She thought about asking him, but she somehow knew he wouldn't answer such a question.She thought about asking him, but she somehow knew he wouldn't answer such a question. She knew the problems some of her girl friends had with older brothers who regarded kid sisters as barely human. She knew she was fortunate in that respect; Tom was always nice to her, certainly nicer than he had to be. He teased her, but in ways that made her laugh. He took her to see movies her friends weren't interested in (she hated going to the show alone), or weren't allowed to see. He gave her sincere advice on how to deal with problems at school, and he went by the junior high and picked up her assignments when she was home sick with the flu. In return, Susan never pulled pranks on her brother -- not nasty ones, anyway -- and she defended him in arguments with her friends about the uselessness of older brothers. She didn't snoop in his belongings, and she never, never made fun of the girls he chose to ask out on dates, no matter what she might think of them. Yes, if she wanted to have sex with someone else, Susan thought, Tom would be a pretty good choice. But on the night of the tampon string, Susan was more concerned about her father. When he finally came to her bed and reached out to stroke her lower body, as he often did, she tensed up. When his finger tried to glide into her and was blocked by the tampon, she said timidly, "It's my period. |