Actually Marlie, despite her sudden annoyance with seeing her father on her doorstep, welcomed Harlan. At last, all the pent up frustrations and things she always wanted to say to him could be aired. Thanks to her otherworldly lover, she was able to see through people, carefully observe how they ticked, what forces certain folks to abandon the enjoyment of life.
Her eyes shifted from the still-encased cello sitting in the entry hall to her father to the staircase. While she didn't want her father to meet her new lover yet (Could you blame her? The old man might keel over from shock.), Marlene somehow wanted Lahon to come slithering down the stairs. Would sure show Daddy a thing or two. Thank God Lahon was still upstairs, still in her bedroom fast asleep.
Playing the gracious hostess, she said, "Daddy, I wish you had called first. As I said, I'm really swamped with this book, and as you can see, I'm taking up music again."
Harlan looked at his daughter with some degree of disgust. However instead of lashing out, he spoke in coolly deliberate tones. "Marlene, it's not often I meddle in your personal affairs–"
"Daddy, if you want to carry on a conversation, at least come on in and sit down."
Harlan, perturbed at being interrupted so rudely, complied and followed his daughter into the kitchen. There she prepared a fresh pot of coffee then unpacked the cinnamon bagels purchased on the way home.
"As I said, Marlene," he said while she served him bagel and coffee, "I don't like to meddle in your personal affairs. However, several days ago, when I went to your home only to find you have moved, I was worried, and a trifle upset. Then I find out you quit your job at the station. Why? Did you know I had to corner your former secretary only to learn you emailed a letter of resignation shortly after meeting a client."
"Janet had no business telling you that, Dad. What I decide to do with my life is no concern of yours."
"It is when I feel you're throwing your life away. Janet says there must be a man in your life. What else could explain this sudden change, and I don't mean just quitting your job. Look at you, dressed in...what do you call that? I thought your Aunt Ellen and I taught you better."
He surveyed Marlene's casual yet stylish attire of tight-fitting jeans, tank top, and snappy brown velvet blazer. Were those three-inch stilletto pumps on her feet? And that hair, all flying about unrestrained. The makeup, something of which Harlan never approved, was garish with the kohl black eyeliner, loads of mascara, and glossily painted red lips. And what was that perfume? Certainly not with which the sort a well-brought up woman would drench herself. It was an assertive fragrance, heady with musk and botanicals. The Marlene he knew never dressed like this, never just jumped up and walked away from a promising career. It has to be that scoundrel she's seeing. Who else would dare talk a once sensible woman out of all things decent and honorable, make her turn her back on everything her father and auntie taught her.
Marlene, her annoyance growing more pronounced, toyed with her coffee cup. As she spread cream cheese on her bagel, she made little stabbing motions with the knife, as if the hapless baked good was her father.
"Janet had no business telling you that. Besides, she doesn't know if I'm seeing anyone. Guess I'll have to line up a good attorney and start suing for slander and character assasination."
"This is no joke, Marlene!," Harlan said, his voice rising with his temper. He slammed down his cup. "I don't like what I'm seeing or hearing. I'll ask once more, and I want a straight answer. Who is he? And what has he done to my little girl?"
Now Marlene knew she had to come clean, but she didn't want to blow Lahon's cover, let alone tell her father that her new lover is actually an otherworldly, non-human creature. She thought she heard faint rumbling upstairs and was relieved Dad paid no attention. No, Lahon, don't come downstairs, not yet. Dad would go ballistic, might fall over dead...Hey, that's not a bad idea.
A slight wicked womanly smile spread over her face, and Harlan picked up on this right away. Again he pressed, "So, you are seeing someone. Who is he? What does he do? Is he our sort? Does he possess good no-nonsense values? Tell me!"
There was no turning back for Marlene, but she knew a little lying was in order. So she'd tell her father a few half-truths. What could hurt? Unless Dad insisted on meeting the 'boyfriend'.
"Uh, Dad," she began hesitantly, fully aware if she stammered too much, Harlan would catch her in a lie. "His name is...Oh what do you care? If I said he was wonderful, rich, talented, and good to me, you wouldn't care. Because no one is good enough for me."
She was angry now, and she showed it by getting up from the table and briskly exiting the room.
Harlan followed her into the living room then into the entry hall. Marlene paid him no mind as she gathered her cello and music then made tracks for the den. He followed close behind, saying in a raised voice full of rage, "Marlene Diane Prentice, you will tell me who this man is. Don't walk away from me. I demand to know the truth!"
She set up her music stand then carefully unpacked the cello. After assembling the instrument's stand then rifling through a portfolio of old music scores, Marlene sat down and began to tune the cello. It was easier than she thought; she hadn't touched the instrument since high school, but everything she ever learned came back to her.
With a sigh, and continuing to tune her instrument, she said calmly, "There is no need to shout, Dad. As I said, I met him a few months ago, and we've been seeing each other steadily ever since. Dad, he is so wonderful. He's kind, gentle, very wise, and handsome. He has opened a whole new world for me. I wouldn't have taken up my music again if it wasn't for Lahon."
She stopped herself. Never did she imagine that she'd divulge her lover's identity. At least she wouldn't tell her father the 'beau's' true nature.
Harlan Prentice saw several shades of red. The blue eyes flashed fire, the cheeks flushed, the teeth clenched. Any time he will explode as Marlene recognized those unmistakable signs of her father's hot temper.
"Marlene, I've tried to do right by you. Sent you to the best private schools money could buy. Gave you everything: a solid upbringing, education, time-honored values–"
"Oh, you mean telling me that my mother was nothing but common trailer trash? That she abandoned the family just short of my third birthday? That I would be nothing like her? That you and Aunt Ellen drilled into me that I had to be tough, hard as nails to survive in this world. That I had to be just like you. Honestly, Dad. Up until a few months ago, I lived my life just as you've ordered it, and you know what? I hated it, I truly hated my life. I had few friends, no outside interests. Hell, you and Aunt Ellen made me give up my music back in high school, the one thing I truly enjoyed and could call my own. But no, you said it was a waste of time, that I should put my talents to better use. I really missed this, Dad. I bought this today in hopes of recapturing what I was missing. For God's sake, all my life I've strived to please you, but never myself. For once, I'm happy. Can't you accept that and love me for what I am?"
Harlan wanted to slap his daughter. For the first time in so many years, he really wanted to give this wayward child a good thumping. Instead, he said to her, "I guess you got all these fancy new ideas from your boyfriend. Tell me, Marlene, did he tell you to talk like that?"
She looked at him in puzzlement. "What do you mean? Asserting myself is not acceptable in your eyes?"
"No, I mean that awful twang and drawl. I suppose he says it sounds cute. You know your aunt and I told you time and time again that talking like–"
"You mean talking like Mom, the daughter of a blue-collar worker. The woman who fell in love with you, who married you despite your parents' objections. The woman who, so soon after the marriage, didn't measure up or fit into your high society world. She left because you made her leave. I know because Aunt Ellen kept reminding me of that. She thought she was poisoning me against Mom, but she was wrong. I've never stopped thinking about my mother. And it would interest you that I've started looking for her. I want to meet the parent you deprived me of. I want her to know I've never stopped loving her."
Harlan was taken aback. He had no idea Marlene wanted to find her mother, and he had no idea as to where to look. The moment Virginia walked out of his life, Harlan never kept tabs, assuming the woman is, by now, either dead or living in complete anonymity. What did he care anyway? Virginia brought it upon herself, thinking she could fit into Harlan's world of country clubs and cocktail parties. The woman was a social nightmare with her penchant for lowbrow entertainment: beer, poker, country music, and raucously bawdy storytelling. He was a rebellious youth at the time, and Virginia caught him in a weak moment. How was he to know his parents' predictions would ring oh-so true?
Shaking his head, he said, "Your new boyfriend has obviously turned your head completely around. I know you are a grown woman, but I insist you stop seeing this man. He's gotten you so worked up, so twisted, that you write 'tell all' books about the very people to whom you owe allegiance. The idea of exposing secrets and intrigue, the 'truth' behind the media machine. My God, Marlene. I bent over backwards to get you that position! Do you have any idea what Alvin Morbis is saying? He was a trusted friend, a man who did me a favor by hiring you. Now you slap him, and me, in the face. Now you're talking about finding your mother. Why won't you let it go! Your mother was hardly the role model. Good riddance when she left us! She was nothing but trouble the moment she entered my life!"
"But she gave ME life! Just as Lahon has given it back to me!"
Now fully in tears, Marlene got up and left the room. Harlan followed close behind, still damning and berating his daughter and ex-wife, still insisted Marlene stop seeing the man who Harlan felt transformed his loving, hard-working daughter into a sort of turncoat.
Reaching the entry hall, she opened the door without ceremony. To Harlan, it was obvious.
Through her tears, she said, "I guess we have nothing more to say to each other. I will not give him up, and I will not give up finding my mother. Furthermore, I will no longer kowtow to you, to Aunt Ellen, to anyone who tries to orchestrate my life to their whims. I've changed, Daddy. You either accept that or you don't."
°°°°°°
He left in a huff, without saying good-bye. All he said before leaving was, "I really do not know you anymore, Marlene. That man you're seeing is the guilty party, making you into something I despise. Weak, willful, frivolous. Go on, find your mother. You will discover that she is not the woman you think she is, and you will be bitterly disappointed."
Harlan finally noticed the faint rumbling sound coming from upstairs. Glancing towards the staircase, he said before turning to leave, "Humph! So he's here, is he? Tell me, Marlene, since when do you let strange men stay the night? He's no good for you. Mark my words, Marlene. He will break your heart."
"Like you broke Mom's heart?"
That said, Harlan left, vowing never to visit again until Marlene got her act together.
Standing at the door, she watched her father's retreating back. Not once did he turn around. Not once did he have second thoughts, a change of heart that would make him turn around and say he's sorry. Still the hardnosed man who thinks he's right all the time. If only Lahon had shown himself, then Dad would have to take notice. Marlene thought about it. No, Dad was wrong, for Lahon had revitalized her life. She was free, and Dad would have to accept that fact.
She closed the door then walked back to the den and commenced practicing. Trying to focus on the score and her bowing technique, Marlene thought about what her father said: "Give him up. He's no good for you."
Ha! No man was ever good enough for his little girl. She never had a steady boyfriend in high school, because her dad and Aunt Ellen told her too many times, "Book and boy don't mix." They made her turn down one sweet boy's invitation to the prom, subsequently being forced to attend with a conceited, self-absorbed boy her father chose as 'more acceptable'. Humph! More like Harlan Prentice in minature if anything.
She couldn't take it anymore. Tears streamed down her face as she played a mournful dirge, the music and technique coming back to her easily. Wrapped in the cello's deep, emotional tones, Marlene wondered if she was doing the right thing. Was she throwing her life away? No! Was she wasting her time trying to find her mother? No on that count. So why did she feel so miserable?
A more familiar, more loving, voice called out to her. A deep, reverberating voice that sent shivers of desire and contentment throughout Marlie's being.
"He is the problem, Marlene."
She turned her head to see Lahon slithering his entire scaly length into the room. Smiling slightly and totally relieved he didn't show his face while Dad was here, Marlene got up, went to her lover and embraced him.
"How much of that did you hear?"
He kissed her tenderly, wrapped her lovingly within his coils, replying, "Enough to ponder whether to show myself to the man. I overheard the hurtful things he said to you, my dear. He is wrong, for you have changed for the better. Only he cannot see that. Such men will never understand as long as they close their hearts and minds."
After a brief pause, he said to her, "There is something I want to show you, Marlene. And I have a confession to make. Echyerl is not a planet but a mysterious land not far from here. When I came to you that first time, I had already, as you say, staked you out. I saw and felt your torment, and I took great pains not to reveal everything about myself. But I do love you, Marlene. I want to spent the rest of my life with you. I am so proud of what you have become, even if your father thinks otherwise. Now, after you treat me to a bit of your lovely musical talent, I want you to come with me. There is something I want you to see."
End of Book II
Go to Book III
Copyright©2005 by PRP. All Rights Reserved.