"What did they say?" asked Mac as they walked into the colorguard room.
"They didn't say anything, but I didn't really give them a chance to ask. I darted out of the house like a coward." Jenn responded
"Seriously, I am surprised you got off that easy. I for sure thought D & K would have freaked, especially D." Mac said.
"Well, I haven't gotten away with anything yet. I'm sure my mom gave my dad 'the she's had enough of this' speech. Which roughly translates to 'I have to come up with something.'"
"At least you have time to come up with something, and it better be good. Come on, let's get working on these flags if we have any hope of becoming leads." Mac said, holding a handful of white, weighted flag poles.
Diane hadn't stepped off the elevator before she saw Marissa standing in front of her.
"Good morning, Marissa."
"Good morning, Diane. So, how was your morning?" Marissa asked with a curious tone as she followed Diane down the hall.
"Marissa, spit it out. What do you know?" Diane asked shortly, also looking at Marissa over her sunglasses.
Marissa was Jenn's Godmother, and Diane had learned that Marissa knew something before she did, and this happened to be one of those times. Diane had to be careful with how she responded because unfortunately Marissa could read Diane a little too well.
"Which part? The colorguard lead, the Barnes and Noble order, or quitting the internship and French?" Diane said as she looked up from her desk.
"Oh, so you know everything," and yes, I can sense the sarcasm. "Well, what do you think? She mentioned it to me last week on our coffee date."
Marissa was cut off. "Wait, so you also know that she drinks coffee?" Diane said, and Marissa could see she was pissed.
"Yessss. Kurt gave her money to pay for the coffee. I really wish he would stop doing that. I can pay for the coffee and pedicures." Marissa said as she casually flopped down on the red sofa in Diane's office.
"You go get your nails done with her too?" Diane said with the "lawyer face" on, and it was then Marissa knew she was no longer needed in the office.
"Well, I am going." Marissa motioned as she quickly walked to the door.
"Marissa," Diane said before reaching the door.
Marissa slowly turned around. "Yes? The answer is yes. Please stop looking at me like that. Jenn is right; it's intimidating."
Diane sat down at the desk and turned around to get a look at the city. "So I guess I am now the last to know everything. Ready or not, here we go." Diane said to herself. She knew that one day this would happen, and she had done everything she could to help avoid it, but I guess it is really unavoidable.
Diane spent the rest of the day in court. When she returned to the office, she was surprised to see Jennings standing in the filing room.
"Hey sweetheart," Diane said as she walked into the filing room.
"Hello, Mrs. McVeigh," her daughter said in a professional voice.
"You know you don't have to do that, right? You've grown up around all the people in this office. As much as you don't want to sometimes, you're mine, and they all know it." Diane said as she looked at her daughter.
"It isn't that; it's that I don't want the others getting any ideas. It is already bad enough that we have the same last names. They already tease me, and I would like to avoid that if possible." Jenn said as she walked past her mom in the file room.
Diane followed Jenn down the hall back to the offices.
When Diane reached her office, Jenn was standing in the hot seat section.
"Miss Lockhard-McVeigh, when you get a minute, I have some files I need pulled." Diane was not ready to end this conversation, and at work, her daughter could not avoid her.
There was a knock at the door, and Diane waved Jenn in and instructed her to shut the door.
"Are they teasing you?" Diane asked as she scribbled on a legal pad.
"Can we drop it? I don't care that they are teasing me. I can handle myself. Besides, I earned my spot like the other high school interns," Jennings said as she approached her mom's desk.
"I know you can. If that escalates, you need to tell me. How was band this morning?" Diane asked while ripping the paper off the legal pad.
"It was fine, Mom," Jennings said as she reached for the yellow piece of paper.
"What time are you leaving? I thought you were off today?" Diane asked as she stood up with the piece of paper.
"3, and I will tell you later tonight, okay? Can I please go?" Jenn said in a rush.
Diane handed her the piece of paper with "I love you."
I love you too, momma. Can I go now? You know I don't like to be in here when I am interning.
"Free to go," Diane said as she waved Jenn toward the door.
Jenn went back to the filing room to retrieve the files her mother had requested.
As she entered the room, she saw Nick on the other side of the room sorting files. "You know I dream about this room," Nick said sarcastically.
"I know, right? It really is everything I thought it would be. I thought I would get to see someone argue a case at least once." Jenn said with a smirk.
Nick and Jenn had been friends for as long as she could remember. He was a year older than her, and they started interning together last year.
"So Jenny," Nick was the only one who calls her Jenny. "Did you ask your parents about going to the concert?"
"I haven't yet, but I am planning on bringing that up tonight at dinner." She said with a smile. "Well, I have what I need. I will see you later?"
"Make sure you do, ask." He said as she left the room.
Diane could see Jenn quickly walking down the hall and back to the inter hot seat area.
Marissa intercepted Jenn right before she sat down at the desk.
"Hey cutie! Loving this outfit." Marissa said as she handed Jenn a tea.
"He asked about the concert again," Jenn blurted out quickly and quietly.
"Well, what did you say?" Marissa said as she quickly grabbed a chair.
"I haven't asked yet," Jenn said, nudging her head slightly toward her mom's office.
Diane watched this exchange and couldn't help but wonder what was going on. They were clearly gossiping about something secret.
Diane's focus was pulled when her cell-phone rang.
"Hey, babe." Her husband said on the other end of the phone.
"Hi honey, are you on your way to the office?"
"Yes, tell Jenn to meet me downstairs," he replied.
"You know that she doesn't like me doing that while she is interning," Diane said sarcastically.
"I called her, but she didn't answer her phone. Guess this is her punishment. I'll be there in 5."
Marissa had left the desk by the time Diane got off the phone with Kurt.
Diane scribbled a note and walked out of her office.
Jenn was gathering her things to leave for the day when she noticed her mom standing next to her.
"Did you get my files by chance?" Diane asked.
"Yes, I did go to deliver them as I left." Jenn said as she handed the files to her mom.
"Your ride will be downstairs in 5 minutes," Diane said with a wink before heading back to her office.
Jenn saw her dad as soon as she left the building.
"Hey kiddo," Kurt waved.
Jenn jogged back, returned the keys, and then walked around to the driver's seat.
Kurt joined her in the car. "Seatbelt," he said. "Always remember the seatbelt."
"Didn't a seatbelt almost kill someone once? Like, are you sure these are actually safe?" Jen retorted.
"Not funny, Jennings. Always wear the seatbelt, or else no driving." Kurt responded unamusingly.
Jenn rolled her eyes as she put on the seatbelt.
"Okay, to the range," Kurt said with excitement.
"Yes, I have an order to pick up." Diane said as she approached the woman at the register.
"Last name?" the woman said.
"Lockhard-McVeigh," Diane responded as she reached into her purse for her wallet.
The woman returned to the counter with a stack of books that even caught Diane off guard.
"My daughter," Diane said, laughing, "a little summer reading, apparently."
Diane paid for the books and gathered the stack up before returning to her car.
"Very nice shot," Kurt said encouragingly to Jenn.
"I am getting better. There is still hope for me, huh, dad?"
"Sure is, you keep shooting like that and you will be on the skeet team this year." Kurt said as he patted Jenn on the back.
"Yeah, mom is never going to let that happen." She said as she started checking her gun before putting it in the case.
"Don't be so quick to judge your mother. Give her a little credit. I mean you are currently at a gun range, which only happened because your mother said yes."
"So what time am I getting a talking to?" She asked without making eye contact.
"Dinner, she just wants to know what's going on, we both do." Kurt said as he watched Jenn carefully put the gun in the case and lock it.
Diane was finishing up dinner when Kurt and Jenn came in from the garage.
"Hey, you two," Diane said.
"Hey," Kurt and Jenn said in unison.
Kurt made his way across the room to kiss his wife.
"Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes," Diane said to Jenn, who was looking through her books on the bar.
"Thanks for getting my books, Mom." Jenn said as she carefully stacked them in her arms to take back to her room.
"If that isn't your daughter, then I don't know who it would be," Kurt said as he reached into a skillet to grab a veggie.
"What does that mean?" Diane said, gently popping him with a towel.
"Determined is what I mean. It's summer vacation, and she gets up at 5:30. She just carried a small library back to her room." He said, looking across the bar and jokingly pointing to a stack of her own work files.
"Touché," she said, smiling.
"I will have you know that she had several law texts in that stack of books," Diane said in an almost bragging manner. "She also had a book on skeet shooting. Sounds like your thing." She said while looking at her husband who was still standing at the skillet snacking on veggies.
"My lips are sealed," he said as he walked out of the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, the family of three was enjoying their nightly family dinners. Diane insisted on them, although during the school year it tended to be harder to achieve.
"I have something I want to ask you both," Jenn said as she passed a serving bowl to Diane. There is this concert in a couple of weeks and I would like to go.
"Sure, where is it, and I will buy us tickets," Diane replied as she started putting salad on her plate.
"Downtown," Jenn said between bites, "and I was wanting to go with Mac."
"A concert with MacKenzie downtown? You bringing an adult with you?" Diane asked
"Yes, and Mac's older brother is going to be the adult," Jenn replied.
"Jeremy is an adult?" Diane chuckled. "Jeremy is 18." She continued with a sarcastic chuckle.
"18 is the age of adulthood according to the law," Jenn replied as she locked eyes with Diane.
"She has a point there, Di," Kurt said with a smile on his face.
"You're not helping," Diane said with a look of "are you serious?" on her face.
"What about Aunt Marissa? She has to count as an adult, right?" Jenn said with optimism on her face.
"Sometimes I wish she didn't, but yes, she does count as an adult," Diane said, knowing she had been outplayed. "If Marissa agrees, you can go to the concert. When is it?"
"Yeah, it's June 2nd at 8." Jenn said. Knowing this just made it hard to sell.
"Your birthday, we already have plans for your birthday. Did you forget?" Diane said. Her patience was being pushed a little too far today.
"I know, but it's just dinner, and we can do that anytime. Besides, Mac was going to come with us." Jenn responded quickly.
"Kurt, do you have anything you would like to chime in?" Diane asked, trying to get her husband to participate in the conversation.
Kurt looked up and shifted his eyes back and forth between his daughter and wife. "Let your mom and I discuss this a little more, okay? We'll let you know." He said, trying to avoid the argument that was brewing.
"Speaking of birthdays, how are you feeling about your driver's test next week?" Kurt said, trying to change the subject.
"Really good, actually. I think the practice today helped." Jenn said as she looked back at her dad.
Diane knew it; she always knew what would make Jenn feel more reassured.
"Sweetheart," Diane said in an uplifting tone. "Can we discuss what happened this morning? You know the thing about the internship and French class."
Jenn looked at her dad almost for reassurance before looking back at her mom. "Mom, I am not sure I am interested in the law anymore, and I want to try out for the skeet team, which interferes with French lessons. I don't think I need French anymore since I am not wanting to do law anymore." Jenn spit it all out in one breath so fast that Diane didn't have much time to process what she was hearing.
"The ski team?" Diane said questioningly while giving her husband a look that would kill.
"Yes, the ski team. There is a club here that has a team and tryouts are in September and I want to try out."
"Let me get this straight. You want to quit an internship that is paid at one of the best firms in Chicago, you want to stop French because who needs it, and you want to do all of that to join the ski team."
"Yep," Jenn replied, "that is essentially it."
"Essentially, it? When did you start talking to me like that, young lady?" Diane responded to Jenn in a way that she knew this conversation was over.
"Sorry, Mom." Jenn said, staring at the plate of food.
The rest of dinner occurred in silence until Jenn asked to be excused.
Jenn closes the door of her bedroom and flops down on the bed. She scrolls through her phone when it rings.
"Mac, she is not going to let me go to the concert over some stupid birthday dinner. It is my birthday, shouldn't I be able to do what I want?" Jenn asked her friend as she flopped down on her bed.
D was always going to be the hard one to convince. Did you bring up Jeremy then Marissa like I told you to? Mac responded, "Your dad will come through. He always does."
"I don't know which team was also brought up, and I think I am only going to win one of these battles tonight."
"Jenn, I got it. I know how you can do both. The concert starts at 8, right? Have an earlier dinner, get back home by 7, and sneak out. We can make it downtown in no time from your house." Mac sounded like she had just constructed a foolproof plan in a matter of 3 seconds.
"Do you hear yourself, sneaking out? You have lost your mind. I didn't tell them that Nick asked me to go." Jenn finally confesses.
"Good job, Jenn. Really good job," Mac said sarcastically.
There was a light knocking at the door. "Jennings, it's Mom. Can I come in?"
"Hey Mac, I have to go. I will see you tomorrow at band."
"Yeah, mom, come on in," Mac responded from her bed.
"Hey baby," Diane said as she made her way to the bed and sat down. "Your dad and I have talked about it, and you can drop the internship, but you need to stick with French. Also, you can try out for the ski team."
Jenn turned around with an exciting scream and lunged towards her mom with her arms wide open. "Seriously, I can try out?"
"Yes, but it's only for fun. We don't want to see any grades slip this upcoming year and no more skipping out on things, okay?"
"Okay, I promise," Jenn said, still hugging her mom.
Diane was getting up to leave the room when Jenn asked about the concert.
"Your dad and I will take you and Mac out to dinner, then drive you to the concert," Diane said.
Jenn must have had a shocked look on her face, because her mom followed it up with, "We will be going to the concert with you."