Everyone scrambled around for their clothes, all looking shocked and embarrassed and with good reason.
Tina relived this scene three days later as she lay in her room, grounded for two months, Matt and Jake having been fired, and Julia having been given a stern warning.
Tina didn’t spend such a good night, as her Dad’s words kept troubling her:
“Tomorrow your mother and I will decide what to do about this, Tina. I’m still tryng to process it.” And he had walked away.
Tina picked up her phone and dialled Clay’s number. “Hi, honey. How are you doing? Don’t tell me you are still scared? I’m tired of having Dad interfering in my life, Clay. I think we should get back together...”
“Hold on, hold on, Tina. You know I love you, honey...but I don’t wanna piss off a guy like your Dad. Might have me locked up or banished to some desert place, you know. That’s why I told you it’s over...your Dad and I can’t fit in the same world, Tina.”
“But we can still see each other out there. You don’t have to come home. I’ll find a way to come to you. How about that, sweetie?”
Clay sighed. “Let me think. You think it can work? I don’t want to get you into trouble, Tina, you see. But you are the best thing...” he choked and was silent for a few seconds, “...you are the best thing that ever happened to me, Tina...or that had ever happened to me. It was a hard decision to halt the relationship. I’ve even been unable to see other girls.”
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take. Dad will not dictate to me who I should love or not. Will talk to you tomorrow.” Out of a feeling of guilt she said: “Since we called it off I’ve been a very naughty gal, Clay.”
“Have you? And what exactly have you been up to?”
“Some escapades.”
“Sexcapades maybe? I would never believe it...you just want me to regret putting the relationship on hold!”
“Poor Clay,” Tina said. “Why do you care what I do and yet you put me in the back-burner? Should I sit still and wait until you make up your mind whether we can resume the relationship? Are you sure I’ll still be there when you need me?”
Clay sighed. “I’ll find a way. Have you ever considered running away to Mexico?”
“Running away? Are you crazy? And to Mexico in particular?”
“Just kidding. You know how I will update my facebook profile right now? ‘It’s Complicated.’ Coz this shit is complicated! The next thing your Dad will do is have a restraining taken out against me. Let’s sleep on it, Tina. There could be a way out...though right now I can’t see it.”
She wondered what her parents would about her tomorrow. A two-hour lecture, grounded for a year, or something equally worse. Once again she got the feeling that she was considered a toddler by her parents. Tonight must be the most shocking night they had ever experienced.
Tina recalled the time she had tried to act like a normal girl, alone in a restaurant while the chauffeur they called Big Mike, and rightfully so because he was built like a wrestler, waited outside in a limo.
She replayed the scene in her mind. She had been hoping that a handsome guy would appear out of nowhere and sit opposite her.
Twenty year old Tina waited impatiently for the waitress to bring over her order, the aroma of frying delicacies becoming unbearable to her. She touched the glass of soda in front of her and pushed it away distastefully. Too cold. She was sitting inside a fast-food cafe on West 28th Street.
“This soda was about to freeze,” she told the waitress reproachfully as she placed the order on the table.
“Oh, sorry,” the waitress smiled. “It’s hot season and most folks want it next to ice.”
“Never mind,” Tina smiled back, immediately attacking her food. She would be joining college the following year, or so she had agreed with her mother. In the meantime she felt she must get a job immediately before her father drove her crazy. She felt that every movement she made had been monitored.
As soon as the waitress left, somebody joined her, taking the seat directly opposite her. A dark-haired man in an immaculate blue shirt, brown tie, and a grey suit with rather piercing steel-grey eyes. An expensive watch. There was something about him that reeked of money.
“May I join you, please?” He asked with a toothy smile.
Tina frowned. She didn’t much like his ultra-confident demeanor. “As I see it, you already have.”
He laughed appreciatively. “A beautiful, amusing woman. I think I will enjoy my snack after all.”
There didn’t seem to be any suitable answer to that, so she stayed silent.
“Are you a college student?” he inquired.
Tina decided it would be rude to remain silent, so she shook her head. “Not yet. Will be soon, though.”
“College life is fun,” he said knowingly, fishing in his coat pocket for something. Presently he offered a yellow card that read: “George Bailey, Human Resources Manager,
Blue Lake Canners Ltd.”
“Wow! You are some big fish, aren’t you?”