Mrs. Reynolds reached out and touched my cheek, then she opened her jacket again and said, "Say goodbye, now."
I stepped up and kissed both her breasts, then I stepped back and grinned. I would play that game any time she wanted. It made us both happy and it was just so deliciously naughty to be playing it with my mother down the hall.
She opened the door and stepped out. As she walked away she called out, "See you tomorrow, then!"
With my door open I could just make out their voices down the hall. I heard Mrs. Reynolds ask my mother if she had noticed that I seemed to be 'filling out on top'. I heard my mother agree and the rest of the conversation was inaudible. I pulled on the one blouse I owned that had a chance of fitting over the bigger bra and sat down at my vanity to brush my hair. I was looking at the bulge that the bra made under my top and comparing it to Mrs. Reynolds size when something I had seen but not noticed at the time came vividly into focus. When I had kissed Mrs. Reynolds' breasts I had seen a lipstick smudge on her nipple. I wasn't wearing any lipstick, but I knew the color. It was called Coral. It was the color that my mother was wearing.
A big piece of the puzzle fell into place like a thunderbolt in the night. It explained a lot about Mrs. Reynolds and my mother, it explained a lot about my mother and my Dad, and it explained a lot about me. As I turned it all over in my head, I understood that it also explained a lot about Mrs. Reynolds and me. There was still a big piece missing, though; but I was too hungry to think any more about it.
I finished my touch-up and went down the hall. Mrs. Reynolds had left and my mother was just putting our dinners into the microwave. "Bambi, er... Mrs. Reynolds seems to think the world of you," she said. "Do you like her?"
"Yes, Mom. I like her a lot. At first, I didn't think I would. But as I've gotten to know her better, I realize that I do." I had been prepared to BS my mother as thoroughly as Mrs. Reynolds had, but as the words came out of my mouth, I realized that I had spoken the truth. I decided to stick with that as far as I could.
"You seem to have a lot of respect for her."
"Oh, yes! She's much more strict with me than you are. But I've learned a lot from her, too."
"Oh? What has she been teaching you?"
"I don't think you can say she's been 'teaching' me. The things I've learned have been more stuff that I've learned on my own from being around her."
"Like what?"
"Obedience. But you've probably noticed that. It's strange. Once I learned to obey, it opened the door to a lot of other stuff. I learned that I can do things that I never thought I could do. I learned that sometimes there are consequences that have to be faced. I learned that trust is more powerful than fear. I learned that sometimes when you lose something precious, you get something even more valuable in its place. And I learned that knowing someone and understanding them are completely different things."
Mom looked at me with the same "I don't know you" expression I had seen before. Before she could think of something else to ask me, the microwave went off and she got busy setting the table and serving the food. Neither of us said anything for a long time. I guess we both had things to think about. I wolfed down my food and when she saw how hungry I was, she gave me half of hers, too. I was on the last mouthful before she spoke again.
"Mrs. Reynolds asked me if I had noticed that you seemed to be having a late growth spurt. I am quite aware that you have matured physically, but now I see that you are growing up in more ways than one."
I could see her looking at my bulging blouse. I looked away from her for a moment. I realized that I would not be able to hide what was happening to me from her forever. Eventually she would find out. I was terribly sad about it, but I had resigned myself to losing my breasts over the past few days. Over and above Mrs. Reynolds instructions not to discuss it, I wanted to keep it from Mom as long as possible. It would hurt her terribly, especially if she found out how it happened.
As soon as I thought about protecting Mom from being hurt by what Mrs. Reynolds had done to me, another piece of the puzzle fell into place. I understood why she had been treating me the way she had. I understood why she put her own ideas of what was best for me ahead of our relationship. I understood why she had such a hard time relating to me as a person and why she and Dad never really got along.
Their marriage was doomed from the start because Mom got married for the wrong reasons. She married Dad because it was something she thought she had to do, not something that she wanted to do. I realized that I was lucky to have been born at all.
There was still something missing, though. I still did not have all the pieces. I decided to ask a very leading question.
"Mom, when did you and Mrs. Reynolds meet?"
She looked like I had touched a raw nerve. I thought she would evade the question or just refuse to answer. She was quiet for so long that I was tempted to change the subject, but as long as she was thinking about it, I decided to wait for her. Eventually, she worked herself up to talking about it.
"We met in school when we were both a bit younger than you are now. We... we were really good friends for a couple of years. Then I graduated. She got married... I got married. I thought it would be best if we... This was all a long time ago."