“Well,” I said, forcing a smile. “I hope tonight won’t be too terrible. I guess your dad really wanted you to go to prom.”
She opened her door, but she didn’t get out.
“Wait,” she said.
“Don’t make things too easy for him?” I read out loud.
Georgia nodded. “My dad wants me to make tonight difficult.” GetParenting Tips
“Why?”
“To see how you react.”
“What?”
“He suggested I complain about everything,” she said. “Make unreasonable requests. Be rude. Be a total nightmare. And then he wants me to tell him whether you lose your patience.”
I looked out the windshield toward the gym. I examined my grandfather’s funeral suit and the shoes I’d borrowed from my neighbor, which were half a size too small. I considered the mustard-colored Buick with its squeaking left turns and its haunted radio. CompareShoes
“So,” I said slowly, “I’m wearing borrowed shoes and driving a car that sounds like a shopping cart because your father wants to test my patience?”
