THE TALK
The next day was Saturday, and Mr. Jones was off from work. Morning rituals were just like any other day that started with the morning coffee and then freshening up, followed by breakfast while the news channel that played each day on television was on. After all, the tasks which happened daily were done, Mr. Jones walked in the corridor that led to his daughters’ room and knocked on the door.
It was surprising to him that Marie, who generally woke up after he left home for work, had already taken a bath and was completely ready to begin her day.
“Good morning, my girl!” Mr. Jones greeted Marie.
“Good morning, dad,” Marie said as she hugged Mr. Jones.
“What’s my girl up to?”
“Dad, I need your permission.”
“Come, sweety. Let us sit together for a little while. How about we go outside to the lawn?” Mr. Jones asked making it seem rhetorical.
Marie excitedly nodded her head with the thought of getting to spend some time in peace and alone with her dad. In general, her step-mother, Delilah, always came in between the father-daughter duo. Every time that Mr. Jones and Marie were to be in any room by themselves, Delilah would walk in almost immediately and disrupt the atmosphere.
As Mr. Jones and Marie stepped out on the lawn, Shadow, their dog followed them wagging his tail. Soon after opening the main door, Mr. Jones took the car key out from his pocket and opened his car. Marie was surprised to know that they planned for them to talk in the car and, more than that, the excitement was to sit in the passenger seat in the front which was right beside the driver seat because she never got to sit on it.
According to the customs, Delilah would sit on the passenger seat that was in front as she was married to Mr. Jones and usually only the other partner would sit in that special seat if they were traveling together. Once when Marie asked Mr. Jones if she could sit in the front with him, but Delilah immediately mentioned that it was where she sat calling it her place, and everyone became silent. From then on, Marie never really asked if she could sit in front if the whole family was traveling together, which happened most of the time.
Just as soon as Mr. Jones and Marie settled in the car, Marie said, “This is such a good day; I am with my dad alone.”
“Yes, my dear,” Mr. Jones responded, and then he asked, “So, tell me what has been happening with you? How has school been? How are your friends?”
“Daddy, you know I have not had friends as such. School has been great; too many things have been taught,” Marie replied.
With a doubt in mind about telling her dad about Jean, she showed a little courage only because her dad initiated this talk. She said, “Dad, I have a new friend. She is not only a batchmate for me, but she is my best friend, and I feel very happy about it.”
“Wow!” Mr. Jones exclaimed and replied, “Tell me more about your best friend!”
Controlling a big smile on her face, Marie continued, “Her name is Jean. She was in a different section until now, and now she plans to take the liberal art stream just like I plan to choose.”
“Wait a minute,” Mr. Jones said. Trying to digest what his daughter just said, he took a few seconds to calm down and then, he clarified, “You are planning to choose liberal art?”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Liberal art is Humanities, right?”
“Yes, daddy.”
“Why Arts, Marie?” Mr. Jones questioned.
“It is interesting, and I do not want to study science or math,” Marie answered.
“But why Arts?” Mr. Jones asked one more time a little more seriously.
“I don’t want to take science. That is why Humanities,” Marie explained.
“Why not Finance and Accounting?” Mr. Jones asked almost in a disappointed state.
“No accounting for me because I am not at all good with calculations,” Marie stated.
“But arts?” Mr. Jones questioned again making it sound as if he was not very happy with the choice that Marie was making in terms of opting for a stream to make a career in.
Since she was a bright student, it was obvious for her to study science and become either a doctor or an engineer. That is how their country understood science stream. It was a shock for Mr. Jones to hear from his daughter that she did not want to study in the streams that would give her a high-paying job. The minds of people living there were narrow. For them, they had made segregations which the younger ones had to adhere to depending on how good they were in their studies.
Marie immediately became worried because she understood that it was not going to be easy for her to convince her father about the choice which he had planned to make. Nevertheless, she changed the topic because she was not in a mood to get into an argument with her dad about what she was going to choose once she returned to her school just yet. So, cleverly, she asked, “Dad, you got me here. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Yeah, right,” Mr. Jones responded. In only an instance he forgot what they were talking about and switched to talk about his own thing. He was worried about everyone’s reaction at home with the girl from work coming home with whom he had something going on. It was unclear as to why he was expecting her to visit his home all the more when his legally wedded wife and two daughters were home.
It was interesting to see him start the conversation related to that topic where he was trying his best to find the suitable words to make Marie understand. After a lot of consideration, he said, “Marie, I have a friend coming over in a couple of hours. I want you to do something for me. Will you do it?”
Intrigued, Marie had no other option except helping her father because she really wanted to make him happy and develop a stronger bond with him. So, she took no extra time to think about anything and almost immediately she answered, “Of course, dad.”
“I want you to take your mom and sister to the market. Give them any reason.”
“Why do you want me to do that, daddy?”
“I don’t want your mom to be around when my friend comes home.”
“But why, dad?”
