The O'Toole house was only a couple of homes down the street from the Jenkins', but it felt like miles to Ginger O'Toole as she accompanied John Harper to meet her parents, provided either of them were home.
I'm more nervous than the night of my first transformation, she realized, escorting her friend to their destination. My folks have met plenty of my friends before. Why does this time feel different? wondered Ginger, taking a quick glance at John.
For better or worse, Harper's face was expressionless at the moment. There was no sign of either nervousness nor anticipation. His thoughts were actually another matter, but growing up with his parents, John had learned (the hard way) to keep from showing anything other than what they wanted to see and know.
"Okay. Just stay out here and I'll see if either of them are home," said Ginger, as they stepped onto her front porch. But before she actually went inside, she whispered in John's ear, "I've kept all your confidences, so don't mention being undecided on that matter we've discussed before."
"Sure," said John, knowing his friend was referring to the fact that he was uncertain of being straight, gay, or bi.
She admired him for being cool and calm. Yet if Ginger O'Toole could see him now alone on her front porch, she'd know that John Harper was just as nervous as she was.
I don't get it. I've dealt with adults before, although usually in more formal situations like church or school. Why do I feel scared to do this? Would I have felt the same if I had met any of Stephen's family back in Alabama? He said he had an older brother who was also gay, but neither of them had come out to their folks the last I heard. How would they react once they knew? How will people here react once I finally make a decision on my life, whatever it is? And what is the proper choice?
All these questions and more were racing through John's mind as he waited.
Although still a normal human being in a town that was secretly a were sanctuary, John couldn't help hearing Ginger's footsteps going through the house.
Mostly this was because when Ginger entered she had left the front door open and the noises easily traveled through the screen door.
Yet those footsteps were being drowned out by the beating of his heart as John not only heard Ginger starting to return, but a second set of footsteps indicated someone was with her!
Ginger opened the screen door first, followed by a woman who looked like an older version of her.
Both ladies had the distinctive red hair of the O'Toole family, but her mother was decidedly taller with a larger bust size and the proverbial hour glass figure that marked many weres in their human form, giving John Harper a good idea of what Ginger would look like as an adult.
He could feel his cheeks begin to blush and hoped there wasn't another involuntary body reaction happening in his lower extremities as he felt his knees weaken a bit.
John felt his mouth go dry, but he managed to say, "Hello. I'm John Harper Mrs. O'Toole."
"Hello," replied Jeanette O'Toole, looking the boy over carefully. He was about her son Fred's height, but except for his bright blonde hair that all the Harper clan had, looked just like any other normal, non-were teenager. Not sure what I was expecting, considering all the stories I've heard about his family.
"My husband isn't home right now, but Ginger said you wanted to meet us?" asked the mother.
"Yes ma'am," answered John politely. "Being new to the town, Ginger's offered to take me on a walking tour of Moon Lake Saturday*, if it's okay with you, but she said that you'd want to meet me first before making a decision on the matter."
"Oh?" said Jeanette, looking over both teenagers carefully.
Ginger believed her mother's green eyes were saying something akin to First I'm hearing of this young lady, but she was actually thinking The boy's more formal than I thought he'd be.
"Yes," said Mrs. O'Toole, turning to look at John again. "The problem, besides the fact that Mr. O'Toole and I like to meet all of Ginger's... acquaintances whenever possible, is that—well, to be honest, we've heard a lot about you and yours, but aren't really sure how to separate fact from fiction at the moment."
"I see," said John, thinking the situation over. "Well, the fact of the matter is ma'am, that for better or worse, my parents have been quite overbearing in both the raising of their children and applying their religious convictions to that and us. Especially in his case, but their beliefs and ours, let alone mine, are not completely the same."
"How so?" Mrs. O'Toole wanted to know.
"For example, while I believe in the basic tenets of life like Good versus Evil and Do Unto Others, I am not a zealot like my father. There are things he would be totally against under the thought that it's either against God's Will or the work of the Devil, yet I believe in Live and Let Live."
"For example?" Mrs. O'Toole asked.
"Weres, for one," replied John, "if he knew they existed. Same gender couples like the Twists for another."
"I see. Why?"
"I've already explained his reasoning, such as it is. But in my case, just because something's different doesn't automatically make it wrong. Of course, if my father hadn't had his heart attack and heard any of this, I might not be able to sit down for quite awhile afterward," conceded John.
Mrs. O'Toole instantly knew what the boy was getting at and felt sorry for him. "What about the rest of your family? Especially your sister Jennifer?"
"By other people's standards none of us were treated properly, and that's a fact we certainly can't disagree with. Yet we can't say that in their own way, our parents didn't love us. In Jenny's case," said John, using the more common form of her name, "she came out here to college on a full scholarship hoping to make her own place in the world without their influence and never have to go back to Alabama ever again. Most of the trials she's suffered lately have been at the hands of either that rogue werevixen who changed her or the manipulations of Dieter Wilhelm, a sick jerk who hoped to make my sister his, whether she wanted to be or not."
"I see. And where are your parents now?"
"Back in Alabama," answered John. "Dad has had his heart operated on. He's looking at a long recovery, but it's highly doubtful he'll ever be the man he once was, at least physically. Mom's with him. Our oldest brother James Junior will be there at least until he graduates college next Spring. Jenny's hoping to talk him and his lady into moving out here after that, but I don't know what their actual plans are. Jenny is now Mrs. Jenkins. She's VERY happy with her new husband Harry, and they have obtained guardianship of me and my sister Janice. All that remains is to finalize the paperwork and then get the two of us enrolled in school here."
"Do you like it here?" wondered Mrs. O'Toole.
"So far. I hate being stuck at the Jenkins with nothing to do and would love to be back in school. Otherwise, Moon Lake has treated me far better than I deserve."
Humble? Or suffering from some kind of persecution complex? wondered Mrs. O'Toole. "And where would the two of you be going on this walking tour?"
"To the high school and back for sure, depending upon what else we see along the way," answered her daughter.
"Hmmm...." said Mrs. O'Toole, thinking it over.
Both teenagers were nervous as the stretch of silence grew longer. To them it seemed to go on forever but in truth, it was less than a minute before the adult spoke again.
"I still need to talk this over with your father when he gets home from work, but personally I don't see why not," said her mother, to which both Ginger and John smiled.
"Now then, it's getting late and I need help with dinner," announced Mrs. O'Toole. "Ginger will let you know our final decision on her way home from school tomorrow, but it was nice meeting you John."
"It was nice meeting you too Mrs. O'Toole. I'll see you tomorrow Ginger," he added, before turning and reluctantly walking away.
Once John was out of hearing range for a normal, Jeanette O'Toole turned to her daughter and said, "I can see why you like him. Despite his background, he's nice, polite, and good looking too."
"John and the rest of his siblings are nothing like his parents," replied Ginger.
And as John Harper walked back to the Jenkins house, he thought to himself, That went better than I thought it would. He was especially glad that although he had a brief physical reaction to seeing Ginger's mother, At least I didn't soil another pair of underwear! Maybe I'm not totally gay after all, but after Stephen, I still can't rule out bi yet, can I? he asked himself, still as confused as ever about his gender issues.
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*It's still Thursday, November 5 to our cast at the moment.—tmw.