Epilogue - Wednesday

I was sitting at my desk doing my homework when my phone rang. I picked it up immediately out of habit. My mom called every Wednesday at this time to check up on me. She lived in New Denton City, which was a town full of factories and run-down schools. She had sent me to Sweet Amoris to get a better education. While Auntie lived nearby and helped me out if I needed anything, I was mostly on my own.

"Hi Mom. How's it going?" I asked.

"More or less the same. Our neighbors had a baby and put a big blue stork on their front lawn. You could have a summer job babysitting if you wanted. Otherwise, things are pretty quiet. I'm going to put you on speakerphone so you can talk to your dad, too."

"OK."

"Hi Kari!" Dad said.

"Hi Dad!"

My mom continued talking about the neighborhood gossip for a few minutes. She always did most of the talking when we were on the phone. "So, how are you doing in your classes?"

"Great. I've got no worries there. World History class is a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

"How so?"

"I'm working with my boyfriend on a project, and-"

"Wait, boyfriend?"

"Oh. Yeah, a lot happened over the weekend. There was a school dance, and long story short I have two boyfriends now."

"Two!?"

"Calm down and let her explain," Dad said.

"OK. Please tell me this is a joke or some childhood game you're playing," Mom said.

"Um, no. I really do have two boyfriends, Mom. One of them is in my history class, and the other is from another school. He helped out at the gardening club last year, and we kept in touch," I said.

"So, you're dating one guy from each school until you decide which one you want," Mom assumed, "that's really unfair to them. I thought we raised you better than that."

"No, Mom. I'm not deciding which one I want. I've decided that I want both of them."

"But you're not committing to either one of them."

"Well, they are my boyfriends. We've been together less than a week, so I wouldn't call that seriously committed just yet. Someday maybe, though."

"So, you'll choose one of them eventually, then?"

"No."

My mom was silent for a while.

Then, Dad said, "So, tell us more about them."

"OK. Jade is the guy who goes to another school. He's amazing at gardening, and his parents have an electric car they built from an old Saab. He's really kind and has green hair."

"Green hair!?" Mom screeched.

"There's nothing wrong with that. It shows the kid has a sense of individuality," Dad said.

"You better not have too much fun with these boys," Mom said. She then started to lecture me on all the things I was too young to do, all the things I should only do after getting married, and all the things that I should never, ever do under any circumstances.

"Did you ever do any of those things, Mom?"

"That's not the point. The point is that you are going through a phase, and I don't want to see you get hurt in the process."

"Mom, how is this a phase?"

"You'll grow out of it and eventually settle down to marry one man, have kids, and raise a normal family."

"What if I don't want to do all that?"

"We'll send you to therapy to help put your life back on track, but hopefully it won't come to that."

"Mom, this is ridiculous! I've got two great boyfriends. You should be happy for me, not trying to fix me."

"She has a point," Dad interjected. "There's probably a good reason she's dating both guys. We've only heard about why she likes one of them, so let's hear her out on the other."

"Thanks, Dad. Anyway, Lysander is the one at my school and he's really smart. He has a passion for history, especially the Victorian era. He also has heterochromatic eyes and a cute smile."

"That's great, sweetie," Dad said.

"Honey, I think we need to talk about this more. I don't think it's appropriate for our daughter to be doing this kind of thing. People will get the wrong impression of her and think that she's loose. Then she'll never find a respectable husband. Listen, young lady: this discussion isn't over. I want you to think carefully about the consequences of your actions. We'll talk more tomorrow."

With that, my mom hung up the phone. It was the first time in… ever she had not told me that she loved me before saying goodbye. I got the feeling that I was walking on very thin ice with her. She was so supportive when it came to my studies and achievements with the gardening club, but not this. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut.

Author's Note: That's it for this story, but never fear! The adventure continues in We Look So Good With Our Boyfriends! Just visit my page and you'll find it there.