An hour later, Nina still hadn’t emerged from her bedroom, and I was starting to worry. I stood next to the door listening for sounds of anything unusual before I knocked.
“Punkin, how about if I call Emily and ask her to come for dinner?” I called through the closed door. “We could order pizza and watch a movie.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Nina replied. I waited to see if she would say anything else, and when she didn’t, I wrestled with whether to open the door and talk to her or to leave her to process things on her own. I felt damned if I did and damned if I didn’t.
Instead, I called Emily and explained the situation. I asked her to pick up a couple of movies she thought Nina wou
ld like, and told her I’d order pizza to be delivered around 6.
“Are you sure she wants me around tonight, Blake?” Emily asked. “I mean, I’m not trying to take the place of her mother or something. I’d hate for her to think that.”
“She said it was fine,” I said, wondering if Nina would see it the same way. “If she gets upset, we’ll deal with it. I’m not going to put my life on hold just because Remy can’t manage hers.”
“Way to go, Captain Empathy,” Emily chuckled. The sound of her laughter made me smile despite the fact that I was worried about my daughter. She agreed to get the movies and said she’d see us at 6.
“Nina, Emily’s bringing movies and I’ll have the pizza delivered at 6, okay?” I called through the bedroom door.
“Sure, whatever,” she replied. I hesitated and then turned the doorknob. Nina yelled, “Dad! I’m not a baby! Just let me have my privacy!”
“Sorry,” I said, as I let go of the knob and walked back down the hall. I felt like I should have insisted on talking, but the part of me that identified with her need to sulk in private wanted to respect her wishes. I sighed heavily as I rubbed my eyes, wondering how many other parents were suffering through this same thing.
When Emily showed up, I told her what had been going on, and she shrugged it off.
“She’s a teenager. They’re moody,” she said, as she dropped the movies on the entry table and took off her coat. “Let her tell you when she’s ready to talk. If you force it, she’ll pull back more. Believe me, I know.”
“All right, I’ll trust your expert opinion,” I said, smiling as I reached out and pulled her to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I leaned down and kissed her. I could feel the blood rushing away from my brain almost immediately, so I pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked, with a worried look on her face.
“Trying to keep it PG,” I said with a wry grin. “You don’t make it easy.”
“Ah ha,” she laughed. “Well, it’s not my job to make anything easy. Hadn’t you noticed?”
I leaned back and let out a loud laugh as she sidestepped me and headed for the kitchen calling, “Where’s the food? I’m starving!”
“It’s on its way,” I said, as I checked my phone and saw that the delivery driver was a couple of minutes away. “Nina! Emily’s here, and the pizza will be here in five!”
“Okay!” Nina called from behind her bedroom door. She emerged just as I was accepting the boxes from the driver. I handed her one and followed her to the kitchen where Emily had set out plates and sodas. Nina smiled, “Hey, Emily. Glad you could come over for dinner.”
“Hey, Nina, I’m glad you asked me to,” she smiled back. “I got a couple of movies I thought you might like. Not so sure your dad will like them, though.”
“Eh, he’ll watch anything,” Nina shrugged, as she helped herself to several slices of pizza and grabbed a soda.
“Hey, I have good taste in movies,” I protested, as I loaded my plate with pizza.
“Yeah, sure, Dad,” Nina said, as she sat down on the far end of the couch and picked at her pizza.
We watched two movies, and by the end of the second one, Nina yawned as she stretched and said she was going to bed. She gave me a hug and patted my cheek saying, “Don’t worry so much, Dad. I’m fine.”
I nodded as I watched her disappear down the hallway, then turned to Emily and said, “What in the hell just happened?”
“I think she’s trying to figure that out,” Emily replied, as she gathered up the plates and carried them to the kitchen. She put the dishes in the sink and said, “I’ve got to get going. I’ve got school tomorrow, and if I don’t get my rest, I’ll have little hope of educating the masses.”
“Aww, do you have to go?” I whined, as I pulled her to me and kissed her deeply.
“Yes, Mr. Gaston, I do have to go,” she said when she came up for air. “As tempting as it is to stay here with you, I have my duties to think of.”
“You’re no fun,” I pouted, as she patted my cheek and went to gather her things.