BOMAW 7-9

by Mercedes Keyes

  "Quincy! Quincy!" She shouted as she stood there in disbelief. She heard the bathroom door open.

  "What?!" He shouted back, about to get into the shower.

  She darted out of the room into the hall, looking at him, "Benjamin's things are gone! Everything! Did he come home last night?!" She asked with a worried look on her face.

  Quincy stood staring a moment, "No, he wasn't here when I got home."

  She turned from him and burst into Kevin's room blaring, "Kevin! Kevin wake up! Wake up Kevin!"

  Kevin had been in a deep sleep, laying on his stomach, long blonde hair cascading over the side of his bed, so much like his father's. Bare chest, wearing only under briefs, he tried to block his mother out. "Kevin! KEVI-I-IN!" She shouted long and loud.

  He flipped over holding the covers to his lower body, "God mom, what?!"

  "Where is Benjamin? All of his things are gone! Everything! Who removed his things!?" She demanded.

  "He did! Yesterday! Why are you shouting at me?" He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

  She stood a moment with her heart pounding, her mind going crazy, "He did? Why? He moved out?"

  Kevin sat up, flipping his hair back from his face. It was well past his shoulder blades, thick, glistening, gleaming. His looks were a combination of his mother and Jake. Stronger towards Jake, with a beach boy look about him, soft gentle features and a ready smile. He sat searching the floor through bleary eyes, trying to find his pants, for the most part, ignoring his mother for the moment.

  "Do you hear me talking to you Kevin!? I'm not in the mood to be ignored! Quincy! Kevin is deliberately ignoring me!"

  "Mom! Freakin' hell! Mind if I put some pants on?" He stood, all 6ft of him. He wasn't quite as tall as his father but what was a few inches. He was wiry, slender in build, tone with the body of a rocker. Not skinny, nor built on the scale of his older brother, he had the body of a swimmer, a runner; no excessive bulk.

  "Hurry it up then!" She bit out, turning and slammed his bedroom door.

  "Did you hear him? Did you hear how he spoke to me, Quincy?!" She fussed.

  "It might help if you didn't screech at him sweetheart, I'm getting in the shower; please don't shout me while I'm in there."

  She paced the hall waiting for her son to appear, she didn't have long to wait as he opened his door, walking out to pass her on the way to the other bathroom at the other side of the mobile home.

  "Kevin I asked you a question, I want an answer!" She demanded following him.

  "Mom, it's not exactly rocket science! If someone packs up all of their crap, removing it from a place they once resided, relocating it to another location, that usually adds up to moving, in this case, this being the place of removal, thus, the conclusion to draw is, moved out!"

  "Kevin Timothy McPherson, you stop right there!"

  "Can't unless you want me pissin' on your newly steamed cleaned carpet." He returned, going into the bathroom and closing the door. She stood outside the door and further demanded to know, "Were you aware that he was going to be doing that? I know he discussed it with you! He tells you everything; now I want to know what's going on?" She heard the toilet flush and the faucet turn on. She banged on the door, "Kevin!" She shouted his name again, waiting. He finally opened the door, and glared at her.

  "Why are you pestering me mom? Why are you pretending not to know what's happening here?"

  She ignored that and asked, "Where's Benjamin? That's all I want to hear from you."

  Kevin stared at her a moment, tempted to say that he didn't know. But she was right, he knew, Benjamin always shared what was going on with him, with Paul.

  "Well, I'm waiting."

  "He's gone to live with grandpa and grandma." He finally informed her.

  "Bart and Gert?"

  "Who else?" He returned.

  She turned from him heading for the telephone. Dialing their number. Gert answered, "McPherson's."

  "Gert, it's - Christine, may I speak with Benjamin please?"

  "Well good morning to you too. Why I'm just fine, Bart's fine, the family's all fine. Now what was that? You called to speak to Benjamin, well hang on, I'll go get him." She heard Gert put the phone down before she could correct herself with a proper greeting. Christine gnashed her teeth, they were all the same, damn McPherson's, sarcastic, arrogant, up their own asses, thinking they were better than everybody else. Especially their momma Gert. She never had a kind word for her, didn't matter that she was the mother of her own flesh and blood grandsons, that alone was reason enough to be treated with a bit of decency. Not from them, the whole lot of them, rude, starting with Gert. So she felt waiting on her son to come to the phone. Bart, Derrick and Shanna before she left home were the only ones that talked to her with a manner of respect. She supposed if given a choice, better Gert than Kathy Ann, she was an absolute bitch! Mean as hell, wanting any excuse to go off on one. She learned a long time ago to stay away from Kathy Ann, she wouldn't even so much as look her way.

  "Hello?"

  "Benjamin? What's going on? Why have you moved out of your room? Aren't you going just a bit too far with all of this?"

  "I'm 22 years old, earn a pretty decent living, it was time."

  "I think we need to talk."

  "Nooo, all talked out with you."

  "Why are you doing this?" She asked as if he were deliberately trying to hurt her.

  "Look, let's not drag this out. I've moved out. Yesterday, Shawn and I went and submitted blood for DNA testing."

  "Wh - what? You did what? Wh - why? I told you-..."

  "I know what you've told me. Some lies, some truths. Well, when the test results return, I'll have the full truth and nothing but, won't I? Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do, I'm going out of town this weekend."

  "Out of town, where?"

  Benjamin knew that his motives for saying what he was about to, were wicked, wrong, vengeful, the hell with it, "Shawn and Sylvia invited me to go on a family trip to California with them. I thought what the heck, why not. Gotta go."

  "Wait Benjamin! Has Shawn put you up to this? Is it something he said?" She pleaded in panic.

  "This discussion is closed. All I ever asked of you was to tell me the truth, to tell me who my father is. Now, $469 dollars and some odd cents later, I'll know. Thanks." He hung up.

  Christine stood stunned with her stomach gripped in nervous anxiety.

  "Well, what did he say?" Kevin asked, leaning at the kitchen table staring at her suddenly pale pallor. Quincy was coming out for the bathroom; dressed all save his shirt and tie. He was manager at one of Tomah's busiest department stores. With his shirt in hand putting it on, staring from Kevin to Christine he asked, "What's going on?" looking one to the other waiting. Christine spun in place, her face washing over with red, anger flaring she railed, "I'll tell you what's going on, that damn Shawn McPherson! This is all his fault! He's doing this on purpose, trying to get back at me, well I won't stand for it!"

  "Mom, that's crazy, if you were never involved with Shawn, what reason would he have for getting back at you for anything?" Kevin asked.

  "Shet up and mind your own business!" She snapped at him.

  Kevin nodded, understanding clearly, he looked at Quincy, shook his head and walked by them back to his room.

  Christine was dialing Shawn's number.

  "What are you doing?" Quincy asked.

  "What do you think I'm doing, calling Shawn!" She answered, breathing hard, mouth pressed into thin lips of fury.

  "Hang up the phone Christine. Hang up the phone." He gently ordered.

  "Leave me alone right now Quincy." She warned.

  Ignoring her, he grabbed the phone to take it from her, "I said, hang up the phone. Give it to me."

  "Quincy!?" She exclaimed surprised by his actions.

  "How long do you think you can continue with this? It's over Christine, it's been over. Stop blaming Shawn! Stop blaming other people! Get off of Benjamin's back about it. Time you faced u
p to what you've done! You!"

  "I've done nothing! Quincy how can you say that to me? You know what I've been through. It's the people in this town, bad mouthing me! Jake bad mouthing me! Now Shawn has come back and is out to-..."

  "Listen at yourself! Will you listen to what you're saying? You've been telling this lie for so long you actually believe it yourself!"

  "It's not a lie! He's Jake's! I've never been with Sha-..."

  "Stop dammit! Stop it right now! Stop the lying! Stop hiding from what you've done and face up to it! It's only a matter of time before the truth is proven! Benjamin went for the test didn't he?"

  "You know!? And you didn't tell me what he had planned?!"

  "Kevin told me the other day."

  "Oh this is great! This is just great! My own husband plotting and scheming behind my back!"

  "Christine, Shawn McPherson is that boy's father, admit it!"

  "It's not true! We never slept together! We only dated!"

  "You've told the boys all this time you never dated him. Now, you've only dated. Get your story straight Christine. Have you gotten yourself so caught up in this lie that you forget I was there. That we all went to the same school together. Have you gotten so deep in it that you've just overlooked everything that I know."

  "What do you know, you don't know anything!?" She fired at him in a riled state.

  "Godalmighty Christine, I was there the whole time. I even saw you two."

  She stopped and stared at him a moment, startled by his words, "Saw who two?"

  "You, Shawn, together - intimately." He emphasized the last words, leaning and looking her straight in the eyes saying it.

  She stood staring, her eyes wide. "There's no way!"

  Quincy felt flustered, frustrated and simply put, he'd had enough of her charade. With Kevin in the house, he took her by the arm and steered her towards their enclosed front porch, directing her to one of the chairs there, closing the door to the house behind him. "Have a seat, I'm going to tell you something."

  Quietly she did so, staring him in the face. Quincy took a seat on the lounge across from her, aware that this talk was going to make him late for work, it simply couldn't be helped. He glanced up from the floor at his wife, still as much in love with her as he'd always been.

  "Do you know how long I've been in love with you, you have any idea?"

  "For a long time now, since my days at the Kmart I imagine."

  "No, no ... long before that. I've been in love with you since you were a little girl Christine. Since times gone by, when you weren't even aware of my existence. You walked right by my house every morning on the way to school, never giving me the time of day. First time I laid eyes on you, you were 9 years old. Hair streaming down your back clear to your hips. Shiny, gleaming mink silk. You remember?" He asked softly.

  She could only shrug with the shake of her head.

  "Doesn't matter, I have loved you since then. You grew into this incredible beauty and I did everything I could to get your attention without embarrassing myself. You always looked at me as if I were ridiculous. You remember that?"

  "You were so clumsy back then Quincy."

  He chuckled, "Yeah, I was. Only with you around, other times, I was fine, until you turned to look at me." He looked down for a moment, smiling, thinking back to then. Glancing up at her again, he went on to inform her. "In high school, I used to pray for a chance to be with you. Found out you were dating Shawn McPherson and wanted to give up all hope. Yet, I still couldn't stop looking for you. Sure enough, I saw you two together and I knew it was true." He chuckled, "So stupid of me, like a love sick puppy, I stole moments to follow you anyway; the two of you. Now days it would be called stalking I guess. I couldn't help myself. In a strange way, I admired the two of you together, you and Shawn. Of all the guys at school to have my girl, I thought well, it aught to be him, besides me, I figured he was the only one that deserved you. At the same time I admired you with him, I hoped that something would happen, that he'd - well, break your heart so I could rush in to save you. Long story short, there was a school party, you and he, didn't think anyone was watching you. I was watching. You slipped out of the hall. And I, followed. In my heart, I knew what was going to happen, but I so hoped it wouldn't, thinking maybe you'd tell'em, no ... maybe stop it. In the woods, he kissed you. Laid down his jacket, willingly, you laid there for him, you let him touch you-..."

  "Oh my god Quincy! You watched us!? Oh my god!"

  "I couldn't help myself. I turned away when I realized you were letting him go all the way. That wasn't the only time, you let him a few more times. I always knew when you two were going to make love. I followed a few more times, until - I truly lost hope and gave up any ideas that you and I would be together."

  Christine covered her mouth horrified and humiliated.

  "Next thing I knew, few weeks later, word got out that you and he had split up. That you were seeing his younger brother, Jake. I couldn't believe it. I thought, what? No way? How, why ... why would you choose Jake over Shawn? I never understood that? You know how many guys looked up to him, admired him? Wanted to be like him? You know when he left, took off, how many lives that effected? It was like, the police had gone on strike, like - batman had died. We, those of us who were not fighters, had no where else to run, no one to go to. You remember Byron Scholes? He was always getting beat up."

  She didn't answer, just stared at him.

  "He ran to Jake, looking to him for help. You know what he said to Byron? 'You better run'. You better run." He repeated incredulous, looking away from her a moment thinking back, his eyes moved back to her again. "You chose him, went to him, over Shawn? Man I'm telling you, we all - us runners, couldn't believe any girl would give up, what we saw as our own local hero ... for Jake. Whose only aim was to get into your panties and he did. I don't understand that?"

  "No you don't understand! I didn't mean for it to happen! I didn't mean what happened with Jake to happen. It just did! He started coming around me when Shawn wasn't there. He was funny, cute and - he just, he was so much fun. I looked at him as Shawn's little brother. Thought he was harmless, curious, just messing around. He had this way about him, that made you feel like you wanted to hug him. Like, I don't know ... he was so lively one moment and looked so needy the next. I was hanging with some of my friends, we were all drinking and he shows up on the scene-..."

  "Yes, I know about that as well. He did three of you at once, that true? That's what one of the girls said about him."

  Christine covered her face in shame.

  "It's true then. I knew that it was, because the girl that told it said what you just did. You were all drinking and then you were all over him, all of you. She says three of you dared him to strip down and uh... well, you know the rest. He did."

  "God. Quincy, I was so young and stupid. I was... Shawn was gone with his father out of town somewhere and I felt free that day. I just wanted to have a good time. Gracie raided her parents liquor cabinet and we... then he was there and ... one thing led to another."

  "I know. I know the whole sorted tale. Word got around the school, and they threw it in Shawn's face."

  "I'd only gone with Jake that one time-..."

  "Were you already pregnant?"

  Christine crumbled and start sobbing, "Yes... I was. I was so scared. That's why I just went nuts that day, drinking. I wanted to escape it. Then Shawn came back. I wanted to tell him, but - I wasn't happy with Shawn. He was so - Quincy, he was so old, mean, angry, tense. Lost in thought and always somewhere else. He just - I didn't know how to deal with him. I was too young to deal with him, he was too heavy. I did love him, I just - and then I was pregnant and I saw this future, stuck with him, being unhappy. Few days later, he was gone. He'd taken off. I thought, oh my god. I'm pregnant, what am I going to do?"

  She sat for a spell lost in the past. "My mother caught me throwing up one morning, I was so sick. She went nuts. Demanded to know who the father was. Shawn was gone. So
when she blurted was it that Shawn McPherson, I was so scared I screamed, no. She asked who then, and all I could see was Jake's laughing face. Because he was younger than Shawn, I thought my mother would shake her head and drop it. She didn't, she forced me to go there. To face him, his parents. I was so ashamed, so humiliated, but I'd already said he was the father and so, I couldn't go back on it. I couldn't face her looking at me knowing I'd gone with both of them. So I said, that Shawn and I had only dated, that we never did anything. Oh it was such a horrible mess. It only got worse and worse with every day that went by. I prayed and prayed that Shawn never come back, because if he did... he would know. He would question it. God Quincy, it just - got so out of control."

  "Then why did you let Kevin happen?"

  "I was drunk again! I'd been with a group of girls at a party once more, drinking... wanting to escape. Jake showed up, drinking as well, discovered me there, out drinking, he told me off. That I should be at home taking care of, "our" son. You should have heard the way he said it. He was so sarcastic, nasty. I told him off and he, bullied me. Dragging me out of there to his truck to take me home. I - I was so lonely, and - I - was - all over him. Touching him. Anyway, he - we - I ended up pregnant again, this time certainly by him, with Kevin. When I told him, he didn't believe me. Oh but once again, mother charged in furious saying that one was enough but she'd be dammed if she would be seeing after two. I had to get a job, even though, once more - Bart saw to it that Jake did his part."

  "I figured as much from the talk. Because there was so much of it. They tortured that boy you know. From the moment he stepped out of this house to attend school, he's been beat over the head with your past. Torn and tugged back and forth, made to feel like shit. I tried to sooth him, make him feel good about himself. Tell him - about his real father."

  She looked up at him with tear stained cheeks.