Page 84 of Like Fathers, Like Son
“You know, the nice lady next door said she recognised you from when you lived here.”Oh shit.
“Yeah? I guess I look kinda similar, maybe a bit taller.”
He laughed, swatting my shoulder as we walked to the door.
“She said you had a thing for her daughter.”
“She’s not wrong.” Should I tell him? I guess it’d be obvious soon. “Still do. She’s mine, uh, my girl now.”
“Good on you, son. Does she know?” Jesus. Did she? I highly doubted it, but we’d have to make sure we resolved that soon.
“Not yet, but we’ll tell her soon. You keep it to yourself, you old bastard, yeah?”
He laughed again, seeing me off and closing the door behind him. I glanced at Anneka’s mum’s house as I walked down the path. Should I go in? Should I go for some of her things? Would it be the smart thing to do? Would it just make her worry that I’d done something awful to Anneka?
And for that matter, hadn’t I? I knew I had. I’d been a complete asshole to the poor woman, and I wasn’t fool enough to think that wouldn’t happen again at some point.
While I dithered on the path, the door opened and Anneka’s mother stepped outside, wringing her hands together as she took in my frozen pose.
“I thought I’d seen you about again lately.”
I cleared my throat, stepping closer to the wall between the gardens.
“Yeah, I was lodging here for a bit. It’s been a while, eh?”
She nodded, eyeing my bag on my shoulder. She looked older, which was to be expected, but she looked tired too. She also looked like she was struggling to put her weight on one leg.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Have you seen my daughter? I know you had a thing for her back when you lived here.”
Shit, that was pretty clear, right? I could lie to her or tell her the truth. I rested my arm on the wall, watching as she tried balancing with one foot barely touching the ground.
“You don’t look okay, Mrs uh…” Was she still Mrs anything? What the hell was her last name? I’d drawn a blank, because for once I was caught unawares. Something I hadn’t planned for was happening, and it was making me act as dumb as people always expected me to be.
“Jamie. My name’s Jamie, and I’m fine. Just a flare up. Is she okay?” It was almost like she knew I knew something, so I nodded.
“She’s fine, we uh… we went away for the night, and she’s at my place at the moment. Do you need her?”
Jamie hobbled closer, leaning both hands on the wall and facing up to me, like she didn’t have any idea what I was capable of, which of course, she didn’t.
“You’re being good to her, aren’t you? She’s a sweet girl, and she deserves to be cherished and loved. Tell me she’s happy, Blaze.”
I had no fucking idea if she was, but I didn’t want to get into too much of this shit without Anneka by my side. She’d know the right things to say, and I was way out of my depth right now.
“I love her, Jamie. I’ll protect her with my life, and I’ll make sure she visits you often.” I waited to see if I’d accurately responded, in a social situation that was as bemusing to me as listening to, and accepting, the word ‘no’.
“You’re a good boy, Blaze. Thank you.”
Anneka
BY THE TIME BLAZE returned, I was so ready to be away from his mother. It wasn’t that Wilma was unpleasant, or unfriendly. She was just too damn aware of everything. In the know, when she really shouldn’t be.
She was also obsessively instructive about being pregnant, going over what I should and shouldn’t eat, and by the time the door opened, I just wanted to make Blaze send her away.
“Mum, you’re still here?”
“Blaze… did you forget to tell me something?”
