Page 16 of Sugar Walls (Sweet Treats 5)

“Jack, I hear what you’re saying, but we have to leave Violet out of this. She’s no longer with us. Plus, she hasn’t seen how much happier you’ve become, now that you’re with Dads and Daughters. You were wasting away there for a while, Jack. After Mom died, you lost twenty pounds and were sleeping in a tent in our backyard. Don’t you remember?”

Jack nods, still looking down.

“I do, but your mother would be so shocked by what I’ve done. She saw you as an angel, sweetheart. She thought you could be President one day, or maybe an astronaut. At the very least, you’d be a successful lawyer or doctor.”

I stare at my dad.

“But that makes no sense! Yes, I’m a very nerdy girl, but Daddy, I don’t want to be some high-powered female executive. Those women are scary, Jack. They always look like they have a stick plugged deep in their asses, and their faces are always pinched from stress and anxiety. Why would you want me to be like that?”

My dad shifts uncomfortably.

“I just thought –”

I cut him off.

“No, Daddy. You thought that being a lawyer or doctor would be a good job because they’re stable, high-paying professions. But Daddy, I love the fact that you’re a long-haul trucker. It too is a stable, high-paying job, and you’ve been providing for our family for more than twenty years now. Sure, it’s blue collar, but that doesn’t matter. Someone still has to haul goods from one place to another, and that person is you. You provide real value, Jack.”

“But still—”

I cut him off again with a hand raised in the air.

“No Daddy. You’ve misunderstood me. I don’t want to be a lawyer, doctor, or astronaut. And I definitely don’t want to be the President of the United States because imagine living life in the public eye. Ugh. That’s not for me at all. I want to be something that gives back to our community, and I want to be a part of our community too. I want to be a part of Dads and Daughters.”

But Jack is still resisting.

“Natalie, I had no idea that you were going to be presented with two men when we last visited,” he says in a low voice. “I’m so ashamed that that happened to my daughter.”

“But I liked it!” I protest.

He shakes his head, still looking at his untouched bowl of soup.

“Natalie, out of respect for your dead mother’s memory, I can’t let you join Dads and Daughters. This was all a mistake. I treasure Violet too much to let this happen to her daughter.”

I stare at him, my mouth opening and closing with shock.

“Wait, what? Now I can’t even join Dads and Daughters? I’m not going to have an initiation?”

Jack shakes his head, his expression determined.

“No, definitely not. I can’t tarnish the memory of your mother any further. Sugar, you should go to college, and then have a career. You’re smart and talented. You don’t have to be a lawyer, doctor, or astronaut, but I know you’re going to be something amazing. You shouldn’t be servicing random truckers who drop by our little town. It’s below you, Natalie, and Violet would cry if she knew what I’ve done.”

I’m so surprised that I’m unable to speak for a moment. This is a complete about face from last week, when he was trying to sell me on the idea of the club.

“What?” I manage to stammer. “Why the change?”

My dad continues, his expression even more determined now.

“I can’t let you go through with this, Natalie. Your mother and I love you too much, and I’ve been blinded by depression for too long. I’ve been so caught up in tragedy that I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry, Sugar, but I can’t let you join and that’s final.”

I’m tempted to jump up and scream my protests to the Heavens, but I can tell that that won’t help. Jack can be stubborn sometimes. My dad is like a mule who’s sensed food. He’s only going to clomp in that direction, no matter what you say or do. So instead, I try a different tack.

“Okay. Well, if I don’t join, then what’s going to happen?”

My dad looks up.

“You’ll forget that the club exists and go to college instead. You’ll meet a nice boy, finish your studies, and then get married and get a job. Soon, I’ll be a granddad.”

I stare at my father.

“Are you kidding? How would I forget something as magical as my time at the Lodge?”

My dad sighs, but then he looks me in the eye again.

“You’ll forget it, Natalie. Trust me. With enough years, everything disappears into a blur. I can’t remember ninety-nine percent of the things that happened to me the year I was eighteen. Possibly even one hundred percent.”

I shake my head.

“Well, I hate to disagree, but I don’t think I’m going to forget Dads and Daughters ever. Even if I live to be ninety, I’ll still be running that experience over and over again in my head. I’ll be thinking about it when I’m in my nursing home because it’ll be a sassy memory of when I was young and attractive.”

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