"Good morning!" a cheerful voice sang out from behind him. A moment later, two arms wrapped around Jack from behind in a vigorous hug.
Touched by the uncharacteristic outburst of affection, he smiled and patted Zoe's arm before letting her step away. As he watched his teenaged daughter happily bound past him toward the refrigerator, he resumed eating his breakfast and patiently waited for the other shoe to drop.
Zoe took a deep breath. "So, um…Dad…"
"Uh-huh, here it comes," Jack muttered. He suspected there was an ulterior motive behind Zoe's sunny disposition.
"…there's this concert on Saturday and…"
Jack listened with one ear while racking his brain for the reason why his answer should be no. It sounded harmless enough. The concert wasn't on a school night, the venue was less than 20 miles away, and the friends she would be going with were classmates he'd met before. Still, her behavior made clear that she expected this to be a hard sell.
"Hang on!" he interrupted as the answer came to him in a flash. "You're still grounded."
Her disgruntled expression confirmed his statement. "This is so not fair," Zoe protested hotly.
"I know," Jack nodded sympathetically. "Life generally isn't."
Gulping down the last of his coffee, Jack quickly stood up and deposited his coffee mug and cereal bowl in the sink. He'd stumped her for now, but if he didn't leave soon she'd start coming up with reasons why he should make an exception and let her go to the concert anyway. "Well, I better get to work before all the good criminals are taken. And you have to get to school."
Zoe sputtered, "Wait, but…"
"Have a good day, Zoe," Jack called out as he scooped up his jacket and headed out the door. "You too, Sarah," he added just before the door shut behind him.