Acest prezent Intunecat

“I’m over here, Daddy.”
Immediately the demon lost its grip and fell free, snorting with indignation.
Marshall spun around and saw Sandy, standing just beside the door he had
just burst through, apparently trying to hide from her classmates among the
camelia bushes and looking very much like she was about to take him to task.
Well, anything was better than losing her, Marshall thought.
“Well,” he said before he considered, “pardon me, but I get the distinct
impression you disowned me in there.”
Sandy tried to stand straight, to face him in her hurt and anger, but she still
could not look him squarely in the eye.
“It was—it was just too painful.”
“What was?”
“You know … that whole thing in there.”
“Well, I like coming on with a real splash, you know. Something people
will remember …”
“Daddy!”
“So who stole all the ‘No Parents Allowed’ signs? How was I to know she
didn’t want me in there? And just what’s so all-fired precious and secret that
she doesn’t want any outsiders to hear it?”
Now Sandy’s anger rose above her hurt, and she could look at him
squarely. “Nothing! Nothing at all. It was just a lecture.”
“So just what is her problem?”
Sandy groped for an explanation. “I don’t know. I guess she must know
who you are.”
“No way. I’ve never even seen her before.” And then a question
automatically popped into Marshall’s mind. “What do you mean, she must
know who I am?”
Sandy looked cornered. “I mean … oh, c’mon. Maybe she knows you’re
the editor of the paper. Maybe she doesn’t want reporters snooping around.”
“Well, I hope I can tell you I wasn’t snooping. I was just looking for you.”
Sandy wanted to end the discussion. “All right, Daddy, all right. She just
read you wrong, okay? I don’t know what her problem was. She has the right
to choose her audience, I suppose.”
“And I don’t have the right to know what my daughter is learning?”
Sandy stopped a word halfway up her throat and inferred a few things first.
“You were snooping!”