Read Deep Surrendering: Episode Ten for Free Online Page B

I felt most at home was Fin’s, actually. Too bad I could never go back there. Such was life.
    “Thanks, Dad.”
    He stared at me and I started to get uncomfortable. He could probably see what Chase saw. I mean, he was my father so he knew my face better than almost anyone else.
    “Everything okay?” he asked in a low voice as Mom and Glenna argued. Mom was getting intense, but Glenna just kept making jokes and pissing Mom off further. It was hilarious to watch.
    “Yeah,” I said. Dad had figured out things with Fin had gone south the first time I’d come to the house after it had happened. I hadn’t come out and told him what had gone on, but he was smart.
    “Let me know if you want to talk, Marisol. I’m always here.” I definitely couldn’t talk to him about that, but it was sweet of him to offer.
    “It’s right there!” Mom said, jabbing her finger at the corner with the supposed cobweb. Finally, Glenna had had enough, so she went to one of the utility closets and got the duster the maids used to get such cobwebs and swirled it in the corner.
    “There. Happy now?” Glenna said. Mom glared at the spot and then looked at it from a few angles before nodding her approval.
    “That was a one-time thing. I am not a maid,” Glenna said before she put the duster back in the closet and resumed her spot and picked up her knitting again.
    I liked having Glenna here. She added something to our family dynamic that had been missing. She also smoothed out the rough edges and made it a hell of a lot more fun to be here.
    A little while later, Glenna forced Mom up to bed and it was just Dad and me. He still looked tired, but was in better spirits.
    “How are things going?” he asked. I knew what he was asking, but I wasn’t going to talk.
    “Good. I got invited to go to Rory’s company’s ball and Sloane made me the most amazing dress.” Oh, how I wished Fin could see me in that dress. But it wasn’t meant to be. Still, I’d have a blast with Chloe and Sloane and Rory.
    “Sounds like a good time. Are you taking anyone?” Wow, fish much?
    “No, it’s just a girls’ thing. Well, Rory is bringing her man Lucas, but only because he works there. The rest of us are going solo.”
    He nodded and sipped the last of his coffee.
    “Maybe you’ll meet someone.” I shook my head.
    “I don’t want that right now, Dad. I can’t… I just don’t want that right now.” He set his cup down and leaned back in his chair. I recognized this pose as the one he adopted when he was about to tell me a story from his past. One of those bits of parental wisdom that you had to listen to, but didn’t necessarily need to take seriously. Sometimes you got gems, and sometimes you got something that was completely wrong. I wasn’t sure which this would be.
    “You know, I dated someone else before your mother.” Uh, this was news to me. As far as I knew, my parents were each other’s firsts. Their parents had engineered it that way, just as their parents had before them and so on and so forth to the beginning of time.
    “You did?” He nodded and I could tell he didn’t relish telling me this particular story. Interesting. My parents tended to avoid anything that was unpleasant or could show them in a bad light. They also weren’t big fans of the questions I would ask when they would tell such stories.
    “Yes. Her name was Sylvia and we went to school together. She was from a poor family and her parents were divorced. Most everyone avoided her at school because they were somehow afraid they would catch it, or some such thing.” I pulled my legs up onto my chair, something my mother wouldn’t allow, but I could probably get away with right now.
    “Anyway, we dated in secret for a while. I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of us being together and I knew it would never go anywhere because I was going to marry your mother. But the brief time we were together was nice. She was a sweet girl. Very funny. I was in love with her