Page 47 of British Daddy to Go

“You don’t understand!” she shouts. “They brought him to my house. I couldn’t just sit in my room. My mother would have dragged me out by my ear.”

I can’t sit by her anymore. I march to the window and throw up the blinds so that we have something more to look at than each other and my drab apartment. “You could have stopped it before it started. Why didn’t you tell your parents you were seeing someone already?”

Maybe that’s the real reason for my anger. She didn’t want her parents to know about me.

“That’s easier said than done,” Maggie says quietly. “I’m trying to get out from under their iron fists, but it’s not that simple.”

“I know,” I say. “But you’re ashamed of me. If you weren’t, you’d tell your parents I exist.”

She scoffs. “As if you’ve toldyourparents aboutme.”

She’s got me there. I haven’t told my parents that I’m seeing someone, but our situations are different. “I don’t live with my parents, Maggie. They live in England! It makes a lot more sense for you to tell your parents than for me to tell mine.”

“You can’t accuse me of being ashamed of our relationship if you won’t even tell your parents about me!”

“Fine!” I shout. I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Dad’s number. It’s two in the morning in England, but he’ll answer. He’s a night owl like I am.

After two rings, my father picks up the phone. “Is everything okay?” he asks immediately. “Why are you calling so late?”

“Sorry,” I say. “I just wanted to inform you that I have a girlfriend. Her name is Maggie, and I like her very much.”

My father’s confusion is clear in his prolonged silence. “Okay, son. That’s great.”

“It’s important to both of us that you know,” I tell him.

“Is she pregnant?”

My eyes widen. “No, of course not.”

Dad sighs. “You’re having an argument, then? And you’ve gotten me involved?”

My father knows me too well. It’s possible we’re more alike than I care to admit. “Sorry, Father. I’ll let you go. I’m sure you’re tired, and you’ve got a flight in a few hours…”

“I’ll be up for an hour still, at least. But it sounds like you’re in the middle of something. Can I give you some advice, though?”

“Of course,” I say. I welcome anything he can give me. At this point, I want our argument to be over.

Dad waits a few beats before speaking again. “You like this girl enough to give me a call at two in the morning,” he finally says.

“Technically, it’s a bit after nine, here.”

He laughs. “Beside the point, boy. You like her. I can tell. You wouldn’t have called if you didn’t. So, work it out with Maggie. Forgive her, and she might forgive you.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I tell him. “Goodnight.”

“I’m serious, Sean!” he shouts before I hang up. That conversation wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped it would be.

I toss the phone on the couch. “There,” I tell Maggie. “Now my parents know about you.”

She blushes. “I didn’t expect you to call him.”

“I didn’t expect you to go out with Randall, so I guess we’re even.”

Maggie wipes the tears from her eyes. “We’re arguing in circles, Sean. I’m sorry I went out with Randall. I won’t do it again, I promise. But I can’t tell my parents about you. You don’t know how they would react if they found out.”

“You’re not afraid of them, are you?” I ask, worried. Her parents are controlling, but are they abusive, too?

She shakes her head. “They’re harmless,” she promises. “I’ll tell them someday, I promise. For now, can’t we just enjoy our time together and be a couple? An exclusive couple.”