Dorsai - Jan

The conversation with Susan's dad, Steve, was the most 'interesting': My secretary told me at work one day that I had a call, from Steve Moore.

I took it right away, and after an exchange of pleasantries, he got to the reason for his call.

"Dan, I understand from Susan that the girls are going to be having a little slumber party at your home after Thanksgiving."

"Yes, that's correct."

"I have to admit that the idea of Susan attending it leaves me with mixed emotions."

"How so, Steve?"

"It's a difficult subject; I'm concerned about something, but don't wish to cause offense."

I think I know what the problem is, and say "Let me guess: knowing what happened between Kelly and I, you're concerned about what may happen during their get-together."

"That would be a fair statement."

"Your 'interest' in the situation is understandable; I pretty much expected that I would be hearing from you."

"Indeed? Yes, I suppose that you would. Please understand that after that Phil incident, I am most certainly inclined to trust you around Susan – but this party they are planning, and the organization of it, are somewhat 'unique'."

"Yes, they are. To spare us both some discomfort, I'd like to tell you that Jan and Kelly have planned it as a basic slumber party with them and the other girls. Doubtless there will be changes once things get started, but I want to assure you that I have absolutely*no* anticipation of, shall we say, personal contact with any of the guests.

In fact, if any of them should display any tendencies in that direction, I will be both surprised and exceptionally resistant toward the idea. I am quite happy in my current situation, and have absolutely NO desire to expand it, or consummate any of the other girls' fantasies or desires."

"That does reassure me, and I appreciate your attitude on the matter, Dan. There is an additional factor, though, that I think you should be aware of."

"And that is?"

"Susan has learned some of the details of how you and Kelly got together, and of how your relationship with her, uh, 'developed'. Susan has what I am hoping is only a 'crush' on you, but I worry that it may be something more."

"Steve, I appreciate the warning; however, I stand by my previous statement that I am most resistant to the idea of intimate contact with any of the girls that will be at the party."

"Still, I have no doubt that should she set her mind to it, Susan will take every opportunity to demonstrate to you her, ah, appreciation of your help with Phil, and perhaps even her feelings toward you. I simply want you to know that if that should happen, even though I do not like the idea, I will not try to do anything about it."

Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"Steve, I'm sorry, but you've confused me. Could you say that again, so I can try to understand it?"

I could hear him sigh heavily before he replied"Yes, I suppose I need to make it completely clear – for both our sakes."

After a few moments, he went on "I know that Susan is nearly a grown woman, able to make her own decisions. To the best of my knowledge, though, she has not yet taken that final step. I DO know that she can be quite determined when she decides there is something she wants; far more determined than is probably good for her."

"Really?" I asked. From the way I'd seen her act, I wouldn't have expected it.

"Quite so." he sighed, before continuing "What I am trying to say is that if it should happen that Susan decides that she wishes to 'cross the line', as it were, into full womanhood, I will not try to prevent it; nor will I take exception to it after the fact."

"Steve, forgive me, but you still sound like a lawyer. Is what you're telling me that if Susan decides that she wants me to be her first, you won't object? If so, I hasten to assure you that that is the*last* thing I want to happen, and will do everything I can to avoid it."

"I know it is, Dan, and that you will. I have to sound like a lawyer because that's the only way I can think of it. And yes, that's what I'm saying. I don't care for the idea – not because of you, but because it would mean that she was no longer my 'little girl'. But I have to accept that she IS old enough to make the decision, and that when she does, there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. All I can hope for is that whoever is her first will be someone that I could respect, such as yourself."

"I'm honored by the compliment, but I still don't want any part of it."

"I know – and that's part of what makes me respect you: you don't particularly want that kind of responsibility, but if faced with it, you accept the necessity, and do the best you can. I hope the situation doesn't come up. If it does, I know you'll resist it. I just want you to know that if it does happen, then I won't be angry or upset with you; if anything, I know I can trust you to do it right, and not hurt her like one of her classmates might."

"Gee, thanks for not putting any pressure on me, or anything, Steve!" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

He laughed briefly, and I continued "Well, let's hope that it doesn't come to that; but if it does, you can be sure it will happen the way you would want it to."

"Thank you."

About that time, my secretary let me know that I had another call; Steve heard her, and thanked me again before ending our conversation.

A few days before Thanksgiving, I got home to find Kelly and Jan in the den again, obviously waiting for me. I held my forefinger up, to indicate that they should give me a moment, and detoured through the kitchen to get myself a soda.

When I got into the den, Kelly made room for me at the end, and after I sat down and got comfortable, Jan moved down to sit on the floor by my feet. Once settled, she put her arms on my knees, and rested her head on them as she looked at me. By now, I know they want to talk to me about something, so I take a sip of my Coke and wait for them.

Kelly spoke first, telling me "Dan, we have something we need to talk to you about."

Jan followed her, saying "Yeah. It's about the party."

"What about it?" I asked.

"We'd like to invite Robyn, if it's okay with you." Kelly answered.

"Why would it have to be okay with me?"

Here, Jan spoke up. "Because we still think it might be a, uh, 'teaching' party." she said.

"If it does, you'll be there, of course, and we want to know if it's okay with you if Robyn is there AND there's 'teaching'", Kelly added.

I looked at both of them, and Kelly said, "We know that you said you would give Robyn a chance to start over with you, but we know that this party is pretty special, and private, too. We thought that you might have a problem with Robyn being here for that kind of a party so soon, so we wanted to check with you about it. Especially since you would be the 'guest of honor'", she added, with a smile.

They watched me as I thought about it – neither seemed nervous about what my answer would be; I got the distinct impression that they would accept whatever I had to say, and not fuss about it.

After a bit, I spoke up, telling them "You know Robyn better than I do – you've known her longer, and see her pretty much every day. If you think she can be trusted for this, then I'll accept your judgment. Both of you know what the consequences are if you – and I – are wrong about her, or some kind of trouble happens. My only request is that you take it slowly, and make sure there aren't going to be any problems, before you get too, uh, involved in the party."

Both nodded at that, and Kelly said, "We know, and we will. We were going to be real careful about it, anyway."

After a pause, Jan told me "If it helps any, Kelly and I have both noticed that she's being real good about us. I mean, she was in the hall with some other girls that were starting to talk about us, and she told them straight out that they shouldn't talk about people unless that person was there, because they might say something wrong and that person wouldn't be able to tell them the right thing. All the other girls just kind of looked at her for a second, and started talking about something else; they didn't walk away from her, or shut her out or anything, so I think they were just kinda doing what she said, you know? And I don't think she knew I was there, since I was around the corner behind her."