CHAPTER 5

The trip there had been jocular with the two of us laughing and joking all the way. Our trip back to school was somber. I said not a single word the entire trip until Daisy asked me what was wrong. "We'll talk about it once we're back at your sorority, Daisy. I have to concentrate on my driving." She shut up mid-sentence and pouted for the remainder of the trip.

I stopped just in front of her building, turned the car off, and turned to face her. "Daisy, you're a psych major so I'm sure you understand the impact that a parent's behavior has on a child. Your mother dominates your home the way Hitler dominated Germany. I took a good look at your father and when I did all I could see was his hollow form. Your mother has reduced him to a cipher with her constant harping. I looked at him and saw myself in another thirty years. That's not going to happen. You're bossy and pushy now. What will you be like if we're married? I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen. I'm not going to turn out like your father."

I got out of the car, removed her small suitcase from the trunk, and opened the door for her. I handed her the case, kissed her cheek, and drove away. I loved Daisy and I was pretty sure that she loved me. Well, maybe she just loved fucking me, but she'd come a long way since our relationship had begun. Problem was I didn't think it was enough.

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Daisy was in tears by the time she reached her room. Her sorority sisters ran to her aid. "What did that jerk do to you, Daisy," they asked.

Daisy took a tissue and blew her nose before replying. "Nothing…he did nothing. It was my mother; she bossed my father around mercilessly. John told me he saw nothing but a hollow shell when he looked at my dad."

"Surely, he didn't mean that."

"No…he did and he's right. My dad is nothing more than a slave to my mother. She treats him like he's dog shit. She destroyed my engagement. Where will I ever find another John?" She fell onto the bed as her sobbing continued for almost an hour.

Then she roused herself and took her phone from her pocket. A few seconds later she spoke to her mother. "Thanks for nothing, Mom. You couldn't take it easy for even a single weekend? You berated Dad the entire time. John told me he thought Dad was nothing more than your slave and when he looked into his eyes he saw someone who…someone who was just a shell of a person. Then he told me that he couldn't see himself like that in thirty years. He broke the engagement. Thanks a lot, Mom! You've fucked up my life!" She ended the call and I could hear what I thought was the phone clattering off the wall and more of Daisy's sobbing.

I turned to Rob and asked, "What do you think?"

"Personally…you did the right thing unless you enjoy being bossed around. Was it really that bad?"

"No…it was worse, much worse. I've never seen someone beaten down emotionally like Daisy's father. I feel so badly for him." I went into my room and laid my head on the pillow. I looked back on my relationship with Daisy. Other than the lies and deception and the bossiness she was really a good girlfriend. So far as I knew the lies had ended early on so the only ongoing issue was the bossiness--her continuing attempts to run everything, including me.

There was no way I would become anything close to what her father had become. I was smart—very smart—and I had a product that almost everyone would want. My patent had been approved and my first client was the university. There was also interest in the patent office. Once that happened, I knew I'd pick up other government agencies. Damn, I was going to be a millionaire. Even a nerd could attract plenty of hot women if he was rich enough. I closed my eyes knowing that I'd never sleep. I kept seeing Daisy in my mind—her cute face, sparkling eyes, and gorgeous sexy body. I doubted that I'd ever forget the sensation of her silken muscular pussy, but no pussy was worth the price being with her would cost.

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I had just finished a tutoring session with some freshman computer sci. students and was almost to Professor Eastman's office when she tackled me. Okay, maybe "tackled" was too much, but she certainly latched herself to my leg and she wasn't letting go. It had been two weeks since I had broken the engagement. I had missed Daisy, but felt that I had made the right decision.

"Please, John—can we talk? I miss you so much. Please?"

"Daisy, come on now. You need to stand up. I agree that we need to speak, but not here, and certainly not like this. Let's go outside and find a bench where we can sit down and speak like responsible adults." I pulled her up, handing her the hankie I always carried in my right rear pocket. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before handing it back to me. I gingerly dropped it into a trash can as I led Daisy out the door.

The university is on a big hill so we found one of dozens of benches along one of the walkways. I sat her down and joined her. "Daisy, I'm going to ask you some questions to start this and I expect you to be completely honest. I know much more than you realize. Now…why did you approach me back in December and don't tell me it was about math because I know better." I stopped then and waited for her to speak. It was quite a long wait, but hopefully worth it.

Eventually, she looked up and brushed away her remaining tears. "Okay, the honest truth; I realized that my B.A. in psychology was almost worthless. I didn't want to go home to live with my parents after graduation. You've seen what my home is like. One of our pledges is studying computers and she had heard about your program being worth a lot of money. I thought I could trick you into marrying and supporting me, but you're too smart.