The Truth Comes Out

From the fridge you pull out the pitcher of lemonade that you’d made special for Penny’s arrival. A deep feeling of peace settles into you as you fill the tall glasses. This simple act of pouring two glasses instead of one meant a lot to you. You’d been so young when Penny was born that at this stage being a single father was the defining feature of your adult existence. Penny hadn’t been wrong when she said you were lonely but the more appropriate word would have been lost. You were so used to looking after her you’d forgotten how to look after yourself, if you ever knew how to begin with. You often thought of that dull, gray, purposeless, life-sapping depression you had dipped into before joining El and Zoey that fateful night. If you didn’t move on with your life soon you worried you might end up right back there again.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Penny’s voice snaps you out of your own head.

“Huh?” You look up. “Oh, hey Peanut. I was just…thinking how nice it was to have you home.” You slide her glass across the kitchen island toward her.

She sits on one of the two high stools. With Bonbon still held to her chest with her right hand she takes a long pull of the drink with her left. “Mmm.”

Coming around you sit beside her, having to hop up onto the stool where your taller daughter had just had to lean back. For a while the pair of you just sit enjoying the comfortable silence. Gradually you sense a change come over your daughter.

“Daddy?” Penny says softly. Just by the fragile timbre in her voice you knew she was about to share whatever had been bothering her.

“What’s up, Peanut?” You slip an arm around her.

Notably avoiding your gaze she nuzzles into the kitten’s furry side and kisses his little head. “You’re gonna be mad at me.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that, hm?”

“I…um…quit…school.”

“You quit!? What!?”

“I finished my classes. I got my credits.” Shaking her head she says. “But…I don’t want to go to Harvard. I never did. I only went because…it would make you proud of me.”

“Baby! I AM proud of you!”

“I don’t like it there, Daddy. I want to go to school here. I want to be with my friends. I want to be able to visit Grandma and Auntie. I want to live here. I wanna come home!”

“Shhh.” You pull her into a hug as the tears begin to flow. “Heyyy. Shhh. It’s okay. You’re homesick. That’s perfectly normal.”

“Mmm.” She shakes her head. “There’s more. Something happened, Daddy. Something bad. I…I don’t want to go back there. Ever.”

“Okay.” You pet her soft hair. “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”

Taking a moment to collect herself she pulls back. Holding Bonbon in one hand she oh so tenderly pets him with a finger. “I, um, I had a date.”

“A date?”

“Mm.” She nods. “With a…handsome guy. Tall, taller than me. He’s on the wrestling team.”

“Okay.”

“He…he gave me drinks. Lots…of drinks. He was nice, until we were alone. He…tried to kiss me. Daddy…he…he touched me. I didn’t like it. I didn’t want him too. But…he touched me anyway.”

You tone turns darker as a father’s rage swells in your heart. Keeping your cool as best you can you say. “Go on.”

“I said I had to go. That I wasn’t that kind of girl. He grabbed me. I told him to stop but…he wouldn’t. He was calling me a ‘dick girl’ and a ‘tease’ and said ‘do you know who I am’ and stuff like that. He was touching me! Touching me all over! He wouldn’t stop! I didn’t know what to do! It all happened so fast!”

Fiona had once told you that if you ever needed anybody to ‘disappear’, no questions asked, to let her know. At the time you thought it a joke. Now you were seriously considering it. And God pity that man if your big sister found out what he’d done with her precious only niece.

“What’s this boy’s name, Penny? He’s not going to get away with this. Dad’s going to take care of everything, okay?”

“Nooo.” She shakes her head. “You don’t understand. When he wouldn’t stop…I-I-I…I hit him.”

“You hit him? You? You hit someone?”

“Mm.” She nods. “I hit him, Daddy. I hit him real hard. He wasn’t moving. They…they had to call an ambulance.” She looks at you, her soul in torment. “He’s still in the hospital now. I didn’t mean to hurt him, Daddy. I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s going to be okay, baby.” You cup her cheek in your hand. “You were just defending yourself.”

“I know you said I should never hit anybody…”

“No, no, no. Sometimes it’s okay. You did the right thing. When did this happen?”

“Last weekend.” She whispers. “You said I should get out and…meet some guys. So I did. I thought you’d be so happy when you heard I actually did it.”

“Last weekend? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Closing her eyes she leans her cheek into your touch. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. This man and woman came to visit me after. They were from some Alumni group or something. They said…if I didn’t say anything that it would all go away. No media, no investigation, nothing. They said his family doesn’t want any attention around this. They made me sign some papers. I just wanted it all to end. I just wanted to get away from there.” She leans forward for another hug. Burying her face in your shoulder she shakes her head. “I don’t want to go back. I don’t like it there. I want to be here. I want to be with youuuu!”

“Okay, Peanut.” You stroke her back. “It’s okay. Daddy’s here. Everything’s going to be okay.”