Becoming a Woman

Anyway I stood in front of the bath room mirror toweling my body which by now, age 24, was developing nicely. I dressed in low rise jeans, paisley V neck tunic and my favorite brown open toe pumps, the ones with the wide heal.

My sister Kassey had by now moved out and into an apartment with her girlfriend. We kept in constant touch. I decided to call her.

"Hello," she replied on the second ring.

"Hi Kass," I said.

"Stephie hi, " she greeted, "what's going on?"

"I'm going out on a date tonight."

"Cool," she replied in a cheerful tone, "good luck."

"I hope so, thanks," I replied.

My mother was sitting in the living room on the chair beside the sofa listening to her favorite Cole Porter music. She had played Anything Goes soundtrack a thousand times.

"How did you meet this boy?"

"On line in a chat room, " I answered.

My mother's curiosity was aroused.

"Be careful. There's a lot of people out there that will say anything."

"He's bi sexual," I countered.

" What do you two talk about?"

"Mostly small talk," I replied.

"like what?" mom wanted to know.

"Everything from television to going fishing," I answered, "as a boy he used to fish with his uncle and his cousin."

"Did he say what he does for a living?"

"He said he works in the ship yard at New Port News. He lives in Norfolk."

"Honey, he's a long way away."

"Mom it's not that far. Some of the people in the chats are from California."

"What does he do there?"

"welder"" I said.

"Stephanie were I you I would go over the same ground more than once. He should answer the same way."

I knew where my mother was going with this. If he's lying to me it would be a different lie the next time. They can never remember the original lie. Is he really 25? Does he like to fish? For that matter does he work at welding battleships?