Richard (Sarah's dad) looked down at his wife. She had stopped crying and looked up at him with a smile. "Don't worry, honey," she said. "It's gonna be fine."
She looked from her daughter to Jay then back to her husband. "Just fine."
"No! Susan, listen to me. You've been brainwashed or something. This isn't right," he said, sounding nasally again.
"You're wrong, Richard. It's better to be this way. Our daughter was right."
He backed away from her. What had happened to the Susan he had come to know and love over the last twenty years? This wasn't his Susan. It was some kind of an ugly twisted version of her.
"No. I won't listen to you. I won't become like you."
"Father, please. Listen to Mother. She understands," Sarah pleaded.
"What's happened to all of you? Can't you see that this is all wrong?" He turned around, about to leave the room. But then he stopped.
The thing was, the more he thought about it, the more it did seem like the right thing. New thoughts entered his mind. He wasn't sure where they came from, but they insisted that it was better to be a geek. It was better if everyone was a geek. He heard those thoughts, and he started to believe them.
Susan stood up and put her hand on her husband's shoulder. He had been silent for nearly a minute. "Are you okay?"
He turned around. He smiled shyly. "I'm okay. You were right. It is better this way." He looked towards Jay and Sarah, who were holding hands. "Thank you for doing this for us, Jay. I feel much better now that I'm a geek."
"Me too," his wife said. "Thank you."
"It was nothing Mrs. McMillan. I was just trying to help." He looked at his watch. It was past ten thirty. "I better get home now. My mother is probably wondering where I went."
"You do that," Susan said. Jay left the room with Sarah. Susan turned to her husband. "What a sweet boy."
Sarah opened the front door. "See you tomorrow, Jay," she said.
"Oh. Yeah, okay." Sarah could tell that he was nervous.
"You don't have to be nervous around me, Jay." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips again, for a little longer this time. "See you tomorrow."
Jay blushed, then smiled. "Okay. Bye Sarah."
"Bye."
And Jay went back home.
