Close Encounter

The two teens stayed apart for the remainder of the afternoon, studying, until it was time to start preparations for dinner. Meeting in the kitchen, they found their mother had left instructions for them to make a meat loaf, put together a salad, and peel potatoes to cook and mash. They played rock-paper-scissors to see who did the meat. Anni won.

As she gathered the ingredients, she watched her brother, busy peeling the spuds. She debated with herself if she should tell him what she had heard about Kelly that morning. Finally, she asked, "Bert, do you like Kelly, as a girlfriend, I mean?"

"I don't know. She's okay, I guess. It's just, she asked, and..." he hesitated, not sure if he should tell his sister what Kelly had implied.

"Suggested you might have some... fun, afterwards?"

Bert looked up at Anni, surprised. "Yeah; sort of. How did you know?"

"This morning, I heard some girls talking about her and laughing while I was in the bathroom. Apparently Kelly's been shopping her cherry around to get a date for the Prom. Rumor is she finally talked Sonny Snell into taking her."

"Sonny?" he snorted. "That nerd! He's gonna get his nose out of his books long enough to go to a dance? I wonder if he'd even know how to..." Bert blushed.

Anni laughed. With her head down, supposedly looking at her meatloaf, she quietly asked, "Would you?"

He hesitated before he gave her a sly smile. "Sally Waites and I figured it out, cherry and all. Did you know her birthday is the day after ours?"

Anni's eyes got large with wonder. "You didn't! Sally! Goody-two-shoes Sally, who said the only thing getting in her mouth before she got married was her clarinet? When? C'mon, Bro, details!"

"Last semester, the senior history project we were assigned to do with another student; she was my partner, remember. Once a week, over lunch, we'd go to her house so we could combine our notes and work on it.

"She had found some material dealing with sexual contact between the classes in feudal England, and the landed Nobles' right to have any of their serf women on the night before she was married, or as soon after it was discovered if they concealed the wedding.

"She said she wondered what it would be like to be taken that way, being forced to submit, legally raped. In a sort of joking way, I said, 'Mistress Waites, as your Lord and Master, I command you to remove your clothing.' Her eyes got huge, and she looked shocked and sort of frightened, then she stood up and took off her clothes. You can imagine the rest."

"Wow! That's all it took? Was that the only time you two did it?" Bert shook his head, and started to say something, but they heard a car outside and then the sound of a car door and footsteps on the porch. They glanced at the clock. Their mother, Debbie, wasn't due home for another half hour.

When the doorbell rang, both jumped, startled and headed for the door. It was their Uncle Jesse, landlord and owner of the farm where Albert worked weekends. "Uncle Jess? What...is something wrong?" Bert asked, anxiety and curiosity in his voice.

"No, boy, there's nothing wrong. I brought over your pay for the past two weeks, 'cuz your Aunt Marie and I are going away for the weekend." He handed Bert a small envelope with fifty dollars in it. "And I need you to give me a ride back to the farm.

"Your Aunt finally convinced me to buy a new truck for the farm, and since the old one didn't have any trade value, she said I should give it to you, and I figgered she was right. You been doing a good job, 'n' you're on time even though you gotta walk two miles to get to the farm, even in the bad weather, and I haven't heard you complain about it.

"This old beat up Toyota will make it a little easier on ya. Won't win ya any races, but it's got four good tires and don't cost much to run. Right now, it's registered to the farm, and covered by the farm insurance. Long as you're responsible, we can keep it that way; be some easier for you and your ma. Get me back now, I gotta get packed," he finished, handing Bert the keys.

"Wow, Uncle Jess! Thanks; this is gonna make life for all of us a lot easier. I know Mom's gonna really appreciate it, too." Bert spoke as they walked to the 2000 Toyota Tacoma, his heart pounding with joy.

"Well, it ain't much, but with care, it'll get you to and from town for school and shopping. This was our errand truck. It's only got an 1800 pound payload, more'n enough for you guys, I reckon, but not for the farm except for running errands, and it's passable on gas, about sixteen or eighteen miles to the gallon.

"When Marie and I were just starting out here, we bought it for the family. Your cousins were five and six, and we'd take them shopping or to the drive-in with us, so we got the extended cab. It cuts down on the bed size a mite, but it's never been a bother. And I put on the cap for you. It was just taking up space in the barn. You'll appreciate it when you go shopping; for the farm, it was easier without it.

"Now, tomorrow and Sunday, I need you just to come over and feed the stock, morning and afternoon. Hank's gonna come over and do the milking. He'll be here at seven and four, if you can give him a hand."

"I know I can help with the four o'clock, and I'll try to get over in the morning, but I got a ton of homework, and Mom insists we have it done Friday night so it isn't hanging over our head all weekend."

"Smart woman. Don't worry, but if you can help, I know Hank would appreciate it. Thanks for the lift. Take care of your ride now, it should last another five or ten years with care."

"I will, Uncle Jess; thanks, again, and have a good weekend. Tell Aunt Marie I said thank you, too." Jesse Goode nodded and waved as he turned to walk into his house as Bert dropped the car into second and gently pulled away.

As soon as Bert had reached the door and recognized his uncle, Y had made the connection and connected with the farmer's brain. Jesse Goode was a good, Christian man, who believed in a day's work for a day's wage. He paid his help fairly, and rewarded sustained good work with raises, and, on a few occasions, had lowered an employee's rate if they were slacking off. True slackers left when that happened; good workers accepted the message and improved.

He had originally given Bert his job more out a sense of charity than really needing his help on the farm, but the boy had proved himself a man, taking on responsibility and delivering, sometimes more than his share. Already inclined to reward the lad somehow, it had taken a minimal nudge from Y to make Uncle Jess accept the suggestion he attributed to Aunt Marie and give the stranded family some badly needed transportation.

Bert got back to the drive just as Debra Goode was getting out of her ride's car. She rode every day with another woman who worked in the church office, where Debbie was the church secretary, and paid her what it would have cost if she could take the bus, ten dollars a week. Since the woman didn't have to go out of her way, she said that was more than enough; that she was glad for the company.

The driver had just pulled away and Debbie was a few yards up the lane when Albert pulled up beside her, lightly tapping on the almost inaudible horn. "Hey, lady, want a ride?" he called through the open window.

She was about to scold the brash driver of the familiar looking truck for trespassing when she recognized her son. "Albert! Whose truck is this and why are you driving it?"

"It's mine, ours, I guess. Uncle Jesse gave it to me. Get in." He pushed open the door for her. "Dinner should be about ready. I'll tell you all about it while we eat. You're home early?"

"Mmhmm; the printer got the bulletin back to us early today. Once we had it folded and assembled, there wasn't anything pressing to do, so Reverend Jacobs said we could leave. How was school?"

Anni had heard the conversation on the porch when Uncle Jess had told Albert he was giving her brother a truck. When Uncle Jess had said Albert needed to drive him home, she had just waved him on, and returned to the kitchen to continue fixing dinner by herself, her heart soaring. Now, with transportation, she and her brother were no longer social isolates; they would be able to attend school activities.

By the time she finished the meat loaf and got it in the oven, the potatoes on, and put together the salad, her brother hadn't returned yet, so she start- ed cleaning up the kitchen. She had just finished washing up the few dishes when she heard a car and two doors slam. She was at the front door before her brother and mother were up the stairs.

"Is it true? He actually gave you the small truck, the one with the extended cab?"

"Yep. And it's registered and insured. Sorry I ran out on getting dinner, but..."

"That's okay; what you had to do was more important. Oh, Mom, isn't it great?"

"I don't know, Anni. I'm waiting to hear what happened. Bert said he'd tell me while we ate. How's it coming?"

"By the time you get changed into something more comfortable, it should be ready to come out of the oven. By then, Bert and I will have the table set and we can eat and hear his wonderful story."

(An hour or so later) "...and he said as long as I don't get into trouble with it, he'll keep it registered as part of his fleet, which also covers the insurance."

"I'm proud of you, honey. Your hard work has paid off, and will certainly help the family..."

"Just too bad it didn't come a couple of weeks sooner, huh, Bert?"

"It's hardly the kind of vehicle you take a girl to a formal dance in, but..."

"What dance?" Debbie asked.

"One of the junior class girls asked Bert to take her to the prom tomorrow night, but he had to say no because he didn't have anyway to go."

"Oh, Bert; I'm sorry. Was she someone you're interested in?"

"No, I hardly know her; it just would have been fun to go to a formal dance."

"Good thing you're not interested in that skinny skank..."

"She's not a skank; skinny, but not skanky," he said with a laugh.

Anni flushed with anger. "Any girl who has the gall to offer her cherry to half the school just to go to a dance is a skank in my opinion."

"Anni!" exclaimed Debbie.

"Well, what would you call her, then?"

Debbie fought back a smile. "Desperate." She looked at her son. "Did she make you that offer?"

"Not in those words. She asked if I had a date for the prom. When I said no, before I could explain why, she asked if I would take her and then said, afterward, we could drive out to lake and have some real fun, with no limits on what I could do. She didn't say anything about her cherry, just no limits."

Y sensed the mother was about to tell her son it was good that he hadn't been able to take a girl who was so desperate to the dance, and instead pushed her to ask her children, "I know it has been a while since we've discussed proper sexual behavior, but are either of you active, that way?"

While Anni simply shook her head no, Bert replied, somewhat abashedly, "Active, no, but I've had sex a couple of times with a girl in our class at school ."

Debbie's eyebrows raised slightly, then she nodded, pensive, before asking, "Anni, have you..."

The teen interrupted her, "No, Mom. I did give a couple of guys hand jobs, and one of the football players at Horner tried to make me go down on him at an after game dance, but a teacher came around before he actually got it out. When I told the teacher what he was trying to do, he tried to say I agreed to do it, but when some other girls came forward later that night, to say he'd forced them, too, at other dances, he got kicked out of school. That was just before Daddy got so sick."

"I'm so sorry, Sweetie; I guess I got so caught up with your father, I sort of lost track of what was going on with you two.

"This will be the third big dance you two have missed, and that isn't fair. I know it won't be the same, but what if we have our own dance, right here, tomorrow night. We can move the dining room and living room furniture to the sides of the room to make a dance floor, and we'll get dressed up, and have some punch and snacks, and choose some good dance music..."

"Yesss!" Anni cried. "That sounds so cool! Can we really do it?"

His mother looked at Bert. "Bert," she asked, "what do think? Do you want to take us girls to the Goode family prom?"

He grinned and nodded. "Then I can finally use those dance classes they made us take when we were sophomores."

"Okay, then; I'll clean up from dinner. You two, go get your homework done. Bert, you'll need to get up and go help Hank with the morning milking, and tell him I surprised you with some chores so you can't help tomorrow afternoon, but you will be there the next day. Now, off with the both of you."

The next morning, the milking took Bert and Hank a bit over an hour to milk the dozen dairy cows and then the clean up took another half hour. Bert was home and sitting down to breakfast by nine o'clock. "Hank said no problem with this afternoon, and thanked me for my help this morning. He said I was a big help, especially with the recording. Did you know each cow's output is recorded every day? And after, we have to steam clean and sanitize every milk machine. I got the other stock their morning feed while I was there, 'n' Hank said he'd take care of them this afternoon for me."

Debbie silently laughed at his exuberance. Bert had been the dictionary picture for taciturn since his father had died, but last night and today, since he got the truck, it was like he was trying to use all the words he had kept bottled up inside.

"That's good, Bert. After breakfast, we need to run into town to get some stuff for our dance tonight. You'll have to drive me; I haven't driven a stick shift since I got my first license. When you're done, go change your clothes and run a comb through your hair; it looks like a bird's nest," she said, running her hand through it affectionately.

He pulled his head away from her hand, laughing. "Okay! What stores?"

"Grocery, the Dollar store, Walgreens," she paused, considering, "and the package store."

"The package store? Why?"

"I thought I'd get something for the punch. Is that okay?"

His grin flashed his approval. "I'll be right back down."

Bert, like many who lived and worked on farms, was acutely aware of the weather and its vicissitudes. On the way home he noticed the clouds on the western horizon. "Looks like a storm's coming, tonight or tomorrow."

"Well," said Debbie, "we could use a little rain. I just hope its nothing more than a small thunderstorm."

"Me, too. Gotta have electricity to play the music," he grinned, causing her to smile, as they turned by the big oak at the end of their driveway.

While Bert and Debbie went shopping, Anni busied herself getting the house ready for the dance. As much as she was able, she pushed the larger furniture to the sides of the room and then fit the smaller pieces between them. Next, she covered the lamp shades with colored tissue paper, leaving enough room open at the top so the heat could escape. Those with switches inside the shade, she unplugged after turning them on.

With as much done as she could do alone, she went into the kitchen to start on snacks and the punch. She began by making the ice ring for the punch. After that, digging into the fridge, she found some bologna, salami, and cream cheese, with which she made some of her favorite appetizers. She had just finished cutting and plating them when she heard her mother and brother pull up at the back door.

Anni quickly put the snacks she had made in the fridge and ran out to help them grab the bags from the back of the truck. Once inside, both her mother and brother commented on how much she had been able to get done. Debbie suggested they have lunch and then continue with dance preparations. They would have dinner about five and then have leisure time to dress and get ready.

They were done, to their satisfaction, by four. While the women fixed dinner, Bert went through their CDs, selecting a mix of modern pop and classic dance music for them to choose from over dinner. When they were done, they had eight discs, totaling nearly seven hours of music, almost two thirds of which could be classified as 'romantic.'

After dinner, Debbie sent Bert off to shower and shave while she and Anni cleaned up the kitchen and put together the punch. When she was sure he was out of earshot, Debbie looked at her daughter. "Sweetie," she asked (very much under the influence of Y), "if the opportunity came up tonight, would you want to lose your virginity?"

"Mom! What kind of question is that?" Anni answered, shocked and embarrassed.

"A serious one. Proms are often the occasion when girls become women. So, if Bert showed the interest and willingness, would you want him to..."

"Mother! He's my brother! How can you..."

"Your father and I were first cousins," she interrupted, speaking softly. "We grew up together, lived together as children from when I was five until I finished junior high school. Eight, almost nine, years.

"My father was serving in the military, in Europe satisfying his ROTC obligation. When his first full enlistment was up, he decided to stay in. By the time he was a captain, and seriously considering making it a career," she went on, speaking softly; "they found Mom's cancer, pretty far advanced. That's when he resigned his commission to take care of me and your uncle, Tony.

"So, for seven years your father and I were as close as you and Bert. We wound up at the same university and when we met, it was like the time we were apart never happened. We got married without telling the families when I got pregnant with you two, and never worried about it again.

"Now, I ask again, if the opportunity arose, would you want Bert to take your cherry?"

"You really wouldn't have a problem with us doing it?"

"Well, let's look at the alternatives. Tonight, you'd be safe at home, in a comfortable bed, with a man, albeit with limited experience, who cares for and about you. Compare that with the back seat of a car, parked god knows where, with a guy more likely out for bragging rights and looking more to get himself off than you. Which would you want for your daughter?"

"Even though the first guy is my brother?"

"Sweetie, what goes on behind our front door is no one's business but ours. The only concern is you not getting pregnant. We stopped at the drug store and I bought some condoms for Bert. You just have to make sure he uses them."

"What if he doesn't want to fuck me?"

"Anni, he's a guy," her mother replied, emphasizing the last word. She chuckled and continued, "I'll admit, sometimes he can be a little stuffy, especially for someone as young as he is, and even more especially about things related to sex. I was surprised when he admitted he'd already ..."

"Probably because he'd already confessed that to me earlier."

"Really? More surprises. Anyway, if we both work on him while we're dancing to the slow music... Just dance as close as you can, rubbing your chest and hips on him. If you feel him get an erection, concentrate your rubbing on it. Another thing, no underwear tonight, and your dress needs to be knee length if you have one. If you don't, I may have one that'll fit you."

"Oh, why?"

"Mystery. We just want to hint that we're going commando, not confirm it until he's committed himself.

"Ahhh; the water's turned off. You go shower while I go talk to him, to get him thinking about making love to you."

"What about you, Momma? Shouldn't you have someone, too?"

Debbie's breath caught in her throat momentarily. "Some other time, Anni. Tonight is for you."

They walked up the backstairs together; Anni stopping in her room to get ready for her shower, while Debbie went on to talk to Bert. Y prompted her to go on to her own room, where she stripped out of her clothes and put her old cotton robe on, over her nudity. As she tied it around her waist, she wondered at her actions, then thought how much Bert might get turned on and smiled as she knocked on his door.