Addiction - Chapter 24 #3
"I needed the change."
"You know, I actually own stock in your company."
"You do?"
My dad nodded. He put his hands together on the table and looked down at them for a second. "I'm sorry. It's just...Penny's our baby." My dad didn't look angry anymore. He just seemed sad. He looked older than I remembered. As if this conversation had aged him. I had never meant to hurt him.
"I know," James said. "I understand that you're just trying to protect her. And I truly am sorry about how this happened."
"You can't really understand until you've had children of your own."
They were both silent for a second. Both their apologies seemed to be enough. The tension was slowly seeping out of the room.
"So, your relationship was written about in the paper?" my mom asked.
"Yes, there was an article in the paper this morning," said James. "If you read it, you should know that it is not accurate."
"What do you mean?"
"It's mostly from my ex wife's point of view. And it implies that there will be charges of sexual misconduct from other students I've had. And from Penny. That's not the case."
"Okay." My mom took a deep breath. "What happens now?"
James ran his hand through his hair. "It's really up to Penny. I've advised her to drop Comm. Unfortunately, the way that the information was leaked about our relationship does not make it easy going forward."
"I think it'll all die down if I ignore it. I just want things to go back to normal," I said.
"This whole thing has been blown out of proportion because of my name. Under other circumstances, it would not have gotten as much press as it has already. Normalcy is a long way off."
"So you resigned because of the allegations?" my dad said.
"They gave me the option to stay if I was willing to terminate my relationship with Penny. I wasn't willing to do that. Resigning was the only option."
"That's very romantic," my mom said.
I smiled to myself. It was romantic. Everything James did was romantic. Even dragging me here to tell my parents about the situation. He did it because he cared about me. He wanted us to have a future together. And he didn't want our future to involve keeping secrets from my parents.
James squeezed my hand and then pulled my chair back out for me. I felt so relieved. My parents seemed to understand. Love was love. All the messy details didn't really matter. And I felt so relieved, like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. I sat back down and so did James.
"And if things can't proceed as normal, what then?" my dad asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what the backlash is going to be like," James said. "The blame for this lies on me, not Penny. It is my understanding that the University of New Castle will make that clear. If things don't go smoothly, she can always apply for different schools next semester."
No. I didn't want to change schools. Everything was going to be okay.
"Mom, Dad, it's going to be fine. I went to class this morning and it wasn't even that bad.
" I thought about Raymond Asher's harsh comments.
If Tyler hadn't shown up to defend me, would everything have been fine?
I shook away the thought. That was Comm. My other classes would be different.
"Unfortunately we both need to get to work. Are you sure we can't get you to stay for dinner?" my mom asked.
"No, we need to get back." I just wanted to be alone with James. This day couldn't be over soon enough.
"Okay." My mom looked over at my dad.
"Do you mind if we talk to Penny alone for a second?" my dad asked.
"Of course." James stood up. "I'll be outside." He put his hand on my shoulder for a second and then walked out of the kitchen.
When the front door closed, my parents still didn't say anything.
"Mom, Dad, thank you for understanding. I know that you're probably disappointed in me. And I'm so sorry that..."
My dad held up his hand to stop me from talking.
I swallowed hard. I wished James was still sitting beside me.
"We just want you to be happy, Penny," my mom said.
"I am happy. I've never been this happy."
My parents looked at each other again.
"Penny," my dad said. "If he has in any way pressured you into..."
Oh my God. "No, Dad, it wasn't like that at all. He didn't pressure me. This situation is just as much my fault as it is his. If not more."
"But if there's anything that you aren't ready for and he..."
"Dad. Please stop." I didn't want to have this conversation with my parents. "He's always a complete gentleman." I winced at my own choice of words. It was almost like I had just confessed that James was a gentle lover. Please let this conversation be over.
"I'm sorry. But when he mentioned sexual misconduct...I just wanted to make sure." My dad seemed to be just as uncomfortable as me.
"When he mentioned it, he said it wasn't true. And it's not. We're exclusive. He's not dating anyone else. And everything we have done has been consensual." Consensual. I kept choosing grosser and grosser words to describe everything.
"Okay." My dad sighed. "Well, we're glad you're not pregnant." He laughed uneasily.
I knew he was trying to break the tension. "Yeah, you guys are too young to be grandparents."
My mom smiled at me. "I really wish we didn't have to go back to work. I want to hear the whole story about how you two met." She stood up and quickly cleared the dishes. "Maybe the next time you two visit we can hear a little more about the good moments and a little less about the messy ones."
Messy moments? Gross! "That sounds great."
The three of us went outside. James was sitting on the front porch step petting Teddy.
Whenever he did normal stuff it always looked funny to me. He was the sexiest man I had ever laid my eyes on. And my mind just instantly pictured him doing whatever he was doing in T.V. commercials. It was the sexiest ad for a pet commercial I had ever seen.
"I see you two are getting along now," I said.
"Yeah, I think he actually likes me." He turned around. When he saw my parents he quickly stood up.
"I'm really sorry that you two can't stay. I hope you come visit us again soon. I promise that we're not usually this hostile." My mom leaned in and hugged him.
James looked a little less uncomfortable than he had when she had hugged him earlier. "Thank you for being so understanding."
My mom laughed. "Were we? I feel like we weren't. But I do understand. And I'm so glad that you make our daughter happy."
My mom pulled away and gave me a quick hug. "Call me with those details."
"I will."
"James." My dad stuck out his hand.
"Mr. Taylor." They quickly shook hands.
"You can call me Peter." My dad nodded at him and walked over to me. He immediately embraced me in a hug. "Don't you ever think that you've disappointed us, Pen. We love you so much." He kissed the top of my head and released me from his hug.
"Thanks, Dad." His words made me tear up slightly.
It was such a relief to hear him say that.
My biggest fear in life always seemed to be disappointing my parents.
That was why I never took risks and always followed the rules.
It was strange how quickly my outlook could change.
I still never wanted to disappoint my parents.
But James seemed to have taken over all my worries.
I was more concerned about him now and making him happy.
I'd do anything for him. I hoped he knew that.