“I can’t believe I let you drag me out here.” Spencer Carlin whined as the hold on her wrist tightened. Madison only grinned as they headed towards the entrance of the club, filled with only those aged twenty-one and over. “I really don’t think these ids will work.”

            “God, you worry too much Spence.” Madison stopped as they reached the end of the line. “These ids are top of the line….and if they don’t work, we damn sure better get out money back.”

            “Great idea! Let’s go get our money back!” Spencer turned to leave, only to be yanked back into place. She tried unsuccessfully to free herself. After a few moments, she gave up and turned to glare at Madison. “Can you honestly say I don’t look like a nineteen year old trying to sneak into a grown-up club?”

            “I can honestly say you look like a….” Madison grabbed Spencer’s other hand and peered at the id she had clenched in her fist. “….a twenty-two year old trying to get into a club she belongs in.” Madison shrugged before continuing. “Besides, you are a grown-up now.”

            “Tell that to my parents….” Spencer grumbled as they moved up in line.

            “Come on Spence, you moved out almost a year ago.” Madison’s expression softened and she released Spencer’s arm. “You have to let everything go sooner or later….You can’t keep them out of your life forever.”

            “More like they can’t keep me out of their lives forever.”

            Spencer didn’t like where this conversation was going. She could feel her mood darkening as she thought about her parents….they were people she never thought about for months at a time, or unless they decided to call her out of the blue.

            It wasn’t that she didn’t love her parents. No, she loved them very much. But being a catholic family, her parents were always very strict on her and her older brother, Glen. Once he was eighteen, Glen was free to do what he wanted, and what he wanted was to join the military. Her parents definitely didn’t agree with his decision, which only made them tighten their reins even more on Spencer.

            Spencer was quite the rebel when it came to her parents. She wouldn’t do what they wanted for her. No, she wouldn’t become a doctor. And no, she wouldn’t become a social worker. She decided at age eighteen that she would become her own person, and if they didn’t agree with that….they’d done their job by raising her.