by Adams, S. C.
It would be so easy to unbuckle his belt and let him take me right here in the back of his limo while his driver listens to music to drown out our moans. Knowing my parents could decide to take a walk at any moment is what keeps my hands on Sean’s chest.
After twenty minutes of kissing, moaning, and a strong desire for release, I lean my forehead against Sean’s. “I should be getting home. My parents are going to be worried.”
He nods. “When can I see you again?”
“Are you free next week?”
“I can be for you.”
I grin. “How about Tuesday night? Maybe we can double with my friend Jenna?”
“I’d love to meet her,” he tells me. “Tuesday it is. I’ll text you the details.”
“Okay,” I say shyly, kissing him once more. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
He pulls my body flush against his and kisses me slowly. “Tuesday.”
If I don’t get out of this car right now, I never will. I make my escape before the kissing comes back in full force.
Before walking into my apartment, I check my face and lips. My lips are a little chapped, but otherwise, my parents won’t suspect a thing.
“Maggie? Is that you?” Mom calls out when I walk through the front door. I swipe some Chapstick across my lips before she can see me.
“Yes, Mom, I’m home.”
She appears in the hallway with a spoon in hand. “How is Jenna?” Mom spits out my friend’s name like it’s poison. Imagine if she knew who I was really with! What if she found out what I have been doing? She might start saying my name that way, too.
“She’s great, Mom. What are you making?”
Her face lights up. “Chocolate chip cookies. Your favorite!”
Chocolate chip cookies are not my favorite. It’s incredible that I’ve lived with my parents for twenty-five years, yet my mom still doesn’t know any of my favorite foods. I like brownie batter ice cream for dessert.
“That’s great, Mom. Just let me get changed, and I’ll help you clean the bowl.”
She smiles, and I’m off the hook. Thankfully, she doesn’t comment on my pretty dress or my heat-flattened hair. I’ve gotten dressed up to visit Jenna before, so she must have chalked it up to that.
Once I’m changed, I join my mother in the kitchen. She lets me lick the spoon like I’m still a child, but my mind is far from this kitchen. Instead, I’m wondering what Sean is doing right now.
He’s probably not licking a spoon. I wish he was licking something, though.
12
Maggie
“Okay, tell me all about it!” Jenna says. We’re sitting on her bed with a tub of ice cream between us and a romantic movie on her small TV.
I take a big bite of the brownie batter ice cream and swallow slowly. “It was amazing, Jenna. The best night of my life.”
“I need more than that! For once, let me live vicariously through you.”
We both giggle. “He picked me up outside of my apartment, opened the door for me, asked me about my interests, and let me order my own food. We even kissed a lot outside the restaurant; the poor valet had to break us up.”
Jenna squeals. “How scandalous!”
“It was! He was so nice, though, Jenna. We were kissing and touching in the back of the limo. I think we both wanted to go all the way, but I stopped him because Mom and Dad could have walked out at any minute. He was totally okay with stopping. That made me love him even more.”
My friend stops with her spoon halfway between the ice cream and her mouth. “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” I reply quickly.
“You said love! You think you love him?”
I flop backwards on Jenna’s bed. “I don’t know. I think I could love him. He’s just so amazing!”
“I believe you. Just be careful, you know? This is your first boyfriend, and I don’t want you to get hurt because you fall too far too fast.”
Jenna has a point. I couldn’t possibly know what love is so quickly. I just know it feels a lot like what I think love should be.
“I know. I’ll be extra careful with my heart. And when you meet him tomorrow, you can advise me how to continue.”
She nods. “I can’t believe you’re forcing me on a double date tomorrow night. Has Sean texted you the details?”
“He said he’d pick both of us, plus your date, up here and take us to a restaurant in the city.”
I scoop up another spoonful of ice cream and savor the melty goodness. Jenna and I used to do this in her bedroom all through high school. We usually lamented over Jenna’s bad breakups or my parents’ overprotectiveness. This is the first time I’ve had a guy to talk about.
Add that to my list of firsts.
“My guy is not going to be as good as your guy,” Jenna complains. “His name is Jeff, and he works at the firm with me.”
“Not a future prospect?”
She shakes her head. “You only gave me a few days to come up with someone; he was all I had. He was more than happy to agree, of course. Who wouldn’t be?”
We both laugh, though she’s not really joking. Jenna is skinny and gorgeous. She always has a long line of guys waiting for the opportunity to date her.
“How old is Jeff?” I ask.
“He’s twenty-six or twenty-seven, why?”
I bite my lip. Yesterday after church, I was mad at my parents and wanted to talk to someone, so I’d texted Sean. One thing led to another, and I’d finally gotten up the courage to ask him how old he is.
“Sean is forty-five,” I tell Jenna quietly.
Her eyes widen. “Say that again?”
“He’s forty-five, okay!” I flip over and bury my head in Jenna’s throw pillow.
“I knew he was older, but I didn’t realize he was that much older. He could be your father, Maggie!”
“I know, I know. I’m such an idiot, right?”
She rubs my back gently. “You’re not. You’re an adult. At this point, age really is just a number.”
I turn my head to meet her eyes. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
Jenna sighs. “I’m not going to lie and say it’s totally normal, but I get it. You can’t help who you fall for. If you like him and he likes you, it doesn’t matter how much older he is.”
“Really?”
“Of course, Maggie. The only thing is… you have different life experiences, you know? And what about kids? I know you want kids, and your parents definitely want you to have kids. Will Sean want to be a father at his age?”
“My parents were older when they had me.”
She nods. “That’s true. It’s just something you’ll have to talk about. Does he know how young you are?”
Does he? I replay our conversations in my head. “Yeah, he does. I told him when I mentioned how my parents didn’t know we were going out. Oh no. He probably thinks I’m a child!”
Tears form in my eyes. How could I be so naïve? This will never work between us!
“Hey… calm down, Maggie. Just because he’s older doesn’t mean it’s the end of your relationship. You have to openly communicate with him. That’s all it takes.”
I hiccup through my sobs and try to nod. “You’re just trying to make me feel better again.”
“Maggie, when have I ever told you what you wanted to hear instead of telling you the truth?”
“You always tell me the truth, even when I don’t want to hear it.”
I don’t have to see her face to know that she’s smirking. “Exactly, and this is no different. All you have to do is talk to Sean about it. Can you do that?”
“Yeah, I can do that,” I promise. How hard can it be to have a conversation about our age difference? I think the biggest problem will be keeping our hands off of each other long enough to talk.
“Good. You’re going to be fine, Maggie.”
I groan. “There’s something else, too.”
“If you tell me he has a kid your age, I don’t t
hink I’ll be able to spin it.”
This makes me laugh. “No kids. We actually did talk about that over the weekend.”
“Then there’s no problem we can’t fix.”
“How about my parents finally choosing my future husband?”
Jenna goes totally silent. “What are you talking about?”
I sit up against Jenna’s headboard and drop my spoon into the ice cream carton. Just thinking about my parents’ scheming makes me lose my appetite.
When my parents sat me down after church yesterday to tell me their big surprise, I thought maybe I’d get more freedom or that they were letting me get my own place. Instead, they’d dropped the ultimate bombshell.
“They’ve been talking since I was eighteen about finding the perfect, good, Catholic boy to court me. Since they never actually had any prospects, I figured they’d dropped it or given up. Yesterday morning, they told me they had a surprise for me. They’ve chosen the guy I’m going to marry. We have a date on Wednesday.”
“Oh my God! Maggie, how could you hold out on me?! Who is the guy?”
“His name is Randall, and he’s awful. His parents are in Bible study with mine. We’ve only met a few times, but he seems totally brainwashed by our parents’ beliefs. And he was homeschooled his whole life!”
Jenna takes my hand and squeezes it. “This is awful. Why don’t you tell your parents you don’t want to date Randall?”
I gape at her. “You’re joking, right?”
“Come on, Maggie, you have to disobey your parents eventually.”
“I already am!” I yell. “I went out with Sean. That’s direct disobedience.”
She tells me to breathe before I cause myself to pass out. “They don’t know about Sean, though. What if you told them?”
“I don’t know what they’d do; I’m scared to find out.”
“Then, what? You date Randall and Sean at the same time?”
How did my life go from completely boring to completely complicated in less than a week? I don’t want to go back to before my parents decided on Randall because then I’d lose Sean, but I can’t stay here either. I refuse to lose Sean.
“I have to figure something out, Jenna. Tell me what to do.”
Jenna pulls me into a hug. “If you won’t tell your parents to fuck off, then I think your only option is to go on the date Wednesday and make sure it’s awful. They won’t force you to be with someone you hate.”
Neither of us believes that, but it’s all we’ve got right now. “What about Sean?”
“Leave it alone for now. We’ll go on the double date tomorrow, and neither of us will mention Randall or your parents’ crazy plan. You finally have a guy you like; I won’t let you lose that.”
I squeeze my best friend tightly. “If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I love you, Maggie. Never forget that.”
We stay wrapped in each other’s arms for a few minutes longer. I’m still worried about the date with Randall, but talking to Jenna has made me feel a little better. Maybe she’s right about my parents. They say they have my best interests at heart. That could mean they’ll be willing to drop the search for a husband if I don’t like the guy they pick.
Or they’ll force me to marry him no matter how I feel.
“Sean said he would take me to London,” I finally say, breaking the comfortable silence.
Jenna squeals. “What? When?”
I giggle. “We didn’t map out any details, but I mentioned I’ve always wanted to go, and he said he would take me the next time he visits. I’ll have to get a passport! If it really happens, that is. It might not happen.”
“Maggie, you’ve been trained by your parents to believe the worst in people. I’ve been taught to be optimistic. It’ll happen! We should start the passport paperwork so that you can go on a whim.”
Jenna pulls her laptop from her side table and finds the forms I’ll need to fill out. Since I’m over twenty-five, I don’t need my parents’ signature, but I do need my social security card and birth certificate. My parents have control over both of those.
“This will never work. I always knew I was sheltered, but I didn’t realize how much until I actually want to do something about it.”
“We’ll figure it out. What if you tell them you need the paperwork for your job?”
I consider this. “It might work. I’ll try it. Thanks, Jenna.”
“Anything for you, Maggie. I want it to go well with Sean, and I definitely want you to get away from your parents.”
“They’re not all bad, you know,” I tell her. “Mom let me order Chinese food for dinner last night when she saw how upset I was about Randall.”
Jenna rolls her eyes. “Wow, so the wardens have hearts? You know what would have been better, though? If they’d called off the date instead of calling for takeout.”
I laugh. “I know you’re right, but I refuse to believe my parents are villains. You said I need to have optimism, so I will. Once they see how much I hate Randall, they’ll let me choose my own marriage prospect.”
“You’re right. They will. Do you think they’d like Sean?”
“Absolutely not,” I say with a giggle. “And not just because he’s corrupting their daughter. He has money and a British accent. And, as far as I can tell, he doesn’t go to church. Sean is everything my parents hate in a person.”
“One step at a time, then,” Jenna decides. “First things first, we need to get rid of Randall. Then we can work on getting Sean into their good graces.”
I’m glad to have Jenna on my side. Everything seems manageable with her around. I would have given up before it had even started with Sean, but Jenna encourages me to keep going for what I love.
Hopefully, my parents will come around. If not, I’ll be forced to choose between them and Sean.
Unfortunately for my parents, there’s no competition.
I’d choose Sean without a second thought.
13
Maggie
My mother stands beside me in front of my full-length mirror. My pale blue dress is the most conservative thing I own. The Peter Pan neckline goes up so high, it feels like it’s choking me.
Mom smooths down the skirt. “You look beautiful, Maggie. Randall won’t know what hit him!”
I doubt uptight Randall will care one way or another about the dress I’m wearing. Considering the dress covers my cleavage and falls to my shins, I don’t think it’ll be knocking him off his feet. Well, maybe the nun look is what gets Randall going.
“Thanks, Mom,” I say carefully. Jenna and I had made a plan for the evening: I remain as passive as possible with my parents and regale them with the horrors of my date so that they’ll let me off the hook with Randall. It’s foolproof.
“Come downstairs. Randall is waiting.”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
Mom laughs. “Nowhere, honey. Randall is joining us for dinner.”
Okay, so maybe our plan isn’t foolproof. I hadn’t banked on my parents being crazy enough to crash our date.
“Let me just use the bathroom, and I’ll be down.”
My mom laughs and touches my hair. “Add some hairspray to the fly aways, too, Maggie. You look like a concubine.”
Only my mother would call me a prostitute while I’m wearing full body armor. “Of course, Mom.”
“Don’t be long!” she calls from the top of the stairs. I lock myself in the bathroom with my phone and dial Jenna’s number.
“Hello?” she answers. “Already looking for an escape from your date?”
“My date hasn’t started yet,” I whisper. “He’s joining us for dinner. That’s the date.”
Jenna gasps. “No!”
“Yes! My parents are going to be there. What do I do?”
“This could be good. They’ll witness firsthand how incompatible you are. This way, Randall can’t give an alternate review of the date.”
I sit down on the closed
toilet lid. “Okay. You’re right. This isn’t the end of the world.”
“Deep breaths, Maggie. You’ll be fine. What are you wearing?”
I groan. “You know that blue dress my parents gave me for Christmas that I hid in the back of my closet? Mom found it and insisted I wear it. She swears Randall will go weak in the knees when he sees me.”
Jenna can’t help the laughter that follows, and I almost break down with her. Our apartment walls are thin, though, and my parents will come to investigate if they hear me laughing.
“I should go. Randall is waiting, and Mom thinks my frizzy hair makes me look like a call girl.”
“Has your mother ever seen a call girl?”
“Only in movies,” I assure her. “She’s not quite clear on the concept.”
Jenna laughs again. “Good luck, Maggie. I want to hear all about it tonight!”
“I’ll text you. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
We hang up, and I flush the empty toilet and spray half a can of hairspray to please my mother. With one last look in the mirror, I scowl and join the party downstairs.
Randall waits for me at the foot of the steps. His acne-filled face lights up when he sees me. “Maggie, you look beautiful.”
His voice is completely monotone, as one would expect by looking at the scrawny boy. “Boy” is the appropriate term for him. I thought Randall was the same age as I am, but he’s three years younger. It shows in his face, which still bears a teenager’s smile and enough pimples to fill a high school classroom.
This is the guy my parents think I’m going to marry?
“Why don’t we have a seat at the kitchen table?” my father suggests. “You two can get to know each other while Nancy and I finish preparing dinner.”
“Thank you, Don. That w-would be great,” Randall says with a slight stammer. Our conversations have been limited to one or two words in the past, so I never knew he stammered. Is it a nervous tick or something he does all of the time? I certainly hope it’s only because he’s intimidated by my parents.
