Page 57 of Surrender
His father chuckled. “That’s a good thing, son. It’s best for a mother to like her son’s girlfriend. It makes life for him so much easier.”
“I guess so. Except when the two break up, he gets a new girlfriend, and his mom still invites his old girlfriend to functions making things weird.”
His father paused in his washing. “Are you planning on breaking up with Colbie?”
Dallis scoffed. “That was your best joke in a long while.”
“Yeah, yeah. This is one less thing the two of you have to worry about. Now, you just have to get through the next five months of school.”
“Four.” Dallis corrected. “The seniors’ last day is the last Friday in April. Then Prom is the first Saturday in May, and graduation is the third Saturday in May.”
“Are you going to Prom?” his father asked.
“Yep, with Colbie. At that point, I’ll no longer be her student. Besides, what are they going to do? Revoke my diploma?”
“No, but they might have something to say about her job. I think that may be playing it too close to the vest, Dal.”
“I don’t see why they would have a reason to.”
“Well, you were her student, and they may question how long it was going on before you graduated.”
“That still doesn’t matter. I’ve been nineteen damn near all school year. We were in classes two weeks before my birthday. I’m not a minor so they can’t pull that bullshit card. I’m well past the legal age of consent.”
“I’m well aware of the consent law, considering I made sure of it before I pursued your mother. You need to be sure not to jeopardize her job.”
“Even if we waited until school was officially out, they still might have something to say about it the following school year,” Dallis told him, placing a plate he’d just dried into the cabinet. “Maybe we need to make sure she has some job security.”
“I don’t even think I want to know, but what are you over there thinking?”
“Well, the school is getting set to build that new track and field area on that land Uncle Blayze owns and he’s being nice enough to allow them to build it for free while maintaining ownership of the land. They threaten her job; they don’t get their field. Or they pay four times what it’s worth.”
His father raised a brow. “You know that’s blackmail, right?”
“I’m aware, but let’s be honest. For that woman in there, I’d blackmail you.”
His father began to chuckle, and Dallis soon found himself laughing, but he was serious about using the land against the school.
“While it may be something to hold over their heads, you aren’t going to do that because I raised you better than that. Colbie’s also not going to allow it.”
Dallis knew that his father was right. Colbie would never allow him to do that. Not even if he were simply trying to help her.
“Fine. If it happens, I’ll settle for suing the district for wrongful termination and taking them for whatever they have.”
His father handed him the last dish. “I suppose it’s the best I’m going to get from you.”
“Take it or leave it, Old Man,” Dallis responded, rinsing and drying the dish before putting it away.
He and his dad made their way into the living room, and his suspicions were confirmed. He found his mother and Colbie sitting on the sofa, looking through photo albums. Making his way over, he saw his mom showing her a picture of him taking a bath when he was about three.
“Come on, Mom. She doesn’t want to see me naked when I was three. She prefers me naked now.”
Colbie let out a groan. “Why are you this person?”
“Because he’s his father’s son, and neither has a filter.” His mother responded.
“You don’t complain about me not having a filter when my tongues at work.” His dad commented.
His mother gestured toward his dad. “See what I mean?”
