Sarah & Allison And On
When Sarah and Allison got to her house the next day, they sat down with Sarah's mom and repeated what Allison's dad had told them about Rikki's family.
"Do you agree with Allison's dad that we should tell Rikki about our relationship?"
"I do, though probably for different reasons. Let me ask you a question. Would you prefer Rikki find out about your relationship from you or from the grapevine?"
Sarah and Allison's eyes grew big. Apparently they had not thought of that, "Us, of course."
"I thought so. Keeping in mind Rikki's probable level of experience, I would go slowly, but I would give her as much as you think she can handle. Let her digest that and do it again. I agree with Allison's dad that your dad and I will treat Rikki just as we treat you two, with dignity, respect, and love. Let us know how you think it went, and please, come get one of us if you think Rikki is not taking it well."
"We'll keep all that in mind, mom. Can we ask Rikki for a sleepover Friday night?"
"I'm sure you have the ability. Are you asking permission?"
"Moooooom!"
Chuckling, "Yes, Rikki can come over Friday night."
"Thanks, momster."
Rikki came home with Sarah and Allison after school on Friday. After showering and doing each other's hair, Sarah set the dining room table for two; tablecloth, candles, good china. At a look from Allison, she turned, "The 'rents have asked for some alone time. We're going to party hearty upstairs. Call the pizza place, sunshine?"
"Sure thing, munchkin. What'cha want, Rikki?"
With the pizza ordered, the girls went upstairs to Sarah's room. Allison sat on the bed and slid back up against the wall. Sarah sat between Allison's legs and slid back against her. She took one of Allison's hands in each of hers, kissed it, and rested them on her stomach. Rikki sat on Sarah's desk chair.
"We had an ulterior motive, besides some fun, for asking you over tonight. We figured that you'd been around the grapevine long enough to have heard some things that you want to ask us about."
Rikki looked a little sheepish. She had heard some things about her friends that concerned her. Sarah and Allison had done nothing to make her feel uncomfortable, but what she'd heard didn't sound nice. Rikki wished she'd talked to her mom, but Sarah and Allison were giving her a chance to clear things up. Looking at the floor, "I guess there are some things I would like to know."
Sarah saw her demeanor, "Rikki, look at me." Rikki looked up, "There is no need to be embarrassed. We aren't. We like you, and want to keep you as a friend, which means being honest. You don't know what's gone on in the past year, and that puts you at a disadvantage. We will tell you what we can, as fully as we can, and let you decide what happens after that. OK?"
"OK. I guess the first thing is that I heard someone call you 'dykes'?"
Allison spoke first, "If by 'dyke', they meant lesbian, I am. Sarah is more probably bi-sexual, with a preference for girls."
"Are you together, a couple?"
Sarah answered this time, "Yes. We've been in an exclusive relationship for about a year now."
"Have you ever dated boys?"
Allison answered, "No. About five or six years ago, when I started organized sports, I realized that I was more interested in my teammates than I was boys."
Sarah continued, "I was dating a boy when I met Allison. He dumped me when I became friends with Allison. I believe his words were something like, 'No girlfriend of mine will be friends with one of 'them'.' We went on from there."
"Any feelings for a boy since then?"
"No. I'm happy where I am."
"Did you lose friends?"
Allison began, "I had only recently moved to town, so I didn't have many friends to lose. I never made it a secret that I was a lesbian, so most people had already made up their mind when we got together."
"I did lose some friends, like my boyfriend at the time. Others realized that I hadn't changed. I even made some new friends. Things have settled down pretty much. Someone new might stir things up briefly, but they rarely say anything new, so it dies down pretty quick."
"Do your parents support you?"
Sarah began this time, "My mom and dad have supported us from the beginning. They love Allison as if she was another daughter. Her parents love me the same way."
"My mom supported me from the start. Dad was unsure but has come around. What's been nice is the reaction of other adults. When Sarah and I went to the Renaissance Foundation Gala, we got to dance with the Governor, Mayor, and other famous people. When some old biddy said something bad about us while we were dancing, the Governor stood up for us and threw the lady out. The last dance was so romantic."
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Sarah's mom called up, "Sweetheart, pizza's here."
"Be right there, mom." She unwound herself and ran downstairs. She came back up with two pizza boxes, napkins, glasses, cinnamon sticks, and a 2-liter Coke. "Ladies, we've been officially banned to the upstairs for the rest of the evening. Let's eat." Setting down the fixin's, she hit the play button on the DVD player. They dug in to the opening credits of "Spaceballs." All three ate and laughed throughout the movie.
When it was over, Sarah gathered up the trash and dirty glasses and set them aside. She sat back against the headboard. Allison lay down with her head in Sarah's lap, drawing Sarah's hands around her neck. Sarah indicated that Rikki should sit beside her on the bed, "Do you have any other questions for us?"
"You said the last dance at the Gala was very romantic."
"It was like a fantasy come true. We'd been dancing all night and having a lot of fun. At midnight, the band leader said, '...This is the final dance. So, partners, take your significant other in your arms, hug them close, and make it memorable." Then he started singing, "Pennies in a stream, falling leaves a sycamore, moonlight in Vermont,...' I hugged Sarah around her waist. Sarah hugged me around my neck, kissed me, and laid her head on my shoulder. A real 'Cinderella' ending."
"I guess. Any other memorable occurrences?"
"A few weeks into our relationship, I was totally mute when I met Allison after school. Scared her to death."
"Yes, you did, beast," and thumped Sarah on her hand.
Sarah thumped her back, "Hush, child. The adults are talking." Allison stuck her tongue out and Rikki laughed.
"So what happened?"
"I wasn't as secure then, as I am now. Someone said something after school that totally blew me away. Mom and dad were away on a second honeymoon, so Allison and her mom took care of me that night. Allison held me on her lap in the Jacuzzi for what seemed like hours. Finally I was able to cry. Allison put me to bed and cuddled me all night. The next day she took me to lunch at the 4 Seasons and a movie."
As Sarah talked, Rikki reflected on what she'd heard so far. There was an obvious comfortableness between the girls that was attractive. The easy banter was a clue. There was nothing in their actions towards each other or her that was worrisome. She decided to wait a little longer before deciding what to do.
"What changes do you make to your normal routine when I'm around?"
"A very cogent question, M'dear. When we're here, we generally shower together. Sometimes we make love in the shower, sometimes in the Jacuzzi, sometimes both. Usually, we don't dress after showering."
"You run around the house naked?"
"Yes, with permission. I'll tell you about the rules later. We probably don't kiss as much or play as many love songs on the stereo. We haven't made love in front of you yet, have we, sunshine?"
"I don't think so, munchkin. Possibly it was on tonight's agenda?"
"I'll have to check the copy. What else? Oh, yes, we sleep together in the same bed."
"You said something about nudity rules?"
"The whole house is clothing-optional when one or both of the 'rents is here, limited to upstairs when they're not. They expect us not to make anyone uncomfortable or put ourselves in danger. But this applies only to us. If you want to join us, your mom will have to call my mom. I think that's enough for tonight. Time for bed. Rikki, you can use my brother's room across the hall, or there's a sleeping bag in the closet you can roll out in here."
Rikki didn't answer, but got up and went over to the closet and pulled out the sleeping bag.
Rikki woke to a pillow landing on her stomach, then another. It took her a moment to realize that Sarah and Allison were the ones pummeling her. She gathered herself and started giving as good as she got.
"Morning, sleepyhead. Time to start the day."
Sarah's mom knocked on the bedroom door, "Morning, ladies. Everyone OK in there?"
Without missing a beat, "Fine, mom. We're just initiating Rikki again."
"That's fine. Just don't hurt the house. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
"Need any help?"
"No, thanks."
"We'll be right there. Breakfast, then showers. I don't know about you two, but you could almost touch my back through my front."
The trio pounded down the stairs to find a sumptuous repast waiting; pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, juice, milk, syrup... When all were replete, Sarah's mom mentioned, "Rikki, darling, if you want to get a shower before your mom gets here, you need to run."
Rikki gave out a "Yeeeep," and ran upstairs.
"Great breakfast as usual, momster. We'll take care of the dishes."
"Yea, Dr. Black. Great."
When they had the pans in to soak, Sarah and Allison knew they had enough time to shower before they would be ready. They peeked in the bedroom and saw Rikki combing her hair, "You done?".
"Yea. Go ahead." Sarah walked over and pulled out a short set for her and Allison. Rikki turned to Allison, "You keep clothes here?"
"You bet. Sarah keeps some at my house too. Makes it much easier. See ya in a few minutes."
When the girls came back down, Rikki's mom was there, talking to Sarah's mom. Rikki ran over and hugged her, "Hi, mom."
Jessica hugged Rikki back and kissed her, "Hi yourself, sweetheart. Have a good time?"
"You bet. I'll tell you about it on the way home."
"Speaking of home, we need to get going. Thanks, Alice, for putting up with my young hellion."
"Moooom!"
Smiling, "No problem. Like I told Rikki, if I don't see a fairly regular stream of new faces, I worry that somethings wrong with the girls."
Rikki came over and hugged Sarah's mom, "Thanks for having me."
"You're very welcome, sweetheart. Come back anytime."
Rikki hugged Sarah and Allison and left with her mother.
Rikki's mom wanted to know everything the girls had done. Rikki told her how they'd done each other's hair after showering and how Sarah had set the table so her parents could be alone downstairs while they were upstairs. She talked about 'Spaceballs' and the pizza.
"I hope you didn't make a pig of yourself?"
"Not anymore than Sarah and Allison. If they eat like that all the time, they must exercise a lot."
"Sarah's mom would agree with you. Pizza is a treat, but Sarah jogs every morning and sometimes Allison joins in. They have an in-house workout room. Between that and athletics, they don't have trouble working off the extra calories. What else did you talk about?"
"About them."
"And what did they say?"
"They said that I'd probably been around the school grapevine long enough to hear things about them and they wanted to give me a chance to ask questions. I wish I had talked to you beforehand, but I didn't. They told me not to be embarrassed, they weren't. They would answer any question I had as best they could."
"You understand that you can talk to me about anything. And what did they tell you?"
"Allison said she is a lesbian and Sarah is bi-sexual. Did you know they are a couple?"
"Yes, I was pretty sure, but it wasn't my place to say anything unless you were being hurt."
"How did you know?"
Jessica reached over and ruffled Rikki's hair, "The signs were there if you knew what to look for. Sweetheart, you have led a very sheltered existence so far. That was the way your father wanted it. Since we moved, I've tried to expose you to as many new things as I could. Sarah and Allison acted like they truly wanted to be your friends, so I encouraged you. It wouldn't hurt you to be around normal family relationships either."
"That was something else; Allison said both sets of parents supported them. They told me about going to the Renaissance Foundation Gala and dancing with important people. They told me about the time someone said something real nasty to Sarah while her parents were away on a trip and Allison and her mom had to take care of her."
"Sounds like a very loving relationship."
"There was one thing they said I had to ask you about."
"And that is?"
"At Sarah's, the whole house is 'clothing-optional' when one or both of her parents are home, limited to upstairs when they're not. They shower together and don't get dressed afterwards. They aren't supposed to make anyone uncomfortable or put themselves in danger. They said you had to talk to Sarah's mom and give your permission before I could join in."
"Would you like me to talk to Sarah's mom?"
"I don't know."
"Tell you what, I'll talk to Sarah's mom and give my permission, but the final decision will be yours. OK?"
"OK. Mom?"
"What, sweetheart?"
"Did you ever have a relationship with another girl?"
"Yes, I did. Back in art school."
"Can you tell me about it?"
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Copyright 2004 Donal