Page 78 of Clueless
“Taz is adamant he won’t let her.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, leaning in to squeeze my forearm.“I sure hope that’s true, for your sake.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
Taz
I was nervous as hell.I’d invited Quinn over under the guise of ordering her favorite food, sushi, and giving her a gift I bought for her while on tour.
But when she arrived, looking grumpy and sullen, I began to question my ability to reason with her.
“How was school today?”I asked, inviting her to sit at the dining table, where I’d laid out our feast.
“Ugh, I got sixty on an algebra test,” she said, sinking into the upholstered chair across from me.“Which seriously sucks, because I studied for like two weeks.”
I smiled, passing her a set of bamboo chopsticks.“At least you passed though, right?”
“I’m not going to get into Belmont with a shitty grade in math pulling my average down.”
“You want to go to Belmont?How did I not know that?”
She shrugged.“You never asked.”
Which made me feel like a crappy father, with a hell of a lot to learn.“Sorry, I should have asked.So, what are you hoping to study?”Another thing I should have known.
She avoided eye contact as she loaded her plate.“Music therapy.”
“You’re into music?”It seemed like a topic that should have come up in conversation, but hadn’t, making me feel even worse.
“Yeah, I’ve always loved music.Self-taught, ‘cause Mama couldn’t afford lessons, so I’m not even sure I’m any good.But I like it.”
“If you want lessons, I’d be happy to arrange it.”I added a few dragon and California rolls to my plate, even though I wasn’t hungry.When she didn’t respond to my offer, I asked, “Which instruments do you play?”
“Just the acoustic guitar.I’d like to learn to play the piano, but it’s not like we could ever afford one, so I wouldn’t be able to practice.”
I considered offering to buy her a piano, but knew I had to rein myself in or risk spoiling her.“I only play guitar, and it’s working out okay for me.But if you decide music is something you want to pursue as a career, I’m sure we could arrange piano lessons down the road.”
“The program covers a lot of different instruments,” she said, waving her chopsticks at me.“So, I’m sure I could experiment and figure out what I really like, but thanks for the offer.”
Aside from buying her a compact, economy car, it was the first time she’d thanked me for anything.I liked to think that was progress.
“My pleasure.So, why music therapy?”I considered telling her Grace was a therapist, who might be able to offer some insight, but I knew I would have to ease into that discussion.
“I think it would be cool to help people,” she said, reaching for her water.“And I like music.I’ve, um, done some volunteer work in nursing homes and hospitals and I’ve seen the difference music therapy made to those people.”
My jaw dropped, but I snapped it shut.“You volunteer?”
“It started because Mama had to work long hours as a nurse’s aide and I was too young to stay alone, so she’d bring me to work and they’d give me jobs to do, like talking to residents at the nursing home, when she worked there, or reading to the older patients in the hospital.”She blushed, tucking a strand of long, stick-straight black hair behind her ear.“It was kind of fun, I liked it.But I didn’t talk about it much, ‘cause my friends thought I was weird.”
My heart went out to her.I remembered being her age, and the crazy shit I’d done to fit in, which landed my sorry ass in prison for twelve years.I didn’t want my daughter to feel she ever had to be anyone other than herself.
“Who gives a shit what they think, Quinn.You just do you.”
Her smile was slight, as she nodded.“Yeah, that’s what I’ve started doing.I’m tired of trying to please people who are never gonna like me anyway.”
“Are you having trouble at school?”I knew teen girls could be even more vicious than boys, and it killed me to think of her being bullied.
“No, I’ve got my group of friends.They’re a little weird, like me.And we just stick together.”
