Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain

Author:Diane Chamberlain
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2009-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Three

Andy

I HAD A HARD TIME GETTING ALONE WITH UNCLE MARCUS. Mom and Maggie were always around, but finally it was just me and him at breakfast Saturday. I felt embarrassed all of a sudden, but I knew I had to do it.

I poked my cereal with my spoon. “My condom is too old,” I said.

Coffee all of a sudden squirted out of Uncle Marcus’s mouth and he started choking. He got up and leaned over the sink and coughed and coughed. Was he having an asthma attack?

“You need your inhaler?” I asked. I never saw Uncle Marcus’s inhaler, so I didn’t know where to get it.

He shook his head. “I don’t have asthma, remember?” His voice was croaky like a frog. Finally he got a paper towel and wiped his mouth and then his eyes. He sat down again. I looked real hard at his face. He looked like he’d been crying, but he was smiling. “You just caught me off guard there, buddy. Sorry ’bout that.”

“You spilled coffee on the table.” I pointed to a place where the coffee came out of his mouth.

“Thanks.” He pressed on the coffee spot with his paper towel. Then he looked at me. “What are you talking about, Andy?” he asked. “Do you mean the condom I gave you a while back?”

I nodded. “It says ten-oh-seven on it.”

“Well, you’re right, then. It’s too old.” He breathed out like he was real tired but he didn’t look tired. “Are you saying you and Kimmie want to have sex?”

“Yes.”

“Well—” he got up and poured some more coffee in his cup “—I’m proud of you for coming to me and for wanting to be careful,” he said. “But let’s talk about it a little first.”

“Me and Kimmie already did.”

His eyes got big. “Did what?”

“Talk about it.”

“Oh.” He sat down again. “Okay. And what did you say?”

“That we both want to do it but how we need a new condom. I saw them at Food Lion but I don’t know which one to get.”

“I’ll get you some, And. Don’t sweat it. But please. There’s no rush. You’re only—”

I just knew he was going to say I was only sixteen, but he looked out the window instead.

“There’re some rules that come with having sex,” he said.

“Never ever do it without a condom,” I said. I remembered that’s what he told me.

“That’s right. That’s rule number one. Number two is to always treat a girl with respect. That means you don’t go telling other people that you had sex with her.”

“It’s private.”

“Very private.”

“I’m telling you, though. You just said you were proud of me about that.”

“I mean you don’t tell your friends.”

“Like Max.”

“Especially not Max.”

“He tells me what he does with his girlfriends, though.”

“Do you think he’s treating them with respect?”

“I don’t know. I’m not there when he’s with them.”

“No, I mean, by telling you what happens between him and them. That’s disrespectful.”

“Oh.” I got it. “Right. So I won’t tell Max.”

“Or any other friends. It’s between you and Kimmie.

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