...the ancient women man the tables and clipboards...

excerpted from All The Sluts Were Virgins Once, a memoir

Mom braided my afro into cornrows every Sunday night.

Red lights were flashing and “Back That Ass Up” was playing five years too late...

Eight years earlier I’d lost my virginity at fifteen to the first guy I ever kissed.

...the process on one I read about in a Bukowski book.

My mom stared at the TV with her mouth open.

...but with Billy it was different.