Chapter 6: Materialistic Coping

After I had taken the SATs, I vowed to never wake up early on a Saturday. Well, it turns out that I'd have to save that vow for another time. After what seemed like forever, my dad finally managed to give me a call back. My dad wanted to spend a whole Saturday with me, and he told me to wake up at 6 am so that we could avoid the morning crowds at the diner. I don't really care too much about diners, but my dad loves them. It's not that much of a surprise considering my dad was raised in New Jersey which according to him is the state that has the most diners. Diners are pretty much symbolic to New Jerseyans, well that and the bagel stores. Before the divorce, my dad would almost always take me and my mom to have breakfast at the diner during the weekends. Now, it will just be me and him which might be a little awkward but at least I will be able to spend some quality time with him.

Saturday Morning

On the way to the diner, my dad had picked me up with this car that I had never seen before in our driveway. The window of the passenger's seat opened and I could see my dad smiling while wearing black shades.

Daniel's Dad: Morning Daniel! You like the car?

I walked up to the passenger door.

Daniel: Yeah. Is this a new car?

Daniel's Dad: You guessed it. It's a car of the year. Hop on in and I'll tell you all about.

I got in the car, and we started heading to the diner.

Saturday Morning: Diner

Upon arriving at the diner, we were greeted and quickly seated by the person up front. Not long after we were seated, a young dirty blonde waitress came up to take our orders. I had never seen this waitress before, so she must be new.

Waitress: Good morning! What can I get you guys started with?

Daniel's Dad: Good morning *reads name tag* Kelly. I'll have my usual, which is a Superman omelette with white toast and home fries on the side. For my drink, you can just get me a coffee with some packets of cream and sugar on the side.

After the waitress finished writing down my dad's order, she gazed at me with her light brown eyes.

Waitress: And for you sir?

I respond with a deep voice for some reason.

Daniel: Uh..yeah. Can you get me the pancake platter with scrambled eggs and bacon?

Waitress: Sure. And what would you like to drink?

Daniel: I'll have a coke.

The waitress finishes writing down my order.

Waitress: Alright. I'll get your orders soon enough.

We gave the waitress the menus and she walked off.

Daniel's Dad: She's kind of cute, isn't she?

Daniel: Yeah, I guess.

Daniel's Dad: I think she might be the same age as you. She can't be a year over thirty that's for sure.

Daniel: Yeah, she looks pretty young. I think she's new.

Daniel's Dad: Yeah, must be new. So...how's life going? Do you have a girlfriend?

Daniel: Nah, I'm single at the moment. Life is going okay, I guess.

Daniel's Dad: Yeah, I hear you. That day your mother and I told you about the separation must've felt awkward and confusing for you. I'm sorry son, I tried my best to keep the relationship going.

I can almost vividly remember the exact moments that happened when my parents told me about the separation. The time, place, everything.

Flashback: Separation Announcement

It was almost midnight, and I remember watching COPS in the living room tv. My parents walked into the living room, and I remember feeling a bit uneasy when they did. They never walked in the living room when I'm watching tv, so it felt weird. I was starting to think that I was in trouble or something. I was about to say something, until my mom spoke.

Daniel's Mom: Daniel, can you please turn off the tv? You're not in any trouble or anything, we just need to talk.

I turned off the tv. My nerves sort of started going away after my mom said that but then I started to wonder what they wanted to tell me. Based on the vibes I was getting; it didn't seem like it was good news. I thought maybe some relative had passed away.

My parents sat next to me on the couch.

Daniel's Mom: Daniel...Me and your dad are getting a divorce.

Daniel: What?

Daniel's Mom: Daniel...honey...me and your father are separating, which means we're not going to be together anymore.

Daniel: I know what a divorce is mom but...no...this must be some joke right?

Daniel's Dad: Your mother is telling the truth Daniel. I'm sorry kid.

I started to doubt my parents until I finally got a chance to fully examine my mother's face. Her eyes were red. The reality of the situation then started to hit me.

Daniel: So, what's going to happen now? Who am I going to be living with? And what..

Daniel's Dad: Easy Daniel. You'll be staying here with your mom. I'll be moving out to a new place, but don't worry, the place I found is almost ten minutes from here. I'll be able to see you, but it'll take time for the court to decide which days I'll see you and which days you'll be with your mom. You might not hear from me for a while.

Daniel: This is so confusing. Why did you guys have to tell me this now?

Daniel's mom: Daniel, I'm so sorry but you must have known that me and your father haven't been getting along for years. Didn't you notice those times at the family reunions where me and your father sat while other parents danced?

Daniel: What?

Daniel's Dad: Jesus. Marie get a hold of yourself. You're going to make the boy even more nervous. Listen Daniel, everything is going to be okay. I'll still be able to see you, it's just that I won't be living here anymore and...

Everything went silent for me at that moment. While my parents were explaining the situation and arguing at the same time, I tried to take a moment to take in all the information that I heard. I then got up from the couch and started making my way to my room.

Daniel's Dad: Hey Daniel, you're going to be alright, right?

Daniel: Yeah, I'll be alright. It's just that I'm tired. We can talk about this in the morning.

Flashback Ends

Daniel: Yeah, it was tough to handle the news at first but I managed to push through it.

Daniel's Dad: Good. I knew you'd be able to push through this.

Daniel: Yeah.

Daniel's Dad: So, I heard your mom is taking you to a therapist? What's that about?

Daniel: Yeah, it's going okay. It's not really that bad.

Daniel's Dad: That's good. Your therapist's name is Dr. Melfi right? I keep seeing her number in my answering machine. She wants me to come to one of your meetings with your mom. I told her that I can't because of my work schedule but she keeps on telling me how important it is that I attend. God isn't she a handful? *chuckles*

Daniel: Yeah, she can kind of be annoying during therapy sessions.

Daniel and his dad chuckled.

Daniel's Dad: So how much longer until you have to attend these sessions?

Daniel: I'm not sure. My mom probably knows when. She's the one who made me go to therapy in the first place.

Daniel's Dad: So, this wasn't your idea then. Makes sense. Your mom tends to overexaggerate about some things. I'm not surprised she has you doing this. Now, if you don't want to go therapy then you can just tell me, and I can make sure your mom stops sending you.

Daniel: You can do that?

Daniel's Dad: Yeah. Just cause your mom and I are divorced doesn't mean I can't have a say in what you do until you're 18.

The waitress comes in with our orders.

Waitress: Is there anything else you boys would like?

Daniel's Dad: No, we're good. Thank you.

The waitress gave a smile and walked away.

Daniel's Dad: Anyway, if you don't want to go to therapy, you can just tell me and I'll make sure she stops taking you.

Daniel: Okay. Thanks dad.

Daniel's Dad: Anytime. Now, let's eat this breakfast before it gets cold.

After breakfast, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city of Los Angeles. We went to a few spots that I remember going to as a kid, it felt like old times. We then went shopping around the shopping district. I got a few name brand clothes, and I got measured for a suit down at the Men's Warehouse. I also got this nice Lonzo Ball Lakers jersey from a sports store. At the end of the shopping spree, our arms were full of shopping bags, so we went back to the car.

After putting the bags in the car, my dad thought it would be a good idea to see a movie before going to dinner. My dad wanted to see Avengers Endgame. I got the opportunity to see that movie with some friends during its opening week. Watching it in theaters was quite an experience so I didn't mind sharing that experience again with my dad.

The room where the movie was being played was still full despite the weeks that had passed after its release. Everybody went crazy during certain scenes and there was a loud applause when the movie ended. Getting out of the theater was hard though since almost everybody decided to leave at the same time.

After we exited the theater, my dad asked me what I would like to eat for dinner. I honestly did not know which place I wanted to go for dinner. I told my dad this and then an idea came up in his head.

Daniel's Dad: Hey, why don't we go to this nice burger place that I went to. I think it's around here. Come on, let's get in the car and I'll put the location in the GPS.

We went to the car and my dad put the location on his GPS.

Saturday Night: Burger Place

The burger place was kind of full of people, but it wasn't as full as In-N-Out on a Saturday night. Me and my dad basically ordered the same thing at this place. A standard California cheeseburger with fries and a milkshake. We got our orders and sat at the back corner of the place. We talked while we ate.

Daniel's Dad: Nice place huh?

I took a bite of my burger.

Daniel: Yeah. It's smaller than an In-N-Out but it's cool. This burger is good.

Daniel's Dad: Yeah, you can't be a California burger that's for sure.

I ate some fries.

Daniel's Dad: So, how's school going? I don't think I've asked you that question in a while.

I took a sip of my milkshake.

Daniel: It's going fine. I think I have the grades for high honor roll this year.

Daniel's Dad: That's great. You're a junior in high school, right?

Daniel: Yep.

Daniel's Dad: That means that you're going to college after your senior year next year. Are you excited?

Daniel: Yea it will be good to live on my own for once.

Daniel's Dad: Yeah, I hear you. I thought the same way when I was your age.

Daniel's Dad drank his milkshake.

Daniel's Dad: So which colleges are you thinking of applying to?

Daniel: I think I've told you that I was going to apply to UCLA but I'm also going to apply to some other schools to keep my options open.

Daniel's Dad: That's smart. I can probably help with the application process to UCLA since I went there for my undergrad. Have you taken the SATs yet?

Daniel: I've taken the SAT and the ACT.

Daniel's Dad: Oh. Well, how were those tests?

Daniel: They were fine. I think I might've done better on my ACT than my SAT, but I've heard some friends say that doing good on the ACT can help with college admissions.

Daniel's Dad: Well, that's good. Speaking of your friends, how's that kid...shoot...forgot his name...um...Michael...MICHAEL. How's he doing?

Daniel: You mean Miles?

Daniel's Dad: Oh, that's his name.

Daniel and his dad chuckled.

Daniel: Miles is doing good. We still hang out from time to time.

Daniel's Dad: He's always sort of rubbed me the wrong way. Not that bright of a kid. Well, it's not his fault, I heard his mom had too much to drink while she was pregnant.

Daniel and his dad drank their milkshakes.

Daniel: I've been also hanging out with Nate. You know Nate, right?

Daniel's Dad: Nate Jacobs. How could I forget? Good kid. He's going places I tell you. It's nice to hear that you're hanging out with guys like him. It's like they say the more you're around winners the more likely you'll be one.

This isn't anything new. My dad has always liked Nate for how good he was in sports and academics. He would sometimes compare me to Nate whenever I didn't do good in sports or failed in some subject. It's not just my dad; it's almost every friend's dad I know of that has some sort of admiration for Nate. He's the son every dad wants. He's sort of like the prince of East Highland if that makes sense.

Daniel's Dad: It's a shame that his father is messed up in the brain. Who would've thought Cal would do something like that?

Cal Jacobs, Nate's dad, was arrested a week ago for possession of some messed up shit. I don't feel like going into too much detail about it cause it's that awful. Ever since then, East Highland parents have been treating the Jacobs family, mostly Nate, with the enormous amounts of sympathy. I don't blame them for being sympathetic to Nate. I'd also feel like shit if my dad had done some messed up shit like that.

Daniel: Yeah, who would've guessed.

I drank the last of my milkshake.

Daniel's Dad: Alright well looks like it's time to get out of here. But before I take you back home, I have a surprise for you. Let's head to the car and I'll take you to see it. You're going to love it.

I was kind of tired of surprises, but I didn't mind going to one last place if it meant that I'll get something in return.

Saturday Night: The House of Daniel's Dad

I had to wear a blind fold the whole ride there for some reason. I was told to take it off when my dad gave me the signal.

Daniel's Dad: You can take off the blindfold now.

I took off my blindfold to see a medium sized house. It didn't look too bad and looked just as nice as my house except smaller.

Daniel: Is this your new place?

Daniel's Dad: Yep. I was thinking of renovating some things, but it looks decent for what I'm working with after the divorce. Come on, I'll show you around.

I walked around the house. The house was spacious on the inside. There were still some unpacked boxes around the house. Outside of the house, there was a pool with a small hot tub beside it.

Daniel: Nice pool.

Daniel's Dad: Yeah, you can probably invite some of your friends over here if you'd like to use it sometime. I wouldn't mind too much.

Daniel: Yeah maybe.

Daniel's Dad: There's one more room I'd like to show you.

We walked downstairs to what seemed to be like a garage. I saw one of my dad's iconic cars there. It was a red 2014 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS. It still looked in great condition despite it being five years old. Out of all the cars my dad has drove, I think this was my favorite.

My dad gave me the keys to the car.

Daniel's Dad: Start it up.

Daniel: What? Are you being for real?

Daniel's Dad: Yeah. Gotta make sure it works before I give it to you.

Daniel: What? No…This can't be real. Dad...Dad…no

Daniel's Dad: It's real.

I hugged my dad and got in the driver's seat to turn it on.

Daniel's Dad: Still purrs like a kitten. I might almost regret giving it away *chuckle* but I decided to give it to you since I couldn't think of anybody else better enough to give it to.

Daniel: Dad, you're the best. But how are we going to take it home?

Daniel's Dad: You'll drive it back home. Follow my car and we'll be good to go.

Daniel: I still can't believe this. Thank you so much dad.

Daniel's Dad: Anytime kid. Now let's get going before your mom complains about me keeping you out so late.

My dad opened the garage and got in his car. He opened his window.

Daniel's Dad: Are you ready to go?

Daniel: Hold on.

I turned on the button to open the roof of the car. I smiled.

Daniel: I'm ready.