He wanted to believe her. If this was true, then she hadn’t shoplifted the bag, but it still didn’t make any sense. “You ‘earned’ it. How, exactly?”
“I’ve been going to her store after school on the days you have soccer practice. I went that first day because I didn’t have anything else to do. The woman who works for her had called in sick that day and Sarah was super busy so she let me do her window display while she unpacked a shipment of handbags. She said I did a really good job so she let me choose one, you know, as payment. I liked this one, and I didn’t feel right about taking one of the really expensive bags.”
While he tried to process this new turn of events, he recognized the last statement for what it was—an attempt to turn the table in her favor.
“So let me get this straight. For the past two weeks you’ve been going there after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”
Her nod was almost imperceptible.
“The days you said you were at the library or at home doing homework.”
That question garnered another halfhearted acknowledgment.
“That explains why you’re already behind in your school work and failing assignments.”
“You’ve been checking up on me?”
“Of course I check up on you. I’m your father. That’s my job.” He was finding it hard to keep his reactions in check and not raise his voice. “You have a job, too. You need to keep up with your schoolwork and get decent grades, not waste time decorating store windows.”
“It’s not a waste of time. I knew you wouldn’t understand. Because of Mom you think being interested in fashion and wanting to wear nice clothes is totally lame, but it isn’t. Sarah said a lot of her customers told her how much they liked the displays I put together, and the Facebook page I set up for her is already really popular, too.”
Facebook? Not that he had any experience with it, but that had to be an even bigger waste of time than window-dressing. And what was Sarah thinking, letting his daughter do these things without asking him first? She’d had plenty of opportunities and hadn’t even hinted at it.
“So, you lied about the purse, you lied about what you’ve been doing after school. Anything else? Did you ask Sarah to lie to me, too? So she wouldn’t tell me—”
“I never asked her not to tell you. If she didn’t mention it, it’s because she didn’t think it was a big deal. And it isn’t!” She’d resorted to the high-pitched yelling that was the precursor to a full-on meltdown. “Seriously, I can’t believe you’re so...so not cool about anything.”
“Believe it. From now on, when I have soccer practice you will remain at the school, do your homework and study. There will be no more working at Sarah’s store, no more hanging out with your friends.”
“So I’m grounded?”
“If that’s what you want to call it, yes.”
“For how long?”
“Until your assignments are caught up and your grades improve. Then we’ll talk.”
“This is not fair! If I was on your stupid soccer team or if I’d joined the stupid chess club, you’d be fine with that. But you think the stuff I like to do is a waste of time, so I’m grounded?”
“You’re grounded because—” No. The increased decibel level reminded him that he was more than a dad, he was a teacher, too. He knew better than to let a situation get out of hand, and this one was. Time to bring it down a notch.
“We both need a time-out. Go up to your room. I’ll start dinner and call you when it’s ready. We can talk after we’ve both calmed down.”
“Oh, I’m going up to my room all right.” She stomped up the stairs. “But I will not be down for dinner,” she shouted over her shoulder. “And I’m not talking to you. Ever.”
He could still hear her footfall after she disappeared down the hallway.
And here we go. Wait for it.
Wham!
These abrupt reversions from nearly adult to petulant child and back again always caught him off guard and left him floundering. He doubted that slamming the door made her feel any better, and it probably scared the daylights out of the cat. Best to give her time to cool off and wait for the return of the nearly adult phase so they could have a conversation that involved less shouting and more listening on her part.
He went into the kitchen, debated what to fix for dinner, and decided on tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Kate had loved both since she was little, and since he knew from experience that she was stubborn enough to stay in her room until well past dinnertime, he could take some up to her and feel reasonably confident she would eat something.