Page 51 of You’re Mine

I head to the kitchen to get his lunch ready. Today is a sandwich day, so I get that into his lunchbox along with some chips, fruit snacks, and a juice.

I place the cereal and milk on the table for his breakfast, along with a bowl and spoon. It’s Honey Nut Cheerios today. Sorry kid, no marshmallows.

Jamie shows up in the kitchen, all dressed with his backpack in tow. He’s been on a mission to pour his own milk every morning, but that’s meant many spills and clean-ups. Fortunately, we’ve been on an upward swing lately and he’s managed to pour most of the milk without too many mishaps in the last week.

I don’t watch him because he hates that, and says it throws off his mojo. So I pretend to be preoccupied while he lifts the milk carton with trembling hands. Some sloshing ensues, and I wince a little.

“Yes!” Jamie whispers. “You can turn around, Daddy.” The moniker gets my heart thumping, and I whip around to see my son sitting there happily, beaming at his accomplishment.

“Great job space cowboy!” There are no spots of milk, and I high-five him and then leave him to eat his breakfast. I do a quick check in on Haley, but she’s still asleep. She’s been sleeping in a lot more lately, and it’s made me start wondering. I wonder if there’s something else going on.

But now’s not the time because my son needs to get to school. I go back to the kitchen, and Jamie’s almost done with his cereal. Good. I put his lunch box in his backpack for him and wait until he finishes, and then we head out the door to catch the bus.

Fortunately, the big yellow school bus rolls up, and I give Jamie one last high five before pressing a kiss to his head. I’m so lucky to have him, and can’t believe this is my life now.

But now, his mom. Going back into the penthouse, there are no signs that Haley’s up yet, so I go to my secret hiding spot where I’ve hidden a very special ring. It’s in Jamie’s bathroom, behind the extra toothpaste in the medicine cabinet. The ring box is a purple plush velvet, with a huge sparkler inside. I snap it open, and the light zings around my eyeballs. God, I hope Haley likes it.

I slip the ring into my pocket and then stealthily return to the bedroom. Uh oh, she’s still sleeping. Why is she so tired recently? Maybe it’s just the change in lifestyle. Then again, it’s been a couple months since I got them out of Lenville, but maybe it takes longer than that to adapt.

Meanwhile, I head to the home gym for a hard work out. It tires me out, but also allows my mind to wander. Unbidden, my mind goes to the families we were born into. Ever since I left Lenville, I haven’t spoken to mine at all. My dad tried to contact me once, but I made sure to shut that down right away. He hasn’t overcome his addiction, and while I understand that it’s a disease, I simply can’t subject myself to that right now. Not when I have a new family.

I haven’t talked to my mom or sister in ages either, but maybe I should give them a chance. Yes, they work as strippers, but then again, they’ve never had many opportunities in life. Just like I was once in a bad situation, they are still. Maybe it’s time to reconsider things, with respect to the female members of my family at least.

Thinking about my family has me thinking about Haley’s family too. Clearly, we don’t talk to them anymore, given what Herb did to his own daughter and grandson. But the Lenville Times featured a short article on the car crash, and we saw that Herb was hospitalized with minor injuries. Haley’s face grew white, but she put the paper down without saying anything.

Me? I kind of wished it was worse. I wish that motherfucker was killed in the car crash, or at least massively injured. It’s wrong to say something like this about your girlfriend’s father, but in my heart of hearts, that’s what I desired.

Because I wanted him locked up for abusing Haley. I want him put in jail for a million years, and served bad jailhouse food. I want the other prisoners to beat him up, and for him to sustain severe injuries. I would have been all over that jail shit, but it’s not what my girl wanted. Being safe and moving on was what was important to her, as well as being with me. She took my hand, speaking in a trembling voice.

“As long as we’re together, Jace, I’ll be fine. Herb can’t hurt us anymore, so let’s just forget about him.”

---