Chapter 3 – Scott
This call was a hard one to make. I knew how important it was, and for some reason I was far more nervous than I should have been. Why did I feel like everything was riding on tonight? I felt guilty springing it on her in such a way, but now there was no choice. If my father was willing to meet Jesse and give her a chance, I was going to do my best. Just telling him about her was enough to let him know that Jesse meant something to me. That was why he’d invited her over for dinner. Even my mother was going to be there, and to have the two of them together was already a miracle in itself.
“Jesse?”
“No, this is Melissa. Do you want me to get her for you, Scott?”
I felt bad that she recognized my voice, but I didn’t recognize the difference between her and my girlfriend. I didn’t want to think about that, so I quickly replied that I needed to speak to Jesse.
“She’s busy right now. Do you want me to have her call you back?”
“Please do. Tell her that I have something important to talk to her about and the quicker she calls the better.”
Melissa sounded unsure, but told me that she would relay the message. After thanking her, I went back to the paperwork that I still hadn’t even gone through, let alone signed. I sighed to myself. I was putting it off as proof that I didn’t have to listen to my father and jump when he told me to, but it was killing me to not do it. I was about to start in on it when I got a phone call. It was my personal line, so I was hoping that it was Jesse.
“Hey, Scott, what’s up?” She sounded like she was dreading the call.
“Nothing much. I was just going to see if you were busy tonight.”
“Tonight? No, not really. Why, what’s going on?”
The anxiety was still in her voice. I wasn’t sure where it came from, but I pushed on with my thought. “My parents would like to meet you, Jesse. they want to go out tonight and grab some dinner. I told them that we would come if we could, so I guess I’m wondering if you even want to go?”
“You want me to meet your parents?” The dread had turned to shock. I wasn’t sure what was going on in her head, but it was clear that she hadn’t been expecting that. I couldn’t blame her. I was still surprised myself that I’d chosen this course with any woman.
“Yeah, it’s not a big deal, just a little get-together and all of that. No biggie.” Why did I keep saying that? It was a big deal. Actually it was an extremely big deal, and there was nothing but trepidation in my heart. I wanted them to like her, but more than that I needed my father to approve of her. It was very important, and while I wanted to rebel, I knew that it was true.
***
My father kept looking at Jesse as if she were an insect that he was going to squash. I’d been worried about him looking at her in another way, but instead he looked down on her. Although Jesse was too polite to say anything, I could tell that she could feel it. It wasn’t what I’d wanted, but in the back of my mind, I wasn’t surprised that this was how it was turning out.
“So, tell me about your parents, Jesse.”
That was something that I hadn’t even asked about. I hadn’t asked about family or much of anything else. We really didn’t talk much when we were together, so that was one question that I didn’t mind hearing the answer to, even though I thought my father was being rather nosy. At least my mother wasn’t acting the same way. I knew that she wouldn’t. She was just happy that someone meant enough to me to introduce her.
“Well, there’s not much to tell. My mother has been gone since I was a child, so my father pretty much raised me. We opened the bistro together and were running it up until he died a couple of months ago.”
I couldn’t stop looking at her. Although she didn’t show it on her face, there was a pain in her eyes that was usually not there, as well as a slight shake to the hand that was bringing her glass to her lips. I felt ashamed for never asking. Why hadn’t I known that about her? That was something that I should have asked and I should have known. Here I was thinking one thing, not knowing that she was still so positive after everything that she’d been through. It made me look at her differently, and dare I say it, it made me love her even more than before, if that was possible.
“I’m sorry to hear that you lost your mother so young, Jesse. I don’t know what I would have done without mine. She taught me everything I know.”
Jesse kind of chuckled and agreed. “Yes, my father trying to teach me how to put makeup on was a challenge, but that’s what friends are for. My mother didn’t die, though, she just left. I’m not sure where she went and I don’t really care. She didn’t want to stay when I was a child, so I have no use for her now.”
There was a steel in her voice that I’d only heard when we first met. I could still hear it in my mind and I knew that Jesse was far more upset than she appeared. She was good at hiding it.
“Sorry to bring it up. It must be a hard memory.”
“Not really. Everything happens for a reason, and I don’t regret how I was raised. My father did a good job, the best that he could.”
“So your father, what did he do?”
Jesse turned from my mother to my father. There was a bit of defensiveness in her eyes. She hadn’t taken long to see my father for what he truly was. I don’t know why, but it made me so happy that she could see right through him too.
“He cooked, sir.”
“I hear that he got himself into a bunch of gambling debt and was about to lose that place.”
I would have killed my father if I could have. The look on Jesse’s face was enough to make my heart clench. Did she know, or was this a shock? That must be why the finances were messed up. I would have never guessed, but no matter the truth, it was obvious that Jesse didn’t want anyone talking about her father in such a way.
“Yes, sir, I believe that he did get himself in debt with a few people, but I assure you that the bistro isn’t going anywhere.”
“Oh really? How is that?”
She looked at me and then took another drink from her glass. Jesse didn’t have to say where she’d gotten the money. The look my father gave me was enough of an answer. I was going to hear about that, I was sure of it.