Contessa (10 page)

“
That
’
s very kind of you, Jon,
”
Dad says as he puts his arm around my shoulder. I roll my eyes, but Jon is the only one who can see my expression.
“
Thank you. Can you make it home okay?
”

“
I can, yes, but I wanted to talk to you about something first, sir... if you don
’
t mind.
”

My dad lets go of my shoulder, but angles me toward the house and gives me a gentle shove toward it. I stop, though, and stand behind him, wanting to hear the rest of the conversation.

“
It
’
s kind of late, Jon. Maybe another night. But thank you–
”

“
Sir, I really need to ask you a question.
”

I know my dad knows the exact question that
’
s coming, and know exactly why he
’
s acting the way he is. I
’
m sure he
’
s not ready to deal with this, but it
’
s time. My stomach tightens as I try to anticipate my dad
’
s next move.

“
Jon, why don
’
t I drive you home?
”

Jon
’
s speechless and loses a little confidence as his shoulders slump.

“
Dad,
”
I try to interject.

“
Tessa, I think your mom needs help with Trey. Would you mind taking him inside?
”

“
Dad!
”
I plead loudly.

“
It
’
s cool, Liv,
”
Jon says.
“
Sir, yes, I
’
d love a ride home. Thank you. Good night, Livvy. See you in a month.
”
A smile spreads quickly across my face, even as my dad turns to glare at me.

“
Can you bring me my keys, Liv?
”

“
Sure!
”
I run quickly into the house and have to stop myself from skipping back out to the front yard.

“
Tell your mother I
’
ll be back shortly.
”

“
Okay.
”

“
Shall we?
”
he asks Jon.

“
Yes, sir.
”
Jon shows me his crossed fingers on the way to Dad
’
s sedan. I make the same motion back, the grin painful in my cheeks.

“
It
’
s Jack,
”
I hear my dad say as they both get into the car. I let out a deep breath I hadn
’
t even realized I
’
d been holding in. Keeping my fingers crossed, I watch as my dad backs out of the driveway and begins to head north. Jon waves to me as they drive away.

CHAPTER 4

When he got home two nights ago, Dad wouldn
’
t tell me anything about the conversation he
’
d had with Jon. I knew he was saving it for our trip upstate today. If he held on to that piece of information, he knew I wouldn
’
t back out. I couldn
’
t wait to hear every detail.

I was up early and made coffee for my dad. The smell woke my brother up first since his bedroom is right off the kitchen. He was disappointed to see it was me that was up and not our parents. He bounded up the stairs quickly, though, and succeeded at what I
’
d failed to do. My mom comes down first, still in her pajamas. She gives me a hug and starts to search the pantry for something to give Trey for breakfast. I can hear the shower running upstairs, so I know Dad will be ready to go when he comes down.

“
You excited about today?
”
she asks.

“
Yeah.
”
And I
am
.

“
Ten and two, right?
”
she quizzes me.

I feign ignorance.
“
Makes twelve?
”
I tease her.

“
Pay close attention when he shows you how to parallel park. He
’
s a pro.
”

“
I will, Mom.
”

“
You
’
ll be a better driver than I am by the time you have your license.
”
I know she
’
s right, too. She
’
s always skittish when she drives, occasionally spooked by oncoming cars that aren
’
t actually there. She hates to drive for those reasons, and after what she
’
s been through, I can
’
t blame her.

“
You ready, Contessa?
”
my dad says with a genuine smile as he pours coffee into a travel mug. I know he
’
s
wanted
me to spend time with him for weeks, and I kept putting him off. I know the two of us have completely different agendas for the day, though.

I show him the keys in my hand and nod my head.

“
Jack, you
’
re going to drive out of the city, right.
”

“
Yes, Poppet,
”
he says, exasperated.
“
I promise, we will take no unnecessary risks, Em. We
’
ll call you from your parent
’
s house. And my phone
’
s on.
”

“
I don
’
t want to distract her,
”
she says, shaking her head. I can tell she
’
s beginning to worry.

“
I
’
ll be careful, Mom.
”

“
Yes, don
’
t worry, Mom,
”
Dad says as he wraps his arms around her and kisses the top her of head. She looks up at him, speaking to him in expressions, not words. I start toward the front door to give them a little privacy, but clear my throat loudly before exiting our house.
“
Coming, Liv.
”
I hear him tell my brother goodbye and witness one more kiss between my parents in the hallway.
“
Don
’
t roll your eyes,
”
he mumbles playfully as he takes the keys from me. I hadn
’
t even realized I had.

“
Bye, Mom!
”

“
Bye, Livvy!
”

As we navigate through the city, Dad engages me in small talk about my week. I answer with quick, non-descriptive responses as I find the playlist I want to listen to on my iPod. I wait impatiently for him to bring up the conversation he had in the car with my friend. As soon as we hit the highway, I start in.
“
So what did you and Jon talk about?
”

He looks at me out of the corner of his eye and grins.
“
You
’
ve been dying to ask me that.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I tell him.
“
Please don
’
t keep me waiting any longer.
”

“
Well, what are we going to talk about on the way back?
”

“
Dad! I can
’
t wait all day.
”

“
You
’
ve waited the past two. I
’
ve been really impressed.
”

“
Seriously? Did he ask you?
”

“
Ask me what?
”
His attempt at being coy is really starting to annoy me.

“
You know. He was going to ask if he could take me out on my first date.
”

“
Oh, that?
”

“
Yeah, that!
”

“
We might have talked about that,
”
he says, exiting the highway and pulling into a parking lot.
“
Are you ready?
”

“
Yes!
”
I exclaim.
“
I really want to go out with him.
”

“
Tessa, focus. I was talking about taking the wheel.
”

“
Already? I thought you
’
d get us through the boroughs.
”

“
You
’
ve got to start somewhere,
”
he says with a shrug as he gets out of the car. He comes around and opens the passenger door for me.
“
You brought your permit?
”

“
Of course,
”
I tell him.

“
Well, let
’
s go, Contessa. What are you waiting for?
”
After giving the keys back to me, I climb out of the car. He takes the passenger seat, fastening the belt and watching me as I make all the seat and mirror adjustments. Before I pull out of the lot, he turns the volume down on the music.

“
I can barely hear it,
”
I whine.

“
We were having a discussion, remember?
”

“
Oh, yeah,
”
I say with a smile.
“
So can I go out with him?
”

“
I don
’
t know, Liv,
”
he says sounding truly unsure of his answer.
“
What do you see in that kid?
”

“
What do you mean? He
’
s a really nice guy, Dad.
”

“
I just think he
’
s too old for you. He
’
s a senior?
”

“
Yeah. So? I
’
m a junior, remember?
”

“
You skipped a grade, though. There
’
s a two-year age difference.
”

“
You
’
re
five
years older than Mom.
”

“
It
’
s different when you
’
re older. We were twice your age when we started dating.
”

“
Well, our age difference is only half as much as yours is,
”
I counter.

I can see a smile spread across his lips at my logic. He nods his head slowly.
“
So it is,
”
he states simply.
“
Well, tell me a little more about him.
”

“
He
’
s smart, and he studies hard. He
’
s trying to get a scholarship.
”

“
Where does he want to go to college?
”

“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
You don
’
t know? That seems like something you should know of a guy you want to go out with. He told
me
he wants to go to Columbia. That
’
s very ambitious.
”

“
He could do it. He
’
s at the top of his class.
”

“
I
’
m sure he could,
”
he says.
“
It
’
s very competitive, but I
’
m not discrediting his intelligence. He
’
s a pretty bright kid–very inventive in your art class, if I remember correctly. He was always finding creative solutions to your projects.
”