“Alright, just this once” Melissa pounced on her for Tracey’s second tight hug of the day and she couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re awesome. This will be great. I’ll email the others and we’ll see you at practice tomorrow?” Melissa was walking away but Aron remained at the same spot. Tracey inched away from him.
“So you’re going to be the new captain huh” Aron asked her. The grin hadn’t left his face and he looked as cocky and self-confident as ever.
“Just the replacement Captain” she said and tried to sound angry.
“Should we have a meeting soon?” he asked and Tracey whipped around. She didn’t want to waste another second talking to him.
“There is no need for a meeting. I have the routine covered” she said and started walking away.
“See you soon Tracey” she heard him yell out to her and she couldn’t help but cross her brows. This was perhaps the longest conversation she had ever had with him. For some strange reason he was pretending to be well acquainted with her and she couldn’t wrap her head around why that would be.
She walked out of the building and found her bike. The last thing she wanted to do was allow her brain to be occupied by thoughts about Aron Clarkson. She had managed to spend all her college years avoiding the likes of him and she was not going to allow herself to be a part of all that drama right at the end of it.
Just as she started pedaling away she saw him walk down the steps, his hand around the waist of some girl Tracey didn’t recognize. His mouth was pressed against the girl’s ears while her hands were stuffed into his jeans pocket. She was giggling, he was clearly saying something in her ear for that reaction. As Tracey started to ride away, he caught her eye, his mouth still on the other girl’s ear. She looked away with a jerk but Tracey knew he had caught her staring.
*****
When Tracey walked into the house, she could hear her mother talking to somebody. She left her backpack on the living room couch as usual and was about to climb the flight of stairs to her bedroom upstairs when her mom barged into the living room.
“Oh good. You’re home. I want you to meet somebody” her mother said excitedly, and Tracey was taken aback.
“There’s somebody else in the house?” she asked, surprised while her mom smiled. She had changed out of her robe and was in her usual bright linen pants and a matching blouse. Her thick blonde bob had been recently curled and she also had makeup on.
“Yes, darling. Come on” she indicated that Tracey follows her into the kitchen, which she did grudgingly. Tracey didn’t know what to expect and she walked into the kitchen expecting her dead grandparents to make an appearance.
“Trace, this is Bob. Bob meet my daughter Tracey”. A towering man was standing by the oven, leaning on the cabinets and chewing on an apple. He appeared to be her mom’s age or maybe a little older and had dark greying hair, balding on the top. The worst part was that he seemed to be just as excited as her mom.
“Tracey! I’ve heard so much about you” he said and extended his arm towards her. She didn’t know what to think and shook his hands, while also passing puzzled looks towards her mom.
“This is what I wanted to discuss before you stormed out of the house” her mother beamed at her and looked proudly over at Bob. Tracey had a sinking feeling in her stomach as the details of the situation began to become clear to her. Bob was still shaking her hand gently and smiling at her.
“Bob and I met at Dr. Dreyson’s office a few months ago. You know, my dentist?” she turned to Tracey and batted her eyelashes. Tracey gently pulled her hand away from Bob and walked over to the counter.
“Alright?” she had an idea where this was going, but was still in denial.
“And then we bumped into each other again at the Supermarket some weeks ago” her mom exchanged happy looks with Bob.
“Was this after I left for Alaska?” Tracey interjected and stared blankly into the faces of both her mom and Bob.
“Yes darling, just a few days after you left. We’ve gotten to know each other well in the last few weeks” her mother continued and inched closer to Bob. They seemed comfortable and happy in each other’s presence but it still made Tracey sick.
“What are you saying mom?” she asked and couldn’t keep the volley of mixed emotions out of her voice.
“Just that we’re together now. Bob, like myself, has been divorced for many years and we’re lucky to have found each other” she looked up at Bob and they exchanged happy smiles. Tracey tried to smile weakly, just to put on a show and hoped that they wouldn’t kiss or something in front of her.
“Well…that’s good news I guess mom” Tracey said and looked around the kitchen nervously. She had no idea how she should be reacting.
“I’m glad to see you’re taking it well. We were worried how you would react darling” her mother said and Tracey shot her an angered look. She couldn't believe that her mother was already speaking in terms of “we”.
“It doesn’t bother me mom. It’s your life. Nice to meet you Bob” she said hurriedly and started walking out of the kitchen.
“Oh darling, Bob and his son will be joining us for dinner. So put on something nice and join us here in an hour?” her mother followed her to the living room. Tracey didn’t respond as she started climbing the stairs to her room.
“Trace did you hear me? Are you angry with me?” her mother sounded genuinely concerned, but for whatever reason, Tracey couldn’t bring herself to sympathize.
“Why should I be angry mom? I’ll be out of your hair in a few months anyway and then you can do whatever you want” she stomped upstairs and left her mother standing at the bottom.
“Tracey! Come back here. We need to talk about this. You’re being silly” she could hear her mother try and yell at her, while also keeping her voice low.
Tracey banged the door of her room shut and flopped herself on her bed with force. She couldn’t believe how turbulent her first day home had been. She had the new responsibility of being the captain of the cheerleading team to worry about, her mother was dating somebody new and she now had to entertain him over dinner.
She sat up in bed and suppressed an angry cry. She wanted to be back in Alaska with her father. As soon as possible. She breathed in deeply, while staring at herself in the mirror in front of her. A few more months, that was all she needed to get through and then it would all be over. She licked her lips and watched her tired face. Her hair appeared matted and dirty and she could nearly detect dark circles under her eye.
“I need a shower!” she said aloud.
•••
Tracey stood in front of the mirror, while brushing her hair. Finally, after the shower her hair had assumed the usual shape of its neat angular bob and it was glowing golden under the bright lights of her room. She was wearing her denim mini skirt and a red t-shirt. Her long pale legs ended with a pair of red flip-flops which were perfect for the warm weather.
As she looked at herself she could see why everybody she knew believed she was perfect as a cheerleader. She had the figure and the face for it. What she lacked was the attitude, and nobody knew that better than herself. She couldn’t stand the cheerleading culture, didn’t believe in the tradition of dating football jocks and stayed away from the parties that the rest of the team attended. She had grown up being called a “tomboy” and she wasn’t going to change her intrinsic characteristics just because she had been forced to join the cheerleading team in college.
She heard her mother’s shrieking voice from the front door and rolled her eyes. Bob’s son must have arrived because she sounded more excited than usual.
“Tracey! Come join us!” her mother yelled out to her and she rolled her eyes again. Never before had she felt like more of an outsider in her own house than she did now. She shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh. One dinner, she said to herself and made a silent promise that she would not indulge her mother anymore. She couldn’t believe that her mom put her in such a spot, exp
ecting her to play ‘happy-family’ with a bunch of strangers who she had never met before.
She closed the door of her room behind her and climbed down the stairs with her head hung low. She could hear her mother and Bob talking excitedly in the living room and it wasn’t until she took the last step that she saw the back of a guy, faced away from her.
“Trace, I hear that you both already know each other” her mother stretched her arms towards her. She could have recognized that back anywhere, he didn’t need to turn his head for her to know who it was. She could see his shoulder blades sticking out through the thin material of his fitting white T-shirt. His back tapered down and disappeared into slim fitting light blue jeans. Even from behind, she could sense that his hands were stuck into the pockets of his pants and that thick head of dark straight hair was unmistakable.
Aron turned his head to look at her and focused his light blue eyes on her. He smiled and her jaw nearly dropped.
“Hey Tracey. I was just telling them how they don’t have to worry about us getting along” he said with a laugh and she froze at the bottom of the stairs. She looked from Bob to Aron and then at her mother.
“You’re Aron Clarkson’s father?” she squeaked.
“In the flesh” Bob said, and he and her mother laughed.
“Come over here Trace!” Aron said playfully and stretched out his arm and grabbed her arm. She didn’t even have the energy to pull her hand away from him.
“We’re family now” he said. His eyes were boring into hers and she could see the glint of some sort of evil joke in his eyes as he said the words. Tracey wanted to slap him, right across his face.
*****
“Is this some kind of joke?” is what Tracey said and all the others broke out in laughter, including Aron.
“No darling, isn’t this all such a lovely coincidence?” her mom was leading Bob by the hand towards the kitchen. Aron turned to wink at Tracey and she rolled her eyes again. They followed their respective parent into the kitchen and Tracey was immediately taken aback by what she saw.
A beautifully laid out roast dinner was arranged on the table and a small candelabra lit the kitchen with a magnificent soft glow.
“How did you manage this mom?” Tracey turned a shocked look at her mom.
“Bob here is an excellent cook and he helped me with the dinner preparations” to Tracey’s absolute disgust, her mom leaned in and gave Bob a light kiss on his cheek. When Tracey turned her head away, she caught Aron giving her an amused grin and she looked away. She didn’t know where to look, or how to behave.
“Why don’t you kids settle down and we can have a nice home-cooked meal?” Bob said in his usual friendly manner and he walked over to the counter to open up a bottle of soda. Aron pulled a chair for Tracey and waited till she sat down.
“Enjoy” he whispered to her as he pulled up a chair beside her and sat down. Tracey instinctively sniggered and shook her head and they both exchanged a knowing smile. At least, he was probably experiencing the same feelings as herself.
“You knew about this?” she whispered to him as he settled down beside her. Her mom and Bob were busying themselves with the dinner arrangements and pouring soda into four glasses.
“I was here for the summer. I watched it all unfold” he whispered back and Tracey shook her head again.
“I don’t believe it. It’s like I’m living through some nightmare” Tracey said through gritted teeth. The last thought in her head was that she was actually bonding with her worst enemy.
“Is it really that bad? I mean, look at them” Aron said and Tracey turned her head to look at her mom leaning towards Bob as he gently pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.
“They’re pathetic. It’s making me sick” Tracey said disgustedly and she caught the look of surprise in Aron’s eyes.
“You think this is cool?” she asked him and he smiled.
“Who are they hurting? I can’t speak for your mom but I haven’t seen my dad this happy in years” he whispered back and Tracey was doubly surprised. Aron Clarkson was the last person she had expected to be thinking about another human being, except himself.
“Of all the men she could have fallen for” Tracey said, almost to herself but she heard Aron tut-tutting.
“I hadn’t taken you to be one of those people” he said and Tracey shot him a questioning look.
“You know one of those kids who don’t believe that their parents are entitled to normal human emotions” he said and pierced a pea with his fork. Tracey sat back, slightly stumped by his response.
“I hadn’t taken you to be one of those people who is overflowing with the milk of human kindness” she crossed her arms haughtily across her chest and looked away from him.
“Well, in all fairness, we barely know each other” he said just as Tracey’s mom and Bob took their seats across from them.
“Enjoy the meal kids. Tracey, Bob has put in a lot of effort to cook this meal for us” she said, beaming at her new boyfriend. Tracey said “Thanks Bob” softly as he started carving the meat on to their plates.
“So I knew you guys went to the same college, but I didn’t suppose you had met already” her mom said, in an attempt to begin a friendly conversation.
“Well, I’m the Captain of the football team and Tracey has been in the Cheerleading team for the past two years” Aron smiled at his dad as a way of thanks for the food he just served. Tracey didn’t respond or support Aron’s answer.
“Isn’t that great?” her mom turned to Bob who nodded enthusiastically.
“Tracey I’ve heard so much about you from your mom. I hope we can get to know each other better” Bob said addressing her directly but she only continued to pick at her food. The fact that Bob was nice, that he was being patient with her made things even worse. She knew she was displacing some unknown anger on him. Perhaps the anger had something to do with Aron?
“That might be tricky dad. Tracey likes to keep herself to herself” Aron said as he stuck a piece of meat into his mouth and munched.
“Why are you pretending to know anything about me?” Tracey couldn’t stop herself in time. The room grew instantly quiet with her caustic remark directed at Aron and her mother nervously cleared her throat.
“Darling, just enjoy the dinner please” she heard her mother say as she hung her head low again.
“It’s alright Janine” Aron spoke to her mother now. “I’m kinda used to it by now” he said it with a laugh, which sliced through Tracey.
“No, it isn’t alright Aron. You both are being very nice to her and she is just behaving like a stubborn 5 year old” her mother turned to Tracey again. Her voice was quivering and Tracey could sense Bob patting her on her back.
“When did you suddenly grow up mom? Does Bob know that you haven’t cooked us a meal for the past five years? That I wash all the dishes and do the laundry?” Tracey snapped at her mother. The words came tumbling out and her body was shaking uncontrollably. The room was silent again, save for Aron chewing his food.
“Yes Tracey, Bob is well aware of my physical ailments. He knows my limitations. We are completely honest with each other” her mother had pushed her plate away and had also crossed her arms. Tracey and her mom stared at each other, she couldn’t remember the last time they had fought this way.
“Now, girls. We can all talk about this later” Bob tried to interfere.
“So you know. So you should know why I find all this very hard to digest. That she is suddenly a mature woman in love and her new boyfriend is cooking dinners for us out of the blue” Tracey wasn’t about to give up, she was glaring at Bob now. She could see that Aron had turned towards her and Bob had hung his head low, in embarrassment. Her mom’s lips quivered as she stared back at Tracey.
“I knew this was a bad idea. I knew you would react this way. I don’t know what you want from me” she raised her voice and Tracey gave a short laugh.
“I want you to be a normal regular mother” Tracey sa
id loudly.
“What does that look like?” her mom yelled back.
“I wish I had a happy normal family. Where I didn’t have to do all the chores around the house and babysit my own mother” Tracey stood up from the chair and her mom looked like she was going to burst into tears.
“You don’t have to babysit me anymore. Bob and I are getting married. So you’re free now. You don’t have any more responsibilities towards me” she said it and broke down in tears on Bob’s shoulder who turned towards her to stroke her hair.
“What did you just say?” Tracey’s eyes were wide and angered. She could barely believe what she was hearing.
“You’re marrying him? A man you’ve known for a few weeks?” Tracey was shrieking now and Aron stood up. He touched her arm lightly and she jerked it away from him.
“You are nuts mom and Bob you’re nuts to believe that you’re in love with her” she couldn’t stop herself from yelling and Aron grabbed her arm again.
“Calm down Tracey” he whispered to her, as her mother continued sobbing.
Tracey stormed out of the kitchen and ran to the front door. She could hear Aron running behind her but she burst out of the door and onto the driveway.
“Tracey, what the Hell?” she heard him call out to her but she didn’t wait. She started running till she reached the main road. She didn’t want to stop. She continued running. The warm air hit her face with a blast but she didn’t care. She wanted to be as far away from all of them as she could. The sun was setting now and it was beginning to get dark. She realized she was crying because she could barely see ahead of her. Her breath was ragged and she was tired, confused and angry.
“Tracey” she heard his voice behind him just as she tripped over and fell forward towards the concrete road.
*****
His hand gripped her arm just in time and she landed sharply on his chest. Their heads clinked together and surprisingly he laughed.
Sucker for the Boss Page 34
