Ecie & Esme II: Another Day Like This

Three

'So girls,' Sofie said after gathering Esme and Ecie in the living room. 'I think it's time that we talked about something.'

Ecie looked at her sister. 'What is she talking about this time?'

Esme shrugged.

'Sex.'

'Oh mom,' Esme and Ecie said. 'No.'

'You girls are of the age where you want to experiment and so forth,' Sofie said. 'I know I might be a bit late, but I think this talk is still very important.'

'Mom we know how things work,' Ecie said. 'The guy gets hard and then he slips it in and there's lots of movement before he goes limp again. He comes out and then you either do it again or you don't.'

'I don't like where this conversation is going,' Esme muttered.

'I think there's a lot more to it than that, although you do pretty much have the whole thing down,' Sofie said. 'What I wanted to talk to you girls about was relationships and being in a loving one.'

'Mom, we're old enough to know...'

'I remember when I was your age and I thought I knew it all,' Sofie said. 'I thought that I knew everything about everything and that I was so grown up.'

'We're seventeen, mom,' Ecie said. 'I think we know quite a bit already.'

'That may be true,' Sofie nodded. 'But I still want you girls to know something. Just because he tells you he loves you, and he tells you that you make the stars shine, or whatever; it doesn't mean that you need to have sex with him. You shouldn't ever feel pressured into doing anything you don't want to. You need to make sure that you're ready, so that when you do decide to do anything with a guy, you know you'll be able to handle it.'

'Come on mom,' Esme said. 'We're not totally naïve. We won't just sleep with some guy because he tells us all those things.'

'Maybe not, but you might find yourself in a relationship like that someday,' Sofie replied. 'You may also find yourselves pregnant with nowhere to turn.'

'Now I know we don't need to have this talk,' Ecie said. 'It's not as though we do it unprotected.'

'Well I should hope not,' Sofie said. 'I want you girls to understand the different types of contraception,' Sofie got up and opened up a small cupboard and took out some pamphlets and information packs. 'I got these from the clinic and thought that you girls should give them a read. They go into detail about everything; from kissing to condoms.' Sofie gave the things to Esme and Ecie. 'I want you girls to know that you can always come to me about anything. I'm always here and believe it or not, I've been through what you're going through now.'

'Thanks mom,' Esme said flicking through the packs.

Sofie smiled happily. 'I also thought that since we're on the topic that perhaps you might like you share your first experience...'

'Okay, stop right there mom,' Esme said. 'I don't feel like talking about how or when I lost my virginity. I'd rather it stayed where it was.'

'Me neither,' Ecie agreed. 'That would be really disastrous.'

'Well then I hope you girls won't mind me telling you about my experience,' Sofie said making herself comfortable. 'Where to begin?'

'How about you keep it to yourself?' Esme suggested. 'I don't want to hear about it.'

Sofie laughed shaking her head. 'I was eighteen years old when I first did it,' she smiled fondly. 'I thought that I'd never have sex and that I'd stay a virgin for the rest of my life. I thought I was so ugly because I hadn't had a boyfriend and all of my friends had and had done loads of stuff with guys.'

Esme and Ecie sat and listened.

'Anyway. I remember lying to my friends about it and telling them that I'd had sex too. I thought that if they knew the truth, they would think I was pathetic or something. I wasn't embarrassed about being a virgin but I just felt like I was the only one. Everyone I knew had already done it,' Sofie said. 'I can remember writing all these stories about how young girls would fall in love and have sex with these guys and I was just so jealous of my characters,' Sofie laughed rubbing her eye. 'Then I met David Baker. We were together for about two years and the relationship just worked. I think I was in love with him, but you can never be sure about those things. The night we first did it together, I was so nervous. I thought that something terrible would happen and I was so embarrassed about showing another person my body.' Sofie sighed and smoothed her hair against her head. 'It was perfect. I don't know what I imagined, but I think I was glad about everything, because I knew that when I had kids I'd be able to tell them all about it. As cliché as it sounds, I couldn't wait to share it with you.'

'Did your friends ever find out?' Ecie asked.

'I don't think it mattered after it'd happened,' Sofie replied. 'I don't think they even cared about it.'

'So what happened to David? Why did you guys break up?'

'We'd grown so old together,' Sofie sighed. 'Things end in order for new things to start. I met your father a couple months later and the rest was history.'

'So you've only really been with two guys,' Esme said. 'I think that's wonderful.'

Sofie laughed. 'Oh girls, you should never be embarrassed or ashamed. You should just accept the way that some things are.'

'Are you ever lonely?' Ecie asked.

'Yeah,' Sofie nodded. 'But what can I do? I've got two beautiful children, a job that I love and the chance to know the most amazing people in the world. I am so lucky to have everything.'

'But don't you miss kissing someone?'

'I do,' Sofie nodded. 'That leads me on to something else I want to tell you.'

'You and dad are getting back together?' Esme joked.

'Not quite,' Sofie replied. 'I've been dating for a little while now and over the summer I met someone. We've been seeing quite a lot of each other and I think it might be getting quite serious.'

'This means you can bring your total to three,' Ecie laughed. 'Lucky you indeed.'

'I suppose so,' Sofie chuckled. 'His name is Eric and he's a chef.'

'Does he mind that you've got two beautiful children?' Esme said.

'Not at all,' Sofie smiled. 'In fact, he's dying to meet you both.'

Esme and Ecie looked at each other then back at their mother. 'Really? Why?'

Sofie laughed. 'I told him that I had to talk to you girls first.'

'Do you think he'll ever become our stepdad?' Esme asked.

'You know how I feel about marriage,' Sofie replied. 'So I really shouldn't think so.'

'Do you think we'll have anymore half siblings?' Ecie asked.

'Not with my calendar,' Sofie laughed standing up. 'Especially now that Jonathon has gone on "holiday" for ninety days.'