I Kissed A Girl

"How'd it go?" her father asked and she started twisting her foot, staring at it instead of meeting her father's gaze. "Jill?" he asked again.
"What?" Jill asked, finally looking up at him. "Oh, it went well."
"Was he nice?"
"Uh..." Jill said, unsure. "Yeah, really nice."
"Well, he did pick you up and drop you home," he said, more to himself than to Jill, but she could still hear.

"Hey Cherry!" her mother said, with probably a little more enthusiasm than required. "How'd it go? Tell me everything!"
"It was cool," said Cherry, offering a weak smile in an attempt to defuse the awkwardness. "We'll probably do it again," she said. "Wait, that came out wrong. We'll probably go out again."
"Did you have fun?" her mother asked.
'The time of our lives,' Cherry thought, but didn't say it.
"Well you must have if you're going out again!" her mother said. more to herself. "You are going out again.. right?" she asked, looking at her daughter.
"More than likely," Cherry said, unable to stop the smile from escaping her lips.

"Will you be seeing him again?" Jill's father asked.
"Yeah, I suppose," Jill said, staring at her shoe again. "I mean, I think he liked me."
"I suppose that's good," her father said uncertainly.
"Yeah Dad," said Jill, "It's good. It means your daughter's happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
"Of course I..." he said. "Jillian, what sort of a question is that? Of course I want you to be happy!"
"That's what I'd thought," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I am so excited for you Cherry! It's finally happening!" her mother said, approaching her with her arms spread wide. "My little baby isn't my baby anymore!" Cherry simply closed her eyes and let out a breath as her mother engulfed her, squeezing her so hard she nearly couldn't breathe. She pulled away as she felt wetness on her shoulder.
"Mum, are you crying?" she asked.
"How can I not?" asked her mother, sniffling. "My little baby's growing up."

"But you do know the rules, right Jill?" Her father asked as she had almost reached the stairs. Jill stopped in her tracks, turning around to face him. "What rules?"
"The rules of relationships," said her father seriously, "and my specifically, relationships whilst you are under my roof."
Jill just looked at him silently, waiting for him to go on.
"Firstly, there is no going out on a school night, secondly, there will be no 'third bases' as you call them, of any kind, under any circumstance." Jill rolled her eyes. "And thirdly, if they begin to treat you poorly, in any way, you are to end it."
"Dad!" Jill groaned.
"Do you understand?" he asked, ignoring the fact that she'd spoken.
"Yes Dad," she said, sounding a little bored. "I understand."
"Good."

"Do you know what you'll wear?" her mother asked.
"Mum.. I don't even know for sure if we're going out again, let alone when."
"Ooh, you need to wear something that'll show off your figure," her mother went on as if Cherry had never spoken. "You're very shapely you know. A million girls would love to look like you!" Her mother turned back to her after inspecting her wardrobe. "Pink! Pink or red! Those are your best colours. And do you know what that means?"
"What?" Cherry asked, nowhere near as enthusiastic as her mother. It felt a little like the roles were reversed and her mother were the one going on the date instead of Cherry.
"Shopping!" her mother practically yelled.
"Whoopee!" Cherry said sarcastically.
"What?"
"Mum, I do have pink and red in my wardrobe, look," she said, pulling out the sole pink and the sole red outfits she owned and holding them up.
"Maybe, but that's not even a splash!" said her mother, disappointed. "Shopping!"

"Dad," Jill said, turning back to him from a couple of steps up the staircase. "Dad, there's something you should know."
"What is it Jill?" he asked, his eyes widening in a mix of concern and curiosity. "About the date?"
Jill nodded. "Dad, I kissed a girl,"

"And I liked it," Cherry finished as she let go of a heavy breath.
"My. My baby is all grown up now huh?" her mother asked after a moment, blinking.