And Mother Nature herself pushed things further. Sometimes instinct can be quite the teacher, when there is no other teacher. And went Thomas started having other reactions, like the way he began to feel in his loins when he thought of his mother, it only pushed his curiosity further, his thirst for answers.
And of course he never thought to just come right out and ask [not that he'd have gotten any of those answers he so wanted]. He didn't think that way. Most males think with their "other head".
At the same time, Isabellina was feeling guilty for yelling at her son. He hadn't meant any harm. The look on his face - confused, bewildered, hurt - he was so innocent, he hadn't known any better.
They both lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking. She lay in her side facing away from him, staring at the far wall, also thinking.
Finally she turned on the bedside lamp and rolled onto her back. Thomas turned his head to look at her. She pushed down the covers to her waist, and pulled her dark maroon nightgown above her bare belly. Taking his hand, Isabellina placed it on her belly.