Page 41 of British Daddy to Go

Sean

I’ve never seen someone so excited to go see a movie.

On the other hand, I’ve never been so excited for a date before. I spent more time preparing for tonight than I do for important board meetings or visits with my parents. That’s saying a lot, considering I ended up in my most casual outfit, just a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans I found in my bottom drawer. I can’t remember the last time I wore jeans! It was probably back when I was in college, twenty-something years ago.

Maggie doesn’t care about my outfit. She’s too busy staring at the movie theater marquee and trying to decide what we should see. She asks the poor teen working the ticket counter what each movie is about so that she can make an educated decision.

“I’m torn between the action film and the comedy. You choose,” she finally says after about ten minutes of debate.

I take in the two titles on the marquee. The action film appears to be one of a series, but the ticket teen assured us it can be seen as a standalone. But it has dinosaurs in it, and I’m not a big fan of science fiction. The comedy is entirely situational, with a few actors I thoroughly enjoy.

“How about the comedy? I’m in the mood for a laugh.”

Maggie’s eyes light up. “Two tickets for the comedy!” she tells the teen cheerfully.

The teen rolls her heavily-lined eyes. “That will be $36.04.”

Beside me, Maggie gasps. I hand over my card and wait for the tickets. Unfortunately, this theater has assigned seats, but they’re extraordinarily comfortable. The comedy film must not be as popular as the dinosaur movie because one glance at our tickets shows that our seats are near the rear of the theater. That’s the best place to sit! At least we won’t be craning our necks to see the film.

Once we get past the ticket taker, Maggie takes in the royal movie theater. I’ve been to cinemas in other states, even other countries, and none pay quite as much attention to their décor as this one right in the center of New York City.

“Thank you for taking me here,” Maggie exclaims.

“Have you never been to the cinema?”

She laughs. “I have, but it’s been a long time. My parents think films are terrible. They’re convinced all movies must contain ‘gratuitous sex and violence.’ Those are the exact words they use.”

I’ve seen the trailer for the movie we’re here to see, and while it’s not full of sex, I do believe there is some comedic violence. There is certainly vulgar language.

It’s strange to me that Maggie’s parents care about such things. I started seeing films with my parents when I was far too young to understand the sex and violence. Maybe things are just different in England. It’s more likely, though, that Maggie’s parents are unusually overprotective of their only child.

“I would hide the ticket stub when you get home,” I tell her. “I’m not sure they’d approve of this movie.”

Maggie blushes. “You’re probably right. If they even knew I washereright now, I’d be subjected to a few weeks of Bible study.”

I stop walking. “It would be that bad?”

She shrugs. “Now that I’m in my twenties, they don’t feel like they can ground me, so forcing me into their Bible study group is how they cope with my deviant behaviors.”

“Do you deviate often?”

“Never, really. Usually, their punishments revolve around things I’ve done with Jenna. It’s never bad things, though. At least, I don’t think so.”

Her parents boggle me. I’ve met Jenna, and she’s a fantastic young woman. The lad she had with her the other night on our double date was a bit strange, but Jenna was a delight. I look forward to getting to know her better since she’s an important part of Maggie’s life.

How can her parents dislike a woman who brings out the best in their daughter?

I suppose that’s the problem. They don’t want the best of their daughter; they want the version of their daughter they’ve carefully constructed.

It makes me wonder what they’d do if they found out about our meetings in the dressing room or our make-out sessions in my limo. I imagine the punishment would be far worse than Bible study. They must never find out. When we meet, I’ll pretend that I am chaste until marriage. As long as they don’t search me out on the internet, they should buy the lie.

When we meet? I think to myself. This is only our third date, and I’m already thinking about meeting her parents! I’ve never met a girlfriend’s parents before.

I need to stop this line of thinking immediately.

Maggie is watching me intently. “You okay? You seem deep in thought.”

“Just worrying about your parents discovering you here.”