1. He's perfect for the part
2. You're my obsession
3. A question of morality
4. Could I really love a man who could do something like this?
5. A problem and a solution
6. A favor for a friend
7. The grace period
8. Trying to make things right again
9. The sort of spiritual experience eternal companions should share

• (character chart)
• (caution/disclaimer)

1. Young Women's
2. Youth Conference
3. Saturday's Warrior
4. Brigham Young University
• Gratuitous Love Scene
5. Polygamist
6. Temple Wedding
7. Orem High
8. Bordeaux Mission
9. Exmo Conference

I looked over at Rex and Joy and noticed that they looked as embarrassed and uncomfortable as the rest. I knew that Joy had watched rated R movies with me so I understood why his message might be making her feel ashamed. Since Rex was older and a boy, I figured that he had probably done worse although of course I didn't know the details. Personally my only real experience was that fleeting moment on the couch with Walter, but still I felt knowledgeable and experienced. Oddly, although the message seemed calculated to make kids feel ashamed of any sexual experience they might have, I still felt pleased and proud of mine.

When I got home from the fireside, I got the idea that it might be helpful to talk to my older sister Kathy about the whole thing since she was sure to know more about sex and all that than I did.

In truth I wasn't as close with Kathy as I was with Joy or even with Rex for that matter. It was probably mostly because of the age difference, but it was also because she and I had kind of different interests. She was into all sorts of crafts and homemaking and such which I found kind of pointless and uninteresting. Every so often an activity at church would inspire me to want to try out needle-working or quilting or some other handicraft, and when that happened Kathy was always the one to help me. Then we'd have some fun and laughs together, but such occurrences were pretty few and far-between.

Also it didn't help that she had her own room. She was the only person in the whole family that had her own room. I had to share a room with Joy, and Rex had to share a room with Jared, and of course Mom and Dad shared a room. We had a pretty big house, but since Mom and Dad each had to have their own individual study there weren't any extra bedrooms. Since Kathy was the oldest, she'd had her own room as long as I could remember. We didn't even get to free up some space when Kathy started college since she decided to go to BYU which was right nearby, and the expense of moving her into her own apartment didn't seem justified.

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I knocked on Kathy's door and found that she was in. She was sitting at her desk writing a letter to her missionary Bob. Bob was coming home in just a few months, and Kathy was thrilled about it. Every letter these days was filled with wedding plans. So not every girl was like "Julie" from the play. Kathy and Bob had gotten engaged before he had set off, and Kathy hadn't dumped him even once the whole time he was gone. Except a few double-dates "just for fun," Kathy hadn't dated anyone else in the whole two years even though she was a pretty girl and probably could have if she'd wanted to. Now she would soon be reaping the rewards of her fidelity.

I sat down on the bed as Kathy finished up her letter. Then she turned to me and asked "What's up?"

"Nothing really," I said. "Just the usual topic: boys."

"Ah, yes, that's the big sister's job, isn't it?" She said it with a huge grin, and in her faraway look I could practically see that she was picturing herself in her white wedding dress, hand-in-hand with Bob.

"So fill me in!" she said. "What are the details? Are you in love?"

"Unfortunately I think I might be," I said. "I say unfortunately because I'm sure he's not as into me as I am into him. I know he's at least a little bit interested though."

"Tell me about him!" said Kathy enthusiastically.

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