Again, it's funny how life works sometimes, or often. Suddenly something earth shatterering or what seems like it happens and then before you know it...it's old news.
Jake. Life. Jake/life. Yeh, one minute the world ended and began all over again simultaneously and the next HO HUM. Ok, maybe not quite, but close.
The next few weeks went by pretty much in orderly fashion, and except for the Jake BIG TIME BIRTHDAY BASH SOIREE dew...during which I of course spent the equivalent of the combined net worth of several third world countries...the World Bank, and my mothers jewelry budget...lavished things on the dude that got periously close to ridiculously embarrasingly extravagant, (hey, I was happy)...it was all pretty uneventful.
The night of the aforementioned mini-fest, saw the house and environs awash with assembled friends, enemies, strangers, and God knows what all and we partied until the last person standing...WASN'T.
Somewhere about two weeks (or so...ok, the next day) in, I woke up in a pile of me and Jake and felt the luckiest slug alive (or dead...and too drunk to care which). Jake just smiled at me, kissed my face, and happily went back to dreamland which I was convinced was centered on MOI, although that might have been a stretch.
Did I mention the new fire engine red Mustang convertible in the garage? Which I let him look at fondly occasionally cause I was too happy and too much in love to actually go anywhere and even more afraid to actually let him DRIVE.
Course in the middle of it all, MOM called and since I had forgotten to mention Jake to her before (since we hadn't talked since Jake and I met) I did so then. (I knew she would love him and dad would too), and she cooed and immediately went on to tell me all about HER latest whatever and then as usual with a cheery "loves yah punkin', the line was dead and so were most of my friends (or faking it in piles all over the place). I am convinced a year or two passed before we all sobered up and headed home and I had gone several miles before I realized I already was. Sigh. Gotta love comatose.
Did I mention that after that first uncomfortable week or so of my wondering what the hell to do about Jake and wanting to BAD, but wondering if that was wise but as time has borne out Jake saved the day by being so damned practical and level headed AND in love...with who? MOI? REALLY?
Anyway things kinda settled in and life began to get ordinary again. Sorta. We got him started at school (his senior year), and he started bringing home report cards that only proved my initial suspicions (Jake is scary bright, straight A+ student), and destined for greatness EXCEPT for this character flaw of falling in love with me.
I was SO damned proud of him. God, I even did the parent-teacher day thing during which I beamed and stuttered and stammered my way through until I was practically certifiable and drooling. Fortunately everyone in town knows me for the klutz I am so...I got a pass so to speak. Probably to 'THE HOME' but too dingy to notice.
Then the holidays happened as they so often do this time of year and my credit cards went into overdrive trying to buy Jake everything else I had missed buying him for his birthday and I had almost landed the deal to purchase IRELAND when sanity struck. (Have I ever mentioned that I am insufferable when I am in love? No? Remind me to sometime. It's quite the little story).
Jake and I would be in some expensive Boutique or something and I would be asking if he liked something and he would be rolling his eyes and protesting (although not too loudly I noticed) and the clerk would come over and mention my credit card had ONCE AGAIN caught fire in the processing machine. SIGH...
AGAIN, we made it but barely and then routine set in again and things went along and we got by and kept falling more and more in love as if that was even remotely possible.
THEN SHIT HAPPENED.
On the cusp of spring with our summer already planned...SHIT.
It was the night before commencement. Jake was Valedictorian, and we had gone to buy him some shit (will someone STOP ME, PLEASE) and then gathered at the country club for some dinner with friends of mine and some of his from school. We finally were arriving home after a truly FUN evening and all seemed right with the world. I had booked us on a European trip for the summer (and we would be leaving the following week or so we thought, during which hopefully he and I would catch up with the 'rents), when suddenly we saw it. He screamed and I slammed on the brakes in the driveway. Just in time. There it was.
At first I wasn't sure what we were seeing as Jake threw open his door and streaked out to go check on the pile of whatever in the driveway JUST ahead of the car. He did as I got the engine shut down and seat belt disengaged and got my coffee (never know), and...
as I got out he leaned into my ear.
"It's a body honey. I think it's still alive."
OH GOOD. We haven't had one of those show up in the driveway for GOD I don't know how long. In fact I was just remarking to Jake the other day...
"Honey? You know what? We haven't had a ....".
You get the idea. Insanity comes and goes you know. So does dark humor, and simultanous drooling. BUT...
Ok, it was a body, or what appeared to be a body. sprawled in the driveway. I froze but Jake knelt down, and pulled away the hoodie to reveal a young kid, from what I could tell...about 12-13, maybe 14. I'm so not good at that guessing age thingy. He looked so thin, much as Jake had that first day. But where did he come from, and more...why?
A body. A LIVING body, thank God.
But WHO? We had NO idea.
I bet $$$ that you thought this was gonna be just another run of the mill boy meets boy, falls for aforementioned DUDE, and we just lives happily ever after DIN YAH. HUH?
Yeh, well guess again.
I swear to God...I must get the fucking place fenced in so NO MORE BODIES IN THE DRIVEWAY....after tonight that is, and too late for that now.
NOW WHAT?
CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER VIII
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