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“Annie, put a smile on!” Isabel tried to cheer her sister up.
“Izzy, I can’t smile if I have nothing to smile about!” Anne complained grumpily. “You sound like a silly McDonald’s commercial.”
“Be happy, today is a brand new day!” Isabel said as she drove.
Anne unhappily looked away.
Isabel let out a sigh. What was she going to do with her baby sister?
Anne met a guy named Edward Lancaster in college. They started a relationship after a few dates. Eager to lose her v-card, Anne secretly told Isabel about her intention to hit a home-run with Lancaster. Isabel was not too encouraging but Anne was really on it. She promised to tell Isabel about it afterwards while Isabel spent three hours on the phone teaching her how to use a condom properly and pros and cons of losing virginity before being truly committed to a guy.
Well, they did it.
And broke up the next morning.
Anne kicked Lancaster out and cut off all contacts.
That was all she told Isabel in tears.
Nothing more.
And she hardly ever smiled since then.
Actually, she never smiled.
To cheer Anne up, Isabel decided to take her to visit her boyfriend George’s family in the countryside.
***
“George’s family is really nice,” Isabel told Anne. “His mother Cis owns horses, cows, and lambs. She is a fantastic rider.” She paused and added, “George has a younger brother, Richard; he’s single.”
“Izzy, I don’t want to hear it!”
“Annie, I know things didn’t work out between you and Edward,” Isabel said. “But you can’t live in a misery forever.”
Suddenly she pulled over.
In a very serious tone, she asked Anne, “Did he force himself on you?”
“No!” Anne shook her head. “It was all consensual.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“Are you 100% sure?”
“Yes!”
“Are you—“
“I was not raped!” Anne said with frustration. “I know what rape is! Rape is when—“
“Okay, okay,” Isabel was relieved to hear that. “Look, just be nice when you meet the Yorks.”
***
The Yorks were indeed nice, down to earth people. Anne was a little surprised at the largeness of the family. The Nevilles were a family of four; but the Yorks were five times as large! George has five siblings: Ed, Edmund, Meg, Nan, and Richard. Ed was married to Liz; they had six kids together with one on the way. Oh yeah, Liz also had two boys from her previous marriage. Nan was a large, homely woman with a daughter. Edmund, Meg, and Richard were not married yet. Cis proudly said that she couldn’t wait to see all her kids married with a bunch of kids of their own. And then Anne learned that Liz came from a large family as well: 14 siblings.
Cis was a great cook and Anne did enjoy her food. And yet, her face was lack of joy or smile.
Isabel whispered to Cis secretly, “Bad breakup!”
“Oh my,” Cis laughed. She handed Anne a large spoon. “This is for you. Find him and smack him!”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Without a word, Anne rushed out of the house.
***
That night, Anne and Isabel stayed at Cis’ house.
“Annie, don’t be like this. Cis is so nice!”
Burying her face into the pillows, Anne muttered, “Leave me alone!”
“Can’t you let it go and be happy? People break up and make up all the time!”
Anne said nothing.
“What do you think of Richard?” Isabel asked.
“He got funny eyes and nothing more.”
“Don’t you want to get to know him? He’s a good cook, and you do love his steaks.”
“No.”
“He’s a nice guy and he can make you laugh.”
“If he can make me laugh, I’ll marry him.” Anne murmured as she pulled up the covers.
***
The next morning, Richard got up early. It was only 5:30 AM.
He went out to fetch the freshest eggs.
“What are you doing up so early?” Edmund asked.
“I’m going to make omelets,” Richard told him. “Anne will love it.”
“You know that she’s allergic to eggs right?”
“No! Not our sister or our niece,” Richard laughed. “Isabel’s sister.”
“Her?” Edmund could not believe his ears. “That girl never smiles. And you are offering her your famous omelet?”
“She’s nice girl,” Richard insisted. “Once she smiles, you’d love her just as I do.”
Meanwhile, Anne washed up and opened the window for fresh air. She looked outside; and she had to admit, the York’s farm was very beautiful. It was a nice place to relax and forget about the nauseating things at home. Edward Lancaster…
He was her first.
It was nothing like she what had anticipated.
It was a mistake…but it could not be reversed.
What really happened…she couldn’t tell anyone because it was too embarrassing.
It was kind of ridiculous but also sad.
Fairy tales were never real.
Boy meets girl – true.
Live happily ever after – false.
Anne didn’t want to think about this anymore. She looked out and then spotted something.
A boy in white tank top and a pair of white shorts chasing a chicken…
What in the world?
Yes, it was a boy in white tank top running in the field after a chicken!
Seeing him jumping and hopping over the fence and trying to grab the chicken made Anne laugh.
Before she knew it, she was laughing out loud.
And laughing endlessly.
She was still laughing when Isabel saw her.
She hadn’t laughed like this for a long time.
***
That laugh was like a medicine; it cured her misery like magic. Anne spent rest of the weekend in a much happier spirit.
And she got to know Richard.
He grew up on this farm, he told her. But he was going to school in the city studying medicine to be a physician. Anne in turn told him that she originally wanted to be a nurse but can’t stand the sight of blood and fluid. She didn’t know what she really wants to do now.
They exchanged numbers and kept in touch.
Before she knew it, they were dating.
He made her a fancy dinner and served her with fine wine. While eating, Anne knew what was going to come.
“What is it?” Richard asked.
“Nothing,” Anne replied.
After dinner they watched movie. Within five minutes of the movie, she was in his arms. Within six minutes, he was kissing her. And then within a second, he carried her into his bedroom.
She moaned when he kissed her neck. However, she stopped him before he could go down any further.
“What is it?” He asked, concerned. “Am I going too fast?”
“No,” Anne replied with hesitation.
“Anne, tell me,” Richard pressed. “If I make you feel uncomfortable—“
“It’s not that,” Anne turned away. “Please don’t judge, but I have done this before. And it didn’t turn out well.”
“Did he hurt you?”
Biting her lips, Anne nodded.
“Did you call the police?”
Anne shook her head. “He didn’t mean it, or I don’t think he did. But it hurt, and I was bleeding.”
“Did he hit you?”
“No it was not like that…it wasn’t violence,” she said and looked at him. “I didn’t expect that it’d hurt.”
After a few hesitations, she went on and told him what happened that night…
Anne and Edward Lancaster decided that they were ready for this. It was first time for both of them and they were aware the consequences of sex, such as pregnancy and STD. While Anne spoke with Isabel on this matter, Lancaster did some research himself. He advised Anne to get her medical records to show that she was STD free; and he was getting his as well. They would share their medical records as a way to build trust. Anne didn’t think much about it and she was curious on what she could find in Lancaster’s medical records as well.
On the night of their “first time”, they shared their medical records. Anne hardly had anything in hers since she was a healthy person. But Lancaster had a few interesting things, like an incident where he was sent to ER because his tongue got stuck in his water bottle. But both were STD free.
So that was good.
And they got condoms and lubricants to make sure no baby would result from this important night.
Despite her long talk with Isabel, somehow the fact that losing virginity is going to hurt fell through the cracks. In other words, Anne was not aware of that.
Neither was Lancaster aware that he was allergic to latex.
Long story short, they got mad at each other for the consequences.
The next morning, it went from bad to worse when Anne mistakenly used Lancaster’s lubricant as toothpaste.
So yeah…they broke up and never talked again.
After hearing the story, Richard could no longer hold down his laugh. Seeing him laughing, Anne abruptly got up and went to the door.
“No, Anne, come back here!” Richard wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t go!”
“You are laughing at me!”
“I am not,” Richard insisted despite still laughing. “Tonight isn’t going to be like that, I promise you.”
Anne wasn’t buying it.
To make her feel more relaxed, Richard began to tickle her.
“Ri…Richard…stop…”
He continued to tickle her until she cried that she’s staying for the night.
“Tonight, I’m going to make you feel special,” he said while kissing her.
The touch of his hand against her skin made her feel warm and relaxed. Anne closed her eyes and followed his guidance.
***
The next morning, Anne woke up in Richard’s arms. Thinking about what happened last night, she giggled.
Yes, this was what real lovemaking feels like.
After their lovemaking, Richard explained to her that losing virginity is painful by nature; but it was only once in a lifetime.
Now come think of it, she felt pretty bad about Lancaster.
Yet, Lancaster shouldn’t have blamed her for what happened to his penis because of his allergy to latex.
Okay, it was in his medical record somewhere but Anne missed it because his record was so long and detailed.
Nevertheless, she was happy now.
Rubbing her hand against his, Anne knew that this is the man she wants to be with.
She did tell Isabel that if Richard were to make her laugh, she’d marry him.
Of course she will.
They would marry; have beautiful children. In the morning, she would look out from the window and watch Richard chasing after their kids.
That would really make her laugh.
Laughing from true happiness.