Dangerous to Know & Love

by Jane Harvey-Berrick

  “Then you talk to your daughter, because I have nothing to say to her.”

  He stormed out of the room, leaving an ugly atmosphere behind him.

  “Just let him calm down, dear,” said her mother sadly. “He’s a bit shocked. We both are. But you know, fathers and daughters don’t mix with daughters and their boyfriends. I… I take it you are… sleeping… with Daniel.”

  Lisanne nodded tiredly.

  “I see. Are you being safe?”

  “Mom!”

  “It’s a fair question, Lisanne. If you’re old enough to be indulging in intercourse, you’re old enough to answer questions about it. I don’t want to worry about being a grandmother at my age.”

  “God, mom!”

  “Please don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Lisanne.”

  Lisanne took a deep breath.

  “Yes, we’re being safe. Daniel wouldn’t…” she stopped abruptly.

  “Do you love him?”

  Her mother’s question surprised her. Had she seen something that made her ask?

  “He… he’s everything. If… if you just gave him a chance, mom. He’s so amazing. You don’t even know. He’s really smart and sweet and kind, and he treats me like gold.”

  “I’m sure, dear, but the way he looks… your father will take some persuading.” Lisanne’s mother sighed. “I’ll talk to him. You get dressed. We’ll see you outside in 10 minutes.”

  She patted her daughter’s arm and kissed her cheek.

  When she was alone, Lisanne’s head dropped into her hands. The most important meeting of her whole life couldn’t possibly have gone more wrong. She always knew that Daniel was going to be a difficult sell as far as her father was concerned, but now… he’d never give him a chance. Her mom, well, maybe, but everything had been made so much harder.

  God, it really couldn’t have been worse. They’d been about to do it when her parents had walked in. Well, at least that disaster was averted. But only just. What a goddamn nightmare.

  * * *

  Daniel cursed his luck – or lack of it – as he strode purposefully toward his bike. He really hoped he would bump into Roy or Vin’s asshat friend, Rich. Anyone would do, because right now, he’d have enjoyed beating the shit out of someone. He wasn’t picky.

  Lisanne’s father had looked at him like he was dirt. And her mom: she’d looked so shocked – disappointed, too.

  Daniel knew he wasn’t good enough for Lisanne, but he’d really hoped her parents wouldn’t agree with him.

  “Fuck my life,” he muttered.

  He rode home cursing himself, cursing them, and wishing he could erase those last few minutes. Lisanne had looked so crushed. He wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t persuade her to dump his sorry ass.

  Just to make matters worse, the house looked like it had been trashed. Again.

  There were empty bottles and cans strewn across the front yard, and the porch door was hanging off its hinges. He stepped over what looked like splatters of blood, and guessed there must have been a fight the previous night.

  He retreated to his own room and checked his cellphone. There was no word from Lisanne. Looked like lunch was off the menu.

  He pulled out his sweatpants and sneakers and took off for a long, calming run. He tried not to assume the worst about Lisanne, but he had to admit it wasn’t looking good. Fuck. For the first time in a long time, he’d been accepted by someone who wanted him just as he was, without trying to change him. He didn’t count the whole ‘don’t swear in front of my parents’ as anything serious.

  He ran along the sidewalk, pushing himself harder, needing the endorphins to drive away the pain he was feeling in his chest, when he thought about Lisanne telling him they were through.

  Unfortunately, by the time he returned an hour later, the place hadn’t miraculously cleaned itself. In daylight, it looked like the dump it was. He knew his parents would be disappointed – it had been an ordinary, blue-collar family home when they’d been alive.

  Cursing quietly, he rehung the porch door, then hunted around in the garage until he found some garbage bags, and started clearing up the front, tossing all the cans, bottles, and empty cigarette packets. He worked his way around to the back, but when he saw it was in a worse state, he gave up.

  At least the house was empty for a change.

  He dragged himself upstairs, feeling pissed and bad-tempered. Checking his phone again did nothing to improve his mood – still no message from Lisanne.

  Sighing, and feeling all types of sorry for himself, he stripped off his clothes and dumped them in the laundry basket, then wrapped a towel around his waist and unlocked the bathroom door. It was like being a damn prison warder, wandering around with keys for all the rooms – the ones he wanted to keep from being torn apart.

  He waited for the shower to get hot, but his wait was futile. It looked like the boiler was either out of oil or the power had gotten cut off again. He tried the light. Nope, that was working – must be out of oil. He made a note to check later in case Zef had stuffed some unpaid bills in his bookcase. Daniel shivered under the cold jet of water and decided he’d have to make more use of the campus fitness center and their superior facilities.

  If he could have afforded to, he’d have moved out. It didn’t feel much like home.

  * * *

  Lisanne dressed quickly. Her brain was whirling, trying to think of what she could say to her parents, some argument that she could offer, something that would make them listen to her when she talked about Daniel. But she had nothing. Her brain was a thought free zone.

  She’d wanted this first meeting to go well. And now… she was so screwed.

  Her parents were waiting in the reception area when Lisanne felt brave enough to leave her room. Her mom was sitting in a vinyl covered easy chair, while her dad stood tight jawed, staring at the flyers tacked to a notice board.

  Lisanne groaned inwardly – it was going to be a long day.

  “Well,” said her mom, brightly, “let’s go see this campus of yours. Show us the music faculty, darling.”

  Lisanne was grateful to her mom – at least she was trying.

  She showed them the practice rooms, where the college orchestra rehearsed, and the hall where they’d perform their end of semester presentation pieces. They looked at the other faculty buildings, the fitness center, and the library. Finally, they entered the cafeteria.

  Lisanne waited for her father’s interrogation to begin. He started off with the easy questions: how did she get on with her professors; was she studying hard; what was her roommate like; was she keeping up her grades.

  Good, yes, nice, and yes.

  There was a long pause.

  “So, tell us about this boy…” said her dad.

  “He has a name,” Lisanne snarked back.

  “Tell us about Daniel,” said her mother crisply. “Where’s he from?”

  “He’s local.”

  “Hmm,” said her father, as if being a local was a cause for deep disapproval. “What’s his major?”

  “Economics and business studies, with a minor in math.” Lisanne socked that one out into the park.

  Her father didn’t blink.

  Lisanne’s heart sank. She’d hoped that with both her parents being math, teachers that Daniel’s minor would win him some points. Not so far.

  “And he’s in your Introduction to Business class?”

  “Yes, we were assigned to work on a project together. He’s really smart,” muttered Lisanne. “He’s a straight A student.”

  “What’s his grade point average?” said her father, with an air of keen disbelief.

  “Really high: 4.0, I think,” she said, with the kind of exaggeration that could be called an outright lie. The truth was, Lisanne had no clue. She just knew that without Daniel she’d be flunking out of Introduction to Business.

  “That’s nice, dear,” said her mother, who seemed to be acting as a referee between her husband and daughter. “H
ow long have you two been seeing each other?”

  “Seeing as it’s only the fifth week of the semester, I’d say the answer speaks for itself,” snapped her father.

  “Lis?” prompted her mother, encouragingly.

  “Nearly three weeks.”

  “Nearly three weeks! And she’s sleeping with him already!”

  “Now, Ernie…”

  “No, Monica. I’m ashamed of her – and so should you be. We brought you up better than this, Lisanne.”

  He stood up abruptly and stalked off.

  Lisanne felt tears pool in her eyes. She blinked them away, hurriedly. Her mother patted her hand.

  “Give him time, sweetie. He’ll calm down.”

  “I really like Daniel, mom.”

  “I know, honey. And he likes you?”

  Lisanne nodded, but her mother caught the look of uncertainty on Lisanne’s face.

  “Oh, sweetie! You’re sleeping with him and you’re not sure how he feels about you?”

  Lisanne shook her head and looked down.

  Her mother swept her up into a hug, ignoring the curious eyes of other students who were lining up for their lunches.

  “Lisanne, sweetheart!” said her mom, tucking Lisanne’s hair behind her ears and looking her in the eye. “Are you… are you sleeping with him because you think that’ll make him like you more? Did he tell you that?”

  “No! No, mom, it’s not like that. I just… I really like him,” she repeated lamely. “He’s really amazing, if you’d only give him a chance.”

  “Well, I’d certainly like to get to know him more,” said her mother, rather coolly. “But I don’t think it had better be today, not with the mood your father’s in. Come on, let’s go find him and then we can have some lunch.”

  Food was the last thing on Lisanne’s mind, as her stomach twisted unhappily.

  She left the cafeteria with her mom. The plan was to head downtown so they could see a bit more of the area, and the sights surrounding the campus.

  Her father was waiting outside with a look of suppressed rage on his face. Lisanne felt more like a prisoner who was being escorted by her guards than a daughter with her parents.

  She would have happily sunk through the ground into the nether regions of hell, because anything was worse than this purgatory. At that moment she spotted Kirsty and Vin walking toward her, hand in hand.

  Kirsty waved.

  “Who’s that, darling?” asked her mother.

  “My roommate, Kirsty. And Vin, her boyfriend.”

  “She looks nice,” said her mother in a neutral tone.

  “She is,” agreed Lisanne, miserably.

  “Hi, Lis!” chirruped Kirsty. She held her hand out to Lisanne’s mom and dad. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Maclaine. Lisanne’s been so excited about your visit. I’m Kirsty, her roomie, and this is Vincent Vescovi.”

  They all shook hands. Kirsty couldn’t help but notice the awkward silence and the glowering looks. She babbled, helplessly, trying to find some way to fill the gulf of unvoiced antagonism that seemed to be deepening by the second.

  “So,” she said, her voice tinged with concern for Lisanne, “did you see our awesome concert hall yet?”

  “Yes, it was very impressive,” replied Lisanne’s mother.

  “Great!” chirped Kirsty, half an octave higher than usual. “And are you guys going to meet Daniel now because Lis said that you were all going for lunch?”

  There was a stony silence, and Lisanne’s heart sank to her boots.

  “We’ve already met,” grated her father through gritted teeth.

  “Oh, super,” said Kirsty, throwing nervous looks toward Lisanne.

  “Well, we’ll let you folks go enjoy your visit,” said Vin, tugging gently on Kirsty’s hand. “Say hi to Dan for us.”

  “Okay,” mumbled Lisanne. “Bye.”

  “See you later, Lis,” said Kirsty, with one last desperate look at Lisanne, and an overly bright smile at her parents.

  “She seems nice,” said her mother faintly.

  Her father said nothing, simply striding ahead, as if determined to leave the contaminated campus as quickly as possible.

  Lisanne and her parents spent a miserable lunch in a small Italian restaurant, chewing their way through food that none of them wanted, and probably couldn’t taste. Conversation, such as it was, was carried on by Lisanne’s mother.

  At the first opportunity, Lisanne went to the bathroom and sent a text to Daniel.

  * L: so sorry about my dad.

  Having lunch from hell at Benito’s.

  See you later? LA xx *

  She waited for a moment, but he didn’t reply.

  “Well,” said her mother, when she returned. “This has been… nice.”

  Neither Lisanne nor her father commented.

  “We must do this again some time. Maybe when Harry’s free. He’d like to see where you’re going to school, Lis.”

  “Sure, mom,” mumbled Lisanne, without much enthusiasm.

  “And we’ll see you at Thanksgiving. That’s only five weeks away. You’ll be ready for some home cooking by then, I’m sure, won’t she, Ernie?”

  “Hmmph,” he said, then stood up to pay the check.

  They both watched him stalk off to accost the cashier.

  “Perhaps you should come home in a couple of weeks,” said her mom, dropping her voice. “He’ll have calmed down by then. It’ll do you both good.”

  “I can’t, mom,” said Lisanne. “I’ve got a… concert coming up. I can’t miss rehearsals.”

  Lisanne felt a tiny speck of relief – she hadn’t told them about 32o North. She couldn’t imagine how her father would react if he knew she was singing in dives and hanging out with the criminal looking Roy.

  “No, no, of course not. Well, it was just an idea. You’re welcome anytime, darling, you know that. Well, we’ll drop you back at the dorms and head off now. It’s a good three hour drive and you know dad doesn’t like driving in the dark.”

  “Sure, mom. No problem. Thanks for coming.”

  “And Lisanne: do talk to your young man – to Daniel. Honesty is so important in a relationship. You must tell him how you feel.”

  Lisanne hung her head.

  “I know. Thanks, mom.”

  They followed her father toward the exit, but a loud and very familiar sound made them look out the window at the same time.

  Lisanne didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or run when she saw Daniel pull up at the curb.

  He looked straight at her, before pulling off his helmet.

  “My goodness! Isn’t that…?” said her mother.

  “Oh, shit!” muttered Lisanne.

  She watched as Daniel hesitated at the door of the restaurant for the briefest moment. Then he pulled it open and strode in.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, throwing her a smile. “I thought I’d say goodbye to your folks before they left, and see if you wanted a ride home.”

  He turned to stare at Lisanne’s father, whose face was turning from white to red to purple with astonishing speed.

  “Stay away from my daughter!”

  “I can’t do that, sir,” replied Daniel, evenly but firmly.

  Lisanne’s father gaped at him.

  “I’m sorry that we met the way we did, and I didn’t mean to disrespect you – either of you – but your daughter is very special and I care about her. I’ll leave when she tells me to, not you.”

  Throughout his speech, Daniel kept his voice low and calm, but there was no doubting the challenge in his eyes as he gazed at Lisanne’s father.

  Her dad started to huff and bellow, but it was her mother who laid a soothing hand on his arm and replied.

  “Well, it certainly wasn’t the best of circumstances, Daniel, but we appreciate you apologizing. You seem like a very…” she eyed his piercing and tattoos apprehensively, “...like a smart young man, so I hope you’ll understand when I say that we want nothing but the best for our daughter…” />
  “She deserves it,” said Daniel, hotly.

  “Yes, she does,” agreed Lisanne’s mom, a small smile twitching at her lips. She held out her hand. “It was nice meeting you – more formally.”

  A faint blush colored Daniel’s cheeks, and he scrubbed his palm over the back of his jeans before he shook hands.

  Lisanne’s father stood in outraged silence as his wife kissed Lisanne and gave her a tight hug.

  “I think you got the answer to your question, darling,” whispered her mom. “Now for goodness sake, be safe on that motorcycle.”

  Then she dragged her husband to the car. Lisanne could hear his raised voice for nearly half a block.

  Daniel let out a lungful of air, and turned to her with an amazed grin.

  “Wow!” Lisanne said softly.

  Daniel’s smile softened as he gazed down at her.

  “And you came without body armor! My hero!”

  “Yeah, us heroes do stuff like that,” he said nonchalantly, but the twinkle in his eye gave him away.

  “You’re definitely my white knight,” she said, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on his beautiful lips.

  He dropped his nose into her hair and nuzzled her neck, causing Lisanne to shiver.

  “Does that mean you were a damsel in distress?” he asked, letting her go.

  “You better believe it!”

  She spoke so quickly, Daniel couldn’t help laughing.

  “That was the longest morning of my whole life.” Lisanne sighed as she looked up at him. “Thank you for coming to rescue me. I didn’t mean for you to do that when I texted you – but I’m really glad you did.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “You really charmed my mom.”

  He grinned at her, clearly delighted.

  “What can I say, baby d… Lis? Women find me irresistible.”

  Lisanne laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

  “Oh for goodness sake – just call me ‘baby doll’. I can live with that.”

  “Yeah?”

  “But being irresistible to women isn’t going to work with my dad, so you’d better come up with a plan B.”

  Daniel didn’t look fazed.

  “Don’t need to, baby. Your mom is my backup. And if she’s anything like my mom was, she’ll talk him around.”