Chapter 34

After giving Suzie a goodbye kiss, Sean stepped out of the car holding a huge bag containing his new school clothes. He watched the car pull out of the driveway. Tired, he headed to the front door thinking that he would take a nice long nap. Stepping in the house, he found Lily, his father, and Mr. Emery watching baseball on television. Pasting a smile on his face, he said, “Hello, everyone.”

“Hello, Sean,” Lily said with a smile.

His father said, “Hi, Son. I heard there was a little excitement at the mall.”

Mr. Emery looked at Sean through narrowed eyes and growled.

Glancing over at Mr. Emery, Sean swallowed and then said, “Yes. A troll tore up the store. The police didn’t believe me until the troll stomped a police car into a pancake outside the mall.”

“We saw it on television,” his father said.

Nodding her head, Lily said, “That troll was real ugly.”

“Stomp was a nice enough fellow when I talked with him,” Sean said. He looked over at Mr. Emery and smiled at him. He received a growl in return.

“I guess appearances can be deceiving,” Lily said. She smiled and said, “He looks kind of strong. I like strong boys.”

“You can date when you’re fifty,” her father said automatically.

“I’m going to be a cheerleader when I grow up,” Lily said crossing her arms.

“No you’re not,” Sean said automatically.

Looking at Lily, her father said, “You and I are going to have a long talk about boys later.”

“You tell her, Dad. Young girls need a strong hand from their fathers when it comes to dealing with boys,” Sean said.

“You’re right,” his father said.

“I wouldn’t trust any boy that came around here to see Lily. You don’t know what they’re like,” Sean said. He felt pretty good until he glanced in Mr. Emery’s direction. He mumbled, “I’ve got to learn to keep my mouth shut.”

Mr. Emery growled while looking at Sean.

Sean swallowed heavily and decided that a change in subject was needed. Trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible, he said, “So what do you think of those Democrats, Mr. Emery?”

“I’m a Democrat,” Mr. Emery said.

“So you must really like Democrats,” Sean said thinking he could have picked a worse topic.

“Not really,” Mr. Emery said.

“So what do you think of those Republicans?” Sean said forcing a large smile on his face.

“I’m also a Republican,” Mr. Emery said.

Sean’s smile faltered for a second. He said, “What do you think of those Independents?”

“I am an Independent,” Mr. Emery said enjoying watching Sean sweat.

“Green Party?”

“Yes, I’m a member.”

“Anarchist Party?”

“Member in good standing.”

Sean looked around for a second trying to come up with something to say. Finally, he said, “You have pretty diverse political views.”

“Not really.”

“You’re not making this easy,” Sean said still trying to keep a smile on his face.

“That’s right,” Mr. Emery said.

“Oh, boy,” Sean said. He looked to his father and asked, “Any suggestions?”

“You look like you’re doing fine, Son,” his father answered sitting back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He had a big smile on his face. He remembered having a few discussions just like that with his father-in-law.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Sean said looking over at Mr. Emery with a worried expression on his face. The man looked even angrier than when he had come home.

His father said, “Mrs. Michaels didn’t raise a fool. I’d never step in between a father and his daughter’s boyfriend. That’s a real good way to get hurt.”

Sean muttered, “I wish I had to go to work now.”

“What was that?” his father asked.

“I was just thinking about work,” Sean said.

Mr. Emery patted the couch next to him and said, “All work and no play can make Sean a very dull boy. Come here. Have a seat and watch the game.”

“Uh, who is playing?” Sean asked thinking that sitting next to Mr. Emery would put him within arm’s reach. He wasn’t sure that was such a great idea. In fact, he was pretty sure that it was a very bad idea.

“I wouldn’t worry about little details like that if I were you. It doesn’t matter,” Mr. Emery said.

Impressed, Lily said, “Isn’t Mr. Emery a nice man? Suzie wants you to do perverted things with her and he invites you to sit next to him.”

Sean suddenly became a firm believer in the virtue of cowardliness. It was time to retreat. Lifting his bag containing his school clothes, Sean said, “Let me put these away and I’ll join you in a bit.”

His father rose from the couch and took the sack from his hands. Patting Sean on the shoulder, he said, “That’s okay. I’ll take them upstairs for you.”

“I’m not going to get out of this, am I?” Sean asked.

“That’s right,” his father answered thinking that Sean looked a lot like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Turning to look over at Mr. Emery, he asked, “Would you like another beer?”

Mr. Emery said, “Sure, I’d love one.”

Edging over to the couch, Sean asked, “Will you promise me one thing?”

“What?” Mr. Emery asked.

“Will you ask Lily to leave the room before the blood starts to flow,” Sean answered. He sat down and flinched when a hand settled on his shoulder. He glanced at the hand thinking that it was pretty close to his throat.

“Good idea,” Mr. Emery said with a grin. Looking over at Lily, he said, “Lily, why don’t you help your daddy take that stuff up to Sean’s room?”

Lily went over to her father and said, “Isn’t that nice? They want to be alone while they play together.”

“Very nice,” Sean’s father said leaving the room.

After Lily left the room, Mr. Emery looked over at Sean. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. To Sean, it kind of sounded like a bull snorting before it charged. Mr. Emery asked, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Sean was definitely not expecting a question. Pretty sure that it was a trick question, Sean answered, “I bleed pretty easily.”

“I’m talking about you and Suzie,” Mr. Emery said shaking his head.

“I’m crazy about her,” Sean said hoping that was the right answer. He wondered if there was a book to read that would allow him to prepare for tests like this. If not, someone should publish one. He would definitely buy a copy.

“She spent the night with you,” Mr. Emery said.

Sean sat there for a moment waiting for the rest of the question. When he realized that there wasn’t a question, he wondered if he was supposed to say something. Having heard the breakfast conversation, he knew that it wouldn’t do any good to lie. Finally, he shut his eyes, cringed, and said, “Yes.”

“Was it your idea?”

Sean nervously licked his lips and answered, “I was in no condition to think well enough to have an idea, Sir.”

“Were you drinking?”

“No,” Sean answered feeling good that he was able to come up with an immediate answer for a change.

“Drugs?”

“No,” Sean answered thinking that getting two easy questions in a row was pretty good.

“So why weren’t you thinking?” Mr. Emery asked. There was an edge to his voice that sent a shiver down Sean’s spine.

Sean blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “She kissed me.”

“And?”

“I can’t think when she kisses me,” Sean said holding out his hands. He knew it was a pretty stupid answer, but it was the truth.

“I remember how that was,” Mr. Emery said shaking his head.

“Oh?”

Mr. Emery took another deep breath and exhaled loudly. Sean wished he would stop doing that. It really did remind him of a bull about to charge. Mr. Emery said, “You had better treat her nice. Let her set the pace and don’t pressure her into doing anything she doesn’t want to do. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sean said.

“You do know what is going to happen to you if you hurt her?” Mr. Emery asked.

Sean was glad to have another question that he knew how to answer, despite the fact that he didn’t like the answer. He said, “Mrs. Emery will take me to the vet. You will cut me up into little pieces and feed me to the troll.”

Mr. Emery looked at Sean wondering what threats his wife had used on him. Curious, he asked, “What is going to happen at the vet?”

“He’s going to cut my balls off,” Sean answered squeezing his legs together. Just saying it was painful enough.

Mr. Emery smiled and said, “I didn’t even think of that. Taking you to the vet now would eliminate all of my concerns.”

“Why did I know you would say that?” Sean asked shaking his head.

Mr. Emery said, “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

Sean’s father returned to the room and asked, “Is everything worked out?”

“Yes,” Mr. Emery said.

“Yes,” Sean said feeling somewhat relieved. He figured that he could live with threats with much greater ease than a broken body.

“Good,” Sean’s father said handing a beer over to Mr. Emery.

Lily looked at Sean and said, “No blood. I was kind of wondering what you’d look like all beaten and battered.”

“I would have been red,” Sean said rolling his eyes.

“Who’s winning?” Sean’s father asked gesturing to the game.

“Mr. Emery is,” Sean said gesturing to the man seated next to him.

“Not so dumb after all,” Mr. Emery said with a chuckle.

“So did you go to Shirley’s Treasures with Suzie?” Lily asked brightly.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sean said shaking his head. He really wanted to get some tape and tape her mouth shut. A few more questions like that and he’d be visiting the vet.

Sean’s mother chose that moment to arrive home from Suzie’s house. She held up the bag with the Shirley’s Treasures label on it and said, “Look at where we’ve been.”