Relations in a small town

And I'm talking about the sexual kind.

In a town where everybody knows each other, how do relationships occur? In a town where you rarely meet someone new, how do relationships change? How do you start seeing someone you've known most of your life in a different way?

A few incidents have spiked my interest lately, suffice to say I've come across some interesting cases - some being quite harmonious, others not so much. Interestingly enough, the cases are all connected and involve a member of my extended family (it really is a small town), which means I hear more about it than I probably should. Still I wonder...


How is it you go from seeing someone as the parent of your child's friend, to sleeping with them? Are you attracted to each other all along? Does something happen so you suddenly get attracted? Or do you just figure the choice is so limited you gotta take what you can get?

To quote an acquaintance from a few years back, when numbers of divorces in town (formerly the lowest in Norway) suddenly went through the roof;

"When one starts, the others follow. They're afraid to miss out on the eligible bachelors. Now all these newly single women in their forties are fighting over the same few desirable men."

Keeping the relationship a secret does not seem to be an option here. I've heard enough of "What is she doing going there again? / His car comes from there every morning!" to know people do pay attention. Is sneaking around even possible in a small town?


But it's not the who that is interesting to me, it's the how. How do you start seeing someone differently; how do you start a relationship with someone you know?

How do you sleep with someone you've known for years? Or rather (since I'm pretty sure we know how the how in sex works;) what is it like?


Sexual relations in a small town... it's kinda fascinating being on the outside looking in.