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