As Samantha and Francis Twist walked toward the front door of their house, they couldn't help noticing their son Ben holding his girlfriend's hand.
"They really do love each other," observed Francis.
"I know the feeling," replied Samantha, as she affectionately put an arm around her wife.
"Moms? Can Kenya stay for dinner?" asked Ben.
The ladies stopped and turned toward the other couple.
"Are you asking now or did you already invite her?" wondered Samantha.
"Actually, Ben has only asked me if I could stay for dinner if he got your approval on the matter," replied Kenya Adaeze.
"Yeah. There was no point in asking you if she couldn't stay, was there?" wondered Ben.
"No. I guess not," agreed Frances. "But we're only having leftovers."
"In my family, we believe it is not the quality of the food but the quality of the diners that make a meal, and I am certainly in fantastic company here," said Kenya, a comment that even made Samantha smile.
Over dinner, the four of them chatted not as close friends but as family, for Samantha and Frances had come to accept the importance of Kenya not only in Ben's life, but their son's future as well.
Each lady saw something between the two that reminded them of their own relationship.
For Frances, it was how deeply Ben and Kenya loved each other, akin to how she and Samantha fell head over heels in love the moment they first saw each other.
For Samantha, it was Ben and Kenya's commitment to each other no matter what trials and troubles may come their way, something she and Frances had more than their fair share of experience dealing with too.
As they finished their ice cream desserts, Kenya and Ben started discussing having some private time alone before she had to go home for the night.
"Have you finished your homework?" Samantha asked, and was surprised to get a "Yes" from both of them, which made everybody at the table giggle.
Then, considering how good a mood his mothers were in, Ben asked them the question that had been on his mind all afternoon. "Have you signed my permission slip yet?"
"Err... which permission slip?" asked Frances in return, hoping it wasn't the one she knew of.
"The permission slip I need so I can participate in the flag football exhibition game at the high school Thanksgiving Day," Ben reminded her.
His mothers looked at each other.
Then Samantha admitted, "Actually, we're split on that at the moment."
"Oh?" said Ben.
"I don't see anything wrong with it myself," said Samantha. "After all, it's just an exhibition game played for fun under advanced safety rules."
"I have no problem with the basic principle of you wanting to participate in a sport. Just not football," confessed Frances.
"Can I ask why?" wondered Ben.
"Honestly? It's the potential risk of injuries," admitted Frances. "I've heard too many reports of athletes having career ending, even life threatening, accidents."
"But it's flag football," stressed Ben. "The closest I'd come to being tackled is someone ripping the detachable flags off the waist belt I'd be wearing."
"Logically, I know that," confirmed Frances. "Emotionally, I'm still a very concerned mother. If it was just something else like tennis or bowling, I'd sign all the permission slips you need me to. But football?" and with that she shrugged her shoulders.
"I see," replied Ben. "Well, can I just have Samantha sign it and still play?"
"Legally, yes," agreed Samantha, "but morally, we decided a long time ago that we'd both have to be in total agreement when it came to anything concerning you Ben. It wouldn't be right for me to do so when I know how my wife feels on the subject."
Ben was about to respond when he felt Kenya's reassuring hand on his leg underneath the dining room table.
With that, he paused to think things over before speaking again.
"I have until Friday on the permission slip. Would you mind if we talk again about this in hope that I can change your position?"
"Mind? No, but I can't guarantee you will," replied Frances.
"If it is okay with you, we shall finish cleaning up before retiring to the backyard for awhile," announced Kenya.
Frances and Samantha agreed, and went to the living room.
The happily married couple cuddled together on the couch but remained until they heard the back door open and close.
"That went well," said Frances.
"At the end, I think it might have been more Kenya's doing than Ben's," observed Samantha.
"We may have had our initial reservations about a high school junior dating a college senior, but I think she's been a very good influence on him."
Samantha agreed, then added, "You do know Ben's going to bring the subject up again between now and Friday."
"Yes, but no matter how persuasive his argument might be, my answer is still going to be no."
"Can I ask why? After all, Ben's played before, and the past exhibition game was more physical than flag football is."
"I realize that, but I've seen the news reports of sports injuries every year and I'm thinking of Ben's future. Someday he's going to be a husband, let alone a father and an artist as well," replied Frances, thinking of him and Kenya. "Maybe I'm being over protective, but I don't want anything to endanger that. I just hope it won't hurt our relationship with him."
Samantha knew there might be more to her wife's answer than she was willing to admit, but remained silent and held Frances close.
TO BE CONTINUED...