chuckled. “I know Claire doesn’t have a dog, her mother has horrible allergies to all sorts of things. Give me a little credit. It’s my business to know about my congregation.”
“Then why are you letting me go to Claire’s house?” We were going to her house right? Please, God, I swear I will dial down the making out, just please let us be really going to Claire’s.
“Well, I’d rather have you hanging out with Avery at her house than sneaking out with him in the middle of the night.”
I sank down in my seat, shocked. “You know about that?”
Dad steered the minivan over to the side of the road and put it in park. I put my hand on the door handle in case I had to make a quick getaway.
He turned to me. “A long time ago before I became a pastor, I was a fifteen-year-old boy. I snuck out of my house to go see Roselyn Finn at least three times a week one summer. My father, at the end of that summer, let me know that he knew what I was doing too.”
I was starting to see his angle. “And I suppose you were grounded until you met Mom?”
He shook his head. “Zellie, since the beginning of time, teenagers have been sneaking out and inventing reasons to spend the night at their friends’ houses. If we had a second story on the house I have absolutely no doubt that Avery Adams would be climbing up trees or hiding a ladder in the bushes so that he could scale up it and appear at your window. I have decided not to fight against the inevitability that you will act like a teenager.”
I straightened up a little in my seat. Dad was being really cool. That must mean… “Does Mom know?”
“No, she doesn’t know for now. I thought we could keep this between the two of us and not worry her. Your mom was a bit of a wild child when she was your age. I think she’s afraid that you’re going to pay her back, karmically speaking. But your mom lost both of her parents at fifteen. She had a lot of anger and sadness to get out of her system. I think you’re more like me, more interested in the romance of sneaking out of the house than the thrill or the defiance of it. Your conscience will prevail. Now with Melody…” He gave me a wink.
“Wow, Dad, that’s really cool of you.” I blushed. I was seven kinds of guilty. If he only knew.
“Yes. I know.” He put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb, checking his rearview mirror for oncoming traffic. “That being said, I will be back at eleven to pick you up. It is a weeknight after all and you have school in the morning. Also, I’m fairly certain that Claire’s parents aren’t home. Please have them give me a call when they do get back. See how this is gonna work, Zel? I give a little, you give a little.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem, sweetheart.”
Dad came to a stop in front of Claire’s house. “Here we are, Madame. See you at eleven.”
I leaned over to give him a hug goodbye. As I wrapped my arms around his neck I got a sickening feeling in my gut. He smelled of pine.
A vision flashed through my head. I saw him wrestling with a woman, her hair covering her face. She had a gun in her hand. Dad was trying to shake the gun from the woman’s hand, banging her arm against the side of a black leather couch. There was screaming, but I couldn’t make out the voices or the woman’s face. I could see Dad’s hand slip from the woman’s arm. Then she regained her grip on the gun and aimed it at his face and shot.
“Okay, honey, I get it, you love me. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I snapped back into the present. I was almost strangling him in my embrace. I let go of him and looked into his eyes. He smiled at me. “I’ll see you soon, Dad. Thanks for driving me and everything.” I opened the minivan door and hopped out. As I walked up Claire’s driveway, he honked the horn at me and waved. I turned and waved back.
Dazed, I rang the doorbell instead
“Then why are you letting me go to Claire’s house?” We were going to her house right? Please, God, I swear I will dial down the making out, just please let us be really going to Claire’s.
“Well, I’d rather have you hanging out with Avery at her house than sneaking out with him in the middle of the night.”
I sank down in my seat, shocked. “You know about that?”
Dad steered the minivan over to the side of the road and put it in park. I put my hand on the door handle in case I had to make a quick getaway.
He turned to me. “A long time ago before I became a pastor, I was a fifteen-year-old boy. I snuck out of my house to go see Roselyn Finn at least three times a week one summer. My father, at the end of that summer, let me know that he knew what I was doing too.”
I was starting to see his angle. “And I suppose you were grounded until you met Mom?”
He shook his head. “Zellie, since the beginning of time, teenagers have been sneaking out and inventing reasons to spend the night at their friends’ houses. If we had a second story on the house I have absolutely no doubt that Avery Adams would be climbing up trees or hiding a ladder in the bushes so that he could scale up it and appear at your window. I have decided not to fight against the inevitability that you will act like a teenager.”
I straightened up a little in my seat. Dad was being really cool. That must mean… “Does Mom know?”
“No, she doesn’t know for now. I thought we could keep this between the two of us and not worry her. Your mom was a bit of a wild child when she was your age. I think she’s afraid that you’re going to pay her back, karmically speaking. But your mom lost both of her parents at fifteen. She had a lot of anger and sadness to get out of her system. I think you’re more like me, more interested in the romance of sneaking out of the house than the thrill or the defiance of it. Your conscience will prevail. Now with Melody…” He gave me a wink.
“Wow, Dad, that’s really cool of you.” I blushed. I was seven kinds of guilty. If he only knew.
“Yes. I know.” He put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb, checking his rearview mirror for oncoming traffic. “That being said, I will be back at eleven to pick you up. It is a weeknight after all and you have school in the morning. Also, I’m fairly certain that Claire’s parents aren’t home. Please have them give me a call when they do get back. See how this is gonna work, Zel? I give a little, you give a little.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem, sweetheart.”
Dad came to a stop in front of Claire’s house. “Here we are, Madame. See you at eleven.”
I leaned over to give him a hug goodbye. As I wrapped my arms around his neck I got a sickening feeling in my gut. He smelled of pine.
A vision flashed through my head. I saw him wrestling with a woman, her hair covering her face. She had a gun in her hand. Dad was trying to shake the gun from the woman’s hand, banging her arm against the side of a black leather couch. There was screaming, but I couldn’t make out the voices or the woman’s face. I could see Dad’s hand slip from the woman’s arm. Then she regained her grip on the gun and aimed it at his face and shot.
“Okay, honey, I get it, you love me. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I snapped back into the present. I was almost strangling him in my embrace. I let go of him and looked into his eyes. He smiled at me. “I’ll see you soon, Dad. Thanks for driving me and everything.” I opened the minivan door and hopped out. As I walked up Claire’s driveway, he honked the horn at me and waved. I turned and waved back.
Dazed, I rang the doorbell instead
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