Chasing Abby(68)

Luckily, Claire pulled me aside before I had the chance to accuse Caleb of orchestrating this new friendship between Jimi and Abby so he could sleep with my daughter. Claire talked some sense into me and promised she would have a discussion with them about… protection. Just the thought of it makes me want to bash Caleb in the head with my ’68 Stratocaster. See how cool he thinks it is then.
But after six weeks with the new sleeping arrangements and six weeks of family dinners without any sniping between Jimi and Abby, I’ll admit Caleb has worked his way back into my good graces. In fact, Claire and Abby may never hear me say this aloud, but I’m actually very grateful for him. He takes care of my girl better than I ever could.
So I’m very disappointed with Lynette and Brian’s reaction. I wasn’t aware that Abby had been lying to her parents about the sleeping arrangements. Then they called Claire last night to accuse us of giving Abby the “bright idea” of changing her major from business to music. Claire was obviously confused and upset that they were accusing us of doing something so underhanded.
I grabbed the phone out of Claire’s hand. “What’s going on here?”
There was a shuffling on the other end, then Brian came on. “Did you tell my daughter it would be a good idea for her to major in music? Do you get your kicks off of ruining our lives? Now you have to try to ruin Abby’s?”
“First of all, I had no idea Abby was changing her major. This is the first I’ve heard of this. And second of all, I’m not the one ruining Abby’s life. If she wants to change her major to music, it’s obviously because that’s what she wants to do with her life. You should support her decision instead of calling me and my wife to accuse us of meddling in her academic career.”
“All you’ve done this summer is meddle in our lives! If I had any legal recourse, I’d have had Abby forcefully removed from your home weeks ago. She’s probably playing music, smoking dope, and having unprotected sex, like her wonderful parents.”
“Are you f*cking serious? From what I can tell, Abby is happier here with her siblings and her freedom than she has ever been. And if she’s thinking of changing her major, it’s only because she’s trying to stay true to herself. And if you had any sense at all, you’d see how f*cking talented she is and how changing her major is a good thing. And, as for unprotected sex, she can do that anywhere. She doesn’t need to share a room or an apartment with her boyfriend to do that.”
“Is she sharing a room with Caleb?”
I could have lied, but I was so pissed off at Brian’s delusional ranting, I didn’t think he could take it one step further and threaten to come get her himself. I want to tell Abby that her parents are coming for her tomorrow, but that would probably send her and Caleb off somewhere, to a motel or somewhere worse, just so she could avoid dealing with them. But if I don’t tell her, and she finds out I knew, it will be as if I condone Lynette and Brian’s attempt to corner her.
I keep hoping that once they see Abby and hear her side, they’ll understand how much she loves music. I’ll offer to get her a vocal coach and start laying down some tracks in the studio. With my help, Abby can be extremely successful. Since starting my own label thirteen years ago, I’ve helped launch the careers of more than thirty bands and eight solo artists. Nothing would make me happier than to help my daughter achieve her dreams.
I take Claire’s face in my hands and kiss her forehead. “It’s going to work out. I promise. But you have to promise me that you’re not going to encourage Abby to distance herself even further from Lynette and Brian. You have to remind her how important it is that she has them in her life, even if they don’t approve of her career choices or her choice of roommate. Promise me you’ll do that? For Abby?”