At 26 I was still a virgin, and my father always warned me, “Stop sitting on grandpa’s lap and watch out for him.” I never listened to him… until one night Grandpa came up to me and asked, “Will you sleep next to me tonight?”

Dad was upstairs.

Grandpa looked unusually serious.

“Emily,” he said quietly, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

He looked up the stairs before

to get closer.

Will you sleep next to me tonight?

I stared at him.

I honestly thought I had misunderstood it.

“What?”

“Tonight,” he repeated. In my house.

I felt a

knot in my stomach.

Then he said something that made it even worse.

“Please don’t tell your father yet.”

I took a step back.

“Grandpa… why?”

Suddenly, his eyes filled with something I couldn’t comprehend.

Fear.

“Because if he finds out,” whispered Grandfather, “he won’t let you come.”