Emily took the steps up to her room two at a time. She was nervous about the text that she had received sin the middle of Econ from Paige: "Need 2 talk." That was it. Emily couldn't really follow up without risking the ire of her professor, and she was a little annoyed that Paige would text her just that, with no clue as to what was up, leaving her fearing the worst and powerless to do anything about it for the remainder of the class period. She tried to be calm as she opened the door. Paige looked like the kid who had to confess that she'd broken her mom's priceless vase.
Emily greeted her with a kiss and got straight down to business. "So, what's up" she asked, trying not to panic and put Paige even more on edge.
"Well, there's good news and bad news."
"What's the bad news?" Emily asked, the worry coming through in her tone and in the furrowing of her brow.
"My father's coming out to visit."
"Why is that bad? Wait, first, what's the good news?"
Paige dipped her head and looked up at Emily. "I love you?" she offered with a meek smile.
"Paige, why is it bad news that your dad's coming? Does he have a problem with the fact that you're dating a woman?" Paige didn't look up at her. "Oh, Paige – he doesn't know that we're dating?"
"It's not as if I'm hiding it from him, Emily. I just – we just don't talk about stuff the way that you and your parents do."
"Does he know about Sean?"
"He knows that we broke up."
"But he doesn't know that you're dating me?"
"I'm not ashamed of you, Emily – or of my sexuality. My Dad and I... we don't talk about things. All we talk about is my grades and my times. You know that we have a strained relationship!"
"Well, when were you planning to tell him about us?"
"I don't know – I just figured that it would come up sometime."
"Well, it's definitely going to come up when he visits you! Unless – oh, no, Paige, you're not asking…"
"No, Emily! I would never ask that."
"So you're telling me that he's going to come here with no idea that you're dating – no idea that you're dating anybody, much less dating a woman - And he's going to find out when he sees us acting like a couple. That's your plan."
"That's just the way that my family works, Em. Trust me, this is the best way for him to find out."
"Oh, I don't believe this!"
"I told you that my family's dysfunctional. You should just be happy that I turned out so good."
"So, am I going to go with you to pick him up at the airport, or are you just going to spring me on him over dinner?"
"He knows who you are, Em. He used to scout you when we were competing in high school. And he knows that we're roommates."
"And you don't think that he's going to find the bit about us being more than roommates the least bit upsetting?"
"Seriously, Em, this is the best way for him to find out. He'll just pretend that he knew it all along, he'll go home and process it, and, the next thing you know, he'll be inviting you over for Thanksgiving."
When Emily got the text that Paige had met her father in the arrivals area, she pulled up in the car that they had borrowed from their teammate, Vicki. Nick McCullers had no bags to claim. He traveled light. His motto was BINGO: Bust IN, Get Out.
Emily got out of the car and gave Nick McCullers a firm handshake, Paige having warned her not to try a hug. Who wears a suit and tie on a plane? Emily wondered. What is he, an air marshal?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Emily," Nick said as they shook hands. "Of course, your reputation precedes you."
Paige had introduced Emily as her roommate, much to Emily's disappointment.
Emily moved to the backseat for the ride to the hotel so that Paige and her dad could sit together in the front seats. He got right into the discussion of her training regimen, her diet, her study habits, and her times. "Well, I hope that Emily, here, is a good influence on you," he said, turning his head toward Emily in the backseat. It was his way of offering Emily his admiration of her swimming. Oh, Nick, Emily thought, you have no idea what an influence I've been on your daughter.
Paige and Emily waited in the lobby while Nick checked in and freshened up in his hotel room before they set off for dinner. When he stepped off the elevator, he registered the way that Emily and his daughter were holding hands as they sat chatting in adjacent, oversized hotel-lobby chairs. He didn't give any visible reaction, but he updated his mental file to reflect the fact that his daughter was dating again.
All through dinner, Nick engaged in small talk as though he were talking to his daughter and her roommate. Paige wasn't backing away from any of the things that she would ordinarily do in public with the woman whom she was dating – resting her hand on Emily's thigh, stroking Emily's back as she told her dad a story that involved her, putting her arm around her shoulder as they huddled over the menu trying to decide what dessert they were going to share. Paige wasn't going out of her way to flaunt their relationship in front of her dad, nor was she reining in her affectionate behavior. Emily came to understand what Paige had told her earlier: That was just the way that Paige and her father communicated. By the end of dessert, Emily felt bold enough to give Paige a kiss on the cheek after Paige fed her the last bit of mousse. Nick McCullers didn't react at all; no "Ah, what a cute couple," no "how long has this been going on?" no frown of disapproval or embarrassment.
The only acknowledgment that Nick gave of the fact that Emily and his daughter were together came when they dropped him off at the hotel. Nick and Paige made arrangements to meet for breakfast before she took him to see their coach and visit the swim team's facilities. "And you'll be joining us for breakfast, of course, Emily?" he asked, smiling. Emily wasn't sure that she'd seen him smile in the brief time that she'd known him. On the ride back to the dorm, Paige assured Emily that the smile was a monumental gesture of approval on his part. "Oh, great," Emily deadpanned. "He approves of me."
"Trust me. It was months before Sean ever got a smile from him."
"He must think that I'm good for your swimming career, or something," Emily joked. Paige looked away timidly. "Oh, my God, Paige! It's true? That's why your dad approves of me?"
"Em! Three days ago, you were afraid that he was going to object to my dating a woman! Now, you're upset that he thinks that you're good for me?"
Emily laughed. "He thinks that I'm good for your swimming, Paige!" she corrected. "Never in my life would I have expected that to be the reason that my girlfriend's dad likes me. Likes me? I mean, approves of me!"
"'Likes' you, trust me: He likes you. And, wait, back up: 'Girlfriend?' Is that what we are, now?"
"Yeah." Emily gave Paige a quizzical look. "What? You didn't know?"
"Just do me a favor, will you? Just give me some advance notice before we become wives, okay? Like, maybe a week or so would be nice." Paige was smiling broadly at Emily before she turned her attention back to the road.
As they were brushing their teeth, Emily asked, "What was up with the coat and tie, Paige? Who gets all dressed up for a plane trip?"
"Yeah, my Dad's definitely old school," Paige replied, pausing to spit. "Get used to that suit. You'll be seeing more of before he flies back home."
They were both feeling too giddy to sleep: Emily, because her girlfriend's dad liked her, whatever his motivation for that, and Paige because she had just discovered that she was Emily's girlfriend. Paige knew, though, that they were going to have to get some sleep so that they would be at their best bright and early for their day with her father, so she buckled down and insisted that they close their eyes and stop talking. She ended up rubbing Emily's back to help speed her off to sleep.
Paige's dad was waiting for them in front of the hotel when they pulled up, glancing down at his watch to verify that it was 7:15 on the dot. Emily got out and moved to the back seat.
The morning was intense. Nick McCullers definitely had presence. Emily felt that all of her breakfast choices were under his intense scrutiny. She didn't want her approval rating to go down because of too many breakfast carbs - or not enough. Of course, Nick McCullers would never voice his approval or disapproval out loud. That much Emily had learned.
After reconnecting with Coach Meehan, whom he had gotten to know rather well when Paige was being recruited, Nick sat in on their practice. Afterwards, he went through the athletic department's training and physical therapy facilities. Paige and Emily got some moments to themselves when he went for a tour of the campus and then took lunch with the athletic director. They all met up for dinner before the roommates - girlfriends - whisked him back to the airport to catch the red-eye. Emily offered to park the car so that Paige could see her father through to security, but Paige declined. "He'd rather just have the time to himself."
"You guys have a different kind of relationship, don't you?"
"You can imagine what it was like growing up with him – just the two of us in the house."
"I'm guessing a lot of silence."
"Exactly. As long as my grades were fine and my times were fine, there was nothing to discuss. He retreated to his office, and I retreated to my room."
"Oh, Paige! You didn't even get hugs?"
Paige gave a smile. "Not a lot of the touchy-feely stuff with Nick McCullers." Emily pouted. Paige acknowledged Emily's facial expression, "I know, right?"
"Is that why…" Emily wished that she could erase those words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Paige had heard them, though, and she knew by the way that Emily had aborted the question what it was that she had started to ask.
"Why my Mom left?"
"I'm sorry, Paige. I know that you don't want to talk about it. We don't have to."
"I don't know why my Mom left. She never told me. Maybe they discussed it, but no one ever discussed it with me." Emily reached over into the passenger seat and put her hand on top of Paige's, in her lap. After a few moments, Paige continued. "She didn't just leave him. She left me, too." Emily was about to cry.
"You know that it's not your fault that they split up, Paige."
"Well, it sure feels like it!" Paige was silent for a while as Emily rubbed her thumb across the back of her hand. After she had composed herself somewhat, she added, "As hard as it was for my Dad, he stayed. You can say whatever you want to about Nick McCullers, but he stayed." Emily moved her hand up to Paige's cheek. Paige moved closer to her girlfriend, riding with her head on Emily's shoulder for the rest of the trip home.