Heart Condition

Chapter Twenty-Six: Tripping

Mom knocked on my bedroom door, beating my alarm by two minutes. I sat up and looked around; the foggy San Francisco air made it impossible to get out of bed. I collapsed back under the covers, grumbling in discomfort.

            “Come on, Abbie.” She nudged me, “You have to finish packing.”

            I looked up at her, confused “Packing?”

            Mom nodded, “Sasha made me promise not to tell until I had to; he wants you ready to go by noon today. But don’t tell Joy and the others; Sasha wants to keep it a secret.”

            Pushing me out of bed, I opened my closet before turning to her.

            “Today? I thought we weren’t leaving until tomorrow after school.” I told her, and she walked over, grabbing my heavy coat out from the closet.

            She smiled, “He talked to me on the porch the other night. After he snuck out your bedroom window.”

            “Mom, I…”

            “We had this talk, Abbie.” She interjected, raising her hand “I don’t need to know; as long as you promise me that you two will protect yourselves on this trip, I have no reason to ask questions.”

            I smiled, “Well, something almost happened, but…”

            “Oh.” She sat down on my bed, looking up, “Did you, um, did you have…?”

            “We made a deal.” I sighed, leaning against my closet, “We made a deal that we wouldn’t have sex until we were both…comfortable. Which is such a Sasha thing to do, because no normal boy would do something like that.”

            “Was this part of that ‘privacy’ thing?” She folded up my shirts, laid them out and counted them in her head.

            “Yeah.” I told her, trying to figure out what to wear, “We talked about it, and we think we’re better off not pushing anything until we know. But can you? Know, I mean?”

            Mom stopped, and I could feel her thinking this over. I could feel her trying to figure out what to tell me, because I was growing up, and the fact that I’d never been this close to a boy before changed everything.

            “If, if you don’t mind my asking,” She sat beside me, eyes unwavering “What happened the other night? You said it ‘almost’ happened, so I’m assuming you ended it; why?”

            I tried to smile, to make it make sense, but I just touched my heart with the tip of my finger. She gasped, and her hand rested against her chest.

            She was sympathetic; her voice wavered, “Oh, Abbie. Are you okay? Was it hurting? Do you need me to schedule you another appointment?”

            “No, I’m okay.”

            Mom squeezed my shoulder, and pulled me in tight “Oh, baby. I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

            I smiled, “Is this why you’re letting me skip school?”

            The rumble of her laugh made me grateful, “Oh, probably. Or because I know I did far worse in high school than you have at this point. Now, go get in the shower; I’ll go through and see if I can find something for you to wear.”

            “Mo-om.” I pretended to whine, “I can pick out my own clothes.”

            She nudged me, “Shower. Now, please.” As I walked out, she called, “And I saw something nice when I was in town the other day; I’ll pack it for you, just in case.”