My head jerked up and I glanced over at him as he retrieved a small notepad from one of his inside jacket pockets and a short pen. I hadn't even realized he was carryingit.
Mr. Spencer shook his head. "I don't mind atall."
I blinked as Marv handed me the notepad and pen and returned his gaze to Mr. Spencer. Looking between the two of them, I noticed a lot of similarities. Both had distinctly dark brown hair, cut short to their scalps, but not buzzed. The sides of Mr. Spencer's were tinged in gray, and there were lines around his lips and between his eyebrows that I was sure Marv would soon have as he grew older. They were both dressed similarly and, to top it off, both were seated in much the sameposition.
"When did you first notice a difference in Sarah?" Marvbegan.
Mr. Spencer frowned and then with a sigh, he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "It wasn't long ago for me, actually," he said with no hidden amount of shame. "Sarah and I don't spend time together. We never really have since I'm not her biological father; I'm just the stepfather, the stand in, I guess. Her mother on the other hand, Marion knew almost immediately that something was wrong. They've always been close. Since Sarah changed though, she hasn't talked to Marion verymuch."
"Do you know if Sarah does talk to anyone?" Marv prompted as I scribbled down their names and theirrelationships.
"She goes out a lot," Mr. Spencer replied. "We've tried stopping her, but she went from sneaking out to blatantly ignoring us. We've threatened to take her phone away, her credit cards, her car. She doesn't care anymore. If we take away her phone, she'll still leave – she has these friends, friends Marion and I don't like very much. They aren't the sort of people a young lady her age should be hanging aroundwith."
"How old is Sarah?" I found myself asking. I hadn't realized that I said it out loud until Mr. Spencer turned his face to look atme.
"She's sixteen," he answered. "Sixteen years old and drinking like a war veteran. She drinks all the time. She's come home completely drunk multiple times and our maids find bottles in her room. She doesn't even try to hideit."
"Did she hide it to begin with?" Marv asked, sitting forward on the edge of thesettee.
Mr. Spencer nodded. "I guess when she first started acting out, she did try to hide it a bit. Once we confronted her about it, she stopped tryingaltogether."
"You confronted her," Marv repeated. "How did she react to that?" I scribbled furiously, trying to write everything down that wassaid.
"She was nervous, I suppose," Mr. Spencer admitted. "Marion is actually the one who confronted her first. I walked in on the two of them having a discussion about Sarah's newhabits."
"She acted nervous?" Marv asked, glancing down at my writing before returning his attention to the man sitting across fromus.
"Yes, Marion said she was quiet when she first talked to her, but she changed when I came in. She shut down completely. Marion could have sworn that Sarah was trying to tell her something. I'm sure it was an excuse of some kind, but it still rankles that she would act so...so..."
"So what, Mr. Spencer?" Marv's tone was gentle as he prodded theman.
"So scared," he finally said. "She's terrified ofme."
My hand paused over the notepad as I looked up. Marv kept his gaze trained on Mr. Spencer. He didn't seem like the kind of man that would evoke fear in someone. Sure, he was taller than me, but of average height for a man. I knew that looks could be deceiving, though, so I didn't comment. I stayed quiet as I waited for the conversation to continue. Something inside of me told me that he was genuine; he truly cared for this Sarah girl and he didn't want to see herhurt.
"I could see it in her eyes," he went on, "when I walked in, she completely closed herself off. She backed away even. I haven't been alone in the same room as her for months. She drinks. She goes out where I'm sure she drinks some more. She comes home. Some nights she doesn't even do that." He shook his head, a lock of dark hair falling over his forehead. "I don't know how much longer we can keep thisup."
"Mr. Spencer," Marv said. "Did Sarah ever attend Ms. Enders’ Etiquette courses for Fine YoungLadies?"
Mr. Spencer looked up, confusion clear on his face. "Yea, she did. Marion sent her towards the end of her last summer break." Mr. Spencer paused for a moment, thinking. "You know, come to think of it, it wasn't long after she came back that she started actingstrange."
"That's an entire year," I said, setting down my pen. Marv and Mr. Spencer both looked at me. "If it was towards the end of last summer, then it's been an entire year since she came back from that camp," I continued. "When did you say she started actingout?"
"A few months following?" When Mr. Spencer answered, it sounded like aquestion.
I pressed on. "And you said you didn't notice right away? That things escalated, first her trying to hide the alcohol and now she doesn't?" He nodded. "Okay," I said. "I just wanted to clarify for mynotes."
I closed the notepad and clicked the pen closed, glancing over to Marv. I felt for Mr. Spencer, seeing how worried he was.Acting out, I thought.That's what normal teenagers do, right?I wouldn't exactly know, though. I hadn't been an average teenager. I'm sure other teenagers didn't work the long hours I had. Sure, there had been that one time I went out with Erika and we had gotten drunk on the beach. Most of the time, however, I had been too tired or too busy to act out. I almost envied Sarah, whoever she was. She lived in a nice house, with parents who were concerned about her welfare. As Mr. Spencer had said before, she had a phone, a car, money...all the things I never had before. Maybe that made her spoiled? Would Marv hate me if I said so? He was from the same world after all. Was it just jealousy speaking? I couldn't be sureexactly.
Marv stood and shook hands with Mr. Spencer, who in turn shook my hand as well when I offered it. "It truly was good to see you again, Marvin," Mr. Spencer said as we made our way to the frontdoor.
"Yes, sir. Hopefully, when we speak again, it will be on better circumstances." Marv smiled tightly as Mr. Spencer inclined hishead.
"Hopefully," the other man replied as he opened the front door. "Call if you need anything. I truly would have thought Sarah's activities were just her acting out if it hadn't been for that other girl, the one who..." He trailed off, his voice wavering and his eyes deeplysad.
"Yes, well, thank you for talking with us despite that," Marvreplied
"If you're looking for more information," Mr. Spencer said as we stepped outside, causing the both of us to turn around, "try the Rutherford’s. I've heard Robert's had some of the same issues with his niece,Carly."