Parker's Island (5 page)

“Okay.  I guess I should clear it with my parents.”

“Fine, but don’t tell them what movie we’re seeing
,
”
r
eminding me of its’ rating.

“You know I’m not going to lie if they ask me.”  Although last nights’ lie came flooding back.

“You better not stand me up
,
Delaney.  I’ve been waiting to see this movie.”

“I’ll be ready.  I’ll see you at 3:30.  Bye.”

I headed downstairs to tell my Mom about my plans for the evening, but she was nowhere in sight.
I found a note on the fridge.

     
 
 
 
Good morning
s
leepy-head.  I left some

   
breakfast in the fridge for you.  I’ll be

   
home about 4:00.  Your brother is spending

    
the day with Michael.  I hope you’re feeling

   
better.  See you later
,
honey.

                         
            
      Mom

Well, that let me off the hoo
k
for any more of her probing
, for
now at least.
  I
looked at the plate in the fridge, ate one bite of eggs and then
threw the rest into the garbage
.
  My mother was never the best cook, and it always amazed me that she could ruin even the simplest of meals. 

I took a shower, got dressed, cleaned up my room and still had five hours before Molly was due to pick me up.  At least I wasn’t crying
anymore.  I think I was all cried out. 

I decided to go out for a walk.  I grabbed my jacket off the hook and headed out the door.  I turned left down
the street, heading nowhere in particular
,
when I noticed a car parked two houses down from mine.  
There was someone sitting in it, but the windows were
tinted
and I couldn’t make out who it was.  The car was beautiful though, and I certainly didn’t know anyone who lived on our street who could afford anything like that.  I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I was certain it was expensive. 

I passed the car, trying to see inside, but still couldn’t make out a face.  I didn’t look too long, just a glance, trying not to be too obvious, but I was intrigued.  “Oh
,
well,” I thought and headed toward town.

I walked around for a few hours, bought a new pair of sandals and then headed back home to wait for Molly.  As I headed around the corner
leaving town
, I saw the same car again. 
I looked a little closer this time as I walked
by;
hoping to get a glance at the driver, but all I could make out was a dark figure behind the wheel.  I was tempted to knock on the window, but thought better of it. 

I headed home and realized that I never did get permission to go to the movie
or
out to dinner.  I would call
m
y parents, but they are the only two people
,
beside
s
m
yself,
in the continental U.S. who d
idn’t
have cell phones.  I called my dad at work and his assistant said he was with clients and couldn’t be disturbed. 
“Can I give him a message for you?”

“No, I’ll just leave them a note. Thanks.”

Well, at least I wasn’t going to be quizzed about what movie we’re going to see.

I left a note on the fridge, replacing my Mom’s
note
from th
e
morning.  Molly picked me up right on time.  We stopped and picked up
Carrie and Jim on our way and then we all met up at the theatre.

Molly didn’t tell me that Jason was coming too, so when we were all
together
, there were actually three
‘
couples
’
and me!  Molly knew I was angry the second she looked at me.  “What was I supposed to tell him
?
N
o, you can’t come with us?
 
It’s not a date
,
Delaney
.  W
e’re all just a bunch of friends going to the movies together.”

“Right!  Except that Carrie and Jim are a couple, Beth and Jed are a couple, and I know, without a doubt
,
that you
’
r
e crazy about
Jason, so that leaves ME!”

“I know,
and
I’m sorry
, b
ut I couldn’t say no.  It would have been the same if Logan came
.  T
hen
I would have been the single…
I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to bring th
at up.  Delaney, I’m sorry,
”
s
he said, looking mortified.

“No, it’s okay! 
You’re right, and I
have no right complaining to you because Ja
son is here.  I’m happy for you.
I just feel a little out of place now.  I’ll get over it!”

“Are you sure?  We could leave, go rent a movie or something and watch
it at my house
, just the two of us
?”

“Don’t be ridiculous
.
I’m fine.  Let’s go watch the movie.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The movie seemed to last forever, and I couldn’t have felt more out of place.  This wasn’t my kind of movie
.  I
n fact
,
I had never even seen an
R rated
movie
before that hadn’t been edited for television
.  T
he sex and language was more than I could handle.  I walked out of the theatre and meandered in the lobby for a while, trying to waste as much time as possible.  It wasn’t just the movie that made me so
uncomfortable
.  A
ll three couples were
a little too close for comfort
,
as well.  I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

I excused myself, saying I needed to use the restroom and I went out and
sat down on the bench by the theatre doors
.  I
actually
almost
felt
relieved that Logan
had
turned
my
invitation down
.
I would have been so embarrassed if he’d been sitting next to me during that movie.  “What’s wrong with Disney movies
,
anyway?”  I said to myself. 

“Excuse me?”
t
he guy
at the
ticket
counter
asked
.

“What…
Oh
,
sorry, I was talking to myself.”

I turned around and looked out the window, and there, parked right up front was the same car I’d seen earlier.  “Wow, that’s really weird.”

Molly came looking for me then
.
“There you are
.  W
e were all wondering where you went.  Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.  I just wanted some air.
  Hey, have you ever seen that car around before?
”

“Not that I remember, why?”

“I’ve just seen it around a lot today.  No big deal.” 

“The movies a bit...um…
explicit isn’t it? 
Sorry
,
”
s
he said, looking very contrite.

“Well, it’s a little bit more explicit than I’m used to.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Cinderella ever did those things with Prince Charming!” 

We both laughed.  “You should go back to Jason.  I think I’m going to walk home.”

“No way
.  P
lease c
ome back with me.”

“I’ve seen enough.  I’m a third wheel
‘
or a seventh wheel
’
and I don’t need to bring you guys down.”

“If you leave, then I’m going
,
too
,
”
s
he dared me to argue with her.

“Molly
,
it’s really okay.  I’m fine.  I can’t go back in there. 
You shouldn’t keep Jason waiting for you.  Go on
.
I’ll be fine.”

“NO!  Either you come with me, or I’m going with you.”

I wasn’t going to ruin her night with Jason, so I agreed to go back into the theatre
.  L
uckily for me
,
there w
as
only about
t
w
en
ty
minutes
of the movie
left before credits started rolling. 

Dinner went just about as well as the movie.  They all tried to make me feel welcome and include me in all of their conversations, but it was strained and I felt horrible for intruding on what could
have been
a romantic evening for all of them.

I could hardly wait for Molly to drop me off
,
and I demanded to be dropped off first.  “Thanks, it was…fun
,
” I lied
,
again.  It was becoming a habit lately.

“You’re a bad liar
,” s
he said as she walked me to my door.

“Yeah, I know.  Go have fun. 
You really like
Jason
?
”

“
Oh yeah, and y
ou can bet I’ll be dropping him off last
,
”
s
he grinned.

“Molly, I know he seems like a nice guy, but be careful.
  I don’t know if he’s
really quite as nice as he seems.
”
  I didn’t know what it was about Jason that I didn’t trust, but there was something about him that made me a little nervous.

“Okay
,
MOM!”
s
he grinned and waved as she got back into her car.

“Where have you been
,
young lady?”
m
y
d
ad asked, pointing a finger at me.

“I left a note
.  D
idn’t you get it?” I asked, confused by his tone.

“Yes,
we
got it!
  You know better than to go out without permission!  We didn’t know where you were or who you were with!  This isn’t like you
,
Delaney.  You have been acting very strange lately and I want to know what’s going on
.
”

“Nothing!  I just went to a movie with Molly and some friends.”

“Delaney,”
My mom started, trying to soften the tone of the inquisit
i
on.  “Honey, we’re just worried about you
, t
hat
’
s all.  We need to know where you are and what you’re doing.  What
were
you doing?”
s
he asked, looking at me like I
needed to
confess my sins
, even though we weren’t
even
Catholic
.

“I told you
.
I went to
a
movie and then out to dinner with Molly and some friends.”

“Delaney, there were boys in th
at
car
,” m
y mother said, accusing me of something,
although I
wasn’t sure of exactly what
.

“Yes, hence the ‘friends’ part of I went to a movie and dinner with Molly and some
friends
,
” I
said
a little short.  I was getting angry.  I hadn’t done anything wrong and the
y were accusing me of
…I didn’t even know what.

“Don’t take that tone with us
,
young lady.  You live here under our roof.  You will respect us
,
”
m
y dad spouted off.

“When haven’t I respected you?  I
left a note.  I’m 17 years old.
I assumed it was okay for me to go out with friends without your
explicit
verbal
permission.”  I was really angry now.  “If you guys had cell phones I could have called you.  What was I supposed to do, wait around and miss the movie so I could get permission
from one of you?  I called your office
,
Dad
.  Y
ou were in a meeting.  I didn’t know where you were
,
Mom, so I left a note.  Is that so terrible?”