Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

After dinner, Megan insisted on helping her mother clear the table and put things away while Charles returned to the living room.

Barbara looked at her daughter. "I’m glad you could make it today. We seem to have such a hard time getting together."

Megan had enjoyed the nice quiet dinner so much, and being an eternal optimist, she had to stop a minute, and remember why she avoided visiting her parents. "I know I haven’t been over much, and I miss seeing you both. But Mom, you know why."

"Your father’s only looking out for what he considers your best interests," Barbara said, smiling. "I know you don’t agree on that. But he really just wants the best for you."

"Yeah. I know. But what he thinks is best for me isn’t what I want to do, and I hate to cause hard feelings, so the alternative is to stay away.

Looking at her mother and smiling, Megan added, "But I will try to do better."

Barbara smiled back at her daughter. "Good. Besides he’ll eventually come around. Just give him some time."

Megan chuckled ruefully. "Mom, I’m going to be 28 soon. I think if he was going to come around, he’d have done it by now."

Barbara sighed. She knew Megan was probably right. "Well, you never know. It still could happen."

The two women walked into the living room carrying coffee cups. Barbara gave one to Charles, and then sat down on the couch with Megan.

"Have you talked to Taylor lately? She just found out she’s pregnant," Barbara said, looking completely like the happy grandmother she was.

"Oh that’s great! I know they wanted to start a family. When’s she due?" Megan asked grinning.

"March 18th. Ashley, you and I need to get together and plan a shower for her. I thought January might be a good time to do it."

Due to their various schedules, Megan didn't get a chance to see her sisters very often and the idea of helping plan Taylor's shower really appealed to her. With a warm smile lighting up her face, she said, "Ok. That’ll be fun."

Charles took a sip of his coffee and asked, "What about you Megan? Have you been dating anyone?"

How did I know this would come up? Dating anyone… hum… not really, I’m already taken. Leaving her thoughts behind, Megan said, "No, I’m not dating anyone."

Charles looked pointedly at his daughter, and said, "You’re not getting any younger. If you wait too much longer all the suitable young men will be gone."

Barbara looked at her daughter. She was so attractive. She just didn’t understand why the men weren’t flocking after her. The problem was she just spent too much time at work to go out and enjoy herself.

"You know Megan your father has a point. You really should spend more time socially and less at your job. If you don’t go out you can’t meet people."

Megan took a deep breath. She wasn’t in the mood for this conversation right now. There had been too much happening in her life lately, and it wasn’t over. Her partner had put her life on the line last night so that their own lives could return to normal and she just didn’t want to play this particular game with her parents right now. With those thoughts in mind, she decided to put an end to the topic.

Looking her father in the eyes, she said, "I am very happy with my life the way it is. So can we please talk about something else?"

Charles was angered by what he perceived as a disrespectful remark from his daughter.

"You don’t run this house, and it would behoove you to listen to your mother and me on this. I expect you to show a little respect, and when

I’m ready to change the subject, I will."

"Charles," Barbara said, hoping to avoid a potential showdown, "If she doesn’t want to talk about this right now…"

Charles was not about to be deterred. "Well when are we going to talk about it? She hardly ever comes over. I think this is as good a time as any."

Megan looked sadly from one parent to the other. This just didn’t make any sense. They were talking about her like she wasn’t even in the room. Standing up, Megan said, "I’m going to go now. Thanks for dinner. It was great…"

Rising to his feet, Charles said, "And just where do you think you’re going? I want to know when you’re going to start acting like a

Donnovan? It’s bad enough you have that public servant job, so the least you can do is marry into our class of people."

Charles paused, unsuccessfully trying to calm down. "I know it’s not because there aren’t plenty of eligible young men interested in you. I introduced you to Eric and Jeffrey at the last party we had. They both asked you out, and you turned them down."

The stress of the last week had taken its toll and Megan's eyes began flashing, and her temper flared. Words fell freely from her mouth before she could stop them. "I already met someone. She’s a wonderful woman that I love more than I ever thought was possible."

Megan realized what she’d said when she saw the shocked expressions on her parents’ faces. I wanted to tell them, but not like this, and not today. Resigning herself to the explosion she knew was coming, she met her father’s widened eyes.

"You’re telling me you’re a Lesbian? You like women?" Charles sputtered incredulously.

Looking at Barbara, he said, "What did we do wrong?"

Megan looked at her father, and said, "Dad, it's not about that. It’s about love."

Shifting her gaze back and forth between her parents, Megan continued, hoping she could help them understand her feelings, "I am happier than I’ve ever been. When I met her, I knew there was something special about her. I never felt that way about anyone before."

Barbara didn’t know what to say. Her daughter’s face softened when she talked about her feelings. This was just such a shock.

Charles still couldn't believe his ears. "You’re going to disgrace the entire family. How could you do this to us?"

"No I’m not, Dad. You are respected and liked in the community. That’s not going to change, and besides, how would any of your associates know anyway?" Megan said, reasonably.

Barbara thought about the few conversations she'd had with Megan lately. Some of the things her daughter had said, now made more sense.

She just hadn't been paying attention. "It’s that FBI agent, isn’t it?"

Megan looked at her mother, and said, "Yes Mom. She really is great. You’d like her."

Charles' face began to turn red, anger replacing the shock. "You are wrong. I will not allow you to disgrace the family like this. Until you come to your senses, you are not welcome in this house anymore."

"Charles," Barbara said, warningly. "Megan, he doesn’t mean that."

Megan felt her stomach tighten, and fought to control her emotions. Looking at her mother, she said, "I hoped you might understand."

Turning to look at her angry father, she said, "I’m sorry you feel that way," and then she turned and walked to the side door, letting herself out.

Barbara tried to follow, but Charles grabbed her arm and stopped her. "I meant what I said."

Barbara glared at her husband. "Charles you’re wrong. She’s our daughter."

Charles met his wife's eyes unflinchingly. "This is my house, and I will not allow her to disgrace it with her deviant behavior."

Megan got into her car very depressed. It shouldn’t have come to this. She knew she should have reined in her temper, but they would have had to know sooner or later anyway. Tony was too important to her. But she’d never expected her father to ban her from the house.

Putting the car into gear and pulling into the street, Megan was unaware of the tears falling down her face until she had to pull over, no longer able to see clearly. A little while later, her tears in check, she pulled back onto the road and began driving across town.