Chapter 8
Dinner & Philosophy

Ricky had picked Mandi up at 6:30, and they had wended their way, after some fits and starts, ('Where do you wanna go?' 'I dunno, where do you...') to a local restaurant where they could get a burger in an environment slightly more private and upscale than McDonalds. Once settled in the booth, the waitress having departed, Ricky picked up the conversational challenge: "I'm sorry about what I did to you last night - I wasn't thinking what it looked like when I wandered off." Mandi nodded, her eyes locked on his, so he continued, "I was worried about expectations. We'd had a couple of wonderful dances, but I had nothing to compare them with. I didn't feel it would be fair to either of us if we got all wrapped up in those feelings, then discovered that they were the tip of the iceberg, and we were better off elsewhere."

"I admit I didn't think anything about that..." admitted Mandi, "I was sort of caught up in the moment! It seems to me that it's a pretty adult attitude."

"Well, I try - and 'conventional wisdom' isn't always a help!" declared Ricky. "By the time I'd hopped around a bit, I figured out that I was lucky the first time... But I'm not sure you were..." he mumbled, staring at his plate.

"I'm not too concerned," announced Mandi, "but that WAS a hothouse environment, and as a group, we're about as volatile as an old chemistry set!"

Ricky nodded his approval, "Too true. Just because we're late bloomers, doesn't mean we'll get it right. If anything, a certain amount of desperation..." At this point, he realized what he was saying, and, belatedly, shut up.

Mandi, however, avoided offense and evaluated the statement based upon its merits. "True. I was willing to settle for a lot less. Of course, all I was really looking for was a Prom date."

"Me, too. And, given the timeline, that's a pretty good justification for diminished expectations. You should probably look some more, anyway, just to be sure you can't do better..." Again, Ricky found himself staring at his French fries.

"You're sure going to a lot of effort to be fair and honest!" Mandi exclaimed, "Another girl might assume that you were giving her the brush-off!!"

Ricky's eyes widened, and his hands came up, "Oh, no! That's not at ALL what I mean! I didn't... I'm sorry; I'm not too good at this..."

Mandi dimpled, "Its OK - I'll take honesty over social skills every time; I don't have many, either!"

Ricky relaxed, and pondered the conversation of the last few moments. He had "fouled up" not once, but several times - but Mandi had not been offended, but rather responded intellectually to what was said without stereotyped responses. Cool!

"I have a kind of non-standard 'world view'", he continued. "I tend to look at things logically, and where local morality comes into conflict, I go with what seems to make sense. Some morality is OLD, and based upon conditions that don't exist anymore - like the Jewish dietary laws... No, I'm not Jewish - that was just an example."

Mandi replied, "Yes, but it could be an explosive one. I'm not either - but religion is one place where logic appears to have no home."

Ricky nodded, "Too true. While it appears to have its benefits, religion seems to require that you check your brain at the door when you show up to worship. I haven't found one I could get behind in more than a general way."

"Yeah, I think the idea's great, but the implementation hasn't been done right yet!"

"Kind of like Socialism," Ricky grinned. "Great idea - but humans can't seem to make it work!"

"Morality takes a million years to root out, once it's set, too," Mandi replied, "It's been 200 years since the original settlers around here brought in their restrictive beliefs, and in many ways, we're still stuck with them!"

"I've got a favorite controversial subject: sex!" announced Ricky. "Everybody loves that one, but I've been looking at things that some people would consider to be side issues. Incest, for example: While the genetic good sense of the moral proscription on incest is obvious, the availability of modern birth control reduces its applicability."

Mandi frowned, "What's the benefit?"

"Who would you rather have your first experience with: Someone with whom you already have a close, loving relationship, who is likely to take your comfort and needs into account - (that would be a brother, theoretically) - and who knows what he is doing - (that might be a father or an uncle), OR the current option - some boy who has no idea what he is doing but manages to override all of your defenses in the back seat of a car somewhere?"

"Put that way, I see your point," said Mandi, "but you hear all the time about sexual abuse in the home..."

"There's abuse under the law - which includes spanking, which is ridiculous - and there's real abuse - rape, and so forth. I'm definitely all for punishing the kind of asshole who rapes children - but kids play doctor all the time, and shouldn't have to be packed of to the shrinks when it's discovered. Likewise, if the young person is an active participant and has control over the situation, it's an ideal teaching situation if boys learn how to please a woman from their mother and daughters learn about sex from their father. Parents are a lot more likely to see to it that their children enjoy the experience than another young person who, at best, doesn't know much, and at worst has no control and will ruin several partners before he or she learns any!" Ricky continued, "The proscription against incest actually acts to ensure that parents tell their children little or nothing about sex, partially in fear of being singled out as a child molester. This just propagates the whole ignorant stereotype. The law doesn't discriminate between consensual sex between children or adults and children and rape. That means when it's done right, you don't hear about it, because anyone letting out such a secret faces jail!"

Mandi had begun to look distinctly uncomfortable, which Ricky failed to notice immediately as he plowed on in his passion, "Even male-male or female-female sex within the family is considered 'incest', even though there is absolutely no genetic basis for it. And it could provide a good deal of comfort in situations such as single moms trying to raise teenage girls..." Mandi's blush was un-ignorable. "Ooops! I hit something..."

Mandi looked up with pleading eyes, "Momma hasn't had a man since Pop left, and she's pretty tightly wound, sexually. We... help... each other out, sometimes..."

Ricky sat back, nodding in satisfaction, "See, that's what I mean! You'd both be miserable, otherwise!"

Mandi took a shuddering breath, surprised and relieved that Ricky hadn't reacted stereotypically, once the discussion had made the transition from theory to reality. She decided to get brave, "Momma's always encouraged me to enjoy sex, but I don't know how many times I could bring a man home, before she'd start climbing the walls."

Ricky grinned, "Sounds like you're telling me that anyone who gets into a serious relationship with you might find a third in bed!"

Mandi looked him dead in the eye, "It's possible."

Ricky sobered, somewhat, "Well, if I come to your house, it's to see YOU. I'll do whatever you deem necessary to maintain the health of OUR relationship, including THAT, but I'm not out to start a harem!"

Mandi looked pleased with his answer - as indeed she was. "You know that most of this stuff will never fly in the real world!" she declared.

"Yeah, I know. Actually after some education, it might start happening behind closed doors. Sort of like oral sex - everybody does it, and everybody turns a blind eye, but it's still illegal, many places! As a matter of fact, that's another one of my pet peeves! Who was the sick bastard who came up with the idea that oral sex should be illegal? What in the Hell is the justification?"

The conversation ambled on for a while, wandering all over the map. Mandi learned that Ricky had some serious 'rules to live by' that boiled down to the idea that anything you do that hurts another is wrong, but anything else should be the business of the individuals involved, and no one else - and that he was serious about them. She also learned that Ricky was cautious about starting a relationship with her as much in fear that he would do her an injustice as he was that it might be wrong for himself. Mandi had no such fears - in fact, the more she learned about Ricky, the more certain she was that she did NOT want to have him absent from her life.

Sitting back and sucking on the straw in his soda glass, Ricky reflected, "I don't understand; why does your momma have trouble getting sex? From where I sit, it's a buyer's market! She should be able to pick up a man just about anywhere..."

"Well, Momma's as big as I am," Mandi replied, "but she weighs more. She easily outweighs you, and maybe even Tim! She's not, like, totally gross, but she's seriously husky."

"Okay, Honey, but 'Different strokes...' - I know guys who wouldn't quibble at that..."

"But would you bring them home to Momma?"

"Okay, I see your point, maybe," Ricky replied, "Still, I can't see how if she were to show some willingness, maybe flash a little skin..."

"Momma's pretty shy, even though she's a waitress, and has to deal with people all day. She gets a lot of remarks, and they hurt. Besides, I wander out to get the paper on Sunday mornings in next to nothing, and no one has popped out of the bushes and wrestled ME to the ground yet - so it's not just exposure of a little bare skin!"

"I don't know about THAT!" Ricky replied, grinning. "I know environments where if she were to show up and flop out a tit, it would come back with a 14 year old boy attached to the nipple - and the bigger the better!"

Mandi laughed, "THAT's what Momma needs: An unending supply of 14 year old boys!"

Ricky sat back. "Are you ready to go?"

Mandi looked up at the clock. "Ricky, it's after 10:00! Where did the time go?"
"Yikes! No movie tonight! I've got a curfew!" Ricky exclaimed.

They collected their things, and Ricky drove her home. Once parked out front, Mandi asked, "Do you want to come in for a while? We can continue our conversation..."

Ricky started to get a bit excited, then clamped a lid on it, "Okay, but we'll have to watch the clock. I have to be home by midnight, or all Hell will break loose!"

Mandi led him to the door, manipulated the lock, and then grasped his hand, bringing him along as she entered the house, "Momma? I'm home! And I brought company!" This brought some frenzied scrambling from the kitchen, and "That's nice, Dear - anyone I know?"

"It's my date, Ricky. We're going into the den to talk a while," Mandi replied.

"Fine, Dear, I'll be by in a few minutes to see if you need anything." More thrashing.

"What's up?" Ricky asked.

"She's GOT to see you - which means she's GOT to get dressed!" Mandi smirked, "We're pretty informal around here - she could have been in anything from an old housecoat to nothing at all; uniforms bind, you know!" This delivered with a wink.

"Ah!" said Ricky. Mandi led him into the den, where he dropped into an armchair that made an 'L' with the couch. Mandi took the couch end. They continued talking, exploring morality and the strange quirks of human behavior - while avoiding sex as a topic.

After about 10 minutes, Helen bustled into the room, dressed in a wraparound housedress that, properly worn (and it was) met all of the dictates of decency. Ricky evaluated it for ease of access, however, and gave it a '10'. "Hi, I'm Helen..." to which Ricky murmured "Hello." "You must be Ricky." As he nodded, she scanned him from head to toe and back, then nodded tightly. For all the speed at which it was given, Ricky felt like he had been given an MRI. "Do you kids need anything? Drinks, perhaps?"

Mandi piped up, "Maybe some Cokes, Momma."

Ricky looked embarrassed, and asked "Mrs. Giannelli, ("Helen, please.") could you direct me to the restroom?"

"Sure, Dear. Down that way, on the right past the kitchen." Ricky moved out, somewhat uncertainly. As he rounded the corner, Helen allowed an expression of approval to appear on her face. "Nice. Decent looking, well-mannered..."

"...And IQ well above average," Mandi finished. "It's amazing how stupid people are - he should NOT have been on the market for the likes of ME to scoop up!"

"You're too hard on yourself, Dear. But you're right - I've seen that musculature before. It fools you into thinking he's weak - and he's anything but! Your uncle Julio was built like that, and he was an Army Ranger! The good news for you is that he won't be interested in little girls - they're too bony and fragile!"

"Mom!" Mandi blushed.

"Has he kissed you?"

"We're moving slowly. He doesn't want me to close off my options by getting instantly serious with him."

"Either he's trying gently to get rid of you, or he's a sweet, sweet boy!"

"I believe it's Option B," Mandi responded, "He lives in a land where things are supposed to be logical, and he has some serious notions of 'right' and 'fair' that even I know that most of the human race can't live up to. But HE can!"

"That could make things difficult - if you use the usual weapons a female deploys in this situation, ultimately, he won't be able to respect you."

"I know, Momma. I'm doing it the hard way. The good news is that I think I'm doing OK."

"All right - I'll go get the drinks. Have fun, Dear!" Helen swept out, passing Ricky as he arrived from the bathroom.

Ricky turned to watch her departure. "Did I pass muster?" he asked.

"I think so. You passed the 'good customer' test, at least." Mandi replied.

"'Good customer'?"

"Momma can size up a customer as he comes into the restaurant as to whether he'll be nice or trouble." Mandi amplified.

"Oh." Ricky settled himself, gingerly, as Helen reappeared with the sodas. 'Quick' he thought, 'Too quick'. Helen dropped them off, and disappeared without a word.

Mandi caught his dubious glance, "She probably staged them. It's habit. She IS a waitress!" She then piped up with "Momma! Ricky has to go at 11:30. Could you let us know?"
"Certainly, Dear!" wafted in from the direction of the kitchen.

"That'll keep her busy!" Mandi giggled.

They resumed their conversation. They were arguing the virtues of prostitution when Helen announced "Time, Dears!"

Ricky slowly got up, and took Mandi's hands in his, "Wow! This was great! Just talking tonight was totally different, but almost as good as last night!"

Mandi blushed, "You can have BOTH, you know!"

It was Ricky's turn to blush. Unable to think of anything to say, he turned, and they walked to the door, hand in hand. They stepped out onto the porch, and Mandi gently shut the door, then turned and looked into his eyes. Ricky took the hint, and the resulting kiss left them both flushed and breathless. "I still owe you a movie," gasped Ricky, "Tomorrow?"

"Okay. 6:00?"

"I'll be here." After another quick kiss, Ricky clattered off, worried about the proximity of his curfew. Mandi watched him leave, then went inside.

"So, what did you see?" Helen wanted to know.

"We started talking at dinner, and ended up blowing off the movie." Mandi replied.

"If Denise had told me that, I'd expect wet panties. You, I believe. Especially given some of the snippets I overheard in the den!" Helen declared.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Pretty impressive! Are you going to catch him?"

"I'm 'way out in front!" Mandi grinned.

"What about you?" Helen asked, shrewdly.

"Oh, Momma, I'm done for! If he gets away, I'll shoot myself!" Mandi declared.

"Relax, Dear, and be yourself. If you don't push him, he'll walk in on his own. I don't think that the importance of the fact that you could carry on an intelligent conversation with him can be underestimated. I couldn't usually hear what he said, but I could pick up his tone - and he was impressed with you!"

"Momma, he's just so slow and deliberate!" Mandi wailed.

"Sweetheart, from this side, he's not being slow at all - this was your first REAL date. You're going to see him again tomorrow night! That will be 3 times in 3 days! Relax! Everything will fall into place - and it'll be sweeter because of the wait! Be patient and play fair!"

"But the Prom's in two weeks!"

"And you're going to need a dress, mark my words. He'll ask you - and soon!"

The girls closed down the house, and went to bed. Denise arrived home about 12:30.