I was fifteen when my dad walked out on my mother and me. It was the typical story of a man leaving his wife and family for a younger woman. In this case it was for his secretary who was ten years younger than mom. At first, mom was pretty devastated. I just pretty much took it in stride. He had never been much of a father, always seeming to be too wrapped up in his work or hobbies to spend any time with me. I figured he hadn't really wanted kids and I was just a mistake as far as he was concerned.
I'm Jeff, by the way. Jeff Bradley and my mom's name is Sarah.
I became the man of the house for the next year and a half. Doing all the tasks and chores my father had done or hired someone to do. Dad was paying child support to mom as ordered by the court but nothing more. Mom had a job working at a real estate agency and between what she made and the child support we got by. There wasn't much left at the end of the month but we didn't go without the basic needs.
As I said earlier, dad's leaving was a pretty big blow to mom. When she was at home, she would sit around the house depressed. She still went to work and cooked my meals and made sure I had clean clothes to wear but little else. Since I would get home from school before she came in I would spend an hour or two cleaning the house and wait until after dinner to hit the books and finish my homework. I wanted mom to know I was there for her and would give her hugs and kiss her cheek and tell her I loved her. Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't coming on to my mother. I was trying to console her.
It was eight months before my mother seemed to return to normal. As she did she realized all the things I had been taking care of and told me how proud she was of me and she would do the cleaning again and I needed to get out more and spend time with my friends. I did go out once in a while but I rarely stayed gone too long. I wanted to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't slip back into her depression.
About a year after my dad had left Don Wilson and his daughter moved to our town. He was a rather successful lawyer and had taken a job with a large firm here in Dallas. We lived in one of the suburbs of Dallas. Anyway, Don had used the agency where my mom worked to find a new home for him and his daughter. He had noticed mom and asked her out. She turned him down the first three times but he was persistent. Mom finally relented and agreed to go to dinner with him. She still had a big issue with trust. Don was a total gentleman during their first date. He never pressured mom or even made any unwanted overtures to her great relief, and she agreed to another date. This led to a third, fourth and so on.
I began to see a real change in mom, she was happy again. I would even catch her humming to herself. I had met Don when he would come to pick mom up so they could go out. I liked him from the start. There wasn't anything phony about him. He was friendly and had a good sense of humor. We often talked if mom was running a little late.
It was three months before my eighteenth birthday when mom said she was making dinner for Don on Saturday. He was bringing his daughter with him and begged me to please eat with them. I told her I would be there even though It meant I had to cancel the hottest date I had ever had. Mom could tell I was joking about the date part and kissed my cheek. I did date occasionally but it was never anything serious. I rarely went out with the same girl more than twice. Don't get me wrong, I didn't just use them then dump them. It's just that I never seemed to really clicked with them.
Saturday evening came and I was in the living room watching sports on the tube when the doorbell rang. Mom was in the kitchen, so I went to answer it. When I opened the door I saw Don standing behind a very pretty brunette. This must be Don's daughter. When my eyes met her's she just rolled her eyes and gave me a disgusted look. Standing behind her Don missed this.
I had never met Don's daughter before, even though we went to the same school. But, I knew who she was. She was a member of the rich bitch clique who only dated jocks or guys from wealthy families who had the cash to spend on them. They looked down on anyone not in their group. Mom and I weren't rich and I wasn't a jock so I didn't interact with them. I hung out with a small group of average guys. We had similar interests and none of them were trouble makers.
I chose to ignore the look and invited them in. Don came in and introduced his daughter to me. Her name was Liz, short for Elizabeth. I held my hand out to shake her's but quickly dropped it when she looked at it as if I had leprosy. I told Don that mom was in the kitchen and he headed that way. Liz turned and looked around the house shaking her head. I was getting royally pissed now. Mom and I lived in a middle class home and it was nicely decorated as mom has good taste. Granted it wasn't a palace but I was proud to live here and didn't appreciate this stuck up cunt coming in to my home and putting it down.
For mom's sake I clamped down on my emotions and asked Liz if she would like something to drink. Without even looking at me she just said "No" and walked over to the couch and sat down. I had to get out of the room and calm down. I said nothing, just turned and went to my bedroom. By the time I heard mom come out and ask Liz where I was, I had control of myself.
Mom came to my door and stared at me curiously and said dinner was ready. I didn't say anything, just nodded and followed her to the dining room. Our dining table sat six. Don was seated at the head of the table and Liz was sitting to his left. Mom took her chair on the right hand side of Don. The only empty place setting was in front of the chair next to Liz. I walked to the end of the table opposite Don and pulled out the chair. Mom had put each setting on a fancy placemat and I reached over and pulled mine in front of me and took a seat.
Don looked at me with a curious expression but didn't say anything. The look I got from mom let me know that she didn't appreciate my actions. I simply smiled and told her everything smelled wonderful. Don agreed and began to pass the platter around. I was hungry and dug in. One of the few times I glanced up I could tell that Liz was barely picking around at the food on her plate. The conversation was mostly between my mother and Don. I finished eating and was excusing myself, when Don spoke up.
"Jeff, please stay. Your mother and I have an announcement and we wanted you and Liz here with us at the same time. Jeff, I have asked your mother to marry me and she has said yes."
The consequences of this statement didn't even enter my mind. I was happy for my mother. I was pretty sure that Don would be good for her. I stood and walked behind my mother and held my hand out to Don.
"Congratulations Don," I said sincerely, shaking his hand. "I know you have made my mother happy and will take good care of her."
Don gave my a broad smile. "Thank you, Jeff. Your approval means a lot to me and your mother."
I kissed mom on the cheek and congratulated her too.
Don looked over at his daughter. "Liz."
"Oh yeah, congratulations or what ever. Anyway, the girls are waiting for me so I need to run." she said coldly. She stood up and walked out the front door.
