JUST FRIENDS

Mr. Jones was completely shocked and could not believe what he heard Delilah say out loud. He never thought of assuming that his very own daughter, Marie, would be in to people of the same gender to which she also belonged. He did not want to trust his wife and wanted to ask Marie, but at least for a second he failed to think of anything but his daughter not being accepted in the society that they lived in.

Once he calmed himself down to give an appropriate reaction to that, he turned back to his daughter and asked, “What is mom saying?”

“I don’t know what mom is saying. Jean is my friend and not only that, she is my best friend forever,” Marie responded and while she did, she also held Jean’s hand in both her hands and brought it up to her chest to show that she was serious about the thing she just mentioned and was not going to let go of their friendship whatever may have come.

More than anything, it was Marie’s possessiveness. She did not really have anyone who stayed long enough in her life. Even though Mr. Jones was her biological father, but he also disconnected himself from everybody at home, which included his own daughter as well. She hardly got any time to spend with her own father because of which she had become emotionally very weak and unstable in terms of managing her feelings.

Besides, her step-mother and step-sister had also not been emotionally supportive to her; rather, most of the times they had been unavailable to talk to her in order to listen and understand her feelings. Rebecca was emotionally independent to quite some level because she learnt to take care of herself and her needs on her own. Maybe it was because she had never been through the pain of losing someone in life.

To begin with, she had never spent time with her dad. In fact, she had not even seen him. From the very start that she got to know about the world, Mr. Jones had been there for her. Things were a lot different for her because Mr. Jones treated her unlike Delilah treated his daughter. He listened to her, supported her, played with her, and even he chose Rebecca over Marie assuming Delilah would do the same.

The sole reason being that one’s own child is already connected to his or her parent, but it takes extra effort from the elder’s side to make a child as close as their own, specifically to whom they did not give birth. It was impossible for Delilah to relate to what Marie was going through. She had lost her mother at such a young age that it was not easy for her to love life again, especially after also seeing her dad going away.

She did not know the tensions between her dad and her step-mother. Mr. Jones on the other hand blamed himself for making Marie suffer so much because of his decision to marry a female who already had someone else’s child. It was not really the fault of Mr. Jones but still, which father likes to see his daughter suffering because of his decisions and not being happy at home?

He didn’t mention a single word and kept his hand on Marie’s head when he saw her eyes turning red and getting watery. Her hands and legs started trembling, making it too obvious that she was on the verge of getting a panic attack. No father would want to see his son and/or daughter in that condition, and neither did Mr. Jones. He thought of putting water under the bridge for his little girl.

All he wanted was to see his little girl happy; no sadness on Marie's face, and no tears in his daughter's eyes. He ran his hand through her hair, looking at her emotionally. Even though not completely, he somewhat understood how Marie felt for Jean, and he wanted to support her because he knew he couldn't bring the time back and be available for his own daughter.

It was big of him to understand her possessiveness and feelings. He could connect her current emotions with the incidents that happened with her in the past. Not wasting any time, he said, "Let us all go inside the house to talk."

But Marie stood there like a statue with Jean. Both of them were neither in nor out. They were standing bang on the mark where the main gate closed. That made Mr. Jones take a step back and put his hand around Marie's shoulder. He led her inside the house, and because Jean's hand was in hers, Jean followed both, the father and daughter.

“Dad, I don’t want anyone to come between Jean and me,” Marie requested while they got into the house.

“Don’t worry, my sweetie,” Mr. Jones comforted and assured her as he said, “No one will come between your friendship.”

In a room with Rebecca, Delilah, and Angela, the two girls stood in front of Mr. Jones ready to be confronted. He knew that he had to be open-minded so that none of them retaliated in an unacceptable way. More so because his friend was in the room watching this entire drama. Angela had come home to meet Marie and talk to her in a healthy way to understand what she felt at home and the reason she stayed upset quite often.

But Mr. Jones wanted to give Angela a little background to the whole thing, and that is why he wanted to be given some privacy. They planned that instead of talking to Marie at home, Mr. Jones would take her out to a coffee shop and introduce her to his friend, Angela. Apparently, Angela had a master’s degree in Psychology and used to counsel people even at work. That is how Mr. Jones got this idea after he became friends with Angela.

And at the moment that she was leaving to meet Marie in the evening, as it was decided by them, all of them returned from the market, and the drama started. That is why Angela stayed to watch what was happening. Even though Delilah was looking at her with the obvious expression stating that she was not needed here and that she should go, Angela ignored all of it to be there and get a clear picture.

As soon as Mr. Jones settled on the couch, while the two girls stood in front of him, he asked, “So, now tell me what is it between you two?”

“Nothing, dad. We are just friends.”

“Then why did your mother say all that?”

“Because she doesn’t want to see me happy.”

“But she is your mother.”

“No, she is not.” “If she is my mother, then why doesn't she let me stay at home?”

To quite some extent, Marie was right. Had Delilah treated Marie as she treated her own daughter, things at home would have been a lot different for Marie. There was absolutely no point arguing about this because Mr. Jones very well knew that was a sensitive topic, and he had been unsuccessful in convincing Delilah for his daughter to be given the same treatment that she gave to Rebecca.

Meanwhile, he was thinking about different ways in which he could handle this situation. The pin-drop silence in the room was making a lot of noise in his mind. Something which he should have done long back, and something which was due. Thinking about his immediate plan of action and making up his mind about it, he lifted his hand to place it on Marie’s cheek..