned out. I really don’t think she’ll stay angry.”

In the dumps one minute and on cloud nine the next—part of Lee wondered how he’d ever survive. He recalled how she could get when she was a toddler—with a toddler, though—he’d sort of expected it. This outburst had blindsided him completely.  And while it relieved him to know that Amanda had been much the same as a teenager, he still couldn’t quite shake his fears. 

“Lee?” Amanda stared at him, waiting for his reply.

“I just—” he struggled to articulate his thoughts. “I keep thinking about the way it was between me and my uncle. It took us years to even form a relationship and even now it can be rocky. So when Jenna—when she said the things she did, I guess I got a little worried.”

“I do understand,” Amanda said.  “But Jenna’s not you, Lee—you know that.” And she wasn’t, Amanda thought to herself. While was true that Jenna had been through some things—things that most girls her age hadn’t experienced, when compared to Lee she’d actually been pretty sheltered.  “There’s no reason to think that things will turn out the same.”

Jenna wasn’t him—the same thing that Pfaff had tried to hammer home. Different life experiences, different motivations—his head knew this was true, but the worry—it still persisted.

“Let’s start dinner, okay?” Amanda told him. “If Jenna feels like joining us, she will. Deal?”

“It’s a deal, Mrs. Stetson.”  They took their seats.

“Mom!”  At that moment Jenna flew down the stairs, dark eyes bright, her face positively glowing. “He did it—I really didn’t think he would, but he did!”

“Did what, sweetheart?”  Amanda asked.

“Chris,” Jenna replied.  “He asked me out to the movies next weekend—he wants to see Spiderman. Isn’t that awesome?”

“Yes,” Looking out the corner of her eye Amanda watched her husband’s face grow pale. “That’s certainly—that is awesome.”

“He said he was sorry he didn’t ask me at the mall,” Jenna continued. “But that he was nervous and he didn’t know if I’d say yes or no but I told him yes, of course. Isn’t it just great? I don’t know what I was so worried about. Dad, isn’t it fantastic?”

She hugged him—a little over an hour after her angry outburst and she hugged him—like nothing had ever happened.  “Jenna, I—” for a moment he’d wondered if he’d lost the power of speech.

“Jenna, why don’t you go upstairs and wash your hands,” Amanda suggested. “Then you can eat your dinner and tell us all about it, okay?”

“Okay,” Jenna gave him another hug before she dashed back up the stairs. Lee turned to face his wife.

“Was that the same girl?” he asked. “The same one who ran upstairs and slammed her door?” 

Amanda nodded. “That’s who it was, yes.”

“That’s what I thought.” With a bemused shake of his head, Lee picked up his fork. Changeable moods—and now he’d seen it in action. And now his daughter, was happy, upbeat—

“He asked me out to the movies.” 

—and dating. 

Suddenly not hungry anymore, Lee put his fork back down.

SMK SMK SMK SMK 

4247 Maplewood Dr.

Sunday, April 28, 2002

10:00 PM

*~~*

“This really is a great movie, you know.” Chris smiled at her. He looked awesome, Jenna thought—the blue t-shirt he wore really showed off his eyes.

“I think so too,” Jenna agreed as she reached in to grab a handful of popcorn. She wore a cashmere lavender top and miniskirt—and heels— actual heels for the very first time. Even Dad had been cool about it.

 Though looking at the screen, she did kind of wonder what Spiderman was doing talking on a shoe phone. Did Spiderman actually have shoes?

“I jog one hundred miles every day!” Spiderman was saying. “Would you believe it? One hundred miles!”

“I find that hard to believe,” Chris whispered to her.

“So do I,” she whispered back, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth, savoring the buttery richness. Chris put his arm around her and she leaned against him

“Hey,” his voice tickled her ear. “Wouldn’t you like some more popcorn?” 

“But I already have—” Confused, Jenna looked down at her hand—her empty hand. But how? She could’ve sworn she’d eaten only one piece. She must have been more into the movie than she thought.

“Sure,” she grabbed some from the bucket that he offered her. It tasted like broccoli but it wasn’t that bad.

“Shouldn’t we use the cone of silence, Chief?” Spiderman was asking his boss. Jenna opened her mouth to tell Chris that the movie didn’t make any sense at all—

“Jenna,” Chris said. “Did you know you’re bleeding?”

Bleeding—Jenna looked down at the lap. Horrified, she stared at the red stain which had started to grow—it was getting larger by the second.

‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh—‘ Her period, it had to be—and she hadn’t thought. Her brain raced frantically, trying to think of a way out of this—it felt like her face was on fire. There must be some way.

“I—um—I have to go to the restroom,” she explained, handing the broccoli-flavored popcorn back.  “I’ll be back.”  Hastily she rose, grabbing her jacket and placing that in front of her skirt—

“Hey!”  Terri was suddenly there—where had she come from?   Before Jenna could stop her Terri pulled the jacket down and away from her skirt.

“Look everyone, she’s bleeding!”  

“Give that back!” Jenna grabbed the jacket—her fingers clutched the material and held on, trying to pull it away from the blond girl. “That’s mine!” 

The entire theater began to laugh, everyone looking, fingers pointing directly at her—

In the distance the phone began to ring….

*~~*

“No!” Jenna sat straight up in bed—fingers clutching the sheets, her heart thudding loudly in her ears—

The sheets, she realized.  Not the jacket.  And looking at her TV set she saw that ‘Get Smart’ was on. Not Spiderman.

All a dream—Jenna let out a sigh of relief.  Thank God, because that had been the absolute worst—

The phone was still ringing.  Not on the TV set either—it came from downstairs.  Should she answer it?  But she couldn’t—house rules.

 But still, if no one else was awake to answer—Jenna slid out of bed, slipping her feet into her slippers. She padded down the dark hallway to the stairs as the noise continued. Down the stairs, avoiding the fifth one which creaked and into the family room. The phone lit up as it rang—the caller ID had no number, just one word—unavailable.

‘You know the rules,’ she thought. And yet she found her hand reaching down, reaching closer—

“Jenna!”  Her Dad. She turned to see him in the doorway, wearing his robe. 

“I’ll get that,” he told her. Jenna stepped aside and he picked up the phone. “Hello?  Hello?”   With a sigh he placed the phone back on the charger. 

“Who was that?”  Jenna asked.

He ran his hands back through his hair.  “Another telemarketer, I bet—they probably hung up when they realized what time it was.”

“They’ve been calling a lot lately.” 

“Yeah, they have,” Dad’s voice grew stern. “And you know you’re not supposed to answer the phone—this time of night it could be anybody.” 

Anybody—meaning spy anybodies, emergencies— “I do know,” Jenna explained. “I just—I had a bad dream and the ringing woke me up. That’s all.” 

“A bad dream?” Jenna couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the concern in his voice.  “It wasn’t about—”

“No,” Jenna said hastily. “It was about being embarrassed—you know, doing something embarrassing in front of people when I go to the movies—with Chris,” she added.  Silently she prayed that he wouldn’t ask her for details; there was no way she was explaining any more of that dream to him. 

Dad cleared his throat. “Yeah, well that’s—that’s a pretty common worry.”

“What if I did that, though—what if I did make a fool of myself?”

“The trick there is to relax,” he told her. “And just be yourself and I’m—I’m sure you’ll have a good time.”

“I hope so.”

“Trust me—I have experience in these things.”

Experience?  For one moment Jenna considered asking him about his dates and what they’d been like but decided against it. He was uncomfortable enough talking about her dates—she didn’t want to push anything.

“I’ll try to do that,” she told him.

“You’ll be just fine,” he replied.  An awkward silence—Jenna tried to think of something else she could say. 

“I probably should go to back to bed,” she said. “You know, school and all. Good night—and thanks.”

“You’re very welcome.”  He hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head. “Have a good night.”

 “You too, Dad.”

SMK SMK SMK SMK

Kenmore Middle School

Monday, April 29, 2002

11:15 AM

“A date—he really asked you out?” Christy said. “Jenna, that’s so awesome!”

“Christy, keep it down,” Jenna told her, keeping her own voice low. “I don’t want anyone else to know yet—this is just between all of us. Okay?” She didn’t know yet what Terri’s reaction might be—she seemed to like Chris a lot and the last thing Jenna wanted was to be that girl’s target again.

“Just between us,” Lisa nodded sagely. “I can keep a secret—not so sure about Christy here.”

“Hey!” Christy elbowed Lisa before turning to Jenna. “If you want to keep this a secret my lips are sealed.”

“Thanks,” Jenna replied. 

“You know, he should’ve asked you out in person instead of over the phone.” Lisa dug the rules book out of her backpack as she spoke. “It says here that the phone is too impersonal.” 

“Yeah, well, that book still doesn’t know it’s 2002,” Christy retorted. “The point is that he did ask her out to a movie. Any rules about that?” 

“Actually yeah,” Lisa said as she thumbed through the volume. “Rules for dating—rule one is always look great no matter what. It says lipstick and great hair.”

Lipstick—makeup was something that Jenna hadn’t actually discussed with anyone yet. She definitely wanted to wear some, but with her parents, especially her dad—she wasn’t too sure what he would think about that.

“What else?” she asked Lisa.

“It says to never reveal information you don’t have to—an enigmatic woman drives men wild,” Lisa read. “So be mysterious.”

“Check,” Jenna replied. She wouldn’t have much trouble on that point—she had secrets she couldn’t even tell her best friends.

 “Mysterious,” Christy snorted, rolling her eyes.  “How mysterious can someone in eighth grade be?”

“Would you be quiet?” This time Lisa elbowed Christy. “I’m trying to give valuable information. Now where was I?  Oh—yeah. Keep your dates brief and your men interested.”

“It’ll be about as brief as the movie,” Jenna said.  “Is there more?”

“Um—” Lisa ran her finger down the page. “Some of this stuff would only apply if you were older. Ensure you’re a good kisser—but you probably don’t have to worry about that one.”

“Good,” Jenna suppressed a small shudder. She definitely had enough worries without adding kissing to the mix—apart from practicing on her own hand at slumber parties she didn’t even know how.  

“If his shoes and hygiene are a disgrace, dump him,” Lisa continued. “That really doesn’t apply to Chris, though—he’s cool looking. But remember to never criticize his mother.”

“Lisa, I don’t even know his mother,” Jenna said.

“Well when you do meet her,” Lisa said.  “Don’t be critical, no matter what.” 

“What if she’s insane or something?” Christy asked.

“Christy please,” Jenna said. “Isn’t there anything in that book about, you know—how not to totally embarrass yourself or something?”

“It doesn’t say,” Lisa said. “But it’s probably a bad idea to do that. Relax. You’ll be fine.”

The same thing Dad had said. Jenna let out her breath in a sigh. “I’m just worried,” she told Lisa. “I had a weird dream about the date and I just don’t want it to happen in real life.”

“I understand,” Lisa patted her friend’s hand. “But seriously, I don’t think you have to worry.”

“Maybe not.” Still am, though, Jenna added to herself silently.  “The dream just seemed awfully real. Well, when I was having it, anyway.”

“I’ve had dreams like that,” Christy took a bite of her burger. “It usually means that my period is coming up.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lisa replied. “Christy, I swear, once I had this really bizarro dream that I was flying around a giant Ferris wheel and I met an eagle—”

Her period—her dream.  Her friends’ voices faded into the background.  Jenna’s hands shook as she ate her salad, spearing a piece of lettuce on her fork. Oh God—what if that dream had been telling her that it really was coming up soon?  Lisa and Christy had gotten theirs’ last year—she was still waiting for hers.  

And this morning when she’d looked at herself in the mirror after getting out of the shower, had it been her imagination or was she actually starting to look curvier? 

She wasn’t so sure. 

One thing she did know for sure. She needed to talk to someone about this—and soon.

TBC

“Sweetheart?” Amanda tapped on Jenna’s bedroom door.

“Come in!” her daughter called.

Amanda pushed open the door. Jenna lay on her stomach on the bed, pen in hand, a notebook and her math textbook open in front of her.

“Just finishing up this last little problem,” Jenna told her. “Then I’m done,”

“Sounds good.” Amanda sat down on the edge of the bed. “You know, you were awfully quiet during dinner.”

“Yeah,” Jenna said. “I guess I just have a lot of my mind, that’s all.”

“That’s understandable.”  As she spoke, Amanda smoothed Jenna’s hair back from her face. “Want to talk about what’s on your mind?”

She had to talk to somebody, Jenna knew. If she didn’t she was probably going to burst. And now that it was finally just her and Mom—

“I’m a little nervous,” Jenna admitted. “Well, a lot nervous, actually. I mean, I wasn’t at first, but now that I know it’s really happening I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Do you mean the date?”  Amanda asked. Jenna nodded. “What are you nervous about?”

“Only everything,” Jenna rolled over onto her side to look at her directly. “I’ve never been on a date before, Mom. I don’t know what to do or even how to act. And Lisa keeps reading all these rules to me, telling me to look great and be mysterious and not to criticize his mother—how am I supposed to keep all of that in my head?”

“What makes you think you have to keep all that stuff in your head?”

“Well if I don’t I might make a fool of myself,” Jenna replied, thinking back to the horrible dream she’d had. “I don’t want to do something stupid and screw everything up. Dad told me to just relax and be myself and I guess that’s good advice but still—” 

“But you’re still nervous.”  Amanda finished Jenna’s sentence.

A small sigh. “Pretty much. I don’t know anything, though—I don’t even know how to kiss.”

“Well you probably don’t have to worry about that,” Amanda told her. “Not on your first date, anyway.” 

“I certainly hope not.” Jenna said.  “What happens if I do mess something up, though?”

How to say this?  Amanda recalled her own fist date—how nervous she had been—all the little things she worried about. Of course she’d been a bit older than Jenna, but still— “Think about it this way,” she suggested.  “You and Chris are friends, right?”

“Right.” 

“And you enjoy spending time together, don’t you? You have fun talking on the phone?” Amanda asked.

“Sure,” Jenna said. “He’s fun to talk to.”

“Well then why not try to approach it that way, as two friends just going out to have fun?”

“But this is a date,” Jenna said. “I’m supposed to be glamorous, mysterious—”

“Says who?”

Jenna groaned. “Mo-om—”

“Listen to me,” Amanda told her. “Chris wants to go to the movies with you.  With Jenna Stetson. Not with some mysterious, glamorous person—he asked you. So, there’s no reason why you have to act differently or be anything other than who you are.”

A long silence. “You’re right,” Jenna replied finally. “I know you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” Amanda said. “I’m your mother.” She ruffled Jenna’s hair and Jenna smiled.

“So, just be myself and have fun, huh?” 

“That’s the idea.”

“Can I wear makeup?”  Jenna asked. “I know I can’t all the time, but is a special occasion, isn’t it?”

“Well—” Amanda would have to see how Lee felt about that—he was already more nervous about this date than Jenna was, and throwing makeup into the mix—  “We’ll see about that, okay?

“What about heels?”

“You’re still a bit young for high heels,” Amanda said. “Maybe something with a low heel would look nice though. And you do need a new outfit—you’ve grown quite a bit. We might also want to think about getting you a bra before too much longer.”

Grown quite a bit, getting a bra—thinking about that brought Jenna back to her dream—the horrible dream.  “Mom?” 

“What is it?”

“Do you think I might be—you know—starting my period soon?”

Amanda could see the worry in her daughter’s face. “It’s hard to say, but it’s always a possibility. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing really—just this weird dream that I had that I stared.” During my date, Jenna added silently, not wanting to say that part out loud. “I know it sounds silly, but I don’t want to be caught by surprise and have an accident or something.” 

My growing girl, Amanda thought to herself—growing every day. “It doesn’t sound silly at all,” she said. “If you’re really worried you can always carry a pad in your purse just in case. That’s what I do.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jenna said.  “Thanks Mom.” 

Amanda pulled her into a hug. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

SMK SMK SMK SMK

Friday, May 3, 2002

4247 Maplewood Dr.

7:00 PM

“These are awesome!” Jenna gave both Amanda and Dotty a hug as she took the shopping bags.  “Oh Mom—Grandma thank you so much.” 

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart,” Amanda told her.

“I’ll just go try these on, okay? I’ll be right back down.” With that Jenna dashed upstairs.

“She must really be excited about those clothes,” Lee said as he came in from the kitchen dishtowel. “That’s the most she’s spoken all afternoon.”

“Well, Lee,” Dotty replied.  “You know that the right outfit can make any woman’s day.” 

Woman—Amanda watched as Lee gave a little wince at that word.

“I’ll just get my milk and Galliano,” Dotty looked at Amanda pointedly. “I’ve got a romance novel waiting for me upstairs.” 

“Good night, Mother,” Amanda said.  As Dotty went into the kitchen Amanda turned to face her husband. 

“You can’t take this personally, you know,” she told him. 

“I realize that,” Lee said. “Really I do, but you know, we used to talk so easily—she would come to me with all her little problems and now—” his voice broke off.

“Now what?”

“Well now I sort of feel like maybe I’m losing her.” Lee sank onto the sofa. “And I know you’re going to tell me that sounds ridiculous and it probably is, but that’s still what it feels like.” His mind flashed back to the dinner table conversation:

“So, how was school today?”

A small shrug. “It was fine.”

“Classes not too hard or anything, huh?”

“No, they’re fine.”

“How are Lisa and Christy doing?”

“They’re fine too.”

One more ‘fine,’ and Lee had been sure that his head would probably explode.  

“Hey.” She sat down beside him, rubbing his back. “You haven’t lost her. I told you that. Jenna just has an awful lot on her mind right now.”

“About the date, I know,” Lee said.  Everything was about the date these days.  That knot tightened even further. “At least tell me we’re going to get to meet this boy before he takes her out.”

“Of course we are,” Amanda replied. “I’ve spoken to his mother on the phone and it’s all arranged. She’s going to drop him off and I’ll take them both to the movies, and then I’ll pick them up after and take Chris home.”

“I see,” Lee replied.  “And we’re sure this boy’s on the level—that he’s really what he seems to be?”

“Lee, he’s only thirteen years old.”

“I’m only saying, Amanda.” His wife sighed in response, rolling her eyes. Deep down Lee knew he was being unreasonable but at the same time he couldn’t seem to stop—and he still didn’t trust this Chris—not until he had a chance to meet and assess him personally.  

“Mom?”  Jenna came into the family room. “How do I look?”

A sleeveless lavender blouse, a denim skirt and low-heeled sandals—but as Lee looked at his child he realized it wasn’t just about the outfit—it was about her in the outfit. Was it just his imagination or were there really curves in places there hadn’t been before?

Growing up—the knot in his stomach seemed to travel up to his throat and lodge there—he swallowed hard, trying to shake it.

“You look—you look very nice,” he managed to say. 

“Mom?”  If Jenna had heard him at all she gave no sign—all her attention was focused on Amanda.

‘Don’t take it personally.’  And Lee was trying not to—though at the moment it was easier said than done.

“You look very nice, sweetheart,” Amanda replied.

“Really?” Jenna asked. “It’s important.”

“I promise you, you look just fine,” Amanda said. “It’s very becoming.”

“Okay,” Jenna shot Lee a glance.  “Well can I ask you a question? It’s about—”

With that she bent down towards Amanda, whispering in her ear. What could they be talking about? Lee watched as Amanda whispered back into Jenna’s ear.  

Jenna nodded and smiled. “Thanks Mom—I wasn’t sure. I’ll just go hang these up now.”  Lee could hear her footsteps on the stairs.  He waited until he was sure she was up there before turning to Amanda.

“Mind telling me what was all that about?” he asked her. 

“It was nothing,” Amanda said. “Just a personal question she had—girl stuff, you know.”

“What kind of girl stuff?” Lee asked. “Just tell me—I mean how bad can it be, right?”

“It’s not bad at all,” Amanda said. “It’s what I told you before—whenever I tell you these kind of things you tend to overreact.”

Now he had to know. “Come on,” Lee urged. “I won’t overreact. Tell me, please.”

“Okay.” Amanda paused.  “When Mother and I were at the store we bought Jenna a little bra. She doesn’t actually need one yet, but we thought she could wear it tomorrow and it might make her feel a little more grown-up. She was just making sure that no one could see it through her blouse, that’s all.”

“Amanda, why do you tell me these things?” 

“You did ask, remember?”  Was it just his imagination or did he actually detect amusement in her reply?

“Oh, I remember.”  That’s all—wearing a bra on her very first date. Just like that. Lee ran his hands back through his hair.

By the time he made it through his daughter’s adolescence, he thought, he probably wouldn’t have any left.

TBC 

First Date--Part Five

4247 Maplewood Dr.

Saturday, May 4, 2002

1:38 PM

“Lee, could you please stop pacing?” Amanda asked her husband. “You’re going to wear holes in the carpet in a minute.”

“Well where is he?”  Lee looked at his watch. “Didn’t his mother say that she’d be here by one-thirty?”

“It’s only one-thirty eight,” Amanda reminded him. “The movie doesn’t actually start until two-forty. And besides, Jenna’s still upstairs getting ready—this will give her some extra time.”

“She’s been up there over an hour now,” Lee replied.  “What exactly is she doing to herself, anyway?”

“Well, she’s just—” Amanda’s voice broke off as Dotty swept into the room. 

“I swear, those phone people are getting more annoying by the day,” she said. “You can hear them breathing now, but they don’t say anything—they just hang up. Amanda, have you seen my purse?” 

“It’s on the coat rack, mother,” Amanda told her. “What did the caller ID say?”

“Oh, the same,” Dotty grabbed her purse and unzipped it as she spoke. “Unavailable—no number given—that’s what it always says. Ahh—here it is.”  She fished out a small light pink tube. “Jenna just wanted to borrow my lip gloss—I think this would look just right on her.” 

“Lip gloss?”  Lee repeated. “As in makeup—she’s up there putting on makeup?”

“We did say special occasions, remember?”  Amanda said. “I think this qualifies.”

Special occasions—Dotty and Amanda were both looking at him now, waiting for him to speak. Lee let out a sigh.

“Yeah,” He admitted finally. “Okay, you’re right—that’s fine.”

Amanda was right—he knew she was right. So why was his heart racing, his mouth suddenly bone dry?

The makeup was a sign, he thought. Yet another sign that she was growing up—just like the bra. And when she had come downstairs last night he hadn’t even noticed she was wearing one.

Why hadn’t he noticed? He was trained to notice things, to be observant—it was part of his job. And yet that had passed right by him.  His own child.  Was it because he hadn’t expected it, Lee wondered, or was he completely losing it? Would that boy notice? At that age he definitely would’ve noticed—

No.  Hastily Lee shoved that those thoughts to the back of his mind—he couldn’t allow himself to think that way.

‘She’s growing up—this is what happens. It’s what supposed to happen.’  Somehow that didn’t make him feel any better.

The doorbell rang. Again Lee looked down at his watch. Forty-three minutes after one. 

“Took him long enough,” he said. “I’ll get the door.”

“You’d think he was the one with the date,” Dotty remarked drily. “I’ll just go upstairs and give this to Jenna.”

The doorbell rang again. This Chris certainly was impatient, Lee thought.  He unlocked and opened the door. 

“Hello Mr. Stetson,” Chris said.

The boy standing in front of him had straight sandy brown hair and blue eyes. Nicely dressed but not too dressy, Lee noted—he wore a green polo shirt and khaki slacks. Clean-cut looking too, though that didn’t necessarily mean anything.  In one hand he held a small bouquet of flowers, which he held out towards Lee.

“I—um—I brought these for Jenna,” Chris told him.

“Thanks,” Lee took the flowers.  “She’s still upstairs. Where’s your Mom?” 

“Oh, she had to go,” Chris said.  “She’s a real-estate agent and she’s holding an open house today. She said to tell you ‘Hi’. ”

“Hmm.” Lee replied, looking down at him.  He watched in satisfaction as Chris swallowed—plainly nervous—exactly what Lee wanted this boy to be. 

“Can I come in?” Chris asked. 

“Come in? Sure.”  Lee held open the door, allowing him to pass.  “Right this way—Chris.”  He led him into the family room.

“Hello, there, Chris,” Amanda stood as they entered the family room. “I’m Jenna’s mother—it’s certainly a pleasure to meet you—and I’ve heard so much about you.”  

“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Stetson,” Chris replied.

So much about him, Lee thought—while he himself had heard almost nothing. Though he fully intended to find out all he could today.

“Oh, these flowers are beautiful,” Amanda exclaimed as she took the flowers from Lee’s hands.  “I’ll put them in some water. Can I get you anything , Chris? Soda, maybe? Or cookies?”   

Chris smiled. “Soda would be good.” He looked at his watch. “Will Jenna—”

“She’ll be right down,” Lee told him. “Take a seat—we can have a nice talk while we’re waiting.”

“Sure.” Chris sat on the sofa, while Lee took the armchair facing him.

“I’ll be right back with your soda,” Amanda told Chris—shooting Lee a warning glance as she left the room.

Then it was just him and Chris.

For a couple of moments Lee just stared at him, not saying anything, watching as the boy shifted and squirmed in his seat.

“So,” Lee asked suddenly.  “You’re going to see Spiderman, is that right?”

“Yes sir,” Chris replied.  

Sir?  Lee wondered whether this kid was just being polite or if he was trying to get on his good side. “I’ve heard that’s a good movie.”

“I’ve heard that too.” 

“So, Jenna tells me you go to Williamsburg Middle School.”

“Yeah.”

“Eighth grade?”

“That’s right.”

From the kitchen Lee heard a cabinet door open and close—he knew Amanda was listening. He tried to keep his tone light and conversational. “Do you enjoy your classes?”

“Some of them are better than others,” Chris replied. “But yeah, I guess they’re mostly okay.” 

“Jenna’s pretty good at Math, you know.” 

“I know,” Chris said. “She’s told me.” 

“I see,” Lee said. “You look like someone who makes probably makes pretty good grades.”

Chris shrugged. “They’re not bad, I guess.”

Not bad I guess—what was that supposed to mean, exactly? “And do you have a lot of friends in school?” 

“I have a few.”

A few—Lee was tempted to ask him how many a few was.  “And do any of these friends at your school happen to be other girls?” 

 “No, not right now.”

Meaning there had been? Even at that young age Lee had always had at least a couple of girlfriends on whatever base he happened to be staying at the time—the last thing he wanted was for Jenna to be in that kind of situation.  “But you’ve had other girlfriends in the past?” he pressed him. “At your own school, I mean?”

Now Chris looked distinctly uncomfortable.”  A couple,” he admitted. “But not now.”

“Must be hard, though—you know, dating someone from a different school.”

“Not really,” Chris said. “I mean, I get to talk to Jenna on the phone all the time, so it’s cool. She’s a cool girl.”

“Yes, she is,” Now he was getting somewhere. “But do you intend to keep seeing —” he began, when Amanda’s voice broke in.

“Lee.” She stood there, soda in hand—he hadn’t even heard her. “Why don’t you go upstairs and see what’s keeping Jenna?”

“I’ll do that.”  Lee rose from the sofa.  “Nice meeting you, Chris.”

“You too, Mr. Stetson.”

SMK SMK SMK SMK 

“Come in, Dad,” Jenna called out as he knocked on the door.  Lee opened the door to see her sitting at her dresser in front of a mirror, brushing her hair.

“How did you know it was me?”  He asked, walking over to stand beside her.  “I could’ve been your Mom or even your Grandma.”

“Your footsteps sound different.”

“Different footsteps, huh?”  Lee said. “You, know, that’s actually pretty observant.”

 “Well, you know, I do have parents who are spies, after all.” 

Lee patted her shoulder. “That you do, munchkin,” he replied, watching as Jenna put the brush down and pulled one section of her hair so that it fell over her shoulder. “I’m sorry—I probably shouldn’t be calling you that anymore now that you’re older, should I?”

“Munchkin is fine.”  She turned around in her chair to face him. “I’m really sorry about before—I felt bad, you know, snapping at you like that.”

“Hey—it’s all right,” he told her. “Believe me, I understand.”

“I don’t,” Turning back around, Jenna stared hard at herself in the mirror. “I mean, one minute I feel normal and the next I’m all weird again.”  She sighed. “It’s kind of hard to explain.” 

In the dumps one minute and on cloud nine the next—that was the way Amanda had described it.

“Yeah, well that—that’s pretty typical.”  Lee said. “Your feelings are—they’re perfectly normal for someone your age, believe me.”

“Now you sound kind of like Dr. Pfaff.” 

“Maybe,” Lee contended, wincing inwardly at the comparison. “But it’s still true.  You do know there’s a boy waiting for you downstairs?” 

“I know. You didn’t interrogate him or anything, did you?”

“Just a few questions.” Jenna gave him a look.  “Your Mom was there—I wasn’t too hard on him, I promise.”

“That’s a relief.”

 “But you do need to get down there if you don’t want to be late for the movie.”

“I know, but I can’t get my hair right,” Jenna replied. “I keep trying to braid it and it just—it won’t work.”

“You’re probably just a little nervous, that’s all.” 

“A little?” Jenna  said. “On a scale from one to ten ,I think I might be a twelve—look at my hands.”

“Then here,” Lee took the brush from her shaking fingers. Grabbing her other chair he took a seat behind her. “Let me help.”

“Dad, you’re going to braid my hair?” Jenna sounded doubtful.

“Trust me, okay?”  As he spoke Lee brushed out her hair. “I know I’m not your mom, but it just so happens that I do know a thing or two about knots.”

 “As long as you don’t do my hair in a kellick hitch or something.”

“I promise not to.”  Lee carefully divided her hair into three sections and began intertwining the sections.  “You really don’t have anything to be nervous about, you know. Chris—he likes you.”

 Jenna’s face brightened. “He does?”

“Yeah.”  He couldn’t believe what he was saying—that he was telling her this. “He said he thought you were cool—and actually he seems like an okay guy himself.”

“You really mean that?” 

“Well,” he shrugged. “I might exaggerate—just a little. Seriously, though—he doesn’t seem that bad. He even brought you flowers.”

Jenna smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Anytime.”

From here he could see Jenna’s face reflected in her mirror—eyes so much like her mother’s but he could see himself in there as well.

“You look so beautiful,” he told her.  “So grown up.”

 “Sometimes I wish I felt more grown up.”

“Give it time—you’ll get there.” 

“Yeah.”  Jenna fell silent for a moment. “Everything’s changing so fast.”

Changes—the apprehension welled up in Lee’s gut once more—it was more than just the makeup and the boys, he realized, though that was a part of it. It was everything.

She wasn’t his little girl, not anymore.

 “I can’t promise you it’ll be easy,” he replied. “It’s going to take some getting used to.” Especially for me, he added silently. 

“We don’t have a choice, do we?”  Jenna said. “I mean, I keep right on growing.”

“That you do,” he finished the braid, wrapping the elastic band around the end. “But we’ll get through it like we always do. Deal?”

“It’s a deal.”   

“In the future though, you might want to get your Mom to do your hair, munchkin,”  Lee said as he rose from the chair. “I’m not so sure that I did such a good job.”

“You did a great job.”  Standing up, Jenna wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too,” he hugged her and kissed her forehead.  “You probably need to get downstairs, huh? Before Chris thinks you’ve vanished.”

“You’re right,” Jenna grabbed her purse. “I don’t want to be late on the first date, do I?”

First date. He watched as she slipped her feet into her sandals and headed for the door—

“Jenna?” 

She stopped, turned around— “Yeah?”

A million and one things went through his mind—things that he could tell her—things he wanted to say— but they all seemed to stop in his throat—no words would come.

“Have a good time,” he told her finally

Another smile. “We will.” 

TBC

irst Date--Part Six

Regal Ballston Common

Saturday, May 4, 2002

2:30 PM

The theater was a lot less crowded than Jenna had thought it would be. She walked down the semi-darkened aisle, sweet tarts in one hand and soda in the other. Maybe because this was a matinee or everyone hadn’t gotten here yet.  Still she glanced around her apprehensively, feeling a surge of relief as she realized that Terri’s bleached blond hair was nowhere to be seen. 

Of course it wasn’t, she told herself firmly. That had only been a dream—nothing more. Though she’d still worn a pad just as a precaution.

“So where would you like to sit?”  Chris’s voice sounded close to her ear, startling her out of her reverie.  “Near the front or the back?”

Front or the back—already a decision to make. “Um—I usually sit in the fourth row,” she said.

“That’s a coincidence,” Chris said. “That’s usually where I sit too.”  They made their way to the fourth row, taking two seats near the middle.  Jenna put her soda in the holder.  The previews were just starting. 

“The previews always take forever,” Chris said, as the first one—listed as ‘Now Showing’ flashed on the screen.  “I don’t know why they just don’t show the movie already.”

“I know what you mean,” Jenna said. The movie being previewed, though—‘About a Boy’—it did look kind of cool to her, though she didn’t know if Chris would like it or not. Stick to his interests—that’s what Lisa had reminded her. The stupid rules again.  She decided to try a little test.  “What do you think of that movie though?”  She asked him, pointing. “Would you like to see that?”

“Maybe,” Chris’s tone was dismissive.  “Looks kinda like a girl movie though.”

Strike one for that—maybe Lisa had been right after all. Though personally Jenna didn’t see how a movie starring two guys could be a ‘girl movie’.

“But you know if you really wanted to see it maybe we could,” Chris told her.

So, maybe Lisa hadn’t been right.  “No, that’s okay,” she said quickly. “Thanks for asking though.” 

“You’re welcome.” They sat in companionable silence as a preview for ‘Hey Arnold! The Movie’ flashed on the screen.

Nearby a soft moan sounded.  The noise came from the older couple who sat on the far end. Even in the dark Jenna could tell that they were practically superglued together—the guy’s tongue jammed down the girl’s throat, as Lisa would say—while the girl’s hands roamed over the guy’s rear—oh my gosh!  Jenna’s cheeks burned furiously as she forced herself to look away.   Could Chris see them? She wondered.  And if he could, was he thinking anything?  She certainly hoped not. Jenna picked up her soda—noting that her hands were shaking.

‘Breathe,’ she thought.

“Want some popcorn?”  Chris asked suddenly.

“Um— yeah sure.”

Chris thrust the popcorn in her direction—the bucket tipped slightly, spilling kernels on her skirt.

“Oh no, Jenna I’m sorry,” Chris said. “Really I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Chris, it’s okay.”  Jenna picked the pieces off her skirt.  “Seriously. I’m just glad it only had salt and not butter.” 

“I’m such a klutz, though,” Chris admitted. “Guess I’m a little nervous too.”

Jenna stared at him. “You are?”

“Well, yeah.”  Chris said. “This is the first time I’ve gone to the movies with a girl—unless you count my little sister or my mom.”

First time—it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The fact that he was nervous too made her feel less so.

“Me too,” Jenna replied. “I mean, the first time I’ve gone to the movies with a guy—not with a—well, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Chris said. “Hey look at that—now that would be a cool movie. Bourne Identity?”

It looked like an action movie, Jenna, thought—fighting, cars, people shooting— “What’s it about?”  She asked.

“My dad said it has to do with spies and this guy who has amnesia,” Chris told her. “It’s rated PG-13, anyway—we should see it.” 

Spies—Jenna watched as the guy scaled a wall—kind of like Spiderman could probably do. Could Dad do something like that?  Or Mom?  She’d seen them do some stuff, sure—but nothing like that.  But from what Dad and everyone else had said she gathered that the spy movies probably weren’t extremely realistic. 

“Sure, I’d like to see that,” she said.

“Awesome.” 

He wanted to see her again. Jenna’s spirits rose. Their first date, she’d just been herself—not glamorous or mysterious and he still wanted a second date.

‘Take that, rules.’ The feature presentation was finally starting. 

“Hey Jenna?” Chris asked.

“Yeah?” 

“Can I maybe put my arm around you?”

Jenna smiled. “Sure.”

His arm went around her—it felt weird at first but then Jenna let herself relax, her head leaning against Chris’ shoulder as together they watched the movie.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

4247 Maplewood Dr.

5:35 PM

Not home yet.

Lee strode back and forth across the length of the family room—he looked at his watch.  The movie had ended at 4:41 PM –a runtime of approximately two hours and one minute. He’d even called the theater to check.  Amanda should’ve already picked them up –she would’ve had plenty of time to drop Chris off on her way home.  By his estimate, they should’ve gotten home at least ten minutes ago.

Unless something had happened?

That was it, he thought. It had to be. Chris had admitted to having a couple of girlfriends in the past, hadn’t he?  Meaning that even though they were the same age, this kid had much more experience. Maybe he had tried to do something that Jenna hadn’t been quite ready for and it had upset her—or even worse, it had frightened her. A kiss, maybe? Or something more than a kiss?  And Jenna was still pretty naïve—she wouldn’t know how to deal with those kind of advances. Lee’s fists clenched, picturing his daughter’s tearstained face—her dark eyes filled with fear. If that creep had hurt her at all, in any way—

The phone rang. It was them, it had to be—his heart pounding, Lee picked up the receiver. 

“Amanda?” he said. “What’s going on?”

No reply. Someone was there, though—Lee could hear them breathing? 

“Hello?”  His eyes fell on the caller ID. Unavailable—it was that damn telemarketer again. Letting out his breath in an audible sigh of frustration he pushed the button, disconnecting the call and slamming the phone back into its charger.

The telephone—that was it—he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier. Taking his own cell out of his pocket and flipping it open, Lee dialed Jenna’s number.

“This is Jenna,” his daughter’s voice said.  “Please leave me a message and I swear I’ll get right back to you—”

Of course—she’d probably turned it off for the movie and forgotten to turn it back on.

But Amanda—quickly he dialed his wife’s new cell phone number. One ring—two rings. And it was funny, but as the phone rang he could hear a little tune in the background—growing steadily louder by the minute. A familiar song, he thought. Catchy too, except that he couldn’t quite place—

“Secret Agent Man?” 

Dotty’s voice.  Lee turned to see his mother-in-law holding Amanda’s cell phone.

“I swear I’m going to have to glue that thing to her,” Lee said, flipping his phone closed. “That has to be the fifth time she’s forgotten it—she can’t keep doing that.”

“Well you know how it is,” Dotty said. “When you get something new it’s always hard to adjust at first.” 

“Yeah, I guess that’s it.” He glanced down at his watch.  Forty minutes past five—just where the hell were they?  He ran both hands back through his hair.

Maybe something else had happened. The movie theater wasn’t exactly a high-crime area but it wasn’t out of the question either.  A drive-by shooting—a mugging, carjacking even?  Hell, with his wife’s luck she probably had uncovered another terrorist cell working the ticket counter or something and Jenna and Chris were caught in the middle— he pictured himself trying to explain that to Chris’ real estate agent mom.

“You know, I can remember when Amanda first started dating,” Dotty told him, her voice intruding on his worries. “Carl would pace back and forth in the living room like a caged bear, checking his watch every two minutes—looking out the window—he couldn’t even go to bed until he was sure she was home safe.”

“I know how Carl felt,” Lee muttered.

“Of course, Amanda was quite a bit older than Jenna,” Dotty continued. “She was dating boys who had their own cars. There was this one boy, Tony Ballantyne, I think his name was—he actually had a van that he had borrowed from his brother with a mattress in the back and when Carl found out he went absolutely ballistic—but you probably don’t want to hear about that right now.” 

“Not right now,” Lee replied—though he made a mental note to ask Amanda about Tony Ballantyne later on.

 Boys with their own cars—Lee recalled the car that he’d had at that age—a ’67 Mustang with genuine leather seats. The things he’d done in that car—

‘No,’ he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.  Jenna was still only thirteen, thank God—he didn’t have to worry about that now.

It would be soon, though—sooner than he thought.  Like Jenna had said, she kept growing. It wasn’t as though she was going to get any younger.

‘Best not to think about that,’ he told himself, though the ever-present knot in his gut tightened.

“Lee relax, will you?” Dotty said. “Knowing my daughter, they probably stopped to talk to Chris’ parents. I’m sure they’re just fine.”

“I hope so.”  Again Lee checked his watch.  Another five minutes had passed—any more of this and he—he let out his breath in relief as the Taurus pulled into the driveway.  Amanda and Jenna both got out—talking to each other as they came up the front walk.  She didn’t look upset, Lee thought as he watched his daughter—though from this distance it was kind of hard to tell.

If that boy had done anything at all—

“I’ll just go and see to the dinner,” Dotty patted his shoulder.  “That’ll give you all a chance to talk.” 

SMK SMK SMK SMK

“Lee, I’m sorry if we’re a little late,” Amanda said as she came in through the door. “But when we dropped Chris off I got to talking to his parents and Jenna and Chris still wanted to talk to each other—well you understand.”

“I do understand,” Lee replied.  Dotty had been right after all—all that time and he’d been worrying about absolutely nothing. He looked down at his daughter.  “So, did you have a good time?” 

Jenna nodded. “I had a great time, Dad.”

“And the movie was good?”

“It was fantastic—so exciting and it was really romantic too.”

Romantic—it still felt so strange to hear that word coming out of his daughter’s mouth—something he would have to get used to, though. “Romantic Spiderman, huh? You weren’t nervous then?”

 “Well—” Jenna began. “I guess I was a little nervous at first. But then when he spilled popcorn on my lap I—”

“Wait a minute,” Lee held up his hand. “You’re telling me that he spilled popcorn on your lap?” 

“Dad, it was an accident,” Jenna told him.

‘Yeah, I bet,’ Lee thought to himself drily. ‘Accidents’ like that were some of the oldest tricks in the book.  If that kid had tried anything—

“It wasn’t like it had butter on it or anything so I just brushed it off my lap.” Jenna explained. “Seriously, it was fine.”

“You brushed it off yourself?” He asked.

“Sure,” Jenna stared at him, obviously confused. “Who else would?” 

Who else, indeed? Lee felt his heart gradually settle back into its natural rhythm as relief washed over him.  Amanda’s hand captured his and she squeezed gently—she knew what he’d been thinking.

“But the point is,” Jenna said. “That after Chris did that he apologized and said he was nervous just like me. That made me feel better—after that I could relax and be myself. Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, that definitely is.” Lee replied.  “It’s great.”

“I thought so too,” Jenna said “And you know what else? He actually asked before he put his arm around me. I thought that was so nice.”

“That is very nice that he did that,” Lee agreed. He had to agree, he thought. Though a part of him still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about a boy putting an arm around his daughter in the first place, but if that was the worst thing that had happened then maybe it wasn’t too bad. “Chris sounds like a nice guy.”

“He really is—I had the best time.”

She meant it. The smile on her face was more than a smile. Jenna positively glowed. With or without the makeup, it was as if she’d been lit up from the inside. 

“I’m glad you had a good time, munchkin.”  He told her

“Thanks Dad—love you.” For the second time that day she threw her arms around him, and then around Amanda.  “Love you too, Mom.”

“We love you too, sweetheart.” Amanda kissed Jenna’s forehead. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“Can I go upstairs now?” Jenna asked. “It’s just that I promised Lisa and Christy that I’d phone the second I came home.” 

“That’s fine,” Lee said. “Just remember that dinner’s going to be ready soon, okay?”

“I will.”  He watched as she ran up the stairs.

“She gave me the whole story on the way home,” Amanda said. “I’m betting that it’ll probably be all she talks about for the next few days.”

“Probably,” Lee said. He sank down onto the sofa—Amanda sat beside him, her hand wrapping back around his.

“How are you feeling?” 

“Honestly?”  Lee said. “I know I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first, but now—”

“But now what?” She prompted gently.

“Well—” Lee struggled to put his thoughts into words. “This Chris—he seems to be a nice boy and now that the whole thing is over I really think I might be okay with it.”

“It’s not completely over,” Amanda said. “He’s probably going to want to ask her out again—you do know that.”

“Somehow I guessed that—the ‘it’s over’ was just wishful thinking.” Lee ran his thumb gently back and forth over the top of Amanda’s hand.  “These changes—they’re just going to keep happening, aren’t they?”

“Pretty much,” Amanda said. “It’s part of growing up—I went through it with Phillip and Jamie. It’s different with girls, of course, but pretty much the same process.” 

The same process, Lee thought. Meaning more dates with Chris—or even with another boy if Chris didn’t last.  And in just a year or so she’d be in high school, learning how to drive, dating boys who had cars of their own—then there would be graduation, college—what came after that?  Marriage, maybe?  Or a career with the Agency?  No, scratch that—Lee stopped himself there—not wanting to think that far ahead.

“Just as long as these changes don’t happen too quickly,” he told Amanda. “I guess I can deal with them.”

“No, Stetson.” Amanda reminded him. “We’ll deal with them. Together, right?”

“Together,” Lee agreed, pulling his wife into his arms, her head resting against his chest. Together they sat there, listening to the gentle tick-tock of the clock and reveling in the closeness of each other.  From upstairs came the faint sound of music—more of Jenna’s noise.

His little girl. He knew she was a teenager now, but however much she grew she’d still be his child.

‘Please,’ Lee pleaded silently to whoever might be listening. ‘These changes—please don’t let them happen too fast.’

TBC 

First Date--Epilogue

4247 Maplewood Dr.

Sunday May 5, 2002

9:00 AM

“You’re definitely the one for me, Jenna,” Spiderman told her as he brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. He held her in his arms as they balanced precariously atop the Washington Monument. Part of Jenna wanted to ask him what they were doing there, but she didn’t suppose it really mattered.  She risked a glance down at the ground far below—the tiny people milling around; staring up at them.  Like little tiny ants. 

‘I should be scared—I should be terrified.’ But held in Spiderman’s arms, all Jenna felt was safe.

“And you’re the only one for me,” she replied. Moving the bottom part of his mask she stared at the familiar mouth—the slightly crooked smile—even without removing the rest she knew.

“The only one,” Jenna repeated as her lips met Chris’ own in a soft, deep kiss that seemed to last forever until—

“Did you know,” his soft breath whispered against her earlobe, “that there’s something running down your leg?”

What the—Jenna opened her eyes—staring up at a familiar ceiling. Her bedroom—sunlight spilled in through the lacy curtains, making patterns on the opposite wall. Her clock read five minutes past nine—not bad for a Sunday.

What a weird dream, she thought as she sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees. Though actually it had been pretty romantic—at least up until the bit at the very end. Something running down her leg? What was that?

It wasn’t until she’d slid out of her bed—until she looked down at her sheets that she realized.

‘Oh my gosh.’

“Mom!” she called out.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

8:58 AM

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Stetson,” the man on the other end of the line replied. “But unless we have an actual phone number we can’t block it.”

“There must be something you can do,” Amanda said. “These calls come at all hours of the day and night.”

“Are they harassing? Obscene?” 

“Well no—not exactly,” Amanda hedged. “Whoever it is says nothing and then they just hang up.”

“Look, chances are it’s just a telemarketer,” the man told her. “They use those automatic dialers, and if there’s no one on the end of the line—”

“It’s not that,” Amanda interrupted. “I can hear someone there—I can hear them breathing.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

Was she?  Amanda could’ve sworn she’d heard someone breathing, but now that she thought back had she really— “I’m pretty sure,” she replied finally. “I would say that I’m about eighty-percent certain that I heard someone.”

“Even if you did hear someone, ma’am, it could be a call that’s not getting through.”

She wasn’t getting through to him, Amanda thought as she rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “The same type of call? All the time?”

“Ma’am if you really think you’re being harassed maybe you need to call the police.” 

She couldn’t do that—not even with the Agency.  As annoying as they were, the calls wasn’t technically harassment—at least not yet. “Isn’t there any way to make them stop?”

“Well—” the man hesitated.  “It’s possible to put anonymous call rejection on your line—that would stop any calls that don’t list their number or announce themselves.” 

“How would that work, exactly?” 

“Anyone calling in and blocking their number will get a message stating that you do not accept anonymous calls.  It is an extra ten dollars added to your bill, but we could do that for you today.”

An extra ten dollars a month—that would add up to an extra hundred and twenty dollars a year. Would it really be worth it to get rid of these calls?

Maybe she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Ma’am?”  the man said. “Is that what you’d like to do?”

“Let me think about it and get back to you.”  Amanda hung up the phone as Lee came into the kitchen.

“So what did they have to say?” he asked her.

“They could put a service on our line that rejects anonymous calls,” she told him. “The thing is, it would be an extra ten dollars each month. I said that we’d think about it.”

“Yeah, that would add up,” Lee agreed, his hazel eyes concerned, looking deep into her own. “But still, if they’re really bothering you—”

“I wouldn’t say they’re really bothering me,” Amanda said. “And it probably is just a telemarketer, like he said.”

“Probably.”

“But they come so often, though—and at such strange hours—” she broke off, unsure of what she was trying to say.

“Listen,” Lee said. “If the calls continue or get worse we’ll get that service.  Okay? We’ll deal with it.”

Before Amanda could reply the phone rang. 

“Mom!”  Jenna’s voice floated downstairs. Torn, Amanda hesitated.

“Right on cue, huh?” Lee said. “You go see Jenna—I’ll answer the phone.”

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9:30 AM

“Jenna?”  Amanda knocked on the bathroom door. “Is there anything else you need? “ Silence. She could hear Jenna moving around. “Maybe something that I can help you with?”  

Still no reply. Amanda prayed that she hadn’t said the wrong thing—she remembered how sensitive girls could be at that age.

The door creaked as it slowly opened. Jenna stood there, wearing one of Amanda’s nightgowns, her face pale and tearstained. She thrust the box of tampons at Amanda.

“I can’t get it in,” she said. “I keep trying but it hurts.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Taking the box, Amanda put her arm around her as she led Jenna down the hallway to her bedroom.  Together they sat on the edge of the bed. Amanda placed the box aside as she took Jenna’s hands into her own. “Why don’t you stick with just the pads for now? No one says you have to rush into tampons right away.” 

“But Lisa wears tampons and a pad—she says it’s extra protection,” Jenna told her. “And you can’t go swimming with a pad, can you? What’ll I do this summer?”

“You have quite a few months before you have to worry about summer,” Amanda reminded her.

“But I’ll still feel like a baby if I can’t wear one,” Jenna’s voice trembled. “Or if I can’t go to the pool because I have my stupid period.” 

“In the first place, you’re not a baby,” Amanda told her.  “And secondly everyone’s body is different.  But if you still want tampons we can always get a smaller size—those might be more comfortable for you.”

“Different sizes?”  Jenna shook her head reflexively. “They never mentioned that in health class. People won’t be able to tell when I have a pad on, will they?”

“No, those are ultra-thin pads,” Amanda assured her. “No one will see.”

“That’s good.”  For a few moments Jenna fell silent, staring down at their entwined hands. 

“How do you feel about all this now?” Amanda asked.

“Crampy—and I guess kind of strange, if that makes sense,” Jenna replied.  “I mean I wanted to get this—my period—so bad.  And now that I have it I kind of wonder why I wanted it in the first place.”

“Well it means that you’re growing up,” Amanda said. “You’re starting to become a woman, and that’s not a bad thing.”

“And one day I’ll be able to have a baby, right?”

“Yes—one day when you’re ready. That’s what your body is getting itself ready for.”

“They told us that, but whole thing’s still—” Jenna tried to makes some sort of sense—to find words for the feelings that washed over her. “It’s still weird.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“Mom? We’re not, you know, going to celebrate, are we?”  Jenna said. “Christy said that her Mom took her out for dinner and told everyone that her little girl was a woman now—even the waiter. I think I’d die if that happened to me.”

“No, we won’t do anything like that—I promise.” As she spoke, Amanda smoothed Jenna’s hair. “Why don’t you lie down in here for a little bit while I wash your sheets? I’ll bring you some Advil and a heating pad and we can talk some more if you like—all right?”

Jenna nodded, wrapping her arms around her tightly. “Thanks, Mom.”

SMK SMK SMK SMK

“How’s Jenna?”  Lee asked as Amanda came downstairs and into the kitchen.  He sat at the table, coffee in hand, crossword puzzle in the other. “Everything’s all right, I hope.”

“Everything’s just fine,” Amanda opened the cabinet to the right of the sink and retrieved the bottle of Advil.  “Who was that on the phone?” 

“Not your friendly neighborhood telemarketer,” Lee said.  “It was Chris—he wants Jenna to call him back when she gets a chance.” 

“I’ll make sure to tell her.” 

“He said he tried to reach her cell but it was turned off,” Lee said.  “I swear he calls her all the time.”

“Well that’s what boyfriends do.”

“Boyfriend—yeah,” Lee tried to sound casual even  as his insides seemed to clench—he stared down at the crossword. “By the way, do you remember the name of the Addams family cousin—the hairy one?”

“Cousin Itt,” Amanda replied. “With two t’s.”

“Got it.”  Lee penciled in the answer.  He watched as Amanda grabbed a clean glass from the dish drainer, filling it with water.   Water and Advil—

“Have a headache?”  He asked her. 

“No, no headache,” Amanda replied.  “By the way, do you know where the heating pad is?”

“In the hall closet, last time I checked.”  Water, Advil—now a heating pad. “Are you in pain?”

“No, I’m not in pain.”

“Well is something wrong?  Something wrong with Jenna?” 

“I can honestly say that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Jenna. Everything’s perfectly normal.” 

Perfectly normal—at the moment his wife was being more cryptic than the puzzle that lay in front of him.   Putting both the puzzle and the coffee down Lee rose from the table.

“Amanda, if everything’s so normal, then what’s up with the heating pad and the Advil? Just tell me.”  He pleaded. “Whatever it is, I can handle it.”

“I’ll give you a clue.”  A small smile spread across his wife’s lips—she was positively enjoying this. “Just like a crossword. It happens about once a month and it comes at the end of sentence.”

“A-man-da—”

“I’ll be upstairs if you need me.” 

“Wait—I don’t—” but by that time she was already gone.  What had she meant?  Happens about once a month—comes at the end of the sentence—

That was when it hit him—exactly what she’d meant—the reason behind the Advil and the heating pad.  It all made sense. Slowly Lee sank back down into his chair, his legs unable to support him.

SMK SMK SMK SMK

8:42 PM

Lee stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching Jenna as she slept, her head half-under the covers. One arm peeked out from the bedspread, loosely draped over her scarecrow doll. Had it really been over seven years since he’d bought it for her?  It seemed like only yesterday. He remembered picking it up from the shelf, brushing off the dust—fingers tracing the painted features.

“I’m taking you home, buddy.’

She’d had the flu on Christmas day—five years old—he had thought the doll might give her some comfort. He had no inkling back then of how important that doll would become in her life—in all their lives.  He listened to the sound of Jenna’s soft, regular breathing—her body relaxed and peaceful. 

‘My little girl.’  Except she wasn’t, was she?  True, she would always be his child, but she wasn’t a little girl—not really—not anymore.  Becoming a woman— the thought brought a lump to his throat—he swallowed hard.

“Good night, munchkin,” he whispered. “I love you.”

Leaving the doorway he went down the hall to his and Amanda’s bedroom.  His wife sat on the bed, reading glasses on and book in hand.

“How is she?” she asked.

“Fine.”  He sat down on the edge of the bed. “She’s sound asleep.”

“Well it’s been a long day for her.”  Amanda took her glasses off, placing them and the book on the bedside table.  “How are you doing?”

How was he doing?  “All right,” he said finally. “I guess—I don’t know.” 

“It’s a lot to get used to.”

“You could say that, yeah,” Lee replied. “She’s not a little girl anymore, Amanda. And part of me knows I have to adjust to that, but still I see all these changes happening all at once and it just—” he sighed in frustration. “Sorry, I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”

“Do the changes bother you?” Amanda asked.

Lee shook his head. “It’s not that. When she was little I could fix almost anything, you know?  A scraped knee—a flat tire on her bike. She came to me with that stuff and I knew what to do.”  The words spilled out of him in a torrent.  “Even when she needed extra help, after the kidnapping—I could still be there.”

“You still can be there,” Amanda told him. “She still needs you.”

“Maybe, but I’m in alien territory here,” Lee said. “Dating, puberty, boys—how am I supposed to help her with that stuff when what I’d really like to is hold all of it back?”

“You can’t do that,” As she spoke, Amanda rubbed his back.  “But what you can do is give her your perspective on things—the kind of things I couldn’t tell her about.”

“I don’t know about that.”  The thought of even broaching some of those subjects with his daughter—it still terrified the hell out of him. “I mean, if I say the wrong thing—”

“Look at me,” Amanda said as Lee turned to face his wife. “You didn’t know what you were doing when you changed her first diaper, did you?”

“No, I didn’t know,” Lee still could recall that incident—all that duct tape. “But diapers are one thing—this is—”

“It’s the same thing,” Amanda told him firmly. “And you’ll learn—we’ll both learn. Agreed, Stetson?”

Lee smiled. “Yes ma’am.”  Their lips met as he lowered her onto the bed.

The End