“I—” I started, but she cut me off.
“Haley is such a sweet girl, really. Just a little loud.” She batted her eyelashes and pushed some hair out of her face. Icould see where this was going. She thought I was Haley’s father and probably knew he was available. I scowled.
“I’m not her father. I’m dating her.” I turned and headed for the elevator, not stopping when she called after me.
“Try to keep it down next time, then!”
I rode the elevator back down to the ground floor and stepped out. As I passed through the lobby, I thought to ask the doorman where she was. I stopped, and he looked up from his book.
“Yes?”
“Hey, did Ms. Spencer come through here this evening? I stopped by but she didn’t answer.” I leaned on the counter and noticed he was reading an old classic.
“Yeah, Haley was through here just at dinner time. Said she was going to a club. She hasn’t been home since. Should I leave her a message? Tell her you stopped?” The man picked up a pen, poised to take a note should I be so inclined.
“Uh, no. That’s alright.” I tapped my fingers on the counter and strolled away. She was out having a good time not even thinking of me, and I should be doing the same. The way things were, I was beginning to think maybe I’d put too much stock into her interest in me. I’d expressed my affection for her, and though she said she was developing feelings for me, I wasn’t sure she knew what that meant.
I waved Gordon down, and he pulled the car up. I didn’t waste time waiting for him to open my door. I just climbed in and sat down. I wasn’t angry anymore, just tired. Haley seemed to have wanted to talk to me, so I dialed her number, but the call went straight to voicemail. She was either on the phone or it was dead. Or maybe she had shut it off, too upset to talk to me since I hadn’t answered when she called.
The day wore on me. I reached for the mini-fridge and pulled out a beer, cracking it open and downing it quickly. Thingshad seemed to have gone wrong ever since I started pursuing her. It was like she was a bad luck charm that attracted only challenging or difficult things toward me. But I wanted her. Despite the problems at work, despite the age difference and being mistaken for her father or chided by my peers for how young she was. And in spite of her wanting to leaveThe Vine, I still found myself thinking about how she was feeling and whether she was okay.
It was tormenting, not knowing what she was thinking or if she was too angry with me. Had I messed everything up? I knew I had handled the entire situation poorly. At my age, I should have known better, but here I was making stupid mistakes and risking the relationship over a damn job preference. I almost told Gordon to turn around and go back. I could sit at her door and wait for her to come home. I didn’t care if it was three a.m. when she came home.
But I was tired. Exhausted, really. I didn’t have the emotional energy to argue with her tonight, and following what was probably a very traumatic evening for her, I knew that is what it would be. In the interest of loving her the way I knew I needed to, I just let Gordon drive home. I was in no place to have important discussions. I was too tired and emotional. I knew I would respond badly or say things I didn’t mean. I just needed to go home and sleep it off and call her tomorrow. Maybe then, we could get to the bottom of the real issue. Maybe then, she’d be honest with me about the job and I could tell her I was sorry.
Maybe…
27
HALEY
When I pulled into Dad’s driveway, I noticed the porchlight was on, but so was the light in the front room. I parked and shut my car off. I hadn’t packed a thing, but I knew I had a few outfits here just in case I slept over after dinner one night. It made Dad’s house feel more like home than my own place because I knew I wasn’t alone when I walked in that door. I didn’t want to be alone tonight, not only because I was hurting but also because I feared that whoever vandalized my car knew where I lived.
I locked my car and ambled up the walk to the front door. As I stooped to get the key from under the mat, the door swung open and Dad stepped out. “Haley, I couldn’t sleep.” He waited for me to straighten and then pulled me into his arms. His warm hugs always made me feel better.
“What is it, honey? What’s wrong?” He gripped my face with both hands and offered a look of concern.
“My car…” I mumbled. He loosened his grasp as I turned and looked at the thing, smeared with paint. The insurance adjuster knew I was out in the suburbs and would come tomorrow to have a look. Since they hadn’t gotten anything on my windshield,the police officer had said it was okay to drive it. The report was filed, and they were going to investigate, but the damage was done.
Dad gasped, holding me tightly against his side in an awkward side-hug. “Who did that?”
“I actually don’t know for sure, but I think it has something to do with some coworkers who are angry that I got the promotion and the bonus.” I felt tears welling up again and blinked them back. I’d cried enough while I was driving. I didn’t need to break down again.
“What on earth? Why would anyone be so jealous over a promotion that they would pour paint on a brand-new vehicle?” Dad scowled and started out toward my car, but I caught his hand and stopped him.
“Please, Dad, let’s just go inside. Okay? It’s late. We can look at it when the sun is up.” I pulled him back, and he shook his head. He scowled, but he followed me, locking up after we were safely inside.
“I just don’t understand what this world is coming to. I sure hope the police find who did this and make them pay.” Dad sat next to me on the couch and pulled me into his chest. I lay there across him feeling like a pile of dirty laundry. My heart was broken and I just wanted to curl up and sleep.
“Daddy, why does everything have to be so difficult? I mean, I work so hard to do the right things, but it seems like everything I try just fails.” I kicked my shoes off and curled up, pulling my knees to my chest, and grabbed the front of his night robe.
“Well, Haley, life is really difficult. There are some really amazing things in this life if you are patient and keep your eyes open. But I can see how there are days when it feels like nothing goes right. When your mother died, I felt the way you’re describing now. I felt hopeless, like I would never have anything good again. But things changed slowly.”
Thinking about Mom only made me remember that even when you do everything right and you’re in control of things, there are certain things you can’t control. She didn’t wake up one day and decide to have cancer and die. It just happened. I knew I was just feeling sorry for myself, but my heart hurt. If I couldn't even stay emotionally stable when circumstances within my control happened, how would I function if something like that happened to me? And this felt like one of those circumstances. I was bearing the brunt of someone’s hatred toward me and Parker when he didn’t even want me anymore.
“What else is wrong, baby? I know there is something more. Did you not get that job? Is that it? You’re disappointed?” He was going to pry until I opened up to him. It was the way he worked. I didn’t want to bring it up because I didn’t want to hear him say, “I told you so,” but my heart was heavy. I just wanted someone to listen to me and care.
“It’s not the job. I haven’t heard from them.” I sighed. “I think Parker heard from them. I think he’s seriously angry with me about it.”
