Her Catalyst: Part 06 of 25

In Part 06, Sharlene thoroughly enjoys the ongoing journey of touching, yet she very willingly takes some time to talk to Angelisa about going to college. Greatly surprised that she has anything in common with a ‘big city doctor’, Angelisa is even more surprised that Sharlene wants to ‘adopt’ her as a sister, takes her on a shopping trip, and even answers some personal and sensitive questions.

A peek inside:

The silence extends before Angelisa feels ready to ask through her embarrassment, “What’s it like to make love to an older man?”

“By ‘make love’ do you mean sexual intercourse where a man’s penis enters a woman’s vagina?”

Angelisa blushes deeper and hesitates to answer, “Yes.”

“I don’t know, yet. Of course, I don’t know what it’s like to have sexual intercourse with a younger man either, so I don’t know if there’s any difference.”

Angelisa’s eyes are wide as she asks in surprise, “You’ve never had . . . ?” but can’t seem to finish the question.

“No, I’ve never had sex.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I assumed you were experienced and was hoping for some guidance.”

“What kind of guidance are you looking for?”

“I really don’t know. What it’s like? Is it worth the risk of pregnancy? Who do I allow to touch me so?”

Since she knows what many other people would think or say about the subject, Sharlene briefly hesitates before she answers, “I don’t mean to sound old-fashioned, but the only sure way to avoid pregnancy is to not have sexual intercourse. There are ways to reduce the risk, but without surgery, there’s no way to eliminate the risk. Ask yourself if an hour’s worth of pleasure is worth seven and a half months of pregnancy then another twenty to twenty-five years of raising a child.”

“Since you put it that way, I have to say, ‘no way’.”

“And your question about who. Don’t ask who do you allow, ask who do you want. Who do you trust completely? If you wouldn’t dare trust the other person with your credit card or wallet, how can you trust them with your body? And if he does make you pregnant, are you absolutely positive, not wishfully hoping, but one hundred percent positive he’ll stay with you and help you raise the child he helped make?”

It takes awhile for Angelisa to respond, “Oh. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

Sharlene nods her head as she says, “Most people don’t. They just want their fun and forget about the consequences. Some people are lucky and don’t have to suffer any consequences. But for other people, their lives are ruined. And we haven’t even considered the risk of disease. As much as I enjoy George touching me, and believe me, I haven’t felt anything so good, if those other factors weren’t already dealt with, I would say it isn’t worth it. If I get desperate enough, I’ll touch myself and learn to live with no more.”

“Oh my. Yet most people I know think it’s just about the fun.”

“And how many of them want something more out of life?”

Angelisa pauses for a moment to think about that before she answers, “Uh, not many. I know quite a few girls who have gotten themselves pregnant. Some even claimed they took precautions and either ended up with an abortion or dumped the child on a relative to raise. For many of the girls in my culture who end up being pregnant, whether it was intentional or not, they drop out of school to take care of the child. ”

Sharlene briefly hesitates before she asks, “How many of the fathers stuck around? How many unwanted children are produced? And how many women end up with no future?”

“Take it all together and it really doesn’t seem worth it. . . .”

. . .

Angelisa sits back and thinks about what Sharlene has said. It’s almost like a culture shock. Nobody has ever been so willing to talk to her so clearly. And nobody has been willing to dissuade her until she had all of the precautions in place. Even Maria assumes she’ll eventually have sex and will then deal with any consequences which happen to crop up after the fact.