Chapter 2: Meeting the Parents
Eric was working on paperwork when his girlfriend came in. She then saluted when she came in. "Commander Myers, I have to speak with you sir," she insisted. Eric sat back with an amused grin.
"At ease, lieutenant," he assured her.
Taylor grinned and gave him a quick kiss. "Is there something you needed, Earhardt?" He asked.
"Yes, Eric, my parents are in town," she replied.
He looked at her in disbelief. "I thought they weren't coming for another week," he stated.
"Well, they surprised me in my house last night," she explained.
"I'm guessing they want to meet me," he assumed.
"Yeah, they started drilling me about you."
"That makes me feel confident about meeting your parents."
Taylor sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. "So, what are we going to do?" She asked. He reached over and grabbed her hand.
"Taylor, I can't hide from your parents even if I wanted to. I'll meet them," he replied.
She kissed his cheek before jumping off his desk. "We'll have dinner at my house tonight," she informed.
"What time?" He asked.
"Around 5:30," she replied.
"I'll be there."
She was about to leave when he grabbed her hand. "Hey, I love you," he told her. She smiled and gave him another kiss.
"I love you too," she answered.
Then she left the room. Eric sat back in his chair and pulled out a box. He opened it to reveal an engagement ring. The one thing he really wanted to give Taylor. Once he got Taylor's father's permission, he was going to marry Taylor.
When 5:30 arrived, Taylor was putting her favorite diamond earrings and heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it," she announced. She opened the door and smiled when she opened the door to find her boyfriend standing there.
"Hi," he greeted.
"Hi," she greeted back.
She let him in and he grabbed her hand before she could get far. "I got you something," he murmured. She felt something being placed around her neck. She touched her neck and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Eric," she whispered.
She looked in the mirror in disbelief. A beautiful necklace sat around her neck.
It was a diamond necklace, it contained 28 round brilliant diamonds, and it had a stunning heart style charm.
Eric wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her neck. "How could you afford this?" She asked. He chuckled before answering her.
"I didn't have to use a single dime on this. This was my mother's necklace," he replied.
Taylor was in disbelief and he placed another kiss on her neck. Taylor looked over to see her parents standing there. "Oh, sorry," she apologized. Eric let her go and held onto her hand. "Mom, dad, this is Eric Myers, my boyfriend," she informed. Mrs. Earhardt smiled and shook Eric's hand.
"It's very nice to meet you. We've been wondering when our daughter was going to introduce us to you," Mrs. Earhardt stated.
"It's an honor to meet you. You have a great daughter," Eric commented.
"Yeah, our Taylor is everything."
Taylor smiled and then Mrs. Earhardt saw the necklace. "So, where on earth did your boyfriend get this?" Mr. Earhardt asked.
"It was my mother's necklace. I thought I'd give it to Taylor," Eric replied.
Taylor could see the deadly look in her father's eyes, but she ignored it through the whole evening. However, it got worse.
They were all sitting in the den when all of a sudden, her father verbally attacked Eric. It started off fine, but then it started to go worse. "So, Eric, how did you meet my daughter?" He asked.
"I met your daughter when I had traffic duty. Taylor was speeding down the street and I stopped her," Eric replied.
"So, did you ask her out at the same time?"
"Uh...no, I asked her out a few days later."
"How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-six."
Taylor looked at her father in disbelief. She remembered her father asking her that question last night. She watched as he kept on going. "What rank are you in in the Air Force or in any armed forces?" He asked.
"I'm the co-leader of the Silver Guardians," Eric replied.
"The Silver Guardians, huh? Isn't that job a little dangerous?"
"Well, speaking that some of the assignments we get put on, no, I don't think it's that dangerous."
"What about your parents? How did they take it?"
"Uh, my mother died when I was six and my father walked out on me when I was thirteen."
"What do you plan on doing years from now?"
"I plan on staying with the Silver Guardians."
"What about my daughter? How will you support her and when you start having children, how are you going to support them?"
"Mr. Earhardt, I can assure you that the Silver Guardians make good money nonetheless."
"Do you actually think I would let my daughter, my only child, marry a pathetic being like you?"
Taylor's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is that supposed to mean?" Eric demanded standing up. Mr. Earhardt stood up with a glare.
"From what I've seen tonight, you are nothing what I expected. I was hoping for someone different. Not a Silver Guardian," Mr. Earhardt snapped.
"Dad, stop," Taylor insisted.
"This doesn't concern you, Taylor," Mr. Earhardt hissed.
Taylor stood between Eric and her father with a glare. "This does concern me. This is my boyfriend you're attacking here. What is your problem?" She demanded.
"Sweet heart, he has a dangerous job. What if he gets killed on a mission? You'd be alone," he insisted.
"Well, newsflash, dad, I'm a Silver Guardian myself. I'm on Eric's squadron. I retired from the Air Force and I joined the Silver Guardians," she informed.
Mr. Earhardt glared at Eric. "You talked her into doing this. It's bad enough that she's dating a freak like you, but you had her become one of you," he snapped. Eric glared right back at him.
"I didn't talk your daughter into doing anything. She came to me that day and asked to become a Silver Guardian and I accepted her onto the team. She wanted to help people, so I told her she was welcomed onto the team," Eric explained.
He sighed and looked at Taylor and Mrs. Earhardt. "I don't feel welcomed here anymore. I'll see you tomorrow, Tay," he informed. Taylor shot daggers at her father before chasing after Eric.
Eric was almost towards his truck when Taylor stood in front of him. "Eric, wait, I'm so sorry about what dad said back there," she apologized. He kept walking towards the car.
"Don't do his apologies for him," he mumbled.
She stood in front of the truck door before he could open it. "Your dad doesn't like me, Tay, I get it. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get home," he informed. Before he could get in, she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. He let his guard down again and wrapped his arms around her waist pressing her up against the car. His hands ran through her long blonde hair. She pulled back and touched his face.
"I don't care about what my dad says, he has been like this with all my boyfriends since I've started dating," she assured him.
"That's not it, Taylor, if he can't accept me, how will he let us get the future we've planned?"
She sighed and looked over to see her mother watching them and could see the smile on her face. "The one person that truly does accept you is my mother. That's all that matters to me," she assured him. He finally let up and let her go.
"I have to get home anyway, I have some things to finish," he informed.
He got into his truck and rolled down the window when he started it up. "Eric, just remember that no matter what happens that I'll always love you," she assured him.
"I know, I love you too, Taylor," he answered.
She gave him a kiss and watched as he backed out of her driveway and went back home.
Taylor stormed back into the house and slammed the door. Mr. Earhardt looked over at her. "You shouldn't have done that," he mumbled.
"What, kiss my boyfriend?" She asked.
"No, you shouldn't have joined the Silver Guardians, that job is dangerous, Taylor. You could get killed out there," he replied.
"Dad, it wouldn't matter if I was a Silver Guardian or an Air Force officer, I'd still be dating Eric."
"See, there's another mistake you made. Eric isn't the right person for you."
"You don't like him because he's my commander."
"No, I don't like him because you have no future with him."
Taylor started to walk up the stairs when he gabbed her wrist. "Let me go, dad, I'm tired and ticked off," she cautioned.
"Taylor, this can't be what you want," he insisted.
She yanked her wrist away and glared at him. "You don't know what I want. What I want is the person that just walked out that door and went back to his house. You embarrassed him, dad. You just had to ask questions about his father and mother didn't you? You couldn't just let it be," she snapped.
"The boy's mother is dead and his father abandoned him, how do you know he won't do that to you and the children you might have?" He asked.
"Because I know Eric, he won't quit something he started."
She stormed up to her room and slammed the door shut. She couldn't believe her father was doing this to her in her own house. She just got changed and went to bed. She fell asleep even though it was hard since she was very upset with her father.