Chapter 17

As their children entered their teens, Bill had become aware of the closeness he had established with them. He was not surprised that Bill Junior would connect with him. Both of them had similar interests. Young Bill was chomping at the bit in anticipation of his sixteenth birthday and the driver education class in which he was enrolled. It was still over a year away, but "Junior," as he now wished to be known, was counting the days, nonetheless.

Lexi, was the surprise. She and her father were exceptionally close, and that surprised Bill. He expected that she would bond with her mother, especially as she progressed through her early teen years, but that didn't seem to happen. In fact, lately, it seemed that the two were constantly at odds with each other. More than once he had to intervene and act as referee between the two strong-willed females. When he tried to talk to Marion about it, she brushed it off as typical mother-daughter conflict, and told him not to make too much of it. Still, it left Bill with an uneasy feeling.

Father and daughter were sitting on the back deck on a sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, chatting about nothing in particular when Lexi changed the subject.

"Dad ... is Mom OK?" It seemed like an innocent question, but Bill was alerted to it immediately.

"What do you mean? Healthwise?" he answered carefully.

"Yah ... maybe. She doesn't seem the same lately. When you're not here, we seem to be arguing a lot more. Sometimes, I feel like she's angry at something other than me or Junior."

Bill willed himself to calm down. This wasn't good news. Were they the same signals that he had missed five years ago?

"I don't know, Lexi. She seems OK to me. To be honest, I haven't noticed anything like that. Does this just happen when I'm not here?" He was probing with caution. He wanted his daughter to open up.

"Yah ... it seems like that. It's been going on for a while now. I think I'll be happy when university starts in September and I'll be out of the line of fire, but I feel for Junior."

"What kind of things cause the arguments?"

"They aren't really arguments. It's more like ... little temper tantrums, I guess. Maybe it's menopause."

"I hadn't thought of that. That can cause all kinds of reactions in women, I hear," he said.

"I hope it's as simple as that. I'd hate to see you back sleeping in the front bedroom again."

It was all Bill could do to will himself not to react. "What do you mean?" he asked in a controlled voice.

"Oh, come on, Dad. You weren't fooling us. I know you and mom went through a bad time a few years ago. We were just happy when it was over." She was talking to her father as if he was a kid who'd tried to pull a "fast one" on his parents, and hadn't gotten away with it.

"So, what did you think was happening?" Again, the cautious tone was evident in his voice.

"Well, back then, I thought you had gotten into some kind of fight and neither one of you would apologize. I don't know how many times I was going to say something, but I chickened out," she said in a matter-of-fact way. "Now, I think maybe she did something bad ... maybe had an affair ... or something. We were just relieved that you guys made up."

"Did Junior know too?"

"He knew what I thought back then, but I've never said anything to him about what I think now. He's been giving Mom the silent treatment for quite a while. Telling him wouldn't make things better." This time, it was in a tone that said she viewed the situation more seriously.

Bill looked at his daughter and was amazed. She'd grown up so fast. She was so smart. Better yet, she was handling it like an adult. Who was he trying to fool?

"You're a pretty smart cookie, Lexi," reaching out with his hand toward her. She took it and squeezed. The look on her face was one of unconditional love. He turned his head so that she couldn't see the tear forming in the corner of his eye. The little bells were ringing again and it was Lexi that helped him hear them.

They sat on the porch for another hour, comfortable in each other's company. Lexi talked about her boyfriend Clem and how he had become a "workaholic."

Lexi and Clement Troughbridge were destined for university in a few weeks. They had agreed on the same school, but not the same courses. Lexi would study economics and business administration, while Clem tackled mechanical engineering. Both Bill and Marion wondered if this was going to be a life partnership. Both of them liked Clem. He was a serious, and yet a light-hearted young man. Both of them also wondered if they had been intimate. Marion said she couldn't find any signs of it, but in this day and age, she wouldn't be surprised. Bill tried not to worry about it. He was confident in Lexi's sense of responsibility and good judgement.