My mom stays until the first recess and is quick to get back to the topic of the day. “So, how long have you known Adam?”
I take a deep breath, not sure where she’s going with this. “A few weeks,” I say as I lean down to pick up some papers on a student’s desk.
She stops me by putting her hand on my arm. “Sarah.”
I meet her eyes, and I can read them like a book. “Don’t say it, Mom.”
“I’m not saying anything.” She feigns innocence.
“Yeah, but I know what you’re thinking. He’s a great guy, and I’m really falling for him.”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I noticed there’d been a change in you.” She sighs as she looks around the room where she practically lived for thirty years. “I know you don’t love it here. I didn’t realize how unhappy you’d been until these past weeks. I see that shine in your eyes again, and your smile is genuine now. I just worry about you. I want to make sure you’re stable enough to go back to that world.”
I crumble the piece of paper I was holding and toss it into the trash. “Don’t worry. I’m not. He lives here now, remember? Far away from other people in the industry.”
I step away, and she reaches out for me.
“That’s not what I mean. We just worry about you.”
“We or you?”
“You know your father worries just as much.”
“Enough to let me live my life and not judge Adam before he even gives him a chance?” Her head drops, and I have my answer. “That’s not fair, and you know it.”
“Just come clean with him. Talk to him, so he can understand.”
“Understand what? That I’m finally happy? That the man of my dreams is saying I’m his girlfriend? This has nothing to do with what he does for a living when it comes to how I feel about him. He’s an amazing man and father and shouldn’t be judged as anything but.”
I head out the door, and am surprised when she allows me. I know she has my back here, telling Adam she noticed how happy I’d been, but when we’re around my father, it’s a totally different story. She’s right about one thing; I need to just come clean and stand up to the man.
* * *
Adam picked Cailin up after school, and I told them I’d meet up with them later for trick-or-treating. I didn’t tell him why, and thankfully, he didn’t ask.
After changing quickly, I pull up to church. Before I can second-guess myself, I head straight to my dad’s office.
When I open the door, he glances up. The face that normally smiles sweetly when he sees me is completely gone. A glare in its place makes my stomach turn as he tosses his pencil on the desk and leans back.
“I had a visit from a parent of a student in your class,” he says, hiding none of the anger in his voice.
“A parent of mine?” I ask, confused. “Who?”
“Mrs. Everson stopped by to express her concerns about who you’re hanging out with and your influence on her daughter.”
I want to scream.The gall of that woman.
She knew going to my father would be more impactful than going to Principal McAllister. I just don’t understand people who want to interfere in someone else’s life.
I’m done though. I’m sick of people judging me, judging Adam for no reason other than what they perceive.
I step toward his desk, not backing down. “Did she tell you he’s a father of another student?”
“Yes, actually, she did. I’m guessing this is thefriendyou spoke of that you were up with at Mix Canyon too. I looked into it and found out he’d been hiding her for years. What kind of father does that? Poor girl was raised by nannies on the road while I’m sure he was on drugs, too high to actually take care of her.”
He pushes me over the edge, and I can’t hold back anymore. “No! That’s nothing like what happened. You’re assuming that, but you know nothing about how much of an amazing father he’s been the entire time. He only kept her a secret to protect her.”
He pushes back and stands up to face my same stance. “Exactly, Sarah. To protect his daughter from the awful lifestyle he leads. He didn’t want what happened to you to happen to her.”
