Growing Pains ✔

Chapter 3

Jamie pushed his way through the bustling lunchtime crowd as he searched for a free table in the cafeteria. Hearing Kevin's voice above the din, he made his way over to his table seeing Lucy already sat there. Kevin gave him a knowing look as he sat down so he guessed Lucy must have agreed to be his date for Scott's party on Saturday night.

'I was telling Lucy about Scott's party,' Kevin said. 'It's gonna be a blast.' Lucy looked at Jamie for confirmation and he shrugged.

'I guess,' he said taking a bite of his sandwich.

Lucy frowned, turning her dark eyes on him. 'You don't sound very convinced.'

He could see Kevin silently imploring him to be more enthusiastic. 'Nah it'll be great. I'm just mentally playing it off as low key so I don't slip up in front of mom.'

Lucy smiled. 'Right, Aunt Lottie does get a little overwrought at times.'

Jamie nodded. If anyone else had said that it would have annoyed him but he knew Lucy loved his mom.

'Who gets overwrought at what?' a loud voice demanded.

They all grimaced as John Junior joined them, bringing a reluctant Laura with him. 'Okay if we sit here?' he asked sitting down anyway.

They moved up to make more room, and Jamie could see Laura was uncomfortable as she squeezed around the table next to John.

'I was just saying Jamie's mom can be a bit of a worrier, that's all,' Lucy said her eyes meeting John's.

John grinned. 'I'll say. I don't know how my mom copes listening to her at times, no offence Jamie.'

Jamie pulled a face but refused to react to the provocation.

'What do you mean?' Lucy asked, a small frown marring her features. For once Jamie willed John on; let's see what Lucy thought of his snide comments about his mom?

John shrugged and lowered his voice. 'Jamie you know I love your mom right?' Jamie raised an eyebrow. 'But she's kinda not stable. I mean it's to be expected after what your dad put her through, my mom's had to prop her up a lot.'

Jamie smiled through gritted teeth, Lucy however reacted.

'That's not true, not in the slightest!' She turned to Jamie her eyes flashing. 'Don't just sit there and let him talk shit about your mom.'

'It's water off a duck's back,' he said seeing Laura was watching them all closely. 'Ignore him, Luce.'

Lucy glared at John. 'You know I could probably tell you a few stories about your mom, but I'm not going to cos I have some class. I'll say one thing though, Charlotte's worth ten of her.'

John's jaw twitched in-perceptively and Kevin cleared his throat. 'Hey guys, can we knock this off, we were talking about Scott's party before you came along.'

Jamie frantically shook his head at Kevin but it was too late, John had heard.

'Party, what party?' he asked Kevin, forgetting that he normally didn't give him the time of day on account of him being ginger.

'Scott's having a party, I thought you'd have heard.' He shot Jamie an apologetic look.

'Cool, I'll be there. You wanna come with me, Laura?' He turned his full attention to Laura, and Jamie saw her cheeks flush.

'I haven't been invited.' She looked down at the table, her discomfort obvious.

John smiled. 'I'm inviting you, babe.'

'But it's not your party,' she said her brows furrowing.

John laughed at her indulgently. 'Hey, Scott! Are we on for this party on Saturday?' he hollered across the cafeteria to Scott who was still standing in line. Scott mouthed back something that was probably his assent. Jamie knew he wouldn't say no to John, if anything he'd probably hope John would bring some popular kids, popular girls, along.

'There you go Laura, it's all sorted.' John smiled at her, and she looked back at him blankly. Jamie suspected she wanted to turn down his offer of a date, except it wasn't really an offer, more of a command.

'What about Debbie?' Jamie asked playing dumb. 'I thought she was your girlfriend?'

John's smile widened. 'We split up.'

'Does she know that?'

'It's in hand.' John stretched out as if he were bored. 'Don't worry about my love life, worry about your own. Oh I forgot, you don't have one.'

'Whatever.' Jamie yawned, and Laura shot him a sympathetic look. He smiled thinking she wasn't half as keen on John as he'd like to think. Possibly she didn't like him at all.

'You know your mom was pretty popular in school,' John continued trying to get a rise out of him. 'I guess you don't take after her.'

'I guess not.' He refused to react to John's needling.

'There are more important things in life than being popular,' Lucy said. 'Don't be so superficial.'

'You're not popular though, so what would you know,' John retorted.

Jamie's hackles went up, he didn't know why John was trying to get at Lucy, and since their parents were all friendly he'd expect him to reign it in.

'Knock it off John,' he said coming to Lucy's defence. 'You're not funny.'

John scowled at him. 'I didn't say I was funny, I was making an observation. Like your mom and Lou were really popular in school. According to my mom, they were like the golden couple or something.' John laughed and Jamie shrugged, it was old news his mom and Louis had dated at some point during high school.

'Well I think it's romantic how they wound up together again,' Lucy said turning to Laura. 'Jamie's mom ended up back with her childhood sweetheart, don't you think that's cute?'

'I guess,' Laura said looking confused by the conversation.

'It's not cute though is it?' John said getting into his stride. 'Lou had to rescue her from Jamie's real dad.'

Jamie remained silent, he wasn't sure of the details but he knew that was wrong. His mom had left his dad before Louis had come back on the scene.

'I'm not sure you know what you're talking about,' Lucy said.

John shrugged. 'I guess I went off on a tangent, but it's no secret. Jamie's dad used to batter his mom and-'

'What are you on about?' Jamie demanded his eyes wide.

'You don't know? Don't you remember?' John's voice lowered an octave as if he'd suddenly lost his confidence.

'Remember what?'

 They all turned their eyes on John, and his eyes flitted to Jamie uncertainly.

'Your dad used to hit your mom, that's why they split up,' he said swallowing. 'Come on, you must remember?'

Jamie pressed his fingers to his temple trying to think. His parents hadn't got along, he knew that. He remembered them arguing, he remembered them shouting. His mom had said she'd got married too young at nineteen, and with his father being nearly ten years older they were at different life stages.

He looked up at John. 'I don't remember anything like that, so what makes you so certain?'

John's eyebrows knotted together. 'I heard it, Jamie, you must have too, when our moms were talking. When we were little, remember?'

Jamie rubbed his head, normally he'd let John's words wash over him. However there was something about what John was saying, something about his hesitancy, that told him there had to be a grain of truth in there somewhere. But if there was, why couldn't he remember, and why had his mom lied to him for all these years?

                                                                    ~~~