She was spectacular. It was beyond me how she even managed to do it in so short a span of time and yet she had. She had charmed my mother, impressed my father and I could tell every guest she was introduced to seemed enchanted by her.

Maybe it was the fact that she was so authentically herself that you couldn’t help but like her. Maybe it was the fact that she was obviously accomplished, talented and intelligent and yet incredibly humble at the same time. Maybe it was the fact that she made no apologies for who she was or where she came from.

“What do your parents do, Zoey?” Mrs. Swanston asked after we had finished dinner.

“I was raised by a single mother, Mrs. Swanston,” Zoey replied. “My father left when I was very young, and I haven’t heard from him since. But my mother works in a bank. She has since I was in middle school.”

“That’s interesting,” Mrs. Roberts said, turning to her with curiosity in her eyes. “And what made you decide to study music?”

“My mother,” Zoey replied. “We grew up poor, you see… and we didn’t have much of anything. We didn’t even have a television set till Seth and I were older. We had this tiny little radio instead, and it was always on. There was always music in the background and mom used to tell us that there were some things that everyone could enjoy, no matter their circumstances. Music was one of them. She was right, no matter how bad my mood was, music always managed to cheer me right up.”

I saw the women around her exchange glances, and I knew they were a little surprised by how readily and unabashedly she admitted to her circumstances. I knew that in their circles to admit to a lack of anything was considered to be a massive embarrassment.

We had all left the dining room, and we were going to be served dessert in the living room where the grand piano was kept. I felt a shadow come up by my shoulder and I turned my head to the side to see my father standing next to me. He had a drink in hand, and his eyes were fixed on the gaggle of women that surrounded Zoey.

“She was not what I was expecting when your mother told me you were bringing your girlfriend,” dad said.

I reminded myself to be polite and not to allow him to get a rise out of me. I had to follow Zoey’s example and be better than that.

“She’s too good for me,” I nodded. “I’m very aware of that.”

“She’s from humble circumstances,” dad said, and I wondered if that was an accusation or not. His tone was hard to read.

“As am I,” I replied. “Now.”

“She showed me some of your work,” dad said, taking me by surprise.

I hadn’t seen that. It must have been while I had been mingling with dad’s surgeon friends and fielding all their questions about what I’d been doing the last couple of years.

“And… what did you think?” I forced myself to ask the question.

“It was… not what I had expected,” dad replied, and I wondered if that was the closest I was going to get to a compliment from my father.

“I guess I’ve taken you by surprise tonight then, dad,” I said. “With my work and my girlfriend.”

“You have,” dad replied. “When is this exhibition going to be?”

I frowned. “What exhibition?”

“Everyone seems to be under the impression that your work is going to be exhibited in White Lines Gallery.”

“Oh,” I said. “Right, yes… um… there’s no set date for the exhibition yet.”

“Well, when there is… you should let your mother know,” dad said stiffly.

He omitted himself purposely, but the implication was clear. He wanted me to let them know when the exhibition was going to be. I wondered if he felt compelled to ask because most of his friends wanted an invitation, but it didn’t matter because this was a bigger step than I had ever expected from him.

“I will,” I said softly.

“Zoey told me you have a new job?”

“I do,” I nodded. “Working in a local art magazine publication.”

Dad nodded, and I knew that was as close as I would come to his seal of approval. I felt my phone vibrate in the breast pocket of my blazer and I reached in and checked to see who was calling. When I saw Larry’s name, I knew I had to answer it.

“Would you excuse me for a second?”

Dad nodded, and I headed out of the drawing room and towards the nearest empty room I could find before I picked up.

“Larry?”

“Hey, dude… I need the goods.”

“What?” I asked. “Now?”

“Yeah… what’s the problem?” he asked. “You’re the one who said the sooner, the better.”

“Fuck,” I swore. “I’m at a dinner at my parents’ house.”

“So sneak out through the back door,” Larry said impatiently. “I thought you wanted to get rid of your last package fast.”

“I do,” I said, thinking about how great it would be to get this over with tonight. “Fine… I’ll make an excuse and get out of here for a bit. Meet me outside the park near my apartment and hurry.”

“Great, see you—”

I didn’t even wait for him to finish. I hung up and hurried back into the drawing room. I didn’t want to have to cut the evening short, but I saw no other way around this. I went up to Zoey and interrupted the conversation.

“I’m sorry, ladies,” I said. “But I just received a call from my boss. It seems there’s a small emergency with the latest editorial and I need to check it out.”

“Oh no… does that mean you have to leave?” Mrs. Swanston asked.

“But Zoey hasn’t even played for us yet… and she promised,” mom said, taking me by surprise by how disappointed she looked.

Zoey gave me a questioning look. “Can’t you handle it tomorrow?” she asked.

“Uh… I’m afraid not,” I said. “It won’t be long… I’d say half an hour or so.”

“Well, then why don’t you go do what needs to be done,” mom suggested. “Zoey can stay here with us, and when you’re finished, you can join us again?”

I looked at Zoey to see if she was ok with that and she smiled and nodded. “Ok then,” I said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back as fast as possible.”

I excused myself and headed out the door. I was aware that my father was watching me, but I felt a little too guilty to meet his eyes as I left. I was glad that I had borrowed Zack’s car today, it would make this a whole lot easier… not to mention faster.

I zoomed over to the apartment, grabbed the bag of weed from my closet and headed straight for the park. It was a lovely night, and I looked around impatiently for Larry, who was of course nowhere to be found.

“Fucking Larry,” I said, under my breath. He should have been here by now.

I was just about to call him when I saw him turn the corner and walk towards me. A second later I saw that he was not alone. He had brought his damn girlfriend with him after I had expressly told him that I didn’t want to deal with her at all. He must have thought coming with her had sidestepped that whole problem. I gritted my teeth and decided to let this one slide. After all, this was my last deal, and after this, I would be putting this whole business behind me.

The girlfriend was tall and pretty… much prettier than Larry deserved. She looked smart too, and I couldn’t help but wonder how Larry had managed to get a girl like that. She was obviously way out of his league. I didn’t question it too much; I was just impatient to get this done so that I could go back to my parents’ house with the knowledge that I could start fresh with Zoey having turned over a new leaf.

“Hi, man,” Larry said. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“I told you, I was at a dinner,” I said.

“At your parents’ house,” Larry nodded. “You get all dressed up for that?”

“My parents are not your average parents,” I replied impatiently, before turning to his girlfriend. “You must be Chrissy?”

“I am,” she nodded.

Her eyes were hard to read under the streetlights, but I could still tell that she was sharp and alert. I started to feel a little uneasy, but my eagerness to get this deal over with was clouding my judgment.

“So… do you have what we asked for?”

“Yes,” I said, passing him the package without hesitation. “This is going to be the last package.”

“Don’t you have any more?” Chrissy asked, glancing at the package in Larry’s hands.

“No,” I said. “As I told Larry, I’m done with this. You’ll have to find a different dealer. Now I’ve got to get going so…”

“Oh right,” Larry nodded, as he pushed some cash into my hand.

“Thanks,” I said, turning my back on them.

“Hold on,” Chrissy said, making me freeze in place. “I’m going to need you to stand there.”

I turned around, and from my peripheral vision, I saw two more figures approach. Instinctively, I knew what was happening. It all made sense now. The truth had been staring me in the face, but my need to unload the last of my pot had blinded me to the signs. Of course she was too good for Larry… because in reality, she would never have given him the time of day. She was not some random loner looking for a high. She was a narc.

Larry didn’t catch on as fast as I did. He stood there gaping at her. “Why do you need him to stand there?” he asked, trying to put his hand around her.

“Keep your hands by your sides,” she said curtly, moving away from his grasp. “And no sudden movements.”

Then she pulled out a gun from the waistband of her jeans and Larry finally understood as her backup came up behind her. The two men behind her hadn’t even drawn their weapons. I think they both knew it was pointless. We were as good as caught. Larry turned to me with shock on his face.

“Fuck,” he said.

I shook my head at him and raised my hands over my head. “You fucking moron,” I said. “You should have known.”

Chrissy gave a triumphant smile as she gestured for the two cops behind her to come forward and cuff us. I felt my heart stagger uncomfortably in my chest as I realized what this bust meant for me. I couldn’t count on being lucky this time around. I would be facing jail time, and I still didn’t think that was the worst part.

The worst part was that Zoey would find out. I had promised her that there would be no more secrets and on the night I introduce her to my parents, I get arrested for dealing… again. She had already given me a second chance, despite the fact that she was hurt and angry. She had supported me at this dinner with my parents because she loved me.

And I had let her down… again.