CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We woke up bright and early in Seaside, having gone to bed as soon as we checked in—Dex and I in one room and Rebecca in another. The sunshine was spilling out along the beach as the waves crashed on the shoreline. It was warm again and shaping up to be a beautiful near summer day. In some ways it felt like the sanatorium was just a distant memory, but I knew too well that it wasn’t.
Besides, the ring on my finger was a constant reminder of what had changed. Dex and I drank mugs of steaming hot coffee on the balcony before crawling back into bed for another roll in the hay. I thought I’d done a lot with him, but sex as an engaged couple was something truly special. It added bliss on top of bliss.
When it came time to check-out, we met Rebecca in the lobby and headed out on the road, taking route 26 through the lush interior toward Portland. The music in the car was blaring (Metallica) and the sunny weather was holding up, the fresh forest air flowing in through the open windows. I was with two of my most favorite people, yet I got more and more nervous with each mile that brought us closer to my parents’ house.
Unfortunately, it also was Friday, so even though I kept texting Ada to the point of getting car sick (and no, I hadn’t told her about the engagement yet), she had to be at school until three, meaning there would probably be a good hour of just the three of us along with my parents. It was amazing how much I had depended on Ada as a buffer between them. Now I had to suck it up and deal with it alone.
Of course, I wasn’t totally alone. Dex was with me, and I could tell from the way he kept glancing over at me as he drove, the way his eyes lit up when he saw the ring, that he would do what he could to stand up for me, to stand by me. I kept repeating that to myself, trying to quell my nerves.
Once we drove across the Skidmore Bridge and started heading further east, toward the airport, I was a mess, nervously chewing on my fingernails, my knee jumping.
“You’ll be alright, Perry,” Rebecca said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “It’s just one night, and Dex and I will be here. Even if you don’t get their approval, they will love the fact that they got to see you. You’ll see.”
Rebecca really didn’t know shit about my family, but she’d soon see it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Dex turned the car down our family street, and I was struck with a sharp pang of homesickness. I loved Seattle and all, but I missed the countryside, the wide, green lawns and wildflowers, the trees, and the invigorating smell of the Columbia River.
But as soon as we nosed into the driveway, I realized I did not miss living at home. At all.
“Honey, we’re not home,” Dex joked. I shot him a wide-eyed look. It wasn’t funny. I was freaking.
He leaned over and gave me a soft peck on the lips. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go show them your ring.”
That didn’t get me moving either, so I sat there, frozen to the seat, until Dex and Rebecca got out of the car and opened my door for me. I could tell that I if I didn’t step out on my own accord, they’d carry me.
“It’s going to be fine,” Dex said. “They’re just your parents. Appreciate them while they’re alive and not mental.”
I appraised him for a moment, thinking about how hard it must be sometimes for him, being more or less an orphan. Even his own brother, Michael, was like a mysterious stranger to him, wanting nothing to do with him, leaving Dex truly without any family. Now my parents were going to be his in-laws, whether they wanted to be or not. He had a lot riding on this as well.
I nodded. “Okay.”
The three of went up to the door, me in front, Rebecca and Dex to my side and slightly behind. I lifted my finger to ring the doorbell.
And the door flew open before I even had the chance.
It was my dad, looking as he always did with his round face, strong Italian nose, and rectangular reading glasses that he had to constantly adjust. Unlike his brother, he looked like he’d lost weight. He also looked really happy to see me.
“Perry!” he cried out, bringing me into a big hug. “It’s so good to see you, pumpkin.” He held me so tight that my own boobs were choking me. When he pulled back he stroked my face with his warm hand and gave me a squinty-eyed smile. “You’re looking beautiful.”
It’s not that my dad never paid me compliments before because he was always the more vocal, warmer parent. But for some reason, it was surprising me now. Maybe I was actually believing it this time.
His eyes darted over to Dex and Rebecca behind me, and I could see from the way he was moving his jaw that he wasn’t happy to see Dex, and Rebecca was throwing him for a loop. He addressed her first. “Hello, I’m Perry’s father.”
Rebecca smiled like a pin-up girl and gave his hand a hearty shake. She had dressed in a form-fitting grey retro skirt suit, complete with an hourglass inducing belt and kitten heels. I had wondered that morning why she was looking so professional, but now I was appreciating it—it made her look like the mature one, and one out of three wasn’t bad.
“I’m Rebecca.” She cocked her head at Dex. “And I believe you know Mr. Foray here.”
A smile twitched on my lips. Somehow my dad had to be more polite now that Rebecca was doing the introduction.
“Yes of course,” my dad said in a tight voice, offering his hand as he stared Dex down.
Dex stared right back with a stupid grin on his face and did the two-handed shake. This was like Uncle Al all over again, yet Dex seemed a million times more confident. I guess because he knew I was stuck with him now and so were they. “Mr. Palomino. Or can I call you Daniel?”
My dad’s smile froze momentarily. “You can call me Daniel,” he allowed.
“How about—“
“Dex!” I said sharply, afraid he was going to say something else that started with Da.
“Daniel,” I heard my mother’s voice from inside the house. “Stop standing out there and bring them inside.”
Oh boy. My mother. I took in a deep breath and stepped through the doorway.
My mother was standing in the middle of the hall, looking as if she was having the same anxiety attack that I was. Though she looked put together as always with a jeweled tunic and white capri pants, her gaudy bracelets jangled on her wrists because she kept nervously flapping them by her side. When did my mom turn into Lucille Bluth?
“Perry,” she said, once she saw me. She gave me the once over. And here it came, the look of disappointment, the remark about me gaining weight. Only she snapped her lips shut and forced a stiff smile on them. I wondered if my dad had said something to her about being nice. “Your face looks very pretty. New makeup?”
It was more about what she wasn’t saying than what she was saying, but I’d take it.
“New eye shadow,” I lied to her and she gave me a quick hug. She’d lost weight too and I could feel the bones in her back.
“Looks lovely,” she said, as she inspected me closer, her strangely tired eyes going from my hair to my chin, to my shirt, to my arm, to my hand…and suddenly her eyes were light blue discs bulging out of their sockets. Realization was setting in. She looked up at me in some sort of shock or horror or I don’t know what.
“What is this?” she asked as she picked up my left hand. She stared at the ring dumbfounded then looked to me for an explanation.
“I have some news,” I said, trying to pretend this was all totally awesome.
She eyed my dad, still not acknowledging either Dex or Rebecca behind him. “Did you see this?”
My dad furrowed his brow and walked over. His mouth dropped once he saw the shiny piece of jewelry. “When did this happen? And to whom?”
I let out a small snort. My god, were they ever in denial about whom their daughter had been living with for the last two months. I stuck my thumb in Dex’s direction. “That man, of course.”
And here came the real horror. My mom and dad looked over at Dex who gave them a small wave. “Mom,” he said with a crisp nod. “Dad.”
That set them off, both of them battering me with questions and ridiculous statements.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You’re too young to get married!”
“This has to be a joke.”
“You’re wasting your life, Perry.”
“You don’t know him at all.”
“Is that a tattoo?”
“I hope you said you’d think about it.”
“Why do you have a tattoo?”
“This is ridiculous.”
“An anchor, what are you, a sailor?”
“You better give that ring right back.”
“Did Alberto know about this?”