The Telling of Our Lifetime

I realized when I wrote this that it looked like it could turn into a marathon read for you folks. Sorry about that, I wanted it to be a stand alone story. Don't go looking for any sex in this one.

I had never closed the door to my den in all the time we have lived in this house so Jacqui must have known I had heard our daughter's question.

"Mom, how did you first meet Daddy?"

The pause before she replied simply gave me time to close the file I had open on the computer and reminisce that day myself. What she said next nearly made me fall out of my seat, it was still true to this day but I'm still embarrassed that she didn't at least sugar coat it even slightly, so I could come out of this not looking like an idiot.

"Oh, that's simple honey; your dad wasn't looking where he was going when he was in the high school library. He tripped over his own feet and he fell into me."

The pause and then laugh from our daughter colored my cheeks a little.

"So, was it love at first sight?"

"Hell no, I called him a dumb ass and told him he should look were he was going."

I had already nodded my head, recalling that moment, when I had picked up my books and apologized before I had even stood up and seen the beauty I had stumbled into.

"Did he ask you for a date, now that he had your full attention?"

"He didn't get a chance honey, I unloaded on him. Back then, face was everything. The girls watched as I ripped into him for even daring to get close to me."

By now, I was smiling, as those moments surfaced in my memory. I even knew what was coming next and my smile got just a little wider.

"Mom, please tell me you didn't insult Daddy?"

The concern in our daughter's voice was heart warming and I confess to my heart beating just a little faster over that one sentence.

"Honey, I unloaded for a good two minutes on the man. I figured out much later that he has a thicker skin than a Rhino. Turns out every word I said, seemed to simply pass him by. The next thing I knew, he held out his hand and gave me a business card with his name on it telling me that if I ever needed anything, he owed me."

Nodding my head and blushing once again, Jacqui continued, as I knew she would.

"Now I ask you girl, what kind of man has business cards in high school? Well, he did. Even to this day I still can't figure out why I took it and even stuck it in my bag, but I did and the rest as they say, is history."

Crossing my arms and waiting just like I knew Jacqui would be doing in the kitchen now, she had just baited our daughter. There is no way she was going to let this story come to that kind of ending.

"Hey, now wait a minute, you two got married immediately after college so I know for a fact that it didn't all stop there, you've left a chunk out and I want to know. I've never asked and you two have never told me, so I figured now is as good a time as any."

I heard Jacqui sigh; I was already out of my chair and heading for the door when I heard her call me.

"Martin, I know your listening to this, get your cute butt out here and help me. If I crash and burn I'm going to take you with me."

The look on our daughters face was one of total bemusement. She simply didn't understand her mother's last statement. Sadly, I did and Jacqui was terrified her own daughter would hate her for what she was about to be told.

"I'm not going to like this am I?"

I squeezed Jacqui's hand before saying, "Whether you like it or not, it happened. She is still your Mom, just as I'm your Dad."

By now, suspicion had started to creep into our daughter's eyes. Normally, Haley knew she could ask her Mom any question and instantly receive a reply. If on the rare occasion she didn't know the answer, the pair of them made an adventure of it and found the answer together. But Jacqui had called on me to help with this one question and the seeds of doubt had already been cast over that one innocent little question.

"What did you do to Daddy?"

Jacqui stiffened, not expecting that question. "Young lady, I didn't do anything to your father. If anything, he saved me and made me the person I am now."

Haley didn't seem to hear her Mom's answer. Jacqui once again squeezed my hand and I turned to look at her. Our daughter's imagination seemed to be already working overtime, given the intense look she was giving her own Mom.

"So, I go back to my original question. How did you two meet?"

She was going to make a great lawyer when she finished law school, just like her Mom. Even as I looked at Haley, I could almost see her mom, as she was when I bumped into her at the library. Her hair was just like Jacqui's but she had the bluest eyes when she was born and never lost them. Jacqui said I mudded up the gene pool when she married me and we had Haley, although she kept her African American looks, her nose was slightly more pronounced and her skin wasn't as dark as her mothers.

"You had better tell her. Anything I say now, she'll look on as tainted. Plus there are parts of this even I don't know, so it's time for you to be honest as well."

She was right of course. Therefore, with a shrug, I walked over to where I had placed my cell and as I walked back, I hit speed dial. It was already ringing before I had even sat down again, both the women in my life watching intently.

"Hello."

The recognition was instant in the room from both women.

"Jason. It's Martin. Haley has just asked her Mom about school and how we first met. Jacqui wants me to tell them everything. I need to pass this by you first."

There was a slow chuckle from the speaker as Jacqui's brother took in what I had said and the meaning behind it, as well.

"We thought as much, Marci has been telling me that Haley has been asking questions of all the girls in Jacqui's group. She does seem to have found something, but she can't get anything from the rest of the girls. Go ahead and tell her. Just make sure she knows that I loved that little girl like my own, from the day her Momma placed her in my hands three days after she was born. Good luck, and if you need me, you know where I am."

It was our turn to stare at our daughter. In defiance she crossed her arms and stared back. I thanked Jason and closed my cell. Knowing Jacqui as I did, I had little doubt that she was close to screaming at Haley. The resulting cat fight would achieve nothing. I needed to release the tension in the room before I continued.

"I would appreciate an explanation, before I tell you everything that happened. The fact that you have tried to circumvent your mother and go to her friends, tells me you know something but not enough to confront her about it."

For such a long moment, Haley just sat and stared at both of us and then said. "Denny's."

We both looked at each other totally confused. Haley made herself comfortable in her seat and then continued, "I was sitting in one of the booths near the back. I had been in town looking for Mom's birthday present. Aunt Mabel and Gloria came in and sat in the booth next to mine, I was about to stand and say 'hi' when they said something that made me keep quiet and listen."

Still unsure where this was going, I waited.

"It was just one sentence Daddy. It seems they were in town looking for a present for Mom, too. But then Gloria said to Aunt Mabel that she was glad the marriage lasted after all the things that happened back in high school, and then Aunt Mabel said given Moms attitude at the time, it sure shocked the crap out of her when you two not only got together but stayed together."

Haley looked at both of us for a moment before saying, "That's all I heard, they changed topic after that."

I had little doubt Jacqui would be going after her own sister with a blunt object in the foreseeable future and I may have to warn her to hide for a few days until she's cooled off. An angry Jacqui was not a pretty sight and part of the reason this conversation was about to start, I suppose. The library seemed to be the best place to start this story of how our relationship started so I simply set the scene. I also knew how to get Jacqui cooled down as well.

"The day I went head first into this woman was probably the start of my life."

Jacqui gripped my hand and smiled at me before I went on to tell our daughter everything. It was true of course, I simply wasn't looking where I was going, the book I had, held my attention right up to when I turned the corner of the bookshelf and walked straight into her. The abuse that followed would have made a sailor wince, I'm not even sure some of what she said to me was acceptable language for a sailor, let alone a lady.

"I had known Jacqui and her group, I even shared a couple of classes with them but everyone kept away from them. Argue with one and you have all three to deal with, it turns out Mrs. Bannerman had other ideas. On one of our class assignments, she split the class into pairs and chose the pairs herself. Two things happened that day. Your mother came the closest she ever had to getting herself expelled and she got partnered up with me."

Haley's head spun around to look directly at her mother.

"You argued with the head of the English department?"

Jacqui shook her head before replying. "She was an assistant head back then. The damn woman put on airs and graces and she had the affront to say that's what I was doing."

Both Haley and I chose wisely not to comment on her answer. Thinking it best, I continued with what happened. It also helped that Haley herself had been to Mrs. Bannerman's classes so she also knew how she operated.

It was during that class that Jacqui was partnered with me and also had to sit next to me. She slid her chair as far away from me as possible yet also making it look like we sat together. The assignment was a pass or fail mark and at this time, none of us could afford to do that and keep clear of summer school to make our grades up. Jacqui had made it clear by her actions that she did not want to be here or want anything to do with me and that statement remained for a week.

She would turn up to class, say nothing and do nothing to help with the project and then leave. In a perverse way, I got a lot of enjoyment watching her and seeing which of those two women would blink first. It seemed that fate had other plans. They were in the shape of Jacqui being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with simply didn't have enough respect for Turner's dip. He took it too fast and lost the car when it crested the dip. It swerved sideways, which is easy to do when none of your wheels are touching the tarmac and plowed into the wall putting both driver and Jacqui into the hospital.

"Your scars down your leg. I thought... But.... It was a car accident?"

The tension seemed to release from Jacqui's hand as Haley's question filtered into her brain. She nodded once. It was our daughter that refused to break off the stare aimed at her mother, Jacqui simply sat and stared at the kitchen table her daughters silence making her look towards her for a moment before she nodded ever so slowly.

"Duke Thompson had two failings in his life; the feeling that he was indestructible and his love of fast cars, a dangerous mix at the best of times. When you add into the mix of Turner's dip, it pretty much nailed it on the head; he was going to leave this world a lot sooner than most of us."

I could see Jacqui nod her head out of the corner of my eye. She knew I was right and the fact our whole class attended his funeral a year later, only made her a little sadder. It was also now that I was about to bring light to a time that she knew little about. It also changed her life soon after.

"Your Uncle Jason went to see Duke and told him he wasn't pleased to have his sister in hospital and would be even less pleased if he 'EVER' saw her in his car again."

Haley smiled, one of those all knowing smiles, it was plain to see she was letting her imagination run wild over how her Uncle would have actually worded that statement.

"The next day, I got a visit from your Uncle while I was in the library. He told me about your Mom being in the accident and he also knew Mrs. Bannerman's reputation. She took no prisoners and even with your Mom in hospital she had refused an extension, the deadline for the paper still stood."

Haley leaned forward onto the table as she listened to everything I said before saying, "So you put Mom's name on your paper."

I shook my head. Healy's eyes were as wide as I had ever seen them before a totally confused look came to her. She even looked at Jacqui only to have her own Mom shake her head as well. I went on to explain that there are ways to ask people for things and the way her Uncle Jason asked, wasn't one of them. When I refused, he simply got up and left the library. He came to me a day later and asked once again. It was then, we got into a fight.

"You and Uncle Jason had a fight over a paper?

Even before I looked at Jacqui, I knew what I would see, her eyes were half closed as images of those days came back to her. Haley seemed to be on the edge of her seat waiting for an answer to her question. Maybe in the back of both our minds, we knew this conversation would come back to haunt us both. The firm grip Jacqui had on my hand proved me right.

"Most people simply didn't understand Mrs. Bannerman. She didn't dislike anyone; she simply set out the work and expected you to do it on time and without excuses. But that rule was tilted against your Mom at that moment. Without that pass mark, she would have ended up in summer school and to someone like your Mom that was failure on a monumental scale. The loss of face amongst her friends would have been even worse, not to mention the summer job she had lined up that would have given her a foot up in her career later."

Jacqui clenched my hand even tighter, I was just thankful I got let off that lightly.

"But you still had a fight with Uncle Jason?"

Nodding my head I added, "You have to remember, I was an army brat. Getting shipped from base to base tends to harden you up some. I'd taken all the shit I was willing to take from your mother. When her brother got in on the act, my back was already up."

Considering the size of Jason, I knew the question Haley was going to ask next. What warmed my heart was the look on her face as she tried to figure out how to word it without hurting my feelings.

"Did he hurt you daddy?"

God, I love my daughter so much.

"In answer to the question you really wanted to ask, Haley. We beat each other to a draw. Although, I will never tell him to his face, if he had managed to go on another few minutes, things may have been different. When we were both on our knees gasping for breath, he asked me what was it going to take for me to put your Mom's name on the paper?"

Even when I looked at Jacqui, it was plain to see that Jason had not told her any of this. The tingling feeling in my hand as she eased up on her grip was a blessed relief as well.

"I simply told him that his own sister had the answer to that question. I was sick of being caught in the middle of Mrs. Bannerman and his sister. I wanted my pound of flesh out of this; she had to say 'please'."

The tension in that room just burst like a balloon. Haley laughed so loud it startled her mom, who was just staring at me.

"That was it? And did Mom say 'please'?"

*******

The swelling had gone now. Dad had asked about the fight and simply shrugged his shoulders when I said it ended in a draw. The laugh he gave was when I mentioned the other guy was a mountain on legs. Dad knew I was holding back more than I was telling but he simply gave a smile and left it at that. Telling him Jason was the offensive guard of the high school football team would have put into perspective the competition I had in the fight.

Jason took a huge risk getting involved in a fight, regardless of how much he meant to the team, Coach would have instantly dropped him from the team for the rest of the season.

Yes, Jason may have loved his sister to have gone to those lengths, but Coach Hibbertson simply wouldn't have seen it that way and while we were beating on each other, I made sure I didn't either. My folks had taught me that when you want something from someone, you smile and ask nicely, don't stand over them and think your opinion will outweigh theirs.

Mom took one look at me and damn near cried, even when I had calmed her down and told her I was fine, it must have taken a good ten minutes to calm her down enough to get something remotely like a coherent sentence out of her. Eventually, telling me to soak in the bath it will take some of the swelling out of the bruises that were sure to follow. I was thankful, I also had the weekend to recover as well, and Mom took me to the base infirmary to get checked out, much to my protests.

My friends on base knew what had happened and with who, our code made us close ranks. I couldn't see a repeat of that Friday afternoon, but none of us were taking any chances, we brats stuck together and I now had my friends watching my back. I had just got off the bus Monday morning before the girls brushed past me and went hunting. The information they gave me when they caught up with me at the canteen later that day simply gave me more options. In return, each of them got a hug as a thank you.

Jason came to see me once more that week. He simply looked at me and asked if I had reconsidered. I'm sure not many people tell someone like Jason to 'kiss my ass' but I did. The fight that followed, ended up a repeat of the last one, only this time my friends made sure it stayed a fair fight. Learning from my last confrontation, I went directly to the base infirmary from the bus. Someone had tipped Dad off and he met me there. He waited until the doc had finished with me before he sat me down and wanted to know just what the hell was going on.

My Father may wear the rank of an officer, but that day in the infirmary, he was my father. He listened to everything I told him and asked me what I planned to do about it. The million and one thoughts that crossed my mind rapidly, seemed to narrow down to just one, do nothing. Jacqui was due out of the hospital the next day according to the girl's information and the paper was due in one week from that day. Dad just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something about 'I hope you know what you're doing' before he helped me up and we headed home.

Mom kept me home the next day. She was torn between wanting to go to the school to lodge a complaint and letting me be. My dad had asked her not to lodge a complaint at school. This was something a mother has trouble with when seeing her son wince before sitting and trying to get up, while holding his ribs. For my part, I just smiled to myself and bet Jason had even more trouble dealing with the low blow my foot did to his groin area and the practice sessions he dare not miss, in case it raised coach Hibbertson's suspicions.

*******

It was a few days later Jacqui caught up with me by my locker. Trina came and leaned against the lockers first, it was Trina that designated herself as Jacqui's shadow.

"It's just her; I have Beth and Macy watching the other two."

Other than a nod of my head as an acknowledgment, I carried on getting books from my locker. Trina moved away from the lockers and went and stood the other side of the corridor. It was a few moments before I heard her voice.

"Can we talk?"

"No."

The pause was longer now.

"We can't talk?"

"Oh, we can talk, but I'm simply cutting to the chase and telling you 'no' to the question you're going to get around to asking me."

With a certain amount of finality, I slammed my locker door closed, locked it and walked over to Trina who hooked her arm into mine and we headed toward class. The silent treatment between us lasted a couple of days. Mrs. Bannerman seemed to just watch and wait. She knew that Jacqui had contributed nothing to the paper and knowing me as she did, fully expected to see just one name on the paper.