Title: Lucky Tickets

I felt like I was on better ground now, so I continued. "Patty and I are not sleeping together. As I said, she’s not really my girl friend. But she is teaching me about sex, and she and her friends are teaching me about the way that girls think."

My mom listened and then said, "And you expect your step-father and me to sit by and let you have girls in your room overnight? What about Meredith? Do you think you are setting a good example for her?"

I sighed. "I don’t expect you to allow me to have Patty here overnight. She wasn’t here last night. She came over this morning and awakened me."

Mom didn’t smile. "That’s not much of a distinction, James."

I hated that name. Except, of course, when Patty used it in our play-acting. Mom was putting me on the defensive again, and I knew that I had to get back on my own track. "I expect you to allow me to have a friends over, male or female. I expect your husband to do the same. And I’m not setting any worse a role model with Merry than you have set yourself."

My mother blanched again as I mentioned her sleeping with her second husband before she married him. "What your step-father and I have done before we were married…"

"Was your business," I completed for my mother. "Just like my relationship with Patty, Camille, Wendy, or anybody else, for that matter, is my business."

My mother tried to steer the conversation back to her side. "You are only fifteen…"

"And you are thirty three. You were married when you were seventeen, and I was born soon after. Care to do the math, Mom?"

My mother really disliked me bringing up the age that she first had sex, but I knew it was my best weapon right now. "You’re not old enough to be experimenting with sex, Jim."

I smiled. This was an argument that I had been expecting. "And how old were you when you started, mom?"

My mother’s eyes opened wide. "That’s NONE of your business, young man!"

I continued to smile. "Then, I guess that it was about fifteen or sixteen, then, since you conveniently haven’t denied it."

"That’s different. It was a different time…"

"The fifties?" I asked, almost laughing. "Are you kidding? I saw American Graffiti. And there’s that new show, Happy Days on television. But let’s put that aside. it’s a different time now, Mom. Look, I love you. I would like you to meet Patty tomorrow. She plans on coming over tomorrow morning. If you want, she’ll have breakfast with all of us. Get to know her. You can tell Merry and her dad what you want. Patty is a very sweet girl, and I’m sure you’ll all like her. And afterward," I said, pausing for effect, "we’ll go upstairs to my room. We will be quiet."

My mom considered it. "And what will you be doing with her in your room?"

I stood my ground. "Minding our own business for one thing. For all you know, we could be doing anything. Reading books. Talking about rock and roll. Gossiping about Camille and Wendy. Talking about school. Showing her my rock collection. Who knows? Do you really want to know?"

My mom considered. "Well, your step-father may have some thoughts about that. Especially if you start flaunting your behavior in front of Meredith."

I wouldn’t be swayed. "He’s not my real father, Mom. He left us, remember? And if your current husband thinks that Merry will think that we’re doing something inappropriate, it’s not because Patty or I will be telling her. I mean, what do you think she thinks you guys do when you go to bed together?"

"That’s not the same. Her father and I are married!"

"And if Patty and I don’t give her any reason to think that anything untoward is happening, how can either of you find anything wrong?"

My mom said, "What does Patty’s parents think about your arrangement?"

I shrugged. "Patty’s mother is a widow. And I don’t know what she thinks. I haven’t asked Patty or her mother. But isn’t what her mother thinks Patty’s business?"

My mother didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

"One thing, Mom."

My mother looked up. "What?"

I looked her straight in the eyes. "You should tell my step-dad that I’m inviting Patty over. If he tries to yell at me or Patty tomorrow morning, or make any kind of scene, I will tell him exactly what I feel. And if he does it in front of Merry, so will I. I can assure the both of you that if that happens, he will have to do a lot of explaining to his daughter."

My mother shook her head and sighed. "Jim, you’re growing up too fast."

"I guess so, Mom."

I walked over to her, and hugged her fiercely. My mother hugged me tightly as well.

I could see tears in her eyes as she closed the door behind her as she left my room.

I looked at my precious bag of tickets. I was very glad that I hadn’t had to use them on my mother. I was, however, starting to get second thoughts about not using them on my step-father. I doubted that he would have acquiesced as easily as my mother had.

I put on a Three Dog Night record on the turntable and I spent the next half hour thinking about how my step-father would react. I’d only known him for a few years, whereas I had known my mother my entire life. I did know that he would have something to say.

I was right. About a half hour after my mother had left, there was a knock on my door. I immediately picked up my bag of tickets, which I had decided to keep right next to me.

Opening the door, I saw my step-father there. "Jim…" he said.

I interrupted him. "Here, have a ticket!"

My step-father looked confused and then said, "You have one wish."

"I wish you will let me live my life, and not preach to me about sexual propriety, especially after the example you have set having premarital sex with my mother in this very house."

"Your wish is my command."

"Did you want something?" I asked, innocently.

My step-father shook his head a little and tried to think what he had wanted to say. All of a sudden, he shook his head and said, "I just wanted to say that I spoke to your mother about your inviting a… girl over tomorrow morning. I promise I won’t make a scene."

"Thank you," I said, smiling. "I knew you’d understand."

Merry’s father looked around my room, trying to think if there was anything else he had wanted to say. Being unsuccessful, he said, "I guess that’s all."

"Sure thing," I said.

As my step-father left, I looked at the bag of tickets. I seriously doubted that he had come upstairs to tell me he understood. These tickets were pretty handy.

But I had also learned one important lesson: The tickets weren’t everything. I found that with just a little confidence, I was able to do things for myself. And, after all, who could not help but be confident when he had those lucky tickets on his side?

Chapter 8

It rained the very next morning. It was a hard, torrential rain, and the sky was dismally grey.

I had called Patty the night before, and told her that my family was expecting her to arrive at eight o’clock for breakfast. Patty seemed pleasantly surprised over the phone. She had told me on a few occasions that I needed to deal with my parents, and I had done so, handling my mother without having to resort to using any of my lucky tickets. I took no chances with my step-father, however, not really knowing him as well as my mother.

I had been on pins and needles almost the entire night before. I hadn’t given a time limit on the wish I had given my step-father, and hoped that it would at least last through the morning. However, I did make similar sorts of wishes without any expirations, such as having Wendy and Camille trust me and treat me as a friend, and they were still going strong. I considered keeping my roll of tickets handy, but in the end, I finally decided that I would just take things as they happen.