We’re Not Going to Take It (Steel)
Emily flinches at her father’s words, and I put my arm around her to comfort her. This wasn’t how I’d pictured her introducing her parents to me, but at least they finally know about me.
“We met at the carnival, yes. Now Steel lives here.”
“Oh, and what does he do now?” her dad says.
“He’s looking for a job.”
“I’ve been picking up lots of day work until I figure out something permanent,” I say.
Her dad’s eyes shift to me and then back to Emily.
“How old is he?”
“Twenty seven,” I say.
Her father ignores me, and says, “I’m not going to sit here and watch my twenty-year-old daughter throw her life away with some degenerate.”
“I’m an adult, Dad.”
“I don’t care how old you are, no self-respecting woman goes around with his kind.”
“It’s not safe,” her mom whispers. Does she think I can’t hear her?
“Emily, why are you disrespecting yourself like this?” her dad says.
“You know he’s sitting right here, right? You could talk to him, you know.”
Her dad looks at me with disgust. Papa Smurf wasn't kidding about the rest of the world hating on us.
“You don’t have to do this, you know. Whatever point you’re trying to make has been made,” her dad says.
“The only point I’m trying to make is that I want you all to get along,” Emily says.
“We can’t have him in our house for dinner, he’ll steal something. That’s probably how he got his nickname. Does he have a criminal record?”
“Give me a break, he’s not a thief. Maybe if you actually talked to him, you’d find out what a great guy he is.”
“Get real, Emily, he’s a slimy carnie,” he says.
Unfuckingbelievable.
”Listen to yourself. I can’t believe how rude you’re being,” Emily says, leaning across the table.
I stroke down her arm and pull her elbow until she’s sitting straight again. I let go of her and roughly scratch my temple before resting my hand on her arm. It’s best if she stays calm.
“You listen to me”, her father says. “I’m not going to sit by and watch my daughter do something stupid like turn into a carny’s whore.”
Enough.
“Sir, I can sit here and listen to you insult me all day long, ain’t nothing I never heard before. But don’t think I’m going to sit here for one second and listen to you insult Emily,” I say, my voice steady and forceful.
Her mother visible recoils, I’m tempted to say ‘boo’ to her, but she’d fall off her chair.
“What'? That’s supposed to mean something to me?” her dad says, his nostrils flaring.
“It means you’re sitting here lecturing your daughter about having some respect for herself, so where’s yours?”
“My what?”
“Respect for her. Because all I’m hearing is disrespect. And I’d got to tell you, she’s worth more respect than anyone I’ve ever known.”
Emily starts weeping, and I pull her into my arms. I don’t give a fucking damn about her parents. I don’t think I’ll ever give a damn about them. They don’t even want to have a polite conversation with me? Fuck them.
All that matters now is her. This is crushing her, I can tell. It’s everything she’s been stressing about come true.
“Are you okay, Goldie?” I say into her ear, my voice low.
She sobs harder against my chest. I blot out everything else, her parents, the food court, the mall, everything except her.
“Do you want to stay, or do you want me to get you out of here? It’s up to you.”
Emily’s mother starts to speak without even attempting to lower her voice, “Oh, dear God, she said she was going to stay at Courtney’s tonight, Greg.”
A shudder runs through Emily's body. She’s obviously heard what her mother said. Fire courses through my veins. How dare they do this to her.
“Come on, we’re leaving,” I say, standing and pulling Emily up with me. I glare at her parents and say, “She’ll speak to you when you can be civil. You should be ashamed of yourselves, treating your daughter this way.”
Her dad starts to say something, but I don’t hear it. I need to get her out of here.
I have no idea if they’ll follow us to hassle her some more, or if her dad will try to stop us from going, so I hustle my ass, half carrying Emily, all the way to her car.
“I’ll drive,” I say, grabbing her purse and fishing through it for her key.
Once the car is unlocked, I open the passenger door and bustle her into the car, all while watching behind me for signs of her father. I hop into the driver's seat, slide it back to make room for my legs, and pull away. Her phone beeps, probably a text message.
After a mile or so, I ask, “How are you doing?”
A massive sob shudders out of her chest. I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh, wondering how fast I can drive to get back to the motel. Ten over, twenty? I don’t want those two following us or finding out where we’re staying.
Emily’s sobbing lessens after a few more miles. I don’t think there’s any point in talking until I can do it with her in my arms. She needs the time to digest what just happened. I’ve got to calm myself down anyway. Her phone rings, and she pulls it out of her purse and turns it off.
The last thing I need to do is saying something about her parents that pushes her back to them. Even though I’d like to bust her dad’s nose open right about now.
We pull into the Motel 6 parking lot and I park near my door. I help Emily out of the car, and grip her hand while I unlock the door to the room.
The second we’re in the room and the door is shut behind us, I pull her against me and hold her tight.
“I need some water,” she says, looking up at me.
“Sit down, I’ll get you some.”
I guide her to the side of the bed and she sits. There’s a wrapped glass on a shelf, and I unwrap it and fill it with water from the bathroom tap. Turning to leave the bathroom, I come face to face with Emily. Her eyes are puffy and rimmed in red.
“How could they treat you like that? They didn’t even give you a chance. No hi, how are you, nice to meet you. Nothing. They just sat there and insulted you.”
“Welcome to my world,” I say, passing her the glass.
“But why didn’t they listen to me at all? I told them what a great guy you are, and they didn’t give you a chance.”
“Honestly? I can’t say I’m too surprised. I told you, no one approves of their daughter hooking up with a carnie, especially not some rich guy like your father.”
“I don’t care, they were just plan rude, like you said. I can’t believe the way they treated you, or me,” she says.
“Hopefully it was just the shock of them finding out, and they’ll think about things tonight and be rational in the morning.”
Emily put the glass to her lips but doesn't open her mouth. Instead, she lets the water wash against her lips, her eyes narrowed. The longer she stands there, the more her eyes narrow.
She opens her lips and takes several gulps of water. I take the glass out of her hand and set it back on the shelf, before pulling her back into my arms.
“It pisses me off so much, it makes me want to run away and join the carnival,” she says, her voice steady and strong.
It’s a bad idea, she’s not cut out for the carnival. But I can’t deny her words make my heart leap a little.