Growing Pains ✔

Chapter 4

Jamie sat quietly as Louis drove him to the party at Scott's house. He'd wangled an invitation to stop over at Scott's to spare himself the interrogation from his mom as soon as he got home. Or worse, the risk of her calling and telling him it was time to come home, embarrassing him in front of his friends. 

'I could have walked,' he suddenly said to Louis trying to engage him in conversation.

Louis glanced over at him. 'I thought you kids considered walking on a par with child abuse,' he said smiling at his own joke.

'I'm not a kid though,' Jamie said building himself up to what he really wanted to talk to Louis about. 'I would have walked.'

He saw Louis frown slightly and he realised he probably sounded like he was going to make a pitch for a car. He wouldn't ask Lou for a car though, he probably would be more open to persuasion than his mom but it didn't seem right somehow. Louis had taken him on, and in many ways he had been more of a father to him than his own dad whose interest was fleeting at best.

'Lou,' he said starting again. 'Can I ask you something?' Louis's eyes flitted to him momentarily and then back to the road before he nodded. 'John Lombardo was talking at school the other day, he said you rescued mom from my dad. Is that right cos I don't remember you being around back then?'

Louis's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Rescued her?' He let out a laugh. 'I don't think your mom would need rescuing from anyone. No, Junior's got that all wrong. I was still in Vietnam when your mom left your dad, it was a while after your parents split up when we met again. Don't you remember living with your uncle Sam?'

Jamie nodded, he had distant memories of sharing the tiny, cramped house with his uncle. He and his mom had had to sleep in the same room, and at the time he'd liked it cos she was the last person he'd see at night and the first one he'd see in the morning. His abiding memory was of feeling safe, alone in that room with her. He struggled to remember much of anything before then; the memories were there, in the recesses of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp them.

'Yeah, I remember when we lived with Sam. But I thought maybe you and mom were already together then and you hid it from me.'

Louis knotted his eyebrows together and Jamie could tell he was deep in thought.

'We didn't get together when we first met up again,' he finally said. 'But I did start seeing your mom while she was still living with Sam, and we probably did keep it from you to start with. You were only five and Lottie didn't want you to get confused. But I definitely wasn't with your mom when she was still with your father.'

Jamie nodded and they sat in silence. He noticed that as usual Lou avoided saying his dad's name, he never slated him but Jamie could sense his animosity. Much as he wanted to ask him about it, he wanted more to find out why John had said what he did.

He coughed awkwardly, before speaking. 'So why do you think John would say that then?'

Louis laughed, visibly relaxing. 'He's not the brightest of kids, he probably heard half a conversation and got confused.'

'I think there might be something else he got confused about.'

Louis parked up and looked at him inquiringly as he turned off the engine. 'And what's that?'

'John said my dad used to beat up mom.'

Jamie saw a shadow cross Louis's face, the laughter lines disappearing in an instant. He waited for him to speak, watching his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

'I'm not sure what that kid's on about,' Louis said looking through the windscreen and not at Jamie. 'I mean it's no secret your mom and dad had a bad marriage, that's why they're divorced, and that worked out pretty well for me.' He laughed briefly but Jamie could tell there was no real humour in it. 'Don't pay any attention to Junior, what would he know, he was just a kid himself back then.'

Jamie frowned contemplating Lou's words, they weren't exactly a firm denial.

'I remember my mom crying,' he said hesitantly. 'When we lived with dad, at night I'd sometimes hear her crying.'

Louis turned to him and Jamie tried to read the expression on his face. It wasn't anger, more like pity or sorrow.

'Jamie it was a bad marriage, it was a very difficult time for your mom.' Louis glanced out the window again and spotted Lucy walking towards Scott's house. 'What has she got on her feet? She'll break her ankles in those shoes.' He shook his head chuckling at Lucy's platform heels. Jamie recognised the cue to change the subject.

'You sound like you're fifty Lou.'

Louis shrugged. 'I feel like it some days.' He smiled slightly. 'I'll just get out to say hello to Lucy.' Jamie pulled a face. 'Don't worry, I'll make it quick, I'm not gonna show you up in front of your friends. Now if your mom had brought you here, well she'd at least take you indoors.'

He grinned at Jamie before he got out off the car, and Jamie knew he'd got off lightly. He guessed his mom meant well but she was far more overprotective than his friend's mothers, seeing danger lurking everywhere. He couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to make her like that?

                                                              ~~~

A/N This was a short chapter, just to give a bit of insight into Jamie's relationship with his stepfather.