Faster, Faster, Faster
Page 14
Then, out of the blue, he asked, “Do you resent me, Jonah?”
“Do I resent you?” I repeated.
“Yes,” Dad said. “Do you?”
I didn’t know what to tell him. I mean, I don’t really resent Dad. And if I do, the main thing I resent him for is asking me questions like do I resent him.
“No, not really. I mean, I’m sad about the divorce and everything. . . . And we don’t really talk much,” I told him. “But I don’t sit around resenting you.”
“I resented my old man,” Dad said, shaking his head. “That stubborn old bastard.” He didn’t sound angry. The way he said it actually sounded like he was thinking of my grandfather fondly.
I took a deep breath. “If you want to know the truth, I feel like you’ve kind of moved on, Dad. Like, Honey and I are some part of your life you don’t really want to deal with anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Dad said. “How can you think that? You know I love you and Honor. You’re my children.”
“Well.” I wasn’t quite sure what to tell him. I didn’t have much practice sharing my feelings with Dad. “Maybe you should show it more often.”
Dad sighed. He sounded annoyed. “I show it as best I can.”
“I think Honey especially would appreciate it if you were more interested in her,” I added. I was on a roll.
“I am interested in her. I’m proud of her. I’m proud of both of you, Jonah!” He practically shouted this at me, as if saying it loud would make it true.
“Well, it doesn’t feel like it sometimes,” I said.
Dad put his paper down and sighed. “You should know that your sister and I had a bit of a spat today before she left. Your sister and I and Tiffany.”
“A spat?”
“Yes. A regular to-do. And I have to say Jonah, I don’t appreciate that kind of disruption right now. Tiffany is entitled to a little tranquility in her own house, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I understand that,” I said. I wondered what they’d fought about.
“I’m worried about Honor,” Dad said. “I think she must be associating with a bad crowd. She hardly seems like the little girl I knew.”
I wanted to say something in Honey’s defense, but I couldn’t think of exactly what to say. Dad hasn’t exactly made the effort to get to know Honey in her current incarnation. But even if he did, he wouldn’t get it. Dad likes things straightforward and simple. Honey’s too much for him.
“Tiffany in particular is rather upset about Honor’s behavior,” Dad said. “The two of them had a regular set-to, Jonah. Words were exchanged.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. I wondered what kind of words they had exchanged. Honey knows a lot of them.
“I am hoping things will improve upon her return,” Dad said. “I am hoping Harvard will exert a positive influence on her. Do you think it will?”
I lied. And I think he knew I was lying, but it was what he needed to hear. “Absolutely,” I said. “I bet when Honey gets back, you won’t even recognize her.”
“Good,” said Dad.
About the Author
Jonah Black grew up in Pompano Beach, Florida. He attended boarding school in Pennsylvania until recently when, under shrouded circumstances, he was kicked out, and has since been picking up the pieces of his shattered life. His favorite pastimes include hanging out with his best friends, Thorne and Posie, checking out the Florida chicks, daydreaming about the Florida chicks, and writing in his journal. Jonah is not as modest as he first appears. He really is a stud.
Credits
Cover design by Russell Gordon
Cover Photograph from Tony Stone
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
THE BLACK BOOK [DIARY OF A TEENAGE STUD], VOL. IV: FASTER, FASTER, FASTER. Copyright © 2002 by 17th Street Productions, an Alloy Online, Inc. company. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition. March 2002 ISBN 9780061756290
Print edition first published in 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
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