Raising The Jarvis Twins

Raising The Jarvis Twins {4}

                The boys were sitting down with us now and we started to eat. “How’s school boys?” dad asked them with a smile. “It’s good granda,” Shawn replied. He and Shane still called my dad their “granda”, although they called Ali’s dad grandpa.

                “How about for you Shane?” dad asked. “G-G-Good,” he stuttered quietly. “How’s school for you Jey?” Ali asked with a smile. She and Jey got along a ton better now, and it really made me happy.

                “It’s good. My grades are pretty good.” “High honor roll,” dad said proudly. “Just like you Benny!” I smiled at Jeydyn. “That’s great!” I said honestly and she blushed. “Dad!” she said and laughed a little when he just gave her a proud smile.

                “So boys, impress me. Tell me some things you’ve learned,” dad said, smiling at them again. I smiled softly. He was so good to my boys. I loved my dad so, so much. He was a great man, he really was.

                “We’re learning about parts of the cell!” Shawn said eagerly. “Really? What are some of the parts of a cell?” dad asked, pretending to be truly curious. “Uh…nucleus!” Shawn said, even though he probably had no idea what the nucleus did.

                “M-M-M-Mitoc-c-c-chondria is the p-p-powerhouse of the c-cell,” Shane said before taking a sip of his chocolate milk. “Very good Shane!” Jeydyn said with a smile. Shane blushed.

                “What are some things you’ve learned in school Shane?” dad asked him. “I l-learned w-w-what juxtaposition m-means,” he said, saying the word very slowly to keep from stuttering. Now dad and Jeydyn actually did seem impressed.

                Dad glanced at me and smiled widely. “Smart, just like your dad,” he said and Shane looked at me in shock. I smiled at him. “Shane’s very smart!” I said, pride in my voice. His eyes widened a little.

                I saw Shawn looking on with jealously but ignored it for now. I had to talk to him tonight anyways about his language and behavior in school.

                After we finished dinner, we all watched a few movies together before dad said they had to get going. He hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek. “Bye kiddo. Call me if you need me and we’ll do this again real soon.” He smiled. “I love you, very much Benny.” I kissed his cheek. “Bye dad. I love you.”

                Over the years, my dad had helped me feel comfortable hugging and saying “I love you” again. I was grateful to him for that. I hated that awkward tensing up whenever he used to hug me.

                He moved to say bye to Ali and the boys and Jeydyn came over to me. “Ben, please don’t ever say anything like that again,” she said quietly. “Jey, I’m just speaking the truth. I’m sorry. I was stupid as a teenager. That’s why I don’t want you to make the same mistakes as me,” I said gently and pulled her in for a hug.

                “I love you so much Ben. You’re my brother. You raised me. You can’t die young. You just can’t! I wouldn’t be able to live without you Ben!” She held me tightly as she spoke. I leaned down and kissed her. “I love you so much Jeydyn. I’d do anything to be on this Earth for you as long as you needed me. But life’s not fair and things don’t work that way. Right now, I’m fine. So don’t think about it, okay? I’m here and I’m staying,” I promised her. She kissed me again before leaving the house with dad.

                I went upstairs a few minutes later to find Shawn and talk to him. “Daddy?” I glanced at Shane. “Yea buddy?” I asked. “A-Are you r-r-r-really p-p-proud of m-m-me?” he asked quietly. “Of course I am Shane! You’re a brilliant and well behaved young man,” I said, leaning down and hugging him to me.

                He smiled softly. “I l-love you d-d-dad,” he said and hugged me back tightly. “I love you too Shane,” I said and kissed him. I got up and he smiled at me before going into his room.

                I went into the boys’ room after him and smiled a little. Shane was listening intently to Occupy ALL Streets by JJ Demon. “Do you know what this is about Shane?” I asked him. He nodded. “The W-W-Wall street m-movement. S-S-Something ab-b-bout r-r-rich p-people being 1 per-percent,” he said.

                “Who cares,” Shawn grumbled. “A lot of people do,” I said. He was sitting on his bed with his arms crossed. “Shawn. We need to talk,” I said seriously. “I don’t wanna.” “I don’t care. You’re going to shut up and listen to me, got it?”

                He glared. “You are NOT to use that dirty language in school. Got it? If I find out you’re swearing in school, I’ll literally wash your mouth out with soap and spank you so hard you won’t sit for 3 weeks. And did you copy off Shane?” Shawn shook his head. “No!”

                I looked at Shane. “Was he copying off you?” Shane glanced at Shawn nervously. I saw Shawn give him a threatening look out of the corner of my eye. “N-N-N-N-N-N…” He was stuttering so bad he couldn’t even get the word out.

                I held up my hand. “Stop. I have my answer. Don’t lie for him Shane. Your teacher already told me he was cheating anyways.” Shawn blushed. “You lied to me Shawn. You’re in a lot of trouble,” I said, giving him an accusing look. “So you and I are going to do your homework together and study every night. Understand?” He bitterly nodded.

                “And you will treat all adults with respect, no matter what. Understand me?” Another bitter nod. “And if I ever find out you’re bullying other kids, so help me god you’ll regret it Shawn!” I growled dangerously. Now he nodded timidly.

                I turned to Shane. “Come here Shane,” I said. Shane got up and curiously followed me out of their room. I led him to my room and he took a seat on my bed. “Shane…is anyone picking on you?”

                He froze. He began that terrible stutter again that made my heart go out to him. “Shane, stop,” I said weakly. “You stutter like that when you lie. Who picks on you?” He shook his head and tried to speak again, stuttering so bad I couldn’t even understand him.

                “Shane, please calm down and tell me,” I begged. “N-N-N-N-N-N-No O-O-O-O-One,” he managed after taking a few calming breaths. “You’re lying,” I whispered. He shook his head but I could see it in his eyes.

                He tried to speak again but he stuttered so bad that I again couldn’t understand him. I took a deep breath and bit my lip. “Shane, please tell me who’s picking on you. I want to help you,” I said gently.

                He attempted to speak but couldn’t. He shut his mouth and burst into tears. I moved to him and held him to me tightly. “N-N-No Wuh-Wuh-One,” he whispered desperately.

                I stroked his hair and held him until he had stopped crying. “Shane, if you don’t tell me, I’ll find out on my own. Either way, I’ll find out. If you ever need to talk to me, don’t be afraid to. Okay?” I said softly and kissed his forehead.

                He nodded weakly and jumped off the bed. “Shane,” I called as he went to leave. He turned back to me. “Is it because of your stutter?” He dropped his eyes to ground. “T-T-There’s suh-suh-some-t-thing wrong with m-m-me dad,” he whispered.

                “No there is not,” I said fiercely. “Don’t you ever think that Shane. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. And mom and I love you very much, even if you stutter. So what? A lot of people stutter. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.”

                But his head was still dropped in defeat. He left the room without another word and I collapsed back on my bed. I had to find some way to protect my stuttering son and fix my bratty son.