02.29.08 - 10:02 am

"what are you doing thursday night?"
"well, i was hosting a dinner party for some friends and watching a tv show..."
"i need you to come to something with me. a meeting." the somber tone of his voice told me exactly what it was. so i didnt press him with questions.
"ok, what time do i need to be ready?"
"seven, but i can just pick you up."

if he was willing to come pick me up, it meant it was something of emotional importance. he wanted me close. he wanted to arrive together. i had never been to a will reading, or an official division of property mediation, so i looked forward to thursday night with both apprehension and excitement. just what all was my grandma worth? what all did she have? who gets what, and how is this all decided? was it going to be polite amongst my uncles and aunts, or was it going to be bloodthirsty? i had no idea. i just had to figure out what i was going to do with ashton.

i called my father again on wednesday night, to confirm the where and whens. he said he would pick me up from my house at 630. again, he was short on the discussion and referred to tomorrow nights emotional experience as simply a meeting. i imagined a single person dressed in an expensive business suit, a large shiny wooden table, and my family members seated around it, some crying softly. so i had canceled my dinner plans with mr kinney and his fiance. i had planned on making a steak and pasta feast for them, julie, russell, kara and probably justin. and polishing it off with an episode of lost. but i rescheduled due to the nature of my fathers request. i was even willing to miss the episode for this. so i got off work an hour early. i dressed fairly well for work, and wore my nice shoes so id be ready to go by the time i got home.

father had mentioned something i found peculiar during the two times i had spoke with him. he said hed tried to get whitney to come. implying that she was against the idea and would need convincing. thats peculiar, i thought. maybe shes just too distraught and doesnt want to have to go through something like this. fair enough. but i decided to call her when i got off work, just to find out for myself. it was then the threads of the scam unwound.

her response was filled with disgust. of course she wouldnt go. dad had been trying to convince her for weeks. to not only come to these meetings, but work for the company. she was not interested at all, but due to my fathers excitement and enthusiasm for the product, he wouldnt back down. my father. jesus.

"look father, i feel duped by you. i thought we were going to a will reading or an estate division thing. so one, i canceled dinner plans and rearranged my schedule with ashton because of this. two, im not buying anything. im not spending any money here. and three, i need to be home no later than 845, do i need to drive?"

he had joined a company that sells a $3500 financial planning program to help you erase all of your debts in 10 to 15 years. including the mortgage. and the meeting i had so willingly canceled my dinner hosting plans for, that i got off an hour of work earlier for, that i planted ashton with sarah and not me for...turned out to be a goddamn powerpoint presentation for this company. trying to sucker me in like it had my father. he even wears the jacket with the embroidered logo on it signifying him as an agent. im sure he feels pretty cool wearing it. i made sure he had his collar popped when we entered last night.

half the room were guys in nice looking business suits. the kind you can buy at ross. the other half were clearly lower middle class. which then made the business suit people seem all that much more ridiculous, because you could tell they were just dressing nice to display the impression they were successful. successful because of this mortgage program. i scoffed, my father could tell i was no impressed with any of this. i hadnt been all the previous times he tried to get me involved in this new get rich quick scheme hed always been easily suckered into.

"why the negativity? where is all this negativity coming from?"

"look dad. im sure this all looks great on paper, but a fancy powerpoint presentation and a motivational speaker isnt going to convince me. you actually start making money on this pyramid scheme youve got going...and then ill be convinced.

i left early, and made it home right on time. desmond, after 4 years on the island, finally got in touch with penny. jesus, it was beautiful.