A Family Meeting

"I don't even know why we're having a meeting about this. I've already made my decision, you guys don't get to vote on it"

As Jessie sits nonchalantly at the table, bored and waiting for this to all be over so she can go ahead and do exactly what she was planning to anyway, she reminds you so much of a young Maisie it is almost unreal. That means you know already how difficult reasoning with her is going to be.

"This isn't just your decision, because it doesn't just affect you Jess. Once the secret is out there it can be used against Abby, or Tammy, or any of your other cousins" you argue.

"No, I've looked into this and I don't have to say it's a family curse" Jessie responds "All I have to tell Craig to trigger it is that I'm cursed and he can command me by saying my name. That's it. I can pretend it was me who pissed off a witch, so there's no reason to drag anyone else into this. The others can make their own decisions about what to do when they hit eighteen, just like I am now"

"What if he researches it?" Abby asks nervously.

"Researches what? I'm not going to give him any information to go on. And why would he even bother? What would be the motivation for him to dig any further into the curse, even if he somehow guessed there was more to it?"

"I'm sorry to say this, and I know he is a good kid, but you must be aware that Craig is besotted with you, Jess." tell your daughter, concerned at how much better she is making her case than you had anticipated she would "Do you really want to hand him that much power over you? And before you say it worked out for your Mum and me, or Grandma Mary and Grandpa John, look into just how many times it has gone another way, historically, and what the consequences have been for those poor women"

"I know Craig well enough to know he isn't and never could become a monster" Jessie attempts to assure you "Look, let's say he can't help himself at first and commands me to strip naked and call him Master for a few days, like you did to Mom.."

You glare daggers at Maisie. What the fuck was she thinking telling Jess about that?

"If that happens, I can handle it. The point is, someone else might do something really awful to me, and Craig never would, not only because he's my best friend, but because he is fundamentally a decent guy. Just like you are, Dad"

"Nobody else is ever going to find out Jess" you plead with her, fearing you are fighting a losing battle here "If your Mom hadn't decided to tell me, that would have been an entire generation of Petersen women who have got to middle age without the curse ever being triggered"

"Careful who you're calling middle aged" Maisie jokes, not exactly helping the situation.

"And what about Great Aunt Carly? That wasn't centuries ago, it was thirty years. It could easily happen again. If a fuckwit like Matthew can stumble across the curse, then imagine what someone smart could do with it. The information is out there. If I can find it then anyone else can too. And with how comprehensive family tree apps are nowadays, if someone somewhere in the world finds out that one of us is cursed, they can track us all down. Like, in minutes. I could end up as basically a **** on an auction website with my details being sold to the highest bidder. Honestly, I'm amazed that kind of thing hasn't happened already"

"This is scaring me Jess!" Abby panics.

"Don't worry Abs, I'm working on a plan for you, someone else I think I can trust for when the time comes" Jessie tries to assure her younger sister.

"Leave her out of this!" you snap "Okay, let's just, to humour you for a moment, say I go along with this plan of yours. What happens next?"

"There are two choices" Jess coolly brushes lint from her jeans as she speaks "My preferred option is for me to tell Craig when we're alone together, like Mom did with you, so he knows I trust him. But, I have agreed with Mom that, cringingly awkward as it will be, I can tell him here, in front of you both, and we can even agree on a script together before I do it. But that offer only stands if you give me your blessing and promise to be cool and not threaten Craig or anything like that. Either way, I'm telling him. I love you Dad, but I'm not putting myself at risk to placate you"

The room falls silent. If the others are waiting for you to respond, you don't know what to say. At what point did your own child become smarter than you are?

"So Dad" Jessie asks, as she draws the family meeting she has taken charge of towards it's conclusion "Do we have a deal?"