No More Meddling: A Bitter Lesson

My daughter, Bessie Garcia, had very little self-discipline. The only reason she studied at all was that I constantly pushed her. Three months before the SATs, I could not resist sending a question to myself ten years into the future. “Did Bessie get into an Ivy League school? What kind of job does she have now? Please tell me the last three years of hard work were worth it! How far have Meera and I gotten on our trip around the world? Did we have a second child?” A hopeful smile spread across my face. Then, I saw the man on the other side of the screen. His skin was sallow. He was so thin that he was almost unrecognizable. “An Ivy League school? After graduation, she publicly accused you of controlling and emotionally abusing her for more than ten years. The entire internet branded you a sick, controlling father. Meera divorced you and went on to have a child with her first love. As for you… years of staying up late, putting your life on hold, and constantly supervising Bessie’s studies left you with terminal pancreatic cancer. Your daughter and ex-wife have cut you out of their lives completely. You have only one month left to live.” I was stunned. Just then, Bessie’s voice sounded from her room as she talked to someone online. “My dad? He’s a pathetic control freak. His wife doesn’t love him, so he takes it out on me by trying to control my life. The more he forces me to study, the worse I’ll bomb the exams! Watching him lose his mind in rage is the only satisfaction I get. Once the SATs are over, I’m moving out and cutting him out of my life for good!” Tears splashed against the back of my hand. A moment later, I withdrew her from every SATs prep course and sent her a text. [You don’t have to attend those tutoring classes anymore. From now on, I won’t ask anything of you. It’s your life, so you should get to decide how to live it.] Chapter 1 I closed the chat window and scheduled a medical checkup for the following morning. Inside her room, Bessie Garcia’s complaints came to an abrupt halt. A moment later, she opened the door. Her face was glowing with excitement. “Dad, are you serious?” I nodded calmly. “Yes. From now on, you can make your own decisions about your life. I won’t interfere anymore.” She froze for a second. “You’re not going to take my phone away anymore? I can stay up as late as I want? I don’t have to do my homework if I don’t want to? You’ll even call the school and let me stay home whenever I feel like it?” She was clearly trying to provoke me because she did not believe a word of it. After all, any one of those things would have sparked a huge fight between us in the past. It always ended with me forcing her back to her books. When I said nothing, she gave a dismissive snort. “Nothing to say now, huh? I knew you were lying! A control freak like you could never just stay out of my life—” “Sure, as you wish.” I cut her off with a casual tone. “I meant what I said. From now on, you can do whatever you want.” The rest of her argument died in her throat. She raked a hand through her hair in frustration, then slammed her bedroom door. “I’m not buying it!” I sank back against the couch and took several long minutes to ease the dull ache in my chest. The future I had just seen made me realize that everything I had sacrificed over the years had been nothing but a cruel joke. Everything I had done because I thought it was best for Bessie had become a prison in her eyes. I would not make the same mistake again. At dinner, Bessie ordered fast food. She let out a few conspicuous coughs before speaking. “Um… My friend ordered this for me.” She had a sensitive stomach. Greasy fast food usually sent her running to the bathroom. I had always been strict about her diet. I had even given up my career to stay home and prepare different healthy meals for her every day, only to end up with her accusing me of being so controlling that I even dictated what she was allowed to eat. I replied calmly, “Go ahead and eat it. I told you, I’m not going to force you to do anything anymore.” She stared at me in disbelief. Then, she carried the food back to her room and muttered under her breath, “I’d like to see how long you can keep up this act!” I let out a bitter smile. The last time her grades slipped and she got in trouble for talking back to her teacher, she pointed a finger in my face when I confronted her and declared that she did not want a father like me. I was so furious that I stormed out of the house and swore I would never interfere in her life again. However, in the middle of the night, I started worrying. Who would wake her up for her test the next morning? What if she ate the wrong thing for breakfast and ended up sick? At three in the morning, I slunk back home with my tail between my legs. Ever since then, she became even more certain that I could never really stop looking after her. Unfortunately for her, this time was different. Meera Garcia did not come home until eleven. She was reeking of alcohol. She frowned when she heard Bessie playing video games in her room. “Why is she still gaming at this hour? Are you seriously not going to do anything? The SATs are right around the corner!” She snapped at me irritably. “I work myself to the bone to support this family. Is keeping one teenager on track really too much for you?” She tossed her coat at me. “Clean this! I need to wear it again tomorrow.” I dodged and let the coat fall to the floor. “Clean it yourself. I’m not your servant. Also, Bessie isn’t solely my responsibility. I’ve decided to step back and let her make her own choices. If you want to keep her on track, you can do it yourself.” Meera stood there in stunned silence. “What did Bessie do to upset you this time? You’re her father! Stop keeping score with your daughter and acting so petty!” When I spoke, my voice was ice-cold. “She’s an adult now. It’s her life. She can make her own decisions.” I turned toward her. That was when I noticed the bright red hickey on Meera’s neck. She did not notice me staring at it and merely let out a scornful laugh. “Fine! You’d better remember what you just said. Don’t start another war in this house later!” She took off her jewelry and headed toward the guest room. I sneered and opened Sam Bamber’s profile from the burner account that I used to follow him. [Reunited with an old flame. She remembers everything I like.] The photo showed Sam and Meera with their fingers intertwined. Her red lips parted as she pressed herself against his neck. The sight made my stomach turn. I locked my phone and squeezed my stinging eyes shut as I fought back the tears. Then, I looked up divorce attorneys and scheduled a consultation. Chapter 2 In the middle of the night, I was awakened by Bessie’s cries of pain. “My stomach hurts so bad! Dad, get me some medicine. I’ve been running to the bathroom all night. I feel like I am going to pass out!” She pounded frantically on my bedroom door. Even though the guest room was right next door, there was no response from inside. Seeing her face pale as paper, I fetched her some antidiarrheal pills. Half an hour later, I caught myself when I was about to ask if she was hungry. The words reached my lips, but I held them back. “Where’s the soup you always make? Bring it over already. I’m starving!” Bessie peered past me, grumbling about how slow I was. Whenever her stomach acted up in the past, I would prepare a warm bowl of chicken soup and bring it to her bedside. I would then beg her to eat a little so she could sleep better. This time, however, I brought her nothing. I simply transferred thirty dollars to her. “If you are hungry, order takeout.” I turned around and walked away without hesitation. Behind me, Bessie stared at her phone in disbelief before hurling it onto the floor with a deafening crash. “Fine! You’re really going through with this, huh? Let’s see how long you can keep up the act!” The next morning, I went to the hospital. Thankfully, all my test results came back normal. There was still time to change my fate. When I opened the front door, a glass vase flew past my ear and shattered against the floor. Bessie’s face was flushed in rage. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I had a practice exam today!” She glared at me. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you? You thought I’d come crawling and beg you to help me!” I paused. I had forgotten about her exam. I glanced at the shards scattered across the floor and scoffed. “Getting up on time is your responsibility. I told you, I’m not going to tell you what to do anymore.” She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists. “Fine! You’d better remember what you just said. Let’s see if you can really stay out of my life for good!” She stormed out of the house. This time, I did not go after her. Not long after, Bessie’s school counselor called me. “Mr. Garcia, Bessie didn’t show up for the practice exam today. The SATs are only three months away. You have to make sure she’s taking this seriously.” I cut her off before she could continue. “From now on, please don’t contact me about Bessie again.” I sent her Meera’s number and blocked the school counselor’s number. Starting today, I was officially washing my hands of Bessie’s affairs. Meera called around noon. “What are you trying to do? You even blocked the school counselor!” She massaged her temples. “I have enough on my plate with work every day. There has to be a limit to how far you take this feud with Bessie. Do you have any idea that her mock SATs score dropped by more than a hundred points? Are you really doing your job as her father?” My voice turned cold. “She wanted freedom, didn’t she? I’m giving her exactly what she asked for. Besides, haven’t you always said I was too hard on her? This works out perfectly. No more screaming and fighting in this house.” Meera finally lost her temper. “You’re really washing your hands of her? Really? Fine! You’d better not regret it later!” She hung up. Chapter 3 Bessie came home seething in resentment. “Don’t look so pleased with yourself! I just had a bad day, that’s all. Next time, I’ll prove that even without your tutoring, I can make the top ten in class!” I had no interest in listening to her grand declarations, so I merely gave her a cool nod. “You…” The front door opened. A man followed Meera inside. It was Sam. “Since you refuse to parent Bessie, I’ve found someone who will. This is the live-in tutor I’ve hired for her.” Meera fixed me with an icy stare. She was waiting for me to lash out. However, I merely smiled. “Oh? Sounds good!” Bessie’s eyes widened in disbelief. Then, she threw herself into Sam’s arms. “Sam, it’s been so long! This is awesome! If you’re the one teaching me, I’ll be an absolute angel and study my heart out!” Sam gave her a warm, affectionate smile. “That’s my girl! I know you will.” He looked at me, unable to hide his smug smile. “Ron, I hope you don’t mind. Bessie and I haven’t seen each other in a long time. It’s only natural that she’d be excited to see me.” I poured myself a glass of water. “Not at all! She’s free to be close to whomever she wants.” Meera frowned. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but I just picked up the glass of water and walked away. Over the next few days, Bessie played the perfect little angel whenever Sam was around. Every day when she came home, she hugged him and brought him a drink. She even told him to attend her parent-teacher conference. “Sam, you are so much better-looking than my dad. Just pretend you are my dad and come with me!” Sam smiled, then glanced at me. “Ron, I…” Bessie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. “Just ignore him! One look at that beer belly, and I feel sick!” The moment the door closed behind them, I clenched my jaw and let out a long breath. I would be lying if I said it did not hurt. That evening, Bessie excitedly grabbed Meera’s hand. “Mom, I ranked third in my entire grade this time!” She turned to me with a smug look. “See? Without your twisted study regimen, I only do better! If you hadn’t held me back for the past three years, I would’ve been at the top of my class a long time ago!” Then, she linked her arm through Sam’s. “It’s all thanks to Sam’s tutoring. From now on, you’re my dad, Sam!” “Don’t talk like that!” Meera half-heartedly rebuked her, making a show of disapproval. Then, she turned to me with a smug, triumphant look. “Ron, looks like your parenting wasn’t all that impressive after all. I should’ve brought Sam home much sooner.” She slipped her arm through Sam’s and smiled. “From now on, Sam is the one this family can count on.” I looked at them and smiled as well. Bessie’s grades were fake. I had once confiscated one of her old phones. When I checked it, I saw that her gaming account had been active almost around the clock. The messages in her gaming chats also revealed that she had cheated on several of her last exams. I could not be bothered to expose her. “Congratulations! Good for you.” The smug look on Bessie’s face stiffened. “You must be dying of jealousy right now. Even without you, I’m still a top student, so stop giving yourself so much credit for my success!” Chapter 4 A week before the SATs, I began packing my things. Sam kept flaunting his place in the family in front of me whenever he could. “Ron, you have to admit, you’re a pretty pathetic excuse for a father.” He waved a credit card in my face. “See this? Meera gave me a card with no spending limit. I’m the one she really loves!” I could not help but laugh out loud. “If she really loved you so much, why didn’t she marry you? You’re nothing but a sugar baby.” “You…” Sam’s face flushed with rage. He was breathing heavily. “Don’t be so smug. As soon as Bessie finishes her SATs, Meera’s filing for divorce. You’re dead weight around here, Ron. You couldn’t do a good job taking care of your own daughter, yet you still refuse to step aside. Let me tell you something, Bessie already calls me Dad.” He pulled up their chat history on his phone. On Father’s Day, Bessie had given him an electric razor, along with a heartfelt message. [Happy Father’s Day to the best dad in the world.] My heart gave a sudden, painful thud. Bessie had said those same words to me countless times before. However, ever since I started pushing her relentlessly during her senior year, our relationship had fallen apart. I drew in a deep breath. “Tell Meera to hurry it up then. I couldn’t be more ready.” After that day, Meera and Sam stopped trying to hide their relationship. They took Bessie to parties and posted pictures online, proudly presenting themselves as the perfect family of three. Bessie treated Sam more like a father than she ever treated me. “Sam, when I get into an Ivy League school, I’m going to buy you a huge house!” “I’ll hold you to that.” Sam grinned from ear to ear. Meera linked her arm through his and shot me a smug glance. “Look at what a wonderful daughter Bessie is. If you hadn’t held her back all these years, she might already have received an early acceptance from a top college.” I did not bother to respond. I just sent her the divorce papers and walked out the door with my suitcase. The night before the SATs, Meera called me for the first time since I moved out. “Bessie takes the SATs tomorrow. You will come with us to drop her off at the school.” “Not happening.” She gasped. “Ron, how can you be so heartless? This is one of the biggest days of Bessie’s life, and you can’t even show some decency?” I had no interest in arguing with her. “Just sign the divorce papers and stop calling me.” Meera must have been genuinely furious. “Fine! After I drop Bessie off at the school tomorrow, I’ll meet you at your attorney’s office. I should’ve known you were never much of a husband!” The next day, outside my attorney’s office, Meera looked positively triumphant. “Bessie got the second-highest score in her entire grade on the mock exam two days ago. She’s practically guaranteed a place at an Ivy League school! Just wait until her real score comes back! You’re going to eat your words!” Standing tall in her high heels, she looked unbearably pleased with herself. “You still have time to change your mind.” I quickly signed the papers and slid them across the table. “Stop wasting my time. Just sign.” “Fine. I will!” She snorted and signed her name across the papers before putting the pen aside. “When Bessie’s results come back, you’re going to regret this!” Just then, her phone rang. “Hello? Who’s this?” She had accidentally put the call on speaker. The voice on the other end echoed through the attorney’s office. “Are you Bessie’s mother? You need to get to the school immediately. Bessie was caught cheating on her SATs!”