It was the post-college graduation reunion and Vanessa was traveling back to her hometown to visit her high school gang, "The Ten". There were ten girls that had know each other since middle school, and all had been away at college for the past four years. This was the first time the whole gang had been together in over a year. For Vanessa, it was the first time she will have seen her friends in over two years.
They met, as they always did, at Stacey's house. Her parents, the Watsons, had finished their basement at the beginning of middle school, and that was almost always where the parties, and after-party parties, were, especially the sleepovers. Stacey's parents were very cool about the noise and activity level. Her mom always made sure that there was sufficient food, and her dad made sure that nothing got out of hand.
All through middle and high school they had had co-ed parties there, but there had never been an issue with smoking or drinking. Stacey's parents were very clear about that, and in all the years that boys had been involved, there had never been an incident. Stacey's dad wasn't exactly intimidating, at 5' 6" and 150 lbs, but for whatever reason, none of the boys ever challenged his authority, and the parties were great.
Vanessa was especially excited to see Stacey's parents, as she had always felt a special bond with them; like they were her second parents. Stacey's mother was always interested in hearing about Vanessa's life, and her dad was just always warm and friendly. It made her feel good to go to their house.
When Vanessa's parents dropped her off at Stacey's house, Mr. Watson was home to greet them. He came upstairs from his basement office to say hello to her parents. Something strange happened to Vanessa when Mr. Watson walked into the room. He was right around her dad's age, but he worked out and always kept himself in great shape. He walked into the family room, shook her father's and mother's hands, and Vanessa almost hugged him. She had never even had the urge to touch him in all of the years she'd known him, but for some reason, at that moment she wanted to have a connection to him. Strange! Stranger still, as a rule, Vanessa didn't really like to be touched. Even when she'd dated in college, she usually lost patience with the boys she met, both emotionally and physically.
After her parents left, the Watson's sat down for dinner. Vanessa found herself looking at Mr. Watson, a lot, and fantasized that he was looking at her, too. It was a strange sensation for her. She was twenty-two, Japanese, thin and fairly flat-chested. She'd dated a little in college, but never anything serious. She was a very focused student and boys just seemed to be a distraction. Plus, as she was very shy and self-conscious, she never really encouraged any boys, and had never been any further than a little bit of kissing. She wasn't exactly concerned that she was still a virgin, but she wasn't exactly happy about it, either. She knew she'd find someone, eventually.
Chapter
Vanessa was so excited! She'd been accepted to medical school back in her hometown. That was great news because, even though her parents had moved to California to be close to her when she went to UCLA, she still had many friends back home that she could use as a support system if she needed to. Best of all, of course, Stacey's family was there.
When she'd moved into her graduate-student apartment, she sat on her bed alone, thinking about her life. Classes didn't begin until the next week, so she had time to explore the campus and whatever else she felt like doing.
She looked at her phone, deciding who, if anyone to call. It was Monday, late morning, and she was restless. For whatever reason, she was rolling through her contact database and Stacey's dad's number appeared. She simply stared at it, trying to figure out what to do. She wasn't even completely sure how she came to have his cell phone number. She pushed "send".
"This is Tim," came a voice at the other end. Vanessa hit "end". She sat staring at the phone for several minutes. Slowly, her hand moved and hit "send" again.
"This is Tim," came the voice through the receiver. "Hello?"
"M-Mr. Watson?" said Vanessa shakily.
"This is Tim Watson. May I help you?"
"Um, hi Mr. Watson. This is Vanessa Nakamora".
"Well hello, Vanessa. How are you? Are you at the university? Is everything all right?" She could hear the concern in his voice.
"Um, yes, everything's fine. I, um, had a couple of issues; business issues. Um, more like concerns that I thought you might be able to help me with," she managed to stammer out.
"Vanessa; what's wrong?" he asked. "You don't sound good. Are you in some kind of trouble? Where are you?" he continued.
"I'm at the university, in my apartment. I'm not in any trouble, I'm um, just concerned."
"Tell me where you are and I can be there in half an hour" he offered. She thanked him for his concern, gave him her address, and thanked him again.
"You just stay where you are and lock the door. I'll be right there. Okay?"
"Okay, oh and Mr. Watson?" she said. "Please don't tell ANYONE that we even spoke. Please?"
"Of course, Vanessa. Until I know what the problem is, I won't say anything to anyone. I'll be right there," and he hung up.
Vanessa took a deep breath to calm herself. Subconsciously, she knew exactly what was happening, but consciously, she couldn't even consider the possibility.