A serial fiction story for your enjoyment
written by James Rada, Jr.
T h e C a t o c t i n B a n n e r b r i n g s y o u . . .
9 : The Unwanted Guest
Stacy Lawrence sat behind the steering wheel of her car and stared out the front windshield as her son ran across the yard and into the arms of his father. What was Jack, her ex-husband, doing here at Bobby Hennessey’s farm on Catoctin Mountain?
She watched Jack lift Pete into a giant bear hug. “Petey!” He seemed genuinely happy to see his son.
Stacy turned off the car engine and sighed. She couldn’t sit in the car forever, avoiding her ex-husband.
“I missed you, kiddo,” Jack said as he put a hand on top of Peter ’s head. “You look like you’ve gotten a foot taller.”
“I missed you, Dad,” Peter said.
When Jack set Peter down on the ground, Stacy figured it was her turn to say hello, although she just wanted to drive to the cottage and lock herself inside. She stepped out of the car. She had to admit that he still looked good. He was wearing his brown hair a bit longer than the last time she had seen him, but it set off his blue eyes well.
“Stacy,” Jack said, grabbing her in a bear hug.
“What are you doing here, Jack?”
“I missed my son and wife.”
“We’re divorced,” Stacy said.
He grinned. “I can still miss you.” He leaned in to kiss her. She turned her face away, so he nuzzled her neck instead. It felt good having him hold her…
She pushed herself away. “How did you find us?”
“Pete emails me and sometimes calls.”
Stacy shook her head. She couldn’t blame Peter for wanting to keep in touch with his father, but Jack had no parental rights. He was supposed to pay child support, but he was nearly a year behind in his payments, which is one of the reasons why Stacy and Peter had had to leave Gaithersburg.
“I drove all the way up here to see you two, and imagine my surprise to find out you’ve been living with an old guy,” Jack said, glancing over his shoulder at Bobby, who was sitting on his rocking chair on the porch. Stacy could have sworn he was smirking as he watched the drama unfold in front of him.
“He’s my boss,” Stacy said. “Peter and I live in the cottage at the end of the drive. And I don’t have to explain myself to you. We’re divorced.”
“But Pete is still my son. I deserve to know about who you are associating with.”
“Do you have a check to get up to date on your child support because otherwise, I don’t have to let you see him?”
Jack cocked his head to the side and frowned. “Don’t be like that, Stacy.”
“Mom…” Peter started to say.
She looked between the two of them. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Fine, follow me back to the cottage.”
“I don’t have a car,” Jack said.
“How’d you get here then?”
“A friend dropped me off.”
“Your latest girlfriend?” Jack grinned in a way she used to find charming. Not so much anymore. “Fine. Get in the back.”
She wanted to get away from Bobby’s watchful gaze. She didn’t want him to start questioning her judgment because he had met Jack. Who knows what Jack had already told Bobby?
They drove back to the cottage. As soon as they went inside, Bobby flopped onto the couch, and asked, “Where’s the TV?”
“We don’t have one, and take your shoes off. I don’t want to get the furniture dirty.”
Jack obediently took his boots off and set them by the door. “I don’t remember you being so… domestic.”
“Why are you here, Jack? Tell me the truth or so help me, you can hike down the mountain and catch a ride home in Thurmont.”
Jack sat down on the sofa and sighed. “I lost my job, Stacy. It wasn’t my fault, but then I fell behind in rent and got evicted. I need a place to stay for a while.”
“I knew it!” she nearly shouted.
“I won’t be here that long. Just until I find a job.”
“And how are you going to do that here when you live in Gaithersburg?”
“I can apply for jobs here.”
“I have my own job to do. I can’t take you to interviews.”
“Then, I’ll apply in Thurmont. You found a job here. I can, too. Then, I can be close to you and Pete while I get my feet back under me.”
Stacy rubbed her temples as she felt a migraine starting.
Peter walked into the barn to start his evening chores, and he saw Bobby feeding and watering the horses.
“I’ll do that,” Peter said.
Bobby shrugged. “I thought you’d be spending time with your dad. Been a while since you’ve seen him.”
“Yeah, but he and my mom are arguing right now. They always send me away when they do that.”
Bobby nodded. “Well, I’m done here. Want an iced tea?”
Peter shrugged.
They walked to the back patio, and Bobby brought out two glasses of iced tea. They sat on the patio sipping tea and saying nothing.
Finally, Peter broke the silence. “My Dad’s not as bad as my mom thinks he is.”
Bobby nodded. “That’s good to know.”
“You talked to him. What do you think?”
Bobby took a sip of his tea and set his glass down. “Well, I only spoke to him for half an hour. That’s not enough time to know someone.”
“But do you like him so far?”
“Well, sure, but most folks are likable, especially when you first meet them. The question is: Do you like him?”
“I love him. He’s my dad.”
“That’s good,” Bobby said. “A boy should love his dad. It will make his dad a better person.”
“How?” “Well, if a man knows he has a son who loves him, it tends to make him try harder to be a good father, so he doesn’t disappoint his son. A father wants his son to be better than him, even if he’s a good person.”
Peter sipped his tea and nodded.
Stacy walked up to the patio. “Peter, why don’t you go see your dad? He came a long way to see you.”
Peter stood up quickly. “Bye, Bobby.”
“See ya, Peter.”
When he left, Stacy turned to Bobby. “I’m sorry about all this.”
Bobby shrugged. “It just cost me a half hour of my time, that’s all.”
“No tea?” She nodded to Peter ’s empty glass.
“Tea’s for guests and friends.”
“I seem to remember you offering me tea when we first met.”
Bobby shrugged. “You were a wayward traveler.”
“And Jack is not?”
Bobby snorted. “No, a car pulled up in my drive. He got out with two suitcases and kissed the driver. A girl, by the way, not that I judge, and the car left. Nothing wayward about it. He was an uninvited visitor. He’s your guest. You could make him tea.”
Stacy sat in Peter’s vacant seat. “I told him he could stay for a while in the cottage. If that’s all right with you.”
“It’s your place.”
Stacy started at Bobby. “I expected you to have more of a comment about him… and me.”
“It’s not my place.”
“It’s just that he’s got nowhere else to go. He lost his job.”
“Stacy, how you want to deal with your ex is up to you.”
She thumped her fist on her thigh. “That’s right. He is my ex. We aren’t getting back together or anything.” She added quickly, “Did Peter say we were?”
“Peter just said he loves his dad.”
Stacy nodded. “Jack can be very lovable when he wants to be.”
“Yes, I know a lot of guys like that. I still know some like that.”
Stacy stood up and started pacing the length of the patio. “The problem is he hasn’t grown up. He’s still the same charming guy I fell in love with when I was a teenager. But I’m not a teenager anymore. I want more than a night on the town. I need more than that. I have a child to raise. Well, I know Jack does, too, but he doesn’t act like it. I want to act like that. Not that exactly, but I want that feeling back. I want to feel carefree. I want to not worry about what I need to do that day. I want to walk into a bar with tight jeans on and have guys buy me drinks and want to dance with me. But I can’t because sometime over the years, I became responsible. Because I had to, not because I wanted to. I wanted to travel the world with Jack. Did I? No. Because we were always broke, because he barely worked. I did, though, and somehow I managed to go to college. I’m in debt because of it, but I graduated. I worked hard and earned my degree, and I’m paying back my student loans. I like who I am. But when I’m around Jack, that 20-year-old girl wants to come out and play. I don’t like her so much. Not anymore. She embarrasses me to know that I was that foolish. When she’s near me, I have to fight giving into that, and I don’t want to fight myself. But I have to, don’t I? I have to get stronger, and you don’t get stronger taking it easy.”
Stacy took a deep breath. “Thanks, Bobby. I knew you would have good advice.”
Then she turned and walked off.
Bobby raised his glass to her. “I don’t know how so many words got stuffed into such a little woman.”
