Handle With Clare

Chapter 16: Oh No, You Knew

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I bounced on my toes as I waited for dad to come downstairs with eagerness. I wasn't sure how he would react to seeing Peter here with me, but I wanted so badly for this moment to work out. "Calm down Clare. You're making me nervous," Peter chuckled in my ear.

I stopped instantly, looking up at him with worry. The last thing I needed was for him to be nervous, too. "Sorry."

I heard dad come down the stairs, and I felt my heart speed up. Concerns flooded my mind like a broken dam as we waited in the family room for him. "Clare, Farrah said you were coming home with a friend...." He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Peter. "Oh... Hi Peter."

"Hello, sir," Peter said. "Can we talk?"

I watched dad frown slightly, not wanting to do what Peter asked. Finally he sighed then said, "Ok. Take a seat." He gestured to the chairs in the room and on command we sat next together on the couch.

Without waiting a second, Peter dove into conversation that I was sure he had already thought through. "I know you think Clare needs her rest, and that I wasn't giving that to her. But I was not aware of her condition, however now I understand. I want her to be better and her health is my number one concern."

Dad frowned at him as he thought. He wasn't liking this conversation; he thought he knew better than me. "I know you care about her, but you understand that this can get nasty really fast."

I held myself collected even though I was fuming inside from how dad acted so far. Didn't he see this was what I wanted? This would make me happy. I was happy with him, and he didn't seem to notice or even care.

"And I'm prepared for that. I've seen cancer before, my grandmother had it. I saw firsthand how bad it got. Sir, I know cancer's nothing to mess around with. But I came here because I'm serious about dating your daughter. I really like Clare, I like she is different, smart, sarcastic, funny. Sir, I want your official permission to date your daughter," he told my dad.

I watched my father lean back in his chair as he thought about what Peter said. He sat like that for a minute or two until finally, he spoke up, "ok, Peter. I give my permission to date Clare. But if I see it is getting too much for her, you'll answer to me."

Peter nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With that, dad stood up from his seat, and Peter and I followed his lead. He walked over to Peter and held out his hand to shake it. "I can see that you are a good man, Peter. Don't disappoint me."

"I won't sir," Peter said as he shook my father's hand. With that, dad walked out of the room, leaving Peter and me alone for a minute to share this small victory.

Peter looked at me and smiled widely, saying nothing. He didn't have to say anything for me to understand what he was thinking. We had the right to date, and my dad wouldn't stand in the way. This was exactly what we wanted.

I returned the smile, then hugged him. He wrapped me in his arms, and I felt warm and safe as he engulfed me. I didn't want him to let me go, not now, not ever.

Finally, Peter pulled out of the hug and smiled at me with excitement in his eyes. "Well, I should leave; it's getting late," Peter said to me.

I nodded at him with a slight frown; he was right. As much as I wanted him to stay, I knew we shouldn't push it with my dad; we had to tread softly, testing our limits before going further. "Yeah, you should probably leave."

He leaned down and kissed me softly, causing sparks to run through my body.

We made it to the front door where he opened it, letting a warm summer air hit us immediately. "Good night, Clare. I'll talk to you later."

I nodded at him. "Good night Peter." I closed the door and watched him leave, backing out of the driveway with his car. For this night starting off like Hell, it ended not too terrible.

<>

Within a second, mom came down the stairs with a bright smile since I was sure that she was listening to the entire conversation from upstairs. She often did this with Farrah and her love interests. She was just waiting for the chance to ask me herself without Peter around for all the details. "How did that go?"

I shrugged, trying to hold back my excitement. "I think it went well." As well as it could. Well, I didn't imagine my night going like this. I didn't think that I would get back with Peter after my secret finally came out. I didn't think that I would have the chance to date him again. I had a second chance to enjoy life and have a boyfriend. This night got a lot better than I thought it would, and it pleasantly surprised me.

She smiled brightly. She was excited for me, more excited than dad was, that was for sure. "I told you he needed time."

I nodded as I thought about what Peter told me, how dad shooed him away at the hospital, I wondered if mom knew about this? Before I got ahead of myself with emotions, I took a deep breath to compose. I couldn't help but think that we were closer than to keep massive secrets like this from each other. I frowned at her, consumed by an answer that I demanded. "Mom, did you know dad talked to Peter the night at the hospital?"

She frowned for a second before her face turned blank. "Yes, I was aware. But I wasn't sure what he told him."

I imminently felt betrayed by my mother who I thought was my best friend. For the past six days, I thought whatever happened was completely my fault, but that was wrong. Dad said some things to make him think differently, and my mother didn't even warn me about this.

Thoughts swirled in my mind as I wanted the truth for the full picture. Why did they do this? They thought they knew better, but they didn't realize that I could handle myself. I knew my body, not them. I knew what my limits were. They had no right to do this. "And you didn't think to tell me that dad did that? I thought that this was all my fault."

"I'm sorry Clare, I didn't fully know."

I gritted my teeth together before I said something a little too sharp. "Oh no, you knew, you just didn't want to tell me. You wanted this boyfriend phase to end. You wanted your little girl to spend her hours at home, where she was protected by her parents who 'know better than her'. Well, you know what? That was never going to last. I wasn't happy, did you see that? But Peter made me happy. He made me want to be happy and look forward to the new day. The cancer's in my body; we can't prevent that, but I know my limits. I know what I can handle and what I can't. Not you," I said to her as I tried to keep my voice level.

I watched as her eyes welled up with tears. In that second I wanted to see her upset, just as much as they made me. She finally sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. She knew she was in the wrong. "Clare..."

I shook it off, not wanting to hear her words any longer. I was hurt, frustrated, and I needed air before I snapped at her. "No, mom. I don't want to hear it. You know what? I'm tired. Today has been a roller coaster of emotions and I want to sleep." and with that, I stormed past her up the stairs into my room.

Happy valentines day a little late! I hope your love day was amazing. I celebrated with my love with sushi. I love sushi so much I could eat it non stop. It was a good day.

Anyhow, they are back together! I hope you are happy with that. I am excited to see what happens with them. They have some rough patches to fix but I think they can do it. And what about her parents? Do you think that they are doing right?

Good night and good day!

Darla H