A Lesson in Family

I ended up sleeping in Carla's bed that night and mom and dad cut us some slack, they knew nothing had happened, because mom knew everything that happened in her house and they trusted us. The next day, the news that I was officially going to be a Swanson spread through the school like wildfire, you would have thought the royal family were visiting. I thought it was funny.

At lunch we all went over our plan for spring break, mom and dad had rented a big house on the beach for the six of us with strict instructions as to what would be allowed and what would not, there was a room for the boys and a room for the girls and they were absolutely off limits to anyone of the other gender, and since mine was now official, that meant there was no grey area, we all laughed at that. No alcohol and no parties, we were all under strict orders to behave like good little nuns and priests and promised to try.

Simon's dad loaned us his Suburban and Saturday morning, we were off, Simon and Tom up front with me and Carla in the middle row and Amber and Joe in the back making noises that told everyone exactly what they were doing. The drive took just over seven hours and by sunset, we had the house ready and set for a week of fun in the sun.

My little pink bikini got all kinds of attention and with my new boobs, even I had to admit it was almost too racy, but I wore it anyway. Carla and Amber weren't any more modest than me and we were all enjoying the obvious attention we were getting from the guys.

We wandered up and down the beach checking out all the other groups of kids and getting all kinds of invitations to parties, some we thought about and others we decided to avoid. When we got back to our beach house, some guys were setting up a volleyball net next door and our plans for the day went out the window as the guys jumped in to help and then challenged them to a game, Amber, Carla, and I got to sit and watch, which I was finding out, wasn't all that bad.

All the guys were in great shape and I found that laying in the sun getting a tan while watching fit sweaty men flail around on the sand was kind of fun. When I had to adjust my bikini, Carla gave me a funny look, I could tell she and Amber were enjoying the view too.

As the game went on, the rest of their crew showed up and a second net went up, our section of the beach became volleyball central and the supply of hard bodies, male and female exploded as people from all up and down the beach came to watch or to play. Kegs showed up and the party we had promised to avoid had found us.

Guys started coming up and offering us beer and hitting on us, a few were already drunk, and it wasn't even noon, I was beginning to think that spring break at the beach was a bad idea. I looked at Carla and Amber, they were getting nervous, too.

Just when one of the drink guys started to get belligerent because I didn't want a beer he was offering, Tom showed up, plopped down next to me in the sand and kissed me like we had done it a thousand times before, when he pulled away, he winked at me. Maybe he had a radar for this kind of thing.

Simon had planted a big one on Carla, too, and Joe and Amber, well they weren't stopping. The message was sent. We were taken. For some reason, I was having a hard time catching my breath. The way Carla was looking at Simon reminded me of the way she looked at me when I kissed her.

I got up and went to sit on the balcony of our beach house to get away from the crowd, watching as Carla and Simon chatted and Joe and Amber made out in front of everybody, Tom just sat in the sand where I had left him, turning around every so often to wave and smile at me.

Great, our quiet beach has been invaded by an army of idiots, my girlfriend is falling for someone else, and I think I am, too.

I finally went inside and took a shower, grabbing a random book from the small bookshelf and started reading the trashy romance novel I had picked up. After the third person knocked and asked to use the bathroom, I told them no, just like the others and just quit answering the door.

"You ok?" Carla sat on the couch by my feet. I just glared at her, which was totally unfair because I was guilty of doing the same thing, I was mad at her for, and Amber and Joe had only made it worse, so, I was mad at them, and Tom and Simon, what right did they have to kiss me and Carla in the first place, so, yeah, I was mad at them, too.

"Alright," she sighed, "I'm going to go take a shower and then maybe you'll tell me what's wrong."

"Hey," Tom started to ask me how I was but the look I gave him made it clear that was not a good idea," I'm just going to go take a shower," and he went into the guy's bedroom.

"Come on, "Carla was standing next to me holding her hand out," we are going for a walk." It was that same tone I had never figured out how to say no to, I glared and closed my book and got up to follow her out to the beach. The party was still going, Joe and Amber had finally stopped making out and Simon was throwing a football around with a couple of other guys, but I was determined not to give up my mad, I had every right after all.

Neither one of us said a word, we just walked down the beach just barely in the surf, letting the waves splash over our feet. At some point, her hand found mine and I could feel myself breaking. When we got back to the beach house, the police were gently suggesting that the volleyball nets and the kegs and the noise be moved a couple hundred yards down the beach to the city park so the other houses in the vicinity would stop complaining. Carla and I sat on the balcony and watched as the crowd slowly dispersed and the sun started to set.

"I still love you," I finally said.

"I know, and I still love you, but things are changing, just like we were afraid they would. You're changing, starting to look at guys, that's new, and kind of nice, isn't it?" she squeezed my hand," and this; you being all mad like this, you're acting like such a, well such a girl," I couldn't stop the grin that started to creep across my face. The doctor had told me the hormones would affect my moods a little, I guess this is what he was talking about. "I think you liked it when Tom kissed you, too. To be honest, I'm changing, too because I liked it when Simon kissed me and he's so easy to talk to, he's a lot like you like that," I was so confused, I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry.

"And Amber and Joe, oh, my, god," we both laughed.

Carla and I hugged and then we cried, finally going back inside. Everyone knew what had just happened, but no one said a word, someone had ordered pizza and our plans to go to the seafood restaurant at the pier were cancelled. We stayed in and watched bad movies all night and laughed until we were all too tired to stay awake.

Tom kept looking at me and then at Carla as if he were trying to figure something out, Carla was sitting on the couch with Joe and Amber and I was across the room in the recliner, while he and Simon sprawled on the floor. We were acting like everything was ok, but the tension was evident, I knew it was ending, that Carla and I had shared our last passionate kiss, even though I had accepted it, that didn't mean I liked it. Tomorrow would be a new day and things would never be the same.

Everybody was gone when I got up. I knew where they were, I could hear the noise of the party at the volleyball courts from here, Carla had pretended it was a group decision, I had heard the conversation, but what I knew she had really done was give me the time and space to come to grips with what we had decided last night, she was stronger than me and she knew it, she had been through break ups before, but I hadn't, she knew I just needed a little time and then things would be better, slowly, they would be better.

I pulled on my white one-piece, grabbed my floppy hat and sunglasses and my book, made myself a glass of lemon aide and went out on to the deck to read, trying not to listen to the shouts and screams from the party my best friends were all enjoying. I probably read the same page a dozen times not seeing a single word, my mind swirling with thoughts of Carla, and Simon, and Tom, oh my god, of Tom. His kiss swam in my head like a shark after an injured fish, refusing to leave me alone, tearing away at me ripping me to pieces. And Carla, her beautiful smile, those perfect kissable lips, they were kissing Simon. I screamed and threw the book at the wall.

I went inside and found my phone, hitting dial and waited for the answer, "Mom?" I cried and she listened, I talked, and she listened, I told her everything, and she listened.

"Tom's cute," she finally said. That was it, after everything I had told her, after I had laid my soul bare, two words, two words, that was it.

I started to scream at her, but the rage was gone," yeah mom, he is," I smiled.

"And no matter what else happens, Carla will always be your sister," I nodded into the phone like she could see me, "And your father and I will always love you." It wasn't just what she said, I knew that was true, it was what she meant, I had an unbreakable safety net, for the first time I could remember, the first time since I was four, I had people that loved me regardless of anything else in the world, I had a true family.

"And I have a cute guy that likes me, and Carla has a cute guy that likes her, and she's my sister so, what's my problem?"

"You are so smart," she laughed.

"You should never have quit," I chuckled.

"Who said I quit, I have a husband and two teenage daughters to look after, my calendar is full, not stop moping and go have some fun before your dad and I come down there and make you."

"I love you mom," it hit me how long it had been since I had even had the opportunity to say those words much less wanted to say them.

I was still on the balcony reading when they came back, Tom looked at me and I smiled, which made him smile, Carla stopped," you ok?"

"I called mom," was all I said.

She smiled," Let me guess, you talked for two hours and she said like four words, right?"

"Two actually," I nodded," why didn't you tell me she was so smart?"

"Sometimes I forget, too," she put out her hand, "Sisters?"

"Sisters," I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my lap and started tickling her.

In an instant, everything was right with the world once more, the author of the book I was reading couldn't have written a sappier story line, but it was true, it was all going to be alright, "So, how does this flirting with guys thing work anyway?"

"From what I've seen, you're doing just fine, you are all Tom wanted to talk about all morning."

"And Simon?" the way she blushed told me everything. Tom and Simon were toast, and they didn't even know it.

To say the guys were confused at lunch was an understatement, me and Carla and Amber were laughing and talking like nothing had every happened, even the idea that I had been a moody bitch for the past day and a half seemed to be an impossibility. But, being guys, they just talked about sports and pretended to ignore us.

I had no idea how complicated it was, Carla had insulated me from all the drama buy adopting me from day one and taking control, I had never had to play 'the game' so to speak, never having had a girlfriend before her.

Evidently teen romance went something like this, girls like boys, and they want them to know it, but they don't want them to think they know it. So, girls flirt and tease and then pretend to not be interested 'like that' all the while wanting the guys to read their minds and sweep them off their feet like a Victorian romance novel, and boys being boys, are totally clueless, knowing only that they like the girl but are so confused, they don't know what to do.

Somehow our species continues to procreate, and the world population grows and the stupid stuff the boy does to impress the girl that he likes and thinks likes him but is not really sure because, well she doesn't want him to know how she feels because she's so insecure that if she's wrong..., well, it's a mess; a fun wonderful, glorious, convoluted, insane mess and I was going to wrap Tom around my little finger like a pro, I had Carla and Amber to teach me how to do it after all.

We sat and watched them play volleyball and talked about how cute they were and what we thought we wanted to happen, Tom would make a point and look at me and smile like he had done it just for me, I would smile back. Simon would do the same with Carla and Joe, well, he would look at Amber and grab his crotch and laugh and she would blush and laugh like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen, yeah, Amber was going to be a big help.

Walking back to the beach house, Carla and I were thick as thieves, it was different but felt nice. A couple of guys came up to us and invited us to a party, I flirted with one of them a little before we told them no and made sure Tom could see me, he pretended not to and shoved Simon into the surf, I counted that as a win.

Tom avoided me all night and Carla assured me that was a good sign, while she and Simon seemed to be getting along just fine. It went on like this for the next day, me learning to flirt with the boys that came up and talked to me and Tom trying to figure out what was going on with me and Carla and him or if there was even a me and him.

I talked to Carla about it, and she assured me it would be fine once he figured it out, which she seemed sure he eventually would.

We finally made it to the seafood restaurant by the pier and had a great time, on the way back, Carla claimed shotgun and rode up front with Simon, Amber and Joe took the middle row which put me and Tom in the third row by ourselves, "Simon and Carla, are you ok with that?" he was finally going there, "And what about you and Carla, I mean you were her boyfriend, then her girlfriend but your also her sister, that has to be a little weird. How does that all work?"

"It just does, I love her, and she loves me but I'm changing so much and it's just not the same anymore, so we worked it out. That's what family does, right?"

He nodded, "And the whole boy girl thing?"

"I guess I'm trying to figure that out, I mean, look at Carla, she is so beautiful, and girls are, well, you know what I mean. But I'm starting to look at boys differently, too, so, I guess we'll see."

"So," he paused," boys, they're not totally off the table?"

"I guess if I found one that was cute and nice and that I liked, maybe I'd be willing to try it and see where it went," I knew he couldn't see me blush in the dark, but part of me wanted him to, and badly.

"Really? Cool," he leaned his head back against the headrest totally missing what I had meant. I had him and I knew it.

It would have been so much easier to just climb in his lap two days ago and kiss him like he had kissed me on the beach, but I was starting to get it, the confusion, and the reconciliation, it was not only a little fun, in a sadistic sort of way, it made this moment a little sweeter.

"Tom," I half whispered his name.

"Yes?" he looked at me.

"You do know that you're cute and you're nice, right?"

"What? Oh," the lightbulb in his head went on, "Really?"

"Sometimes a little slow, but yes," I leaned over and kissed him softly, "And I do like you."

His hand found mine as we pulled into the driveway at the beach house, I was still trying to figure things out and had a long way to go, but it was a step, a very nice one.

I didn't tell Carla anything about my conversation with Tom, or the kiss that went with it, she figured it out on her own when he ran his hand across my shoulders at breakfast and I smiled at him.

The rest of the week was a slow progression, Tom and I held hands and kissed and walked on the beach and talked, getting to know each other better than just friends and trying to figure out where we wanted to go with our budding relationship. He finally admitted that he had a transgender cousin and that was why he was as accepting as he was, having a transgender girlfriend was something he was willing to work on.

When Simon dropped us off at home and Tom pulled me close and kissed me, and Simon did the same for Carla, dad did a double take, of course, mom had seen it coming, probably before Carla and I even had a clue because, well she was mom.

The six of us still hung out and were all best friends, but with me dating Tom and Carla dating Simon, the dynamic changed, Carla and I grew apart a little more while getting closer in other ways. School was school and all the gossip about me and Carla and Tom and Simon faded as quickly as it had started. The biggest drama was the day that Joe and Amber broke up, it lasted all of three days before they were back together and that died down, too.

As for the other stuff, the hormones were working, and the nice B cups the doctor had given me were now a nice C; Tom really like that, and I liked that he liked it. I had gone for waxing one more time and it had been an easy sell when the technician talked to me about laser and electrolysis, with waxing one little spot on his arm, dad agreed to pay for it. No more shaving for this girl.

There would be a couple of surgeries right after school let out with the big one being deferred until I was ready, I knew it was going to happen, the doctor just wanted me to take my time and be absolutely sure, I could live with the others, but that, he could not put back on.

And so here I sit, eight rows back, Tom is off to my right a couple of rows up, Simon is behind me somewhere, Amber is on the same row as me and Joe is over by Tom, Carla is at the podium talking to all of us about the bright futures we have in front of us and how important the friendships we have made over our time at Ridgemont will be as we go forward to chase our dreams, she reminds us that we are all family, of how much we have changed and grown since we first entered these doors and how much we depended on those around us to get where we are. I feel like her valedictorian's speech was written just for me but realize that everyone in the room is feeling exactly the same way.

I love my sister so much it hurts sometimes.

<<< This was supposed to be the original ending of the story, but there is just so much more that needed to be said about Connie's journey, I couldn't stop. >>>

Mom and dad had tried to set up a room at the country club for Carla, me, and our friends to celebrate after graduation, but we overrode them and all headed to Pizza Planet with a bunch of our classmates, eating way too much and playing video games and just being teenagers. Joe and Amber disappeared first and then Carla hugged me and took Simon by the hand heading for the door. Tom and I finished our air hockey game and I slipped under his arm, and we left too.

I always liked riding in the old truck Tom had inherited from his grandfather, an old Chevy short bed with a manual transmission with the shifter in the floor, it had a bench seat, and I could slide over next to Tom and when he pushed in the clutch, I shifted gears; it worked just fine, most of the time. When it didn't, we just laughed, and I tried again.

We bumped along the old dirt road to the pond that we had started calling 'our spot,' the place I had caught my first ever fish, he ran his hand up and down my thigh as I rested my head on his shoulder. We came out here every now and then to talk and to make out and to look at the stars, this was one of my favorite places. I had an idea what Tom wanted to do tonight and had already decided I wasn't going to say no if things went there, I had even done a little research and taken some precautionary steps just in case.

Tom parked by the big oak tree and helped me out of the truck, I ran down to the small fishing pier and dangled my bare feet in the cool water, leaning back on my elbows and giggled as the fish nibbled at my toes, marveling at the vast expanse of stars shining down on me, the tiniest sliver of a moon hung lazily in the sky. Tom laid out a blanket in the grass and pulled an ice chest from the back of the truck before he rolled up his pants legs and came down to join me, kissing me sweetly as he dropped his feet in the water and laid down next to me.