Parker's Island

by Kimberly Schwartzmiller

  “I’ll pick you up at 3:30 and I thought we’d all go out to dinner after the movie, so you’ll be home by about 10:00.”

  “Okay. I guess I should clear it with my parents.”

  “Fine, but don’t tell them what movie we’re seeing,” reminding me of its’ rating.

  “You know I’m not going to lie if they ask me.” Although last nights’ lie came flooding back.

  “You better not stand me up, Delaney. I’ve been waiting to see this movie.”

  “I’ll be ready. I’ll see you at 3:30. Bye.”

  I headed downstairs to tell my Mom about my plans for the evening, but she was nowhere in sight. I found a note on the fridge.

  Good morning sleepy-head. I left some

  breakfast in the fridge for you. I’ll be

  home about 4:00. Your brother is spending

  the day with Michael. I hope you’re feeling

  better. See you later, honey.

  Mom

  Well, that let me off the hook for any more of her probing, for now at least. I looked at the plate in the fridge, ate one bite of eggs and then threw the rest into the garbage. My mother was never the best cook, and it always amazed me that she could ruin even the simplest of meals.

  I took a shower, got dressed, cleaned up my room and still had five hours before Molly was due to pick me up. At least I wasn’t crying anymore. I think I was all cried out.

  I decided to go out for a walk. I grabbed my jacket off the hook and headed out the door. I turned left down the street, heading nowhere in particular, when I noticed a car parked two houses down from mine. There was someone sitting in it, but the windows were tinted and I couldn’t make out who it was. The car was beautiful though, and I certainly didn’t know anyone who lived on our street who could afford anything like that. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I was certain it was expensive.

  I passed the car, trying to see inside, but still couldn’t make out a face. I didn’t look too long, just a glance, trying not to be too obvious, but I was intrigued. “Oh, well,” I thought and headed toward town.

  I walked around for a few hours, bought a new pair of sandals and then headed back home to wait for Molly. As I headed around the corner leaving town, I saw the same car again. I looked a little closer this time as I walked by; hoping to get a glance at the driver, but all I could make out was a dark figure behind the wheel. I was tempted to knock on the window, but thought better of it.

  I headed home and realized that I never did get permission to go to the movie or out to dinner. I would call my parents, but they are the only two people, besides myself, in the continental U.S. who didn’t have cell phones. I called my dad at work and his assistant said he was with clients and couldn’t be disturbed. “Can I give him a message for you?”

  “No, I’ll just leave them a note. Thanks.”

  Well, at least I wasn’t going to be quizzed about what movie we’re going to see.

  I left a note on the fridge, replacing my Mom’s note from the morning. Molly picked me up right on time. We stopped and picked up Carrie and Jim on our way and then we all met up at the theatre.

  Molly didn’t tell me that Jason was coming too, so when we were all together, there were actually three ‘couples’ and me! Molly knew I was angry the second she looked at me. “What was I supposed to tell him? No, you can’t come with us? It’s not a date, Delaney. We’re all just a bunch of friends going to the movies together.”

  “Right! Except that Carrie and Jim are a couple, Beth and Jed are a couple, and I know, without a doubt, that you’re crazy about Jason, so that leaves ME!”

  “I know, and I’m sorry, but I couldn’t say no. It would have been the same if Logan came. Then I would have been the single…I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bring that up. Delaney, I’m sorry,” she said, looking mortified.

  “No, it’s okay! You’re right, and I have no right complaining to you because Jason is here. I’m happy for you. I just feel a little out of place now. I’ll get over it!”

  “Are you sure? We could leave, go rent a movie or something and watch it at my house, just the two of us?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine. Let’s go watch the movie.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  The movie seemed to last forever, and I couldn’t have felt more out of place. This wasn’t my kind of movie. In fact, I had never even seen an R rated movie before that hadn’t been edited for television. The sex and language was more than I could handle. I walked out of the theatre and meandered in the lobby for a while, trying to waste as much time as possible. It wasn’t just the movie that made me so uncomfortable. All three couples were a little too close for comfort, as well. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

  I excused myself, saying I needed to use the restroom and I went out and sat down on the bench by the theatre doors. I actually almost felt relieved that Logan had turned my invitation down. I would have been so embarrassed if he’d been sitting next to me during that movie. “What’s wrong with Disney movies, anyway?” I said to myself.

  “Excuse me?” the guy at the ticket counter asked.

  “What…Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself.”

  I turned around and looked out the window, and there, parked right up front was the same car I’d seen earlier. “Wow, that’s really weird.”

  Molly came looking for me then. “There you are. We were all wondering where you went. Are you okay?”

  “Oh, I’m fine. I just wanted some air. Hey, have you ever seen that car around before?”

  “Not that I remember, why?”

  “I’ve just seen it around a lot today. No big deal.”

  “The movies a bit...um…explicit isn’t it? Sorry,” she said, looking very contrite.

  “Well, it’s a little bit more explicit than I’m used to.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think Cinderella ever did those things with Prince Charming!”

  We both laughed. “You should go back to Jason. I think I’m going to walk home.”

  “No way. Please come back with me.”

  “I’ve seen enough. I’m a third wheel ‘or a seventh wheel’ and I don’t need to bring you guys down.”

  “If you leave, then I’m going, too,” she dared me to argue with her.

  “Molly, it’s really okay. I’m fine. I can’t go back in there. You shouldn’t keep Jason waiting for you. Go on. I’ll be fine.”

  “NO! Either you come with me, or I’m going with you.”

  I wasn’t going to ruin her night with Jason, so I agreed to go back into the theatre. Luckily for me, there was only about twenty minutes of the movie left before credits started rolling.

  Dinner went just about as well as the movie. They all tried to make me feel welcome and include me in all of their conversations, but it was strained and I felt horrible for intruding on what could have been a romantic evening for all of them.

  I could hardly wait for Molly to drop me off, and I demanded to be dropped off first. “Thanks, it was…fun,” I lied, again. It was becoming a habit lately.

  “You’re a bad liar,” she said as she walked me to my door.

  “Yeah, I know. Go have fun. You really like Jason?”

  “Oh yeah, and you can bet I’ll be dropping him off last,” she grinned.

  “Molly, I know he seems like a nice guy, but be careful. I don’t know if he’s really quite as nice as he seems.” I didn’t know what it was about Jason that I didn’t trust, but there was something about him that made me a little nervous.

  “Okay, MOM!” she grinned and waved as she got back into her car.

  “Where have you been, young lady?” my dad asked, pointing a finger at me.

  “I left a note. Didn’t you get it?” I asked, confused by his tone.

  “Yes, we got it! You know better than to go out without permission! We didn’t know where you were or who you were with! This isn’t like you, Delaney. You have been acting very strange lately a
nd I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Nothing! I just went to a movie with Molly and some friends.”

  “Delaney,” My mom started, trying to soften the tone of the inquisition. “Honey, we’re just worried about you, that’s all. We need to know where you are and what you’re doing. What were you doing?” she asked, looking at me like I needed to confess my sins, even though we weren’t even Catholic.

  “I told you. I went to a movie and then out to dinner with Molly and some friends.”

  “Delaney, there were boys in that car,” my mother said, accusing me of something, although I wasn’t sure of exactly what.

  “Yes, hence the ‘friends’ part of I went to a movie and dinner with Molly and some friends,” I said a little short. I was getting angry. I hadn’t done anything wrong and they were accusing me of…I didn’t even know what.

  “Don’t take that tone with us, young lady. You live here under our roof. You will respect us,” my dad spouted off.

  “When haven’t I respected you? I left a note. I’m 17 years old. I assumed it was okay for me to go out with friends without your explicit verbal permission.” I was really angry now. “If you guys had cell phones I could have called you. What was I supposed to do, wait around and miss the movie so I could get permission from one of you? I called your office, Dad. You were in a meeting. I didn’t know where you were, Mom, so I left a note. Is that so terrible?”

  “I didn’t get a message,” my dad said, hinting that I was lying.

  “I didn’t leave one! I thought the note would be sufficient.”

  “Delaney, it’s not that we don’t trust you…it’s just that, well, you have to be careful. Boys don’t always have the best intentions,” my mom said, trying to calm my dad down a bit. “Are you dating one of those boys in the car?”

  “NO! I’m not dating anyone.”

  “Okay, if you say you were at the movies, then fine. What movie did you see?” my dad asked.

  Oh GREAT! I almost lied, but figured I had done enough of that lately, and it would only make things worse. I took a deep breath and said, “We saw Beyond Eternity.” I was hoping they wouldn’t know anything about it since they weren’t movie-goers. But my hope was futile because my mother had heard all about the movie from one of the ladies in our congregation.

  “You saw what? Delaney, that movie is TRASH! How could you see that when you know how we feel about R-rated movies? Mrs. Jenkins said that movie was full of sex, nudity and foul language. I can’t tell you how disappointed we are in you!”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I spent most of the time in the lobby.”

  “You shouldn’t have gone to see it in the first place! You shouldn’t have left the house without permission and you certainly shouldn’t have been out seeing that movie with a boy!” My mom was furious now.

  “Mom, I told you, I didn’t go with a boy. We all just went as a group. I didn’t know that the movie was going to be that bad.”

  “Well, it’s too late now. Delaney, I think you need to spend some time at home for a while,” my dad said.

  “What, you’re grounding me? Are you serious?” I asked, stunned.

  “You’re darn right we’re serious. You have been very distant lately. We’re worried about you. You’ve been moody and tearful, with no explanations and now you’re sneaking out to films you know we don’t approve of, and with boys on top of it. You’re grounded!” my mom added.

  “I can’t believe this! I’m grounded for doing absolutely NOTHING wrong. GREAT!”

  “You know what you did wrong,” my dad said, looking thoroughly disappointed in me.

  “The only thing that I did wrong was to tell you anything at all about what I did tonight. I’m 17 years old, not a baby! I can legally walk in to any R-rated movie that I want to see. Yes, there were boys there, but none of them were with ME! Besides, I am old enough to date if I was so inclined. This is ridiculous!”

  “The fact remains. You’re grounded until further notice,” my dad said, pointing his finger toward the stairs, letting me know our conversation was over and I was to go to my room.

  “Well, since I don’t have a boyfriend or even a life, I guess being grounded is no big deal!” I said, and stormed off to my room.

  Chapter Two: Graduation - Countdown…to Misery

  I spent my entire spring break in my room, which gave me plenty of time to think about the dwindling days that I had left with Logan. Twenty-eight school days left, to be exact. In twenty-eight days, my life would be over! “Oh, stop being so melodramatic!” I told myself.

  It was the end of spring break. I’d been locked up in my room for six days now and I felt more and more betrayed by my parents each passing day. I had never once in my 17 years done anything wrong. Nothing! I see one R-rated movie with some friends and suddenly I have no morals and deserve to be locked up.

  Conversations were strained at best at my house over the break. Although we shared a nice Easter Meal, there wasn’t much chatting at the table. Even my little brother Seth felt the tension and kept his opinions to himself. I can’t ever remember feeling so uncomfortable in my own home. I hated feeling like I had disappointed them, even though I felt I had been falsely accused.

  I was really looking forward to going back to school the next morning; not only to see Logan, but to get away from the disappointment I kept seeing in my parent’s eyes. I couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t listen to reason. Did they honestly believe I was hiding a boyfriend, and carrying on behind their backs?

  Molly picked me up the next morning, and as I was heading out the door, my Dad said, “Just because school’s back in, doesn’t mean you’re free to…”

  “To what, Dad? Just what exactly do you think I’m going to do?” I asked incredulously.

  “I’m just reminding you that you’re still grounded,” he said, and then went back to reading his paper.

  “Fine!” was all I could say as I slammed the door on my way out of the house.

  I got into Molly’s car, threw my backpack on the floor and said, “I’m still grounded! I guess ‘until further notice’ means indefinitely!”

  “I’m so sorry, Delaney! I had no idea that stupid movie would get you into so much trouble.”

  “It’s not your fault. Besides, it’s not just the movie. For some reason my parents have it in their head that I have a boyfriend that I’m keeping from them.”

  “Boy, have they got it wrong!”

  “No kidding.”

  “So they think one of the guys in my car was this mystery man?” she asked, looking guilty.

  “I don’t know. They just have it in their heads that I’m in an inappropriate relationship, and head over heels with some guy. I can’t seem to convince them otherwise.”

  “That sucks! I can’t believe they grounded you for NOTHING! If you’re going to get grounded, then you should at least be able to look back and say, ‘Yeah, that was worth it!’” she grinned, trying to lighten up the mood, but I was already focused on the guy standing under a tree by the gym. I sighed and Molly followed my gaze.

  “You’re parents are right about one thing, you know. You ARE completely head over heels,” she said, shaking her head.

  “I know, I just…”

  “You just what?” she asked, looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

  “I just can’t help it. There’s something about him, and I just can’t let it go.” He looked up and met my gaze. For once, I couldn’t look away. I just stared at him until Molly smacked me on the shoulder.

  “Oh, for Heaven’s sake, go talk to him, already!”

  “You know what? You’re absolutely right!” My undeserved week of solitude had actually instilled a little courage in me and I grabbed my backpack and jumped out of the car. “Thanks, Molly,” I smiled and turned to follow my heart. But, as I made my way toward the gym, I realized he was already gone.

  My new-found courage slowly crumbled as I walked to class. “So the countdown begi
ns,” I thought to myself as I walked into first period and saw him shuffling through his notes. “Only 28 days left.” I took a deep breath and slowly made my way to my seat, watching him intently with every step.

  Resigned to being alone forever, I sat down next to him and warily said, “Hi.”

  “Hi, Delaney. How was your week off?”

  Oh, please stop smiling at me. Why did he have to be so PERFECT? “It was fine,” was all I managed to say.

  “So did you enjoy the movie?”

  “What? Oh yeah, the movie. Well, it wasn’t really my kind of movie.”

  “What did you see?”

  Suddenly I was too embarrassed to admit that I had seen that particular movie, so I lied, once again, “I don’t remember the name of it.”

  “Who was in it?” he pressed.

  “I thought you weren’t in to movies?” I snapped, irritated that he was reminding me not only of his rejection, but my undeserved punishment.

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It was just a very long week. How was your spring break?” I asked, feeling horrible that I had lashed out at him.

  “It was fine. Why was your week so…long?” he asked.

  “I was grounded!”

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing! That’s the problem.”

  “I’m not following you,” he said, looking confused.

  “My parents think…”

  Just then our teacher welcomed us all back from spring break with a “pop quiz.” Once again, our conversation was interrupted.

  Much to my surprise, Logan walked with me to our next class and asked me again what I did to get grounded.

  I was embarrassed to tell him, but I really didn’t want to lie again, either. “My parents didn’t approve of my choice of movie.”

  “I’m still not following you.”

  “I went to the movie with my friends and I left them a note. Evidently, a note wasn’t good enough. Then I saw a movie they didn’t approve of. I’m 17 years old. You’d think I wouldn’t need explicit verbal permission to go to a movie.”