Page 69 of August
“I should’ve asked you first,” Myra said.
“If he were six, yeah. He’s eighteen, though. He doesn’t have to check with his mommy to do things anymore,” she replied and wrapped her arms around Myra’s neck. “The reason I kicked them out is that I have a secret. Can you keep it if I tell you?”
Myra wrapped her arms around Elisa’s waist and said, “Maybe.”
Elisa smirked at her not-so-subtle suggestive tone and said, “You know the Wendy that AJ keeps bringing up?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Wendy and Adele kissed,” Elisa revealed. “And Adele called her tonight and asked her out on a date. That’s who she’s spending time with Friday night.”
“Adele and…”
“Yes,” Elisa said. “She told me she really likes her, and I’m so proud of her.”
“You should be. She just told you straight-up how she’s feeling about another girl?”
“Yes. She was worried, but we talked, and it was good. She doesn’t know if she’s bi or something else or if she even wants a label, but I don’t care about any of it. I just want my little girl to be so happy, Myra. I also know Wendy. She’s a good kid. She was right behind Adele in school. She played the flute in the band and played basketball. She chose not to play in college because she wants to go pre-law, but her parents are good people, too. I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of them because they are so young, but I’m glad Adele has someone she likes. They’re going to different colleges, but those are only about an hour apart, so they’ll be able to see each other.”
“That’s good,” Myra replied.
“She told me something else, too, and I’ll be processingthatfor the rest of my life.”
“What?”
“She’s had sex,” Elisa said. “My daughter has had sex, and she did it with a boy named Tucker.”
“I thought she liked Wendy.”
“She dated Tucker for a while a bit ago. I didn’t know they were having sex.”
“How are you coping with that news?” Myra asked with a small smile.
“Well, she was so prepared for the whole thing, and it’sjust like her, really. We did the whole sex talk a long time ago with both of them. She asked me to get her birth control a year ago but told me she wasn’t sexually active yet. She just wanted to be prepared. And she had him get tested, too, even though he’d never been with anyone else. That’s my girl.”
Myra laughed and replied, “That’s amazing. What about AJ?”
“What about him?”
“Has he…”
“Oh, yeah,” Elisa said. “He went to his dad before and got what he needed, and it was with a girl he had dated for a while. I talked to him about the emotional stuff and how to take responsibility. He told me after it happened. They broke up not long after that, though. He seemed worse off about it than her. He’s a sensitive kid. He doesn’t like to be, but he is. When I found out that he’d had sex, I stared into the sun for a while, wondering how they’d grown up this fast.”
Myra kissed the top of her head and said, “It sounds like you raised a couple of really good kids. Thank you for having me over and letting me spend some time with them. I really liked this.”
“It wasn’t too much?”
“No, they’re great. It was nice, showing AJ some stuff, and Adele is obviously crazy smart and has a plan.”
“She’s always been that way,” Elisa replied.
“I should go,” Myra said. “But I’ll call you?”
“I’d say text me when you get home so I know you’re okay, but it’s about twenty feet away.”
“I can still do it, if you want.”
Elisa nodded, leaned in, and kissed her. A minute later, Myra was on her way home, and Elisa was sitting on the sofa, waiting for that text.
