"This is what she had become."
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Cleopatra Banks' last week in the small town of New Chelsea is nothing like she would have imagined it, but nothing could have prepared her for the stinging betrayal she's faced with and suddenly the prospect of...
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"Are you going to put that down?" Dad asks from the seat next to mine.
He has to quickly drop me off at the coffee shop today before going back to the firm because mom is stuck at the coffee warehouse getting samples and someone needs to sign for a new set of lights.
"Hm?" I ask without turning to look at him. "What are you reading?" he asks.
I ripped out the front and back covers of the book in case my parents discovered it and gave me the speech of the century. Jokes on them though, we all know how babies are made.
"Book," is my response.
Jessica (Axel's brother's fiancé) is busy having an argument with Rayne and I'm just waiting for her to let something juicy slip like her affair with her fiancé's brother.
"Are you avoiding talking to me?" he asks, "Did I do something wrong?"
"Book dad," I reply, squinting my eyes to help me pay better attention to the book in my hands.
"Are you still mad at me about the career thing? Princess you know you can do whatever you want, you didn't have to apply to all those universities if you don't want to do any of the courses they offer," he says and I nod my head slowly.
"University," I reply as my eyes bulge out. Jessica has just let something slip and her fiancé had been listening all along.
"And if it's about Eth...a certain boy that you like. Your mom explained everything and I know this is probably long overdue but I'm sorry for flipping out on you about boys. You can tell me if you ever," he clears his throat "like a certain boy and I might do a background check on him first but I will trust your judgement because you are a responsible young lady and you are growing up so," he clears his throat again "Yeah." At this point I've turned the book around and I've placed it in my lap in order to listen to him speak.
"What are you talking about?" I ask, intrigued and amused at the same time.
"You're growing up princess, I understand that growing up also means boys and dating and other things."
"Other things?" I ask.
"Don't push it. You wait until marriage for that kind of thing," he says and I can see the sweat trickling from his brow that has nothing to do with the heating system in the car.
I suppress my urge to laugh and end up coughing into my fist instead.
"Marriage?" I ask him and his face visibly turns red. At this I have to throw my head back and laugh out loud.
He mutters something under his breath that I can't quite make out and he only addresses me again after we've reached the main parking in Summerview.
"Whatever you decide to do with your future is up to you princess and I know you'll make the right decisions. You're a big girl now and we trust you. It's a little bit hard but I know your mother and I have to back off now so you can spread your wings and fly because the last thing we want to do is hold you back. Whether you decide to study here or outside the country and whether you decide to get married next year or twenty years from now the choice is yours. Just make good life choices okay?" he says.
