Alice dumped me.
I couldn't believe it. I loved her, and she had expressed her wish to share a moment of passion on my 18th birthday, to go all the way. And I just... couldn't. I slammed the door shut hard. Mom was home already, and her large dark worrying eyes followed me as I rushed through the kitchen.
She grabbed my shoulder before I could disappear. "What's wrong, honey?" she asked, sensitive to my feelings as always. I turned to look at her; she had big eyes, as I already mentioned, and long, flowing auburn hair which curled a bit at the ends.
I broke free of her grip, lying: "Nothing" and hastied upstairs to my room. I sat on my bed feeling gloomy, burying my face in my hands. I didn't notice mom had followed me until she sat beside me.
"You can tell me, you know that" she said, holding my hand.
"No I can't" I insisted, looking away.
"Girl trouble, is it?" She could see straight through me, as usual. I sighed. "Hey, I'm a girl, I can help if you tell me."
I looked at mom. "No you're not, you're my mother... What could you do...? Alice wanted... I couldn't... I mean..."
Mom understood: "Oh, first time. And you had problems?"
"I screwed everything up from the beginning, and then in the end it just didn't...work."
Mother's large eyes radiated with loving warmth, and she said: "Hmm? So do you want my help?"
"What could you do, mom? I mean I've had sex ed, you know, I don't think you could tell me much new."
"Can you open a bra?" she asked, smiling.
I felt awkward unsurprisingly. "Well, u-uh. Not really, I mean, that was one of the problems and..." I drew a deep breath in surprise as my mother pulled her loose wool sweater over her head. "M-mom? What?"
She hugged me, pressing close, feeling soft and warm. "Practice" she softly whispered into my ear. "Calm down, don't worry" she continued, feeling my heart pound rapidly. "Hush, I won't hurt you, I'm your mother... Just reach behind my back and find the clasp."