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“And you want me to?” I asked.
“Oh God, no! That’s gross, Dad!” she exclaimed. “I’m not talking to you about my non-existent sex life!”
“Non-existent?” I echoed.
“You heard me,” she said dryly. “No boyfriend, no sex. In fact, if you want to know the truth, I’m sick of people in high school. They’re idiots.”
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?” I asked, feeling concerned. “I thought you were friends with Skylar and Chelsea. What happened to them?”
“They went boy crazy, that’s what happened,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They flaked on me because they have boyfriends and they want to spend all their time with them now.”
“Well, that’s kind of normal, don’t you think?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think it’s normal,” she retorted. “I think it’s being a shitty friend, is what I think it is.”
“Nina, language,” I warned.
“Said the pot calling the kettle black?” she asked, in a way that made me chuckle. “I’m just saying that it’s Christmas break and I don’t have anyone to do anything with because all of my friends are hanging out with their boyfriends and ignoring me!”
“I’m sorry, Punkin,” I said, earning an annoyed look. “I know it’s hard to be left out, but I’m sure there are things you can do this week that don’t involve the girls, right?”
“Like what?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out, I promise,” I said, wracking my brain to try and figure out what she could do while I was at work.
“Great, I’m going to spend the whole break with my father,” she lamented dramatically. “I’m such a loser!”
“Hey, I’m a great catch, I’ll have you know!” I objected.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes again. “Can we go shopping?”
“Wait, I’m offering a solution to the problem, and I’m going to get stuck with the bill for the retail therapy?” I asked. Nina laughed as I signaled the server to bring the check.
We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the mall as Nina looked for various things that she insisted she absolutely couldn’t live without. My sympathy extended from my wallet to the register in several places, and Nina left the mall smiling as several large shopping bags swung on her arms.
At home, she headed straight for her room to try everything on again and play with her hair. I picked up my phone and saw a message from Emily, “Long day running errands and talking with the insurance company. I could use some wine about now!” I laughed and dialed her number.
“Hey, how was your day?” she asked, as she picked up the phone.
“Not bad. I spent it with a grumpy 16-year-old who has been abandoned by her best friends,” I said. “But I think we found middle ground somewhere between my Visa and Mastercard.”
“Ah, retail therapy; I know it well!” Emily laughed. “That stinks about her friends, but that’s the high school thing. They haven’t yet learned to balance friends and lovers. It’s difficult.”
“Indeed,” I said, as I thought about what Nina might be able to do without friends. “Any ideas as to what she could do on her own while I’m at work? Something productive, maybe?”
“You mean, like joining a convent?” Emily laughed. I couldn’t help myself, and I laughed with her. “But seriously, there’s a ton of things she could do around here. In fact, I’m heading over to the Waltham Museum tomorrow to check out some of the collections. Maybe I could take Nina with me?”
“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked, wishing that I had the day off so I could go with them.
“I don’t think me minding will be the issue, Blake,” she laughed. “Nina might not want to spend the day with her History teacher.”
“She might if I bribe her,” I said, thinking about how I could entice my daughter to spend an entire day of vacation in a museum with one of her teachers.
“Well, I don’t mind taking her with me at all,” Emily said. “It might be a good way to inspire her to improve her History grade, and maybe it’ll be…”
I heard her trail off and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was, that it would be a good way to introduce Nina to our possible relationship. I still wasn’t sure I was ready to get serious about anyone, but if I was, then Emily was definitely a woman I’d want to get serious with.
“Blake?” Emily’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.
