"Coercing the weak-minded," Rick replied, laughing.
Jean closed the door and turned to get a look at just what the cat had dragged in — and was immediately transported back in time almost two decades! The girl before her wasn’t herself, but the look in her eye, the mix of fear and bravado — the look that said Look at me! but feared to see the result — Jean knew a LOT about Teela at first glance, and it was all a case of déjà vu. "Hi!" she said, smiling her most welcoming smile, "I’m Jean…"
"Hi." Wary eyes watched her, fearing yet pleading for acceptance.
Jean moved forward and took Teela’s hand, smiling. "Welcome!" Turning to Rick, she said, "Richard, we need to talk!" Turning back to Teela, she said, "Nothing that you need worry about, Dear — make yourself at home!"
Teela wasn’t really reassured, but she settled on the couch. Rick, keyed by his mother’s use of his formal first name, followed her into the kitchen, where she whirled on him, "If you hurt that girl…"
"What?"
"Do you have ANY idea just how fragile that girl is?"
"Well…"
"I’m waiting…"
"Okay, well, I know she dresses like that to get attention — and obviously will settle for NEGATIVE attention…"
"What kind of attention do YOU give her?"
"Well, it’s kind of a fire and water thing … She flares, and I absorb it. We … tussle a lot — but it’s becoming more play than it was when we started…"
"She strikes at you to defend herself — and you cut right through her defenses, right? Is this normal for her?"
"Apparently not — she sort of repels most people on contact," Rick shrugged. "I kind of get a kick out of it…
"Richard, when you are done with this girl, she will have NO defenses! You need to know that this is SERIOUS! Are YOU serious?"
"About Teela? Mom, what is this all about?"
"I had a girlfriend — she had that same look to her — no, not the Goth stuff; it’s in her face. She was very fragile, inside, and covered it with a lot of bluster and aggression. Then she met a boy — only he wasn’t serious. She … committed suicide…" Jean’s eyes reflected her journey back in time. "She was my best friend…"
"Oh…" Rick looked shocky.
"You need to be serious about her — or you need to drop her, NOW! Even then … If she’s here with you, she’s already recognized what you are to her…"
"Okay, well, I think I decided it was serious a couple of days ago…"
"I’m serious, Dear! If you hurt her, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you!"
This wasn’t something Mom came out with regularly — in fact, it had never happened before! Rick got the point… "I don’t think there’s a problem, Mom."
"Meaning what? You don’t believe me?" Jean demanded.
"No, meaning I don’t have any intention of dumping on Teela," Rick replied.
"You’d better not!" Jean insisted. "But you need to think about the other thing — it’s a serious complication!"
"Yeah, I get that — but what should I do?" Rick grunted.
"Well … I never thought I’d be saying this, but at some point — soon, probably before you have sex — you haven’t, have you?"
"No."
"Well, I think you’re going to need to come clean — at least to an extent. But I’m not sure when — she’s going to need to feel relatively secure, but you can’t betray her…"
"Great…" Rick rolled his eyes. "Something simple…"
"Well, you bought into this…" his mother pointed out.
"It was more like a chemical reaction!" Rick retorted.
"Do you wish it hadn’t happened?" Jean asked gently.
"No," Rick replied. "It’s a little weird, sometimes, but kinda nice."
"We’d better get in there — this has gone on a while, and I couldn’t POSSIBLY have reassured her…" Jean headed for the door.
In the living room, Teela had nervously pulled off her fishnet hose and buckle shoes and was removing her blouse. "Dear," Jean asked, "would you like to use a bedroom or the bathroom to change into your suit?"
"I’m almost done," Teela replied, blushing. "I really don’t have a suit. This stuff will get wet, though…"
Jean cocked her head. "Well, I’m a LITTLE bigger than you — not much — but I have something that might be adjustable. Let’s go to my room…"
"Okay…" Teela had vague misgivings, but Rick shrugged; if his mother was gonna have a fit and run her off, now was the time, Teela guessed…
But Jean started chattering like a magpie the minute they started off. "You don’t swim, then? Better not let Rick take you to the deep end — he’ll be all over you and you’ll have nowhere to go! Are you afraid of the water, Dear? You can always divert him with sunbathing or something … This will help…" Jean fished a powder blue and shoestring bikini out of the drawer — at least that’s what Teela THOUGHT it was! It was almost nothing! "THIS will fit either one of us — such as it is. Us knobby-kneed bow-legged girls need every bit of help we can get … I think your breasts are a bit bigger than mine; that’s nice…"
"Wow! That’s SMALL! You wear that?" Teela burst out.
"Well, only a couple of times. It made a sensation when I did, though…" Jean eyed the younger girl. "Is it too much? I have something a bit more robust in white, but it will be correspondingly harder to fit…"
"N-no, it’s fine … Well, maybe. I’m … kinda furry…" Teela stammered.
Jean grimaced. "I forgot about that. I had to trim things back pretty tightly, myself … Umm, we can do that, if you like…"
"What would it look like?" Teela asked.
"I can show you what I did…" Jean cocked her head, awaiting permission — no need to leave the girl with the idea that she was some kind of exhibitionist… (given what they were up to, Jean was missing something here, but hey… )
"Okay."
Jean unzipped her shorts and pulled them down, exposing the narrow vertical strip of red fur she had left on her mons. "Of course, you have to work underneath, too, since it’s a thong…"
"Oh. I dunno…"
"Do you trust me?"
Teela blinked. Why should she? But Rick’s mother had been just totally cool, except for when she dragged him off … Cautiously, she asked, "What did you say to Rick?"
Jean blinked, thought about it, and looked vaguely sad. "I told him that if he hurt you, I’d never forgive him. It’s not a threat I deliver lightly, either, Dear."
Teela was rocked. "Why?"
"I really don’t want to get embarrassing about it — for either of us…"
Teela stared at her. "I think I really need to know."
"I’ve … seen your eyes, Dear. I had a girlfriend once. Her boyfriend didn’t realize what he was doing…"
Teela’s eyes went HUGE! OMIGAWD! Rick’s WHOLE FAMILY could see RIGHT THROUGH her! She couldn’t speak…
Jean reached out and took both of Teela’s hands, locking eyes with the younger woman. "You can come to me any time — and we can talk about anything! Okay?"
"S-sure!" Teela’s throat was so tight her voice barely worked. Omigawd!
Jean squeezed Teela’s hands and broke the grip, turning away to hide tears, "Now, about that trim…"
"Fine," Teela croaked.
"I’ll go get some shaving stuff and tell the male contingent that we’ll be delayed," Jean chuckled. "You get out of those and we’ll see what needs doing." She strode off.
Teela stood there, shocky, soaking it all in. This was beyond anything she ever expected! She’d anticipated that Rick’s momma would be the enemy — or at least a threat! Instead, she was acting more like a sister! Or a mom … Teela’s mother was dead; wild driving had cost her her life when Teela was ten. Poppa — well, he tried, but he wasn’t even fatherly. Teela had been winging it forever…