Chapter 6

I was introduced to Beth’s mom (Edith) and dad (Frank), the next weekend. It was pretty awkward in a way. Then again, the first meeting with the future ‘outlaws’, was always that way. Frank was doing his best to be polite. Edith was a real gem in comparison. So much of Beth came from her mother and Beth looked just like a little Edith. Talk about getting a preview of what Beth would look like in twenty years ... I mean, wow! If Beth didn’t develop a weight problem, I was going to be very pleased with her looks.

Frank, on the other hand, looked and acted just like a typical factory worker. He huffed and puffed a bit, however, it was obvious that Edith was in control of him for the most part. Well, at least until he said something about ‘I had better never lay an unwanted finger on his daughter.’ I think I realized at that point, that Edith already knew we’d had sex together.

“He doesn’t seem like that kind of boy, Frank.”

“Doesn’t matter, he is a boy, and all boys want is one thing.”

“Frank, do not scare him off. He is just what Beth needs.”

“Right, hum just like that crazy doctor that gave her that noise contraption she uses in the middle of the night.”

“Frank!” Edith exclaimed.

“Daddy!” Beth joined her.

“Excuse me,” I said, and three eyes turned on me. Well, maybe I should have been silent.

“I am sorry, but I don’t think you realize what you just did, Mr Arnold.”

“And just what do you think I did?” Of course, the tone in his voice was one of disbelief.

“You just disclosed to me, a very personal detail about your daughter’s life.”

Frank grumbled something unintelligible.

“You better listen to him Frank, the boy’s right,” Edith said.

He grumbled some more.

“Daddy, would you like it if I told anyone about how you like to...”

“That’s enough, I get the idea,” Frank said and then he seemed to relax a bit.

“Mr Arnold, I am here today because I love your daughter as much as you do.”

He just looked me in the eyes.

“Yes, I said ‘Love,’ and all that the word means. I know you think we are too young yet. However, Beth told me you were sixteen when you met Edith and she was ... what, fifteen?”

Frank seemed to wish I wasn’t armed with that information at the moment.

“Look,” I said as I stared him in the eyes, “I am telling you, that is the kind of love I have for your daughter. The type that would rather die than ever hurt her or allow her to be hurt.”

Frank said, “You say that now, young man, but what about when you’re horny and she says no.”

“Daddy! Stop it.”

“It’s a fair question, considering your delicate condition since the rape.”

“Frank!” Edith scolded him.

“A fair question,” I said, “and it deserves a fair answer.”

Edith looked a bit surprised. And Beth looked a bit worried about what I would say.

“I would never push her into doing anything she was uncomfortable with.”

“As I said, you say that now but what about when she says no?”

“Daddy, I already said yes and had the time of my life so quit trying to protect me from something that isn’t a problem.”

I did not expect that at all. Edith looked like she was worried.

Frank was wide-eyed in surprise and the silence was so thick you could hear the oven timer going off in the other room.

Well, that meant that the food was done. Edith got up and headed out to take care of the meal. Frank looked at his daughter and snorted. “If that’s how it is, fine, have it yours and your mother’s way then.”

Okay, now I was really confused. However, it seemed like it was Frank’s way of saying he was washing his hands of the issue.

“I will, Daddy, and thanks.”

Frank snorted.

“Um...” I started only for Beth to interrupt.

“So, Daddy, I take it you will not say anything when Tim spends the night with me here.”

Frank rolled his eyes and looked like he was having a very hard time with the idea.

“Frank,” Edith said from the kitchen doorway, “your little girl has grown up. It’s time to let her find all the happiness she can in this world.”

Frank surprised me by saying, “I guess it would be better than the back seat of some car.”

Edith called out from inside the kitchen, “Ok, you have terrorized the boy enough. Now act normal and be good, or else.”

Frank visibly cringed at the ‘or else’ part. As for me, I was sure I didn’t want to know. Edith said she needed help in the kitchen, and Beth got up to go help her.

Frank stared at me a few moments and after the females were out of earshot he said, “Make sure you hide that buzzy thing, the first chance you get.”

Then he winked at me like he was sharing some hidden truth. I guess that was the closest thing to a blessing the two of us would ever get out of Frank. Believe me, I knew the feeling well. All too well, that is.

Surprisingly the meal and everything else that took place that day seemed like it was normal. I mean, there was just not any tension in the house anymore. Beth openly kissed me very passionately, and when Frank didn’t realize I could see him, he did the same to his wife.

At School, some of the senior girls started to show their senior pictures around. Seems that they were almost bragging about how much they cost to anyone that would listen. That got me thinking of a way to make some real money. I mean, I could do a better job than some of the pictures I was seeing.

Beth had seen a lot of my work by then and agreed that I could do much better. She was sure even she could have done a better job than we had seen so far. That would not have been difficult; she had an eye that was very good when she looked through the lens. Too bad, that elective had been removed from our curriculum.

It didn’t take long for us to decide I should pursue the idea. After all, it was good money, and the school was full of prospects.

We had finished half of our junior year and this time I was thinking ahead. Beth also helped me a lot when we started the process.

We started to shoot senior pictures with Dad’s old Nikon “F” camera. There were a lot of seniors that had been slow about getting around to it. I got twenty of the kids in the senior class who were in a hurry for some reason. Not bad since I was only sixteen. They all loved the photos.

Well, almost all. Richards’s mother was unhappy. Then again, I didn’t think anything would have made her happy, the way she complained. I finally gave up in frustration and gave her the sitting fee back. The sitting fee is the money the photographer uses to pay for the proofs. In other words, I was losing money by doing so.

Then Richards’s mom tried to keep the proofs. I had no choice, so I put a stop payment on the check. I mean if they were so bad why did she want the proofs?

She took me to small claims court over that. Well, after the DA’s office refused to touch the bad check case. I did have to talk to them, as they investigated the charge. Amazingly, they thought the woman was off her rocker. I would not have been as nice in my description of her.

The Judge laughed her out of court. He literally was laughing at her, because she had tried to pull a fast one on him. Seems that she made 8X10s of the proofs to make her point about how bad they were. The Judge didn’t agree with her, but it was the watermark that convinced him she was scamming. That, and the contract she had signed, which said that she couldn’t copy the proofs.

He made it clear that she had violated the law and could go to jail. She ended up paying me thirty dollars for each 8X10 copy she had made, to avoid the lawsuit. I was not about to waste my time on her. However, she didn’t know that. Richard’s photo in the yearbook that year looks funny with the watermark on it. So funny in fact that I had given my permission to use it. Well, it was copyrighted after all. I did feel like I was being a real stinker. I mean I could have given the school a good photo to use. Then again, Beth thought that would be a bad example for me to set under the circumstances.