Jimmy (10 page)

Chapter Six

     Alan looked out the window to see if Jimmy was coming back on his bike yet, but his brother was nowhere to be seen, which surprised and frustrated him because the two had planned on playing some more
Goldeneye
the moment he came back home from his bike ride.  That agreement had been several hours ago, however, and he still wasn’t home. 

    
Where the hell does he ride too?
Alan wondered.

     The town of Ashland Creek wasn’t heavily populated but it did encompass quite a bit of space, which was something most people from up in the suburbs didn’t realize.  They thought ‘small town’ meant ‘small area’ but when compared with the suburbs Ashland Creek actually had more landmass.  Most of it was farmland, though, like the suburbs, they also had neighborhoods and a downtown area, both of which were pretty close.  Unlike the suburbs one couldn’t simply hop a fence and be in another town.  Instead one would have to hop a fence, cut through some woods, and then cut through a farm field or two, then cut through more woods.  Once in those woods they would hit a town line of some sorts, but one which they wouldn’t know for sure they had crossed until they entered the scrubland beyond the woods, scrubland that butted up against more farm fields.  A walk like that would take hours, and could be pretty dangerous.  Alan had done it once with friends one summer day many years earlier, all of whom had started vomiting that night thanks to insecticide poisoning from the fields which had just been sprayed.  Ever since then Alan had stuck to the roads when near a farm field and even then he didn’t like to be exposed to the fields for a long time, and always urged whoever was driving to keep the windows closed. 

    
Was Jimmy riding that far?

     Alan couldn’t see why his brother would do that, but then at the same time he couldn’t understand why Jimmy would be riding everyday to begin with.  It just seemed really boring.

    
But maybe he isn’t really riding at all?  Maybe he’s seeing Tina?

     Jimmy was the type that would hide something like this just because he wouldn’t want his parents knowing, though not because they would disapprove, but because they would make fun of him.  It wasn’t mean-spirited teasing, and in fact Alan was pretty sure they didn’t even know they were doing it, but it was still annoying and something Jimmy wouldn’t want to experience.  The question was
why wouldn’t Jimmy tell him about it?
  Getting together with Tina like this would be exciting for him and most likely wouldn’t be something he could hide for very long.  From his parents yes, from Alan, no.  The two were best friends and shared everything with each other.

    
Wait and see.  If he really is seeing Tina when he goes riding he’ll tell you soon.

     With that Alan headed into the living room to watch TV with his parents.  The two were flipping back and forth between
NCIS
and
The Office
.  Actually his father was flipping back and forth, and his mother was telling him to stop because she wanted to see the new episode of
NCIS
which was one of her favorite shows.  Listening to the bickering one would think the family only had the one television set, but like most households they actually had more televisions than members of the family.  This one was just in the best spot of the house.

     Not liking the channel flipping - watching one show during the commercials of another always drove him crazy - Alan sided with his mother in the debate.  His father had the remote, however, which evened out the odds considerably.       

*  *  *

     Brett Murphy grew weary of waiting for the fuck head to return and eventually called off the ambush, one which probably wouldn’t have gone all that well anyway considering they were being so loud that Jimmy would have been warned of their presence.  Before leaving he needed to take a piss and started toward the old shed which stood in the left rear corner of the yard.  Actually the area was so overgrown with weeds and tiny trees that it probably no longer belonged in the yard category and instead was now just part of the woods. 

     “Me too,” Ron said after Brett announced his intention.

     “Same here,” Matt said.

     The two started following.

     Brett went to the corner and started peeing, his spray helping to remove some of the flaking paint from the shed wall.  Ron joined him.  Matt went into the trees.

     “What’s the matter,” Brett called.  “Can’t piss with us!”

     “Yeah, got something we don’t know about going on down there,” Ron added.

     “I call it a penis,” Matt shouted back. 

     Brett laughed for a moment but then realized Matt was making fun of him.  Unfortunately he couldn’t think up a comeback.  Even if he had though Matt would have cut him off.

     “Hey guys, look at this,” Matt said.

     “No thanks,” Ron said.  “Seeing mine is enough.”

     “It’s a bike,” Matt said.

     Brett zipped up and came over.  Sure enough a bike was lying in the brush right next to a tree.

     “Is it his bike?” Matt asked.

     “How the fuck should I know?” Brett asked.

     “You’re the one that saw him riding.”

     “Yeah, but I didn’t like examine his bike, I just saw him and called you guys.”  He shook his head.  “Fucking moron.”

     “Dude, if it’s his bike that means he’s still here so where the fuck is he?”

     “Probably hiding in the trees somewhere,” Matt said.

     “Yeah, he probably saw us and got scared and was waiting for us to leave.”

     “Well, if he wants his bike back he’ll have to come and get it,” Brett said while grabbing hold of the handle and wheeling it back into the yard.

     “Wait, what if it isn’t really his?” Matt asked.  “What if some kid left it here or something and is going to come back for it?”

     “Why the fuck would I care.  Kids should know better than to leave shit like this lying around.  Finders keepers.  Come on, let’s go.”  Brett started wheeling the bike to his car.

*  *  *

     Rebecca was sitting in her room when Tina came back, hands folded in her lap.

     “What are you doing in here?” Tina demanded. 

     “Waiting for you,” Rebecca said.

     “Wait somewhere else, this is my room.” 

     “Well, this is my house.”

     Tina felt heat rising in her face, yet at the same time knew there really was nothing she could do.  If her mother wanted to sit in her room she could.  Still, it pissed her off especially since her father had never disrespected her space and had once even yelled at his girlfriend for going into her room.  The girlfriend had liked the idea of being a ‘mother figure’ to Tina and kept trying to act like one.  Tina, of course, would have nothing to do with it, and one day came home to her room having been searched, the girlfriend thinking she probably was using drugs like most teenagers her age.  Thankfully the two had broken up shortly after that.

     “Fine,” Tina said.  “If you want to sit in this room all night go ahead.  I’ll go somewhere else.”  She grabbed her backpack and purse while saying this and started heading toward the door.

     “So, the prom is this Saturday,” Rebecca said.

     Tina stopped.

     “I have to admit, I was growing curious about whether or not you were going, you know, since you are my daughter and every mother wants their daughter to go and have a good time.”

     Tina looked down at her purse.  Normally she kept it zipped shut, but when she grabbed it from the desk it had been open, a fact which hadn’t registered until that moment.

     She turned around.

     Rebecca was holding her prom ticket, a nasty little smile on her face. 

     “Give that back,” Tina said, her voice barely able to stay calm.

     “Why should I?” Rebecca asked.

     “Because it isn’t yours,” Tina said. 

     “This house isn’t yours yet you feel like you can do whatever you want within it, so maybe I should act the same way.”  She held the ticket up and prepared to rip it in half.

     Tina was about to lash out, but somehow managed to hold it back.  At the same time she wondered if the school kept an electronic record of who had bought the tickets just in case something like this happened. 

     “What, no comments?  No cuss words?  No angry outbursts?”

     “The school knows I bought a ticket,” Tina said.  “If you rip it they’ll just print me a new one.”

     “Even if I call them and tell them I don’t want you to go?” Rebecca asked. 

     “Why would you do that?”

     “Oh I can think of plenty of reasons, but let’s see, what would I tell the school?”  She looked as if she was pondering over several different possibilities.  “Oh, I know.  I’m worried because a girl was kidnapped while walking home and I don’t want the same thing happening to my daughter.”

     Tina didn’t reply.

     “Do you think they would buy that?”

     Tina knew they would.  Schools bent over backwards to accommodate parents, even if what the parents wanted went against the school’s basic principles.  Just last year a teacher in her old school up in Glen Ellyn had told the class about a group of seniors who had cheated on a test somewhere out west and were caught.  The teacher gave them all zeros due to the cheating policy, which in turn made it so they couldn’t graduate.  Once the parents found out they complained and teacher had to allow them to take the test again.   

     “I think they would,” Rebecca continued.  “But even though I am entitled to be that cruel given how poorly you’ve treated me these last several months, all after I welcomed you into my home, I won’t do that.”

    
She hadn’t welcomed her into her home.  The courts had told her she had to take her.
  Tina kept the remark to herself.

     “This is conditional.  If you keep treating me poorly I’ll tell the school you can’t go.  If you respect me and do as I say this week, then on Saturday you can have this back.  Understand?”

     Tina didn’t reply.

     “Understand!”

     “Yes.”  It was everything she could do to not fly across the room and beat the woman to a bloody pulp.

     “Yes, what?” Rebecca asked.

     Tina stared at her, unsure what she wanted.

     “How about a ‘Yes, ma’am.’” Rebecca said. 

     Tina couldn’t believe this.

     “Of course, if you don’t want to respect me as your mother I can always call the school right now,” Rebecca said.

     “Yes, ma’am, I understand,” Tina said. 

     “That’s better.”  Rebecca stood.  “Now I don’t want you coming out of this room tonight unless I give you permission, understand.”

     Again, Tina did not reply.

     “Understand!”

     “Yes, ma’am,” Tina growled.

     Rebecca smiled.  “Don’t act like you have it bad.  You just have to respect me for a few days, I had to respect my Mother her entire life and if I didn’t - well, society was more accepting of physical punishments back then and to this day I can still taste the bars of soap she made me suck on while taking me over her knee.”

     The words were right there.  She wanted so hard to lash out at the woman, but knew doing so would be disastrous. 

     “By the way, what are you wearing to the prom?” Rebecca asked.  “I didn’t see a dress in the closet.”

     “I have a dress being made . . .
ma’am
.”

     “Really?  I hope it is ready in time.  We should go pick it up together.  It will be a nice mother daughter bonding experience.”  With that Rebecca left the room, her hand pulling the door shut behind her. 

     Tina wanted to scream.   

*  *  *

     “Where’s your bike?” Alan asked after meeting Jimmy in the street.  He had been getting a Coke from the kitchen during a commercial and had just happened to look out the window and saw Jimmy walking home.  Knowing something had happened, just not what, Alan hurried outside.

     “Brett took it,” Jimmy said.

     “What?”

     “I set the bike against a tree to pee and I guess he was following me in his car, because all of a sudden he grabbed it.”  Jimmy was obviously pissed off, his anger showing in both his words and his face.

     “Why didn’t you stop him?”

     “Because I was in the middle of peeing and because his friends were there.”  Jimmy shook his head and slammed a fist into his palm.  “I can beat the shit out of any one of them by themselves, but together . . .”

     “Good point.”  Alan could see the three of them overwhelming his brother and then viciously pounding the shit out of him once they had him down.  It would not be an honorable fight, but they wouldn’t care.  Bullies like that never did.  “But now there are two of us so let’s go get it back.”