"MAAAAAAAAAA!"
The little boy tore down the hall as fast he could, nearly colliding with the young
woman coming out of her bedroom. He buried his face in her skirt, his voice lost in the
soft folds of cloth.
She looked down at the child with a mother's concern as she pried him out of her
skirts. "Buckley? Honey, what's the matter?"
He took a deep breath and hiccuped. "Vicki's tryin' t' kiss me!"
"Vicki? Susan's little girl?"
The boy nodded. Susan was one of the other ladies who lived in the big house. Vicki was
slightly older--and slightly bigger--than Buck. He played with her and he supposed he
liked her--sometimes. But not right now.
"She keeps tryin' t' kiss me, Ma. And I ain't kissin' no GIRL!"
"You kiss me."
"That's different. You're not a girl." He didn't know how exactly that made a
difference, but it did.
"Buck," she said, cupping his chin in her hand. "Are you afraid of
girls?"
He paused a moment. "No," he lied.
She laughed as she took him by the hand and led him over to a chair. She pulled him
into her lap, and held him there.
"You know, Buck, you don't have to be afraid of girls."
"I ain't," he said, but he couldn't even convince himself.
"One day you'll like it when a girl kisses you."
He stared at her in astonishment. "Who likes GIRLS? They don't do ANYTHING a guy
does. They don't climb trees or catch frogs or wrassle or nothin'."
She hugged him tighter. "And that's exactly why you'll like them," she said
softly.
Buck shook his head doubtfully.
She smiled. "Mama has a lot of man friends, doesn't she?"
He thought about it a moment. He supposed that was true, so he nodded.
"Buck, they like to kiss me."
"But you're my ma. I like to kiss you, too."
She smiled. "Yes, honey, I know. But these men aren't my little boy like you
are."
"They come here to kiss ya like Vicki wants to kiss me?"
"Men do that. They kiss ladies. And one day when you become a man, you will,
too."
Buck considered this for a bit. He was a little boy and he didn't like the idea of
kissing at all. But men liked it. Grown-up men. And he wanted to be one of those someday
soon so he could take care of his ma better.
He slid off her lap and started toward the door.
"Buckley?"
He turned to look at her. "That's what men do?"
She nodded.
"Well," he said slowly. "Maybe I'll let Vicki kiss me. But I don't have
to like it."
But he did.
The End
