CONVICTION (INTERFERENCE)

by Kimberly Schwartzmiller

  “Can’t compare him to what?” I asked.

  My mother just looked at my father and said, “Are you going to tell her, or am I?”

  “Neither. It’s ancient history. What’s important now is our daughter and this…this boy she is suddenly so infatuated with.”

  “She’s a teenager. It happens. You might as well get used to it.”

  “What if I don’t want to get used to it?”

  I watched them banter back and forth and I finally said, “I’m standing right here! Stop talking about me like my input doesn’t matter. Daddy, I love you, you know that. But, if you mess this up with Shane I will never forgive you. I’m not threatening you, honestly. I just really like him, and I don’t want to lose him because you can’t keep your comments to yourself. So please, be nice to him, okay?”

  “He has a record!”

  “I know. I told you that he told me all about it.”

  “I want to know what he did to get sent to Juvenile Hall for two years.”

  “Why? He paid his dues, and it’s over.”

  “It’s not over until I say it’s over. Now, what did he tell you he did?”

  “The truth!”

  “His version of the truth. I want to know what he told you.”

  “He told me…”

  “I’m waiting!” my father said, tapping his foot impatiently on the kitchen tile.

  “You know what, it doesn’t matter. The records were sealed for a reason. He was only 15. He paid for his mistakes. It’s ancient history!” I said, using my father’s own words against him.

  “Rebecca, don’t you understand that I just want to protect you from making a huge mistake. Parker…”

  “STOP PUSHING PARKER AT ME!”

  “He’s a great guy! He doesn’t have a record.”

  “No, he’s just perfect, even though he can’t seem to take ‘no’ for an answer!”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. Never mind. Daddy, can you please just be nice to Shane tonight? Give him a chance, okay? For me?” I asked, batting my baby blues.

  He finally groaned something that sounded like an ‘okay’ and headed down the hall into his office.

  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

  “Hi,” I said when I opened the door.

  “Hi.” He smiled and handed me a bouquet of wildflowers.

  “Thank you. They’re beautiful!”

  “No, you’re beautiful. They pale by comparison.”

  I felt the color rise into my cheeks and his smile widened. “I’ll never get tired of that.”

  “What?”

  “That beautiful blush.”

  I smiled and said, “Then keep smiling, it works every time.”

  “I’ll remember that,” he smiled again, waiting for the reaction he was expecting from me. He didn’t have to wait long, my face immediately flooded with color.

  My mother came around the corner and said, “Oh, Shane, you’re here. Come in, come in. What can I get you to drink?”

  “Oh, I’m fine, thanks.”

  “Rebecca, would you help me set the table?”

  “I’ll help her.”

  My mother nodded and said, “I’ll take you up on that. It’s nice to know there are still men out there willing to lend a hand in the kitchen.”

  “Well, it’s just my dad and me, so…”

  He helped me set the table and then he filled glasses with water and it wasn’t long before my mother was calling my dad to the dinner table. Thankfully, my sister was staying the night at a friends’ house.

  “Smells great,” my dad said, but ignored Shane.

  There was a knock on the door. I looked up and prayed it wasn’t who I thought it was. But, no such luck, because just as I suspected, Parker came bounding through the doors and stopped short when he saw Shane standing next to me.

  “DAD! How could you?” I yelled, furious.

  “I um, I didn’t,” he said, looking surprised.

  “Beccs, he didn’t call me.”

  “Stop calling me that! I hate that nickname. What are you doing here Parker?” I was no longer trapped between him and his car and I was suddenly incensed by his mere presence. Especially after I specifically told him there was nothing between us and to leave me alone.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  “You’re not intruding,” my father said and started to glance at Shane as if to tell him he was the intruder, but stopped when he saw my glare. “Um, but, we were just about to sit down to dinner,” he said when my glare reminded him he was supposed to be nice.

  “Oh, of course,” he looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept.

  “Parker, please go home.”

  “Not until I can apologize to you and your parents for my horrific behavior yesterday afternoon.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I forgive you. Now please go home.”

  “What is he talking about?” my mother asked.

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

  “What doesn’t matter?” my mother pushed.

  “You didn’t tell them?” he asked me.

  When I shook my head no, he looked at Shane, “You, either?”

  “No.”

  “Wow, I assumed you would have loved to rat me out. Well, I need to clear my conscience, anyway. I um, I made a mistake yesterday,” he said, addressing my parents.

  “Parker, please just go home. I told you, it’s over…done.”

  He ignored me and kept his eyes on my parents. “I forced myself on your daughter…”

  My father stood up and shouted, “What!?”

  “I mean, I tried to force her to kiss me.”

  I heard my mother let out the breath she’d been holding and saw her sit down in her chair, obviously relieved my virtue was still intact.

  “Parker, you had no right…” my father said.

  “I know. I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry. I feel horrible about the whole thing.”

  “What do you mean you tried to force her?” my father pushed.

  “I had her pinned up against my car. I almost went through with it too, but…” he stopped talking for a second and changed tactics, obviously uninterested in mentioning the true hero of the story. “She broke it off with me…and I guess I was angry…and hurt. But, it was still no excuse.” He turned toward me and said, “I’ll never forgive myself for scaring you like that.”

  “Parker, I told you I forgave you. Now please, just go home.”

  He took a step toward me, “You broke my heart.”

  I sighed. “Parker, please…”

  He turned to Shane and said, “Treat her right…or I swear you’ll be sorry.”

  He walked to the door, but before he opened it, he added, “I hope we can still be friends, Beccs…Rebecca. I’d hate to lose you completely.”

  He walked out the door without another word. He’d made a good show of it, but for some reason, I believed it to be just that…a show.

  “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me?” my father whirled on Shane.

  “Daddy! Stop it! For your information, Shane’s the reason Parker didn’t go through with it! There was no way I could have fought him off. I was trapped and Shane stopped him. Don’t you dare take this out on Shane. He saved me.”

  My father’s attitude changed for the moment. “You stopped him?”

  “I was working and I saw them talking. I didn’t do anything until I saw him pin her to the car. She was scared, even from across the street, I could see it. I told him to back off. I’m not into violence, but there’s no way I would have let him hurt her. I don’t ever want to see her frightened like that again.”

  My mother stood up and said, “Thank you, Shane. Thank you for being there for her.”

  “Thank you,” my father mumbled.

  “Young lady, why didn’t you tell me what Parker did?” my father asked once we were all seated at the dinner table.

  “I don’t know. Shane stopped h
im, no harm done.”

  “I just can’t believe he’d do that to you. You’ve broken up with him a hundred times before. What made this time so different?”

  I looked over at Shane and said, “I don’t want to talk about Parker, Daddy. Can we just drop it? It’s over…finally,” I sighed in relief. “He’s accepted that I’m with Shane now, and I don’t have to…”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “By what?”

  “What do you mean you’re ‘with’ Shane now?”

  “What do you think I mean?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you explain it!” he said, getting that edge back to his voice. “Or, better yet, why don’t you explain it!” he ordered, looking directly at Shane.

  “Daddy! You’re doing it again! Shane doesn’t owe you an explanation about our relationship.”

  “The hell he doesn’t! You’re a minor…he’s not! He will answer to me or he will be banned from seeing you at all.”

  “Bradley…”

  “No Charlotte! Not this time. I want to hear what this young man, with a criminal record has to say about being ‘with’ my sixteen year old daughter.”

  “Bradley, you’re being unreasonable. Shane, please forgive my husband’s outburst.”

  “It’s okay. He’s right; I do owe him…both of you, the truth.” He looked directly at my father and said, “You obviously love your family very much. They’re lucky to have you. I know I’m not the kind of guy you want your daughter to associate with, but I swear to you, I only have the best intentions in mind. I won’t say that I’m sorry that she’s not interested in Parker, because that would be a lie. And, I don’t lie…ever. Not anymore. I don’t have the best background, I’ll admit it. I don’t have any money, except the small amount I’ve saved for college. My father…well, he has his problems, too. But, it’s just been the two of us since I was six years old. I’ve been in trouble with the law, but I’ve paid my dues and I’ve been on the straight and narrow for over three years now, with no intention of ever going back.”

  “If you never lie…as you say, then what are your intentions with my daughter?”

  He looked over at me and said, “I want to get to know her. I want to spend time with her. Date her…as long as it’s what she wants.”

  I had tears in my eyes as I nodded yes. “More than anything,” I managed to get out.

  “She’s only 16.”

  “I know.” He looked my father right in the eye and said, “I haven’t laid a hand on her, and I have no intention of doing so. I just want to be with her.”

  “Yes, well, that’s all fine and dandy, but good intentions can all go right out the window if the…circumstances are right.”

  “I respect your daughter. And, I’ll respect the rules you set forth for her…and for me. And, I will abide by them. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. But, I swear to you, your daughter will not be one of them. I’m asking for a chance to prove myself, to the both of you and to her.”

  He sat there with his hands folded neatly in his lap, waiting for the axe to fall.

  “You’re right about one thing. My daughter will NOT be one of your mistakes.”

  “Daddy…please?”

  He sighed. “One chance! And, it’s only because you protected her. If you so much as look at her wrong…you’re done!” he said and walked out.

  My mother stood up. “Well, I think she’s lucky to have found you.” She walked over to him and put her hand on his face and lifted it up so he’d look her in the eye. She was contemplating something and finally said, “Whatever mistakes you’ve made, it’s time to let them go. You have a clean slate. What you choose to do with it now, is up to you. Rebecca has faith in you, and so do I.” She started to walk out of the room. “Oh, and don’t worry about grumpy…he’ll come around.” She winked at me and headed toward my father’s office.

  “Thank you,” I said, looking up at him.

  “For what?”

  “For doing that for me. You didn’t have to.”

  “I didn’t do it for you, Rebecca. It was for purely selfish reasons.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t want to sneak around. I want to be open about our relationship. I want to be with you, and I want your parents to be okay with it. I don’t think I could take it if they refused to let me see you.”

  “It wouldn’t matter if they refused or not. They couldn’t stop me, no matter what. I’d find a way to see you.”

  “Maybe, but isn’t it easier this way?”

  I nodded and smiled.

  A few minutes later my parents re-joined the table and we finally finished dinner. My mother had made spinach lasagna with Shane in mind.

  “Where’s the meat, Charlotte?”

  “It’s vegetarian…for Shane.”

  “Thank you, but you don’t have to make anything special for me.”

  “What would you have done if I’d made something like meatloaf?” my mother laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I would have had a lot of water. This is wonderful, though. Thank you. I don’t ever get any home cooked meals…unless I cook them.”

  “Doesn’t your father cook for you?”

  “No. I cook for him, sometimes. But, he’s not a big eater.”

  “Why did your father lose his job?” my father asked.

  “Daddy?”

  “It was just a question.”

  “He was let go…for drinking on the job. He’s an alcoholic.”

  My mother dropped the serving spoon in the vegetable bowl. “You lost your mother when you were six and your father’s an alcoholic? No wonder you went off the deep-end. Who wouldn’t?”

  “Just what did you do to get sent to juvenile hall for two years?” my father asked.

  “Daddy, I told you…drop it.”

  “I stole a couple bottles of Jack Daniels and then got drunk and stole a car…”

  “Well, you were lucky you only got two years.”

  “He turned himself in. Now, can we drop it?” I asked, not wanting him to have to tell the rest of the story, even though I knew he would.

  “Is that why you don’t drive? You don’t have your license back, yet?”

  “I have my license back, but I don’t have a car. I borrow my Dad’s car sometimes, but I usually just prefer to walk. I’m saving as much as I can for school. But, with my father out of work, most of the money goes to our bills. Gas is a luxury.”

  My father’s face finally softened. “So, you’re the man of the house? You take care of your father, even though he should be taking care of you?”

  “I’m nineteen. He raised me…for a while. I guess it’s my turn to raise him.”

  “So, what is it you want to study in school?”

  “Veterinary medicine.”

  I was shocked. “I didn’t know that. That’s great.”

  “A vet, huh? Expensive and a lot of years of schooling,” my father said.

  “I know, that’s why I’m trying to save as much as I can.”

  “You have to have good grades to get into a vet program,” my father continued.

  “Yes, I know. I um, I’ve taken quite a few online courses…core classes, and I’ve managed to keep my grades up. It’s going to take a while, but I’ll do it.”

  “You have to have more than just good grades…you need connections…”

  “Daddy, why are you harassing him?”

  “Calm down, Pumpkin. I’m not harassing him. I was going to say I know the dean at UCLA and I was going to offer to put in a good word for him.”

  I was shocked. “That’s so nice…”

  “Yes, that’s very nice, thank you. But, I want to do it on my own. I appreciate it, really. But, when I get my degree, I want it to be…mine, ya know?”

  “Yes, I do know. I struggled to get into UCLA, worked my butt off for it. No one handed me anything and when I was done…I was proud. Well, I’m going to bed. I’m tired and we have mass early in the morning.
”

  “Would it be okay if Rebecca and I spent the day together tomorrow? I thought we’d go to the zoo.”

  “I suppose it would be okay…after church.”

  “Of course.”

  “Sunday mass starts at nine am. You’re welcome to join us for church. We usually have breakfast after church, and then you’re free to go. Unless you have some objection?”

  “No, none whatsoever. Thank you.”

  “Goodnight,” my father said and headed upstairs. “Oh, one more thing, you’re allocated to the downstairs only. Got it?”

  Shane smiled and said, “Got it!”

  My mother and I sat there staring at each other, speechless.

  “Who was that?” I asked my mother, wondering what my father was up to.

  “I told you he’d come around. It was just sooner than I expected. Well, these dishes aren’t going to do themselves.”

  “Rebecca and I can do them. You’ve done enough. I can’t thank you enough for the wonderful meal.”

  “Oh, you two go watch television or something. I’ll take care of the dishes.”

  “Please, let me,” he said while standing up and gathering plates and glasses.

  “Yeah mom, you go to bed. We’ll do these.”

  “You’re sure? You and your sister usually argue…”

  “She’s not here, thankfully, and I won’t mind doing them with Shane. It’s okay. Goodnight.”

  “Well, I am rather tired. Okay, goodnight. There’s angel food cake, fresh strawberries and whipped cream in the fridge if you two would like some dessert. Goodnight.”

  Shane and I finished the dishes side by side. Neither of us said much of anything. I think we were both sort of in shock over the entire evening. When we were done I made us each a bowl of strawberry shortcake and asked him to follow me to the family room.

  “I should go,” he said when he saw what I was making.

  “Please don’t go, yet. It’s the first moment alone we’ve had all night.”

  “For a few minutes.”

  He followed me into the family room and waited for me to sit down. Once I did, he sat down on the opposite couch. I stood up and walked over and sat down next to him.

  He scooted over the second I sat down. “Why do you always pull away from me? I thought you liked me,” I said, wanting to be closer to him.