The Lunacy Fringe

The next morning, I headed downstairs, hoping my dad wasn’t up yet. The kitchen was empty, but he walked in while I was pouring myself a bowl of cereal. He went right for the coffee maker.

“Morning,” he said calmly.

“Morning,” I replied. It could be a trap, but I thought it best to act normal.

“Healthy breakfast.”

“It was either this or the chocolate kind.” He nodded to himself, thinking, and then decided to get the chocolate kind for himself. He took a seat across from me, and I knew it was definitely a trap this time.

“I want to meet him,” he said, shoveling chocolate cereal into his mouth. I looked up at him.

“You’ve already met him. Several times.”

“Yes, but he wasn’t my daughter’s boyfriend.”

“He hasn’t actually asked me to be his girlfriend.” He gave me a look like I was irritating him. It was the truth, though. Felix had never outright asked. But I understood what he meant. Felix also hadn’t been running off with me before this. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll let him know.”

“I’m not going to tell you not to date him because I know better than anyone that it doesn’t work. But I want you to be careful.” I groaned and looked back up at him.

“I already know. Quinn and Billie have both talked to me about it.” He studied me for a moment, chewing his cereal.

“He’s not just some guy from your school. He’s your brother’s best friend. Your next-door neighbor. He already has a bad reputation. And he’s a musician.”

“That has nothing to do with anything. I’m also a musician. So are you and Quinn.”

“I know,” he said. “That’s what worries me.”

“How?”

“You have music in your soul, Ruby. And so does he. Sometimes it’s easy to mistake shared passions for love.”

“I’m not—it’s not even anything yet. Besides—a person’s reputation doesn’t always reflect their personality.” He took a deep breath and put his hands on the table, apparently giving up on his cereal.

“A reputation is a reflection of a person’s choices. He had to gain it somehow and not by accident. Maybe it isn’t all true. Maybe he has a few angry ex-girlfriends who spread lies. But that doesn’t mean his hands are clean. I just—I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made with your mom.”

“I’m not going to get pregnant just because I have a crush on a boy who plays guitar.”

“That wasn’t the mistake. You and Quinn are the best things that have ever happened to us. The mistake was that we were too young. We made bad choices. I left. Both of our kids grew up without a parent. But you don’t know anything about this boy, what he’s done, what he’ll be like in a few years. Especially if you had a baby or two.”

“Okay. I get it.” We went back to our breakfast, but I was irritated now. I wanted to hurry up and leave so I could stop talking to my dad about the possibility of getting knocked up by a guy I was just barely starting to feel things for.

“Is he available today?” he asked, mouth full.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him.”

“Today would be nice.”

“I’ll go over there later, then.”

“And you’ll come right back.” I glared across the table, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Fine. Whatever.”

“You know I hate that word.”

“Then stop giving me reasons to say it.”

“It’s natural for me to be concerned when my son shows up in the middle of the night to tell me my usually responsible daughter has run off with some guy. The attitude isn’t necessary.”

“Have you considered that your son was exaggerating because he’s an asshole?”
“Ruby. Knock it off.” We were silent for another minute or two before I put my spoon down on the table and faced him.

“Why are you acting like this? You’ve never cared this much before.”

“You’ve never run off with someone before,” he pointed out. “And he’s different.”

“How so?”

“The boys you dated in Detroit—were boys. Plain and simple. They were kids you’d had crushes on at school. You’d write silly love notes in class and hold hands and, on very rare occasions, go on dates. You didn’t run off in the middle of the night. They weren’t right next door. They weren’t—so goddamn your type that I’d have to worry about you making life-altering mistakes.”

“I don’t have a type.” He scoffed.

“Oh, you most certainly do. And you care about him. You care what he thinks. And it scares the crap out of me.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. You taught me that.”

“You’re lying. The dress you wore last night. I bought it for you for your birthday last year. You wanted to wear it to your party but chickened out at the last minute. You said it was uncomfortable. You made no complaints about wearing it last night. You painted your nails. Did your hair up nice. Did something reckless just because a boy asked you to.”

“I’ve also never had a friend like Billie before. She’s responsible for my hair and the dress last night. And it’s just a dress. So it doesn’t mean I’m in love with him or I’m reckless.”

“No. It just means you care enough to change yourself. And when you start changing yourself for the people you like, you become easier to manipulate into making those life-altering mistakes.”

“You really think he’s the type to manipulate me?”

“I think he’s the type to try and charm you into giving him what he wants.”

“You don’t know anything about him.”

“I know exactly what kind of guy he is.”

“Then maybe you should have more trust in me.” I stood up and tossed my bowl into the sink. Then I turned to stomp away.

“Doesn’t mean I have to trust him,” he said as I walked out of the kitchen.

“Ugh. Whatever.”

I hid in my bedroom for most of the morning. When I finally wandered back downstairs, my dad was sitting on the couch, working on paperwork at the table. I didn’t say anything, but the dog was whining at the door, so I went to take her out, hoping Felix might be outside.

And I wasn’t disappointed. I followed Cerbie around for a few minutes before the dogs on the other side of the fence ran over to play with her. Then there he was, standing by the breaks in the bush that had once consumed the whole fence. The flowers were starting to fall off. They littered the ground in both our yards.

“Hey,” I said as I approached. “You weren’t waiting for me to come out, were you?” He smiled at me.

“I didn’t know how angry your dad was. Figured it might be best not to call until I knew for sure.”

“He’s not really that angry. I don’t think—Anymore. But it’s mostly Quinn’s fault. He kind of—spread his anger and distrust and did whatever he could to smear your name.”

“Yeah, I know. He keeps hanging up on me.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t think either of us does.”

“Well, I apparently broke a crucial friend law. So I don’t know about that.” I looked down at his dog, trying to sniff me through the fence. “I didn’t mean to, though. I want you to know that.” I looked back up at him and moved closer to the fence.

“What do you mean?” I asked. He shrugged.

“I tried—to not like you. I tried to just be your friend. Like I am with Billie. But it just—wasn’t working. And maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you, but—I was pretty sure you felt it too. And I didn’t think it was just gonna go away.”

“Yeah—you’re probably right.”

“I like spending time with you.” I smiled.

“I like spending time with you too.” We were silent for a moment as we tried to think of something else to say. But then I heard my dad call my name from inside the house. The kitchen specifically. I groaned and rolled my eyes. “He wants to talk to you,” I told Felix. He winced.

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said. I shrugged.

“I think he wants to give you a dad speech. He had a lot to say about it this morning. But for you? Probably just the old ‘what are your intentions with my daughter’ speech.”

“My favorite speech. I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” I smiled and shook my head.

“Not if you ever plan on taking me out again.” He laughed.

“Tell him I’ll be right over. But I’m telling my mom exactly where I am. And she will definitely call the cops if I don’t come home.” Now I laughed.

“I’ll be sure to warn him.” He turned to go back to his house, and I did the same. When I reached the kitchen, my dad was standing by the window, arms crossed over his chest.

“What were you doing?” he asked.

“I took the dog out,” I replied.

“Doesn’t take that long to take her out. You could have just let her into the yard.”

“Seriously, Dad? I was telling Felix to come over so you could torture him. You asked me to.”

“Mm-hmm.” The doorbell rang, so I gave him my “told you so” look. He turned and marched toward it like a drill sergeant.

He was six-foot-six and usually slouched and tried not to make it so obvious that he was. But now he was utilizing every goddamn inch like it made him more intimidating. He pulled the door open and looked out at the boy standing on the front steps. Felix wasn’t that much shorter than him. And I was sure he’d already noticed. He wasn’t as tall as my dad and Quinn, exactly, but definitely above average.

“Hi, Mr. Emery,” Felix said. “Ruby said you wanted to talk to me.” I chewed my thumbnail as my dad stepped back and motioned toward the couch.

“Have a seat,” he said. Felix glanced at me as he passed, and I grimaced in apology. “Ruby, would you give us a minute alone, please?”

“What? Seriously?” I replied.

“Yes, seriously.”

“Ugh, fine.” I turned and headed up the stairs. But after I shut the door, I quietly popped it back open. My room was right at the top of the stairs, so I’d be able to hear everything. If they spoke loud enough.

My dad started with that same old cliché. Because requesting to speak with a suitor wasn’t enough of a cliché as it is. He went with the old, “What are your intentions with my daughter?” and I had to roll my eyes as I took a seat on the floor.

“To—spend time with her?” Felix answered. He sounded confused. Like he wasn’t sure how to answer that himself. “To get to know her?”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“Well, I’d like to take her on a date. Maybe more if she’ll let me.”

“To do what?”

“We could go to a movie. I don’t know. I haven’t actually thought about it yet. Maybe a concert or something.”

“How would you get to know her by watching a movie or going to a concert?”

“I’m sure we’ll talk at some point. We might have dinner.”

“Is that all?” Felix took a moment to answer. I knew it was taking everything in his power to not be a smartass. I could hear it in his voice. Which meant my dad probably could too.

“Look, sir,” he started. “I know Quinn has probably said some nasty things about me, and I’m sure that’s why you don’t want me to take your daughter on a date. And I get that. I’m not a dad, but I still get it. But half of what Quinn said about me isn’t even true. The rest is probably all exaggerated.”

“He knows you better than most people.”

“And I know him better than most people. And, no offense, but he’s one of the most dramatic people I’ve ever met. He exaggerates. Especially when he’s angry. And there’s some stuff in our past that he’s never forgiven me for, even though I wasn’t at fault. I don’t want to hurt Ruby. That’s the last thing I want to do. Even if she wasn’t my best friend’s sister.”

“Relationships end all the time. People get hurt. I’m not worried about Ruby getting her heart broken. She’ll get over it, and she’ll move on, and she’ll be better for it. My concern is—what will happen if you don’t break up.”

“Oh,” Felix said.

“Yeah,” my dad agreed.

“Well—that’s not—I’m not interested in her—for that reason.”

“Right.” My dad wasn’t buying it. “My concern is that you’ll have the power to push Ruby into doing something she’ll regret. There are plenty of ways to hurt someone. I don’t know you very well. I’m sure you’re a nice kid. If Quinn likes you enough to be your friend, I’ll trust his judgment. But sometimes—people can use that power without meaning to. Without trying.”

“I would never push her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.”

“Maybe not intentionally.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Ruby likes you enough—how far would she be willing to go to keep you happy?”

“I think—maybe we’re jumping ahead a little too far here. Right now, I just want to take Ruby on a date. I want to get to know her. I like her. But it’s not something I’d want to rush. I’d prefer to take it slow.”

“Right. For now.”

“I….” My dad cut him off.

“Listen, I’m not going to tell you to stay away from my daughter. Because when I was your age, someone told me that exact thing, and I ended up with twins. So instead of forbidding you, I’m going to warn you. If you ever put your hands on my little girl, I will hurt you. If you hit her or touch her in any way that she disapproves of. Or push her into saying yes when she doesn’t want to. I will cut off every single one of your fingers individually. I have a very big knife, and there is nothing in this world I love more than that girl. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Ruby, you can come back now!” I stood up and slumped back down the stairs. Felix was sitting on the couch, looking like he wanted to melt right into it. My dad was standing, still looking like a freakishly tall drill sergeant.

“Hey, nice chat?” I asked.

“Very pleasant,” my dad told me. I sat down on the couch, a foot away from Felix. My dad looked down at both of us. “Remember what I taught you,” he said, pointing at me. “Go for the pressure points. Nose hurts the most. Yank his finger back and break it if he puts his hands on you without your permission. No means no, and you can say it whenever you damn well please. Knee him in the groin if he keeps insisting.”

“Right,” I said, cheeks getting hot. “I remember, Dad.” He nodded once.

“And be safe.” He turned to walk away to his office. “And no twins!” The door shut, and I put my head in my hands.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Felix.

“It’s alright. I get it,” he said.

“He didn’t get violent or anything, did he?”

“He was very calm as he explained how he was going to cut off each one of my fingers.”

“Sorry for putting you through that.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I think it went better than I expected. He didn’t say I couldn’t take you out. He just wanted to make it clear that you’re free to make your own choices. Which is something Quinn hasn’t grasped yet.” I nodded.

“I think my dad just has a bit more experience in this department. My grandfather forbade him from going out with my mom, and that resulted in twins.” He smiled and looked down to pick at his jeans.

“So uh—I meant to ask. This prom thing. You maybe wanna go with me?” My heart was dancing in my chest again. My dad hadn’t scared him away after all.

“Isn’t that in like—a week?”

“I’m a little late to the party, yeah, but I know Billie’s making you go anyway. Might as well have a date, right?” I laughed and nodded.

“Very romantic.”

“Would you like me to get down on one knee?”

“Oh Jesus, don’t do that. You’d give my dad a heart attack.” He snickered. “But yeah—I’d like to go with you.”

“Awesome.”

He reached out to take my hand. I still wasn’t sure if that made me his girlfriend or not, but prom was a good start.