Errant Thoughts Story, Part 16

Danny could tell something was bothering Melody as they were working the Friday night shift; a frown flickered across her face frequently and a few times he heard her muttering. Unfortunately, it was one of those evenings where it seemed that everyone in the area wanted pizza and he didn't have time to talk. The advantage of being so busy was how quickly time passed and at last they were cleaning and setting up for the next day.

The ritual walk to her car had become Danny's favorite part of the day. Tonight, he waited for her to say something. Finally, she spun around and, with arms crossed, asked, "How did you get your mom to listen to what you want?"

Before he could do more than open his mouth, she was continuing, "They just keep pushing and pushing me about which school, which major, which career path. And now." Her voice broke on a little sob, "It's all gotten so much worse. I thought when Joy...but, instead they can't seem to leave it."

Danny awkwardly patted her shoulder, wondering if he should ask for more details. Deciding she would tell him when she was ready, he answered her original question, "I don't know if I'm much help this way because I never confronted Mom about her plans. I didn't even tell her I didn't want to go to college because my uncle was being so generous about paying and she was so sure it was the right thing to do. Mostly because she never went and regretted it.

"When things changed, we both knew I couldn't get the scholarships to pay my own way and she wouldn't pressure me into student loans because she's so against going into debt at all. So, there it is, I didn't have to fight for what I wanted, but I was going to go along with what she wanted." He leaned against her car and waited for a reaction.

At first, she just gazed expressionlessly at him, then, she moved next to him, close but not touching. Together they watched the bugs spinning around the light hanging over the parking lot. "Joy was my cousin. She just graduated from an Ivy League school. Everything she ever did was perfect: sports, grades, projects. Her parents bragged about her all the time, but why not? She never let them down. Last year, companies were recruiting and vied for her. She accepted one and we all thought her life was set. Until last week." Melody paused and swallowed. "The company rescinded on her job offer. None of the companies were hiring. Her parents found her in the garage."

Danny didn't know what was worse, the monotone or the pain-wracked voice she finished with. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, he turned his hand up and, when she grasped it, held on gently.

"I'm scared," she whispered. "My parents are acting weird and they're normally so solid. And I feel guilty because I knew about all the suicides happening all over the country, but I didn't really think about them until it was my own family."

"Would you like to come over some time and talk to my mom? She's good at listening."

She snorted, "Must run in the family. Yeah, maybe I will."

Showing amazing sensitivity for a seventeen-year-old, Danny discarded all the topics he had planned on talking about this evening and silently held her hand until she was ready to leave.

Part 17