Chapter 35

My knight offered me a flower. I took his hand in mine and pulled it to my face, enjoying the delicate fragrance of the rose, then asked him to pin it on me. He slid his left hand inside the neckline of my dress, the backs of his fingers resting above my left breast. He pushed out the velvet material and pinned the corsage to it.

I was wearing the blue velvet dress I'd worn on my birthday; my knight wore his gray suit. He escorted me down the stairs to our chariot and we drove off into the night.

Well, it was something like that. Before that happened, we spent the better part of an hour fighting each other for shower, sink and mirror space.

We got home from school Thursday night and Jack cut and pasted some of the photo requests, then printed them out for Mary. He'd gotten three more emails since he left to pick me up for school. He went down to see if Mary would call some professional photographers and ask for what the girls wanted from him and get some prices.

While he was doing that I called my father.

"Hi, Daddy."

"I'll sign it. I'll sign it."

"I wasn't worried about that. I knew you would. I called about something else."

"I suppose you need money for something."

"Maybe, but that isn't why I called. I convinced Jack to take me out on a date tomorrow and I want someplace nice to eat. I want to get dressed up and get some good food and then dancing. And I want to try someplace other than Perliones."

"That's simple enough. Eastside."

"The country club? I thought you quit that a couple of years ago."

"I did. Back then it was a waste of time. But Wanda and I play tennis there a couple of times a week now."

"So, do I need a card or something to get in?"

"No, I got a family membership. Just let them know who you are. They may want to take your pictures and print up some membership cards so it wouldn't hurt to take some ID. You and Jack are listed as secondary members. As a matter of fact, June, Mary and Charlie are also allowed in at any time as guests."

"That must have cost you some serious money."

"Yes, it did. My accountant has been after me to spend my money on something other than family so the government doesn't take it all. As long as I take some other doctors to dinner or play tennis or golf with them, it's a legitimate write off. That's part of the reason I made June a guest. As long as we discuss work at some point, I can deduct her portion."

"Is the food good?"

"The food is very good. They have steaks, prime rib, pork, lamb, you name it."

"How about oysters? Jack liked them when we went out for my birthday."

"I'm sure he did. And I bet you liked them when you got home that night."

"Of course I did, Daddy."

"Yes, Dear, they have oysters."

"Good. Tell me about the band."

"No band. They have a lady who plays piano and sings. Slow stuff. Remember Sam in Casablanca?"

"Yeah."

"That kind of stuff. Romantic, slow dance music."

"That sounds perfect. What about my age?"

"You'll be fine. Just don't try to order anything alcoholic."

"I wouldn't think of it. I want tomorrow to be special, not be some knocked out zombie."

"Good. Because all bills come to me and I'll know exactly what you got."

"OK. Let me know when the bill comes and we'll pay it."

"Don't worry about it, Pumpkin. I'll take care of it."

"No, Daddy. I'm not going to do that to Jack."

"Honey, the country club isn't cheap. How is Jack going to pay for that with what he makes at school?"

"He's got a bunch of girls from the team lined up who want him to take their pictures."

"That doesn't mean he'll be able to afford it. How much money do teenage girls have?"

"Oh, Daddy, haven't you heard? Teenage girls have lots and lots of disposable income. They all have their daddies wrapped around their little fingers."

"You got that right. OK, if you can afford it, I'll let you pay."

"Thank you, Daddy. I know he appreciated the free meal from Perlione's for my birthday but he also felt kind of weird about it. He's still got some of that caveman thing going on where he thinks he has to go out and hunt and drag the meat home to his woman."

"Honey, we all have some of that, no matter how civilized we say we are. If your guy doesn't, get rid of him."

"I guess I can put up with that. As long as he continues to drag me into the cave."

"So that's going good for you?"

"Getting dragged in the cave? Yes, Sir. When things like school and web sites and playoffs don't get in the way."

"You might as well get used to it, Baby. There's always going to be something getting in the way. Hopefully, you can move enough of them out of the way occasionally so that you don't forget each other."

"That's why I'm willing to work my tail off to finish high school this year. Speaking of which. How's that emancipation thing going along?"

"I'm not sure. I got an email from my lawyer and he wants to meet with the two of us sometime next week. I haven't had a chance to get with him about it. You have everything you need for school, right?"

"I think so. I have a meeting with Ms. Evans on Monday. I'll know better then. By the way, did you know we're going to Mexico this weekend?"

"I thought you had your playoff."

"That's Saturday afternoon. Jack, Mary and I are going down Saturday night to bring Charlie back. I don't know if we'll be able to see Ethel or not but Mary's waiting for an answer to a question she asked Claude. Actually, I think June is the one who did the asking. Mary would have probably shit."

"I take it this is something you would have just informed me about if it was you."

"Yeah, I guess I did that, didn't I? You know I'm the new and improved Jill these days, don't you?"

"I'll believe that when I see it. The last time I saw you, you told me you were going to graduate this year and that I was going to emancipate you. I'm sure Mary doesn't want either of those so her concern must have something to do with sex."

"You're so smart. It was really funny. We were talking about bringing Charlie back home so he could get back to school and Mary made some comment about him staying over at her house. Then she said there was plenty of room in her bed for him. The next thing you know, June is telling her that might work, providing it was OK with Claude. I wouldn't be surprised if Mary shit her pants. Then, they got the OK to bring Charlie home when they talked to Claude last night. I guess he said he'd think about it and let her know when we get down there Saturday night. Poor kid's going to have a heart attack before we get to Mexico."

"You know Claude's going to go along with it. He would have told her no right off if he wasn't."

"I thought so. But I'm sure not going to tell her that if there's any chance he won't. Will I see you at my playoff game on Saturday?"

"We'll be there."

"Good. Do you know this will be the first time Jack's going to see me play? He didn't even know I was the libero."

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Are you going to let your coach run the team?"

"Yes, Daddy. I told you. New and improved Jill. A lot of the credit for that goes to Wanda, you know."

"She told me she said something about me letting June run the delivery room. That makes all the times I've been called Dr. Asshole worth it."

"I'll never call you that, Daddy. Maybe Dr. Teddy Bear."

"Yeah, I'm sure that would do wonders for discipline. Have fun at the country club tomorrow and tell Jack I'm happy to see him doing something other than mopping the locker room."

"I'll figure out a way to do it without dissing his current job. I know it's not the most glamorous job in the world but he has a lot of pride in doing it well. I just want him doing something that has more potential for growth and enjoyment. And I don't want him touching towels that a bunch of high school boys have been using."

He laughed. "OK. You know what I mean about the job. I think this job is a lot better match for the captain of the swim team who carries a 4.0 average."

"I'll tell him that, Daddy. And you look at the pictures he took so you can talk to him about them on Saturday. Besides, I have to set an example. I know you. You'd just sign it without looking. I want you to sign the form because you agree that the pictures are OK, not because I ask you to."