Dancing with a Stranger

Prologue

May 25, 2000

"Lacey Chalmers, we need to have a talk".

Lacey looks at her dad who is standing in front of her with his arms across his chest. "Oh no, what have I done?" she thinks to herself. She could not think of anything that had happened at school that she would be in trouble for. She never gets in trouble. And yet, here he is, looking more serious than she has ever seen him before.

"Dad, is something wrong?" she asks hesitantly, nervously biting on her finger.

"I'd rather we wait until your mother comes downstairs for us to discuss it," he responds, before turning his back and walking away.

She saunters slowly inside the house with her head down, racking her brain to figure out what she possibly could have done to be greeted at the door this way. She takes off her jacket and shoes and puts her backpack down at the foot of the stairs.

Her dad has never been like this before with her and she is a bit scared. Being an only child, she is used to getting a lot of her parents' attention. She can do no wrong in their eyes and she actually never does. Lacey does not like to be a bad kid at all. That is why she is so confused. She always does the right thing. Always.

She hears her mom come down the stairs and starts kicking her foot against the couch. "I hate this so much," she sighs. She has no idea what she will do if she gets in trouble. She feels herself start to cry as she imagines the impending disappointment and anger that will be in her mom and dad's eyes. She twiddles her thumbs and begins to practice her best "I'm sorry" face, even though she has no idea what she is apologizing for.

"Lacey, can you come to the kitchen, please?" her mom asks from the doorway of the living room.

Feeling a deep sense of dread, she forces herself out of the couch and walks, defeated, into the kitchen behind her.

Lacey stands at the edge of the table and looks expectantly at them while they stare back at her. "Do you have any idea why we need to have this discussion with you?" her dad asks.

"No," she says quietly.

"I must say, I'm a bit disappointed in you Lacey," he responds, sneaking a glance at her mom who continues to maintain her steady gaze on Lacey.

"I'm sorry, Dad." She is doing all that she can to push back the tears that are starting to fill in her eyes.

"What are you apologizing for, Lacey?"

"I...I don't know," she replies with her head down. She can not even look them in their eyes. She wishes they would just tell her so she can get this all over with.

Lacey's mom clears her throat and Lacey looks up at her, the tears now threatening to spill from her eyes. "We received a phone call from your school today. They gave us some information about you."

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it! I swear!"

"What have we told you about swearing, young lady?" her dad jumps in with a stern tone.

"Oops!" She is so flustered that she feels herself start to shake.

"Oh Martin, look at her. She's shaking," her mom says with compassion. "We shouldn't do this to the poor girl."

"You're right, Eleanor," Martin replies. "I don't think I could have kept this up much longer anyway."

Lacey's face registers confusion as she makes repeated glances between her parents. Their stern faces start to soften as a look of amusement comes upon them. She starts to shift her weight between her feet as she waits in anxious silence for what they will say next. They pass knowing glances at each other before finally looking back at their daughter with proud smiles on their faces.