“You’re also a senator. You don’t need anything happening. You never know. Plus you should be setting a good example. Not just to your constituents, but for your daughter as well.
He shoves the key into the ignition and pauses, then slides it out.
“Why do you have to be so damn responsible?” He laughs. “You’re going to make a good father one day.”
I swallow hard.
“Well you would,” he continues. “But I know that’s not your thing.”
That all changed a few hours ago.
“You never met anyone when you were serving?” he goes on.
I just shake my head.
“Out there in Coronado, in sunny Southern California, you never ran into any of those Baywatch babe types?”
“If I did, I sure didn’t notice. Was always more focused on keeping the country safe. Plus I was rarely stateside.”
“You don’t have to remind me. We sure missed you. You were in our thoughts daily.” He pauses. “Many a night Sadie would ask me for a bedtime story about you and your travels, so I’d tell her what little I knew you were up to. The top secret stuff I just kind of let my mind run wild.”
“Might not have been too far from the truth. You’d be surprised.”
“I can only imagine.”
But I can’t imagine what I see as we step away from the Suburban and Rick stabs at his phone, probably dialing up a ride sharing app.
The doors to the restaurant open and out stumble a few annoying guys who were shouting at the TV during one of the games. They’re clearly drunk, and slurring their words.
It’s not a big deal until I hear a group of words that sets me off.
“Dude. The tits on that blonde waitress. Insane.”
Like Bruce Banner changing into the Hulk something inside me snaps. All I can think about is how much I want to smash that guy’s face in, and then his friends as they all join in.
“She had one helluva ass too,” his stupid buddy says.
I take a step toward them, then suddenly a body jumps in front of me, Rick’s two hands pressing into my chest as his heels dig into the concrete as he tries to hold me back.
“Let it go, Soren.”
“Let it go? Let it go?” My hands solidify to fists at my sides, my fingers grinding into my palms. “She’s your daughter.”
“Which means she is in the public spotlight and she leads a good life because of my position.”
My eyes move from the guys down to my friend, wondering when exactly it was that he became so pussified.
“Your daughter, Rick. She’s. Your. Daughter.”
“And midterms are right around the corner. It’s not worth it.”
“Standing up for your family, and especially for women, isalwaysworth it. At the end of the day family’s all you’ve got, and if they don’t know with one hundred percent certainty that the man, the protector in their life doesn’t have their back, then they have nothing.” He says nothing and I continue. “You serve your state second, and your family first. Family is always first.”
“What are we going to do, tough guy?” he challenges me, still trying to ‘reason’ with me. “There’s five of them and two of us. And look,” he says, raising his phone in front of my face. “Our Uber is almost here.”
I just shake my head. “You’ve gotten soft, Rick. And you don’t even see it.” Another beat passes. “You have to nip these things in the bud before they grow.”
“What? It’s not like they’re going to do anything to her.”