Oil & Ink

Chapter 16: Tell the Parents

Sara knew she had to tell her parents she was going to Los Angeles. It was better to just say she was going than to ask for their permission, right? That was her plan.

It was her night to make dinner since she wasn't working at Tucker's, so she figured this was probably her best bet to win them over. She'd gotten steaks from the butcher and even picked up slices of chess pie from Dina's. No one could get that mad over pie.

While doing some work outside earlier, she put together a mental list of reasons they should be okay with her going on the trip. For one, she was going with a group of people she trusted. And two, they were going for a really good reason — to help Charlie professionally — it wasn't like they were just going to party or whatever it was her parents were going to automatically assume.

She went into the kitchen to start prepping. There were potatoes to bake and fresh veggies for a salad. She preheated the oven and wrapped the potatoes in foil. She loved a baked potato that was crispy on the outside. Next, she started chopping the lettuce and slicing the tomatoes and onion.

She popped the potatoes in the oven — the only thing bad about a baked potato was that it took so long. She pulled the pie slices out of the fridge and set them on the counter so they could come to room temperature.

Sara had never gone on a trip without someone's parents present. This was likely the biggest issue she was going to have to battle in tonight's discussion. But they had to let her venture out on her own at some point. Right?

It seemed like so many of her classmates had been on several trips on their own — during spring break, summer, and sometimes over the holidays. She envied their stories — it wasn't that they did anything all that crazy on these trips — but it was something different than life on the farm or a shift at Tucker's. Adventures helped people learn about themselves.

She heated up the cast iron grill pan and rubbed down the steaks with salt and pepper. These wouldn't take long on the grill, but they needed to rest for a while afterward. This meal was going to be delicious. It would taste even better if they agreed to let her go.

Once the pan was hot, she laid each steak down, paying attention to the time. No one in Sara's family liked a well-done steak; but the grill marks were definitely necessary. As the steaks seared, her mom walked through the kitchen.

"Something smells good in here," she said, eyeing the food on the counter.

"Thanks," Sara said, keeping her eyes on the meat.

"Did you water the trees out back?" her mom asked.

"Yeah, I did that right when I got home," Sara said. She always did everything on her chore list, but her mom always had to ask.

"Okay, good," her mom said.

"Dinner should be ready in 20 minutes or so," Sara said. "The potatoes take forever."

"Sounds good," her mom said. "How was Tucker's today?"

"Good. Nothing out of the ordinary," Sara said.

"Have you heard anything definitive about the purchase?" her mom asked.

Sara shook her head. "I haven't really heard anything new about it," Sara said. "Has dad said anything else?"

Her mom put a small stack of mail on the island and looked over at Sara. "I haven't," she said. "But I also haven't asked him directly."

"Yeah," Sara said. "I just don't want to show up for a shift one day and there's a giant CLOSED sign on the door or something."