Tarnished Armor

Story of a Girl (Chapter Fifty One)

After a few minutes, I ended my call with Colby. I went to find Mama Jenny. She sat out back with Kelly and Emily. 

"Hey, baby girl." 

"Can I ask you something?" I asked calmly. 

"Sure, sweetheart, what's wrong?" 

Kelly and Emily didn't want to interfere so they started leaving. 

"Please stay, I need my family." 

Each sitting across from me as Mama Jenny sat at the table with us.  

"Did you know a woman named Kathy Sutton?" 

Kelly, Emily and Mama Jenny sat there thinking a minute. Shay walked up to us. 

"What has all of you thinking so hard?" 

"Lindsay wants to know about Kat." Jenny said to Shay. 

Shay took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. I listened closely as Jenny spoke. 

"Kathy was an experience. She was, to say the least, the life of every party. Men flocked to her. Honestly, baby girl, I was jealous of that fact. I, however, met DJ and I was smitten right  away. Your mom though, was this fresh faced woman of 21 and a bar back for me when I tended. She interacted with the customers and it made them happy. She finally decided to leave your grandparents and explore the city. I couldn't have had a better woman and friend. However, she got mixed up with this guy. You met him tonight. His name is Jerry Coltrane. He worked for the area Caterpillar Mining Company. I hated when he came in because he always hit on your mother. It never surprised her when he would come in carrying roses or some other thing. What sucked most was Jerry took your mom home a lot of times. She'd tell me stories of how nice he was too her, how he made her feel and honestly, how the fact that despite his age He gave her comfort. She never did talk about your grandparents. Your grandparents, however, caught your mother doing a bunch of things with a bunch of males..." 

I listened to her tell the story. I couldn't handle hearing it. I wanted to call Chris and see what he thought of all of this but I didn't want to make things rough between us anymore than they already are. His return would be short lived in a feud with Bray Wyatt. I didn't want to think about it but after Jenny stopped talking I knew I needed something. 

"Hey, Mama?" 

"Yes, Baby?" 

"Did you ever see my mother pregnant?" 

Sensing where the line of questioning led, Jenny sighed. 

"If you're asking if I knew about you, the answer's yes. I knew Kat was this flirtatious girl but I also knew she didn't have any common sense. She would charm any man who came in looking for her but she also led them on and some she even led astray. Jerry was one such she led astray. He was married going into it and single coming through it. His wife got a call from Kat saying that Kat was pregnant and Jerry had to do something. His response? Make me." 

"I wonder where my..." 

"You mean Chris?" 

"Yes." 

"He, for intents and purposes, came into the picture when your mom was sixteen. Their relationship was pure magic. She told me about the kind of man Chris was and how she loved him." 

"Then how'd she get involved with Jerry?" 

"That's simple, baby girl, Chris left. That broke your mother's heart. She, being who she was, went to others for comfort that she shouldn't have. That leads us to the here and now."