Jim looked at his watch once more. He saw his wife shift her gaze away from the Better Homes & Gardens magazine she was reading to him. She was good at watching him. He found it rather annoying, but he never said anything about it. He looked to his shoes. His indoor shoes. He found it ridiculous that they would have shoes to wear inside the house when company came. It wasn’t just ridiculous that he had one pair of indoor shoes, but at least three or four pairs. Deborah was anal about the white carpet and didn’t want any marks or stains on it. If it were up to him, they wouldn’t wear shoes inside. Deborah didn’t have indoor shoes, she just had regular shoes. Her regular shoes, though, weren’t exactly what one could call ‘regular’. Deborah took very good care of her shoes. She cleaned the bottoms of them every time she wore them outside, just so she could wear them inside if she needed to. When she wasn’t wearing her heels, like she did every single day, whether or not she was leaving the house for something or not, she was wearing slippers. Jim was annoyed by her obsession with shoes.
He loved his wife, though, and there was no denying that.
To be completely honest, he was outraged that his youngest daughter would go behind their backs and do something like that. How could she? They had gone to church every Sunday, bought her the right clothes, sent her to the right school, lived in the right neighborhood in the right house, went on family vacations together, he had the right profession and his wife was the perfect stay-at-home mother, they were even friends with the right people. What had gone so wrong? Did they not monitor who she was friends with closely enough? No, that couldn’t be it. Blair had always made the right decisions in school in deciding who her friends were. Did she do this because she was, on some subconscious level, starving for attention from her parents from her childhood years? Was it because he was always so busy with work? No, that couldn’t be it either. He saved most weekends, almost all holidays and attended almost every single one of her school functions for her. He knew Blair knew he loved her. There was no way they could have done anything wrong. Maybe there always has to be a bad apple in the bunch. In his family, it was Christopher. He hadn’t become a doctor or a lawyer like his other brothers, no, Christopher had become a writer. It killed him that his own flesh and blood, his own daughter, would do something so awful.
He loved her, though, and there was no denying that.
No man Blair came across was good enough for her, the way Jim saw it. Sure, she was a beautiful girl and a man would be crazy not to want to be with her, but no one would ever measure up to his standards, and he knew that. He had no desire to like this man Blair was bringing with her. All he knew, from hearing this information just about a half an hour prior to this moment from his wife, was that his name was Justin and he did something or other with music. How they met, he had no idea. How old he was, he didn’t know. Was he going to be able to support his youngest daughter, he wasn’t sure. He was not looking forward to this evening. He suspected there would be awkward silences, uncomfortable moments and potentially hurtful comments flying about the room.
The food at dinner would be good, though, and there was no denying that.
“Jim, darling,” Deborah asked, closing her magazine and placing it on the coffee table carefully. “What time is it?”
He checked his Rolex watch again. There was a clock on the wall directly across from her. A very expensive Waterford crystal clock. Why didn’t she just look for herself? “Seven-fifty-seven.”
Deborah made a soft, high-pitched “hmm” sound before standing up and clicking over the hardwood floor into the kitchen in her tan high heels.
Jim sighed as he stood from the couch and followed after his wife, only to be stopped once he reached the hardwood floor by the doorbell. He called through the house that he would get it, but that declaration was met with a “Jim, darling, please don’t shout in the house.” He sighed again and pulled open the door. He saw his blonde haired baby standing beside a tall young man, both with smiles pasted to their faces.
“Hi, Dad,” Blair smiled, taking the first step into the house and giving her father a small hug. “This is Justin. Justin, this is my dad, Jim Kennedy.”
“Darling, is that Blair at the door?” Deborah asked, entering the foyer, her clicking heels and all. A forced smile appeared on her face as she came close to give Blair a very mechanical hug as a welcoming. “Oh, honey, I see your bangs are still long.”
That’s some greeting, Justin thought to himself.
“It’s good to see you too, Mom,” Blair said through her own forced smile.
“And who is this charming young man?” Deborah stood in front of Justin, who had just closed the door behind himself.
Justin smiled his famous Justin Timberlake 100-watt smile out of nervousness. It was one thing he had picked up being in the music business as well as in the spotlight; when in doubt, smile.
“Mom, this is Justin,” Blair said, standing next to Justin once again. “Justin, this is my mother, Deborah.”
“Oh please,” she laughed strangely. That was the laugh Blair recognized as her fake laugh. The laugh she pulled out for company and for lame jokes at Christmas and holiday parties. “Call me Debbie.” Debbie tilted her head to the side and smiled at Justin. “Oh, Jim, would you look at those eyes? So blue and beautiful… just like Blair’s.”
“Mom, come on,” Blair said, getting annoyed very quickly. She didn’t even want to be there. She wanted to grab Justin’s hand and leave. She wanted to be wearing comfy pants and a tank top, sitting on the couch, watching a movie and cuddling with Justin. “Would you like us to remove our shoes?” she asked, knowing full well that her mother was nervous about discoloring her precious carpets.
“Oh, you just know me so well,” Debbie laughed. Blair rolled her eyes and slid out of her shoes. Justin followed suit, placing his black dress shoes on the floor next to Blair’s.
“Shall we go into the living room until dinner’s ready?” Debbie asked, clapping her hands together softly. Justin noticed her ensemble; an outfit that looked almost like a woman’s business suit in a tan color with a skirt that went just above her knees and a black, cream and tan striped shirt underneath the tan jacket that matched her skirt. Her heels matched perfectly. She smoothed her skirt and led the way to the living room.
“Dinner’s not ready yet?” Jim asked, taking the seat he had been sitting in before he had gotten up to answer the door.
“No, dear,” Debbie smiled, tilting her head to the side to look at her husband. “Nadia said it will be ready shortly.”
Jim nodded, looking extremely bored. Justin shot a glance over to Blair, who, like her father, looked bored and very annoyed.
“So,” Debbie smiled widely.
“My wife tells me you like music, Justin,” Jim said, “What do you play?”
“Actually-”
Nadia had poked her head into the living room to inform them that dinner was ready. Debbie smiled and told the housekeeper thank you. She looked to Blair and Justin and suggested they go to the dining room. Justin looked at Blair as they stood up, but Blair just rolled her eyes and followed her parents into the dining room. Justin and Blair sat across from one another as did Jim and Debbie, but at the heads of the table. Justin smiled at Blair, trying to get her to lighten up, and he thought she smiled back at him but the smile vanished when Debbie spoke again, asking Jim to say the blessing. Both Blair and Justin bowed their heads as Jim spoke and looked at each other again when it was finished.
“So what do you play?” Jim asked.
“I’m a singer actually, but I play piano and guitar mostly.”
“Well isn’t that a nice hobby,” Debbie said, nodding and smiling at him.
“It’s not a hobby, Mom,” Blair said, taking a sip of water.
Debbie’s smile faded as she looked to her daughter. “Watch your tone, young lady.”
“What do you do, Justin?” Jim asked, taking a bite of his dinner.
“I’m a musician,” Justin said, reaching for his own water. He heard Debbie make a soft, high-pitched “hmm” sound.
“That’s interesting.”
“He’s quite a performer,” Blair said on behalf of Justin. “He used to be a member of the group *NSYNC, but they’re on a break for a while, so he’s working on a solo album right now. His second one.”
“Oh, I’m sure I knew that,” Debbie smiled, “I think I recall Blair telling me that.”
“Where did you go to school?” Jim asked nonchalantly.
“College?” Justin asked, “Oh, I didn’t- I haven’t gone to college yet. I’ve been busy, so I’m planning on going back to school later… down the road.”
“Oh,” Jim nodded. “You’ve been busy?”
“Yes, Dad,” Blair interjected. “Justin has been in the entertainment for most of his life. He started out on a television show when he was little and then at, what 14?” she asked. Justin nodded. “When he was 14, he joined *NSYNC.”
“We started out in Europe and then came back to the states and the rest is history….” he said with a slight chuckle.
“Well, excuse us if we don’t know much about your career, Justin,” Debbie jumped in. “Perhaps you can explain what this ‘history’ is.”
“Well, we’ve released a few CDs and been touring for as long as I can remember. I haven’t really had a lot of down-time, so it’s kind of difficult to attend college while you’re gone for the better part of a year.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Jim said, “If you’re gone for almost a year, how do you expect to care for and support my daughter?”
Justin heard Blair sigh extremely loud, probably the loudest sigh he had ever heard, from across the table. She had dropped her fork on her plate with a clank, rested her elbows on the table, crossed her hands above the table and rested her head against her hands. “I fully intend on being there for Blair whenever she needs me and I have no intention of leaving the country for extended periods of time any time soon. Things have changed since I was fourteen years old and, because I’m working on my own album and the group is taking a break, I can take as long as I’d like off, or out of the spotlight at least.”
“What about money?” Debbie asked, sipping her wine. “Most people work for a living.”
“Mother!” Blair hissed, dropping her hands. “Justin does work.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Blair’s mom laughed. “How silly of me to forget.”
“I work,” Blair said.
“Yes you do,” Debbie nodded and spoke to Blair as if she were a little girl.
“Dad!” Blair looked to her father to make her mother change her behavior. “You’re just going to let her talk to us like that?”
“Honey, we’re concerned,” Jim told his daughter, resting his hand atop hers.
“About what?” she asked, feeling eyes fill with tears. “I can do this. I can do it by myself if I have to.”
“Blair-” Justin tried to calm her.
“We didn’t come here to be insulted and talked down to,” Blair continued. “We are adults and we don’t need you. Justin, let’s go.”
Justin looked at Blair and then to her parents.
“You’re adults?” Debbie asked, standing to meet her daughter. “You’re an adult Blair? If you were an adult you would be responsible, and by your current position it seems as though you weren’t very responsible.”
Blair tried as best she could to not let her parents make her cry and make her feel bad about herself, but it wasn’t working very well. Blair tried to blink back her tears, but failed at that as well. When she blinked, a few tears cascaded down her cheeks. “Justin,” she said firmly. “Come on.”
“Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy, it was very nice meeting you,” Justin said quickly as Blair grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the front door. “I hope to see you again in the near future.”
Blair slid her feet into her shoes and picked Justin’s up with her hands. She flung open the door and stomped outside. She slammed the door behind Justin and dropped his very expensive shoes onto the concrete step in the front of the house, no doubt scuffing them, and pointed at them.
“Hurry up,” Blair said, wiping her eyes quickly.
Justin stepped into his shoes without saying a word.
Blair’s arms hugged her arms around her body as she waited for him to finish putting his shoes on. She sniffled as she waited. “I knew it,” she muttered. “I knew she would do this.”
“Blair, let’s just go.”
Blair nodded and snuggled closer to Justin as he wrapped his arm around her.
“Well,” Debbie said, looking at Justin and Blair’s plates, which were still mostly filled with food. “That wasn’t so bad.”
Jim huffed and took a bite of his dinner. “It certainly could have been worse.”
Debbie frowned at the plates. “What a waste of food.”
Jim looked at the plates and then rolled his eyes. Who cares?
