"That's nice to hear." I told her. "But…"
"But?" She asked, glaring at me. "I don't like to hear buts."
"Well," I said. "I do need to ask a brief favor."
"And what might that be?"
"I need to cut out at one-thirty today. Today only. I hate to ask on my first day back but…"
She scoffed. "Is that all? You've got it Bill. Cut out whenever you want."
"Thanks again Mindy." I told her.
"Welcome aboard Bill." She said as I headed off to the sterilization area.
I decided to take my hiring as a good omen for my later task.
The River View area of Spokane was and is one of the more exclusive parts of town. The streets here were lined with trees and had center dividers that had grass growing on them; grass that was lovingly maintained by an army of City-paid gardeners. Streets that did not have any liquor stores, pawn shops, K-Marts, or, God forbid, apartment complexes. It was where the elite of Spokane lived; the lawyers, the real estate developers, the movers and shakers. It was a part of town where I had to be genuinely worried that I would be pulled over by a Spokane police officer, a high seniority officer of course, on general principals when my Datsun was spotted cruising the streets. It was a part of town that I'd rarely responded into as a paramedic. Rich people simply didn't call for ambulances very often.
Even the post office was a miracle of modern architecture. It was a single story building with Spanish tile on the roof, tucked unobtrusively away behind a commercial complex. The snow was still drifting down as I pulled in at twenty minutes to two that afternoon and found a parking spot in view of Mr. Blackmore's car.
I waited, chewing on my fingernails in anticipation.
At five minutes to two I spotted Mr. Blackmore heading from the main building out into the parking lot. He was walking hunched over against the wind, his postal uniform upon his body. I opened my car door and stepped out, taking a final deep breath to gather my courage. I headed towards him on an intercept course.
"Mr. Blackmore." I hailed when he was less than ten feet from me.
He looked up, his face showing his age, his gray hair tucked beneath his cap. I was struck by the strong resemblance between him and Nina. It took him a moment to recognize me. When he did his eyes burned.
"You." He spat, glaring.
"Me." I agreed.
"Get away from me you slime." He told me. "How dare you come here."
"We need to talk Sir." I told him firmly.
"I have nothing to talk to YOU about." He said. "Get away from me right now or I'll call the cops."
"I don't think we need to involve the police in this." I said. "I don't think they'd be very interested. I just want to talk to you about your daughter."
"My daughter has been forbidden to see you."
"I know." I answered. "She told me that when I talked to her this morning."
"You stay away from her!" He yelled. "Do I need to call the school and talk to the principal about keeping you apart?"
"You could." I allowed. "And he might go so far as to separate our classes.
But that won't help. Your daughter and I are in love Mr. Blackmore. No matter what you do, no matter what precautions you take, we will find some way to see each other."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." He proclaimed, heading for his car once more. "Stay away from her!"
"I can't Mr. Blackmore." I told him simply.
He turned back towards me, his face red, his hands balled into fists. I was forced to wonder if the flippant comment I'd made to Nina about him kicking my ass hadn't been so flippant after all. "You WILL!" He ordered.
"Come over to my house." I said, holding my ground, using my adult voice.
"What?"
"Talk with me." I offered. "Sit down with me and tell me why you think I should stay away from your daughter. Why you think you know better than she does what's good for her. There has to be a reason. You can tell me what it is."
"I can tell you the reason right now." He said. "It's because you are a lowlife scumbag who is only after one thing."
I held his gaze. "No." I said. "I'm not."
"You are." He insisted. "She told us how you were. About the girls at school. Well you are not going to add her to your list. You are not going to destroy her life."
"So you thought you would do it for her?" I asked.
"How dare you…"
"Did you tell her that you would only pay for college if she stays in Spokane?" I asked him.
"If that's what it takes to keep her away from you." He said.
"Think about that Mr. Blackmore." I said. "Step outside yourself and think about what you're saying. Nina wants to be a doctor. She's geared her entire high school curriculum towards getting into college and med school. There is no med school in Spokane. You are talking about taking away her dream just to keep her away from me. Does that sound like a person who is acting in his daughter's best interests? Does that sound like the workings of a rational mind?"
"You will lose interest in her by then." He said. "Once you don't get what you want from her…"
"I already have what I want from her." I said. "I have her love. And I will not lose interest in her."
"You don't have the slightest idea what love is." He spat. "And neither does she. You're just trying to make her think you love her so she'll give in to you."
"Believe me Mr. Blackmore." I assured him. "I know what love is. Your daughter has shown me. We're not ordinary teenagers and I am not the way you think I am. Look at me." I told him. "Do I seem like a typical teenager to you?"
He stared for a moment, his face showing the first signs of confusion, his mouth open to make a reply. Finally he said, "No. You don't."
"Come over to my house." I offered again. "Talk to me like one adult talks to another. You're not afraid to do that, are you? You're not afraid that you might be wrong?"
"Afraid?" He asked. "Boy, there is absolutely nothing about YOU that can scare me."
"Then prove it." I challenged. "Come over to my house. We'll have ourselves a little talk, like men, and if you can convince me that I'm hurting Nina in any way, then I'll leave her alone."
"And why should I believe you about that?" He wanted to know.
I shrugged. "What have you got to lose?"
He continued to look at me for a long time as his mind worked over what I'd said. Finally he nodded. "Okay Son." He said. "I'll meet you at your house and we'll talk. And when we're done talking I expect you to keep your slimy self away from my family."
I smiled. "Well that's a start Mr. Blackmore. I trust you know where my house is?"
When we arrived at my house it was of course empty. I sat Mr. Blackmore down on the couch and excused myself for a moment, going into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and took out two of the beers from the twelve-pack that Tracy had bought for me. They had been in just long enough to be of the proper drinking temperature.
I carried them into the living room and handed one to Nina's Dad. He looked at me strangely.
"As I recall from the days when you liked me," I told him, "You're partial to a cold brew when you get home from work."
"You think I'm going to be impressed by your possession of beer?" He asked.
"I'm not trying to impress you." I told him. "Just talk to you, one adult to another. I've found that adults talk better, looser, over a few beers. Don't you agree?"
He looked at me, a full-blown version of THE LOOK. "You don't seem like a teenager at all." He whispered.
"Let's pretend there's no age here Mr. Blackmore." I said. "We're having a serious discussion with long-term ramifications." I popped open my beer and sat down in my Dad's favorite chair. "So for now, let's just be Bill and Jack, two adults talking over an important subject."
Mr. Blackmore seemed confused by my words. I sensed a softening of the barrier he'd thrown up and felt I'd finally broken through. And then his expression returned to one of angry determination. He shook his head violently. "You're good Son." He told me, accused me, "That's what I need to keep reminding myself about people like you. You can seem so damn nice, so damn reasonable, so damn adult." He stood back up, setting the beer down on the coffee table. "You took me in once when you first started hanging around my daughter. Shame on you. But you almost took me in twice just now. That's shame on me." He began heading for the door.