“I know, it's just..”
“She's always pulling something like this?” he finished her thought.
“Yeah.”
“Well, forget about her for now,” he grinned, “I'm glad we have a chance to talk.”
“Are you guys getting divorced?” Tamara asked, her hands balled into fists at her side.
“No!” he laughed, “What would be the point after all these years? I don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about you.”
“Oh.”
“You've been acting weird since you started Chess Club,” he said, glancing at his daughter through the rear-view mirror.
“It sucks, sort of,” Tamara said.
“Well, I know you're upset over the coach and volleyball,” he said, “but are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine,” Tamara nodded, “There's just a lot of things going on.”
“Like Amber getting a serious boyfriend?”
“This isn't about Amber!” Tamara said, feeling bad that she hadn't tried to call Amber since third period.
“No, it's about you,” he said, “I know how it is when the person you've hung out with forever suddenly starts dating and gets serious about someone. It can leave you feeling left out.”
“That's not it,” Tamara shook her head.
“Then what is it, Tamara?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, you know you can ask me anything. I might not always know the answer, though,” Mr. Page chuckled.
“Should you believe a guy when he apologizes?”
“Is this about Doug?”
“No, I haven't talked to Doug since the dance. He's old news.”
“Then which guy are we talking about?”
“You don't know him. He's new at school.”
“What's he apologizing for?”
“Well, saying some stuff.”
“Stuff?” Mr. Page arched a eyebrow in question.
“Nothing, like that. No, he's not starting rumors about me. I'd slug him if he was doing that,” Tamara laughed, “That would make things easier.”
“Well, since you're not wanting to tell your ole dad what's going on, I'll say this. If he's made an ass out of himself, it's probably because he likes you. Most guys just don't know what to say to a pretty girl, who's also smart, athletic, and nice. That combination can really intimidate a guy.”
“Maybe,” Tamara laughed.
“No, really it can,” Mr. Page said as they pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. The law firm always rented the ballroom out for dinner parties after winning a big case. Although, since they had to rent it weeks in advance, sometimes they had a pity dinner if the case was lost, thankfully this wasn't one of those times.