“So, how was school today?” my dad asked brightly. I shot a glance at my mother, but she was looking at her phone, checking e-mails.
“Good. I got an A-minus on my English-lit project,” I reported, trying to ease the tension in the room. My dad patted my hand.
“Wonderful, Maggie. You take after your ol’ dad, smartandbeautiful.” I couldn’t help but smile at my dad’s compliment and it made me feel even worse for being deceitful.
My mom looked up from her phone. “Yes. But book smarts don’t replace common sense, wouldn’t you say? Good decision making is important. Right, Maggie?” she asked me pointedly.
Great. I was going to have to suffer through a conversation laden with double meanings in the hopes my dad wouldn’t catch on. I only nodded and stuffed my mouth with a piece of chicken. My dad scooped more lo mein onto his plate and tried to take the wontons from my mom. She moved them out of his way and smiled. She could never stay irritated with my father for long. They were kind of beautiful like that.
“Nice try, Martin,” she said. My dad laughed and returned to his own food. We ate in silence for a while. It was awkward, but better than having to make fake small talk.
Finally, my dad asked me, “Do you have any cool plans for Thanksgiving break? You and the crew doing anything epic?”
I choked on my rice. “ ‘Cool’? ‘Crew’? ‘Epic’? Have you been reading the Urban Dictionary again, Dad? Trying to get in touch with the youth, and all that?” I teased him.
My dad chuckled. “Hey. I’m hip. I’m down with the young folk.” He tried throwing a really horrible hip-hop sign with his hands.
I was in hysterics. “Enough! I can’t take it!”
My dad looked pleased that he had broken through the unbearable tension between us. My mom even laughed. Things relaxed a bit after that and I tentatively answered my father’s question. I knew I could never tell them we all planned to go to Clay’s cabin for the night. So I had to quickly come up with a story that would cover my tracks. One they would never question.
“Well, Rachel asked me to spend the night on Saturday. She wants a full-on girls’ day. You know, get pedicures, go see that new Brad Pitt movie. We haven’t spent a whole lot of time together lately.”
My dad swallowed his food and nodded. “Sounds like fun. Can I come? I could use a new coat of polish on my toenails.” I just shook my head, smiling at him.
My mom was quiet. “I haven’t seen much of Rachel and Daniel lately. You’ve been spending so much time with Clayton. I miss seeing them.” Oh, crap, here we go. My dad looked thoughtful, never a good sign.
“That’s true, Maggie. You haven’t gone out with any of your friends in a while. You know, it’s not good to spend all of your time with Clay. It’s just not healthy to isolate yourself like that,” my dad commented.
I felt my blood pressure start to rise and I immediately became defensive. “I see them every day, Dad! It’s not like Clay and I sequester ourselves off and never talk to anyone else. Jeez!” My voice was loud and I saw the surprised look on my father’s face. But I was quickly getting tired of catching flak for my relationship with Clay.
“We’re just worried, sweetie,” my dad said gently. I threw my hands up in the air.
“What do you have to be worried about, for goodness’ sake? My grades are still good; I’ve yet to break my curfew. I don’t think I’m that bad of a kid.” I looked straight at my mom when I said that, daring her to refute me.
She frowned. “No one’s saying you’re a bad kid, Maggie. Calm down.” There’s something about those wordscalm downthat makes me anything but. My anger spiked.
“This is freaking ridiculous,” I muttered, throwing my fork down.
“This is what we’re talking about! You’re completely irrational when it comes to that boy. You’ve become entirely too focused on him and less on other facets of your life,” my mom barked, sending me to my feet.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I love him. We are good together.”
My dad’s face turned a funny shade of purple. “ ‘Love him’? You are seventeen years old! You don’t know what love is!” Great, now my dad was getting mad. I was making this worse. My mom put a hand on my dad’s arm.
“This isn’t love, Maggie May. This is obsession and it’s not healthy. You are so worked up over a high-school relationship that most likely won’t last but a few months. Don’t be so immature,” my mom said hurtfully. Wow, she was going for the jugular. I’d never known her to be this harsh.
“Thanks, Mom. You’re making me feel all warm and fuzzy, here.” I crossed my arms over my chest. My mom put her hands in her lap and leveled her gaze at me.
“I think you need to take a few steps back from this boy. Really look at what it’s doing to you and how it’s affecting your other relationships. I don’t think this is good foryou.”
The funny thing about parental disapproval: it made me want to be with Clay all the more. My parents were really stupid when it came to teenage psychology.
“I need to get out of here.” I ran out of the kitchen, making a beeline for my purse, which was hanging beside the door. My mother followed close on my heels.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked. The anger had faded from her eyes and now she just looked worried.
I softened a bit and turned to give her a quick hug. “I know you and Dad love me and just want what’s best. But there has to come a point where you trustmy judgment.” My mom rubbed her temples as if I were giving her a migraine.
