I could hear my parents talking on the patio in the back when I got home from school. It was a gorgeous day in June, the kind that made me extra glad to be done school for the day, and made me just want to drop my books into a corner somewhere and sit outside next to the pool, enjoying the unusually warm spring day. However, for some reason, both my parents were home, so it looked like I'd spend most of the evening studying for my final exams, the first one being the next week.
I was almost done my final year of school, and I was itching to get out of it. I had already decided what I wanted to do next year, and I had earned enough credits and all my requirements by the first semester. I didn't need any of the classes I was taking, but my parents were insistent that I finish the school year. Even though I had turned eighteen in February and could have just gone against them and left school, I wanted live at home until I got on my feet so that I would never have to deal with loans or anything during university. If I left high school early, my parents wouldn't let me do that.
"Is that you, Claire?" my mom called.
"Yeah," I answered, kicking my shoes off and walking through the kitchen to talk to her. I could see her and my dad sitting on the patio, and I was surprised to see my dad's best friend, Mr. Hansen, sitting with them. "Hi, Mr. Hansen," I said. "I didn't know you were here." I was pretty happy to see him. Mr. Hansen was a great guy. He was always so nice to me, and he wasn't bad to look at, either. You couldn't tell he was even close to the same age as my dad, except for the fact that his hair was starting to grey. He was recently single, too, which had triggered a fantasy or two for me in the past as I ignored the fact that he was old enough to be my father, and would never think of me as anything more than his friend's daughter.
"Can you come out here and sit with us for a few minutes, honey?" my mom asked. I froze, my hand resting on the handle of the refrigerator. Her tone sounded nervous, and I immediately assumed the worst.
"What's wrong?" I asked, turning around quickly and opening the patio door. I stepped out, standing in front of my parents. "Did something happen?"
My mom glanced at my dad, and he rolled his eyes at her. "Jesus, Deb, you sound like someone died." He looked back at me. "Claire, your mom and I are going on a cruise."
I smiled, relieved that no one had, in fact, died, but also happy for them. "That's great!" I said. "Is Mr. Hansen going with you?"
My mom looked at my dad again. "Well, actually, honey," she said. "Jeff is going to stay here with you."
My smile faded and I paused. "I'm old enough to stay home by myself," I said. I tried not to get angry, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of Mr. Hansen.
"We know you are," my dad said. "But we don't want to leave you by yourself for a whole week, and..."
"You just don't trust me. Don't bother making excuses." I could feel my face flushing a little bit as I tried to swallow my anger. "What do you think I'll do, trash the house?"
"It's not you we don't trust," my mom said. "But if someone found out you were here by yourself..."
"If it makes you feel better," Mr. Hansen suddenly said as I opened my mouth to retort, "I would really appreciate it. I've been pretty lonely since Mike moved out after college and Denise left." I shut my mouth. Denise was Mr. Hansen's ex-wife, and though I didn't know the details, I know she had left him and that he was living by himself in their old house.
"It's only for a week," my mom said. "We thought you could use the company, and if you need help studying for your finals, Jeff can help you."
There were a thousand things I wanted to say to them -- that I wasn't a kid, that I didn't need supervision, that my finals were stupid anyways -- but I kept my mouth shut. My dad had the look in his eyes that this was a final decision, and Mr. Hansen was sitting right there. I didn't want to offend him.
"Fine," I said dejectedly. I turned around, starting to go back into the house. I didn't want to talk to them anymore, but both my parents stood up.
"Honey..." my mom said. I stopped, not turning to look at her.
"What?" I asked.
"Well... Mr. Hansen is going to drive us to the airport now."
I whirled around. "You're leaving tonight?!" I blurted.
"We just decided to go a couple days ago, and we didn't know for sure if Mr. Hansen could stay with you until earlier today," she answered.
I took a deep breath, trying not to freak out. My parents hadn't even told me they were leaving, and they were just springing it on me right before they left. I was so angry with them, I didn't want to even say goodbye.
"I'm going to Jenny's," I said, slamming the patio doors behind me.
"Claire!" my dad shouted. "You're staying here. You have an exam to study for!"
"It's Friday!" I shouted back.
My parents and Mr. Hansen came into the house behind me. "Claire, don't be like that," my mom said. "Look, we don't expect you to be home all the time, but Jeff is here to make sure you study for your exams, and you have one on Monday. You're not going out this weekend."