The Hidden Life

The Hidden Life Chapter five

Chapter 5 Digging up DirtEarly in December, it snowed a lot, about 4 inches in all in one night. I woke and saw the window behind my bed covered in the wet stuff. I got dressed as fast as possible and dug through my closet for my boots. I was at the door about to leave when mom stopped me as I was putting on my jacket. "Hey sweetie, you coming home right after school or do you have plans?" "Yeah I have plans, I'm going to rob the best candy store in all of New York for their sweet and sour gummies. I'll be home after I make bail.'' She just stood there shaking her head at me. "Well after that come home, I found my wedding dress if you really want to see it." I give mom one of my rare smiles and grabbed my bag. "Sure, just tell me, does it have shoulder pads?" She shooed me out the door after that and told me to go learn something worth learning. It took me ten minutes to brush off my truck and another 15 to warm it up. I must ask Jack for one of those self starters for it. One Friday, Jesse and I go to the library to look up Jimmy Burdatte but no luck. We go to the courthouse but it costs money just to look at the papers. It's like ten bucks a page. (And that is cheap for New York.) So we gave up on that fast because neither of us has over a hundred bucks. Hell, I don't even have five on me. (Which reminds me, I must ask dad for money soon, running low.) I thought of an idea when I was in woodshop, I was working on a box for mom so I can give her something come Christmas morning. I'm sanding all the rough parts when it hit me. Really, it hit me. Someone threw something at my head. (Who throws stuff in woodshop?) I thought, what if Jimmy Burdatte went to school here? I stopped sanding the box and went to Miss.Towning to ask for a pass to talk to Lamberg about something. She gives me the pass without asking what I did wrong. I can never do anything wrong to Miss. Towning, she is my favorite teacher ever, once she let me smoke cause she knew I was stressed out. I was going down the hall to Lamberg's office when I saw Jesse in math class. I grabbed Jesse from math so we can talk to our fearless leader Lamberg. We get to the main office and look around for the office person but all we see is a blond head behind the table. Up came Scrubbs behind the big tacky yellow table. "What did you do to be sent here Rosemen and whoever you are? Did you steal him away from a girl like you did with Jack?" I'm about to tell her off when Jesse said something. "No and you need to get over that really, how long has it been?" Scrubbs is really pissed off now. "That ring should be mine!!!!" Scrubbs tried to climb over the table to grab the ring off my neck. Lamberg came out of her office to see why Scrubbs was yelling. "I should have known why Starla was yelling. Rosemen, my office now!!" My cousin and I went into the office and sat down in plaid chairs. She must have kept them from when she was a kid and they were in style. This was probably back before they made chairs and everyone had to sit on rocks. "What did you do this time Rosemen and why do you have some boy with you? If she tried to run you over I'm so sorry, please make sure your mom and dad don't sue.'' Jesse got the picture of his dad out of his back pocket. (He must carry that everywhere.)"This man is my father. His name is Jimmy Burdatte. He left my mom and me when I was six months old. I want to find him. Meredith thought he might have gone to school here a long time ago. My mother said that he lived here most of his life. Can you please check for me?" Miss. Lamberg gave back the picture to him. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm not promising anything young man. Give me a few weeks and I'll see what I can do. And Mr.Rosemen try not to get into trouble.'' Jesse smiled and laughed. "It's hard to stay out of trouble when it's your family Miss. Lamberg." We both laughed while going out the door. Scrubbs was looking at us like we were crazy. "You know if you didn't throw fits like a two year old then maybe you would have a guy like Jack too.'' Jesse said to the devil cheerleader. "Wow! I didn't know you had a mouth on you like that." I said to Jesse closing the door of the office. "I was just waiting for the right person to piss me off." I laughed and patted his back. We go to our next classes. Later that day, Angel and I are in her living room doing homework. I still haven't told her about Jack and me sleeping together over a month ago. I would have had a better chance at telling Klaus without him going crazy on me. Who would he tell? his dog friends at the park? Knowing Angel, she would ask a million and one questions about it all in one breath. "Do you have the answer to # 16 for English? The Question is: How did Kevin die at the end of The Mighty?'' Angel tried to look at my paper to get the answer. "The answer is: His heart got too big for his body and he went in his sleep. What a sad way to go. At least he wasn't in pain. Angel wrote down the answer I gave her. "Hold on, you are on the last question already?'' She just smiled and shook her head no. She went on working backwards; she always does that. Maybe if they had school that way, Angel would do things normal but then again she wouldn't be Angel. "What are you going to do for the history paper?" Angel asked me. I had to think of it for a minute or two. "I'm thinking of doing it on the group for parents of gay children. The group started in the 70s I think. I'm sure I can get four or more pages out of that." The bird Rainbow must be listening to us cause it wants to talk too. "Meredith is gay, Meredith is gay." That bird knows how to piss off the people around it. I know he doesn't know better but sometimes you really want to kill him. Angel and I laugh at him. Just then Robby (Angel's brother and Matt jr's best friend) comes into the room. Robby has been best friends with my brother since the first grade. They have been nothing but trouble ever since they used to tag team and try to look up girl's dresses. "Hey Rosemen, is your brother home? I need to talk to him about something. God I hate that damn bird." I look up from my homework to look at Robby. "How would I know if he is home or not? I have been here since school let out. Call him or something, he might be hanging out with the dog or a girl." Robby nodded at me. He took his phone out and texted my brother. "Meredith is gay, Meredith is gay!!!" Rainbow yelled again. "Is Rainbow telling the truth Rosemen?" I threw a pillow at him and yelled No! He walked out of the room, laughing his head off. He might be Angel's brother but I think she was adopted because there is no way they are from the same bloodline. We finish off our homework and start talking about this and that. "So are you and Jack going to wait until your wedding night or are you guys going to, you know, get it over with? Cause if you wait you might be waiting for disappointment." She sang the last part. I do my famous eye roll on her. "For your info, it wasn't a disappointment it was amazing!'' Angel's mouth and soda fell to the floor. She picked it up within seconds and started to rant at me. "You and Jack have....? When, where, how? I mean I know how." I just sit there and wait for her to be done so I can answer her thousand and one questions. I should have just told Klaus. Dang it. "That is our business. All you need to know is that I wouldn't need a shotgun wedding at the end of nine months." Just then Angel gave me my eye roll!! How dare she? Really I made the eye roll a thing and now she is stealing it for me. Some best friend. I'm just kidding. I love Angel. She is crazy in a good way. The bird wanted to weigh in too. Rainbow started yelling again, "Meredith got laid and gay, Meredith got laid and gay!!" I got up and walked over to him wanting to kill him but then I'll have to get Angel a new pet. And I don't think she'll want Klaus. She still hates him for freaking her out. That is why we are at her house instead of mine. I'm sure if we went to my place she would have killed him. Either way I might have to owe someone a new pet. "One more word from you and you'll be on the grill. You got that bird?" I threw a blanket over him so he'll go to sleep. All week Jesse was going crazy. I swear he is worse then Klaus when he has to go out. And Klaus runs everywhere in the house telling someone to let him out. I wanted to ask dad if we can send him to the hospital to sedate him. But Dad wouldn't hear of it even though he was at his ends trying to get Jesse to chill out. I'm just hoping he won't do anything rash when Lamberg tells him if she has info on his dad or not. I try to be nice and not kill him or worse. But I'm sure if I did then he would tell everyone about Arianna. I also try to stay away from her and when she tries to come around me I kiss Jack. We were hanging out in the cafeteria at lunch sharing our food. I know how cute are they? Gross me green. I really hate those kinds of couples. Every time I see them I want to throw up. "You want some of my pizza babe?" I ask Jack who is sitting on the table and I'm sitting on the bench part of the table. He looks at it for a second then grabs a fry on my tray. "Pineapple and ham on pizza? I may love you Meredith but that is gross." I grab the pizza and take a bite from it. Yeah I'm one of those people who love pineapple and ham on pizza. I know it's odd but since you have met my family already you know how normal I am. "Says the man who loves deep fried peppers covered with cheese and sour cream." Jack laughed at me when I gave him a grossed out look. Then Jack kissed my forehead sweetly. "Don't knock it until you try it hon." I roll my eyes at him seeing if I can get him to laugh again. I love Jack's laugh. We start kissing each other kind of heavy but sweetly. "Get a room you two people are trying to eat here!!!" My sister yells at us. "We would but mom and dad won't let us use your room to have fun in." Maddie gets grossed out and storms off in her six inch heels. Everyone laughs at her thinking she might fall over. Stella Wills comes over, holding Tyler Overwood's hand. "We want to thank you again Meredith. If you wouldn't have told me that plan Tyler and I would have never fell in love.'' Tyler just stands there not saying anything but nods his head. Stella already has him whipped. I stood up and grabbed my tray and my bag. "Just don't blame me when it all goes to hell. Got it Wills?'' She nods her head yes and the happy couple goes into the building. I was hanging out in the computer lab trying to do research for my history paper due at the end of the week. I don't know where to start so I go to ask.com and type the history of gay pride. A crap load of things pop up on the computer. I start going through it all because it's mostly about what famous person is gay or not. The dad from the Brady Bunch was gay and died of aids. I keep looking until an ad came up about a doctor who says she can cure gayness. I clicked on it and started reading more about her. The doctor is a M.D and a P.H.D, her name is Dr. Jena Klein. She is small and nice looking with glasses and short blond hair. I kept reading until I heard a voice. It was Arianna Graceson wanting to talk to me and she finally cornered me, dang it. "What are you doing?" She sat down next to me. "I'm doing research for a paper due at the end of the week. So if you don't mind I'd like to get back to it, okay? Can you please leave?" I asked her rudely. I go back to doing research for the paper when she sees the doctor on the computer. "She really doesn't help at all, she just gives you shock treatments. I should know, my mom wanted me to do that but my dad said no.'' She tried to kiss me but I pulled away from her. "Oh come on, it's not like someone can see us. What are you afraid of?" I blow out a lot of air. "Everyone can see us. It's a room with windows or haven't you noticed? Now please leave. Go now!!" She grabbed her things and ran off to do God knows what. I went back to doing schoolwork and started listening to my favorite music station. I was mostly listening to it to clear my mind of Arianna and her sweet scent of apple and some kind of flower.When I got home from school, my mom and sister were planning my wedding without me. It seems they got like 90% of it done. But dad says no wedding until after college like way after, like when he is six feet in the ground. I guess he doesn't want to see his little girl get married. (He really shouldn't worry, I'm sure Maddie will marry at least 4 times before her 30th birthday.) My sister made herself maid of honor. Who does she think she is really? Hell, I'm not sure if I can wear white or not. Later on, I'm in my room doing my paper and other things when a knock and a bark were at my door. You know as well as I do know who was at my door. If those who don't know it was Jesse and Klaus. "Enter if you dare." The both of them came in without closing the door behind them. Jesse and Klaus sat on my bed. Jesse had his hands in his jean pockets. (I can tell his hands were balled up.) "I saw you today at school." I turn around and look at him. "Yeah we go to the same one or haven't you noticed?'' He gets up and sighs. "I saw you with her again in the computer lab. When she tried to kiss you." I saved my paper and closed out. "I'm trying to get her to leave me alone. She won't. I like her but she is going to make someone get hurt. I've never been tested before." (Well I have but that was when I didn't know the difference between boys and girls.) He walked around in my room looking at the chipped paint on my bed. "I guessed that. But you need to tell someone before she screws up your life. What about Jack? If you don't tell Uncle Matt I'll understand because well he is Uncle Matt. But you got to tell someone other than me." I walked over and patted Klaus's head. "Klaus I'm cheating on my boyfriend with a girl. How do you feel about that?" He braked, saying something in dog. "I mean other than Klaus too. Try to tell someone like J.G." He went to his room after he said that to me. Weeks past and before Holiday break Scrubbs came on the P.A. "Will Jesse Rosemen and the Slut, oops I mean Meredith Rosemen come to the office?" I get up from my chair in study hall. I dropped a note on Jack's table and went to the office. "Hey babe I was wondering if you want to have a late night gift switch tonight. I'll be there at 11:30pm. Love Meredith." I got to the office right after Jesse and Lamberg came out of her office and waved us in. "It took a lot of looking but I found him. There wasn't a lot of info on him just he was in trouble a lot and in/out of jail a bunch of times. The last known address is a boarding house in Manhattan." We thanked Miss. Lamberg and left. I guess she isn't so bad for an uptight person. Maybe if she smoked she'd chill out. Jesse and I texted back and forth all day long trying to figure out how this meeting of father and son will happen. Every year the Rosemen's go to the Nutcracker on Christmas eve. We have been doing this since I was three. I used to fall asleep in the first hour of it. You are probably thinking what person takes three children to something like that. But then again, you have met my mother and father. Later that night as planned I went to Jack's to give him his gift early for Christmas since the McKinney's are going out of town to visit Jack's sister. I don't know which one or cared. This year I'm giving him two gifts. A watch with his name on the front of it and in it is: "I love you." The other gift is well that is between Jack and myself. I'm not going to say just in case someone like your mom and dad are reading over your shoulder. (Made you look. Ha-ha.) He was been wanting a pocket watch for a while now. He gave me a locket with the initials M.A.R on it. It was gold very beautiful. It felt more like a choker than anything but I like things like that. I spent the night again at his house in his bed with him. It was nice to be curled up to him listening to his heartbeat against my ear. I fell asleep to it. I was up before the sun and dressed.I got in my room before the sun was up. I only got back to sleep when my brother was at my door telling me to get up. I did as I was told and headed to the kitchen for food. Klaus was going crazy trying to get ham off the table. He must be hungry. I grabbed the ham and tore it in half for him. I made him sit and gave it to him. "Meredith, you know the rules. Klaus, bad dog." My dad said to both of us. When he turned around to get coffee I gave Klaus the rest of the ham. "Has anyone put food in his bowl? Jesse you need to keep him fed or he'll have dad's shoes again." Dad gave me a weird look and went back to his coffee. Everyone went to their normal things for the day until about three, then dad told all of us to get ready to leave soon about 4:45pm for dinner and the Nutcracker. My sister took an hour to get ready, most of it was in the bathroom so I used Jesse's. He was in and out in five minutes. I know it's weird, my saying this but it's nice to have two more males in the house. It evens things out. (Even though one is a dog and licks himself in front of the family.)Plus with someone in the guest bathroom I can use it when I need it. I'm just happy Jesse isn't using my magazines anymore to do "things'' with. I had to throw the one he used out before I got to read it. Which sucks, because they had ways to fix your hair a nice way like they did in the '50s. It's kind of cool but thanks to Jesse and his love for himself I don't know how to fix my hair that way. Maybe mom will know. (Yes I think my mother and father are old. But that is just a normal teenager thing.) We go to the show and have a great time. This time I fell asleep almost at the end, sorry, but the thing is like four hours long and since I held out longer than dad says a lot.When we get home it's late and we have an early day tomorrow opening gifts and such. My mom and dad have a whole day planned for us. First it's pancakes with real butter and whipped cream. (That only happens on Christmas mostly it is health food stuff. Unless you are dad who hides the cookies in the veggie box in the fridge) We open gifts and watched the Wonderful Life movie. Klaus didn't like the movie at all, he kept crying all through it. On Christmas we eat a lot of junk food and cookies and other things. The rest of the year it's fend for yourself. I know, what a great family I have, right? Really anyone wants a smart mouth kid give me a call soon before college. All night of the play my father talked non stop about my going to college next year. He wants me to go to Harvard for whatever reason but with my grades and my record I'll be lucky to get into my choices as is. (Harvard isn't on my list.) I want to be a cop for New York but if dad found out he'll go ape shit on me. But I guess it's cause he would rather have me married and popping out kids as fast as I can. But I want to do something worthwhile. I'm still waiting for an answer from Dartmouth and Hudson U. I sent in my paper work and my s.a.t scores in without looking at them I know I should have but I thought if I did I would jinx myself that way. I know I did well. I'm always studying well sometimes when I'm not trying to help Jesse or hanging out with Jack. I'm sure I'll get in somewhere, unlike my brother who didn't take the S.A.Ts at all, just went to junior college. The reason he went there is to party and nothing else. He took a year off and went to L.A to try to become a surfer. You can see that didn't work out. Robby went with him for support or just to check out girls half naked on the beach. (Typical guy thing, that or the hair dye finally went to his brain.)They said they were looking at colleges down there. My mom and dad should have been tipped off when Matt jr said: "I'm going to see if they have a good math class in advance placement." (It would be like if Maddie said that she wanted to be a part of S.T.E.M and be a scientist.) As for my sister for college I don't know. She might get lucky and not have to go at all. The spoiled little pain. As for Jesse I'm not sure. But I'm sure dad will try to get them to go into banking like him and my mom. It seems that is the only reason they had kids is so they can have a family owned bank where all the kids behave and not fight. Sorry but that only happens on tv shows like Full House and 7th Heaven. Okay maybe not those shows where those kids fought like cats and dogs all the time. My mom and dad wanted a perfect family. What a bore, right? If you ask me any day your kids aren't trying to kill one another is a good day to have. If anyone reading that probably agrees with it. If not then I want to meet your "PERFECT" family.