Spark Into a Flame

Pippa

Clarita and I had gotten to a pretty good point in the years we'd known each other. We mostly saw eye to eye on raising Joey but she could also be a bit intense. That was changing now that she was accusing my son of statutory rape.

As the non-biological parent maybe I wasn't so thrown that Joey was no longer a virgin. They both wanted Joey to still be their little girl. I didn't have a daughter so I didn't know how different it was to know my child was sexually active.

What I did know was that Elliott and Joey loved each other. They had both consented to this. They'd started having sex before Elliott turned eighteen and was considered an adult. To insinuate that somehow changed it to rape was beyond me. Elliott was a great young man and I felt myself going into Mama Bear mode.

I told Lin that night I was not going to stand by and let Clarita say Elliott was committing statutory rape. He begged me not to call her but I wasn't going to let it fly. I stepped out onto the porch of our apartment and pulled up her number.

"Pippa!" she greeted me happily.

"Hi," I said shortly. "I'm calling because Lin mentioned you were threatening to charge my son for statutory rape," I cut past all the bullshit.

She sighed and was apparently taken aback by my bluntness. "I just don't think it's appropriate for them to be having sex. Your son is in college."

"If he were convicted he'd have to register as a sex offender the rest of his life," I told her, exasperated. "Do you realize that? All for having sex with a consenting female who's two years younger."

"Well I don't think it's appropriate for them to be having sex at all," she replied. "Josephine is only sixteen."

"They've been together over two years now and they're using protection," I told her. "If you try to forbid it they'll find a way."

"It enables them," she said. "And Josephine said she stayed the night at Elliott's dorm room? That is completely inappropriate. How could you let her do that?"

"We didn't," I told her tersely. "She lied and said she was at a friend's house. Lin grounded her for it. Clarita, I need you to drop this nonsense about charging Elliott with statutory rape. It's just going to cause unneeded drama."

"I will not," she told me. "Is Lin there?"

I hung up on her and stormed back to the bedroom. Lin was sitting up in bed reading and his face was in a grimace when he saw me come in.

"Call your ex," I told him, tossing my bed on the phone. "I'm done."

I went to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush. After putting on some toothpaste and wetting my brush I began to push it around in my mouth harshly. I heard Lin answering his phone and knew it must be Clarita.

"Clar, I think she's right," I heard him say. "The important thing is for them to be safe. Abstinence isn't really a reasonable expectation this day in age."

He was quiet as she apparently rambled on. Lin walked by the door and gave me an exasperated look at what she was saying. I grumbled and rolled my eyes as I murdered my teeth.

"He's a good kid," I heard Lin say. "You don't need to threaten him with this. It isn't right."

More silence.

"I'm not going to forbid them from dating," he said. "Joey's grounded for a month so maybe that'll give them time to cool down. I told her maybe they should take a break and try to date someone in high school."

"Clar-"

"Fine. Bye."

Lin tossed the phone on our bed as I began to rinse out my mouth. He stood in the door frame, hands on either sad as he let out a big breath through his mouth.