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I sat across the diner booth from Dad, poking at my burger and fries. It’d been hours since I’d eaten, but I didn’t have an appetite. I’d spent hours shuttling Dad around town to look at rentals. The more he talked, the worse I felt.
I felt horrible Mom and Dad were getting divorced. And I felt even worse that he was so excited to move down to Vegas to be close to me. I know it’s selfish and horrible to say, but I didn’twantthat. Don’t get me wrong. I love my dad. But abigreason why I wanted to come to Las Vegas was to get away from home, so I could have freedom and room to grow.
“Hell, if I get a big enough place,” Dad said between bites, “youcould move in with me! It could help you save on rent while you’re in school. What do you think about that?”
I stared at my plate.
“You’ve barely said a word all day, Izzy. Is something wrong?”
Ihadto tell him. This couldn’t wait any longer.
I took a deep breath and started to speak. “Listen, Dad. I really don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’ll feel awful if I don’t speak my mind. If you decide to move to Vegas, that’s fine. But please don’t do it for my sake.”
He reared back. “Huh? What do you mean?”
“The whole reason I wanted to come down here in the first place was because I felt like I couldn’t be myself at home. I needfreedom,Dad. I need to spread my wings and fly.”
“I understand that, sweetie,” he said. “Forget I said the thing about us living together, then. That was stupid. I know how you college kids are. I get it.”
“No … no. It’s more than that. Listen, Dad. I’ve got to tell you something.”
“What’s up?”
I took a deep breath. “I haven’t been honest with you.”
“About what?” he asked, his eyebrow raising.
“I’ve been taking a break from school so I can work and save money instead.”
He gasped. “What?Since when?”
“I took last semester off. And this semester, too.”
“You took the whole fuckingyearoff?” Stunned, he dropped his palms to the table, making the dishes and flatware clatter. “Why would you do that?!”
“Because I didn’t know what I wanted to study.”
“What happened to pre-law?” he countered. “Izzy, the plan was to get you into a good law school so you can become a sports agent.”
“That wasyourplan. Not mine. I never wanted that, Dad. I don’t have any interest in laworcontract negotiations. I actually can’t think of anything more insanely boring. I only went along with it to make you happy. But I can’t do it anymore.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell me that first before you did something rash, like dropping out?”
“I tried, Dad, but you never listened to me. If you’re not going to listen, what’s the point of telling you?”
“Nah.” He gave a dismissive shake of his head. “The problem is, you’re too young, and you can’t look ahead. You don’t realize how much the real world sucks. Once you’ve gone through that soul-sucking nine-to-six grind, you’ll understand why I was trying to push you towards a good career path.” He rolled his eyes. “Hell, I wish I’d become a sports agent myself.”
“Then maybe you should do it? If you’re so unhappy doing sales, why not? You should chase your own dreams, Dad.”
He chortled. “It’s too late for me, Izzy. My path is already set. But you’re just getting started, and it’s never been a better time for women in the sports industry. I’m telling you, these agencies aredyingto have women in their ranks—”
I didn’t need to hear his pitch again. I’d heard it a thousand times already.
“Dad, it’s a good idea. I’m not denying that. But it’s not what Iwant to do. It’s whatyouwant to do. And I don’t want to live yourlife. I want to live my own life.”
“So what do you want to do instead? Make a career out of dog sitting?” He laughed arrogantly. “I know Rust is paying you well, but let’s be realistic, that’s not a long term thing. He’ll be retired in a year or two and that’ll be that. And where will you be then? Do you know any other professional athletes who are dying to hire a full-time dog sitter?”
