Friday, December 9th

82.)

Finals went well. Or, at least they went as well as I could have hoped. The 8th was our last day of class, and that was when it dawned on me that Blossom and I probably wouldn't share a class next semester. I picked my classes ages ago, and she would have as well if she were smart. Which she was.

Then again, we didn't even acknowledge each other in school. Maybe it was better for both of us if we didn't have to always be in the same spaces together.

Then on Friday, another thing dawned on me. If neither of us had class, we didn't have to wait until six to head up to the beach house! I texted Blossom, but she was already one step ahead of me.

>>Be there in 30 mins ❤️

"Are you coming back on Sunday?" my mom asked.

"I think so?" I hesitated. That was when it dawned on me that I didn't have to come back at all. I could stay at Blossom's for weeks, until school started again in January. Or, more likely, until the holidays. Two whole weeks in diapers...

"I really should meet this girl..." my mom sighed, sipping her afternoon coffee. One cup in the morning, one cup in the afternoon. She was a woman of routine.

"I'm not a kid," I said, like I was quoting a line out of a diaper story.

"With your behavior recently?" my mom might have said. "I think what you need is to learn what it means to be an adult. You take all those privileges for granted."

No, no, no. No ageplay fantasies about my actual mom; that made it weird.

"You're right," my mom said. "Let me rephrase then. I'd like to meet her. If that's okay with you."

Imagine that, a parent who could respect boundaries. I sighed. Jeeze...

"I'll ask when she gets here."

Ten minutes later, I was throwing my backpack into the back seat of Blossom's car. It was so warm inside, and Blossom was characteristically underdressed for the weather. My mom would probably make her change her clothes if she saw her like that. A diaper and some footed pajamas, perhaps? This time I cast a big-busted actress as my fantasy mom. It helped.

"Hey, I know this is short notice," I said, poking my head into the warm car. "Would you mind meeting my mom?"

Blossom was wearing purple plaid pants that might have passed for pajama pants, but they only came down to her shins. She had a fuzzy purple and white knit sweater on, but it didn't come past her belly button, and over the top she had a denim-jacket that was about two sizes too big. Between that and her beanie, she gave the impression of being dressed for the cold, but in the least practical possible way. The important thing, though, to Blossom, was that she was dressed enough to meet someone new for the first time.

"Oh. Okay? Is there anything I should know in advance?"

"Don't mention the baby stuff," I said, though I knew she knew that already. It was best to be overly cautious with things like that. I closed the door and walked around the car, putting my hands in the pockets of my thick winter jacket. It was cold, even for December.

Blossom stopped once she'd stepped out of the driver's seat, and leaned up against the hood of her car in contemplation. Something had occurred to her.

"Hey babes, are you sure you want me to meet your Mom? I'm cool with it, but it's like you said... don't mention that stuff, right? That's like..."

She had one hand up.

"This is me, this is that stuff, happy and together."

And then she held up the other.

"And this is your Mom and your vanilla life. You don't want these two things touching, do you?"

She spoke like it was so obvious too, like she was surprised Amy hadn't thought about it first.

Hm. I guess she was right, but I didn't really see it that way.

"Well, I'm spending a lot of time with you. And I don't want my mom to worry about me, and the easiest way to do that is for her to know who you are. What you look like. Et cetera. The scariest thing is the unknown, right? The same reason you're afraid to look away from a spider on the wall?"

But Blossom was a girl, I reminded myself. Not a spider. I could look away from her and I knew I'd be okay.

"I guess I'm saying that I trust you not to ruin my life," I sighed. "If you wanted to, you could have done it a thousand times over already."

"I guess that's true..."

Blossom nodded her head slowly, but there was still clear skepticism in her expression. While it was true that she could have ruined Amy's life many times by now, there was also some degree of sanctity that came with parents. A bell that could never be unrung. She didn't seem comfortable at all.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," I said, not quite sensing her discomfort as much as observing it splattered across her face like a bucket of red paint over a fur coat.

"I want to, that's not the problem. Do you have any idea how few people I hang with that actually want me to meet their parents? Usually they don't want to be associated with a girl like me. So like, I'm really flattered, I just worry about fucking up your life."

Okay, so this was clearly a bigger deal than I thought. And Blossom was standing out in the cold in her stupid clothes. So I stepped up to her and put one of my hands on her arm.

"You won't fuck anything up," I said. "Just don't mention anything baby related and the rest doesn't really matter. She just wants to make sure she knows your face in case I disappear and the police need her to pick you out of a line up."

"...you gotta promise not to get mad at me if things collide. If someone says 'Hey I saw that Blossom girl in this context, did you know? Isn't your daughter hanging out with her?' you can't say I didn't warn you, alright?"

"My mom isn't really one to slut shame," I shrugged. "And anyway, I can make my own decisions. For a total baby, I'm pretty grown up."

But Blossom wasn't satisfied with my answer. So I relented.

"I promise not to get mad," I said.

"Alright..." Blossom took a deep breath to center herself.

Wow, of all the things I thought would spook Blossom Brixley, I didn't think meeting someone's mom would be at the top of the list. Then again, if I really thought about it, it made sense. She probably didn't meet a lot of parents.

I led her inside, into our small foyer. There was a staircase in front of us that led up to my room and to the left was the living room. On the right, an archway led to the kitchen. That's where we went.

"Mom, this is Blossom. Blossom, my mom."

My mom looked both a lot like me and not at all. She was a little taller, but not nearly as tall as Blossom. She was chubby, but her waistline was tight and her boobs made up for it. She had the same brown hair as me, but hers was straight and pulled to the side in a low ponytail. We also had the same brown eyes, but hers were bright and curious. There was a magnetic aura about her, something that drew people in. Even standing in the same room as her, it felt like being a battery on a conductive pad. She was energizing.

"Blossom!" Mom said cheerfully. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Gosh, you must be cold out there dressed like that. I hope you have another coat in the car?"

"Called it," I muttered under my breath.

"Oh, this?" Blossom twirled in place, with her arms out to her sides like a toddler showing off a new T-shirt. "I'm all layered up, see? Lots of warmth here."

Said the girl with her entire tummy exposed. At least it was a taut and hot tummy, which to Blossom made it okay.

"It's nice to meet you, Amy's Mom."

"Amy?"

She tilted her head and smirked at me. I felt heat on my cheeks. Great…

Blossom had a stiffening in her back at the idea that she might have used the wrong name; that maybe she said Mia instead of Amy, but she played it back in her head and decided that it was just probably a nickname that her cupcake didn't use that often. Phew. Relax, Blossom.

"You can call me Laura if you'd like," Laura said cheerfully. "What are you girls getting up to this weekend? Any fun plans?" She sipped her coffee, still wearing that coy smile.

"Okay Laura, I can vibe with that. We're just gonna go up to the beach house like usual, watch some TV, nothing big."

"Alone?" Laura asked, knowing full well she wouldn't get an answer.

"Mom," I said sharply.

"I'm kidding! You kids have fun. And make sure to call if you're going to be home later than usual."

"You'll be lucky if I come home at all," I snapped back and dismissively waved my hand.

"Okay, okay. I don't want to keep you."

She put down her coffee and stepped up to me for a hug. I hugged her back with one arm and ducked out of a kiss on the cheek.

"It was nice to meet you, Blossom," Laura said cheerfully. "Feel free to come over whenever you'd like. It's awfully quiet around here."

"I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I can come over for movies or something with you two one night?"

Blossom didn't know why she pitched the idea, but she thought about what Middle School Blossom would have suggested, because she was much more wholesome, and that was what came out.

"That sounds great," Laura said with a classic smile.

"C'mon," I said, nudging Blossom's arm. I think my mom had embarrassed me enough. The sooner we got out of this house the better.

"Love you!" Mom called after me.

"Love you," I called back.