Chapter 35: Rollercoaster

The rides were small and unexciting. The carnival games were lame. The food was standard carnival fare. It didn’t matter as far as Ted was concerned. He was in heaven with the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Sitting down at a picnic table across from Amy, Ted handed her one of the drinks he had just purchased. She accepted it with a smile and a quick thank you.

Looking at her date across the table, Amy said, “I’m really impressed.”

“By what?” Ted asked looking around.

“You don’t seem to be afraid of my dad at all,” she answered. Every time her father had done something that would normally have embarrassed her, Ted had just taken it in stride.

Nervous, Ted laughed and said, “I’m terrified of your father.”

“You sure don’t show it,” she said surprised by his admission.

“I keep picturing me kissing you and him coming out to haul me off to jail or something,” Ted said. It was only after he saw her blush that he realized what he had said and turned red. Flustered, he said, “I keep saying stupid things, don’t I?”

“Like what?” Amy asked thinking about the first thing he had said to her at the dojo and now admitting that he imagined kissing her. Lisa sat down beside her while Harry went around the table to sit next to Ted.

“That I’m in love with you and want to kiss you,” Ted said.

Harry hadn’t heard the first part of the discussion and was just in time to hear what sounded like Ted declaring his love for Amy. He laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder. Still laughing, he said, “Slow down, Tiger. Give her a chance to know you.”

Ted turned bright red in embarrassment. Amy giggled at her date’s obvious discomfort. She said, “Harry, let the man talk.”

Lisa laughed at the expression on Harry’s face. She winked at him and said, “You sure were slow. I think it took you three dates to declare your love for me. I was beginning to lose patience.”

Exaggerating his pain, Harry leaned over to Ted and declared, “You are making me look bad in front of the love of my life.”

Ted laughed and said, “I was just telling her that I’m terrified of her father.”

Leaning forward, Amy said, “Listen. Don’t worry about my Dad. He doesn’t really care what happens to me.”

Hearing words that could have been uttered by her several months earlier, Lisa turned to Amy and said, “You don’t really mean that.”

“I do. My dad doesn’t have any room in his life for me. He’s a cop first and a father second,” Amy said.

“I’m sure that he worries about you,” Lisa said. She found that she was having difficulty breathing. Memories of feeling unloved flooded through her; overwhelming her in light of what she now knew was true. Just three words from her father could have kept the pain away. Seventeen years ruined because she didn’t know and he didn’t say. Looking at Amy, she swore that the other girl wouldn’t have to go through that kind of misery one minute longer.

“No. He just likes terrorizing the boys that come to see me,” Amy said with a sigh.

It wasn’t that boys had never been interested in dating her. It was just after meeting her father every boy that had ever come by the house had canceled the date.

Shaking her head in despair, she said, “He’s good at that. Ted’s the first boy who has ever lasted two conversations with him.”

Shaking his head, Ted said, “He’s kind of what I expected all fathers to be like.”

“There are times when I just want to go out and do something illegal just to get his attention,” Amy said.

Frowning, Ted said, “Never do something that hurts yourself because you want attention. You might get some short-term attention, but the harm lasts forever.”

Feeling a little angry at his defense of her father, Amy said, “He spent more time with his criminals in LA than he ever did with me!”

Ted reached across the table and took her hand. Looking her in the eye, he said, “You are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. No man could value others more than you.”

Trying to collect herself, Amy took a sip of her soft drink. Deciding to lighten the topic of conversation, she said, “So far you’ve told me that you love me, you want to kiss me, and that I’m beautiful. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Lisa recognized Amy’s attempt to change the subject for what it was. She looked across the table at Harry and said, “Harry, would you like to come with me for a minute?”

“That’s a good idea. We’ll leave so that Ted can say some more mushy stuff to Amy,” Harry joked as he rose from his chair.

Ted and Amy laughed at the parting shot. Turning his attention back to Amy, Ted said, “I like your dress.”

“I bought it just for this date. I was afraid that it was a little fancy for a bowling date, but I liked it,” Amy said.

Lisa dragged Harry across the carnival grounds seeking a particular person. Not understanding what she wanted, Harry struggled to keep up with her. Finally, he asked, “Lisa, what’s the matter?”

“I have to find her father,” she said. There was a sense of urgency in her voice.

“Why?” Harry asked puzzled by her insistence

“He has to know,” she said.

“Know what?” Harry asked following her. He spotted Amy’s father and said, “He’s over there.”

“Stay here,” Lisa said while heading directly to Amy’s father.

Harry didn’t know what to do. He stopped and then followed behind her at a walk. He watched Amy grab Victor and lead him away to a private place. It wasn’t until he had almost reached them that he realized what Lisa was talking about. He stopped and waited for her to finish her conversation.

Victor Harmon stared at the young woman who insisted that he step away for a private conversation. He had seen many kids turning in others for illegal activity, but this young woman wasn’t acting like that. Hoping that he wasn’t making a mistake, he followed her to a quiet area. Once there, he asked, “What do you want?”

After taking a deep breath, Lisa said, “For years I was convinced that my father didn’t like me. Finally, I reached the point where I didn’t care what happened to me. I just wanted out of his life.”

Rubbing his forehead, Victor decided that she was reporting that her father was abusing her. He was going to have to treat this very carefully. In a reassuring voice, he said, “Tell me all about it.”

“Everything was horrible until the day I found out how much he loved me. That was the best day of my life,” Lisa said realizing that she wasn’t making any sense.

Confused, Victor asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he finally told me how much I had meant to him. He remembered little things about my whole life. He told me how proud he was of me. You have no idea how bad it feels to think that your daddy doesn’t love you. When you discover that it is just the opposite, it’s so great I don’t even know how to describe it.”

This didn’t sound like any child abuse report that he’d ever heard. Folding his arms across his chest, he said, “Let me get this straight. You thought that your daddy didn’t love you, but then you discovered that he did.”

“Right,” Lisa said realizing that they weren’t really communicating.

“So why are you telling me this?” Victor asked hoping to get to the problem.

“Because Amy thinks you don’t love her,” Lisa blurted out.

Victor shouted, “What?”

“You daughter thinks that you don’t love her.”

Stunned, Victor said, “I’m going to kill her.”

“No. No, don’t do that! All she needs is for you to tell her that you love her,” Lisa said. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. Before she knew it, Harry was there and holding her in his arms.

Victor couldn’t believe his daughter was telling complete strangers that he didn’t love her. He looked at Harry and asked, “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

“Yes, Sir. I do,” Harry said running a hand over Lisa’s back. He felt very uneasy about this entire discussion.

“Explain it to me,” Victor demanded. He knew how to get information from unwilling witnesses.

Harry shifted nervously and then said, “Sometimes people interpret things differently. You see working as supporting your family. It happens at times that your family sees your work as an excuse to leave them at home. You need to talk to Amy and let her know how you feel about her. That’s all.”

Putting his hands on his hips, Victor looked across the crowd with a glare on his face. Angry, he said, “That boy is filling her head with shit. I’m going to kill the little bastard.”

Surprising Harry, Lisa flew out his arms and attacked Victor. Striking his chest with her little fists in a childish flailing motion, she shouted, “You stupid fool. Don’t blame Ted because you can’t tell her that you love her. You love her. I know you love her. Why can’t you just tell her that?”

Barely able to believe what was happening, Harry stepped forward and pulled Lisa off Victor. Holding her in his arms, he said, “Calm down, Lisa.”

Victor stared at the sobbing mess in shock. He had been attacked by some pretty rough and tough criminals. None of them had ever hurt him as much as this little girl. Looking up at Harry, he asked, “Is she telling the truth?”

“Yes,” Harry said while turning Lisa around so that he could wrap his arms around her. Putting his mouth next to her ear, he whispered, “I love you, Lisa.”

After a minute, Lisa calmed down and stopped crying. She stepped back and, wiping her eyes, said, “I must look horrible. I need to visit a rest room and fix my face.”

“There’s one in the firehouse,” Harry said leading her in that direction.

Victor stood there staring at the young couple walk off to the firehouse. The young lady had given him something to think about. After a few minutes, he pulled himself together and went off in search of his daughter and her boyfriend. He wondered when he started thinking of that boy as her boyfriend.