“You’re right. I am the parent, and there will be times when I don’t tell you everything.”
“It’s good we cleared that up then,” I huffed.
“Don’t act like a petulant teenager. You’re better than that,” Mom chastised me. “What happened with your father hurt me very deeply. I wasn’t ready to talk to you about it.”
“But you were ready to discipline me for no real reason. And then I’m supposed to bare my soul whenever I have an argument with Tami. You also told Tami what was going on, didn’t you?”
“No. Tami’s too young to talk to about something like that,” she said, and then switched topics. “I talked to Tami about what happened this weekend.”
“Are you kidding me? You want to talk to me about my relationship, or more accurately, my lack of a relationship with my former friend? I bet you have information that’ll make all this better. Let me rephrase that: make it better for Tami,” I said.
Yep, I was taking these types of conversations too far. My mom turned beet red, and I think a vein in her forehead throbbed.
“David Allen Dawson! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I have had enough! Do you hear me?” Mom screamed.
When she got like this, there was nothing I could say to make it better. Actually, talking was not a good idea. I just took several deep breaths, tried to relax, and then nodded.
“I expect you to call Tami and Alan and apologize to them. You have jumped to conclusions once again, and you need to make it right,” she ordered. “I expect more out of you, and if you want me to continue to treat you like a young adult, you better get this straightened out. If I hear you’re still acting like an ass, I will ground you until you do. That means no football and no trips for any reason. I don’t care if you can’t do a movie or model. You will be sitting your butt right here until I’m satisfied you have made up to both of them and you mean it. Do you understand me?”
I looked hard at Mom and debated whether to tell her ALL the details. I’d glossed over a few minor facts, like finding the used condom. I got up to go looking for my dad. I wasn’t going to take this lying down. There was no way she could force me to be friends with Tami and Alan. I should have taken pictures so she would understand, but I’d been warned about having photos of nude teens on my phone. I found my dad in the kitchen, reading the newspaper.
“Dad, you have to help me,” I started, but he put his hand up.
“You’re not going to play one of us off the other. If your mom has decided something, then I’ll back her up.”
“You have got to be kidding me! We don’t have real discussions anymore? I’m ordered to ignore that Tami and Alan made out and, from what I could see, had sex!? I have to apologize to them?” I asked.
He just stared at me. I hate Dawsons sometimes.
“Fine! I quit!” I said, ready to storm out, but my mom had the back door blocked.
“What do you mean, you quit?” Mom asked.
“I quit everything. I’ll drop out of school and get a job. Maybe I can be a night clerk at the Quickie Mart. What I will never do is apologize for something I didn’t do. It is obvious that you like Tami more than me. I might be better off getting emancipated.”
“Go ahead, but until you are, you live under my roof, and you will do as I say. As of right now, you will go to school, and you will come home, and you are grounded.”
I could tell my dad wasn’t aware of what had happened because he looked at both of us in stunned silence. I just threw my hands in the air and went back to my apartment. I called Tami to explain precisely why she and I would never be friends again.
“Hey, David, I was just thinking about you,” she said.
“Were you thinking about how you could crush every dream I ever had? Wasn’t it enough to tell me you wanted to sleep around instead of being with me, so you had to show me with Alan? Then you felt it necessary to have my mom ground me because I refused to apologize to you! Do you hate me so much, or is it you just need to control me? Screw you! Screw Alan! Don’t ever talk to me again!” I said and hung up.
My phone began to ring. Tami. I turned it off.
◊◊◊ Wednesday September 9
I got up and ran as I usually did. Usually running helps me to sort out everything. This time I just got madder. By the time I was done, I had plans to get emancipated. I was almost eighteen anyway and could earn my own money.
When I walked into the house, I gave Dad my car keys, phone, and debit card. I was sure they would have demanded that to make sure I couldn’t take off. I didn’t offer my new watch. I could still make calls with it. Not a word was said at breakfast. Poor Dad was caught in the middle of all of this. Typically, I got mad and then was over it. This time was different. Ironically, I was too much like my mom.
At lunch, I called Kendal to get the emancipation paperwork started.
“I can’t,” she said. “Technically, we work for your dad. He signed the contract.”
I wanted to be mad at her, but she was right. I gave up and accepted that I wasn’t going to play football anytime soon. That was when Alan walked straight up to me.
“Dude, punch me if you have to, but I will not be responsible for you not playing football. I would be lynched. Tami told me what your mom said. I will swear you apologized. Tami talked to your mom and told her you already did it,” Alan pleaded.
My two friends had gone to bat for me. I really wanted to reject what they did, but I wanted to play football, too. Just a few weeks ago I would never have accepted it and wouldn’t lie to my mom, but that was precisely what I was going to do. I guess I was becoming a typical teen.
“Thank you. I was prepared to sit it out. I appreciate what you and Tami are doing for me. If she makes you happy, then go for it,” I said.
“Dude, really, nothing happened!”
“Alan, do you want me to punch you?” I asked, and Alan’s eyes got big. “I never want to hear about what happened that night. If I do, I will react badly.”
He got the message and left me alone.
◊◊◊
After practice, I drove home for dinner. I might not be grounded, but I had nothing to say to my parents. Finally, Dad had had enough.
“How was your day?” he asked.
I acted like I thought he was talking to Mom and continued to eat.
“Your father’s talking to you,” Mom said.
“Sorry, what?” I asked.
I had fifty comebacks that I wanted to say but decided this battle wasn’t worth it. I wanted to say, ‘So now you want to hear what I have to say,’ and, ‘Ask Mom, she’ll tell you what I should be thinking,’ and … well, you get the idea. Nothing that would be helpful popped into my head.
Dad repeated his question.
“Nothing really happened. It was fine,” I said.
“How did Alan and Tami take your apology?” he asked.
“They were surprised I did it.”
I couldn’t help myself, but no one seemed to want a repeat from last night, so it was dropped. Mom and Dad told each other about their day. I just wanted to escape, but dinner time was family time. I had to sit through the whole ordeal. Dad gave me back my keys, debit card, and phone. I assumed that meant I wasn’t grounded, but nothing official was said.
◊◊◊
When I finally escaped, I went up to my apartment and turned my phone on. I had 24 messages. They all seemed to be from Tami, so I deleted them all. My phone rang and startled me. I looked down and saw it was Halle.
“How’s your art project going?” she asked.
“Fine. My subject is stretched out, holding a good pose,” I said as I watched Duke sleep.
“Let me guess; Brook?”
“No. I’m not sure that would be a good idea. She’s more than I can handle right now.”