“What is this about?” I asked.
“Let’s wait for your father.”
As if on cue, I heard the garage door opening. My dad had just finished his clinic day at my very own hospital, where he was a highly respected veteraninternist. He walked into the kitchen carrying a bag from Boston Market and hurriedly began removing food items onto a small table where family dinners were now being held. The fourteenth-century marble table in our grand dining room was cloaked in layers of dust.
“Jesus, Dad.” I looked at the containers of potatoes and mushy meat. “Is that what you guys are eating these days? Take-out?”
“Ask your mother. She spends her whole day with the lawn and the chipmunks.”
“Well, what do you expect, Rory?” My mom’s voice pierced the air. “Look at what your menacing behavior has done to our marriage!”
Ah, so I was to blame.
My father cut in.
“Do you mind if I speak with our daughter?” he asked icily. Maybe some hope could be gleaned here. I reminded myself: be gentle with him—the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
“It has come to our attention that you’ve gotten into some trouble with a Muslim boy,” he admonished me.
“Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” my mother interjected. “You’re lucky that your father still has some friends in high places at the hospital. The plea bargain has been struck. No more illegal conduct with this boy.”
“What?!! What the hell is this, some sort of sick intervention? Dad, you’ve been making deals with my career? I’ve already heard the warning speech from my Chief—”
“Rory, you could have fucked up your whole life over this young man. You should be grateful,” he said with quiet emphasis.
“I care for him, we’re friends. That’s it. You’ve never trusted me and always feared the worst.” I knew my anger was partly irrational. Ihadalmost destroyed my dream for a brief flirtation—no that wasn’t true—a brief love affair that was unlike anything I had felt before.
Daddy playing the great savior was not how I wanted it to go down.
“Rory.” My mother was sitting close to me, clutching my hand as I pulled it away in disgust. “Our cultures—they do not mix,” she said. “They will never accept a Jew, and no rabbi will marry you to a Muslim. There is no possible way to make this work. You will go to New York next fall and find a nice Jewish doctor. Stick to someone who is your own kind.”
“Rory,” my dad said. “I had a nice talk with Dr. Shay Meyer late last night. I’m glad things worked out.”
“You don’t have to micromanage my life, Dad,” I flared.
“Hey princess, once a father, always a father. You’ll learn someday, even though you rebel against your parents,webecome much wiser as you grow older. Amazing how nature thinks long-term for the survival of the race.”
I knew he was right, but I could feel myself ready to lose it this time. God, what an emotional mess. Damn him.
He had plastered the paternalistic smile on his face, the one he reserved for telling agitated patients that he had the answers, not to worry. Now he was using this approach on me.
“Father knows best,” he said.
That was all. That was enough. I had to get out of there.
I half hugged my parents as I slipped out the front door. Myemotions regarding Amir were confused. After all, I had been falling for the man. Maybe my mom had a point, but at the moment, I couldn’t care less about our religious differences.
I ran out of the house and got into my car, staring at my phone for what seemed like an hour. Finally, I dialed Amir and raced home to my apartment, practically crashing the Jeep at every stoplight.I still wanted him with every cell in my body.
I arrived at my apartment, my tears beginning to dissipate. The door was open (as usual) and Amir was sitting on the couch appearing nervous, with a slight look of bemusement at my totally disheveled appearance. Was this another father figure ready to apply a diaper?
“So, your illustrious father fixed things,” he said with more sadness than reproach in his voice.
“No. Not true. My record, your record, our record, these don’t disappear because a hard-ass nurse saw us fooling around on the stairs.”
“Ah, that’s the Rory I love.” I could see a sly grin opening up his face and his smoldering eyes burning like a hot iron. “You know,med student, I shouldn’t be here. We could have lost everything today...”
