Aaron 4

When Aaron was thirteen a voice came to him, and it said “Remember.”

Pre-teen Aaron, full of hormones and the desires that came with them, replied “Yeah, yeah.”

And the voice said “Remember.”

And Aaron replied with vigor, “Alright already, you don’t have to keep saying that.”

The voice said “We have plans.”

“I know, I know.”

“You have a future.”

“I know. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

“There are things left to be done.”

“And what if I don’t want to do them?”

There was a long pause, long enough for Aaron to re-consider his position. After all, he wasn’t the one in charge.

The voice said, “Remember.”

Aaron, resigned to his fate, said “Fine”, in that long drawn out note that teenagers are prone to.

And the voice said, “You are at an age where distractions are doing their best to get to you. And you’re frustrations are getting in the way. You must focus on who you are. Join a team, learn a sport, focus on your grades. Remember, there are great things ahead of you.”

Aaron said, “Okay.” He felt a little dejected, but he knew the truth behind his words.

“As for the opposite sex, be careful. We don’t want any clingers-on, we don’t want to be distracted by them, and we don’t want any accidents, do we?”

Aaron, feeling defeated, said “No.” Again in that long drawn out way teens are prone to.

“I guess at your, our, age the temptation is great. You may have noticed that their bodies are changing in different ways than yours. They’re getting softer, and rounder…”

“Alright already!”

Another pause. Then, “Remember your purpose. And should the need arise, protect yourself.”

It wasn’t Aaron taking an interest in basketball that surprised Alice. Nor was it him wanting to take up baseball too. The after-school activities worked well with their differing hours. He was an A-student, did all of his chores and his homework when he got home. He didn’t smile much, being such a serious child, but he made up for it by always wanting to snuggle when they watched a movie on TV on the weekends. She was proud of her son, proud in his upbringing, although sometimes it felt like he raised himself.

She wasn’t surprised by how close they were, something she attributed to his father’s not being there. She knew these days wouldn’t last long now that he was becoming a teenager. But as long as he continued to talk to her, she would be there to talk to him. She always made time to talk. This way she could see what’s going on with him, and he with her. No secrets, completely honest and open, even when he asked about his father. She didn’t sugar-coat that topic, but she didn’t speak bitterly about him either. It was important that he understood the truth of their relationship. Thank goodness he never asked how he died.

But even that didn’t surprise her.

What really surprised Alice on a Monday morning, when they were about to leave the apartment for the day, was when Aaron asked her about condoms. She almost choked on her morning coffee. She wasn’t ready to talk about sex with him, and here he is jumping right into the deep end of the pool. She looked at him carefully, at his innocent yet matter-of-fact eyes, and wondered what he was doing when no one was watching. He told her he wasn’t having sex yet, but he wanted to be prepared, just in case. They hadn’t had “The Talk” yet and he’s asking her about condoms. Like he already knows what’s in his future.

Alice told him they would talk about it when she got home from work. He said ok and went to catch the school bus, leaving her perplexed.

He asked about condoms first, not about sex. It should be the other way around, right? What was he learning at that school? Was this her fault? Did she miss something?