The Fling

50

I slammed my phone down on the coffee table with such force that I had to pick it back up to make sure I hadn't broken it.

"That did not go well," Shawn grimaced.

"Why is he such a dick sometimes?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Tell me what he said since I only heard your end of the conversation."

On Halloween night, after Bert tucked the kids in bed, I told him I wanted to talk to him about Lizzie. He brushed me off, claiming that Reagan was already mad that he'd been gone all night, so he had to get home. I texted him the next day and asked that he call me at his convenience. He got back to me on Friday, right as my boyfriend arrived to go on a hike.

"You heard me tell him that Lizzie wants to go on the pill and that it's for medical reasons. That's a half-truth, but if I told him off the bat that she's possibly becoming sexually active, he would have hung up on me," I started.

Shawn took a sip of the coffee he'd brought over. "I think that white lie was justified to open the discussion."

"He immediately said no. Even when I explained that her periods are terrible, he said that wasn't enough of a reason to go on birth control."

"So you decided to go all in and mention sex. I heard your voice get a little shaky at that point."

Sighing, I said, "Yes. If he wasn't going to allow it for a sensible reason, I figured I had nothing to lose." I hadn't told Bert that Lizzie was in the early stages of a relationship with a guy at her school, but I did tell him that as a seventeen year old, it was possible that she might have sex in the near future and that it was better to be protected from pregnancy.

"I could hear his raised voice once you brought up sex. My parents were never like that, so it's so weird to me. Why do some people think they're supposed to be protectors of their kids' virginity?"

"You mean their daughters. The double standard on this topic is real. I guarantee that if Bertie comes to him at seventeen and says he's going to have sex, Bert will run out and buy condoms."

Shawn nodded. "Which is what he should do, but Lizzie and Hannah deserve the same response."

"Have I told you yet today that I love you?" I asked as I smiled at the enlightened man sitting next to me on the couch.

"Nope."

"Well I do."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "And I love you, honey. Back to Bert...what did he say?"

"He went off on a rant about how being on the pill would make her promiscuous. You heard me say that was bullshit, but he refused to listen to reason. That's when I told him that she doesn't technically need his permission, and he went ballistic and said-" I couldn't finish the sentence because I started crying.

Shawn's expression turned angry. "What did that fucker say to you, Abigail?"

"He said that none of this was my business since I'm not really her mom."

"Every time I think I have a feel for how low he is, he manages to sink lower. He's wrong, honey. You're her mom."

"I know, but it hurts for him to say that when I have loved her since she came into my life," I sobbed. He pulled me into his strong arms and stroked my back as I cried, saying nothing but letting me get it all out. When I was done, he got up and brought me tissues and a glass of water. "Thank you," I told him before blowing my nose. "Are you going to be upset if we skip the hike? I don't want to go anywhere."

"Do you need to write today?"

"I was up at five so I got a solid three hours in already."

He pulled me to my feet. "Let's go upstairs and take a long nap." Holding up a finger he added, "And I mean an actual nap."