Intermission - Her son’s girlfriends (Part 2).

Holly sighed softly and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Alright. Listen, girls, I didn’t want to talk to you to scare you off or anything like that. Even calling you to talk about my son seems too drastic and old fashioned for my own tastes, but you’ll agree that the situation merits it, don’t you?”

Alice was the first to answer. “We understand, Mrs. Brooks.” The blonde girl smiled nervously. “It’s been strange for us as well.”

“I hope Oliver didn’t rope you into this arrangement somehow,” Holly said.

That made all the girls chuckle and shake their heads at the same time.

“Of course not,” Grace said. “If anything, we’re to blame for causing him no small amount of confusion. The idea was ours to begin with.”

Holly raised an eyebrow. “Was it now? But why? I can’t imagine a single boy having to split his time and attention between you all would be an attractive deal.”

“W-W-We…” The Russian girl, Milana, tried to speak, but her first words got caught in her throat. She took a deep breath to compose herself and looked directly at Holly. “We knew it would be like that, but we’re fine with it. It’s hard to explain, but… Everything else makes up for it.”

“Everything else?” Holly asked. It was funny watching the girl’s white, slightly pale face turn bright red, and it also confirmed a previous thought.

“Being with Oliver feels more like having a companion than just having a boyfriend,” Grace said. “He’s not just a guy I see on weekends and hang out with at school. He’s a friend, a partner, a confidant. He’s someone I care deeply about, and I know he cares about me on the same level. The others can say the same.” She was clearly the one the group counted on to their spokesperson, and it was obvious why. She had the ability to talk despite her own nerves and embarrassment because she knew it was important.

Holly wanted to groan. As expected, meeting them as a group was difficult. Noelle, for example, had barely said a word. Sarah, too, which was unexpected. If she remembered right, Oliver had said she could be brash at times.

She would just have to get to know them over time, but that was always the plan. She didn’t call them here to ask them the story of their life. What she’d heard so far already eased one of her worries: these girls cared about Oliver. Now for the hard part.

“It’s good to hear you’ve thought this through. You’ll run into more bumps in the road, you know?”

Grace nodded. “We’re ready to deal with them as they come.”

Holly smiled for a moment, then it faded as she prepared to tell them the following. “Good. Now… I don’t want to meddle in your business. Oliver has earned my trust, and I promised to allow him his privacy. However, as awkward as it is, I need to remind you to be careful. I mean that in general, of course, but also in regards to birth control.”

The girls all flinched. Even Grace’s mask of poise and confidence fell for that moment. Even Holly herself felt awkward at the revelation. God, the implications of what her son was doing…

“We…” Grace coughed to clear her throat and try to regain her composure. Still, her voice was meeker than before. “We’re all on the pill.”

Holly nodded. “That’s good, but remember that there are other options as well. Depending on the one you get, an IUD can last from five to eight years and you don’t have to worry about forgetting to take the pill.” She looked over the girls, seeing how most of them seemed ashamed of being caught. Damn, Holly really felt bad now.

“Hey, don’t need to be ashamed,” she told them as she relaxed in her seat. “You’re all young. Of course you want to try it, especially with the guy you like. I’ve never been one to vilify sex, but it’s important to take precautions. You should all enjoy your youth as best you can, but there’s a difference between taking risks and being reckless. You have your whole lives ahead of you. Take a moment to think about what you want for your future every so often.”

Alice nodded. “We will. And we’ll be careful, we promise.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Brooks,” Grace said.

“Look, in the end I just want you all and Oliver to be happy. Treat him well and I promise he’ll return the favor twice over. He’s that kind of man.”

Noelle giggled. “We learned that, yes.”

“Oh, but don’t be afraid to give him a bit of an ear-pulling if he’s NOT treating you as he should. He means well, but he’s got a lot to learn.”

Grace grinned. “I don’t know about ear-pulling, but he’s good at listening to feedback.”

“He asks for it himself,” Mila added with a fond smile.

“We have no complaints,” Alice said.

“Glad to hear that,” Holly said. “Now, if you haven’t grown tired of me yet, how about you all stay for dinner? I won’t **** you, but I’d like to get to know you a bit better. You three especially,” she told Mila, Grace and Sarah. “You don’t come over often, after all.”

They all gratefully agreed to stay. Holly let them go and they went up to Oliver’s room. She could hear the chatter starting already. Guess meeting your boyfriend’s parents is never easy, no matter the year.

Now the question was, should she play it safe and order food for them all or should she risk letting her son show off his still developing cooking skill to his girlfriends?

No, it was up to him. She’d let the boy himself decide what to do.

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