Chapter 16 - Roughest Tributary
“Men are what their mothers make them.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson”
This is the beginning of Part 2. If you haven’t read any of Part 1, it is best that you start here → Prologue
Brooke called me while I was finishing up at the end of my shift. “Hey Jake, guess what?”
With her, I never knew what to guess. “Your handsome hunk dropped by and drank the rest of my Dr. Pepper?”
She laughed. “You should know better. He likes my homemade Carolina Sweet Tea. You can share your Dr. Pepper with your sexy blonde.”
During the few months that I lived with her, she loved playing this game. The rules weren’t written down, of course. As best friends, we lived, laughed, and maintained the house together, but Brooke got to play out her flirty fantasies on the phone. I’m glad it was just on the phone, and she couldn’t see how red my face got sometimes.
“Okay, I give up. What am I supposed to be guessing?”
“Keisha’s coming this weekend, and Leo, too.”
* * *
Cooper had me scheduled for Saturday morning, especially since we were behind on some of the repairs. I showed up anyway.
When I mentioned that Leo had come to visit, Cooper stopped working. “Well, go home then. I suppose we all have to work around his schedule.” He gave me a wink.
When I entered the house, Brooke practically ran to me and embraced me. “Welcome home.”
Keisha followed her.
Leo greeted me with a handshake and a pat on the back. “Good to see you again. Looks like you’ve been keeping up with the gym.”
“Yeah. I can bench 220lbs now.”
“Wow! That’s awesome.”
Brooke grabbed my arm, as if she were feeling my muscles, and pulled me toward the kitchen. On the table was a bouquet of balloons with flowers printed on them. A large, blue-tinted vase held the balloon strings and was filled with candy.
“Wow! Thanks, it’s early for my birthday, but I love it.”
Keisha slipped in beside me and, in a solemn voice, said, “I’m sorry, Jake. I wanted to get the flowers, but these two….”
Brooke broke in. “Will you hush up? I told you he’d love the balloons better than the flowers.”
Bewildered, I stepped towards Leo. He took me into a warm embrace. “I’m sorry you lost your mother, Jake. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you.” I had to hold back the tears.
Keisha put a hand on my shoulder. “I thought Grace would like some nice flowers. It would be a special way to remember her.”
Brooke butted in. “I’ll send flowers to your funeral, but these are for Jake.”
I stepped over to the floating bouquet, tapped it a few times, and smiled. “Thanks, y’all. I think Mom would’ve liked them, too.”
Brooke served breakfast of biscuits and gravy, and we sat and reminisced about the great times with Mom.
Keisha asked, “Brooke, do you still have Scrabble? That was one of Grace’s favorites.”
Brooke bounded to the game closet to fetch it.
“I’ll pass,” I announced.
“Come on, let’s try again,” Brooke begged.
“I’m terrible at word games and have to look up words on my phone.”
“Have you ever tried crossword puzzles?” Keisha asked.
“Those are way beyond me. Mom loved those: crosswords, word-search, anygrams, or cyclograms.”
Keisha looked puzzled at first. “Oh, do you mean anagrams or cryptograms?”
“Yeah, something like that. Mom would love to do those when she had a chance, and she even found some sites online to play with people.”
While talking with Keisha, Brooke sensed my frustration, took Scrabble back to the closet, and returned with Candyland.
I sat up, and my eyes widened. “Mom and I loved playing this when I was a kid.”
In those days, anyone watching us saw a cute scene of a mother playing with her happy child. As an adult, I understood the appeal for her in finding joy in a simple child’s game.
“Well, we still have it from when we were.” Then Brooke shook the vase filled with M&Ms as we set up the board. “Grace told me about this.”
“Yeah, we ate one that matched the color of the space we landed on.”
Anyone might have thought it strange to see four adults playing Candyland, but my heart swelled with grief and joy.
After the game was over and we spent more time idly chatting, Brooke piped up, “Keisha wanted to take me somewhere special so that y’all can do something on your own for supper.”
I said, “So, it’s just girls and boys?”
Keisha turned away with her nose in the air. “Women, not girls.”
Leo put a hand on my shoulder and winked at me. “I know this great bar-b-que joint. Let’s take your sweet Malibu for a spin.”
* * *
While we cruised around town, Leo asked, “How’s it going with Cooper?”
“Great. I’ve been learning so much.” I launched into all the jobs we completed.
With his full attention, Leo listened as I explained how I had rebuilt a transmission and completed a dozen other jobs.
Leo relaxed in his seat. “I know where to bring a troublesome car I might happen to find.”
Now, I was curious. “How do you know what a camshaft is? And what do you mean by cars you might find? You’ve never told us exactly what you do.”
Leo sighed. “Head out to Paris Mountain along the east side, and I’ll explain along the way.”
I turned toward that direction and listened to him.
“I already mentioned the police academy and becoming a cop. Afterward, I studied and quickly became a detective.”
“Wow. Did you take down a lot of bad guys?”
“Yes, more than my share.”
I gripped the wheel tighter. “Can you tell me about any real ones?” Hopefully, my dad.
“Most of them were low-life punks and gang members. Drug dealers and such. No serial killers or exciting chases. Frankly, I got tired of it. I wanted to do real detective work, so I quit and went into business for myself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply put, people hire me to do the detective work that doesn’t require me to do all the shooting.”
“So, you don’t see any action?”
“Well…” Leo hesitated. “I avoid it, but I’m ready for it.” Then he pointed ahead. “Take the road over there on the left.”
I drove down a narrow, winding, two-lane road. The sign warned 35mph, but I felt I could go faster. That proved more difficult than I thought. On my side, dense trees filled the shoulder, if there was one at all. On the other side, a steep slope covered with trees replaced the shoulder. Except for a barren patch of trees on both sides, the dense forest could’ve strangled the road.
In a few minutes, the road emerged from the trees. A vast, open meadow with well-kept lawns and attractive homes stood on either side of the straight road. Leo directed me to take another turn to get to the barbecue joint.
Once we sat down, I talked about the road. “That was crazy driving through those woods, and those curves were intense.”
Leo cracked a smile. “Thrilling, huh? How fast did you go through there?”
“The fastest I could go was 50.”
“How fast could you do it at night?”
“45, maybe? But I wouldn’t push it if I didn’t know that road.”
Leo stared at me. “The man in the accident that killed your mother was going 60 down the same road on the other side of the double yellow line.”
I was mortified. “Was he drunk?”
Leo moved and sat next to me. “Again, I’m so sorry about your mother. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
I rested against him as he put his massive arm around my shoulders.
“Jake, you wanted to know what I do, and I’m showing you.” Leo took a deep breath. “The man wasn’t drunk. He wouldn’t have made it far if he were.”
“But doing 60 along that road in the dark on the left side to pass her. That’s crazy.”
“Was he trying to pass her?”
Horror filled my mind. Leo held me closer. No, no, he couldn’t have found us. Not again.
Leo reassured me. “It was an accident. The man wasn’t expecting a Mack truck. He and his car were destroyed. I checked with my connections in the police. They’ll never know who he was. The case is closed.”
My fists balled up in rage. Leo grabbed my fist. “You gave Keisha the power of attorney when your mother died to put all her affairs in order. She asked me to look into this when she found that the courts sealed some of her records and yours, and even Keisha couldn't look at them.
“A single mother and son with sealed records and changed names happens when an abusive father is involved and is a threat. I doubt the unknown man was your father, which means this is bigger than an abuse case.”
I tried to pull my fist away. “You don’t know what he’s like.”
“You don’t have to tell me about him. That’s your right. But until now, your mother’s been protecting you. Now, you’re hiding in Brooke’s house. Can she protect you?”
I gasped. “The creepy doctor Brooke went to see. He asked about the restaurant where Mom worked, but Brooke gave him the location of the old one.”
“She mentioned that. Already checked him out. He disappeared, or rather, no one remembers him. The point is, Brooke could be at risk now, too.”
“Why? Because she’s my best friend and I live with her? What do you expect me to do?”
“Move out.”
“Leave Brooke?” Suddenly, Mom’s words hit me. “Mom said that if I loved Brooke, I should leave her. She knew the risk to her.”
Leo sang the line from that old song, “If you love someone, set them free.”
“Brooke hates Sting,” I said. We both chuckled, breaking the tension of the moment.
Worry still weighed on my mind. “What should I do? Where should I go?”
“Go to college.”
“I’m not smart enough for college. My dad said I was stupid, that—”
Leo interrupted, “People don’t go to college because they're smart. They go to learn how to learn. I listened to you talk about everything in Cooper’s garage. You love to learn and fix things. You would do well with engineering. Don’t worry about Brooke. You’re best friends. You’ll find a way to stay in touch.”
“What if my dad goes looking for me at college?” I asked.
Leo, in his best southern accent, said, “Well, if your daddy is so stupid to call you stupid, he ain’t likely to look for you at college.”
A chill ran through me. “He’s more likely to find me under the hood of a car.”
“Don’t worry about Cooper. He can take care of himself.”
But I need to do the right thing for me and Brooke.
* * *
When I went to bed that night, I found my blanket in the closet. I had shared the bed with Brooke and felt comfortable without it. After talking with Leo, I missed Mom. Wrapping myself in it, I knew my heart had been yearning for this, and I felt safe.
Brooke came into the room and left, but I ignored her. Before I could fall asleep, my phone rang. It was Brooke, and she was lightly sobbing.
“Jake, my hunk, broke up with me, and I need to talk to my best friend.”
Brooke was playing her game again, but this time, she was suffering from a broken heart.
Without any prompting, she poured out her whole soul. He made her feel alive. He wasn’t like any of the abusive, controlling men she had been with. Did my blanket make her feel this threatened?
I didn’t interrupt her but just listened. She needed to unload all this emotional baggage.
When she finished, I ended the call, went to the living room, and found Brooke sitting on the couch with a few tears in her eyes. I sat next to her and held her hand.
“Did Keisha talk with you?” I asked.
She stared at our hands. “She said it was time for me to grow up. Either quit playing and flirting around with you without any goal and act like best friends, or try for a real relationship.”
“Keisha and I will harmlessly flirt for fun.”
“Yes, but we live together. And I have to live out my fantasy on the phone.” Then she knocked her phone off the couch.
Then she looked up at me with her puffy, swollen eyes. “Then I saw you wrapped up in your blanket, content and relaxed, as if you didn’t need me.”
“Of course, I need you. You’re my best friend.”
She straightened up, and her lips curled. “You’re right. We need to act like it.”
She went to the kitchen. “Let me heat some tea. Do you want any?”
“No, thanks.”
“Sit back, relax, and close your eyes while I heat my tea.”
I was glad we could still relate as friends. That’s where the strength of our relationship was.
Then I heard the microwave beep suddenly, but I hadn’t recalled hearing the fan. That sneaky tard. Hide-n-seek. That was just like her.
“You can come out now. I’m going to bed,” I announced loud enough for her to hear. A faint giggle popped out down the hall. Game on.
She eluded me until I finally checked the bedroom. She was already in bed.
“Good night,” she said and turned out the light.
I wrapped myself in the blanket, letting my thoughts drift through the day. I was 6 feet 2 inches and lean with bulging muscles, and my king-sized blanket still covered me nicely.
My temper almost flared at what it had cost. Mom was so insistent on going to the store that night, when we were both scared to death. She risked everything to make me safe and comfortable, but there was more to that king-size. Boundaries.
* * *
I was awoken by something firm but soft hitting my face. I tried to ignore it. Then it happened again, and I realized it was a pillow. After waking up, I realized Brooke was hitting me with a pillow while standing over me on the bed.
“Get up, you stupid jerk! Get the hell out of my bed!” She yelled at me.
I looked up at Brooke through hazy eyes and asked, “What’s going on?”
Brooke bent down and whispered sweetly in my ear, “We’re supposed to be breaking up now.”
Then she was the angry girlfriend again, hitting me and half yelling at me, “Get up and stop stinking up my bed and drooling on my pillows. You keep farting on the bedsheets, and I need to wash them all the time.”
“I was in my blanket. Besides, I thought I heard those farts on your side of the bed.”
She kicked me angrily a few times, and I rolled out of bed onto the floor, still wrapped in my blanket. She jumped down, and I pulled her over and onto the floor.
Brooke started pounding on my chest until she couldn’t contain her laughter. We laughed there for a long time. Finally, she kissed me lightly on the cheek after the laughter died and said, “I love you, Jake. I’m glad I have a best friend like you.”
“I love you, too, dear friend.” I paused and said. “Just for the record, we were never boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Shut up,” she said and whacked me with the pillow again. “Don’t ruin the moment.”
* * *
In the morning, I made pancakes, Brooke’s favorite, to ease into my plans.
“Are the pancakes a way to smooth over our ‘breakup’?” Brooke asked with a slight bit of amusement in her voice.
I cracked a smile, but it faded. “Leo and I went to see the place where Mom died.”
“Whoa.” Brooke almost dropped her fork and instead shoved another bite into her mouth.
I rehashed the details of the accident and the speculation, which was largely my own.
“The bottom line is that I need to leave. Leo suggested, and I agreed that I ought to go to college. I’ll need to save—”
I couldn’t finish what I was about to say because Brooke jumped off her chair and ran over to me, her face glowing with cheer. She threw her arms around me, trying to pull me up so she could hug me properly.
She tried to lift and twirl me around, but I was way more than she could handle. So, I lifted and twirled her around.
Brooke was overjoyed. “Now, Jake, you have to bring your new girlfriend home so I can meet her.”
“Whoa, aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? I need money first.”
“I know, I know, but I’m just so excited for you!”
She was beginning to make all these plans for me. She was looking for housing around the college. She looked for bedsheets and towels and was going crazy about it.
She made me promise to call her every day and night if I ever got lonely. That was something I dreaded, being alone. I realized I wouldn’t be alone in this new adventure.
A few days later, Brooke wouldn’t get out of bed and talked about how worthless she was. I stayed with her that day and the next. How were we both going to survive me going to college?
Chapter 17 >