CHAPTER 50

Rachael is confused, Katy is stunned, Imelda is just wondering how I came up with this and I can tell by the confusion but it's Matty and Kori who are giving me the pissed off girlfriend look. I say nothing more as I can almost time the explosion; sure enough it comes from Kori.

"You aren't going to walk with Matty and I at graduation," Kori says, missing the entire first part of my statement.

"It's not that I won't graduate baby…," but I get cut off.

"Don't baby her and don't sweet talk around this," Matty says taking over," We are all supposed to graduate together and you just decided to jump the gun on college without even talking to a single one of us?"

"Guy that's really fucking cold," Imelda says moving away from me a little.

"I'm stepping outside," Rachael says and I watch as all my girls go with her.

Okay what the fuck did I say, I want to get out of high school and get into college faster so I can get it done with. I watch the server come back and I'm sitting by myself and make up some excuse as to where the girls are as I sit there and wonder what to do. I'm paying and I can't leave to go after them but I'm also really wondering what the hell is wrong with my plan. Walking just isn't important to me, getting away from a school that literally tried to kill me, twice, and doing so for college so I can get a career where I'll make money for my new family would be best. I really sat down and thought about this plan hard for a couple months and while it would suck for free time I'd still be there for my girls. The waitress comes back a second time and still no girls, she asks me if I want more time and I realize that they took their stuff when they left. I get the check and step outside to find Bethany's truck and Imelda's bike are gone. I grab my phone and call Loretta.

"Honey I thought you were out with the girls," She asks concerned.

"Have you heard from them," I asked.

"No but I'll contact them for you, did you have a fight," Loretta asks me concerned.

I explain what we talked about and I hear her sigh audibly on the other end. I explain my reasons and that it's a plan and that I thought they'd like the fact that I was planning for our future when Loretta decides to help me out.

"First thing, come home, I'll talk to Kori and let her know what is going on with you but please come home first," Loretta tells me as I hop on my bike.

I'm down the road and home before Bethany's truck and Imelda's bike which means my girls are still running around and it's just past seven. I get inside and I'm very upset as I can hear Loretta talking on the phone and asking the girls to calm down and she says okay a lot before making them agree they'll come back tonight. I watch her hang up and when she sees me she immediately starts in.

"You're not going after them," Loretta says, holding out her hand for my keys.

"Where are they? I want to talk to them," I say, keeping them clenched in my hand.

"No they're cooling down and really you need to think about what they want to say to you when they're ready to," Loretta says trying to stop me.

"Guy, come into my office please," I hear Mr. Delauter ask from his doorway.

I am really confused by being invited into his office considering we only ever talk about deals and once inside he closes the door. I follow his motion and sit in a chair by his fireplace and hear glass being moved behind me and on the table in between the chairs there is a small glass with a brown liquid set next to me. I see he has one and a large green bottle.

"What is this," I ask motioning to the glass.

"That is twelve year old single malt scotch whiskey, drink it," He says, taking a sip and sitting down in the adjoining chair.

"I don't like alcohol," I replied, nudging the glass.

"And you don't like having your girls not listen to you but for all your fighting ability you don't know anything about making sure you're heard with them," He says nudging the glass back to me," I'm not turning you into an alcoholic but I'm going to help you make your point. Now please don't waste my scotch and just drink it so I can explain."

I take the glass and smell the liquid, it's like wood and spices. I see Mr. Delauter staring at me expectantly and I'm really afraid of this. This goes against everything I swore as a child and all the bad memories that I had come flooding back.

"You are not your mother; she had her problems and got past them. This is you and me, being men and having a drink while we deal with women's problems. This is also my house and a controlled environment, you are safe and I'm not going to do this again unless needed," Mr. Delauter tells me using a very fatherly tone.

I stare at the glass for a second and down the small mouthful of liquid, it takes a second and the fire burning in my throat is immense as I cough and set the glass down. My eyes are watering and I catch my breath as I see Mr. Delauter has refilled my glass.

"Now as you sip this next one let me explain. Sometimes women need to know that you're very out of control before they will listen. You tried explaining your point tonight in a calm rational manner and they flipped out, am I right," He asks and I nod in response," so now when they get home we're going to present them their new problem, Guy Donnelly with no filter to tell them exactly his point of view."

I have no clue what he's talking about but I'm sitting and drinking as I explain what happened. He's a really good listener and gets that I'm just trying to do things quickly and that it was a plan I made and not fully set in stone. I don't know how long I've been sitting with him but we've emptied the bottle and I'm really warm and I think I might be drunk. I hear a commotion and mom, I don't call her that enough and she's been really there for me since last summer, talking to the girls outside. I watch Mr. Delauter get up and we listen in at the door to their conversation.

"So he's been home this whole time," Kori asks with a little concern.

"Yes and they've been in there for three hours with the door locked," Loretta tells my girls matter of factly.

"Okay but what are they doing," Katy says questioningly.

Mr. Delauter helps me step back and opens the door stepping out first with his glass in hand. I can hear all the women get quiet as he steps out. I wait out of sight like he said but I really want to see my girls.

"We've been talking, it's a man thing. He tried talking earlier and I was the only one to listen to him so we decided this way would be best," Mr. Delauter says, stepping towards the woman.

"Honey, have you been drinking," Loretta asks, noting the glass.

"He's not the only one," I say, blustering in and traumatizing the room.

I stagger into the foyer and grab my phone to take a few pictures while chuckling at their faces. Loretta is a small level of horror while the girls are stunned in place with mouths open.

"Oh my god Mark, did you get him drunk," Loretta asks, shocked and snatching the glass from her husband.

"Yes he did. And you know why, because you all don't want to listen to me so he did," I say, staggering forward and taking the glass back before drinking it," Is this glass expensive?"

I see Mr. Delauter shake his head no and I turn hurling it at the far wall causing it to burst into a thousand little pieces. It's pretty and I'm laughing as Mr. Delauter walks Loretta back from me in my fit. I turn and see my very pretty girls standing there when Rachael tries to approach me.

"Guy you've been drinking, I think you should sit down," She says, trying to lead me.

"I've been sitting and drinking for almost three hours waiting for all of you to come home, you sit down and I'm going to talk," I say, batting her hands away.

"Honey you're not yourself right now," Matty says trying to help.

"Don't you try to sweet talk me, you walked away and didn't even try to hear what I had to say so now you get to sit like a horse's ass and listen," I say, raising my voice.

My friends and Mr. Delauter's children along with Vicki are all drawn out of their rooms as I'm making the best spectacle of myself. My girls are still a bit stunned as I pull on my hood, then off again amused at my look before turning my attention to them remembering my point.

"You never let me explain that my plan was something I had come up with because I wanted to get out of high school which aside from my girls has really sucked donkey cock for me. I want to get into college and get my degree done sooner so that I can start supporting this family and do things that I want to do like I don't know, have a dozen kids or even get married to you all. I never said that I was going to set my plan in stone or anything but you couldn't even accept the fact that I had come up with a good future idea for us and left me looking like a piece of shit in front of a whole restaurant, which I had to pay for appetizers that I don't even like," I blather out dumping my feelings in front of everyone.

"Guy we're really sorry about…," Katy says trying to interrupt.