Two Rules and Teriyaki

“I have two rules, always know the name of the guy you wake up by in the morning, and always know exactly when you should be going to start your period.” Jackie told us all with a mouth full of chicken teriyaki.

“Wow, you are pretty strict on yourself, huh.” Holly said sarcastically.

“I do have standards, and I believe both of those to be very important things to keep straight in my life.” Jackie said.

“Have you ever broken one of your ‘rules’?” Kim asked her.

“Yes, well, technically it wasn’t a rule at the time so I guess I didn’t really break it. But I did immediately make it a rule to know the guy’s name before I go to bed with him,” Jackie said. “I actually called him the next day to ask him his name and tell him that I would not be frequenting his bed ever again.”

“Did he know your name?” I asked.

“Nope, complete strangers. Pretty classy, huh?”

“At least you learned a lesson from it, and at least he left his number so you could call and clear things up,” I told her, trying to make the story as positive as possible.

“Actually, he didn’t leave his number, and I snuck out without even saying goodbye,” Jackie said. “I called my friend who was his friend and had introduced us and luckily he had Kyle’s, that was his name by the way, number.”

“When did you make these rules for yourself?” Kate asked, popping a piece of French bread in her mouth.

“Back in college, junior year I think.”

“Well, I think a lot of women live by your second rule.” Kim said. “Actually I think most women live by both of those rules. They just don’t necessarily think of them as rules but rather as habits.”

“I suppose so,” Jackie said. “I’ve never really thought about that, but I bet most of them haven’t had to make them ‘rules’ because of personal experience. A bad experience at that.”

“What made you make the second rule a ‘rule’?” Kate asked.

“Bad scare about a year ago,” Jackie said. “I was three weeks late and had been sleeping with Randy off and on for three months. I was spooked out of my mind, and would have rather told my anti-premarital sex hometown preacher before I told Randy about it. He would’ve freaked out.”

“Why didn’t you tell any of us about it?” I asked her, a little hurt that she didn’t let me help her get through her tough situation.

“I guess I thought if I ignored it enough it would go away,” Jackie said, still holding a too calm and laid back tone about the experience. “I finally went to the doctor when that third week rolled around and still no monthly monster. Turned out it was a false alarm and no baby. Dr. Jennings didn’t even act surprised when I jumped to hug him. Guess he gets that a lot from single girls my age.”

“I’m sure. Especially in a college town.” Holly said. “I’ve had a skip or two. Nothing that ended up with a doctor’s visit, but enough to make me an avid birth control pill popper.”

“I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Macy,” Kate chimed in. “I was scared to death and threw up three times before Jon got home that evening. I was so worried about what he would say.”

“I didn’t know Macy was a surprise.” I said.

“Oh, yeah, total surprise,” Kate said. “Guess we had gotten lazy about stuff, and it slipped up on us. Jon was great about it though, and loaded me up to go to Babies R US that evening to look around. From then on it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Well, I want it all some day,” Jackie said. “I just have several steps to take until then. Let’s see, there is getting a boyfriend, keeping a boyfriend, getting engaged, staying engaged, getting married. Maybe by the time I am fifty I will at least have the steady boyfriend accomplished.”

“I am so ready for kids,” Kim said. “Sometimes I go into Kids’ Palace just to see what new nursery stuff they have in. You all should’ve seen this cherry wood baby bed they got in last week. It was kind of like a sleigh bed. Precious!”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Holly said. “Try being around twenty second graders all day. That is the best birth control a single woman could ask for. It is amazing how fast Sweetie Susie can turn into Satan Susie.”

“You don’t want kids?” Jackie asked Holly.

“Not at the moment,” she replied. “Maybe if my husband is an all-star dad and willing to do most of the leg work.”

“I think you’d make a great mom,” I told her. “You are great with your students. You can’t fool me. I’ve seen you in A plus teacher action.”

“What about you Lex,” Kate asked me, “Do you and Blake ever talk about it.”

“Only in brief spurts,” I said. “He wants two or three, same as me. We agree on a lot of it, but it sure doesn’t make us think twice about preventing a baby boom from happening. He won’t start anything in bed until we are fully equipped, which is nice, and we both want to be married first. Marriage before carriage, he says.”

“Brian gets nervous when we start talking about kids,” Kim said. “He worries so much about money and a house and all that stuff. I think it will be a long, long time before I am actually going into Kids’ Palace for a reason. Hell, at the rate we are going, it will be a while before I am going into the Bridal Boutique for a reason.”

“I just hope to be wearing a wedding gown before a hospital gown,” Jackie said, “and you all know me. It’s not like I am little Miss Traditional Goodie Good, but I do think that is the sequence to roll with.”

“I agree,” Holly said, “and I am not very conservative or traditional. It’s not like I look down on anyone who gets pregnant and then married or not married at all. But I think it is more considerate to everyone, especially the kid, if you get married, have a kid, and here is the kicker, stay married.”

“Ah, the biggest obstacle of life, marriage without divorce,” I said. “Now that is something Blake and I do completely agree on. Neither of us wants to get divorced and we both promise to make damn sure that we don’t rush into something that may lead to that and to do everything in our power to keep it from happening after vows are exchanged.”

“Same here,” Kim said. “My parents got divorced when I was in high school and it sucked. They never even seemed to fight, and then all the sudden they sat me down to tell me they are getting a divorce. One of the worst days of my life, no doubt, and now everything is split up and hard to balance and more of a hassle.”

“Jon and I have never, knock on wood, even had a fight that caused one of us to sleep on the couch,” Kate said. “I can’t imagine having one that could end in divorce.”

“Unwanted babies and divorce, all cause for the establishment of rules,” Jackie said. “Know their name and know your date. And those are rules that are NOT meant to be broken.”

Kate’s Chicken Teriyaki

2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
2 Tbls. Olive oil
1 cup Teriyaki sauce (we use Landry’s brand)
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
3 cups brown rice (quick cooking)
2 ½ cups water

Cut chicken up in 1 inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a large pan and cook chicken until browned. Add water and bring to boil. Add rice and broccoli, reduce heat and cook until rice is tender. Add teriyaki sauce and stir until evenly coated. We like this with a warm loaf of French bread. Yum!