The Kiss

The three nine-year-olds, Josh Devers, Alex Koenig, and Davey Kano scampered down the hallway toward the recreation area. They were all going swimming after school. Before they reached the travel tube that would take them to the pool, the three boys met Nora Edelson standing in the hall. She was nervously twirling long auburn hair with her finger as the three boys approached.

"Hey, Nora, what are you doing?" Josh asked, flashing a good-natured grin.

"Oh nothing," she replied. "Alex, could I talk to you for a second?" She looked at the two other boys, "Alone."

Josh and Davey snickered. "Sure," Alex replied bashfully. He motioned her into a nearby room.

When they were alone, Nora stood nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Alex," she began slowly, "do you like me?"

Alex was puzzled at the question. Sure he liked her but she was asking if he liked her. He knew some of his friends were interested in girls. He was still interested in computer games and sports and hardly ever thought of girls.

Nora watched Alex carefully. He didn't seem to know how to answer her question. Carefully, she asked him again. "Alex, do you like me as a friend?"

Alex breathed a sign of relief. He looked at her and with his father's trademark grin replied "Yes, Nora, I like you as a friend."

The little girl smiled broadly. She moved closer to him making Alex very uncomfortable. "Well, you know that Sadie Hawkins dance that's next week? Will you go with me? As a friend of course."

Sadie Hawkins dance, Alex had completely forgotten about it. The adults had explained it was a dance where the girls asked the boys. He tried to quickly think of an excuse but his mind drew a blank. He really didn't want to go and was completely surprised to hear himself say "yes."

She barely heard his reply. "You will?" she asked her voice filled with hope.

Alex still in shock slowly shook his head. "Great!" Nora smiled. She turned to leave. As she passed Josh and Davey, she flashed them a big smile.

"What was that all about?" Josh asked Alex as he walked up to join them.

"She asked me to the dance." Alex sounded defeated.

"You told her you would go? What are you crazy?" Davey tuned in the conversation.

Alex flung his hands up in the air, "she caught me off guard. My mind went blank. I couldn't come up with an excuse. What am I going to do?"

The three boys starting walking slowly toward the travel tube. As they waited, Alan walked up behind them.

"Hey, what's wrong? You guys looked like someone just told you that Eagles can't fly."

Alex shot each to the boys a stern look, hoping that they would keep their mouths shut.

"Alex has a date with Nora Edelson for the Sadie Hawkins dance," Josh volunteered.

Alan grinned. He looked at Alex who was a bright shade of crimson red.

"So you've got your first date, ay mate?"

"Yes, but Uncle Alan, I don't want to go." Alex protested.

"Well then why did you tell her you would?"

"Because my mind went blank and I couldn't think of an excuse." Alex looked down at the floor, defeated.

Alan kneeled down to Alex's level. "Well, my friend, don't feel bad. You're not the first man to have his mind go blank around a woman. It's happened to the best of us. I'll bet it's even happened to your dad." Alan laughed thinking about the number of times John had been cornered by Helena and agreed to attend some function he really didn't want to.

"You too, Uncle Alan?"

"Me too, Tiger." Alan ruffled Alex's short hair.

After dinner, Alex and Josh met for soccer practice. When they got there, Alex noticed Nora out on the field practicing. He sat down on the bleachers burying his face in his hands. Josh sat down next to him and tried to console his buddy. "Maybe she'll break her leg during practice," Josh suggested.

"I couldn't get that lucky." Alex sulked, face still hiding in his hands.

"I bet when you mom finds out she makes you take her flowers or something stupid like that."

"My Mom?!" Alex hadn't even considered what would happen when his parents found out. "Oh no," he moaned, "they'll probably do something embarrassing like chaperone the dance."

Josh shrugged, "it won't be that bad. "Unless," Josh inhaled deeply and turned to Alex shaking him, "Unless you have to kiss her!"

Alex looked up at his friend. "Kiss her! No way! I'm not doing that!"

"But you have to kiss her, that's what you do at the end of a date."

"Well, I'm not doing it!"

"Don't you know how?" Josh asked making sure to keep his voice low.

"What do you mean? Of course I don't. I've never kissed a girl before." Alex had kissed a lot of women. They were considered to be aunts or special friends of his parents but he'd never kissed any girl in a romantic way.

The two sat in silence for a minute. Alex felt like he was doomed. First he'd agreed to a date he didn't want to go on and now he'd discovered that he had to kiss her and he didn't know how.

Josh perked up as an idea occurred to him. "Let's watch some of the grown ups kissing, then you can learn from them."

"What do you mean?" Confusion replaced the feelings of doom and despair.

"Well, Uncle Tony is always kissing Aunt Maya. Uncle Bill is always kissing Aunt Annette and...your dad is always kissing your mom! I've seen them." Alex groaned from embarrassment. He wished for the hundredth time that his parents wouldn't kiss in front of his friends.

Josh continued. "That's it, all you have to do is watch how your dad kisses your mom and you're set!"

Alex thought about this carefully. He's seen his dad kiss his mom a million times. Most of it was a simple peck on the cheek or a quick kiss on the lips when they parted company. His dad didn't seem to mind and so far he hadn't died from it.

"Josh, I've seen him kiss her on the cheek. It didn't seem like any big deal.

Think that would be ok with her?"

"Oh no," Josh pronounced, "You've got to kiss her on the lips and hold it for a long time like they do in those old Earth movies."

"No way! I'm not doing that!"

"But you have to, it's like a requirement."

Alex stared at Josh in disbelief. "Well, I'm not doing it!"

Later that night, Alex lay awake, unable to sleep. Josh's word kept circling around in his head. "You've got to kiss her on the lips and hold it for a long time like they do in those old Earth movies." Alex exhaled deeply. What if he did have to kiss her like Josh said, what would he do?

From the living room, he heard his parents' voices. They were talking but he couldn't make out the words. He slipped out of bed, being careful not to wake his sleeping brother. He opened the door to his bedroom slightly. His bedroom was off the family's living area and he could see his mom and dad sitting on the couch. The lights in the room were dimmed and he had a hard time seeing them in the darkness. Soon his eyes adjusted to the lighting and he watched in utter fascination as they cuddled on the couch.

He saw his mother rise from the couch, tossing her slate onto the coffee table. She reached out and pulled his dad to his feet. When they stood together, he watched his father pull her into his arms and into a tight clinch. He watched their heads tilt in opposite directions as their lips moved closer together. His mother's arms slid up around his father's neck. Alex watched as they pressed their lips against each other's. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity. He wondered if they were going to suffocate before they came up for air. He watched his mother moved her hands down his father's arms. As they parted, his father kissed her on the forehead before he removed his hands from around her waist. He took her hand in his and they moved across the room to their bedroom. They promptly closed the door.

Alex leaned back against his bedroom door shaking his head. "That's what she's expecting? Yuck!"

The next day he met Josh before school. Josh was bursting at the seams with questions.

"Well, what did you decide? Are you going? Did you think of a excuse not to go?"

Alex sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. "No, but after last night I know that I'm not going to kiss her."

Josh sat down next to his friend, "Why? What happened?"

"I did what you said, I watched my dad kiss my mom. It was gross. Plus, they did it forever. I can't hold my breath that long."

Josh thought for a minute, "Hey, I've got an idea, we can meet at the pool after class and you can practice holding your breath underwater."

"It's not like that! Haven't you ever seen your parents kiss?"

"No, mine barely touch." Josh said.

"Lucky you. Mine touch all the time."

"Maybe she'll get sick or something. Maybe you could get sick."

"Are you kidding? My mom's the CMO. That'll never work. Face it Josh, I'm doomed."

The two boys sat sulking in the hall until it was time for class. The dance was in three days. What would Alex do?

At dinner that evening, Alex sat quietly while Emma talked non-stop. She had asked Davey Kano to the dance. As she sat relating every detail to her parents, John noticed Alex playing with his food. He glanced at Helena, silently nodding in the direction of Alex. It was unusual for him not to immediately inhale his food upon arrival at the supper table. His parents exchanged a worried look. Finally, Emma came to a stopping point. Before she could catch her breath and continue, Helena spoke.

"Alex, is everything ok?"

Alex looked up from his plate. "I'm just not hungry, Mom. Can I be excused?"

He didn't want anyone to know about Nora and the dance, especially Richie. He wasn't ready for the teasing.

Emma looked across the table at her brother with a distressed expression.

"Are you getting sick? You can't be sick, Nora will be so disappointed." Alex looked up sharply at his sister, shooting daggers with his eyes.

John looked at Helena and gave her a grin. He could now make an educated guess as to the reason Alex was not eating his food. "Nora asked you to the dance?

"But I don't want to go, Dad!"

From the other side of the table, Alex heard Richie laughing. "Alex has a girlfriend, Alex has a girlfriend," the five year old sang until his mother made him stop.

"Richie, stop teasing him." She gently chided. "Are you and Emma finished with dinner?" They shook their heads. "Then put your dishes in the sink." The children did as they were told.

Helena looked over at John, who indicated without words that she should take Emma and Richie for a walk. "How about we take a little walk," Helena suggested.

"But Mom," Richie whined "I wanna stay with Daddy and Alex."

"We'll join you in a few minutes," John offered. That seemed to please Richie and he waved as they left the apartment.

John sat across the table from his oldest son waiting to see if Alex would volunteer any information. When he didn't John carefully broached the subject at hand.

"Alex, what's all this about not wanting to go to the dance with Nora?"

"She tricked me dad! She asked me if I liked her as a friend and I said yes. Then she asked me to go to the dance and my mind when blank." Alex lowered his head against the table. "Then I said yes."

John fought back a smile as he moved around the table to sit next to Alex.

With his head still resting on the table, Alex continued. "After I said yes, I found out I have to kiss her. That's gross Dad! I don't want any girl germs."

John rubbed his forehead with his hand before moving it over his mouth in an effort to hide his grin. "Alex, who told said you have to kiss her?" He lifted his son's face from the table.

"Josh, he said I have to kiss her like on those old Earth movies."

"And just what else did Josh say?" John was curious.

"He said that I should watch some adults kissing so I'd know how." Alex turned to face his father. "So I did some research."

"Research?"

"I watched you kiss Mom and I watched Uncle Tony kiss Aunt Maya. It was yuck!" Alex had walked into John's office earlier in the day and caught Tony and Maya kissing. "Why Dad, why do you do it? Why do you kiss so long?"

John sat thoughtfully beside his son. He and Helena had always been discretely affectionate toward each other at home. He couldn't remember ever kissing her passionately in front of the kids. "Alex, what are you talking about?"

"Josh said I should watch you and Mom kiss, so last night I came out to get a drink of water and I saw you and Mom kissing. You were standing right there." He pointed to the spot in front of the couch. "It didn't look like you were ever going to come up for air!"

John fought back a smile. He answered the question carefully. "Alex, I kiss Mom as a way of showing her my love."

"So, the longer you kiss her the more she knows you love her? Aren't you afraid of getting girl germs?"

John pulled Alex on to his lap. "No, I'm not afraid of getting girl germs."

He tilted Alex's face up, "Just so you know son, you don't have to kiss Nora. You can tell Josh I said so. But one day you might find a girl that you do want to kiss, then you won't care about getting girl germs."

"That day will never happen." Alex adamantly announced. "Do I still have to go?"

"Yes, you gave her your word."

Alex shook his head in defeat. "I know, I know. Uncle Alan said even the best of men get cornered by women and do things they really don't want to do, even you Dad."

John could hardly hold his laughter, "Even me son, just don't tell Mom.

Let's keep that our little secret."

Later after the children were asleep in their beds, John and Helena were again sitting on the couch.

"Okay, what was the problem?" Helena asked as stretched out on the couch putting her feet in John's lap.

"It seems your son is afraid that he might have to kiss Nora." He picked up her right foot and started rubbing it.

"What? Who told him that?"

"Josh."

"Where did they get that idea?"

"Old Earth movies. And that's not the half of it."

Helena sat up intrigued. John continued, "It seems that your son has been conducting a little research."

"Really? What kind of research?"

"He's been watching us kiss trying to learn how. Apparently, he saw us last night. He thought we were going to suffocate." John laughed at the mental image.

"What?! What did you tell him."

Helena sat up next John and he pulled her close. "I told him he didn't have to kiss her."

Helena let out a deep breath. "That's good."

John whispered in her ear, "I guess from now on when we try to suffocate each other, we'd better look around." Her laugh was silenced by his kiss.

The afternoon before the dance was a busy one in the Koenig house. Emma wanted to wear her blue dress but it needed to be hemmed. Aunt Kate arrived after lunch and she and Helena spent the afternoon repairing Emma's dress. As soon as Kate arrived, John volunteered to take the boys on a walk. As they walked, John mentioned to Alex that he probably needed a corsage for Nora. The Koenig men headed toward the botany lab, where Alex selected a delicate pink corsage of pink and white roses.

Around six thirty, there was a buzz at the door. John opened the door to find

Davey Kano standing on the other side. "Hi Davey!"

"Hi Commander, Hi Aunt Helena," He said as he bounded into the room. "I'm here to get Emma."

"Davey!" Emma called as she exited her bedroom clad in her favorite blue dress.

"This is for you." Davey produced a small wrist corsage of tiny white roses.

"Where's Alex? I thought we'd walk together."

"He's not ready yet." Emma said as her mother helped her with the corsage.

"We can go if you want."

"Okay." He held out his arm in a very stately fashion. Emma looked at her mother unsure what to do. Helena motioned that she should put her arm in his.

As they left Emma turned waving to her parents. She flashed them a big grin and closed the door. John looked over at Helena noticing the tears welling up her eyes. He crossed over to her and hugged her tightly, knowing exactly how she was feeling.

A few minutes later the door rang again. This time when John opened it, he found Nora Edelson. She had on her favorite white party dress. She had her auburn hair pulled up into a ponytail. Smiling up at John she asked "Is Alex ready?"

"Yes, I think he is, please come in."

"Nora, you look beautiful." Helena called from the kitchen.

"Thank you, Dr. Koenig." The little girl was smiling as Alex came out of his bedroom.

"Hi Nora," he said. John moved behind him and handed him the corsage. He took the flowers and held them out to her. "These are for you," he said shyly.

"Thank you." John moved forward and helped her with the corsage. Alex looked at him with pleading eyes. John gave him a stern look in return.

Alex exhaled deeply. "I guess we'd better go." He held out this arm but

Nora took his hand. She practically pulled him out the door. Before the door closed, Alex looked at John again, a worried expression on his face. John smiled at him. "Have a good time."

When they arrived at the dance, Nora immediately pulled Alex on to the dance floor. They danced to several songs before she suggested they sit down. Alex was relieved when he saw Josh sitting with Dinah Fraser. "Let's sit over there," he pointed to the their table.

The two couples sat and talked until a slow song began to play. Nora pulled Alex back on to the dance floor. As they danced, he tried to avoid any body contact with her but she was persistent and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling her body next to his. Alex was horrified, he thought about the image of his parents. Great, now she's gonna expect me to kiss her for real, he thought as the music ended.

As they walked back to her quarters, Alex was nervously trying to decide what to do. He didn't want to kiss her so he needed a plan. Once again as he tried to think of a plan, his mind went blank. His palms started sweating and his stomach was doing flips. I've got to come up with something...he thought. Then suddenly, Nora stopped in front of him, turned around and without warning kissed him on the lips. "Thank you, I had a nice time," she said sweetly. Then she stepped into her quarters. "Good night," she said as the door closed.

Alex stood in the hallway completely stunned. His head was reeling and he was breathless. It took him several minutes to catch his breath before he walked home. He thought about the kiss as he walked. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He was still alive despite the fact he now had girl germs. Plus, he kind of like the sensation of her lips against his. He was smiling as he entered his quarters. John looked up from the book he was reading as Alex closed the door.

"Where's Em?"

"She's in bed. Davey brought her home earlier. She was tired. Well, how was it?"

Alex came and sat down by John. "You were right Dad, kissing isn't so bad."

John looked at him surprised. Alex continued, "she kissed me dad, right on the lips too. But it wasn't yuck like I thought it would be. It was...nice." He looked up at John and smiled.

"I think I know why you like to kiss mom now." He slid off the couch and headed for the bedroom. "Tomorrow can we go to the pool?"

"Why?" John walked over to where Alex stood outside his room.

"Because I want to learn to hold my breath so I can kiss Nora like you kiss Mom."

John resisted the urge to laugh. "We'll see. Goodnight son." He kissed him on top of the head.

"Night Dad," Alex called as he closed the bedroom door.

John turned off the lights in the living room. He was laughing as he entered his bedroom.

"What's so funny?" Helena called from the shower.

"Alex, he's decided he likes kissing."

"Really?" She came out of the shower wrapped in a towel. "What did he say?"

"He said he wants to go to the pool and practice holding his breath." John mused as he watched his wife walking around their bedroom.

"Why would he want to practice holding his breath?" John pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. When they parted he said, "Because he wants to avoid suffocation."