Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
When everything seemed to be going good in my life, my biological father always liked to show up to shake things up for me. I was somewhat surprised when I received a text message from him asking me to meet up because I hadn’t seen Jake in almost a year. The last time I saw him, he was drunk at Thanksgiving and going on and on about how he was going to get sober. He promised the following morning to take me shopping for Black Friday. I waited for hours on my front porch for him to come.
That was what Jake did—made promises he couldn’t keep. I couldn’t count the number of times as a kid I’d waited on my front porch for Jake to take me out for bonding time. He’d hardly ever shown up, and when he did, he was too wasted to drive.
Jake was a sports guy. He’d tell me all about his favorite teams, so as a kid, they became my favorites, too, because I wanted to have something in common with him. During the holidays, I’d buy him jerseys for the teams he loved and matching ones for myself. He’d talk about how he’d take me to games down in Chicago, and I’d sit on the porch wearing those jerseys waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Over time, I started waiting less, but I still waited, just like that afternoon. He called and asked if I wanted to catch a movie with him, and a big part of my mind told me to ignore him. Unfortunately, my stupid heart said to give him one more try.
Dad was always vouching for me to give Jake chances. After all, he was his cousin. Dad said family mattered more than anything. Mom said family only mattered as long as they didn’t do you dirty. Clearly, my parents had different viewpoints on Jake being in my life.
I sat on the front step of my porch, and I was somewhat shocked when I saw Jake pull up in a car. Not only did he show up, but he had a nice vehicle in tow. Normally, he’d ask to borrow one of Dad’s.
“If it isn’t my favorite kid,” Jake said as he walked toward me. I didn’t like when he called me his kid. It reminded me of how he and I were somewhat connected forever.
He held his arms out with enthusiasm, and even though I worked hard not to get excited about seeing that man, my inner child was doing cartwheels. A part of me still craved a connection with him. I felt wanted when he showed up. I felt unwanted when he didn’t. The scale of wanted and unwanted with Jake was tipping heavily in the unwanted direction.
“Hey, Jake,” I said, pulling him into a hug.
“Holy shit, man. When did you turn into the Incredible Hulk?” He pounded his hands against my biceps. “I need you to train me in the gym.”
“We could do that,” I quickly replied. My mind instantly started daydreaming about what it could’ve been like to get Jake into the gym with me.
Damn that hope. It still existed.
“Yeah, man. You look good.” He patted my arms. “You want to head to a diner for some lunch?”
“I thought you wanted to go see that new movie.”
“Definitely. My schedule is a bit more jam-packed than I thought it would be. I have an interview for a job that I gotta make later this afternoon.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, let’s grab a bite. I didn’t know you had a new car.”
Jake walked over to it and put his hands on the top of the hood. “Yeah. Your old man hooked me up with the down payment for it. I’m gonna pay him back once I get this job.”
“My husband did what now?” Mom said, walking out onto the front porch to catch the conversation with Jake. She crossed her arms, wearing her “I’m annoyed” expression.
“Shit, I wasn’t supposed to mention that. Hey, Laurie. You’re looking good as always.”
“Mm-hmm,” Mom groaned. “Where are you taking my son?”
“How about some wings?” Jake said, snapping his fingers toward me. “You still like barbecue wings from West’s?”
I hadn’t been to West’s since I was twelve years old. That was the last time Jake and I had a one-on-one situation.
“Yeah, love it there,” I agreed.
“I’ll have him back in no time, Laurie,” Jake promised.
“I’m sure you will,” she replied as she walked over to me. She pulled me into a hug and held on tight. “Call me if you need me.”
“I won’t need anything. I’ll be back soon. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too. Have fun and be safe.” She kissed my cheek, and then Jake and I were off and away.
As we drove, Jake was distracted by any and everything. He had one cigarette dangling from his mouth, one hand on the steering wheel, and the other messing around with the radio. “You want a cig?” he offered.