by Joy Redmond
Tori looked up at him and whispered, “King and queen.”
Wes gently kissed her lips, and said, “You’ll always be my queen.”
A few minutes later, other students joined them on the dance floor. It was the last dance of the night and a bit melancholy, because it also marked the end of the idyllic life they’d all shared for the last four years. “The class of ‘75 has their dreams,” Tori whispered to Wes. “And I hope they all come true.”
Following the dance, according to Dixon High tradition, the seniors gathered by the Ohio River, built a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and wieners, and whooped it up until the sun rose the next day.
The four of them piled into the Tempest and headed to Maple Street. Wes pulled to the curb in front of the Hicks and Moss homes. Tori and Jill jumped out. Wes and Billy drove away, promising to be back in thirty minutes.
As Jill hurried toward her house, Tori ran through her front door, yelling, “Wes and I are prom king and queen,” as she headed for the staircase.
“Hold on!” Momma said, hurrying from the kitchen into the living room. “I want a picture.”
Dutifully, Tori stood at the bottom of the stairs, posing for a couple pictures with her fingertips balancing her gold crown. Then she kissed her parents and raced upstairs, hiking up her dress and taking the steps two at a time.
“Always a lady,” Momma called out as Tori bounded the steps. Tori glanced over her shoulder and saw her mother look at her father, shake her head, and say, “Where did we go wrong?”
Tori changed into shorts, a halter-top, and sandals, then ran back downstairs, headed for the front door, “Remember, I’ll be out all night. The party doesn’t end until sunup.”
“We know,” Momma said. “Have fun!”
The Tempest pulled into the driveway and Tori and Jill hopped in. Not much was said as Wes turned the car toward Trent, a small town thirty miles from Madison.
When they arrived, Tori’s palms were sweating as she and Jill waited in the car while Wes and Billy rented two motel rooms.
“Are we really going to do this?” Jill asked, looking concerned.
“I reckon so,” Tori replied, a little uncomfortable herself. “We’re here and they’re renting the rooms. What happens when we get into those rooms – well, we’ll just have to see.”
Jill nodded, and then asked, “Whose idea was this anyway?”
Tori replied, “Wes said he didn’t want to go to the river. He wanted us to have some private time, so I said, okay.”
Jill nodded again, then softly added, “Do you realize this will be the first solo date I’ve ever had Billy? We’ve double dated with you and Wes for the last four years, so I guess maybe it is time that you and I had private time with our future husbands.”
“You know, I never thought about that,” Tori said. “We have always double dated. Even so, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this. Maybe I won’t be able to think of anything to talk about without you and Billy there.”
Jill gave Tori a sly smile. “Well, I think you’ll figure it out, girl. Here they come with the keys.”
* * * *
By five o’clock the next morning, they were ready to head back to Madison. Tori was hoping to make it back home before her parents got up.
Wes pulled into the driveway. Tori jumped out of the car and called over her shoulder, “See you later.”
“See you,” Wes answered.
Jill headed for her house. “I’ll be over after I take a nap.”
The sun was shining through the trees and birds were chirping their sweet music as they welcomed a new day. Tori hurried up the steps, quietly opened the front door, stepped inside, and listened. Not a sound. So far, so good.
She tiptoed across the living room, crept upstairs, making sure she missed the second step, entered her bedroom, shut the door, and quickly undressed.
She slipped under the sheet and closed her eyes as visions of the previous night danced in her head. Sex sure wasn’t what she had expected – although exactly what she expected, she wasn’t sure, just not something so...awkward. Was it even really sex? “Wes didn’t get it all the way in, I don’t think. It didn’t feel like it. He just got close,” she whispered to herself. “It was over almost before it started.”
All the romance stories she’d read and all the romantic movies she’d ever seen showed the sex act as something wonderful. It sure wasn’t, as far as she was concerned, and she couldn’t figure out what all the excitement was about.
She rolled over on her left side and tucked a pillow under her arms. The pillow reminded her of Wes’ soft, smooth body. She did enjoy the hugging and kissing and the feel of his caress, but the guilt was eating at her. She yawned and mumbled, “I’ll worry about it later,” before she fell into a deep sleep.
The next thing she knew it was one o’clock in the afternoon and the ringing phone startled her. “Jill,” she mumbled, swinging her legs off the bed and stretching her arms over her head. “She can’t give a body time to catch up on their beauty sleep.” Tori headed down the hall to her parents’ bedroom, crawled across the bed and grabbed the phone on the nightstand. “Hello Jill,” she said, wiping sleep from her eyes.
“Hello, sweet. How was prom night?”
Oh, holy crap, it was Grammy!
Tori felt her face turn red and for a moment it was hard to find her voice, but she finally managed to say, “Oh, it was wonderful. Wes and I were voted prom king and queen and Jill and Billy crowned us. Momma took lots of pictures, so you’ll get to see me all dressed up, and wearing my crown–”
Grammy interrupted. “That isn’t what I called about. What did you do after the prom?”
Was Grammy suspicious or was Tori’s guilt making her paranoid?
She could barely swallow as she said as nonchalantly as she could, “We partied.” She twirled the phone cord until it was in knots as she wondered if Grammy’s spirit guides had told her something. Holy cannelloni!
“That’s nice. I’m glad you had a good time. When are you coming out to see me, sweet?” Grammy asked as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“I’ll be out as soon as I can. I’ve got finals coming up so I have to do a lot of studying, but after graduation, Jill and I will come out for a few days.” She prayed Grammy wouldn’t ask anything else.
Grammy replied sweetly, “I wondered if you two would still be coming out, now that you’re all grown up. I’m glad you’re coming. I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah, see you soon. I’ve got to go – got to pee. Bye.” Tori dropped the phone, wiped sweat from her brow, crawled off the bed, and looked around her parents’ bedroom. It was the first time she’d ever been in their bedroom alone. She could hear Momma’s voice in her head, warning, “Tori Ann, don’t you go in mine and Daddy’s bedroom.”
But she was in their room so why not have a look around? She checked under the bed to see if her dad had girly magazines. Nope. Nothing but dust bunnies. She checked her mother’s drawers to see if she had any sexy lingerie. Nope. Nothing but old-fashioned underwear – things like a person of Grammy’s age would wear.
She opened the bedside table drawer and started laughing when she found three packages of condoms. This was what she wasn’t supposed to find? Big deal!
She went back to her bedroom and dressed, and then hurried downstairs and raided the refrigerator. As she ate, she wondered if Jill had made love with Billy the night before. If so, she wondered if she had liked it. Maybe she’d muster the nerve to ask Jill – or maybe not.
Tori spread butter and some of Grammy’s homemade jam on a piece of bread. She thought she might scramble some eggs after she ate the sandwich – or not. She hated to cook. As she bit into the sandwich, jam oozed out the bottom and fell onto her chin. She grabbed a napkin just as Jill walked through the side door.
“Afternoon,” Jill said as if it were just another day and the previous night was just another date. “Save some for me, I’m starving,” she said, grabbing a piec
e of bread and smearing it with butter and jam.
Tori wiped her chin. “Help yourself, greedy gut!”
As they ate, neither of them spoke about their time alone with their men in the motel rooms. Instead, they talked about having to study for finals and how strange it would feel when they left Dixon High.
For the next week, Tori poured over her books and she saw little of Wes. Each time she did see him in the hallway, her face turned red and it was hard to look him in the eye. He didn’t have much to say either and she wondered if they had ruined their relationship.
Graduation night wasn’t as hectic as prom night had been. Tori didn’t have to worry about a fancy hairdo, since a cap covered her hair, or a fancy dress, since her gown covered her dress. All the girls wore white pumps.
The commencement was simple. The principal gave the same speech he’d been giving for the past thirty years, recognized some students for outstanding achievements, and then introduced the valedictorian – Tommy Hill. Tori sat through his boring speech, wishing he’d stop stammering and just get it over. “Ferret Face,” she mumbled under her breath, which caused a few students to snicker.
Then they all walked across the stage when their name was called, received their diplomas, and that was it. The only thing exciting about graduation night was the announcement that Wes and Billy had received football scholarships to the University of Kentucky.
After the ceremony, Tori pushed her way through the crowd, found her parents and grandparents, and hugged them as they offered congratulations.
After her parents finished taking pictures, Tori unzipped her gown, stepped out of it, and handed it to her mother. “I’ve got to turn this in tomorrow. Will you keep up with it for me, please?”
“Of course, honey. I don’t want to have to pay for it, you know.”
Grammy pulled Tori aside. “I’ve got your bedroom all cleaned up. Are you going home with me tonight?”
“I can’t come tonight, Grammy. We’re going out for a fancy dinner at the Executive Inn. Wes said we’re going to eat lobster. I’ve never eaten lobster before.” She kissed Grammy’s cheek. “I’ll be out in a few days. I’ve got to find Wes.”
Tori pushed her way through the crowd. Where were the other musketeers? Then she saw Wes standing by the front door. She hurried to his side, grabbed his hand, and whispered, “Get Jill and Billy and let’s get the hell out of Dodge!”
As Wes went to look for Jill and Billy, Tori leaned against the cinder block wall, shut her eyes, and could have sworn she saw a neon sign flashing the word, slut…slut…slut… She also heard flashes of the speech Momma and Grammy had given her many times. “A good girl saves herself for marriage.”
Maybe I should have embroidered a scarlet letter on my graduation gown! Then she bristled. What was the big deal about saving yourself for your wedding night? “Grammy and Momma need to join the twentieth century!” she mumbled.
Tori was relieved when she saw Wes walking toward her. He motioned behind him with his thumb. “Jill and Billy are waiting in the car. Are you ready? I’m starved.”
They hurried toward the car and as they climbed inside, Tori said, “I’m glad that’s over.” Everyone heartily agreed as they shed their hot gowns and placed them in the seats. Tori and Jill combed their hair, reapplied makeup, and cracked jokes about Tommy Hill, as Wes drove to the Executive Inn.
Wes and Tori walked into the restaurant holding hands. The place was beautiful. None of them had ever eaten at a fancy restaurant and they felt like hotshots. Wes ordered a bottle of cheap wine and they felt all grownup when the waiter didn’t asked for identification.
They split one bottle, each having just a little over one glass. Tori felt a slight buzz, but she was fine by the time she finished off the lobster dinner. After eating, Wes drove the girls home and dropped them off.
Tori was exhausted, so she hugged Jill, told her to call in the morning, and hurried inside the house. Her parents were in the kitchen eating apple pie. Tori was stuffed, but the pie smelled so good and the vanilla ice cream sitting on top of Ed’s piece looked so tempting that she sat down and had a piece of pie with them.
The older she got, the more she realized what wonderful parents she had and she wanted to make them proud of her. She felt a lump in her throat. Why was she getting so emotional? It was out of character for her.
Tori helped her mother stack the plates in the sink, and then kissed her parents goodnight and headed for her bedroom. She felt as if she could sleep for at least two days.
The ringing phone woke Tori up the next morning. She pulled the covers over her head, hoping her mother would answer it, but the phone kept ringing. “Jill!” she said, throwing back the covers. “Why can’t you let me sleep late just once? Hold your horses!”
She went downstairs, sluggishly made her way across the kitchen and answered. “Yeah, Jill, what do you want?”
“Tori, I need you to come see me as soon as you can,” Grammy said in a grave voice.
Chillbumps rose on Tori’s arms. “What’s wrong, Grammy? Is it your heart? Do you want me to call a doctor?” she asked, sure Grammy was dying on the spot.
“No, I don’t need a doctor. I just need you to come – soon!”
“Okay Grammy. I’m on my way.” Tori dropped the receiver, rushed upstairs, praying with each step, “Oh, God, please let Grammy be okay. I can’t live without her. Please don’t take her from me.”
A few minutes later, Tori grabbed Momma’s car keys from the pegboard by the back door, thankful that her mother had gone shopping with Rose Moss.
She jumped into the car, her hands trembling so badly it was hard to stick the key into the ignition. She jammed the car into reverse and shot out of the driveway.
Tori drove as fast as she dared around curves and up and down hills. She pulled into the long driveway and was relieved to see Grammy sitting on the porch swing, as she neared the house. She parked at the top of the circular driveway, leaped from the car like a pilot ejecting from a downing plane, and ran to Grammy.
“What’s wrong, Grammy?” she asked, as she sat beside her grandmother and took her gnarled hand.
Grammy patted Tori’s hand. “Sweet, I had a vision this morning while I was looking out the kitchen window staring at the Morgan graveyard. I get lots of visions in that spot.” Her voice was as grave as her eyes.
“Is something bad going happen to you, Poppy, Momma, Daddy, Wes or Jill?” Tori asked breathlessly.
Grammy turned her eyes toward Tori – eyes that held a glazed look as if she were in a trance. She gently placed her hand on Tori’s abdomen and lingered for a few seconds. “Yes, the vision was clear and the vibes are strong. There’s a life growing inside you. You conceived about two weeks ago,” she said in a monotone voice, as if she were watching a movie unfold before her eyes.
Tori leaped from the swing, stood in front of Grammy, her face red with embarrassment and rage, and yelled, “Is nothing sacred with you? It’s none of your business what–” She realized she was yelling, something she’d never done with Grammy. But Grammy had gone too far with her gift of sight this time. “Damn your visions!”
Grammy said nothing. She just sat in silence, looking at Tori with a patient expression, as if waiting for Tori to yell herself out.
In spite of herself, tears began to stream down Tori’s face. “Grammy, I’m sure you’re wrong. We didn’t go all the way – I mean we did, sort of, but we didn’t–”
“Well, apparently you went far enough,” Grammy flatly stated.
Tori hung her head, unable to speak for a long moment, until she managed to mumble, “Okay, Grammy. You may think you know what we did, but it didn’t happen – not really.” She paused, wondering how she could explain something so personal to her grandmother, of all people. “Wes and I were on our sides, facing each other – naked.” She swallowed hard. “We were hugging and kissing.”
Grammy still said nothing, so Tori continued. “It was there, but it wasn’t in there.
He ejaculated between my legs – on my thighs. There was no penetration.” Tori felt her face burning as if it were stovepipe-red. “See, there’s no way I can be pregnant.”
Grammy looked into Tori’s eyes and calmly said, “I saw a vision of a baby growing inside you and I felt the vibes when I touched your stomach.” She paused as if she were giving Tori’s brain time to comprehend, and then she asked, “Have you missed a period?” raising her eyebrows.
Tori creased her brow. “Er, I always mark my calendar so I’ll know when I’m due,” she said. Then she remembered she was due to start the day after the prom. “Oh, Lord,” she wailed. “I’m two weeks late!” Goosebumps rose on her arms.
Grammy raised her right eyebrow, the sign she used when she wanted Tori to listen to herself and figure something out.
“Oh, crap on a cracker! I’ve never been late a day since I started my period almost five years ago.” She was sure she felt her heart skip a beat, but she managed to finish her statement. “I don’t understand. I didn’t really do it. I’m still a virgin,” she said, dropping her head onto Grammy’s shoulder.
Grammy patted Tori’s face gently and said, “Let me try to explain, sweet. You see, Wes ejaculated close enough to the target. Sperm are fast swimmers and one of them made its way through the opening and swam all the way to home plate. It’s not the first time such a thing has happened, but it’s rare. I’ve known a few women who thought they were safe because there was no penetration.”
Tori raised her head from Grammy’s shoulder, looked into her eyes, and said, “Well, why didn’t you explain that to me the day we had the birds and bees talk. You explained everything else!” She huffed-up as if it were Grammy’s fault that she was pregnant.
“Don’t raise your voice to me,” Grammy said, and gave Tori a stern look. “I didn’t figure I needed to explain that much to you. You were only twelve, and I wasn’t sure how much you’d understand. One thing I can tell you though – don’t doubt my vision!”