“No, Sharece,” Anton said again.
He took a sip from his morning coffee and set the cup down, irritated his daughter had just brought up the trip again. He knew it was important to her - really important. But he was only trying to look out for her, trying to protect her.
“But, Dad.” Sharece said, insistent. “Kali and Bridget are going and it's only David and Jerry and Jerry's friend San. What's the problem? It's New York. Big deal.” She sighed. “Dad, it's the Plain White T's, and you just don't get luck like that. Besides, Jerry won the tickets so it's not like it's going to cost you anything.”
Anton could barely see her feet from where he sat at the kitchen table. She was on the sofa in the living room, watching one of her mindless television shows again.
At least she has the volume down, Anton thought. But, with her jabbering at him endlessly about the trip, he doubt that he would be able to finish the newspaper anyway.
“Dad, come on.”
“I'm not comfortable with it, that's all.” Anton said, dropping the paper in disgust. “Maybe if a parent was going. Or, maybe if it wasn't for overnight.”
“But..uh..” Sharece scrambled for a new slant to her argument. “...Mom's okay with it.”
Anton closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his index fingers. Why does this have to be so tough, he thought. Why can't she just drop it? And why was she bringing Emma into it again?
"Maybe your mother is okay with it," Anton said, as he folded the newspaper in half, got up from the table and tossed the paper on the island. "But I am your father, Sharece, and I have an opinion about this. The decision is final.” He walked into the living room, heading toward his study. "I just don't trust those boys, Sharece. I'm sorry."
She glared at him as he walked by and then looked back at the television.
"Why not?" Sharece said, her fuse now lit. "What you really mean is, you don't trust me!"
"No, I didn't say that, honey," Anton said from inside his study.
He came back out with his keys and briefcase in hand, and struggling to put on his jacket. He was thankful to already be dressed for work. It was a lecture day, which meant the best part of his job: a captive audience.
"All three of the guys going are from Church, dad.” Sharece said, her words pointed and aimed to cut at him. “You still don't trust them, but you say you're a Christian?"
Anton didn't acknowledge her fight and walked through the living room and back into the kitchen.
"What does that say about you, huh, dad?” Sharece said, getting up from the sofa to follow him.
"Sharece. Really, that's enough. I said no already.” He stopped midway to the back door. “Oh crap. My cell. Where's my cell?”
“When are you going to let me grow up?” She said, exasperated. She stood need the table, staring down at the floor, ready and waiting for another fight.
“You will have plenty of time to grow up, Sharece.” Anton said. “You just have to trust us to know what is best for you while you are still young." He patted his pockets but couldn't find his phone anywhere.
On the filing cabinet. You plugged it in last night to charge, remember?
"Sharece, is there any way we could continue this conversation later?” Anton asked, as he turned around and pushed passed her, heading back toward his study. “I'm running late for work this morning and I have lectures."
"Ya. Whatever.” Sharece said, storming off down the hallway toward her bedroom.
Anton could hear her mumbling something under her breath as she went, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Then she yelled back at him as she reached her bedroom door.
“Let me know when you want to stop controlling my life.”
Anton shook his head and flinched as he heard her bedroom door slam and her scream at the top of her lungs.
“Hypocrite! I hate you!"
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he made his way back into the study. He grabbed his phone and unplugged it, slipping it into his pants pocket.
“That's everything.” He said out loud.
As he got back to the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of Emma coming out of the laundry room midway down the hall.
"What was that?" She asked, looking back at him.
"Nothing.” Anton said, shaking his head again. “Just Sharece being Sharece."
Emma didn't respond, but just turned and disappeared back into the laundry room.
Anton sighed. It's no use; life is miserable. Lectures. Oh crap. Lecture day.
“You're going to be late for class if you don't get a move on,” Anton said, dislodging himself from his self-pity long enough to make it to the back door.
He tried to juggle his brief case and keys with one hand as he struggled to look at his wrist watch. God, he hated being late for class.
He walked through the open garage door and went out around the side of the house to his parked car. He hit the security button on the key chain and opened the door after it chirped a few times at him.
He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. The car started without a hitch and Anton made quick work of throwing the Saab into reverse and backing up to get enough room to pull around and get out onto the street.
You made it, he thought. Another morning done, and without too much drama from his wife or daughter. Not bad. He couldn't shake Sharece's badgering accusations, though, and it gnawed at him, making him wonder why he wouldn't let her go on this trip in the first place. Why was he so against her going?
Because she was young - too young. She was smart for her age, but probably too smart for her own good. And she was only sixteen! Too damn young! There was no way he was going to let her run off to the city with a bunch of boys - no matter if they were with the Church youth group or not. He had been their age before. He knew what it was like. Not a chance in hell – even if it meant another fight with Emma. So be it.
Anton pulled onto the side street that connected his neighborhood with Parkway Avenue, two blocks away. In between the houses he could already see traffic backing up.
At least you don't have to drive across the river; what a nightmare that would be!
Too many people in Trenton. Too many.
He got to the intersection, blowing through two lights at Pennington Road and Olden Avenue, but had to stopped behind a delivery truck where Pennington intersected with Green Lane.
As he waited, Anton turned on the radio and hitting the scan button, then settled back into his leather seat, feeling the heat start to work up his lower back as the seat warmer started to kick in.
It wasn't like he wanted to keep his daughter from having a life. He knew she was going to have to grow up someday; she was growing up now. He just wanted to protect her - even if it meant protecting her from herself if necessary. But he couldn't help shake the feeling that he was smothering her.
Tyranical. Isn't that what she called you the other day? Anton chuckled.
The radio stopped at the Calvin Code Morning Roadway Show, and Anton listened to Calvin who was talking with a driver stuck on the Expressway because some idiot had jack-knifed his semi ahead of him, spilling cases of soda all over the road.
Anton smiled and anxiously tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. The light ahead turned green and the delivery truck's break lights went dark. A moment later, the truck lumbered forward and Anton turned right onto Green Lane, heading toward campus.
The baseball field in Ackerman Park came into view on the left in sporadic breaks within the trees that lined the left side of the road. A few minutes later, he turned onto campus, drove past the townhouses, past the stadium, and then pulled into the parking lot in front of the School of Business building.
Southwest corner of campus. Tucked away into his own little world. Anton's office and the lecture hall. It was his paradise; his oasis from the relentless drain of family life.
He had three lectures today. Economics, Survey of Macro-Economics, and Statistical Anomalies in Third World Development.
“Captive audience,” He said, smiling.
Anton opened the car door and felt the chilled air cut through his thin jacket. In the middle of April, it should have been warmer. But the weather report was still calling for possible rain, even maybe another week of lower than normal temperatures. He had managed to get that far in the morning paper before Sharece's ranting.
He turned around and got his brief case from the back seat, making sure he had his cell phone and his keys.
“Wallet?” He said, feeling in his back pocket. “Check.”
Anton shut the door and pressed the LOCK button on the key chain. The Saab's head lights flashed and the alarm set; double chirp. He stepped up onto the sidewalk and made his way to the front entrance of the Business Building. The lecture hall was on the first floor, near the back of the building, in the Edmire Room.
He glanced at his watch. 8:58 A.M. Two minutes before classes started.
Captive Audience.
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