Episode #1: Sarah becomes friends with Cassie

Jan,05 2026

I consider myself a good mother. Perhaps not a great one, I have my flaws, but a good one.

I do also consider myself a good person. More than my parents, that's for sure. My father did 3 years in jail for embezzlement and didn't get any parole time since he never showed contrition. They found a correspondence between the illegal withdrawals from his employer's bank account and expenses made under the table, as well as his fingerprints on the fake checks, but no, he did nothing wrong.

The money for his motorcycle? He didn't buy it; he won it in a bet with a "friend", who left town in shame. The money for our trip to the Bahamas? He won a voucher at a carnival, despite proof he paid cash for the tickets.

Not that my mother was any better. We went to church every Sunday morning and traveled around the state in the afternoon to protest Planned Parenthood or some random "racist" nomination that allowed a person of color to replace a previously white public employee.

That, and book burnings. Of course...

It didn't take long for me to open up and see how flawed my parents were. I found new circles to orbit around. People trying to prevent global warming, not those claiming it was fake. People trying to protect LGBTQ people, not those attempting to hurt them.

I made sure my future husband would be like-minded, and he wasn't. He was even more open-minded than I was, because I had never questioned my Christianity, and he was an atheist. Fine, I still am a Christian, but I don't go to church anymore. I am boycotting my local pastor until he arrives in the 21st century and stops being bigoted.

And yet, Sarah, my 11-year-old daughter, managed to blow my mind away.

"What, I know them, aren't they good people?", I said a few days ago, after Sarah dropped the bomb about her best friend Cassie. We had met her parents at the PTA meeting, and even once, no, twice, met them at birthday parties.

It was right after school. I work as a nurse early in the morning, so I miss all of my kids preparation for school, leaving their father, my husband, with the morning routine. On the other hand, I am there when they get home from school, and that is a blessing.

Except when a bomb is dropped, and my husband won't come from work to assist me for another 2 hours.

If you think an 11-year-old can wait 2 hours for a critical decision? Well, you don't have an 11-year-old.

She wanted to go see Cassie now. Not in 2 hours, not tomorrow, now. She has a new video game, and Sarah wants to play with her today and even managed to do all of her homework at school, sacrificing her recesses and lunchtime to play tonight.

"I am not sure if it's a good idea, Sarah"

"But mooooom... She's my best friend. It's safe there."

"I know, but it's weird, isn't it?"

"No. It's natural"

"Will adults be there?"

"Her mom. She works from home"

"Wait, will she be?"

"Yes, Mom. Geez, what is the problem? Can I go? I would like a lift, but I can ride my bike; it's close enough"

"And you are fine with it?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked you, and I would have stayed home. D'uh."

Only 11 and already full of sarcasm.

"Ok, I will drop you off, but I want to talk to her mom"

"No"

"No?"

"She's working. Can't you just trust me for once? You know her. You like her; you told me that. When I was friends with Elizabeth, you said nothing. You never met her parents."

"Yes, but"

"But nothing. So, can I go, or I will harass you to pay for that game until you cede. And will have nothing else to talk to you about"

"So emotional blackmail now?"

"Only when you are being unreasonable?"

But was I?

So I said yes. What else was I supposed to do? With any luck, she would call me back in a few minutes and beg me to pick her up.

I texted my husband, but I knew the chances of him even reading his texts in time were slim. He is very busy at his job. Not as much as I am, but it's not a competition.

How much can you trust an 11-year-old? Not a lot, but I do know the mother of her friend, and I know her friend.

I also know that I have a rule. Find what my mother would answer, and do the opposite. But if I had asked if I could jump off a bridge, her answer would be the same no that I would tell Sarah.

I won't lie. I was nervous driving back home, and I stayed close to my phone, but it's not Sarah who contacted me. Of course she didn't ask me to pick her up early. That would have been too easy.

Instead, it was from her father... Who asked me if I turned mad? If I had lost my mind.

I called him. He declined the call. He was still at work and only peeked at his phone between meetings. Fun. I was left between the guilt of having ceded to emotional blackmail from a tween and the anger of a husband who will most likely pretend I was too exhausted by work to make such an absurd approval and be angry at me for God knows how long.

The worst is... he was probably right. I lost 3 patients that day. Sure, there were more deaths than 3, but I was with three of them. That one of them was shot and on the verge of dying when he rolled in didn't make it easier when he passed away as I was trying to help stabilize him.

We are healthcare workers, not miracle workers.

But he did call me when he was in his car, and he wasn't yelling. In fact, he basically seconded my decision. He found the time to calm down and be rational again in the meantime.

"Once isn't going to kill her, but let's talk to them before the second time", he said. Did he mean it or just defer to me? We do care about presenting a united parental front, and he knows I back every decision he makes in the morning (even the stupid ones). By backing mine, he might be returning the favor.

"I have their number; we can call them tonight to know more", I offered.

"Now that is a great plan"

By the time he came home, however, Cassie's mother, Nadia, had called me. She wanted to invite Sarah over for supper so the girls would have more time to play the game.

Well, I went into proper mom mode.

"Speaking of Sarah... Is she?"

"Yes"

"And is she fine?"

"Absolutely. It's a lot more natural for kids, you know? And we didn't force her. We never will."

"But it is mandatory at your house"

"No, well. It's complicated", she said, laughing.

"Uncomplicate it for me"

"Ok, let's say you pick up your daughter tonight; we can totally drop her off, but let's say you do pick her up, and you decide to come in"

"Sure"

"And in the process, you decide to hang out with us. My husband will be home soon, and we all like each other already, I think. At least, we've enjoyed your company. So, you come in, and we perhaps share a glass of wine while the girls are playing and talk about our kids, or swap recipes, or whatever."

"Sure, and I don't, well..."

"Exactly. If you do, we'll invite you again. We are normal people otherwise, and, like I said, we like you. My husband really wants to invite your husband for a round of golf"

"Well, mine too. Maybe this weekend?"

"I don't think they play at the same golf club, you know?"

"Oh, so even for golf?"

"Yeah."

"And if tonight, we don't, you know?"

"We'll still have a great time."

"But you won't invite us again"

"Exactly. It's a matter of respect, you know?"

But I didn't see it as respect. To me, respect is I live my life how I want to, and they live their lives as they want to. Asking me to share their lifestyle to be friends is like them imposing it on me.

So I told her. Why hold back? And she laughed.

"I am not imposing anything. We are the age when we choose our friends. And we don't want to make compromises. You told me about your mother. Would you befriend a racist just to have friends?"

"No"

"So, it's the same for us."

"I get it. I'll solve it for you. I will pick her up from your driveway, and that way, no conflict for now. My husband isn't home yet, so we'll talk."

"And call me anytime tonight or any other day. Hey, even in the middle of the night, my husband is a deep sleeper, and I can easily get back to sleep."

"I probably will, but before bed, Nadia. "

She thanked me, and we hung up.

Our son needed help with his homework. He is younger than Sarah, and his brain no longer works after school. We've tried to make him do his homework right after class, like Sarah, but he functions best again only after some rest. He is only 9, so he has time to grow out of that.

My husband still kissed me when he arrived, and I briefed him about the call with Nadia. We made a list of questions, and after feeding our little guy and ourselves, we both sat in our bedroom, and I called Nadia.

She was kind and patient and fully answered them. Even the worries. No, especially the worries.

I picked up a bright and shining Sarah, who had spent her best evening ever.

She got a real interrogation from her parents while her brother was in the bathtub.

In a great mood, she answered every question and smiled like she never smiled before.

The next day, she got permission to ride the bus to Cassie's home and eat supper there on the condition that Nadia drop her off and come talk to us a little.

She came with her husband and Cassie. The two girls talked in the living room, while Isabelle and her husband told us their life story, basically. They were both raised into it and met on a vacation trip. Well, he was vacationing close to where Nadia's family lived.

It was nice and pleasant, but we weren't fully convinced.

Just enough to let our daughter have a sleepover Friday evening, which lasted well after lunchtime.

But here is the kicker. Sarah now wanted to come to our house. Of course she did. The two girls were becoming best friends, and to introverts, that's a solid bond.

At first, I was happy she found someone, and I would get to know her better. That is, until I realized something. I was fine with Sarah following Cassie's house rules, but now, she was asking me to keep the routine going at our house.

Cassie comes from a dedicated nudist family. They aren't just nude at home. They want to be nude in any places where it's appropriate. And Sarah would like to honor her friend.

So when she is asking, "Can Cassie come over?" it implies that Cassie will be nude in our home too.

And that, I am not sure I am ready for. Knowing that Sarah is trying nudism at her friend's house is one thing, but that her friend is also nude at our house? How will her brother react? How will her father react?

Where should the line be drawn? I can't follow my mother's rules, as her lines were bigoted. Am I bigoted for wanting my daughter's friend to wear clothes in my house?

Who said life was easy?