Where You Hang Your Hat: Part XII
Milestones.
The older Kim got, the faster they seemed to arrive. She remembered some of the others in her life. Waiting to turn twelve so she would not need a babysitter of her own any more. Waiting to turn thirteen so she could be called a teenager. Waiting to turn fifteen so she would be allowed to date boys (though in hindsight there really wasn't that much difference between that and what she had already done for year with Ron) Sixteen, of course, was one of the big ones, though it paled in comparison to eighteen. The countdown to that particular age seemed one of the slowest in her life.
A day short of turning twenty-one, the age where she would be an adult in everyone's eyes, Kim started wondering if it was a mistake for a young person to rush toward all those particular milestones, without enjoying that time of their life.
Really, when she sat down and thought about it, not much was going to change in twenty-four hours. She sat on her stool at the breakfast counter, munching contentedly on a bowl of cereal. The wine rack was visible across the kitchen, sitting on the counter right beside the fridge. Two other bottles had joined the one the Katzs brought them, one from each set of parents. The fact that, as of midnight she could legally go into the wine shop or grocery store and buy those bottles herself really wasn't that important to her. It was entirely likely that, with the exception of ordering a glass for herself when they ate out for her birthday, she really had no plans for opening any of it. Ron was much the same as her, being much more likely to order a Coke than a beer a week later when he caught up to her.
He was a little funny about his birthday. Once Kim caught on that he was calling himself a Virgo, though his birthday was August fifth. She explained to him that he was actually a Leo, since Virgo's birthdays started at the end of the month. He looked absolutely dumbfounded, having thought for most of his life the astrological signs matched up with the months. For about a day he went around like his fundamental view of the world had changed. Then he just simply reverted to normal. For one thing, if his birthday had actually fallen after August 23rd, the would have been on the cusp of being a whole year behind Kim in school, and that would not have boded well for the two of them.
Kim was just a little tweaked that, at some point, over the course of her birthday, Ron was going to say something about being with an older woman. She was exactly one week older than him, which didn't amount to much in the grand scheme of things. Then he would start going on that it was destiny that two people who could have easily been born on the same day would become so inextricably entwined in each other. That did create an interesting, but utterly unprovable theory of Kim's, that they might not have been born on the same day, but had been conceived at the same moment. That would certainly explain a few things.
The apartment felt very empty to her that morning. Ron had to meet with his major advisor that morning to chart the course of his final year of college. Kim laughed silently, thinking how easy he had it at this point. Come Monday, she was going to have to make a presentation to not only her advisor, but a review board for her Senior Project. All that work was finished, stored on her computer until she was ready to transfer it to her laptop for her presentation. Her confidence level was quite high. Over the course of the first three years she had developed a good rapport with her counselor and she had already been given the go ahead for the direction her coursework would take. She was not only looking to complete her last year of undergraduates studies, but on the road to a doctorate, and very likely even a PHD. It was going to be so spankin to be called "Doctor" just like her parents. Actually, she was going to be the first Stoppable to have that title.
She picked at her bowl. All her life she had practically lived on cold cereal, being the only breakfast she could easily fix herself. Large breakfasts only came on days when her mother was either off from the Medical Center or had to go in later. Then, once Ron started living with her, he would often beat her to the kitchen, actually cooking her something, spoiling her forever. Even something simple like scrambled eggs and toast was great when he fixed it.
None of that was forthcoming that morning. Ron was up at the crack of dawn getting ready. She looked up at him sleepily, admiring how nice he looked all dressed up. For a moment she thought she would actually have to get up and help him with his tie; he never could do it properly himself, but Rufus appeared and did it for him, giving her the golden opportunity of staying in bed.
Of course, that wasn't normally her style, but they had been up way past midnight, starting out watching a late movie on cable and then moving their post-show activities from the couch to their bedroom. How Ron was able to not only function but look bright and chipper that morning, she had no idea. The bed was too soft and comfortable for her to get out of it, so she simply accepted a very nice (and toothpaste fresh) kiss from him, snuggled up with one of his pillows and fell back into a deep sleep in the ocean of comfort that was their new queen sized bed. After that, she didn't know how they ever were able to be comfortable together in her smaller full sized bed.
She noted a small, pink shape climbing up onto the counter. At nearly nine years old, they at first thought Rufus would be getting along in years and for a while he did seem to be slowing down, but the vet they took him to explained that naked mole rats were known to live far longer than most other rodents, and he was literally just reaching his prime. It turned out his slowdown was the result of getting way too fat for his kind.
That certainly didn't make him happy. Rufus was well known for his 'Seafood diet,' or more accurately, a 'See-food diet.' He'd eat anything put in front of him and come begging for more, pantomiming starvation. Forcing him to eat measured quantities of a specifically formulated diet was one of the toughest things they ever did. Coupled with the fact he didn't get to sleep with them all that much (he did respect their privacy when things turned romantic) he spent a lot of time being somewhat grumpy.
"Hungry, Rufus?" She scratched the back of his neck, causing him to purr in a very good impression of a housecat.
"Uh huh" he squeaked quite clearly. It was funny that, about the time they had begun growing together romantically that she could understand what the little guy was saying. Before it had just been incomprehensible animal squeaks, though he was obviously significantly more intelligent than a creature of his nature had any right to be.
"Don't tell Ron this." She opened the fridge, pulling out a rectangular block wrapped in aluminum foil. She cut about an inch off the bar of cheddar, handing it to Rufus. He beamed, instantly devouring more than half the small block. "Hey, take your time, enjoy it. That's all you're getting until lunch time, and that's going to be Rufus-chow."
He glared at her a moment, holding the block in one paw while sticking out his 'pinky' claw before taking a more modest bite. She nodded and went back to her Captain Crunch, wanting to finish it before it got too soggy. He took one more bite that way before inhaling the rest of it. She scratched his neck again, knowing he couldn't help himself. Given his druthers, he would have done the same with the entire block of cheese, but she'd rather have him healthy and slightly cross than turning into a little pink ball of blubber.
"You know, Rufus, I would have liked some company after Ron left. For that matter, you could have joined us when we went to sleep. You're more than welcome to sleep with us."
He rolled his little black eyes, muttering something that sounded like "Pfffft, mush!"
She smiled warmly. Wherever he disappeared to while she was with Ron apparently he wasn't able to tell when they were done, or at least he was probably asleep by then. She wished they could find him a girl mole rat for a companion, but in all the years since Ron bought him at Smarty Mart, she hadn't seen another one for sale in any pet section or pet shop. The local zoo had a colony, but they clearly weren't in the business of supplying females to live as pets. Maybe one day they would find themselves in his native lands in Africa and then he'd have a chance to find a mate. Until then, he was pretty much destined to be alone.
There was a soft knock at the door. In itself that was a little strange, unless it was her Dad. After that one visit, he always knocked instead of ringing, though he also called first instead of arriving unannounced.
She hopped off the stool and checked herself. All she was wearing was one of Ron's old jerseys and her underwear. It covered her completely, but while she considered running to the bedroom to slip on a pair of shorts, the visitor knocked again, a little more urgently. Well, if it was her father, then no matter. He had seen her dressed that way many, many times since she started dating Ron, having absconded with one of his shirts for that very reason.
"Coming." She called, hoping it was her father and not a stranger. She lived in fear that one day she'd open the door and a flash would go off, only to see a picture of her in her pajamas splashed across every tabloid in the checkout lane within the week.
Her mouth dropped open, noting her visitor was somewhat shorter than her father. In fact, it was almost like looking in the mirror, with the exception that the newcomer had brown hair and turquoise eyes instead of her flame red and emerald green.
"Joss? What are you doing here? I thought you had a training session at GJ all this week?" Part of the reason her younger cousin had moved to Middleton was to complete her education as an agent of the international law enforcement organization, gobbling up the greater portion of the summer before her Senior year in high school.
"Good morning to you too, Kim." She said sourly. "Not going today."
She noticed as the younger woman came in how she was dressed. She was wearing a tight black sports top and olive green cargo shorts turned up at the bottom, showing off her deeply tanned features. Years spent outdoors on her father's ranch had provided the darker skin-tone, though it did tend to darken her freckles as well.
"Is something wrong?" Kim said, taking a seat at the dining room table.
Joss took off her small pack and set it aside. "It's Uncle James. I've had it with him. He's turnin' out ten times worse than Daddy."
Oh boy. Besides her Global Justice training, the real reason Slim Possible had sent her to live with her aunt and uncle was to try and calm her burgeoning rebel spirit. Slim could be as conservative as his younger brother, but being a single parent, he was having a very tough time taming his wild child. Owning a ranch populated by a number of hands in their late teens and early twenties didn't help much either. He caught her with them one time too many and almost blew his top.
"Kim, can I come and stay with you and Ron for a little while? I just don't want to go back there right now."
"Um…Joss, I really don't think that's a good idea. We don't have all that much room."
"Please, Kim. It's just for a little bit. I won't be a bother, and I can help with the upkeep."
"Whoa, just hold on there, Joss. What's this about anyway?"
"It's yer Daddy. He keeps tellin me I've gotta be home by ten. It's like he thinks I'm nothin but a little girl."
She nodded sagely. They were already treading on dangerous ground. By the time Kim was her age the curfew had been lifted, within reason, but that had a whole lot more to do with the level of trust her father had in Ron. "Let me guess, you didn't make it home in time last night?"
"I was ten minutes late. Wasn't like a was doin anything. It's like he doesn't trust me or somethin."
Kim pursed her lips. "Well, honestly, have you given him a reason to?"
Her cousin was clearly angry. "Why should I have to? I'm seventeen. In a few months I'm turnin eighteen. I'm a grown woman. I can up and be on the other side of the planet at a moments notice, but if I so much as try to kiss a boy, he gets all on his high horse about it."
"Sounds familiar. So how is coming to stay here going to change any of that?"
"Cause you know what I'm goin through. You've got Ron. Heck, you've been with him for so long now…I just want the same thing."
She let out a deep breath. "Joss, this may sound ferociously personal, but…is part of the reason you're here because you were with a boy? I mean with him? She added special emphasis to the word 'with,' hoping she was getting her point across.
Joss looked away, unable to meet Kim's eyes. "Yer sayin, am I a virgin? Nope."
Kim sat back in her chair, crossing her arms. "What's that got to do with anything. You've been with Ron since you were sixteen, and they didn't say nothin 'bout that."
"Oh boy, you don't know the half of it. Joss, hard as it may be to believe it, I was clear up until last February, and even then I had been with Ron for almost four years."
"Oh, come on, Kim. You mean to tell me in all that time…"
"Yes, Joss. Is this what all this is about? Were you out on a date aiming to do more than kiss?"
"Well, yeah…kinda."
"Then exactly what is your point in coming here? It's not like I'm going to allow any of that to go on here."
"Why not? You and Ron do."
"Okay, hold on there. I think you're missing the point. You said it yourself that Ron and I have been together a long time now. I love Ron with all my heart, and that's a lot more important than anything we do. Have you ever loved anyone like that?"
"Well…not really."
"And have you taken into consideration I'm over three years older than you?"
"That's not that big a difference. Like I said, I'm a grown woman."
Kim shook her head. "No, you're not. Look, Joss, I love you like a sister, but the fact of the matter is that those three years make a big difference. I'm going to be twenty-one tomorrow, you won't be eighteen until this fall. That means you're still a minor, and Dad is in effect your guardian. I'm afraid the answer is no. If I let you stay here, even just to cool off for a bit, that's going behind Dad's back, and I'm not about to do that."
Joss' hands balled up into fists. "You're just like the rest of them. You just don't want me around cause you think I'd be bringin in some boy to sleep with him, all while yer sleepin with Ron. Yer not that much older than me, so what's the difference?"
"I already told you what the difference is, Joss. When you turn eighteen, you're welcome to go out on your own and do what you please. Believe me, it's not as easy as it seems. For instance, how much do you make?"
"I get a stipend from GJ. It's not much."
Kim nodded, putting her finger on the table. "I've got a pretty good idea what those stipends are like. Ron and I used to be under an independent contract with GJ, and let me tell you, some of those checks were only big enough to pay for a nice dinner, let alone pay for the utilities, the rent, buy groceries. Face it, cousin, you're in for a ferociously tough go of things. Plus, have you thought of how long that stipend might be coming in if you flake on your duties like you're apparently doing today?"
"I can do it. Daddy and Uncle James are always sayin that anythin's possible for a Possible, well, check my name."
Kim sighed deeply. "Joss, I hate to say this, but you've still got a lot to learn. There's a whole lot more to life than just going around with boys. If you had somebody in your life like Ron, it might be different, but you don't. Have you even had a steady boyfriend, like, ever?"
"I've tried, but Daddy always run em off, and your Daddy's doin the same thing. Sounds like that's what you wanna do too."
"Joss, it's because we love you and we know what's best for you, even if you don't."
Joss got up from the table, grabbing her pack as she went. "No you don't. You get to have it all, and I get the leavins. Just forget I even asked. I thought I could depend on you and Ron, but I guess I was wrong." With that she turned and stormed out the door, slamming it as she left.
Kim sat there at the table, drumming her fingernails.
That certainly went well.
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