Page 20 of British Daddy to Go
“What?”
“Calamari!”
“No!” I yell, nearly spilling my soda. “He didn’t bother to ask? What did you do?”
She tries to collect herself, but it doesn’t work. “I told the waitress I’d prefer eggplant pasta and then told Peter I’m a vegetarian. He didn’t talk to me again for the rest of the night. And… guess what?”
“I’m afraid to guess.”
“He made me pick up the check. The entire check! I’m all for paying my half, but he made me pay for his, too!”
“No!” I say for the third time. We dissolve into an uncontrollable fit of giggles, completely forgetting our depressing conversation from earlier. I can always count on Jenna’s dating woes to make me feel better about my life.
“How about you?” Jenna asks when we’ve both calmed down. “Are your parents letting you get out more?”
I’ve always had to live through Jenna’s dating woes. My parents wouldn’t even let me go to school-sponsored dances. I missed senior prom, but Jenna had taken lots of pictures so that I could feel like I was there, too.
“Oh, you know them. If I stayed an old maid until I died, that would be fine with them.”
Jenna rolls her eyes. “You could do that, but why? Don’t they want grandkids?”
“Yes, but somehow, they expect me to get pregnant through immaculate conception,” I say, only half joking.
Jenna giggles. “So, how are you going to get pregnant for real?”
I blush, and Jenna’s eyes bug out. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“Not really, but I will.” And then I do. I tell her everything that happened with Sean in great detail, the way she always tells me about her conquests.
When I finish the story, all Jenna can say is, “Are you for real?”
I nod. “I’m so conflicted, Jenna! He’s so hot, but this is wrong. I shouldn’t be so attracted to him. We don’t know each other at all! But at the same time, he was commanding and dashing. And British! That accent, Jenna! You should hear it. Then you’d get it.”
Jenna squeals. “Oh my god, I love British accents!”
I smile. “His accent is really upper crust too. He’s definitely rich and successful. And what am I, by contrast?”
“You’re a beautiful, talented young woman – that’s what you are!”
I shake my head, unable to believe her. My parents didn’t raise me to be beautiful or talented. They raised me to be obedient.
“Listen to me, Maggie. You can’t live in your parents’ house forever. Someday, you have to leave the nest. Sean seems to be the start of your progression.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?”
“Then it will with someone else. The point is, I can already see you breaking out of your shell.”
I bury my head in my hands. “This is crazy. It was only one day. Barely even that!”
“Hey,” Jenna says gently. “The greatest love stories start with one day. You know, Cinderella only had a few hours with her prince.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s a fairytale.”
“You don’t think fairytales can happen in real life?”
I think about this for a minute. Do I believe in fairytales? My parents always taught me to take what I saw in romantic comedies with a grain of salt. But what if my parents are wrong? What if it is possible to have a great love, like Cinderella and her prince?
If anyone could do it, it would be me. I’m the perfect Cinderella, except it’s my real parents keeping me locked away.