Categories > Cartoons > Daria > Daria's Party Addition
Daria’s Party Addition – 09 – A Trip and a Proposal
By Dr T
“Hey, Daria!”
Daria looked up, surprised to be looking Jane in the eyes as she was hailed by her best friend as Jane opened her front door before Daria had fully reached it – certainly nearly unique. “You’re unusually awake, not to mention chipper this lovely late April morning.” Daria’s eyes narrowed in suspension. “Did you make, and drink, a lot of Turkish coffee already?” Jane was never this wide-awake on school mornings, especially not on Monday mornings.
“Nope!” Jane almost chirped. “Did you hear about Alternapalooza?”
“Alterna-what?”
Jane frowned, then said, “Well, it sounds something like that , anyways. It’s a week from this coming Saturday, out past Swedesville. Alternative bands from Eleven a.m. until Ten!”
“And you want to go?” Daria inquired mildly.
Jane stepped out, closing the door. The pair started off for school. “Sure! Trent and Jesse are going. We can go with them for gas money.”
Daria frowned. “Do you really think Trent’s car could make it?” she asked as they trudged along.
That gave Jane pause. “Probably not,” she admitted. “Maybe we could take the Tank!”
“That rust-bucket is in worse shape than Trent’s car!” Daria stated emphatically. “And, since they haul around all the band equipment in it, does it even have a back seat?”
Jane opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it thoughtfully, and then she had to admit, “Well, to be honest…I’m not really sure if it does.”
After a few more yards of walking (and thinking), Daria suggested, “How about if I ask Jack if he would be interested in going? If he is, we could go in his car.”
“You’d go then?”
Daria shrugged. “I’d be open to it – but you’d also have to show me that the ‘alternate’ bands are a lot better than the Spiral.”
Jane winced at that requirement – she’d have to check, but she wouldn’t bet on all the bands being much better than her brother’s band. Better, yes (well, probably most…well, some); but much better?
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Daria asked Jack about the concert as they waited in the lunch line. She could tell he was not thrilled by the idea. She knew this was closer to her preferred music than to his. “Other than the music and the drive, what else is wrong with the idea? Taking Trent and Jesse?” she asked. Jane had mentioned her boyfriend had a family commitment that weekend.
“Well, I can put up with the music if I’m with you,” Jack replied. “I don’t know Jesse, but Trent’s okay.” He gave her a slight smirk. “We’ll be using a lot of chemical toilets at best out in the field this summer. Do you really want to get an early start?”
Daria shuddered at that reminder. “Not really, but I hope you don’t mean at night.”
Jack shook his head. “Nope. The campground we’ll be staying at has water, sewage, and electrical hookup. We’ll be in a small trailer with the full hookups – I booked it as soon as you were accepted. It’s small, but a bit roomier than the motorhome I was in last year. There are a few cabins, but the leads have those taken. Granted, there will probably be a bunch of people in two and four-person tents, relying on the camp toilets and such, but we won’t be two of them. I roughed it in a small tent one my first year – I might have to do that again, but I plan on avoiding it whenever possible.”
The pair wrinkled their noses at the unappetizing noodle dish with some sort of yellowish paste pretending to be a cheese sauce covering it, plus some bits that might be chicken (or turkey, or even pork or tofu) and a side of limp green beans. “I promise that breakfast and most dinners will be better than this,” Jack commented as they went towards the tables.
“Most?” Daria asked as they exited into the eating area.
“Some nights we might prefer to cook,” he commented. “We’ll discover if we can cook or not, plus we’ll have Sundays and a few other days, or at least afternoons, off. I’m renting a small truck; we’ll be able to make grocery runs as needed. The town, actually what passes for the county seat, is small but only about twenty miles away.”
“So, we fly to Salt Lake City together, pick up your truck, and then drive more than a few hours to this campground?”
Jack nodded as they headed towards Jane and Fred. “Yep; we should have time to stop in town and pick up soap, groceries, and such.”
“Sounds like we have a good start on planning,” Daria admitted. “Just how small is this trailer?”
“Well…about twenty to twenty-one feet?”
“So, narrow, no real living space, and I presume a pair of bunk beds on one side.” Her glare made Jack wince slightly. “You sleep on the top bunk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack teased.
Daria sighed. “I can’t imagine how hot that trailer will be in the Utah desert.”
“Very hot during the day, okay to chilly most nights,” Jack agreed.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Daria mock complained.
“I am,” Jack agreed.
“Yo,” Jane greeted them as the pair approached. “Did you talk him into driving us to the Festival?”
“Yes, but only because I love her,” Jack answered. Daria blushed even as she smiled.
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Daria had intended to ask her parents about attending Alternapalooza that night, but her mother was working late and her father took the opportunity to go to a dive-bar he liked that served what he claimed was great bar food. It was therefore Tuesday night when the family ate together.
Surprising Daria slightly, Quinn got in her request first.
“I wouldn’t think this would be your kind of musical get-together,” Daria commented.
Quinn shrugged. “It’s the place to be.”
“Quinn, might I remind you that you’re grounded?” Helen broke in.
“I am not allowed to go on dates or weeknight get-togethers or weekend shopping trips,” Quinn argued back, having thought this out before hand for once. “This falls into none of those categories.”
“Maybe, or maybe this is just a dodge.” Helen’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I need to spell out fuller constrictions.”
Quinn looked desperate. Daria sighed and intervened, knowing if Quinn couldn’t go, there was a very likely chance she wouldn’t be allowed either ‘to be fair.’ “I think I should mention that I might be going to this music-fest as well.”
“Really?” Helen demanded. This seemed unusual for her elder daughter – not improbable, but unusual.
“If Daria can go, may I please go as well?” Quinn put in, knowing that her mother might look upon this now as not playing favorites.’
“Get us a list of who’s going in your group, both of you, especially who’s driving,” Helen told Quinn after a few moments’ thought. “Then we’ll decide.”
Quinn frowned, but figured she would get her way sooner or later. When Helen looked towards Daria, she immediately spoke up. “Jane and Trent really want to go. Trent’s friend Jesse would be going as well. We don’t trust their transportation options, so I asked Jack if he would be willing to drive us. He agreed, and his parents agreed last night.”
“So, the five of you?”
Daria nodded. “Fred’s family has to go to an aunt’s sixtieth birthday party that Saturday.”
“Even if the concert ended on time, it’s over a two and a half hour drive,” Jake pointed out, not totally against the idea, but a bit cautious.
“Yes, both of your groups would have to agree to leave by Nine, and if Quinn’s group is acceptable,” Helen added.
Daria and Quinn both made faces at that idea, but in the end had to put it as a condition to their groups. Trent and Jesse weren’t happy with that restriction, but agreed as a favor to Daria. Quinn and her friends all instantly agreed and then forgot about that condition almost instantly once Helen had approved their going.
dp
In the end, the trip to the festival was much like both Daria and Jack had expected. The expected two hour drive out (plus a stop for brunch since it was too early for any of them other than Daria to have had any breakfast) was okay until the last fifth of the trip – the traffic jam as they had neared the site meant that those last few miles took almost additional forty minutes. It was at that point that the tea Daria had had when the group had stopped for brunch caught up to her and she had to make a quick trip to the woods. The thought that it might be worse in the summer – there might be some scrub brush or rock formations in the near-desert to hide behind, but certainly not a thick tree line – made her hope the experience, plus being with Jack, would be worth it.
Still, on the whole Daria enjoyed their time at the festival. The bands weren’t terrible, the crowd wasn’t too pushy, and the food was expensive but not as outrageously so as she had expected. Lost in a huge crowd she didn’t have to interact with, Daria lost most of her natural shyness and need for anonymity. Usually, at most Daria would place her right hand on Jack’s elbow, or, when really comfortable, hook her arm around his, sometimes leaning into him at least slightly. Surprising Jack, Daria wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist. When Jane saw them, she was equally surprised to see the small, soft smile on Daria’s face – her amiga looked more than content; she truly looked like a woman in love.
While happy for her good friend, Jane realized (not for the first time) that as much as she liked dating Fred (and enjoyed having sex with Fred), she was not in love with Fred, nor he with her. Their relationship would end sometime that summer. In addition, Daria would be away for almost the entire summer, and unlike anyone else, she had a fair idea of exactly how close Jack and Daria would be over the summer, even if she didn’t know they would be sharing quarters.
Jane wondered if she should make some plans as well, even if it was again just auditing art classes at Lawndale State.
Jack did not really think much of what passed for the music. If he cared about any music as more than just background noise, it would be classed as old-fashioned easy listening and light classical. On the other hand, Daria had been snuggled close to him most of the day, which had never happened to this extent in public before. As far as he was concerned, that made everything more than worth the trip. He resolved to think about an option he had come across ever more seriously, as crazy as it was.
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It was 11:40 when Jack dropped Daria off that night. As she had expected, the living room lights were on, and her parents were up, waiting for her. From the looks of them, they had NOT spent the day washing the car, doing the bills, and the other mundane tasks they had claimed would occupy their day.
“Did you have a good time, Sweetie?” Helen asked as she stood and straightened out her clothes – the two had obviously been making out of the sofa before hearing her at the door.
“On the whole, yes,” Daria told them. “The bands weren’t great, but some were pretty good. The crowd wasn’t too pushy.” She paused thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I’d want to go to many of these things, but I’m glad I went at least once.”
Jake and especially Helen were heartened by those remarks – before the move they would have expected a cutting or sarcastic dismissal of the experience, on the unlikely chance Daria would have even gone. Meanwhile, her parents’ situation made Daria remark, seemingly casually, “Quinn’s not home yet?”
“No, they claimed they had some trouble leaving on time, and they’re staying at a motel,” Helen stated. Seeing Daria’s frown made Helen ask, “What?”
“Granted, on the one hand, our group – two girls and three guys – was different than Quinn and her three friends.” They were Quinn, Stacy, and two junior girls. “Still…. Never mind. It’s late.” Daria felt she had made her point, and there was no reason to hammer it home, at least to her mother.
“On the other hand, you doubt I would have been on easy on you, even if you had been in a similar group?” Helen asked before Daria could retreat upstairs, having picked up on what Daria had alluded to. “I would hope I would have extended the same trust to you, but considering some of our past disagreements, I can see why you might have some doubt.”
“Fair enough,” Daria replied mildly, pleased her mother had understood.
While she was happy that exchange hadn’t devolved into an argument, the exchange did mean that Helen didn’t sleep terribly well for a number of reasons – some memories of how her mother had treated her, and others of how she had treated Daria – and more on how many times Quinn had pushed the envelope. Therefore, so she was awake early and reading the morning paper after a leisurely breakfast – usually she and Jake slept in until around 9:00 or even later on Sundays – when she heard Quinn arriving just after 8:00. “Sh’sh,” Quinn hissed before whispering, “We don’t want to wake anyone.”
Helen peeked around the corner, and her eyebrows went up. Quinn was not with the other three girls, although through the window she could see that at least one of the two juniors was out front, standing by her car. Instead, two of Quinn’s three-pack (Joey and Jeffy) were laden down with shopping bags and carrying them up the stairs, while Jamie was just entering the doorway, loaded down with even more bags. After two more trips, Quinn thanked the boys and quietly made her way up the stairs, unaware that Helen was now right behind her.
As Quinn went to shut her bedroom door, Helen stopped her, getting a scared squeak from Quinn. “Alright, Missy, what is ALL this?” Helen demanded.
The subsequent shouting woke up Jake and Daria. Jake was as shocked as Helen that Quinn and her friends had NOT gone to the concert at all, but instead had stopped at an outlet shopping center and spent over eight hours shopping, basically hijacking a carload of boys along the way to act as their pack mules. Daria was slightly surprised by this, but hardly shocked. However, even Daria was shocked by how much money Quinn had managed to spend, not counting her share of the motel room. She had bags and bags of multiple tops, tees, shorts, skorts, skirts, shoes, perfume, soaps, makeup, ‘beauty tools’ (‘Why would even Quinn want two more callous shavers?’ Daria wondered), scrunchies and assorted similar do-dads for her hair, several scented candles, a few pounds of assorted sugar free chocolate and some other sugar free candies, and two pounds of cashews.
When her parents had temporarily wound down (mostly because they were angrily adding up the receipt totals), Daria merely commented, “You know, sugar free candies, especially the chocolate, often have as many calories as the regular kinds.” Daria then retreated to the safety of her room. Even so, she still heard her father scream, “One thousand, one hundred and twenty-five dollars and thirty-six cents!” That amount made Daria wince. Quinn had outdone herself in overspending. She often got away with any charges, or even single charge, under $100, once a week or so at most, but certainly not even Quinn would be able to sweet-talk her way out of this.
This revived shouting went on for nearly twenty minutes, until Daria heard her father scream again, this time in genuine pain. It turned out he had burst a blood vessel in his eye. Helen took Jake to the emergency ward while Quinn fled to her room. Daria finished emailing Aunt Amy about the concert and additionally the morning’s aftermath, and then went to look in on Quinn.
“I can either go to the Hop or the Prom, but maybe not both,” Quinn pouted as she sat on her bed, still surrounded by her booty, “and I’m otherwise grounded through June.” Daria winced at that. “And,” Quinn continued, “all sales were final, so nothing can be returned. I get a quarter of my allowance until everything is paid.”
Daria sighed. Quinn deserved this, if not worse. However…she was her sister, even if Quinn didn’t like admitting it. Still, she had at least given up pretending Daria wasn’t her sister, she just didn’t like admitting it. “Okay, tell you what. I’ll buy the cashews and the candies. I’ll give them the candy – they need to watch their carb intake in any event, especially Dad – and I’ll give Dad half the cashews – you know how much he loves them. Did you buy anything you think I might actually like? Or Jane for that matter?”
“Actually….” Quinn reached into a bag and pulled out a quart bottle of moisturizing sunscreen. “I thought of you this summer when I got this.”
“Thank you,” Daria told her, genuinely touched.
“As for the clothes, I’m not sure.” Quinn managed a wavering smile. “Let’s look.”
In the end, Helen and Jake took all the candy without making Quinn pay for it, and the same with half the cashews (Daria still bought the other half). Daria asked that Quinn be allowed to go both the upcoming Hop and Prom, as Quinn had already arranged her dates for them – plus Jeffy was taking her to the Hop, and they were going with Daria and Jack.
It wasn’t that Daria cared that much about going to either dance. However, Jack wanted to go to his senior Prom, and Daria didn’t want to disappoint him. Going to the Hop was something of a favor to Mrs. Frasier (who wanted her favorite son to go with the girl he desired – Quinn) and Quinn (who had been unable to score a junior or senior to take her to the Hop – her Prom date was escorting a junior from a nearby school to her Prom that night). Both her parents, especially Helen, knew her girls did not get along, so Daria’s requesting that Quinn be allowed to go to the Hop and the Prom was effective. Knowing how much trouble she was in with her parents, and
Daria’s indifference to the Hop, Quinn was surprised and grateful to her sister for the favor.
Daria also bought four tops, three t-shirts, a pair of denim shorts, and a skirt for herself, and two tops and a T-shirt for Jane. On the one hand, Quinn was sorry to lose the items from her already over-sized wardrobe, but on the other hand she was grateful that this reduced what she owed just for the clothes by over 20%, plus she did admit that the items would look good on either Daria or Jane. Overall, Quinn decided that on balance this was certainly a plus, and she was grateful to Daria for helping out some, and even thanked her several times for the permission to go to both spring dances.
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By the next Monday afternoon, Daria was looking forward to her summer with Jack despite the hard work and hot weather that it would entail. She was still not thrilled about going to the Hop the upcoming Saturday or the Prom the next (especially the former dance). Worse, Helen had decreed that the family was going camping over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, in an attempt to lessen Jake’s stress levels. It wasn’t that Daria was unaware that her father could use some destressing – she just wondered 1) how much stress it would produce in her and 2) if it would really help her father. Still, she decided not to protest, even though Helen could tell her elder daughter really wanted to. Quinn was still too wary of furthering her punishments to even give a token whine to either parent, although Helen had over-heard some complaints by Quinn voiced to various friends over the phone.
Jack and Daria were in a booth at a Degas Street diner, sharing a large basket of fries and
sodas, as Daria explained the aftermath of the concert. “So, you’ll get some camping experience in before the summer,” he teased.
Daria gave him a dirty look. “I did not like summer camp, especially the few nights we would spend in tents in the woods. Stuck with Mom, going crazy because she’ll be separated from her phone; Dad, stressing over trying to destress; and Quinn, separated from everything…while pooping in the woods?” She snorted. “If it’s going to be that bad this summer, maybe I should reconsider.”
“I promise, at least the evenings and nights will be better,” Jack promised her. He suddenly got a very pensive look on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, tell me,” Daria asked him in a slightly teasing tone.
“Just a crazy thought that keeps popping into my head….”
“How crazy?” Daria was curious.
Jack looked at her very seriously. “Do you want the long lead-up or just the crazy thought?”
“Hit me with your best shot,” Daria teased.
“Alright, here goes,” he said. Jack took a deep breath and explained, “Bypassing the long intro as to why, I came across a news article – apparently Utah is trying to update their marriage laws. If I read it right, right now girls can get married at sixteen without needing permission.”
Daria paled, but admitted, “I read a few articles like that, too.” One had led to more attempts at research, research she had then repeated and had been thinking about ever since. The idea was a crazy one; she just couldn’t shake it. “I’m sure sixteen-year-olds would actually need permission, and they’re just tightening up the restrictions, especially on those under sixteen.” When Jack added nothing, Daria did. “Anyway, you read about the marriage laws in Utah. And so?”
“So…I know a few of the other folks on the dig. Two of them have girlfriends along this year, and they’re planning on getting married…and so I thought…well….” With his confidence waning, so did Jack’s voice.
Still, Daria knew what he was trying to say, or perhaps she at least hoped she did. “That we could get married, too?” Daria swallowed hard. She managed to say, somewhat softly, “Yes, that would be crazy….” She had had fantasies about this – she hated to admit to herself that she had fantasied about getting married to Jack the upcoming summer…often, in fact.
Jack saw she looked both nervous and a bit wistful. “Crazy, yes…” he smiled slightly as he finished, “but you haven’t said ‘no’.”
Daria looked down at the table, thinking. Finally, after nearly a minute’s thought, she said softly, “First of all, you haven’t actually asked me.”
Daria looked very vulnerable, and very lovable. “Daria, my love,” Jack replied without hesitation, “will you marry me this summer?” He was much a romantic as Daria was, even if she hid it even better.
“And if we need my mother’s permission?” Daria knew that Helen’s never agreeing would be the main issue there (although there were any number of other reasons why this was, at least, an insane idea), and so avoided fully answering, even if her ‘yes’ was implied. Daria wondered how much thought Jack had really put into this. Was this just some ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fantasy? Was Jack in any way serious?
Was she?
It turned out, Jack had thought it out a fair amount. “I have a friend….”
“Of course you do,” Daria teased.
“We could get you a fake Maryland driver’s license and move your eighteenth birthday from November, Nineteen eight-one to June, Nineteen eighty. If our marriage isn’t annulled by the time you’re eighteen, it would be legal.” Daria was impressed at the thought Jack had already into this scheme. It assured Daria that he was serious, and that he was crazy, just as she was for not already saying ‘no’.
Daria thought a moment, and still could not bring herself to say ‘no’ even as she tried to make herself do so – twice. Finally, she said, “Do you know all the reasons why this would be difficult to pull off, never mind the chances of a teen marriage working? We’d have to keep it a secret for…twenty-eight or nine months.” Daria would be finishing up her first semester at college at that point, rather than just the sixteen months or so until her eighteenth birthday. “It’s not like we could jump into a regular married life.”
“Yes, to all of the above, including that you couldn’t go by Daria Frasier before then, assuming you would want to,” Jack answered.
Daria flushed with a bit of pleasure at that idea. She knew she would like that very much.
“I know you can’t, or at least shouldn’t, say ‘yes’ today,” Jack agreed. “Still, how would you feel about a decision between a ‘maybe’ or a ‘definitely not’? Or maybe even either ‘maybe this summer’ versus maybe sometime later’?”
Daria literally bit her lip to prevent her from answering too quickly, almost bruising her bottom lip. After some thought, she took a deep breath and answered, “How about instead of any of those, I be totally honest and say, ‘I don’t think we could pull it off, but I’m not saying ‘no’ to this summer definitely?” She couldn’t believe she had said that, but she didn’t take it back. They both knew it was a crazy idea; neither (totally) cared. Both were in love, and, even if both had read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and intellectually knew at least some of the multitude of problems they would have if they married this young, they were romantics enough to hope. They preferred to think of themselves as Beatrice and Benedict at the end of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ to any other Shakespearean characters.
“So, get that changed driver’s license? Just in case?” Daria had just gotten her genuine license a few weeks before.
Daria nodded, stunned at what she had (sort of) agreed to.
“I’ll need the data from yours, so he only needs to change the date” Jack pointed out, adding, “You’ll need to get a passport photo as well, so he can crop that onto the new one.”
Daria ate a fry and said, “You do know that we’re both being optimistically irrational about this, at best.”
“Yep!”
“Shouldn’t at least one of us be sane?”
Jack shook his head. “Nope. That would never work. Our insanities just have to mesh.”
Daria shifted her chair closer to Jack, and took his hand. “Then I guess we’ll be insane together, one way, or another, sometime, I promise.”
Jack squeezed her hand gently. “Daria, we both know the world is insane. Intelligent insanity is a better survival strategy than most. I can’t imagine anyone better to be insane with to face the other insanities. I love you.”
Daria smiled gently. “Good, because I love you, too.”
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As she had expected, Daria did not have a great time at the Hop. She had enjoyed the previous night much more, even though Jack had just taken her out for dinner at a chain restaurant followed by listening to the first set of Mystic Spiral at the Zon, sitting with Jane and Fred. The two had then had a passionate make-out session at their favorite off-road spot after leaving downtown Lawndale. Granted, Daria had unzipped Jack and given him an oral ‘happy ending’ while getting herself off at the same time, but Daria enjoyed the fore-and-after play more than enough to feel fully compensated. Mentally, Daria had gone from thinking of Jack as her boyfriend to her steady to now, almost, a fiancé. She was romantically lost, even she no one (other than Jack, when they were alone) seeing it.
The Hop had included dinner at the country club at least, but Daria felt the dance itself was a dud. As far as she was concerned (and Jane, Fred, and Jack had all agreed), the band was overall not quite up to even Mystic Spiral’s level in terms of their original music, although they at least played more than a few covers of ballads and slow dances. That pleased Daria and Jack (and Jane and Fred) much more than it did Quinn.
The Friday before the Prom, as the pair sat in the parking lot of the country club, Jack handed Daria the fake Maryland driver’s license, and asked her another question. “I know, if you do say yes and we decide to go through with it, it wouldn’t be decided until mid-to-late-June….”
“Correct.” Daria was not about to commit herself more than she had on that point.
“Still, we did agree to consider the prospect of marriage at some point.”
Daria swallowed nervously. “True,” she had to agree.
“I think it will be easier for us to be accepted living together by the other students this summer if you at least have an engagement ring,” Jack told her. He explained his reasoning. “The supervisors won’t even approach the student workers’ area unless there’s too much noise, excessive partying and such, so they won’t care who’s sleeping where.” The supervisors would be too busy, plus there would likely be at best one or two other high school students. One of Jack’s friends was going to be in charge of arranging all the housing arrangements, and would leave him (and Daria) well alone. If engaged, they were unlikely to be commented upon.
Daria paled, but had to agree that it made sense, adding, “I never asked, but how did you pull off us sharing a trailer?”
“The grad student who arranges the housing is a friend of mine,” Jack answered simply.
“Then yes, I’ll need a ring once we’re there,” Daria nervously agreed. In theory, she was both thrilled and terrified of the idea, and this idea would bring it a bit closer to her having to choose. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You don’t have one yet, I hope.”
“Nope.” He leaned over and opened the glove box, and pulled out a bunch of ring-sizers. “I need to know your ring size first.”
Daria shyly gave Jack her left hand so he could find her ring size. “Do you have any preferences?” he asked.
Blushing, and feeling very girlie (a rare feeling for her), Daria pondered that before answering. “I’d prefer white or red gold and a fairly plain band. Don’t get even a medium-sized stone – even a tiny chip is fine.”
She smiled, combining it with a slight glare as she gently scolded, “Now, we’re going be late for our reservation if we don’t hurry.” Her expression softened. “I think we can skip dessert at the club. Take me someplace special after and let me have my favorite treat.”
Jack smiled, kissed her hand, and then her lips. The two hustled a bit to make it into the club house on time.
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The pair enjoyed the Prom a bit more than the Hop. This was in part because of the company – they had shared a table with a reluctant Quinn and Jeffy (Helen’s orders), Stacy and Joey, and Jane and Fred at the Hop. At the Prom, they shared with Jane and Fred, Jerry and Mary, and another senior couple. Daria and Jack didn’t dance any more at the Prom than they had the week before at the Hop, but the level of conversation was certainly higher and the band was also slightly better than Mystic Spiral this week. Daria had consented to having her and Jack’s formal photo taken at both dances at her mother’s insistence. The few who saw both of the photos later noticed that Daria was very expressionless in the Hop photo while Jack seemed just a bit pleased to be holding on to her shoulders. In the Prom photo, Daria had removed her glasses and had a soft half-smile and was leaning back, almost cuddling, on Jack, who was smiling much more warmly, his hands on her forearms.
In the week before the Memorial Day weekend, Daria went to the optician’s and ended up buying two new pairs of glasses – both slightly smaller than her old pair. This both pleased and displeased Helen. It pleased her because she disliked Daria’s huge old pair, reminiscent of the outsized glasses Daria had worn as a child which she had supposed to ‘grow into.’ It displeased her because she knew Daria was doing this for Jack and the trip. Daria’s new regular pair – the same prescription as her old pair, which she could therefore have as a backup pair – were slightly smaller glasses, similar to what Daria had worn in Highland in Eighth and the start of Ninth grades, and so had rounded corners – not quite circular nor rectangles. (She had gotten perfectly circular lenses early in Ninth grade, although not quite as large as what she had worn in Lawndale previously.) The other new pair had oblong lenses about the same size as the new pair, but were polarized sunglasses, which Daria would need in the Utah sun. Daria had also started to buy clothes for the trip, the reminder of which also annoyed Helen.
Helen still wasn’t sure why she had agreed to Daria’s going off to Utah. Even ignoring the possible Jack complications this trip would likely entail to some degree, it was outside Helen’s comfort zone for her daughter. Helen had to admit, her permission was in part out of guilt – Daria had bugged her parents to visit museums and natural national/state monuments from the age of eight, and had been refused every time. Helen certainly wasn’t interested, and young Quinn would have fussed. Daria had begged to go to various summer science camps, instead she had to go to Camp Grizzley – which Quinn had loved and Daria had disliked (okay, which Daria had hated). This was a way to satisfy Daria without annoying herself or being annoyed by Quinn.
Next, she had been saying for over a year that she wanted Daria to expand her horizons, and to do things to aid in getting acceptance to a good college and to earn possible scholarships. This certainly seemed to do all of that. Plus, it would only cost the plane ticket and some of Daria’s clothes – Helen didn’t know that the other costs (like her equipment, room and board, etc.) were either paid by Jack (or at least out of the money Jack’s mother had provided) or by Daria’s ‘Mountain Cabin Fund’ with a contribution from Amy (who was aware of everything other than their sharing a trailer). Still, Helen acknowledged to herself, far from the first time, that she had agreed, and could not back out now.
She wished she could find such a way, however.
By Dr T
“Hey, Daria!”
Daria looked up, surprised to be looking Jane in the eyes as she was hailed by her best friend as Jane opened her front door before Daria had fully reached it – certainly nearly unique. “You’re unusually awake, not to mention chipper this lovely late April morning.” Daria’s eyes narrowed in suspension. “Did you make, and drink, a lot of Turkish coffee already?” Jane was never this wide-awake on school mornings, especially not on Monday mornings.
“Nope!” Jane almost chirped. “Did you hear about Alternapalooza?”
“Alterna-what?”
Jane frowned, then said, “Well, it sounds something like that , anyways. It’s a week from this coming Saturday, out past Swedesville. Alternative bands from Eleven a.m. until Ten!”
“And you want to go?” Daria inquired mildly.
Jane stepped out, closing the door. The pair started off for school. “Sure! Trent and Jesse are going. We can go with them for gas money.”
Daria frowned. “Do you really think Trent’s car could make it?” she asked as they trudged along.
That gave Jane pause. “Probably not,” she admitted. “Maybe we could take the Tank!”
“That rust-bucket is in worse shape than Trent’s car!” Daria stated emphatically. “And, since they haul around all the band equipment in it, does it even have a back seat?”
Jane opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it thoughtfully, and then she had to admit, “Well, to be honest…I’m not really sure if it does.”
After a few more yards of walking (and thinking), Daria suggested, “How about if I ask Jack if he would be interested in going? If he is, we could go in his car.”
“You’d go then?”
Daria shrugged. “I’d be open to it – but you’d also have to show me that the ‘alternate’ bands are a lot better than the Spiral.”
Jane winced at that requirement – she’d have to check, but she wouldn’t bet on all the bands being much better than her brother’s band. Better, yes (well, probably most…well, some); but much better?
dp
Daria asked Jack about the concert as they waited in the lunch line. She could tell he was not thrilled by the idea. She knew this was closer to her preferred music than to his. “Other than the music and the drive, what else is wrong with the idea? Taking Trent and Jesse?” she asked. Jane had mentioned her boyfriend had a family commitment that weekend.
“Well, I can put up with the music if I’m with you,” Jack replied. “I don’t know Jesse, but Trent’s okay.” He gave her a slight smirk. “We’ll be using a lot of chemical toilets at best out in the field this summer. Do you really want to get an early start?”
Daria shuddered at that reminder. “Not really, but I hope you don’t mean at night.”
Jack shook his head. “Nope. The campground we’ll be staying at has water, sewage, and electrical hookup. We’ll be in a small trailer with the full hookups – I booked it as soon as you were accepted. It’s small, but a bit roomier than the motorhome I was in last year. There are a few cabins, but the leads have those taken. Granted, there will probably be a bunch of people in two and four-person tents, relying on the camp toilets and such, but we won’t be two of them. I roughed it in a small tent one my first year – I might have to do that again, but I plan on avoiding it whenever possible.”
The pair wrinkled their noses at the unappetizing noodle dish with some sort of yellowish paste pretending to be a cheese sauce covering it, plus some bits that might be chicken (or turkey, or even pork or tofu) and a side of limp green beans. “I promise that breakfast and most dinners will be better than this,” Jack commented as they went towards the tables.
“Most?” Daria asked as they exited into the eating area.
“Some nights we might prefer to cook,” he commented. “We’ll discover if we can cook or not, plus we’ll have Sundays and a few other days, or at least afternoons, off. I’m renting a small truck; we’ll be able to make grocery runs as needed. The town, actually what passes for the county seat, is small but only about twenty miles away.”
“So, we fly to Salt Lake City together, pick up your truck, and then drive more than a few hours to this campground?”
Jack nodded as they headed towards Jane and Fred. “Yep; we should have time to stop in town and pick up soap, groceries, and such.”
“Sounds like we have a good start on planning,” Daria admitted. “Just how small is this trailer?”
“Well…about twenty to twenty-one feet?”
“So, narrow, no real living space, and I presume a pair of bunk beds on one side.” Her glare made Jack wince slightly. “You sleep on the top bunk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack teased.
Daria sighed. “I can’t imagine how hot that trailer will be in the Utah desert.”
“Very hot during the day, okay to chilly most nights,” Jack agreed.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Daria mock complained.
“I am,” Jack agreed.
“Yo,” Jane greeted them as the pair approached. “Did you talk him into driving us to the Festival?”
“Yes, but only because I love her,” Jack answered. Daria blushed even as she smiled.
dp
Daria had intended to ask her parents about attending Alternapalooza that night, but her mother was working late and her father took the opportunity to go to a dive-bar he liked that served what he claimed was great bar food. It was therefore Tuesday night when the family ate together.
Surprising Daria slightly, Quinn got in her request first.
“I wouldn’t think this would be your kind of musical get-together,” Daria commented.
Quinn shrugged. “It’s the place to be.”
“Quinn, might I remind you that you’re grounded?” Helen broke in.
“I am not allowed to go on dates or weeknight get-togethers or weekend shopping trips,” Quinn argued back, having thought this out before hand for once. “This falls into none of those categories.”
“Maybe, or maybe this is just a dodge.” Helen’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I need to spell out fuller constrictions.”
Quinn looked desperate. Daria sighed and intervened, knowing if Quinn couldn’t go, there was a very likely chance she wouldn’t be allowed either ‘to be fair.’ “I think I should mention that I might be going to this music-fest as well.”
“Really?” Helen demanded. This seemed unusual for her elder daughter – not improbable, but unusual.
“If Daria can go, may I please go as well?” Quinn put in, knowing that her mother might look upon this now as not playing favorites.’
“Get us a list of who’s going in your group, both of you, especially who’s driving,” Helen told Quinn after a few moments’ thought. “Then we’ll decide.”
Quinn frowned, but figured she would get her way sooner or later. When Helen looked towards Daria, she immediately spoke up. “Jane and Trent really want to go. Trent’s friend Jesse would be going as well. We don’t trust their transportation options, so I asked Jack if he would be willing to drive us. He agreed, and his parents agreed last night.”
“So, the five of you?”
Daria nodded. “Fred’s family has to go to an aunt’s sixtieth birthday party that Saturday.”
“Even if the concert ended on time, it’s over a two and a half hour drive,” Jake pointed out, not totally against the idea, but a bit cautious.
“Yes, both of your groups would have to agree to leave by Nine, and if Quinn’s group is acceptable,” Helen added.
Daria and Quinn both made faces at that idea, but in the end had to put it as a condition to their groups. Trent and Jesse weren’t happy with that restriction, but agreed as a favor to Daria. Quinn and her friends all instantly agreed and then forgot about that condition almost instantly once Helen had approved their going.
dp
In the end, the trip to the festival was much like both Daria and Jack had expected. The expected two hour drive out (plus a stop for brunch since it was too early for any of them other than Daria to have had any breakfast) was okay until the last fifth of the trip – the traffic jam as they had neared the site meant that those last few miles took almost additional forty minutes. It was at that point that the tea Daria had had when the group had stopped for brunch caught up to her and she had to make a quick trip to the woods. The thought that it might be worse in the summer – there might be some scrub brush or rock formations in the near-desert to hide behind, but certainly not a thick tree line – made her hope the experience, plus being with Jack, would be worth it.
Still, on the whole Daria enjoyed their time at the festival. The bands weren’t terrible, the crowd wasn’t too pushy, and the food was expensive but not as outrageously so as she had expected. Lost in a huge crowd she didn’t have to interact with, Daria lost most of her natural shyness and need for anonymity. Usually, at most Daria would place her right hand on Jack’s elbow, or, when really comfortable, hook her arm around his, sometimes leaning into him at least slightly. Surprising Jack, Daria wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist. When Jane saw them, she was equally surprised to see the small, soft smile on Daria’s face – her amiga looked more than content; she truly looked like a woman in love.
While happy for her good friend, Jane realized (not for the first time) that as much as she liked dating Fred (and enjoyed having sex with Fred), she was not in love with Fred, nor he with her. Their relationship would end sometime that summer. In addition, Daria would be away for almost the entire summer, and unlike anyone else, she had a fair idea of exactly how close Jack and Daria would be over the summer, even if she didn’t know they would be sharing quarters.
Jane wondered if she should make some plans as well, even if it was again just auditing art classes at Lawndale State.
Jack did not really think much of what passed for the music. If he cared about any music as more than just background noise, it would be classed as old-fashioned easy listening and light classical. On the other hand, Daria had been snuggled close to him most of the day, which had never happened to this extent in public before. As far as he was concerned, that made everything more than worth the trip. He resolved to think about an option he had come across ever more seriously, as crazy as it was.
dp
It was 11:40 when Jack dropped Daria off that night. As she had expected, the living room lights were on, and her parents were up, waiting for her. From the looks of them, they had NOT spent the day washing the car, doing the bills, and the other mundane tasks they had claimed would occupy their day.
“Did you have a good time, Sweetie?” Helen asked as she stood and straightened out her clothes – the two had obviously been making out of the sofa before hearing her at the door.
“On the whole, yes,” Daria told them. “The bands weren’t great, but some were pretty good. The crowd wasn’t too pushy.” She paused thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I’d want to go to many of these things, but I’m glad I went at least once.”
Jake and especially Helen were heartened by those remarks – before the move they would have expected a cutting or sarcastic dismissal of the experience, on the unlikely chance Daria would have even gone. Meanwhile, her parents’ situation made Daria remark, seemingly casually, “Quinn’s not home yet?”
“No, they claimed they had some trouble leaving on time, and they’re staying at a motel,” Helen stated. Seeing Daria’s frown made Helen ask, “What?”
“Granted, on the one hand, our group – two girls and three guys – was different than Quinn and her three friends.” They were Quinn, Stacy, and two junior girls. “Still…. Never mind. It’s late.” Daria felt she had made her point, and there was no reason to hammer it home, at least to her mother.
“On the other hand, you doubt I would have been on easy on you, even if you had been in a similar group?” Helen asked before Daria could retreat upstairs, having picked up on what Daria had alluded to. “I would hope I would have extended the same trust to you, but considering some of our past disagreements, I can see why you might have some doubt.”
“Fair enough,” Daria replied mildly, pleased her mother had understood.
While she was happy that exchange hadn’t devolved into an argument, the exchange did mean that Helen didn’t sleep terribly well for a number of reasons – some memories of how her mother had treated her, and others of how she had treated Daria – and more on how many times Quinn had pushed the envelope. Therefore, so she was awake early and reading the morning paper after a leisurely breakfast – usually she and Jake slept in until around 9:00 or even later on Sundays – when she heard Quinn arriving just after 8:00. “Sh’sh,” Quinn hissed before whispering, “We don’t want to wake anyone.”
Helen peeked around the corner, and her eyebrows went up. Quinn was not with the other three girls, although through the window she could see that at least one of the two juniors was out front, standing by her car. Instead, two of Quinn’s three-pack (Joey and Jeffy) were laden down with shopping bags and carrying them up the stairs, while Jamie was just entering the doorway, loaded down with even more bags. After two more trips, Quinn thanked the boys and quietly made her way up the stairs, unaware that Helen was now right behind her.
As Quinn went to shut her bedroom door, Helen stopped her, getting a scared squeak from Quinn. “Alright, Missy, what is ALL this?” Helen demanded.
The subsequent shouting woke up Jake and Daria. Jake was as shocked as Helen that Quinn and her friends had NOT gone to the concert at all, but instead had stopped at an outlet shopping center and spent over eight hours shopping, basically hijacking a carload of boys along the way to act as their pack mules. Daria was slightly surprised by this, but hardly shocked. However, even Daria was shocked by how much money Quinn had managed to spend, not counting her share of the motel room. She had bags and bags of multiple tops, tees, shorts, skorts, skirts, shoes, perfume, soaps, makeup, ‘beauty tools’ (‘Why would even Quinn want two more callous shavers?’ Daria wondered), scrunchies and assorted similar do-dads for her hair, several scented candles, a few pounds of assorted sugar free chocolate and some other sugar free candies, and two pounds of cashews.
When her parents had temporarily wound down (mostly because they were angrily adding up the receipt totals), Daria merely commented, “You know, sugar free candies, especially the chocolate, often have as many calories as the regular kinds.” Daria then retreated to the safety of her room. Even so, she still heard her father scream, “One thousand, one hundred and twenty-five dollars and thirty-six cents!” That amount made Daria wince. Quinn had outdone herself in overspending. She often got away with any charges, or even single charge, under $100, once a week or so at most, but certainly not even Quinn would be able to sweet-talk her way out of this.
This revived shouting went on for nearly twenty minutes, until Daria heard her father scream again, this time in genuine pain. It turned out he had burst a blood vessel in his eye. Helen took Jake to the emergency ward while Quinn fled to her room. Daria finished emailing Aunt Amy about the concert and additionally the morning’s aftermath, and then went to look in on Quinn.
“I can either go to the Hop or the Prom, but maybe not both,” Quinn pouted as she sat on her bed, still surrounded by her booty, “and I’m otherwise grounded through June.” Daria winced at that. “And,” Quinn continued, “all sales were final, so nothing can be returned. I get a quarter of my allowance until everything is paid.”
Daria sighed. Quinn deserved this, if not worse. However…she was her sister, even if Quinn didn’t like admitting it. Still, she had at least given up pretending Daria wasn’t her sister, she just didn’t like admitting it. “Okay, tell you what. I’ll buy the cashews and the candies. I’ll give them the candy – they need to watch their carb intake in any event, especially Dad – and I’ll give Dad half the cashews – you know how much he loves them. Did you buy anything you think I might actually like? Or Jane for that matter?”
“Actually….” Quinn reached into a bag and pulled out a quart bottle of moisturizing sunscreen. “I thought of you this summer when I got this.”
“Thank you,” Daria told her, genuinely touched.
“As for the clothes, I’m not sure.” Quinn managed a wavering smile. “Let’s look.”
In the end, Helen and Jake took all the candy without making Quinn pay for it, and the same with half the cashews (Daria still bought the other half). Daria asked that Quinn be allowed to go both the upcoming Hop and Prom, as Quinn had already arranged her dates for them – plus Jeffy was taking her to the Hop, and they were going with Daria and Jack.
It wasn’t that Daria cared that much about going to either dance. However, Jack wanted to go to his senior Prom, and Daria didn’t want to disappoint him. Going to the Hop was something of a favor to Mrs. Frasier (who wanted her favorite son to go with the girl he desired – Quinn) and Quinn (who had been unable to score a junior or senior to take her to the Hop – her Prom date was escorting a junior from a nearby school to her Prom that night). Both her parents, especially Helen, knew her girls did not get along, so Daria’s requesting that Quinn be allowed to go to the Hop and the Prom was effective. Knowing how much trouble she was in with her parents, and
Daria’s indifference to the Hop, Quinn was surprised and grateful to her sister for the favor.
Daria also bought four tops, three t-shirts, a pair of denim shorts, and a skirt for herself, and two tops and a T-shirt for Jane. On the one hand, Quinn was sorry to lose the items from her already over-sized wardrobe, but on the other hand she was grateful that this reduced what she owed just for the clothes by over 20%, plus she did admit that the items would look good on either Daria or Jane. Overall, Quinn decided that on balance this was certainly a plus, and she was grateful to Daria for helping out some, and even thanked her several times for the permission to go to both spring dances.
dp
By the next Monday afternoon, Daria was looking forward to her summer with Jack despite the hard work and hot weather that it would entail. She was still not thrilled about going to the Hop the upcoming Saturday or the Prom the next (especially the former dance). Worse, Helen had decreed that the family was going camping over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, in an attempt to lessen Jake’s stress levels. It wasn’t that Daria was unaware that her father could use some destressing – she just wondered 1) how much stress it would produce in her and 2) if it would really help her father. Still, she decided not to protest, even though Helen could tell her elder daughter really wanted to. Quinn was still too wary of furthering her punishments to even give a token whine to either parent, although Helen had over-heard some complaints by Quinn voiced to various friends over the phone.
Jack and Daria were in a booth at a Degas Street diner, sharing a large basket of fries and
sodas, as Daria explained the aftermath of the concert. “So, you’ll get some camping experience in before the summer,” he teased.
Daria gave him a dirty look. “I did not like summer camp, especially the few nights we would spend in tents in the woods. Stuck with Mom, going crazy because she’ll be separated from her phone; Dad, stressing over trying to destress; and Quinn, separated from everything…while pooping in the woods?” She snorted. “If it’s going to be that bad this summer, maybe I should reconsider.”
“I promise, at least the evenings and nights will be better,” Jack promised her. He suddenly got a very pensive look on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, tell me,” Daria asked him in a slightly teasing tone.
“Just a crazy thought that keeps popping into my head….”
“How crazy?” Daria was curious.
Jack looked at her very seriously. “Do you want the long lead-up or just the crazy thought?”
“Hit me with your best shot,” Daria teased.
“Alright, here goes,” he said. Jack took a deep breath and explained, “Bypassing the long intro as to why, I came across a news article – apparently Utah is trying to update their marriage laws. If I read it right, right now girls can get married at sixteen without needing permission.”
Daria paled, but admitted, “I read a few articles like that, too.” One had led to more attempts at research, research she had then repeated and had been thinking about ever since. The idea was a crazy one; she just couldn’t shake it. “I’m sure sixteen-year-olds would actually need permission, and they’re just tightening up the restrictions, especially on those under sixteen.” When Jack added nothing, Daria did. “Anyway, you read about the marriage laws in Utah. And so?”
“So…I know a few of the other folks on the dig. Two of them have girlfriends along this year, and they’re planning on getting married…and so I thought…well….” With his confidence waning, so did Jack’s voice.
Still, Daria knew what he was trying to say, or perhaps she at least hoped she did. “That we could get married, too?” Daria swallowed hard. She managed to say, somewhat softly, “Yes, that would be crazy….” She had had fantasies about this – she hated to admit to herself that she had fantasied about getting married to Jack the upcoming summer…often, in fact.
Jack saw she looked both nervous and a bit wistful. “Crazy, yes…” he smiled slightly as he finished, “but you haven’t said ‘no’.”
Daria looked down at the table, thinking. Finally, after nearly a minute’s thought, she said softly, “First of all, you haven’t actually asked me.”
Daria looked very vulnerable, and very lovable. “Daria, my love,” Jack replied without hesitation, “will you marry me this summer?” He was much a romantic as Daria was, even if she hid it even better.
“And if we need my mother’s permission?” Daria knew that Helen’s never agreeing would be the main issue there (although there were any number of other reasons why this was, at least, an insane idea), and so avoided fully answering, even if her ‘yes’ was implied. Daria wondered how much thought Jack had really put into this. Was this just some ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fantasy? Was Jack in any way serious?
Was she?
It turned out, Jack had thought it out a fair amount. “I have a friend….”
“Of course you do,” Daria teased.
“We could get you a fake Maryland driver’s license and move your eighteenth birthday from November, Nineteen eight-one to June, Nineteen eighty. If our marriage isn’t annulled by the time you’re eighteen, it would be legal.” Daria was impressed at the thought Jack had already into this scheme. It assured Daria that he was serious, and that he was crazy, just as she was for not already saying ‘no’.
Daria thought a moment, and still could not bring herself to say ‘no’ even as she tried to make herself do so – twice. Finally, she said, “Do you know all the reasons why this would be difficult to pull off, never mind the chances of a teen marriage working? We’d have to keep it a secret for…twenty-eight or nine months.” Daria would be finishing up her first semester at college at that point, rather than just the sixteen months or so until her eighteenth birthday. “It’s not like we could jump into a regular married life.”
“Yes, to all of the above, including that you couldn’t go by Daria Frasier before then, assuming you would want to,” Jack answered.
Daria flushed with a bit of pleasure at that idea. She knew she would like that very much.
“I know you can’t, or at least shouldn’t, say ‘yes’ today,” Jack agreed. “Still, how would you feel about a decision between a ‘maybe’ or a ‘definitely not’? Or maybe even either ‘maybe this summer’ versus maybe sometime later’?”
Daria literally bit her lip to prevent her from answering too quickly, almost bruising her bottom lip. After some thought, she took a deep breath and answered, “How about instead of any of those, I be totally honest and say, ‘I don’t think we could pull it off, but I’m not saying ‘no’ to this summer definitely?” She couldn’t believe she had said that, but she didn’t take it back. They both knew it was a crazy idea; neither (totally) cared. Both were in love, and, even if both had read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and intellectually knew at least some of the multitude of problems they would have if they married this young, they were romantics enough to hope. They preferred to think of themselves as Beatrice and Benedict at the end of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ to any other Shakespearean characters.
“So, get that changed driver’s license? Just in case?” Daria had just gotten her genuine license a few weeks before.
Daria nodded, stunned at what she had (sort of) agreed to.
“I’ll need the data from yours, so he only needs to change the date” Jack pointed out, adding, “You’ll need to get a passport photo as well, so he can crop that onto the new one.”
Daria ate a fry and said, “You do know that we’re both being optimistically irrational about this, at best.”
“Yep!”
“Shouldn’t at least one of us be sane?”
Jack shook his head. “Nope. That would never work. Our insanities just have to mesh.”
Daria shifted her chair closer to Jack, and took his hand. “Then I guess we’ll be insane together, one way, or another, sometime, I promise.”
Jack squeezed her hand gently. “Daria, we both know the world is insane. Intelligent insanity is a better survival strategy than most. I can’t imagine anyone better to be insane with to face the other insanities. I love you.”
Daria smiled gently. “Good, because I love you, too.”
dp
As she had expected, Daria did not have a great time at the Hop. She had enjoyed the previous night much more, even though Jack had just taken her out for dinner at a chain restaurant followed by listening to the first set of Mystic Spiral at the Zon, sitting with Jane and Fred. The two had then had a passionate make-out session at their favorite off-road spot after leaving downtown Lawndale. Granted, Daria had unzipped Jack and given him an oral ‘happy ending’ while getting herself off at the same time, but Daria enjoyed the fore-and-after play more than enough to feel fully compensated. Mentally, Daria had gone from thinking of Jack as her boyfriend to her steady to now, almost, a fiancé. She was romantically lost, even she no one (other than Jack, when they were alone) seeing it.
The Hop had included dinner at the country club at least, but Daria felt the dance itself was a dud. As far as she was concerned (and Jane, Fred, and Jack had all agreed), the band was overall not quite up to even Mystic Spiral’s level in terms of their original music, although they at least played more than a few covers of ballads and slow dances. That pleased Daria and Jack (and Jane and Fred) much more than it did Quinn.
The Friday before the Prom, as the pair sat in the parking lot of the country club, Jack handed Daria the fake Maryland driver’s license, and asked her another question. “I know, if you do say yes and we decide to go through with it, it wouldn’t be decided until mid-to-late-June….”
“Correct.” Daria was not about to commit herself more than she had on that point.
“Still, we did agree to consider the prospect of marriage at some point.”
Daria swallowed nervously. “True,” she had to agree.
“I think it will be easier for us to be accepted living together by the other students this summer if you at least have an engagement ring,” Jack told her. He explained his reasoning. “The supervisors won’t even approach the student workers’ area unless there’s too much noise, excessive partying and such, so they won’t care who’s sleeping where.” The supervisors would be too busy, plus there would likely be at best one or two other high school students. One of Jack’s friends was going to be in charge of arranging all the housing arrangements, and would leave him (and Daria) well alone. If engaged, they were unlikely to be commented upon.
Daria paled, but had to agree that it made sense, adding, “I never asked, but how did you pull off us sharing a trailer?”
“The grad student who arranges the housing is a friend of mine,” Jack answered simply.
“Then yes, I’ll need a ring once we’re there,” Daria nervously agreed. In theory, she was both thrilled and terrified of the idea, and this idea would bring it a bit closer to her having to choose. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You don’t have one yet, I hope.”
“Nope.” He leaned over and opened the glove box, and pulled out a bunch of ring-sizers. “I need to know your ring size first.”
Daria shyly gave Jack her left hand so he could find her ring size. “Do you have any preferences?” he asked.
Blushing, and feeling very girlie (a rare feeling for her), Daria pondered that before answering. “I’d prefer white or red gold and a fairly plain band. Don’t get even a medium-sized stone – even a tiny chip is fine.”
She smiled, combining it with a slight glare as she gently scolded, “Now, we’re going be late for our reservation if we don’t hurry.” Her expression softened. “I think we can skip dessert at the club. Take me someplace special after and let me have my favorite treat.”
Jack smiled, kissed her hand, and then her lips. The two hustled a bit to make it into the club house on time.
dp
The pair enjoyed the Prom a bit more than the Hop. This was in part because of the company – they had shared a table with a reluctant Quinn and Jeffy (Helen’s orders), Stacy and Joey, and Jane and Fred at the Hop. At the Prom, they shared with Jane and Fred, Jerry and Mary, and another senior couple. Daria and Jack didn’t dance any more at the Prom than they had the week before at the Hop, but the level of conversation was certainly higher and the band was also slightly better than Mystic Spiral this week. Daria had consented to having her and Jack’s formal photo taken at both dances at her mother’s insistence. The few who saw both of the photos later noticed that Daria was very expressionless in the Hop photo while Jack seemed just a bit pleased to be holding on to her shoulders. In the Prom photo, Daria had removed her glasses and had a soft half-smile and was leaning back, almost cuddling, on Jack, who was smiling much more warmly, his hands on her forearms.
In the week before the Memorial Day weekend, Daria went to the optician’s and ended up buying two new pairs of glasses – both slightly smaller than her old pair. This both pleased and displeased Helen. It pleased her because she disliked Daria’s huge old pair, reminiscent of the outsized glasses Daria had worn as a child which she had supposed to ‘grow into.’ It displeased her because she knew Daria was doing this for Jack and the trip. Daria’s new regular pair – the same prescription as her old pair, which she could therefore have as a backup pair – were slightly smaller glasses, similar to what Daria had worn in Highland in Eighth and the start of Ninth grades, and so had rounded corners – not quite circular nor rectangles. (She had gotten perfectly circular lenses early in Ninth grade, although not quite as large as what she had worn in Lawndale previously.) The other new pair had oblong lenses about the same size as the new pair, but were polarized sunglasses, which Daria would need in the Utah sun. Daria had also started to buy clothes for the trip, the reminder of which also annoyed Helen.
Helen still wasn’t sure why she had agreed to Daria’s going off to Utah. Even ignoring the possible Jack complications this trip would likely entail to some degree, it was outside Helen’s comfort zone for her daughter. Helen had to admit, her permission was in part out of guilt – Daria had bugged her parents to visit museums and natural national/state monuments from the age of eight, and had been refused every time. Helen certainly wasn’t interested, and young Quinn would have fussed. Daria had begged to go to various summer science camps, instead she had to go to Camp Grizzley – which Quinn had loved and Daria had disliked (okay, which Daria had hated). This was a way to satisfy Daria without annoying herself or being annoyed by Quinn.
Next, she had been saying for over a year that she wanted Daria to expand her horizons, and to do things to aid in getting acceptance to a good college and to earn possible scholarships. This certainly seemed to do all of that. Plus, it would only cost the plane ticket and some of Daria’s clothes – Helen didn’t know that the other costs (like her equipment, room and board, etc.) were either paid by Jack (or at least out of the money Jack’s mother had provided) or by Daria’s ‘Mountain Cabin Fund’ with a contribution from Amy (who was aware of everything other than their sharing a trailer). Still, Helen acknowledged to herself, far from the first time, that she had agreed, and could not back out now.
She wished she could find such a way, however.
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