Page 36 of British Daddy to Go

“I already am!” I yell. “I went out with Sean. That’s direct disobedience.”

She tells me to breathe before I cause myself to pass out. “They don’t know about Sean, though. What if you told them?”

“I don’t know what they’d do; I’m scared to find out.”

“Then, what? You date Randall and Sean at the same time?”

How did my life go from completely boring to completely complicated in less than a week? I don’t want to go back to before my parents decided on Randall because then I’d lose Sean, but I can’t stay here either. I refuse to lose Sean.

“I have to figure something out, Jenna. Tell me what to do.”

Jenna pulls me into a hug. “If you won’t tell your parents to fuck off, then I think your only option is to go on the date Wednesday and make sure it’s awful. They won’t force you to be with someone you hate.”

Neither of us believes that, but it’s all we’ve got right now. “What about Sean?”

“Leave it alone for now. We’ll go on the double date tomorrow, and neither of us will mention Randall or your parents’ crazy plan. You finally have a guy you like; I won’t let you lose that.”

I squeeze my best friend tightly. “If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“I love you, Maggie. Never forget that.”

We stay wrapped in each other’s arms for a few minutes longer. I’m still worried about the date with Randall, but talking to Jenna has made me feel a little better. Maybe she’s right about my parents. They say they have my best interests at heart. That could mean they’ll be willing to drop the search for a husband if I don’t like the guy they pick.

Or they’ll force me to marry him no matter how I feel.

“Sean said he would take me to London,” I finally say, breaking the comfortable silence.

Jenna squeals. “What? When?”

I giggle. “We didn’t map out any details, but I mentioned I’ve always wanted to go, and he said he would take me the next time he visits. I’ll have to get a passport! If it really happens, that is. It might not happen.”

“Maggie, you’ve been trained by your parents to believe the worst in people. I’ve been taught to be optimistic. It’ll happen! We should start the passport paperwork so that you can go on a whim.”

Jenna pulls her laptop from her side table and finds the forms I’ll need to fill out. Since I’m over twenty-five, I don’t need my parents’ signature, but I do need my social security card and birth certificate. My parents have control over both of those.

“This will never work. I always knew I was sheltered, but I didn’t realize how much until I actually want to do something about it.”

“We’ll figure it out. What if you tell them you need the paperwork for your job?”

I consider this. “It might work. I’ll try it. Thanks, Jenna.”

“Anything for you, Maggie. I want it to go well with Sean, and I definitely want you to get away from your parents.”

“They’re not all bad, you know,” I tell her. “Mom let me order Chinese food for dinner last night when she saw how upset I was about Randall.”

Jenna rolls her eyes. “Wow, so the wardens have hearts? You know what would have been better, though? If they’d called off the date instead of calling for takeout.”

I laugh. “I know you’re right, but I refuse to believe my parents are villains. You said I need to have optimism, so I will. Once they see how much I hate Randall, they’ll let me choose my own marriage prospect.”

“You’re right. They will. Do you think they’d like Sean?”

“Absolutely not,” I say with a giggle. “And not just because he’s corrupting their daughter. He has money and a British accent. And, as far as I can tell, he doesn’t go to church. Sean is everything my parents hate in a person.”

“One step at a time, then,” Jenna decides. “First things first, we need to get rid of Randall. Then we can work on getting Sean into their good graces.”

I’m glad to have Jenna on my side. Everything seems manageable with her around. I would have given up before it had even started with Sean, but Jenna encourages me to keep going for what I love.

Hopefully, my parents will come around. If not, I’ll be forced to choose between them and Sean.

Unfortunately for my parents, there’s no competition.

I’d choose Sean without a second thought.