The Trial (5 page)

13

One Sunday afternoon Luke and Cocoa were out in the neighborhood when they passed Spring Park, which was on one of their regular routes. Only five acres, it usually held a few children playing soccer or football and some mothers watching toddlers roaming at one end. On this afternoon there were probably a dozen dogs and owners, too. Seated in a ragged circle, the owners chatted with each other. Some of the dogs were content to lie beside them. Other dogs were engaged in friendly contests. An older man had a Frisbee and tossed it as far as he could. His black Labrador took off, barking happily, as he followed the Frisbee. When it was four feet from the ground, the Lab leaped to catch it, did a small parade lap, and returned to his owner where he dropped the Frisbee and awaited the next toss. Luke smiled at the gathering. Cocoa was excited and strained at her leash to join the others. Then Luke spotted Sue Ellen Taggert.

Luke and Cocoa walked to the group. “Hey, Sue Ellen, can we join you?”

Sue Ellen broke off a conversation with another woman and pushed to her feet. She was wearing shorts and a Texas Longhorns T-shirt.
Wow,
Luke thought,
I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention to her in high school.

“Welcome, Luke. Everybody, this is our new neighbor, Luke Vaughan. He grew up here and disappeared into the vast wasteland of Houston before coming to his senses. He bought the old Cramer place. And this is his dog…?”

“Cocoa. Cocoa’s about four months. I’m teaching her to be a fierce attack dog.” Luke grinned.

Sue Ellen introduced all of her friends and their dogs. “And this is my son, Josh, and Jackie, my border collie.”

When the rest of the group returned to their conversations, Sue Ellen explained that the ad hoc club assembled most Sunday afternoons. Sometimes there were twenty people in attendance, sometimes only half a dozen. Dogs were their common interest. The only rule was that any dog that couldn’t get along with the other dogs would not be permitted to return.

Sue Ellen motioned for Luke to sit beside her as Josh wandered off to toss a football with some friends. Luke looked around at the group. All of them seemed happy, contented, and relaxed.
Why didn’t I opt for this lifestyle twenty years ago?
he thought.

The sun began to cast shadows on the park as people and dogs started to drift away. Luke was content to stay there until midnight. Stress was a distant memory, and Sue Ellen was a delightful conversationalist. Luke particularly enjoyed it when she would punctuate her comments by touching his arm and occasionally his knee.

“Probably time to go,” Sue Ellen finally said. “Luke, why don’t you and Cocoa walk with us back to my house? It’s only a couple of blocks out of the way. I’ve got beer in the fridge.”

“I’m for it. Lead the way,” Luke replied as he got to his feet and extended a hand for Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen hollered at Josh, who caught one more pass from his friend and joined them.

Josh was a cute ten-year-old, well-mannered and big for his age. Luke took an instant liking to him. “Josh, you play any sports?”

“Yes, sir. Most all of them, depending on the season. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer. I like football the best.”

“Who knows, maybe I’m raising a Longhorn quarterback,” Sue Ellen said, the smile of a proud parent on her face.

They turned the corner, and Sue Ellen motioned to the second house on the left. “That’s ours.”

It was a smaller version of Luke’s house, well maintained, painted light blue with dark blue trim.

“Have a seat on the porch. I’ll bring those beers. Josh, you can join us or go watch television.” Josh opted for the TV.

Luke took a seat and Cocoa was content to lie beside him and quickly dozed off into doggie slumber. Sue Ellen returned with two beers, then went back in the house and reappeared carrying a tray of assorted cheeses and crackers. They rocked, sipped their beers, and continued their small talk about old mutual acquaintances and caught up on life events.

Sue Ellen had graduated from Texas and then tended bar on Sixth Street in Austin for two years until she decided what next to do with her life. She settled on law school, but her grades were not quite good enough for UT Law. St. Mary’s was a good second choice, and she moved to San Antonio. In her third year she dated a fellow student she expected to marry, but he was shocked when she announced she was pregnant and thereafter would have nothing more to do with her. She found herself in early labor during the bar exam and assumed that she had probably failed. Two days later Josh was born, and three months later she learned she was a lawyer. She admitted to no serious romantic involvement since that time.

After a second beer the sun was almost gone, and Luke said that he would be getting on back to his house. There was an awkward moment between the two friends as she extended her hand. Rather than taking it, Luke pulled her toward him and gave her a gentle good-night kiss. He promised to call her soon and waved as he got to the end of her sidewalk. In hindsight, Luke should have savored that moment, for stress would reenter his life by the end of the summer.

14

It was Friday night in San Marcos. Luke had reluctantly agreed with Samantha that since she was now in high school, she could go to the movies and to the mall with her friends on weekend nights, provided a parent drove and she was home by ten thirty. He was finishing up a real estate deal for a Hill Country developer when he heard a timid knock on the door. Before he could get up, Samantha hollered down the stairs, “I’ll get it, Father.”

Samantha bounded down from the second floor and ran for the door.

“Samantha, stop! Don’t open that door yet.”

Luke walked to the hallway and stared at the apparition that his daughter had become. “My God, Sam, what have you done to yourself? Halloween is over.”

“You like it, Father? It’s the new Samantha.”

Luke could hardly speak. Samantha was wearing black jeans, black boots, and a T-shirt with Marilyn Manson on the front. In addition to a pentagram necklace, she wore a giant bracelet on each wrist and a chain around her waist. That was bad enough, but the worst was that she had dyed her beautiful red hair black.

“Sam, what did you do to your hair?” Luke stuttered as he tried to control his voice. “You can’t go out like that.”

“Father, calm down. All my friends dress like this. Let me show you.”

She threw open the door to reveal a skinny kid, probably fifteen, with a pasty-white complexion. He was shorter than Samantha by two inches. His outfit was almost identical to Samantha’s. His hair was black and sprayed into a spike, and he had a stud lebret hanging from his bottom lip.

“Father, this is Jimmy. He’s been showing me how to be goth.”

Luke looked with astonishment from his daughter to Jimmy and back to Samantha. Then he walked to the edge of the porch, where he saw Jimmy’s mother sitting in the driver’s seat of a ten-year-old Chevrolet, window down, puffing on a cigarette as she waited. Marilyn Manson reverberated from the open window.

“Samantha, go back in the house. You’re not going anywhere like that.”

“Father,” Samantha yelled, “you promised. You didn’t tell me there was a dress code.”

Luke sized up the situation and debated what to do. Finally he said, “All right, Samantha. Take off that chain. You don’t need it to hold up those jeans anyway. Leave the bracelets here, and you can go. Don’t you dare be home one minute past ten thirty. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Father,” Samantha fumed as she removed the chain and bracelets. She tried to toss them on a chair in the foyer and missed. “Sorry, Father. You can pick them up. We’re late. Let’s go, Jimmy.”

They ran down the stairs and jumped into the car. As he watched them drive away, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

“Sue Ellen, Luke here. Sorry to call you on short notice. I should be taking you out to dinner or something, only I need some advice. Can I come over? I’ll even bring a bottle of Scotch.”

Sue Ellen could hear concern in Luke’s voice. “Come on, Luke. Forget the Scotch. I’ve got plenty.”

Luke and Sue Ellen had been seeing each other on a semiregular basis for the past year. The potential for a romantic relationship, perhaps more, was there, but neither pushed it. They enjoyed each other’s company and commiserated about raising kids as single parents.

Luke climbed the steps to Sue Ellen’s house, but before he could knock, she opened the door, a Scotch and water in her hand. “About time you got here. Start with this one. Let’s sit in the living room. Josh is upstairs playing some video game.”

Luke sat in an easy chair across from the sofa, where Sue Ellen folded her legs under her and waited. He sipped his Scotch for a couple of minutes. “You know anything about goths?”

“I presume you don’t mean the old European Goths, but the modern ones. Yeah, I do. I’ve run across a bunch of teenagers who are into the movement in criminal court.”

“Oh, that’s just great,” Luke replied as he took another sip of his Scotch.

“It’s usually nothing serious. Some drinking, a little marijuana, loud music disturbing neighbors, occasionally a DUI. Actually, they get into trouble about the same way that other teenagers do. Samantha into it?”

Luke described what had happened that night. “I’m at a loss. What’s possessed Samantha? What happens from here?”

“Luke, Samantha’s fourteen and she’s rebelling, probably rebelling against you and certainly against society. Kids want to be part of a group. The outfit is part of how they identify who they are and what group they belong to. Sports teams have their uniforms. Gangs have their colors. Kickers identify each other by their boots and belt buckles. Goths are just a little more extreme.”

“Wait a minute. Why would Samantha rebel against me? I’ve done the best I can as her father.”

“I’m sure you have. At least from your perspective you have. May just be that Samantha sees the relationship differently.”

Luke rose and turned to stare out the picture window into the darkness. “I’m sorry to say you’re probably right. Okay, you seem to understand this goth stuff better than I do. What do you suggest?”

Sue Ellen rose, stood beside Luke, and circled his waist with her arm. “Do nothing, Luke. The more you protest, the worse it will be. Let her be a rebellious teenager for a while.”

“Then what?”

“She’ll outgrow it. Probably when she goes to college she’ll mature out of the phase.”

“You’re telling me that I have to put up with this another three years,” Luke said as he turned to face Sue Ellen.

“That’s right, Luke. In the meantime, just love her,” Sue Ellen said as she put her arms around Luke’s neck and held him. Then she lifted her head and kissed him lightly. Luke responded by pulling her toward him and returning the kiss with one that was much more passionate and lingering.

Sue Ellen stepped back and looked into Luke’s eyes. “So, Mr. Vaughan, exactly where is this going?”

“I think we both know where we’re going. The only question is, when do we get there?” Luke smiled.

15

In the middle of Samantha’s junior year, Luke gave up trying to be a good father. In fact, he really gave up on being a father at all. It was not intentional, but he realized he had tried everything and was out of options.

It was a chilly Saturday night in February. Samantha was out with her friends. Luke was relaxed in his big easy chair in the upstairs living area with a John Grisham novel. Cocoa was curled up at his feet, snoring quietly in front of a roaring fire. His solitude was broken by the roar of heavy metal music coming from a car in the street. Cocoa barked and ran down the stairs.
Sam’s home,
he thought and then turned a page. Luke was resigned to Samantha’s goth friends. He didn’t like Sam’s outfits or the latest pink streak in her black hair. He only hoped that Sue Ellen’s advice that she would mature out of it proved to be correct.

Luke heard Samantha stumble over the front door threshold and trip as she made her way up the stairs. “Good evening, Father,” she slurred as she got to the second floor. “I’m going to my room. Come on, Cocoa.”

“No, you’re not, young lady. You’ll come right here,” Luke replied as he put his book on the ottoman. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Nothing, Father.”

“Sam, don’t lie to me. How much?”

“All right. We split a six-pack of beer in the parking lot at the mall.”

“Samantha, you are not to drink as long as you live under this roof.”

“Come on, Father, all my friends drink. Besides, what gives you the right to be so high and mighty? You drink every night. I never see you after five o’clock without a Scotch close by. Good night, Father.”

Samantha turned, motioned to Cocoa, and slammed the door to her room behind them.

Luke picked up his Scotch and started to drink it. Instead, he walked to the kitchen and poured the Scotch down the sink.

The next morning at nine, Luke pounded on Samantha’s door. “Sam, time to get up!”

“Father, it’s the middle of the night, for God’s sake.”

Luke opened the door and motioned to Cocoa, who was also just awakening. “Come on, Cocoa. Let’s go for a run. Sam, I expect you to be up when we get back.”

After the run he and Cocoa climbed the stairs and went into the kitchen, where he expected to find Samantha sitting at the breakfast table, probably reading the paper. He was wrong. There was no sound.

He walked to her door, threw it open, and commanded, “Samantha, get out of that bed right now. We need to talk.”

Samantha stirred and rolled over on her stomach, pulling her pillow over her head as she did so. Luke threw back the covers and tossed the pillow on the floor. “I mean now!”

“Okay, okay, Father, if it’s that important. Let me go to the bathroom first.”

Luke stomped out of the room, poured himself coffee, and sat at the kitchen table. Finally Samantha came from her room, wearing a robe and slippers. She slumped in a chair across from her father.

“You want something to eat?”

“No thanks. My stomach is feeling a little queasy. Look, I know this is about last night. I’m sorry, Father. It won’t happen again.”

Luke tried to modulate his voice. “Damn right it won’t. Until further notice you’re grounded.”

“Grounded! Father, what does that mean? I’m nearly seventeen.”

“That means that you’re not going out with your goth buddies anymore until I say so. You want to have your friends over here, that’s fine, even those weirdos. Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll even provide a couple of six-packs of beer, provided it’s drunk here and I can monitor the consumption of your friends. I’ll probably even have a couple myself. How’s that?”

“Oh, great. So I tell my friends to come over and drink with my old man. That’ll go over like a pregnant elephant. No thanks. I’ll serve my penance by myself. If you want to have me do a few Hail Marys, just say the word. Now can I be excused?”

Samantha knocked over the chair as she rose, didn’t bother to pick it up, and stormed to her room.