Another Festival chapter!
Chapter 7: Family Day
Jack looked nervously at the man before him. The man had short black hair, and wore a black business suit. Next to him was a blonde woman was wearing a blue dress, and on his other side, a blonde young woman wearing a blue skirt and a pink blouse. Finally, a man wearing jeans and a football jersey; Claire's family, the Seans.
The man glared at Jack. "So, you're the 'special' friend my daughter wrote about?"
Jack nodded. "Yes, sir, I'm Jack Trevors; an officer in town."
"You're relationship with Claire, just w-"
Jack shook his head. "Sir, I assure you that I've never had or attempted to have sex with your daughter."
Claire bit her lip. "Just some odd sleepovers…"
The man looked over at his daughter, then back to Jack. "What about these 'sleepovers' were odd?"
Jack cleared his throat. "Us sharing the bed, and assuming the worst in the morning."
The women laughed. "Really? You really forget overnight?"
He sadly nodded. The young woman stepped forward. "What happened to your arm?"
He looked at it. "This? I kinda got attacked by a bear."
"B-bear?"
Claire stepped in front of him and smiled.
"Jack risked his life to save me."
The man kept his serious expression. "Finally, my daughter mentioned a very interesting bet you made with a child."
Jack looked at Claire. "Sorry…"
Jack cleared his throat. "Yes, sir, I did."
"I demand to speak to his parents."
Jack cringed a bit. "I'm sorry, no can do."
"Then hi-"
"His grandmother wouldn't give a damn, and his sister's in on it."
He grabbed Jack by the collar. "Then get them on a phone!"
Jack kept a straight face. "If you wanna talk to them, you need to find a spirit medium or something. Now please, let me go." He let Jack down, and he walked away.
"Claire, you're coming home." The family gasped, and the woman grabbed his arm.
"Van, no! We spent a lot of money on this farm!"
Van shook her off. "Lilly, I'm worried about Claire."
The young woman was next. "But, papa, Claire wants to be here!"
"Cassandra, I'm just thinking about what's best for your sister."
Claire just stared at him with a look of horror on her face. He's really going to… no…"
He sighed. "Very well then… It's going to be expensive, but very well. I'm taking you to get your tubes tied, and then you come back."
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Her family was shocked by her sudden outburst.
"Why would you wanna do that?!" There were tears in her eyes.
Van shook his head. "There's nothing wrong; I'm protecting you."
"I thought you wanted grandchildren!"
"I do, I just don't want them to be his children."
Claire gaped at him. "You inconsiderate bastard! You never cared about what I wanted! What if I wanted Jack to be the father of my children?! The last five years of my life have been amazing; but only because you weren't there!"
"Why you…! How dare you talk to me that way?!" Out of rage, he slapped Claire, the sound of the impact quite loud, sending her to the ground. Cassandra ran over to her sister.
The other man grabbed Van's arm. "The f—k, Van?!"
"She has no authority to speak to me that way, Keith; I'm her father, and she will treat me with respect."
Cassandra looked up at him. "You were never like that with me!"
"I had no worry of you getting pregnant with the child of someone like him."
"Papa; he risked his life for her! Isn't that something?!"
Claire touched her sister's shoulder. "I-it's alright…" She got up and turned away.
"Young lady you w-"
"Shut the f—k up."
Van's jaw dropped. "What?"
"I said shut the f—k up!" She ran off into town; past her friends, her farm, not stopping.
"Jack, what happened to Claire?" Jack looked up the pool table; he was playing with Karen and some of her Uncles.
"What are you talking about?"
"She was running through town crying. At least, Julia thought she saw that…"
Jack put down his pool stick and went to the door. "Sorry I gotta bail."
Karen shook her head. "No problem."
He smiled at her and ran through town. "She should be at the hill…" He stopped at the farm when he saw her family, Van excluded, at her house.
Cassandra turned around. "Ah, Jack!" She ran over to him. "Do you know where Claire is?!"
"I think I do, but I need to talk to her alone."
Lilly nodded. "Very well."
Jack began to walk away, but turned. "The missing man is probably getting the stink eye from everyone in town."
Cassandra walked forward. "Why?"
"Claire's friends with just about everyone; you make her cry, good luck trying to get someone to speak to you."
He ran past the farm, and to the top of the hill. He found Claire sobbing. "Hey."
She turned to him and smiled. "Jack, you came to look for me?"
He walked over and sat next to her. "Of course; you really think I'd sit on my ass once I found out you were hurt?"
She hugged him. "He said he was taking me to get my tubes tied…"
Jack hugged her and chuckled. "Why are you telling me this?"
She blushed. "He said he didn't want to his grandchildren being yours…"
"Damn, having him in your life must've sucked."
She nodded. "Keith is my stepdad; he's amazing."
"How so?"
"He's really nice, and cares a lot about us…"
"Being the only guy doesn't bother him?"
"No, he's fine with it."
"You probably don't care that your dad's probably getting yelled at, do you?"
"No, I'm kinda glad."
Jack let go of her for a second, hands on her shoulders. "You said he didn't wanna risk me being the father of his grandchildren. Are you upset because you couldn't have kids at all, or upset because you couldn't have kids with me?"
She blushed and pushed him back. "W-why would you say that? There are plenty of guys that would make good fathers for my kids!"
He laughed. "Hey, what happened to your face?" The area of her face Van slapped was kinda purple.
"…Dad slapped me…"
He gasped a bit. "Why would he do that?!"
Claire put a hand on top of his. "Its okay, Jack. All that matters is that I'm staying here." She gave him a kiss on the lips. "We get to be together."
Jack just stared at her. "U-um… okay…"
She hugged him. "Let's get back; the others are worried, right?"
"There you are!" Lilly hugged Claire tightly when they reached the farm.
Keith cleared his throat. "I'm going to have a talk with Jack out here; ladies, you can talk in the house." They nodded and went inside.
Jack groaned. "Please don't tell me you're going to interrogate about my relationship Claire."
He shook his head. "I'm very impressed. You seemed like a nice guy before, but risking your life? You must care a lot about her."
Jack nodded. "She's one of my best friends."
There was a shriek from inside the house; a shriek of well… happiness. Keith looked panicked.
"Calm down; Claire probably told them about the kiss." Keith looked at him. Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "We kinda… kissed when we were talking…"
Next, laughing was heard. "What's that?"
Jack sighed. "When Claire told me about the tube tying threat, I asked what she was upset about: Not having kids at all, or not having mine."
Keith chuckled. "Well, you must hope the latter if you mentioned it."
Jack blushed and looked away. "N-no! I mean… I like Claire a lot, but only as a friend!"
Keith patted Jack's back. "Don't worry bud, you have my blessing."
"Are you allowed to give me that?"
"Listen, pal, this is probably what Claire wants, and we both know what Van would say."
Jack sighed. "Alright; how about Claire and I introduce you to the rest of our friends? You come back next month, so…"
Keith began walking towards the door. "Already on it."
