What Goes Around

CHAPTER ONE "But, Dad, we're eighteen. Why can't we stay out all night?" Alisa pouted. "You act like you don't trust us or something!" "It's prom night, Daddy!" Ariana piped in. "All our friends are going to the after party." Exasperation drew lines on Terry Winston's face. "And I have to tell you how many times, I don't care what your friends are doing because they're no concern of mine?" "You know we really don't need your permission," Alisa said, testing the waters of defiance. "We're legally adults!" Ariana stared at her mirror image in disbelief. She had to think quickly to counteract her sister's temporary bout of insanity. "I think what Alisa means is that--" "Girl, you are straight up trippin'." The veins bulged in Terry's forehead and neck as he got into Alisa's face. "As long as my name is Terrance Winston and it appears on your birth certificate, my blood runs through your veins and you're slipping your key in my front door every day and driving the car that I make the payments on and--" "Girls," their mother, Jackie, interrupted, "let me talk to your father for a moment. And, Alisa, I recommend you take a few moments to adjust your attitude before this family meeting reconvenes." Ariana pushed her sister through the arched opening that separated the family room from the kitchen. Alisa jerked away, turning slightly to roll her eyes at her sister. "You're just tryin' to be Miss Goody-goody," she hissed. "You know you want this as much as I do!" "Just go," Ariana whispered. "If you keep this up, we won't even get to go to the prom." The two bounced up the wide staircase, splitting at the landing and going in different directions, though their rooms adjoined. "You seem to forget we're grown," Alisa yelled after her sister just before stepping into her bedroom and slamming the door. Terry sat with his head in his hands, trying to understand where his sweet, almost-perfect daughters had gone and when the imposter who'd taken over Alisa's body had made the switch. In the scheme of things he really needed to count his many blessings. Ariana and Alisa Winston were top honor roll students as they approached high school graduation. They had been accepted by their top three choices of colleges with offers of full scholarships. To everyone's surprise, the girls were contemplating going separate ways in pursuit of their very grand academic dreams, which included environmental design for Ariana and journalism for Alisa. By anyone's standard, Terry Winston had been a wonderful father since the day he decided he couldn't let Catherine Hawkins, their birth mother, put them up for adoption. He'd brought his darling princesses home from the hospital, determined to be the best father he could be, while Catherine went off in pursuit of her career goals. In spite--or perhaps because--of it all, he knew today as he'd known then that there had been no other decision he could have made. He loved those girls so much that he would have given them the shirt off his back if they needed it. Moments like these, however, made him understand why his temples, mustache and five o'clock shadow bore the distinction of time. Thank goodness for his wife. Jacqueline Rogers-Winston was the anchor in the many stormy seas of his life. A sense of calm began to radiate through him as he felt the warmth of her touch in the center of his back. "Are you okay?" "Not hardly!" Terry took her hand and pulled her around to sit on his lap. "When did she get so belligerent?" "Honey, she's just feeling her womanhood. She thinks she's grown. Every girl goes through the very same thing," Jackie said as she slipped her arms around his neck. "Count yourselfBrown, Parry is the author of 'What Goes Around', published 2006 under ISBN 9780345469458 and ISBN 0345469453.