I Shouldn’t Love Him (Book 2)– Chapter 57
LAKE
Mom, Tiffany, Manning and I were all sitting in the dining room when Dad came out of his office.
“Why are we eating here instead of the kitchen?” he asked before even pulling out his chair.
company,” Mom said.
food untouched like all of ours. He looked at my father.
ning,” Tiffany sa
t conversation passing between them.
r having me,” Manning sa
acing his chair on the table. “My wife is here. Thank
as,” Mom said softly
, Charles.”
before taking a bowl of broccoli.
cooked tonight, Lake?
ngs to go well for Manning. I didn’t need to give him a reason to stop coming over. I wasn’t sure what was going on between us, but what if we couldn’t find out before I turned eighteen, so he had to stay in my life for two more years.
steak and dessert,” I s
,” Da
was just asking Manning about the house,” Mom said. “He’
na, specifically,” Man
his meat.
campus is located is dangerous. Too much crime.
ou can’t say these things.”
said.
hear Tiffany objecting.
Manning.
e.”
ed.
’s okay.” He looked away as he said this.
that.
night.”
“For?”
and then sipped his water.
into law
“Yes.”
a lawyer?
o. I want to help people.”
They just do what they’re told.
clea
Charles -“
a dose of reality. I’m just trying to be helpful.
ther would try to make Manning feel small. Knowing how much Manning’s future career meant to him, I opened my mouth
I could speak. “I saw it with my own eyes.”
ed his shoulder
Do that. The world needs police officers.
e, perhaps looking for a w
adn’t even told h
“Yes.”
ding at my full plate.
wn my chin. “Where are you on the
my mouth wi
ok.”
ncluding some nonfiction about perfecting the college essay.
is almost over.”
id,” Tiffany added.
ar. They do not agree to relax.
my parents turned all their attention to me.
kno
anning asked.
ifornia,” Dad said.
as starting to look irritated.
, rival of UCLA.”
“We’re hoping to start her in a pre-college program next year,” Mom said.
. Years before college applications. And Lake wants it, so we’ll do eve
e. “
“
went,” Dad said.
he recounted his years at USC, as if it were some sort of Disneyland for adults. I had never considered anywhere else. One of the best schools in the country was practically in our backyard.
eat programs,” I said.
It’s a t
s topic.
er is a former student. I can’t really think of a reason not to go.
ound his plate.
ught about USC?” Manni
didn’t even realize he was talking to her. “Tiff?” »
inked. “Did I want to go?” Me?”
hy not?
top college,” Dad said.
doing God knows what, but it was none of that.”
d who started at community college and transferred to Berkeley,” Manning said. “Tiffa
t Charles did,” said Mom, raising her glass to Dad.
afford private, but he worked his way
arms and leaned back in her chair.
at her.
your language. You’ll be lucky to be at this school rather than wasting your time here watching TV and spending
r in. ‘
Dad said. “
She stra
ng store.”
any idea what this takes? Discipline. Hard work. Start-up
my sister, I didn’t want to see her embarrassed.
d did better without constraints or rules. That’s how
end her to my dad, anyway .
d at this.” She ignored me
fro
“Who?”
my class who got pregnant.”
y of her relationship with a math teacher had made headlines. Things like that didn’t happen at our school. That was when I learned the term statutory rape “The
id. “Regina has a baby. She was crying to me about how she is raising him alone.
le? How long did he have? Three years?”
.
ridiculous. They went too easy on him. I would have charged him with
d.
of steak with his fork. “I have a lot
aid, looking at Manning.
et to this topic?”
» She filled Dad’s wine g
Dad and Tiffany were at each other’s throats.
ou know, Lake is going camping soon. Are you look
n, but I enjoyed it even more last year as a junior advisor. Young Cubs was a week-long summer camp in the woods with outdoor activities and nightly campfires. But a new thought occurred to me. What would happen with Manning at the end of the summer? I couldn’t find him in the field during the day. It wasn’t like I could get in a car and go see him, and it wasn’t just because I didn’t have my license. Summer ended in just over four weeks. If I had one in camp, I only had three left with Manning.
ed.
You had a great time last year.”
id. “It looks good on your app.”
d her eyes.
about college?”
at Mom.
ntire sorority house.” He laughed about it.
he was smiling.
d whose fault is
genetic.”
a*s of wine, muttered,
t that on a sticker and stick it on your bumper. Everyone except Manning laughed.
’d asked why she had an anarchy sticker, and she gave me a funny look and said it was “punk, duh.” Dad said it was to piss him off.
nds.
aid.
nt.
I’ll be
I said,
rafts, fishing. We spend almost the whole week outside.
mp himself.
or this?
I’m volunteering. It’s just for my college applications. But real counsel
ked away.
with a bunch of kids?” Tiffany asked.
d, “I love kids.”
ng a whole week. With me.
easily.
e spending a week away from him.
?” Mom asked.
t Manning. I asked Tiffany for help, but when the realization hit her too, her eyes lit up.
.
” »
m the house next door.”
y. ” What is he talking about ? »
ooked contrite. “I didn’t want you to get angry.”
. “What’s wrong with you, Tiffany?” Everything I tell you, you do the opposite.
ed his arm.
a problem?” That transients in the neighborhood are never good? »
.
omeone who cannot hold a job because they are not qualified enough to find work.”
t was coming, a terrible insult designed to drive Manning away. Tiffany too, but she still invited him.
k his briefcase from
was a problem.
like a knife through the tension
lite.”
ning slowly sank
d
ave been the first thing he said when he arrived.
hought you knew.”
lie has been so upset about the construction.”
ours. We start early when it’s cool, but we rarely go past five p.m.
said. “I heard you during dinner.”
the daisy fell. She tried to force him to
behind yours,” Manning said. “Maybe that’s it.”
eighborhood.” Dad looked between us and him. “We don’t like trouble.”,
is head.
n?”
laced it on the table.
a big deal. I was with her.
ot to bring your sister into your drama.”
” She balked. “She went there first.”
ve her,
aid.
o find an excuse. “He didn’t have lunch, so I…”
t f*****g inter
orward. “With all due r
held his
“No.”
ge girls don’t need to be around that, bringing you lunch or anything else.
and hesitated.
se.
f*****g forgiveness?”
nvited him,” Tiffany said.
id it.”
oing to have a word with your foreman.
It’s just lunch for God’s sake, and Tiffany already told me about it.
d to her.
?
t’s okay,” he
own dining table and try to have a nice meal? I hope you’re happy, Tiffany.”
all to look at Manning.
said.
a lot, so he’s grumpy when he comes home.
have a home-cooked meal.
le.
o .”
he had been when he ate the Lake Special the other day.
nning. “Lake was so nervous about finding the right cake for company. She made it with fresh blueberries just for tonight. Even the crust is from scratch.
ways like that, I swear.”
. Turning my back on him , I said, “I’m sorry to my family.”
ng.” I glanced at him over my s
an take care of myself.”
g care of a grown man? It felt completely natural, like I could fit into his life, but I didn’t. Not yet anyway.
her is strict,” he said. “I’m
were here?”
this respect.
stand it. Maybe it was a man thing.
plates.
d him. “Mom likes the ones for guests.”