- GTOK,
"Good fucking riddance!" Joseph said, being sure to relay every bit of disgust he could muster through the phone. "I'm glad the bastard's outta here."
"C'mon, JJ.," Jennifer said. "I know you two didn't get along all that well, but she really did love him."
"Love him? Give me a break, Jen," he said. "She made it quite evident in who she wanted to be a part of her life and it wasn't me."
"As I recall, you were the one that left, JJ," Jennifer interjected.
"Because he forced me to leave. You were there - you saw and heard the whole thing. And she let it happen. She didn't say a word - she just let it happen. I love her and I always will but she never stood up for me and she let that fucker kick me out," Joseph countered. "And he never let me come back. And swore that I'd never come back!"
"I know, JJ, I know," Jennifer said, trying hard to make sure Joseph feel the sympathy and empathy she was feeling. "But mom really hopes you can make it. It's been five years, JJ. Five years."
"Yeh, I know," Joseph said, resigned to the thought that he really did miss seeing his family. "I'll see what I can do. I miss you and mom but I'm not making any promises. I couldn't stand to be around him in life, and even now that the idiot's dead, I can't even stand to be around his dead corpse."
"Well, I hope you can get past all of that and come home. For mom. And for me. I love you JJ and I hope to see you soon."
"Bye, Jen," he said as he hung up the phone.
Joseph Jordan, or "JJ" as he was known to those closest to him, thought about his next move. Jennifer, or "Jen", was right. He knew he needed to come home and support his mother in her time of need. But the animosity and anger and sheer disgust he felt for his now-deceased step-father was overwhelming. Janice, his mother, had met Morgan when JJ was 17 and the relationship was rocky right from the outset. Janice thought that Morgan's powerful, headstrong personality would mesh well with JJ, but she quickly learned that having two strong-willed men around in the same house was like pouring kerosene on a bonfire. Even after they married a year later, she thought things would get better but having Morgan under the same roof with JJ was disastrous. JJ tried his best to accommodate and step back for his mother's sake but every time he stepped back, Morgan saw it as an act of weakness and attacked JJ even more. Then, the day after his 19th birthday, JJ had enough. The argument had turned violent, leaving Morgan with a permanent limp and JJ with scars, both physically and emotionally. JJ left and vowed never to return.
And now, it was five years later and JJ had made a great life for himself. He had moved East and settled in Chicago. He had built a great life for himself from literally nothing and now was an assistant producer for a major television studio and a major player in the industry. And although he thought about his mother and sister often, he never let the thoughts linger long enough to get melancholy. But that phone call was a bit too much and he now found himself alone in his flat, looking for answers.
*****
As he exited the airport and hailed a taxi, JJ thought "I should just turn around right now and go back home. They can't blame me for not coming back here. She hasn't even said a word to me in five years - she had Jen relay everything to me cause she was too damn afraid of Morgan. What the fuck! I should go back home." But as the taxi pulled up next to him, he knew he had to see her, to make true peace and to share with his family.
*****
The house was just as he remembered - large and overbearing. And it was packed with people, all there to lend their condolences and well wishes to the family. As he walked in thru the front door, JJ recognized some faces, but there were three times as many that he didn't know. He made his way over to the bar and made himself a drink and continued scanning the room.
After about 10 minutes, he left a tap on his shoulder and turned around. "Glad to see you could make it, son," Paul Lumis said. Paul was a long time family friend and the one man JJ could talk to when times had gotten rough. He'd been the only father-figure JJ had ever known.
"I've missed you, too." JJ put his drink down and gave Paul a big hug, the kind of hug that needed no words but conveyed every bit of gratitude and love.
"And I've missed you too, Paul," JJ said. "How have you been?"
"I'm doing okay. Things have been steady. I've been keeping up with you, too. You're doing some really good work out there in Chicago. I'm proud of you. You're mother's really proud, too."
"Funny - she's never said a word of that to me," JJ retorted. "And that fucking low-life did all he could to make sure of that."
Hey, hey now son, I'm not the enemy here," Paul said. "No need to get out of sorts."
"I'm sorry, Paul. It wasn't directed at you. I know you aren't the enemy. Hell, you've been the only thing like a father to me I've ever known. Old wounds, you know? I don't like being back in this house. I almost got back on the plane and went back home."
"Well you are home now, son," Paul said solemnly. "And you need to go find your mother." Paul started looking around.
"I will, Paul. I will," JJ said, picking back up his drink. "I just need a bit more time. It took a lot to even set foot back in the driveway."
"I understand, JJ. Really, I do. Take your time." With that, Paul patted JJ on the back and went back into the crowd.
JJ found a chair and sat down, continuing to scan the crowd. As he looked around, the figure of a woman caught his eye and he was floored. "Damn," he said to himself. "I wonder who that is." The woman had her back to him and was at an odd angle but he could make out her amazing shape all too well. Even in the black dress, he knew she had a stunning body. Her legs and calfs were amazing and the swell of her chest signified there was a a major amount of tit flesh hiding underneath the material. JJ was also thrown at the fact that this was obviously an older woman - a much older woman. Her silver hair was cut fashionably short and JJ found it extremely attractive. JJ found himself getting an erection and he took a long gulp of his drink in an effort to help keep it bay. And as he stood up to pour himself another drink, the woman turned around and the two happened to make eye contact. JJ was stunned. It was Janice. His mother.
"C'mon, JJ.," Jennifer said. "I know you two didn't get along all that well, but she really did love him."
"Love him? Give me a break, Jen," he said. "She made it quite evident in who she wanted to be a part of her life and it wasn't me."
"As I recall, you were the one that left, JJ," Jennifer interjected.
"Because he forced me to leave. You were there - you saw and heard the whole thing. And she let it happen. She didn't say a word - she just let it happen. I love her and I always will but she never stood up for me and she let that fucker kick me out," Joseph countered. "And he never let me come back. And swore that I'd never come back!"
"I know, JJ, I know," Jennifer said, trying hard to make sure Joseph feel the sympathy and empathy she was feeling. "But mom really hopes you can make it. It's been five years, JJ. Five years."
"Yeh, I know," Joseph said, resigned to the thought that he really did miss seeing his family. "I'll see what I can do. I miss you and mom but I'm not making any promises. I couldn't stand to be around him in life, and even now that the idiot's dead, I can't even stand to be around his dead corpse."
"Well, I hope you can get past all of that and come home. For mom. And for me. I love you JJ and I hope to see you soon."
"Bye, Jen," he said as he hung up the phone.
Joseph Jordan, or "JJ" as he was known to those closest to him, thought about his next move. Jennifer, or "Jen", was right. He knew he needed to come home and support his mother in her time of need. But the animosity and anger and sheer disgust he felt for his now-deceased step-father was overwhelming. Janice, his mother, had met Morgan when JJ was 17 and the relationship was rocky right from the outset. Janice thought that Morgan's powerful, headstrong personality would mesh well with JJ, but she quickly learned that having two strong-willed men around in the same house was like pouring kerosene on a bonfire. Even after they married a year later, she thought things would get better but having Morgan under the same roof with JJ was disastrous. JJ tried his best to accommodate and step back for his mother's sake but every time he stepped back, Morgan saw it as an act of weakness and attacked JJ even more. Then, the day after his 19th birthday, JJ had enough. The argument had turned violent, leaving Morgan with a permanent limp and JJ with scars, both physically and emotionally. JJ left and vowed never to return.
And now, it was five years later and JJ had made a great life for himself. He had moved East and settled in Chicago. He had built a great life for himself from literally nothing and now was an assistant producer for a major television studio and a major player in the industry. And although he thought about his mother and sister often, he never let the thoughts linger long enough to get melancholy. But that phone call was a bit too much and he now found himself alone in his flat, looking for answers.
*****
As he exited the airport and hailed a taxi, JJ thought "I should just turn around right now and go back home. They can't blame me for not coming back here. She hasn't even said a word to me in five years - she had Jen relay everything to me cause she was too damn afraid of Morgan. What the fuck! I should go back home." But as the taxi pulled up next to him, he knew he had to see her, to make true peace and to share with his family.
*****
The house was just as he remembered - large and overbearing. And it was packed with people, all there to lend their condolences and well wishes to the family. As he walked in thru the front door, JJ recognized some faces, but there were three times as many that he didn't know. He made his way over to the bar and made himself a drink and continued scanning the room.
After about 10 minutes, he left a tap on his shoulder and turned around. "Glad to see you could make it, son," Paul Lumis said. Paul was a long time family friend and the one man JJ could talk to when times had gotten rough. He'd been the only father-figure JJ had ever known.
"I've missed you, too." JJ put his drink down and gave Paul a big hug, the kind of hug that needed no words but conveyed every bit of gratitude and love.
"And I've missed you too, Paul," JJ said. "How have you been?"
"I'm doing okay. Things have been steady. I've been keeping up with you, too. You're doing some really good work out there in Chicago. I'm proud of you. You're mother's really proud, too."
"Funny - she's never said a word of that to me," JJ retorted. "And that fucking low-life did all he could to make sure of that."
Hey, hey now son, I'm not the enemy here," Paul said. "No need to get out of sorts."
"I'm sorry, Paul. It wasn't directed at you. I know you aren't the enemy. Hell, you've been the only thing like a father to me I've ever known. Old wounds, you know? I don't like being back in this house. I almost got back on the plane and went back home."
"Well you are home now, son," Paul said solemnly. "And you need to go find your mother." Paul started looking around.
"I will, Paul. I will," JJ said, picking back up his drink. "I just need a bit more time. It took a lot to even set foot back in the driveway."
"I understand, JJ. Really, I do. Take your time." With that, Paul patted JJ on the back and went back into the crowd.
JJ found a chair and sat down, continuing to scan the crowd. As he looked around, the figure of a woman caught his eye and he was floored. "Damn," he said to himself. "I wonder who that is." The woman had her back to him and was at an odd angle but he could make out her amazing shape all too well. Even in the black dress, he knew she had a stunning body. Her legs and calfs were amazing and the swell of her chest signified there was a a major amount of tit flesh hiding underneath the material. JJ was also thrown at the fact that this was obviously an older woman - a much older woman. Her silver hair was cut fashionably short and JJ found it extremely attractive. JJ found himself getting an erection and he took a long gulp of his drink in an effort to help keep it bay. And as he stood up to pour himself another drink, the woman turned around and the two happened to make eye contact. JJ was stunned. It was Janice. His mother.
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