Contessa (84 page)

“
No, yeah, of course,
”
I stutter.
“
I want that.
”

“
Okay. Even if he says
‘
no
’
on Saturday, the idea will be there. We
’
ll give him some time to reconsider. How does that sound?
”

“
Sounds good,
”
I say with a yawn.

“
Go sleep off that tequila, silly.
”

“
Oh, you didn
’
t get your cupcake.
”

“
Save it for me. I
’
ll have it Saturday.
”

“
Okay. I love you, Jon. Happy birthday, and I
’
m so proud of you.
”

“
Thanks, Olivia. I love you, too. Sleep well.
”

CHAPTER 1
6

The next day, I fret through all of my classes, anxious to talk to Jon. I
’
d tried calling him at lunch, but he keeps his phone off at school, so I knew I wouldn
’
t get a chance to talk to him. I
’
d made him think everything was fine last night, but with my head now clear, I realize I
’
ve put him in a really bad situation. He normally tutors some freshmen on Fridays, so he
’
ll be busy until after dinner tonight.

“
Call me as soon as you get this,
”
I text him after school.

“
What are you doing tonight?
”
Camille asks me on my way to my car.

“
Nothing that I know of. Aren
’
t you seeing Finn?
”

“
No, his mom
’
s getting remarried this weekend, so–
”

“
Oh, that
’
s right. In Boston?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Wanna come over?
”
I ask, anxious for a distraction to keep my mind off of what I told my dad last night. Although I went to bed thinking he wasn
’
t angry, I know he has some choice things to say to Jon. And I know Jon
’
s going to be pretty upset with me.

“
Sure! I
’
m just going to run home and change.
”

“
Okay. I
’
ll be there in about a half hour.
”
I make one stop on my way home, returning a handbag that I decided I really didn
’
t like. My dad
’
s car is in the drive when I pull up.

“
You
’
re home early,
”
I call to him from the doorway, curious as to why he
’
s here and fearing the worst.

“
Well, Jon called me earlier today,
”
he says from the kitchen.
“
He said he had something to talk to me about.
”
I stand still in the hallway, trying to gauge my dad
’
s tone.

“
Oh? What was it?
”

“
I don
’
t know, Tessa. We were waiting for you to talk about it. Come in here.
”

I drop my bag in the foyer and walk quickly to the kitchen.
“
Why are you here?
”
I ask Jon, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. He
’
s sitting on a chair at the kitchen table, facing my dad, who
’
s seated on a stool at the bar. I can feel the tension immediately. Dad looks very serious, but Jon looks upbeat and completely oblivious. Which he is.

“
A couple reasons,
”
he says as he stands up and hands my dad a small square piece of paper.
“
First, I want to take Olivia to my senior prom.
”
I realize the paper is the invitation. My dad looks over it pensively.

“
It
’
s a month away. A lot can happen between now and then,
”
my father states. Jon stares at him, confused, waiting for another answer, a
better
answer.

“
I feel fairly confident I
’
ll still want her to go,
”
he says.

“
If you do–and she wants to go–then we can probably work something out.
”
Dad sighs, his expression still harder than normal
,
as he continues to examine the printed card.

“
I do,
”
I tell him as I take a seat in the chair next to Jon
’
s. He sits down next to me and
holds
my hand in his.
“
Of course I want to.
”

“
What else did you need to talk about?
”
Dad asks.

“
If you see at the bottom, Jack, there
’
s information about an after-party the school is hosting. It
’
s meant to keep us out of trouble.
”
He laughs nervously.
“
All of my friends are staying for that, and I was kind of hoping that
Olivia
could, too.
”

My dad doesn
’
t even consider it.
“
I don
’
t know, Jon.
”
He looks up and directly at me.
“
We might be able to talk about the possibility of extending your curfew for a few hours,
”
he says,
“
maybe until one or two, but this all night thing... I don
’
t think that
’
s a good idea.
”

“
It
’
s fully chaperoned, Jack,
”
Jon explains.
“
No alcohol or anything.
”
I close my eyes at the mention of alcohol, knowing what
’
s coming next.

“
Speaking of alcohol,
”
my dad begins, predictable as always. I swallow hard, bracing myself. Jon shakes free of my grasp, and I realize I was squeezing his hand very tightly.
“
Tell me about last night.
”

“
I
’
m not sure what you mean,
”
my boyfriend says.
“
I
’
m not sure what one has to do with the other.
”

“
So you didn
’
t go to a bar last night?
”
Dad asks.

I open my eyes in time to see Jon flashing a quick glance in my direction. He answers before I can interject, although I can
’
t figure out what I would say.
“
Well, my uncle wanted to see me. He does work in a bar. I got accepted into Columbia,
”
he explains quietly and cautiously.

“
Did you have a drink?
”

“
No sir,
”
he lies. I watch my dad for his reaction.

“
Livvy told me you did,
”
he argues.
“
Is
she
lying? Or are
you
?
”

“
Dad–
”

“
I want Jon to answer me,
”
he interrupts. I dip my head into my hands.

“
I apologize, sir–
”

“
Jack,
”
he corrects him.

“
Jack, yes, I
’
m sorry. We each had a drink.
”
My head snaps up quickly to catch my dad
’
s hard stare.

“
You...
each
... had a drink?
”

“
Yes–
”
Jon starts.

“
No–
”
I try to stop the downward spiral, placing my hand on his arm.

“
No more lies, Livvy!
”
my dad yells, standing up and pointing at me.
“
I
’
ve had it!
”

“
We each had two,
”
Jon tells my father.
“
I wasn
’
t aware that she was even taking the second one–
”

“
Well that just goes to prove my point,
”
Dad says.
“
When she is in your care, I expect her to be your first priority! I expect you to know where she is and what she
’
s doing!
”

“
I don
’
t need to be taken care of, Dad! I
’
m an adult.
”

“
By whose standard?
”
my father barks back at me.

“
She was standing right behind me,
”
Jon interrupts and continues.
“
And I apologize, I would never have given her that second drink. I believe my uncle and I both excluded her from the second one, but she was able to get served anyway.
”

“
What about the first? Why the hell did you give my sixteen-year-old daughter any alcohol in the first place?! Do you realize I could have your uncle arrested for this?
”

“
I didn
’
t think she was going to drink it!
”
Jon yells, feeling cornered and frustrated and worried for his uncle.
“
She said she didn
’
t want it, so I never thought she
’
d actually drink it. Please, don
’
t–
”

“
I didn
’
t
want
it,
”
I tell my dad, trying to get a foothold,
“
but I took it myself, no one gave it to me. I was just excited for Jon. I was caught up in the moment. He
’
d just told me he got accepted to Columbia, and–
”

“
Then why did you drink it, Olivia, if you didn
’
t want it?
”
my dad asks tersely.

“
I don
’
t know–
”

“
That
’
s not a very
adult
answer,
”
he warns me sarcastically.
“
And why did you lie about it?
”

“
I don
’
t know!
”
I yell back at him.
“
Because I don
’
t think it
’
s a big deal–
”

“
Well, it is.
”
He
’
s starting to sound more composed again, and returns to the stool at the bar. He takes a sip of water and clears his throat.
“
It should have been obvious to you both. It
’
s a big deal to me and to your mother, and I don
’
t want it to happen again.
”

“
I understand,
”
Jon says, his jaw taut.
“
It
’
s crystal clear. It won
’
t happen again.
”