As is the case with many a young love my girlfriend and I didn't get
to always choose when we would spend time together. We could hang out
at school but we usually had to wait for the weekend to go out to do
something and then the constraints of having no transportation would
weigh heavily on our plans. My girlfriend came from a big family,
even bigger than mine and so there was not much chance of her getting
in the getting driven somewhere rotation and if Rob was not available
there was almost no chance I was going anywhere so many times I
would, of an evening, walk up to her house and hang out. We would
listen to music or talk with her brothers and sisters. She had, as
her prized possession a rather large stereo that had a remote control
that when the volume button was pushed actually made the knobs on the
unit turn. Her mom, knowing that her daughter was vulnerable usually
kept us in view or close to it to make sure there was no funny
business going on but I didn't mind I thought her mom was nice and I
really wasn't that comfortable with the level of physical intimacy my
girlfriend seemed to be heading to. I was not entirely unworldly;
heck, I knew my way around a standard make-out, a tongue kissing
make-out, and even a little light petting but my girlfriend was
always hinting that she had done 'IT'. I didn't want to establish
parity and for that reason a little chaperoning was not unwelcome in
my opinion not unwelcome at all. We would usually end up in her
basement great room watching movies with her little brothers and
sisters while her mom did craft projects in the back half of the
room. Her craft table was turned to see the back of the couch while
we watched TV which I guess she thought would keep me honest and if
it was me she was needing to keep honest it would have worked a charm
but it was her daughter who was the gas, I was the breaks. As soon as
the movie would come on my girlfriend would throw a shared blanket
over us and immediately cuddle too close and start nuzzling me and
putting her legs over mine while her mom glued and sewed ten feet
behind us and her younger siblings reposed on the carpet in front of
us. Sometimes she would even start to kiss me and try and take it
from some light cute kissing to some make-out level stuff while I
squirmed to keep her at bay. She thought that was hilarious so she
would do it more. At one level I was a regularly wired young man who
would normally really enjoy the physical attentions of a young lady
but on the other I am a irregularly wired hyper-anxious sort that is
not really a huge fan of getting caught and possibly humiliated. One
night when we were watching 'Fern Gully' she was getting particularly
handsy and loud I started looking for a way out so when Robin
Williams made a joke about a rapidly transforming animal by quipping
'Oooh, Darwin's grab bag.' I laughed over much to get her mom's
attention. It worked and her mom remarked how she was impressed that
I got that joke I took that opportunity to go and have a quick chat
with her mom about my love of science and stuff in general. My
girlfriend knelt backwards on the couch watching us with a scowl
while I tried to keep a lively conversation going. As the movie was
ending I came and sat back by my girlfriend but on top of the covers
and then walked home as the credits rolled. My girlfriend was a
little testy about the situation the next time we talked on the phone
but seemed like she was over it at school.
