Dear Readers,
Thank you again for reading A Wildcat Summer. Chapter 20 is a milestone. The story is winding down, and while there are a few conflicts that will still need to be resolved, the Cats are touring, and I don't want it to become repetitive. I do need to ask you for some feedback. What would you like to see happen - more concerts, more sexual and gender ruminations, more songs, or what you want?

Again, thank you for getting on the bus with the Wildcats.

Love ya, baby
Miss ya’ baby,
Need to feel you in my arms
 
Squeeze ya baby
Kiss you baby
Give you lovin’ till you’re mine
 
When I get ya
Goin show ya
Just how much you mean to me
 
Hold ya baby
Love ya baby
Be with you til the end of time
 
“That’s all I’ve got. Anybody?” Teri was sitting at the keyboard as the band was having a sound check for their show tonight. They’d all agreed that the hall was beautiful, and the acoustics were excellent.
 
Tiffany stopped fooling with her bass and laughed. “Presto! Watch the young magic woman create music out of the thin air.”
 
Gina looked at them. “That’s such a strange phrase, out of thin air. Is there thick air?”
 
Tiffany looked at Gina and pretended she hadn’t said a word. She kept on talking to everyone. “Right. Nobody’s like you, Teri.  We don’t hear lyrics and music floating around in our heads. None of us think like that. Zoe’s mind is the closest to a brain that never stops.” She came over and hugged Teri and whispered, “I love you and am here whenever you need a brainless shoulder to cry on. Don’t bottle it up or be ashamed of yourself. You’re the best person you can be, and life is throwing curves at you every day. I can listen and keep it all in my heart. Promise.”
 
She turned to the rest of the band and yelled, “Teri says that she’s quitting the band and running away to the circus. She wants to be shot out of a canon three times a night and maybe land on her head!”
 
Zoe shook her head at Tiffany. “Teri, you all know that Tiffany is my best friend. She has a big heart but a tiny brain. And you have to see the mosquito bites she calls boobies.”
 
Tiffany stood up and frowned. “My boobies are beautiful. Sure, they might not give me top heavy cleavage like Gina, but they are a perfect shape that compliments my perfect body. None of my partners have ever complained.”
 
Gina laughed. “That’s because those guys are scared to death of you and that delicate temper of yours. I’d hate to see you angry with a cleaver nearby!”
 
Teri covered her mouth. “A cleaver! That’s how the old lady tried to chop off the three blind mice’s tails!”
 
Lisa looked at her sister and smiled. “You do know that’s not true. It’s just a fairy tale.”
 
Teri was shaking her head. She enjoyed playing this game. “How do you know it’s not true? That rhythm could have been based on a true story. Can you imagine being blind and depending on your other senses and some angry old woman chops off your tail?”
 
They were all looking at Teri and the horror on her face. Zoe was the first to speak. “Okay, lets give the poor girl some lyrics, so we can change the topic.”
 
Tiffany immediately said, “Sing to you baby. Play for you baby. Let the music show my love.”
 
Gina smiled. “Spin you baby, Rock you baby. Play my music all night long.”
 
Zoe was shaking her head.”
 
Lisa looked at her sister. “Marry you, baby. Dance with you baby, We’ll be together forever and that’s how we’ll show our love.”
 
Teri wrote it all down. “Oh, wow. Now all we need it a chorus…”
 
Everyone booed.
 
Teri quickly put her tablet away. She could take a hint.
 
Love ya’ baby,
Miss ya’ baby,
Need to feel you in my arms
 
Squeeze ya baby
Kiss you baby
Give you lovin’ till you’re mine
 
When I get ya
Goin show ya
Just how much you mean to me
 
Hold ya baby
Love ya baby
Be with you til the end of time
 
Sing to you baby.
Play for you baby.
Let the music show my love
 
Spin you baby,
Rock you baby.
Play our music all night long.
 
Take you baby.
Keep you baby.
We’ll be together all life long.
 
“Marry you, baby.
Dance with you baby,
We’ll be together to show our love.”
 
Teri quickly put her tablet away. She could take a hint and not push the issue. But at least she had a great foundation to push another song out. She grinned at the thought of pushing out a song like a woman would give birth to a baby.
 
Lisa walked them through all the changes she wanted to see in their new show. They’d all agreed that they’d play for an hour, take a ten-minute break, play for another hour, and come back for a thirty-minute encore. “So, is everyone okay with the two hour and thirty minute show? Do we need to change the song list around?”
 
Zoe smiled. “I like the format. I think the length fits. But I’d like more spontaneity thrown in there. Move some of our original stuff around and play a few different songs during the encore. We don’t want to become animatronic robots.”
 
Gina was nodding her head. “When we’re dead, our estate will still have new releases created by Artificial Intelligence and robots performing on stage.”
 
Teri laughed. “I think anyone trying to predict what will be happening two hundred years in the future will be surprised. I don’t think the future will include humans.”
 
Zoe looked up at the ceiling. “That’s a pretty sad prediction since I am bringing a child into the world this year.”
 
Teri looked horrified. “No, no. That’s not what I meant. I’m talking hundreds of years from now and well, if this planet is still inhabitable. But I’m still worrying about the Zombie Apocalypse happening before that.”
 
Lisa shivered. “I worry about our civilization coming to some horrible crisis and die out. I guess I’ve watched too many end of the world movies.”
 
Teri smiled. “I want to write a vampire musical, a love story.”
 
Lisa laughed. “I want to see Bill Wiggins’ face when you talk to him about sponsoring a vampire love story project.”
 
Phil appeared from the back of the stage. “A vampire love story? What a great idea. How cool would it be to make it into Broadway musical or a full length movie.”
 
Tiffany was grinning. “I just read that all these cable channels are throwing money out everywhere hoping to buy an exclusive hit. Imagine selling an idea like that!”
 
Gina raised both her hands. “Wait. Tiffany, you said you read something?”
 
Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I heard it somewhere.”
 
Teri stood up from the piano. “No, wait. I’m kinda serious. I mean, Billy Joe Armstrong wrote Green Day’s American Idiot, a rock musical. It’s their biggest selling album based on a story. And The Who created Tommy as a rock musical. And Pink Floyd’s The Wall.”
 
Lisa snapped her fingers. “Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is another big leap forward in music. My mom talked about her parent’s freaking out about it in the sixties.”
 
Zoe turned toward Teri. “Can we write a themed album?”
 
Tiffany shook her head. Okay, so all this talk, right? Don’t we need to take a few more baby steps before we leap off into the unknown?”
 
Teri was nodding vigorously. “Well, we could write a love story album, and I guess we don’t have to have vampires in it.”
 
Gina stared at the band. “Naw, too common. Everybody writes love songs. But a vampire love story would be different. Of course, there’s always the danger of someone thinking we are too far out.”
 
Zoe grabbed Teri’s hand. “Yeah, but I don’t think we should worry about commercialism. If that’s stuck in the back of our heads when we write songs, we might never put something together.”
 
Teri was on her iPad. “Wow. I didn’t realize that American Idiot was such a big deal. But the story of how it all came about is crazy cool. They do refer to it as a Rock Opera which is what I think we should do.”
 
Gina was looking at her own tablet, “Yeah, but all these bands had a lot of musical releases before they all made a Rock Opera.”
 
Teri was listening. “If we were to just write twenty songs and among them at ten that go together in a rock opera, we’d be creating an opera as a long-term project.”
 
Tiffany looked puzzled. “You’ve lost me.”
 
Teri tried to explain. “Okay. So, we can go back and look at the forty songs we’ve written and I’m going to bet that a dozen of them follow a common theme, probably a love theme. And maybe when we have forty-five more songs written, we can put all those hidden Easter Eggs together to form a rock opera.”
 
Gina stopped. “Easter eggs?”
 
Teri shook her head. “Hidden gems. Like on an Easter egg hunt. The fans could debate which songs, when made into a playlist, would be our Vampire rock opera love story.”
 
Lisa stood and raised her hand. “I think we’ve allowed Teri to take us down the rabbit hole into Wonderland and are getting derailed. But let’s go back to tonight. I want to listen to the opening band, so I’m going to be here early enough to hear them before we play. And we’ll be playing from eight-thirty to eleven-thirty.”
 
Everybody was nodding. “So I suggest we take a break and let Richard and Phil find us a place to eat around six.”
 
As everybody was getting up and heading back to take a break, Zoe came over to Teri. “You know most of your songs are love stories. It would be easy to put together a narrative. Just use you and Jenn as your models.” Zoe was shocked when tears started to seep out of Teri’s eyes.
“What? What’s the matter?”
 
Teri was trying to wipe her tears and cursing at the same time. “I get so fuckin’ angry. I cry all the time. I never cried back before all of this started.”
 
Zoe held her tightly. “What do you mean?”
 
Teri sobbed. “It was so much easier when I was a boy. Shit, I didn’t have any pressure, I did what wanted and I didn’t sob or worry about Jenn or these strange feelings I’m getting about kissing a guy. I mean, it’s becoming so crazy. I would have never thought about kissing a guy!”
 
Zoe turned her around and looked her in the eyes. She stared at Teri until she was looking directly at her. “Okay, I’m not Grace so this is coming from inside my brain. Okay?
 
Teri had stopped sobbing and felt under control.
 
Zoe took her hands and placed then on Teri’s face, she smiled and she kissed Teri on the mouth.”
 
Before Teri could react, Zoe was holding her tightly and kissing her with vigor. Teri opened her mouth and Zoe’s tongue was in her mouth. After her initial reaction, she kissed her back. Then, Zoe was nuzzling on her ears and neck and kissing her. Teri moaned slightly but did not push her away.
 
When they finally stopped, Zoe reached over and touched her lips gently. Teri was flushed and feeling very hot from head to toe.
 
“Okay, Teri. I could tell you liked that, right?”
 
Teri nodded.
 
“So, was I kissing Terry, the high school boy, or was I kissing Teri, the woman?”
 
“But it was all me. Right, you were kissing me here and now.” Then she paused. She grinned. “I think I get it. If you had kissed Terry the boy, he would have gotten all excited. Terry the boy used to have huge crushes on all of you, except Lisa. But you were kissing Teri, the woman. And it’s all the same.”
 
Zoe smiled. “When we were kissing, did you stop yourself and decide you couldn’t do it ‘cause it was gay? Did you break our kiss off, and by the way, you are a great kisser. Did you break our kiss off because it would have been gay?”
 
“No. I was so excited just kissing you.”
 
“And you weren’t high, right?
 
Teri nodded.
 
“So you just kissed another woman and liked it. Lipstick, moisturizer, makeup, and all the stuff that us girls wear. None of that became a red flag. So my point is, kissing is just kissing if it’s done right. Don’t put the labels out there just to confuse yourself.”
 
As Teri wiped the last tear from her eye, Zoe took that hand. She kissed it then sucked the fingers dry.
 
Teri felt a shiver run through her body. She grinned.
 
“Okay, let’s talk about the tears. My theory is that Teri the woman is not a crybaby. Teri the woman has wound herself up so tightly that she is not functioning perfectly balanced. She is so worried about boys and girls and what is right and wrong, she has tied herself into a knot. Now, c’mon.”
 
Zoe grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the elevator. They walked through the doors and Zoe forcefully pushed Teri back against the moving wall and kissed her passionately again.
 
Teri moaned and held tightly to Zoe, hanging on as the electricity ran through her body. When they stopped at their floor, Zoe grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her along.
 
“Wait, where are we going?”
 
Zoe looked back and smiled. “My room. We’re going to release some of that pent-up energy you have and get a shower. Then, we’re going to get dressed and go out for dinner.”
 
“But…”
 
Zoe pulled her into her arms. “No. No buts.”
 
 
When the Cats all gathered in the lobby waiting to go out to dinner, Teri and Zoe came off the elevator together. Lisa looked at her sister and noticed the relaxed look on her face. She wasn’t freaking out anymore. Then she looked at Zoe who smiled back.
 
Richard had everyone following him out to their shuttle. “I hope everybody likes Ethiopian. They have this great place, just like Afghani food.”
 
Everybody looked at Teri whose face turned into a mask of horror. But before she could say anything, Richard smiled. “No, Teri. No Middle Easter food tonight. We’re going out for hamburger and fries, grilled cheese, and chowder. We’re going to a retro place, and I’ve heard they have the best milkshakes in the New England.”
 
 
After dinner, they all went back to the Xfinity Arena and slipped quietly backstage where they could see the stage, but no one could see them.
 
Alba May was a five-piece blues band from the Brooklyn. A light skinned drummer nicknamed Sticks, a very tall, lanky African looking guy wearing native dress playing bass, a white guy with dreads on guitar, a second female guitarist with a crew cut, and Alba herself on vocals and drums. Alba had a deep whiskey voice. She claimed New Orleans roots.
 
The Cats watched quietly and enjoyed their forty-five-minute set. After they were finishing up, they thanked everyone and told the crowd that the Wildcats would be out in ten minutes. They looked at each other and smiled knowing the crowd was here to see them.
 
Lisa whispered as they huddled up. “This is all so crazy; maybe it’s a pinch-me moment. I still have trouble believing that this many people bought tickets to see us. I don’t see myself as being this big a deal.”
 
As they walked out onto the darkened stage, they could see the two levels of sold-out seats. Teri looked out at the mass of faces and got goosebumps over all her bare skin. She was wearing a silver mini dress that hugged her body revealing matching pantyhose and stilettos. After spending some time with Zoe, she was feeling good all the way to her heart. She made a note to send Jenn a text after the first set and call her after the second to tell her goodnight and that she loved her.
 
Tiffany plugged in her Fender bass and touched her strings to check for volume. As she turned and walked over to her mic waiting for Gina’s cue, her high ponytail danced around her head. She was wearing a black, metallic jumpsuit that looked like it was painted on, emphasizing her perfect body. Tonight, she was wearing black glitter high top sneakers that matched.
 
Gina climbed up the riser to her drums. The new roadies knew exactly how she wanted her set-up to be. She adjusted her seat and hit her snare lightly. When she pulled a custom-made red spandex outfit, she laughed realizing just how much she resembled Tiffany’s devil suit from long ago. “Hey, Tiff, she whispered. I think my devil suit is better looking than yours is.”
 
Tiffany turned and as she gave Gina the finger mouthed out the words, ugly toad.
 
Gina whispered back, “Was that toad or turd?”
 
After more than four years on the road, both Lisa and Zoe were used to their carrying on. No one wanted to get caught in either of their flame shooters when they got going. Lisa smiled waited to get everyone’s attention. She was all in pink tonight from her four-inch heels to beautiful body hugging party dress. She knew she didn’t need a lot of makeup but felt like it was Prom.
 
Zoe looked at Teri, and without saying a word gave her a wink. She felt like she was a magic genie after her session with the young woman that afternoon. Unlike her usual pants and tuxedo shirt, she was wearing white tights and a white corset. She wore a deep emerald, green bolero jacket to pull it all together. Her hair was up in a tall ponytail.
 
Teri didn’t want to look at Zoe for fear that she wouldn’t be able to get the grin off her face. The woman had made her heart leap from her chest this afternoon. She looked forward to seeing in Chicago.
 
Lisa nodded and Gina started her pounding down on the drums and the lights went on. The crowd came to their feet cheering, screaming, and clapped along with the band. Teri yelled into her mic as she pointed across the stage, “Play Your Guitar, Zoe!”
 
Zoe responded with a driving solo that came from her heart. She was using glass slide on the pinkie of her left hand to help curl each note as she drew it out. She smiled as she realized how pure the sound was as it echoed across the room.
 
Tiffany looked at Teri and they both came in playing at the same time, filling the arena with sound. But after eight bars, the crowd was amazed when Lisa’s banshee roar topped the volume of all the instruments as she began singing Run, Run, Gone!
 
The crowd roared back as the music started. The members of Alba May watched in amazement as the women from Allentown blew the doors wide open.
 
Teri played proudly. She felt good about standing in the spotlight at the front of the stage as she clapped over her head. She felt one hundred percent confidence after Zoe showed her just how lucky she was to be a woman.
 
 
At their first break, Teri texted, Hey! What’s up? It was almost nine-thirty and she waited for a reply.
 
‘Hey, Rock Star. How ya doin?’
 
Teri smiled. ‘Just finished first set. Will call before ten-thirty.’
 
‘K.  Love ya’
 
Teri scrambled to use the bathroom and grab a candy bar. She’d never lost the taste for Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate with almonds and sea salt. She needed some jet fuel to keep herself going. As she was unwrapping a bar, she felt a hip bump from Zoe who was peeling a banana and holding a bottle of water under her arm. Teri grinned like a ten year old at Christmas who knew she was getting a puppy.
 
After the first hour of playing, the band returned in their Fur Face costumes, then moved into Chances with the grand piano and electric cello. After that, Lisa would introduce each song reminding the audience that their new album was out.
 
Teri turned to her sister, “It seemed like everyone in the audience owned it already.” 
 
Lisa reminded her that was the whole point of a tour. “We are growing a larger fan base.”
 
When they finished the second set, Teri found a quiet spot and called Jenn. She answered immediately.
 
“Hey, baby! How’s Boston?”
 
Teri was happy to hear her voice and just enjoyed listening to her talk. She wasn’t feeling any guilt about getting in bed with Zoe. As she described it, it was a friendship thing and Teri needed a lesson in perspective. It was strange to hear her say, “You know. When Jenn tells you to go ahead and explore. She’s not kidding. You need to know just what you have and you’ll appreciate her more.”
 
Teri asked Jenn what she did. And she talked about going to an interview in Philly. She’d met with the Dean of Admissions and talked about a slot in their business school in the fall. “I’m going to be a freshman at the end of August. So you’ll be making love to a college co-ed.”
 
Teri was having a hard time realizing that Jenn was going to have a life of her own and not just be a full-time groupie. But she also understood that if it was important to her, it was important for her to embrace. “That’s great,” Teri gushed sincerely. “I’m happy for you.”
 
“Oh, baby. I can hear it in your voice. It’s a really good thing for both of us. I’ll be going to school in Philadelphia which is an hour away from the band house and thirty minutes from the airport. We can be together a lot this fall. And I heard that college girls are hot.”
 
“Mmm. You’ll have to fill me in.”
 
Jenn laughed. “I’m excited.”
 
“What classes are you taking?”
 
“Pre-med. Doctors help people in a big way.”
 
Teri was getting excited for her. “That’s great. I hope all your dreams come true.”
 
“Will you buy me a hospital when I finish all my degrees?”
 
“I don’t know about making enough money for a hospital. How about a hospital bus and you can drive into neighborhoods and fix people without all the paperwork involved, kinda like a doctor in the wild west long ago.”
 
Jenn paused. “You know. That’s actually a great idea. Just like they do in third world countries like Doctors Without Borders only do in right here in the old U S of A. Appalachia, poor folks in the South, Native American reservations. There are so many places that need help. And you can use all your millions to help a lot of people.”
 
Teri described how they’d decided to donate a portion of every concert’s money to a needy place in that town. “We’ve done Boys and Girls Clubs, and we’re doing a free preschool in the town closet to this Arena. The record company offered to match us. Our share is twenty-five thousand and Warner’s is matching it. So we leave fifty thousand dollars behind after one night of playing.”
 
“You make that much money?”
 
“Even after all our expenses, I make a lot for a big night. But not every show is going to be that big. A lot are smaller. some places we only make a few thousand dollars for a night.”
 
“That’s still a lot of cash.”
 
“Yep. Hard to believe I worried and getting a job to pay for community college.”
 
 
Richard was talking to them in the lobby of the restaurant as they waited for their table. They’d brought down they bags and watched as they were loaded on the shuttle. “When we get to Detroit, our bus and the box truck will be waiting for us. Your luggage is already being loaded and will fly with you. Everything else is loaded in the truck and the bus and left this morning. Our slot at the Kick Out The Jams Festival is at eight tomorrow night. Depending on the crowd and the adjusted schedule, we’ll play for up to ninety minutes. We are being billed at a feature act.”
 
Richard waited until everyone digested that information. “After breakfast, we’re shuttling down to Boston to catch our flight. We’ll settle in our Detroit hotel tonight. You’ll be able to use the bus at the festival tomorrow and then play on Thursday at the Detroit House of Blues.”
 
Teri was eating oatmeal with cinnamon and yogurt. She was wondering if she wanted a bowl of granola or an egg as she let her mind drift. Jenn had been right. It was important to focus on their music and the shows. She thought about Jenn going to college and realized it was the best possible outcome for their relationship.
 
Lisa leaned over and whispered, “Are you all right? You seem quiet this morning.”
 
Teri grinned. “Yep. Just thinking about things. You know, trying to compartmentalize everything with Jenn and the band. I still need to grab a guitar and work on the conga song, and I have another idea about Vampire love.”
 
Gina was listening. “So, in this musical, are their Zombies, witches, or other mythical creatures. And are you creating a separate world, like an underground? There are so many movies and books to base this all on.”
 
Zoe smiled. “In Phantom of the Opera, he lived underground out of the sunlight and the real world. And are the Vampires good guys or monsters? You’ve really bitten off a big chunk here.”
 
Tiffany was nodding. “Make it two Vampire clans like in Romeo and Juliet. And our two young lovers are sneaking around out of sight of the families.”
 
Everyone looked at Tiffany and stared.
 
“What? Cause I have an idea and am suggesting without making fun of the whole project?” She stared. “Hey, it’s all your fault. Sober Tiffany has more active brain cells than drunk Barbie.”
 
Tiffany turned to Gina. “Yeah, I know. Drunk Barbie staggers home from the bars. Alcohol sold separately.”
 
Everyone stared and no-one said a word until Richard stood and waited for them. “Do we want a coffee for the road or juices? You were the ones who were out running five miles this morning. You tell me.”
 
Lisa nodded. “Waters would be good. What time’s our flight?”
 
“One. Add a couple hours to get to the hotel and settled in and we can figure out what you want to do after that.”
 
Teri was thinking about a guitar and a rock opera.
 
Gina was patting Tiffany on the back. “I don’t know. Sober Tiffany is a different person. I’m having trouble adjusting.”
 
Tiffany shook her head. “Nah. I’m just discovering my brain again. Sober is not that bad except I still smell red wine like I’m drinking it. It’s kinda neat to be reborn. And my brain was still waiting for me to start using it again. But don’t worry, my little toad. I haven’t lost my disgust for you as a human being. Back when I was drinking, I had an excuse for my behavior. You on the other hand are sober and demented. You have no excuse.”
 
“Oh, Tiff. An arrow to the heart. Shot down before lunch. What am I to do?” Gina turned her around and kissed her hard on the mouth. “I can still infect you with my cooties.”
 
Teri text Jenn asking when she’d be able to talk. Just as she finished, her phone buzzed.
 
“Hey, Rock Star! How ya doin?”
 
Teri grinned. “Okay. I am learning to live a solitary monk’s life. After this, I’m going to join a monastery and devote my life to counting all the stars in the sky.”
 
Jenn laughed. “What’s up?”
 
Teri told her about the Rock Opera idea and mentioned all the suggestions she’d heard. Jenn pointed out some more ideas and Teri laughed. “This thing is starting to become real.”
 
Jenn agreed that hiding the songs inside another album was an amazing idea. “You know, you can hide more songs inside of album three and four. Kinda like the never-ending saga of young love.”
 
“Speaking of young love, what do you know about school?”
 
“Everything is pretty much set. My mom paid my first semester tuition and I’ve been hanging out with my family since yesterday. I’m looking for ward, well, actually, we are all looking forward to seeing the Wildcats play on Saturday night.”
 
Teri smiled. “A lot of other people are too. The show sold out very quickly. But we have to be on the road on Monday morning for a show in Noblesville Indiana on Monday night. We’ll still have Friday and Saturday together. How’s that?”
 
Jenn quietly said, “I’m missing you, Rock Star. Seriously, missing you.”
 
“Me, too. Lots of crazy thoughts running through my brain about us. I’m missing our mindless talks.”
 
“Well, I think that we’re both going to appreciate each other more. How about Grace? Are you still talking to her each week?”
 
“Uh-huh. It’s all about FaceTime. But that’s better than nothing. You just want to be sitting there staring at her and smelling her perfume.”
 
“That’s a plus. But I still manage to worry myself into a frenzy.”
 
“What’s it about now?”
 
“Nothing new. I’m still trying to figure out how old, high school Terry’s brain morphed into Teri’s brain. It seems crazy that I never had any confusing thoughts about gender and sexuality before the Wildcats.”
 
“Oh, I’m sure you had them but never pushed the boundaries. Like Don, for instance.”
 
Teri took a deep breath. “Huh?”
 
“Yeah, like guys in general or sexual thoughts about me. Didn’t you ever fantasize?”
 
“Sure. But all my fantasies were about you. Never sexualizing about guys. Old Terry was guy straight.”
 
“Yep. But Old Terry’s sex and gender switch was never turned on. I think if we had started making out a year earlier, those confusing thoughts might have come sooner.”
 
“I don’t know. But why Don?”
 
“Oh, I think that new Teri is still discovering herself. Like I said, you need to start stretching yourself and finding out what turns you on.”
 
“It’s you, Jenn. You turn me on.”
 
“I get that, honey. I know that it’s true love that’s meant to be. But you need to understand the whole spectrum of your sexuality. I think you need to fool around more.”
 
Teri thought about Zoe but knew that discussion had to be saved for later. “I don’t know, Jenn.”
 
“Sure, Rock Star. Baby steps. You already know how you could stretch yourself when you get high. I think the more you bring to the table, the better. Just remember that you’re eighteen, not married with kids and sneaking out on a family.”
 
“Jenn, let’s stop. All this is leaving me confused and worrying. I hear what you’re saying, but what if you have the same itch that needs scratching. How should I handle that?”
 
“Rock Star, that’s why you have Grace.”