"Jenn, we're not going to argue about this any more! I don't care if it is your eighteenth birthday coming up. You're not going to just take off for the beach for the weekend without a bit of planning. Your mother and I need to know a little bit more about the arrangements.
You don't even know where you'd be sleeping!"
"Dad, that's not true. I already told you that it was all set up for us to stay at Tammy's friend's family's beach house. The house is huge and has plenty of room for all fourteen of us!"
Stan Reynolds sighed. "Okay, what's Tammy's friend's family's name?"
Jennifer looked at her feet. "She didn't say."
"And where is this house?"
"I already told you, Ocean City!"
"Come on Jenn,
where
in Ocean City?"
"Above 125th Street."
"Work with me Jennifer, if I were to tell a cab driver to take me to the house 'above 125th Street' what would you guess at the odds that he'd drop me at the right house? How about an address?"
"She didn't say."
"And who'd be staying at this house?"
"Me and Tammy, Lucy Parker and a bunch of other guys."
"Guy guys or girl guys?"
"Some of each I guess, she didn't..."
"I know, I know, 'she didn't say'!
I'm sorry Jenn, that's just not good enough." Stan sat on the sofa next to his daughter and took her hands.
"Look kiddo, I know that father's sometimes have a problem with letting their daughters grow up and fly on their own. I try really hard to guard against holding on too tight but while you're out testing your wings I just want to see that you've got a soft place to land if the first few flights don't work out quite like you planned.
You didn't want a birthday party here, fine. You want to get out and be with friends, fine. You want to get a little wild and have some fun, fine. I'm not worried about drugs or alcohol because you've always shown me tons of common sense. Just let me feel like you've planned for some sort of safety net out there."
Jennifer had her arms crossed across her ample chest and her lips locked. She knew her father was probably right but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her giving in.
"Okay, I get it, you're not speaking to me, also fine, but you're still not going to Ocean City!" Stan got up and started to leave the room. As he got to the door he paused and turned around.
"I just thought of something." He shook his head. "I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth but..." He hesitated again, having a hard time giving voice to his thought.
"Why don't you go up and visit Carrie? I'm sure she'll try to get you in as much trouble as you could want but at least I've got the knowledge that you'd have her parent's house to fall back on if she gets too crazy for you." Carrie Lewis had been Jennifer's best friend from toddler days right up through when her father was promoted in his job and their family moved to New York. As they were growing up their families were always alternating babysitting duties so the two girls were frequently sharing a room as they grew.
But while Jennifer had grown into a very responsible straight A student, Carrie had blossomed into the school wild child.
They were both bright and excelled in their schoolwork, but while Jennifer's college application glowed with extra curricular activities; Captain of the swim team, editor of the school paper, active in the drama department and tennis team, Carrie's looked rather sparse.
Not that she didn't have just as many achievements, they just weren't the sort to impress an admissions office; first girl to lose her virginity, publisher of the best counterfeit hall passes, first girl in the school's history to be caught with a boy in the Principal's conference room, first student in her class to seduce a teacher...
Ordinarily Stan might not have considered encouraging his daughter to visit Carrie were it not for the fact that Jenn had, on several occasions, left Carry to come home early claiming her friend had gotten 'a little out of control'. Stan smiled internally, proud for having helped raised a very responsible daughter.
Although Jenn wasn't going to give her father the satisfaction of a response, his suggestion set off fireworks in her mind. 'What a great idea!' She'd missed the late-night talks she used to have with her friend. As soon as her dad rounded the corner she grabbed her Blackberry and texted her friend.
***my dads letting me visit u.want company 4 a couple wks?
The response arrived in mere seconds.
***k, in fact vry vry k. parents been trying 2 drag me 2 bostn pops 4 the quajillionth time thurs. you're my xcuse to get out!!!
***k I'll set it up and get back
***k
At dinner Jennifer told her father that she'd contacted Carrie and set it all up. She decided to be magnanimous and throw him a bone. "Carrie said her parents are all excited and want to take us to the Boston Pops."
Before her father could respond her mother jumped into the conversation. "I'm not crazy about Carrie's wild side but I still love her and you can go on one condition."
Another roadblock! "What condition?"
"Since tomorrow's your birthday I'm cooking breakfast and since I didn't get to make a cake for you I'm putting candles on the God Damn pancakes!"
Her mother
never
swore so the entire family's jaws dropped just before everyone started laughing. Jennifer got up and hugged her mother. "Okay Mom, candles and Vermont maple syrup it is!"
Her father made a reservation on the Acela express train to New York. "Your train gets into Penn Station at 6:45. Just grab a cab over to Grand Central. That's still the tail end of rush hour so there'll be plenty of northbound trains going up the Hudson." He thrust some folded bills into his daughter's hand.
"Thanks Daddy but I'm not wasting any of this on a cab. I can get a subway from Penn Station up to Times Square and take the shuttle over to Grand Central."
Stan looked at her in amazement. "How do you know that?"
"I looked it up online."
"Amazing! But I'd still feel safer with you in a cab."
"Daddy you just said it was still rush hour. The Ted Bundy mass murdering rapists don't come out until the commuters have left. You don't want me to tell you a fib and just go ahead and do it anyway, do you?"