CHAPTER 106: HIKING WITH ANALISE (2)

"Okay, I see where you’re coming from, but isn’t it necessary to tell little white lies every now and them to avoid hurting someone’s feelings?"

"I’ll give you two examples. Let’s consider the Nickelback example first. Let’s say you tell me you are a huge fan and just love their music and listen to them all the time. And let’s say I absolutely hate their music."

"Do you? Hate Nickelback?"

"I don’t remember ever actually hearing their music, so I don’t have an opinion. I just picked them because I remember them getting a lot of hate on the Internet in the past."

"Ah, okay. Please continue."

"So, you say you like them, but I hate them. How can I respond? If I say I hate them and think anyone who likes them is an idiot, then you would almost certainly be offended. And rightly so. If I say I hate them, but don’t say anything about you or other Nickelback lovers, then you might take offence, either because you thought I was implying something about you, or because you are defensive about your love for them. If, however, I said that they were not my thing, but that I didn’t fault anyone who liked them, you probably would not take offence. And while that last case might understate my level of dislike, I’m not lying about my opinion of Nickelback, just moderating it to avoid causing unnecessary strife."

Then he asked, "Follow me so far?"

She nodded, and said, "Sure, that makes sense. Your last example sounds like a polite way of saying you don’t like something while also reassuring the other person that you don’t look down on them for liking it."

"Yup. Now, for the second example. A classic." Then in a falsetto tone he said, "Does this make my ass look fat?"

She snorted. "It’s a trap," she declared in a fake serious tone.

He chuckled, "Yup. I think that meme is etched into the public consciousness. And most guys will lie and say something like, ’No honey, you look great no matter what you wear.’"

"But what if she really wants to know?"

"If she really wants to know, then she needs to ask a different question, like, ’Does this look good on me?’ If it really doesn’t look good, then the right answer is to say something like, ’That doesn’t look good on you,’ or ’I think that other thing looked better,’ or something similar. You comment on the clothes, not the person. That was Fran and Jacobs’ advice, and it feels right to me. Seriously, I’m really beginning to appreciate all the conversations I had with them."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Do you miss them?"

He sighed. "More than I can express."

She was silent for a moment, then said, "My dad died when I was little and I don’t have any memories of him. And my mom, she...she did something horrible and was put in jail for it. My sister took me in after that."

"I’m sorry to hear that. Do you miss her, your mom? Do you visit her?"

"No! That bitch can rot in hell for all I care," she replied.

Oh shit! He was not expecting such a vociferous response.

"Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what did she do that got her locked up?"

He had been keeping his eyes on the road so he wasn’t looking at her when she spoke, but after asking, he gave her a brief glance and notice she was looking at him pensively.

"Most of the time, when people ask, I tell them she was caught dealing drugs. It explains why I’m living with my sister and explains why I go to see a therapist. But that’s not the truth."

She paused, then asked, "Promise me you won’t tell anyone?"

"Will I be breaking the law by keeping it a secret?" he asked. He had also learned from Fran and Jacob that promises were not to be made lightly, that said to only make one if you could and would keep it.

"Oh. No, nothing illegal."

"Then I promise not to tell."

Analise took a deep breath, then said, "My mom tried to pimp me out to my modeling agent."

"Say what?!"

He just couldn’t understand how her own mother would do something like that.

"I caught her telling my modeling manager that she would drug me and give me to him for sex if he promised to get me into a fashion show."

"Damn, that is fucked up."

Her mother was just sick. Sick in the head. To be willing to do something like that to her own daughter, she must be obsessed with success beyond all measure.

And what must Analise have felt when she learned what her mother was planning? That kind of betrayal had to leave some scars.

"The only reason I was able to escape her was because I managed to record her conversation on my phone. She really was on drugs and that’s probably the only reason she didn’t notice me recording them. If I hadn’t stumbled onto that conversation, I would have become that animal’s play thing. That was also the day I stopped starving myself. Learning the truth about her freed me from the need to gain her approval."

"Well, I’m glad you escaped such a horrible situation. You looked really thin back when I asked you out, and now I know why. I’m glad you escaped that situation and regained your health."

"Yeah, me too. Though, sometimes I wonder which is worse, losing a parent you love, or learning your parent is a monster."

"I’m not sure. In both cases, you know what you’re missing, but in the second case, you’re glad you’re missing it. Still, in both cases, you wish things were different."

"Hmm, well in either case, there’s nothing we can do about it so, might as well move on. As for me, what was it someone said, ’The best revenge is a life well lived’? I’ll just face forward and live my life well."

They remained silent for a moment before she asked, "Have you really never heard Nickelback?"

"Have you?"