Chapter 4: A New Parent

"Hi, Zack, do you have a few minutes to talk?" Frank asked his boss.

Zack was a partner, and a pretty good boss, although he was as driven as anybody in the firm.

"Sure, Frank, come over," said Zack, pointing to a guest chair in his office.

"How are you getting on? And how is Jennifer doing?" Zack had attended Angela's funeral, and had told Frank to take as much time as he needed before returning to work.

"That's actually what I wanted to discuss. Jennifer gets home at about two o'clock most days. I usually get home between seven and eight. It's a pretty late dinner for her, and not much time to drop her off at her friend's home or the library when she asks.

"I'd like to spend more time with her. You had been very good about my taking afternoons off, and making it up later or from home. But I'd like to make it more systematic. There would be some awkwardness, and there will be some days I have to stay late for meetings, but I think I can rearrange my day so I can do most in-office stuff between seven and one, and then catch up on research and drafting remotely in the evening from home. Our remote connection and on-line research databases are pretty good, and I can do a lot using the VPN."

Zack was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, let's try it. You are one of the most hard-working and effective associates we got. I will let you know if there are any problems, but I don't anticipate any."

"Thanks, Zack. On another matter, I have followed you recommendation and contacted Cordwainer and Smith regarding Angela's death. So far I am not sure there is anything except a tragic series of circumstance, but if there is any negligence, I would want Jennifer to be compensated."

"Cordwainer and Smith are good. They will not urge a frivolous suit. I don't know if there were any problems with security, but C&S would know what should be done. Aside from money, if there is anything that went wrong, perhaps you could insist on changes that would make future nurses safer."

"That's one of the reasons why I am pushing ahead with this. Thanks again, Zack," said Frank, and went to his own floor.

"So, are you changing your schedule?" asked Mary. Frank came up with the idea of changing his hours to spend more time with Jennifer, but Mary was an enthusiastic supporter. Mary's own two children were younger than Jennifer, but she knew a thousand times more about parenting and about girls than Frank. In recent weeks Mary had become his mentor.

"I am. Zack is being pretty good about it."

"He should be," snorted Mary. "You already do more than any other associate in the firm. I suspect you will try to do it even more to compensate. Listen to me, Mr. Rising Star. Don't work yourself to death, and don't deprive Jennifer of your presence. Even if she doesn't seem to want it, now is the time she needs parenting. Soon enough she will graduate and go to college, but she needs a parent in the next four years. Teenage years are hard enough, but after losing two parents, she needs stability. If nothing else, she needs to know there is somebody who cares enough that she can rebel and then come back to."

"Thanks, Mary. I'll try my best. Jennifer does deserve my time, however inept a parent I might be." Frank wasn't sure Jennifer needed to rebel; she went through a lot of insults and sullen silences the previous year, but seemed over it. But perhaps this was still in the future, she was only thirteen.

"So make sure you take the time to spend with Jennifer, and don't try to work sixteen hours per day. I think the guilt will work where your self-preservation won't. Trust me; ten years from now having had a stable parent would be worth a lot more to Jennifer than an extra hundred thousand in her step-daddy's estate after he keels over of a heart attack."

"I think you made your point, Mary. I am convinced. Now let me catch up on my email, otherwise Jennifer will have the enriching experience of living in a shelter after her daddy gets fired."

Mary snorted again, but didn't say anything.

"Are you okay making breakfast in the morning?" Frank asked.

"Yes, Frank. I think I can figure out how to boil water for tea, and pour milk into my cereal bowl. Maybe you could print the instructions for putting the tea bag into the mug?" Jennifer added sarcastically.

"More seriously, I can't cook much more than that. I know you are good at roasting chicken and grilling steaks. You make a mean roast turkey for Thanksgiving. How are you with other things?"

"Not so good," Frank replied. "But there are cookbooks and a huge number of recipes online. I can follow instructions."

"I am sure you can. We should probably divide up the work though. We should also sit and decide what you expect me to do. And not entirely unrelated, I want an allowance. You can make it dependent on the completion of my duties."

"Humpf! Who's the adult here?" Frank asked with a fake pout. "Honestly, that's an excellent idea. Thanks. I don't need any heavy cleaning; I am not planning to stop the cleaning service, but what about the kitchen? Do you want alternate cooking days, with whoever's not cooking cleaning up?"

"I am not sure I feel comfortable cooking by myself yet. I also like the idea of sharing the clean-up tasks. I think it's more fun than just leaving the table. Now, what about maintaining the list of groceries for the next shopping trip?"

It was amazing how many things Angela used to do. Frank enjoyed the negotiation of tasks with Jennifer. Organizing duties and purchasing plans was a lot like what he did in the office, and Jennifer was actively helpful, rather different than the popular conception of the teenager.

The hard part came when one of them would fall silent and get a tissue to wipe eyes grown moist at remembering Angela doing something. An especially awkward bit came when Frank asked about sanitary supplies. After blushing and some tissues, on both sides, they had added this to the list of groceries.

One issue that Frank was too cowardly to raise was birth control. When did girls start taking the pill? Jennifer was pretty, and getting more developed every month. Frank didn't even know if they had sexual education at the school. Frank desperately hoped Angela discussed major issues with her daughter. Finally, he decided to postpone any discussions until he had a chance to talk to Mary the next day.

The first thing Mary did when Frank managed to stammer out his questions was laugh.

"Frank, I hope you speak better than that when you negotiate!"

"When I negotiate, I prepare as much as possible. My goal is have any offer backed up by facts. But I do think that after all your eagerly proffered advice and offers of help, the least you could do is show some respect for my tender sensibilities, and hold the laughter until you are in the hallway!" Frank responded, still a little pink, but smiling.

"Okay, okay, I will laugh later. It's just you always look so confident, and with your looks I forget how young and inexperienced you are. You didn't have any younger sisters, or -- obviously -- any children. Did you talk to her about buying pads? Or is she using tampons already?"

"We covered that," said Frank, still pink.

"Good. I think the best advice I could give would be after talking to Jennifer directly. Why don't the two of you come for a dinner on Saturday? It will give her relief from your cooking, and I will have a chance to talk to her privately."

"We are sharing the cooking," started Frank,

"God help you!" interjected Mary.

" ... And I don't want to put you out..." Frank tried to continue.

"Nonsense! I want to talk to Jennifer, and find how she is doing. It will give me an excuse, without being obviously nosy."

"All right, thank you very much. What time and what can I bring?"

One evening, Frank sat down at the kitchen table with a piece of paper, in what was beginning to be a tradition.

"A family council?" asked Jennifer, sitting down on other side of the small table.

"Yes, I have a couple of items," answered Frank. It was a familiar event. Each of them had started those from time to time. Were they really a family? A lopsided one. Frank sometimes missed Angela desperately. She would have been proud of how mature her daughter was. Was she growing up too quickly? Frank paused briefly to get a tissue and blow his nose. Jennifer ignored it, as they both did at such times.

"First, I told you that I engaged a lawyer to look into circumstances surrounding Angela's death. The police are still investigating as well, but we have collected enough information to make some decisions. I think the police bear some responsibility for not disarming a patient before delivering him to the emergency room. He was involved in a deadly gang confrontation, and was likely to have a weapon. I am not sure there was negligence in the hospital, in treating either the gang member, or trying to save your mother.